Teriyaki Stir Fry

Well it looks like summer has finally decided to stick around. Warm, sunny days make me think about quick, easy food that doesn't tie me to the kitchen any longer than about five minutes. Those of you who have read my blogs for some time know how much I detest being in the kitchen, let alone having to cook.

That's why I have a summer arsenal of recipes that are strictly for days too warm to be comfortable and for me, that's anything over 78 degrees. What can I say? I hate to sweat.

Last post I shared a favorite summer recipe and now I'm going to do it again.

This is a simple meal and there are probably a hundred versions of it all  over the world. This is my vegan version and even if I say so myself, it's doggone good. That's what I think and so did the couple I served it to a few nights ago. We licked the wok clean. Next time I'll make more.

TERIYAKI STIR FRY

4 quarts of boiling water

2-3 Tbs. olive oil

1/3 cup of teriyaki sauce

4 cups assorted vegetables, cut into 2" pieces
Fresh ginger root, about 1/2 tsp. grated
A couple splashes of soy sauce

1/2 package udon or chinese noodles

Put the water on to boil as if you were going to cook pasta. When it reaches a rolling boil, add the noodles, but keep your eye on them. They cook in 5 minutes. 

For this recipe, you can use any vegetables you like.
I had on hand green beans, celery, red pepper, snow peas, zucchini, onions, bean sprouts and mushrooms. 

Add the oil to your wok or any large skillet. I like my wok because it does such a good job of stir frying. If you don't have a wok, use the biggest pan you have so the vegetables will fry and not steam because they are all on top one another. Add the vegetables in order of which take the longest to cook. For me, the green beans and celery went in first, followed by everything else. 

I cooked the vegetables until they were almost done, but still a bit crunchy. If you like them another way, cook them shorter or longer. 

When the stir fried vegetables are how you like them, dump the drained noodles into the wok. Then add the teriyaki sauce, the splashes of soy sauce, and the grated ginger. Let everything in the wok cook together for about 2 minutes, stirring it up from the bottom so everything is coated in the sauce.

Eat till it's all gone and try not to moan over how good it tastes.



A note concerning fresh ginger: We all know it goes bad fast so here is my way of keeping it until it's all used up. Bring the
knob home, put it in a zip lock bag, unpeeled, and toss it in the freezer in a place where you'll easily find it. Then when a recipe calls for fresh ginger, don't bother with defrosting. Just get out your microplane and grate what is basically "ginger snow" into your recipe. Put the frozen knob back in the freezer. You'll never have to throw away another piece of ginger.

Another side note: Since I eat vegan all the time, I am not paranoid of getting protein in every meal. If desired, you can always stir in tofu or tempeh or seitan. 

Serves 3-4

Spicy Black Bean Spaghetti Sauce That's Really Good

Winter is coming, even in Southern California. When I get up, generally around 7:30, it's still almost dark; dusk sets in at 5:30 and by 6:00 it looks like midnight. Mornings are cold, at least by Southern CA standards, though I bow to those places where cold is truly bone freezing. All of that to say that while I was hungry for spaghetti--my idea of a perfect cold night meal--I had to think up a new way to make it. I didn't want to use tofu for the protein; nor the home made seitan I always keep in my freezer; nor store-bought faux meat of any kind. So I put on my thinking cap and finally came up with an idea. I didn't know if it would be worth eating, but I just had to give it a try. I used my two guests that were coming for dinner as my taste testers. I knew they'd be honest with me. They always are.

We all moaned while we ate. Yes, it was that good. Some even went back for another helping. I hope you'll try it and enjoy eating it as much as we did. Now I'm not saying nobody else ever thought of this sort of recipe before--I'm just saying it was an experiment on my part that turned out good.

SPICY BLACK BEAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE

1 can of black beans with juice

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. basil

1 1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. salt

1 jar of vegan spaghetti sauce or 2 cups tomato sauce or 2 cans diced tomatoes. I used the jarred stuff.

1 medium onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 carrot, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs. olive oil

8 oz. of spaghetti

Open the can of black beans and remove 1/2 cup to a separate bowl. Put the rest of the canned beans and their juice into a food processor, along with all the spices and whiz everything until it is smooth.

Put the olive oil in a large skillet and brown the onions, celery, carrot, and garlic until it is soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add the reserved whole beans and the mixture from the processor, along with the jarred sauce or whichever tomato product you wish to use. Cook until the mixture is thick and gives off a delicious aroma. I set mine on a back burner on low heat and let the flavors bend for about 30 minutes.

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Serve big portions with a large amount of the reddish-brown and spicy sauce over the top. Sprinkle with parsley and shaved vegan Parmesan if desired.

I served the usual sides: salad and garlic bread.

Serves 4

Sometimes rainy and chilly weather
causes me to ponder what sort of
vegan goodies I want to eat that
will make my tummy happy.

Salad for the Blue Collar Man

Although my husband has no interest in going vegan, he is committed to a healthier diet. He used to make 4 deli meat and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and snack every morning before going to work. Last year he started making soups and now packs them along with one less sandwich. lately, he has been packing salads too, further reducing his meat and cheese intake. I volunteered to make him a couple of salads to go, after he complained of getting bored with his. I love salads with crunchy carbohydrates and rich texture. Here they are....

Oriental Salad

salad leaves

carrots (chopped or grated)

grape tomatoes

green onions (chopped)

Ramen noodles, uncooked

dried banana chips

sesame sticks (a kind of snack made with wheat)

Sesame Vinaigrette

1/2 cup light vinegar

4 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup salad oil

2 tablespoons sesame seed oil

1 teaspoon pepper

If you're packing this to go, you must separate the vegetables, crunchy toppings, and the dressing in their own containers. This salad is a variation of the Nappa Salad posted on 3/6/11. Assemble your favorite salad leaves and veggies. Chop Ramen noodles, banana chips and sesame sticks (I buy them at Trader Joes). Add crunchy mix on top. Shake and pour on dressing. Yummy!

Power Salad

salad veggies

brown rice

vegetable stock

chopped apple

garbanzo/chick peas

pecan nuts

toasted flax seeds

1tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

Make brown rice according to directions ahead of time. I substitute 1/2 the water with vegetable stock (store bought) to add flavor. Any left over rice or noodles should work just as well here. Assemble salad leaves and veggies the way you like them. Open a can of garbanzo beans, and drain. Chop pecans and apple. I found a toasted flax seed at Trader Joes that has a wonderful flavor. I bet if you took the time to candy these pecans, you could add another layer of complexity to this super salad. Mix up the oil and vinegar and your prep work is done. The only question is do you eat it in or take it out?

Going Vegan At Seventy

My oldest granddaughter talked me into going vegan. So here I am, just beginning my journey and each week I'll blog a bit to let you know how I'm doing on this new adventure. I didn't take on this challenge to look great in a swimsuit. No one who is nearly 71 looks great in anything skimpy. I mean, the underarms wave whether you wish it or not, the thighs slap together and gravity pulls the chest lower than God ever intended it to go--much to our dismay.

I did it because for more than 30 years I've put up with an abdominal disease that continues to rear its head and has twice erupted into emergency surgery. The painful malady erupted again just after Thanksgiving of 2010 and I spent 5 days in the hospital. Over the years, my doctors have ordered every invasive test they could think of and for the most part everything appears normal. At least to them. But I know my body. And I know something is still wrong.

Since my granddaugher, in her twenties, started having the same symptoms as I did at that age--and has had all those humiliating tests herself (only to be told she's normal), I've decided to do what she did. First she went vegetarian, but she still doubled over in abdominal pain minutes within eating. I know exactly how that feels. Then she tried vegan. No more pain. She's been vegan for a few months and tells me all the abdominal pain is gone.

Am I crazy about giving up my critter portions? No, I'm not. Would I try anything to be done with the  constant abdominal pain? Absolutely. So come along on my journey. I'll blog what I do and you can comment on things I do wrong or should change or should re-think. I'm hoping we can be partners. You see, one day a week won't cut it for me. For my health's sake, I'm going to have to make it a life choice. It will be so much more fun if you join my parade.

I thought for quite a while about where to begin. Thank God I've loved vegetables since childhood. It was WWII and with everything rationed, our family ate out of our garden. Dad raised chickens and pigs so there was always meat on the table, but the bulk of our meals consisted of whatever was ripe in the large garden out behind our house. And since dad allowed no fussy children at the table, we had to eat what was before us or go hungry. Back then, everyone consumed what was available at the time and thanked God there was food set before them.

Debating about how to start became easy for me when my sister and brother-in-law drove into town for a visit and during our chatting, my sister told me about this great soup her hubby makes. It sounded so delicious I started drooling to the point where Sis had to grab three paper towels to catch the flood. My brother-in-law, knowing that I hate to cook only slightly less than my sister, agreed to start the soup pot going. Since he likes being in the kitchen and Sis and I don't, we left him to his chef thing while she and I solved all the world's problems in one afternoon. Does it ever get any better than that?

LEFTOVER SOUP

In the bottom of a soup pot, place 2 Tbsp. oil of choice (we used olive); 1 medium onion, chopped, 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced. Saute until the onions become somewhat translucent.

In the meantime, cut any vegetables you have on hand into bite size pieces and place them in a small bowl. We used 6 small red potatoes, 4 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 1/2 cups green beans, about 6 stalks of asperagus and 2 fresh plum tomatoes that looked like they'd better be eaten today or thrown out tomorrow.

Add all the veggies to the stock pot along with 1 cup of vegetable stock and cook on medium to low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Add 2 (16 oz) cans of diced tomatoes. We used one can with jalapeno and one with basil. Add 1 can undiluted tomato soup (mellows out the acid of so many tomatoes).

Add the spices. We used 1/4 tsp. cumin, pinch of celery seed, 1/4 tsp. marjoram, 1 Tbsp. dried parsley (because we didn't have fresh), salt and pepper to taste.

Stir all the ingredients until they are mixed well and set the covered pot on a back burner with the heat set low. We let ours simmer about an hour in order to give the spices and veggies time to marry. Just before serving, squeeze a bit of fresh lemon into the pot. It will brighten all the flavors, yet the soup won't have a citrus taste. We served our soup with a garden salad and hot french bread brushed with garlic infused olive oil.

Our recipe made about 2 quarts. The soup was the perfect consistency for us, but depending on how you like your own soup, you can add more stock or remove the lid and let the soup cook down to thicken.

My mom always made her own version of this soup and called it the "Clean Out The Frig" soup. She'd toss in whatever was garden ready, along with any leftover corn or peas or whatever had been uneaten during the week, thus making each pot of this soup distinct in its own way. Her soup didn't contain so many tomatoes, but I liked my brother-in-laws version down to the last drop.

Pot Pie Redux

Spring is teasing us here. It pops in and then out. A cloudy day with drizzle, but warm enough to work in the yard(construction site) and move a few thousand pounds of rocks. More rocks.They seem to multiply. I'm hungry. Ready for a Hungry Man dinner. Without the chicken.

I posted a recipe for a Vegan Pot Pie a little over a year ago. It was delicious. I wanted to simplify it a bit and I wanted to try it with seitan. I have never made or had seitan. Allegedely it tastes like meat and some vegetarians avoid it because of that. I don't think it tastes like meat. It is high in protein. You can buy it pre-made, make it yourself or buy a mix. Premade is pretty expenseive. The mix is not. And it's easy. You add water, mix it around, knead it for a few minutes, shape it and then simmer it for 45 minutes in broth. Then you chop it up and use it in your recipe.



This is a pretty loose "recipe". Saute your seitan in hot oil until browned. Remove and set aside. Saute some chopped onion , some herbs, garlic, celery and carrot in three tablespoons of olive oil for a few minutes with a sprinkling of salt. Add peeled, diced potatoes, a bit of vegetable stock and cover for about 10 minutes until your vegetables are soft but not mushy. Add a handful of frozen peas,some frozen corn and the browned seitan.







Stir in three tablespoons of flour and cook for a few minutes to get rid of any raw flour flavor. Slowly add two cups of vegetable stock and 1/2 cup of red wine. Stir and bring to a boil. Add some lemon juice to brighten the flavors a bit of soy sauce or Marmite. Take off the heat and put into an ovenproof casserole dish.



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse 1 1/2 cup flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons baking power to mix. Pulse in 6 tablespoons COLD vegan margarine until the consistency of coarse corn meal. Slowly add 1/2 cup Soy Milk and blend until the mixture comes away from the side of the food processor bowl. Drop by spoonfuls onto the vegetable mixture. Don't worry if the vegetable mixture is not completely covered by the biscuit mixture. It will rise and fill in nicely. Bake for 30 or 40 minutes and then let rest 10 before serving.





Next time you make it, make it with mushrooms and not seitan. I don't know what the hell all the fuss is about. It does not taste like meat. It tastes like rubbery, boiled wheat gluten. Not bad but not what I am craving after a day of moving rocks. The cats seemed to like it though



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