Lo Mein--Vegan Style

I love all manner of Asian food. I'm partial to Philippine dishes, though Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai all win my approval. Sometimes I just crave those flavors and when that happens, I break out my big wok and start stirring up just about every vegetable hanging out in my refrigerator. When those vegetables aren't sufficient for my cravings, I dig into my pantry till I uncover bamboo shoots or water chestnuts. With everything assembled, it all goes into the wok and in no time at all, the whole house is filled with a tantalizing Oriental perfume.

Growing up in 1940s rural Minnesota, Asian food was unheard of. We were mostly a land of Swedes, Norwegians, and a scattering of Germans. Our fare consisted of meat and potatoes and heavy desserts at supper, steak and eggs at breakfast, and being in farm country, the mid-day meal consisted of a table loaded with several meats, vegetables, and gravies and bread--spread thick with real butter.

I never heard of Asian food till I moved to California as a teenager. That's when I discovered Chinese food and ate it like it wouldn't be around tomorrow. But it wasn't until my husband's Parkinson's disease progressed to the point of having a live-in nurse, that I ventured into Asian cuisine, and then it was only because our Filipina nurse cooked up a storm, filling our home with scents so enticing both my husband and I couldn't wait until the next meal.

She loved to cook. And we loved to eat. And it wasn't only her own cuisine she fed us, it was that of nearly every country around her own island home. I was hooked. I still am. And while the recipe I'm sharing isn't new by any means, I hope you will try this vegan version and let me know what you think.

VEGGIE LO MEIN

6-8 oz. soba or udon noodles, cooked according to package directions

5 green onions, both the white and light green parts

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tbs. fresh ginger, grated

1 big pinch of red pepper flakes

1 cup sliced mushrooms, any variety

1 handful of snow peas

1 can bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed

2 yellow crookneck squash, sliced into strips

3 carrots, sliced into strips

1/2 cup No Chicken broth (use vegetable broth if desired)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

Pepper to taste

Once the wok is hot, add the No Chicken broth and stir fry the vegetables till they are crunchy tender. If more stock is needed to keep the vegetables from burning, add it a Tbs. at a time. 

Once the vegetables are to your liking, add the cooked soba noodles to the wok. Stir everything together and then pour the Lo Mein sauce over the top and fry a few minutes longer, stirring constantly so everything melds. Just  before serving, sprinkle the dish with the minced dark green parts of the onions.

Serves 4

LO MEIN SAUCE

In a small saucepan put:

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. rice vinegar (I used unseasoned)

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. agave nectar

1/2 tsp. Asian hot sauce (I used sirracha)

1/2 tsp. vegetable oil (makes the sauce stick to the ingredients)

Cook over low heat for a few minutes, till everything is blended. Pour over the Lo Mein and stir everything together.

Vegans savor foods from every nation,
always tempting their palettes with
new flavors.

Busy Day Stir Fry As Good As Take-Out

Every Christmas I ask myself the same question: If Santa has elves to help him get ready for the big day, why can't I? I never receive an answer, so this year I took myself seriously and began hunting for elves for rent.

I looked in the yellow pages, the want ads, Googled elves for rent, put an ad on Twitter and posted my desires on Facebook. Not a single elf to be found. I suppose Santa has them all tied up this time of year. Personally, I think that's being selfish. But then again, the elves are likely thrilled. Seems they are the only ones who never have to deal with being unemployed.

My wishes were few: elves to make the presents or shop for the presents; wrap the presents; write the Christmas cards and get them in the mail; fill the candy dishes with goodies; put up the tree and decorate it; then make the cookies for Santa and make sure they were on the table Christmas Eve, along with a glass of milk. After all, sliding down chimneys has to be hard work.

After reaching the conclusion that no elves were available, I picked myself up and decided to do things myself. Just like always. I'm busy, busy. Just like all of you. That's why I dug out a favorite vegan cookbook and stirred up a favorite recipe. I like Robin Robertson's "Vegan On The Cheap", not only for its tasty offerings, but because everything in it is economical to make.

Since I love Chinese food, and Robin's recipe for stir fry that's as good or better than take-out is not only a favorite dish, but quick to make, I thought you might like to give it a try during this busy season. I made a few adjustments, as I always seem to do. You know me by now. I always have to change something for my own palette. You can do the same. Oh, and by the way, if you hear of any elves for rent in your neighborhood, send me a note so I know where to find them next year.

BETTER THAN TAKE-OUT STIR-FRY

3 cups broccoli florets, cut small

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

1 pound extra firm tofu, drained and pressed

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. cornstarch

4 green onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 cup vegetable stock

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbs. brown sugar

2 Tbs. rice vinegar

2 Tbs. dry sherry (I left out since I didn't have it on hand)

1 Tbs. ketchup

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp. Asian chili paste

2 Tbs. water

Freshly cooked rice

I used my big wok since it makes stir-frying a cinch.

The recipe calls for steaming the broccoli and carrots until tender, but I don't care for steamed veggies, so I stir fried them and placed them aside till later in the recipe.

Cut the tofu into small dice and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of the corn starch over the tofu and toss to coat.

In the wok, place a thin layer of vegetable oil and set the heat to medium. Add the tofu and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove the tofu from the wok and set aside.

Heat another tablespoon of vegetable oil in the wok set over medium heat. Add the green onions, garlic, ginger, and cook till soft. Stir in the stock, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sherry, ketchup, sesame oil, and chili paste. 

Combine the remaining 1 Tbs. of corn starch with 2 Tbs. of water and pour into the wok, stirring to thicken. Add the tofu and cooked vegetables back into the pan and cook long enough to heat everything through. Serve over hot rice.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do. Even the non-vegans I've served it to always go back for more.

Serves 4

These are the non-vegans who ate my stir fry. Don't they look happy?

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Off To Morocco--Vegan Style

While I've never set foot in Morocco, I've always enjoyed photos of the area, what with the colorful street vendors crammed against the dun-hued architecture. It seems a study in beauty set against the starkness of a desert landscape. And even though I have visited the country only in my imagination, the foods of Morocco have been reality on my taste-buds.

It isn't that the dishes are so unusual, for many of the ingredients are familiar to us. The secret to their tongue-tantalizing recipes are the spices used in every dish. The interesting thing is, these are spices we are familiar with. Yet the Moroccans blend them together in a way I would never have thought of and maybe you wouldn't have either. Give this recipe a try and see if you don't become a Moroccan vegan. Who ever would have thought such a thing existed?

I let my bean mixture get too dry. Don't make
the same mistake. Your bean mixture should look
brothy but not like a soup.

Moroccan Medley

Into a saucepan put:

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

10 oz. of couscous
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. turmeric

Bring vegetable stock and spices to a boil. Stir in the couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Set aside till later.

In a big skillet put:

1 Tbs. oil
1 big onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. minced jalapeno or more if you like lots of heat
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
Cook till the vegetables are soft.

Add:

1  14 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained
1  15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup of chopped dates or figs
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. paprika, not the smoked kind.
pepper to taste

Cook over medium heat until the spices marry. Turn heat to low and simmer about 1/2 hour. If the mixture gets too dry, add some vegetable stock. The resulting product should be a bit on the saucy side rather than dry, but it should not look like soup.

Fluff the couscous with a fork till it is light and fluffy. Center big scoops of the couscous on a dinner place. Pour a good portion of the bean mixture on top.

Sprinkle the dish with chopped cilantro and pine nuts (optional)
Drizzle with a bit of good olive oil

Serves 2 hungry people or 3 not so hungry ones.

Serve this dish with naan bread or any other flatbread that you like.

There will be couscous leftover. I made extra so I could make another Moroccan dish. I'll post it next week.

Happy Eating....

And on the Seventh Day...

Not only did I rest but, I got nothing much at all accomplished.Today was my day to  do cement work on the cabin foundation, go to the farmer's market at the Botanical Gardens, make Sandy's dill pickles and then go swimming at Devil's Den State Park. Instead, I got up and had coffee, went back to bed, got up and  had lunch and then took a nap. If I stay awake until nine tonight, I will be surprised.The temperature is once again in the hundred degree range and the last thing I want to do is cook. But surprisingly, all this heavy duty laying around has made me hungry.

I am lucky to have an extensive cookbook collection. To me browsing through cookbooks is every bit as fun as cooking. And if you love to cook, most likely you have a few old standbys. This is one of my favorites for when I want something healthy and delicious but don't want to spend a lot of the time in the kitchen. I adapted it from a pork lo mein recipe from Better Homes and Gardens' Fresh and Simple 20 Minute Suppers. Being vegetarian I obviously had to nix the pork and I spiced it up a bit with minced fresh garlic and ginger. I did not have lo mein noodles in the pantry so I substituted spaghetti which worked very nicely. It is substantial and tasty but not too heavy for a hot summer night!

Shanghai Tofu Lo Mein

Two dinner servings and ready in less than 20 minutes

8 ounces spaghetti or lo mein cooked until al dente. Rinse in cold water, drain and set aside
8 ounces extra firm tofu, pressed,drained and cubed. Saute in olive oil over high heat until browned. Set aside
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ginger root, peeled and minced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups bok choy, sliced
3/4 cup No Chicken Broth
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 11 ounce can mandarin orange segments, drained

In a  large skillet or wok over high heat, saute the bok choy in the olive oil until crisp tender, about three minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for a minute or so until fragrant. Add the tofu and cook for a minute until heated through. Add the broth,orange juice, soy sauce, sesame oil and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Stir in the cooked spaghetti and heat for a minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in the orange sections and grab your chopsticks. Yum!