Vegetarian Recipe a Day

This delicious tofu recipe will serve four people. It’s a great recipe whether your guests are vegetarian or not. Do note that due to the fact that the dish is ready for eating right after your saute the tofu, you should have the watercress ready and everything good to go before you begin cooking. We recommend serving your seared tofu with orange glaze with brown rice and toasted pecans.

Seared Tofu Ingredients

1 pound of firm tofu which you have rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake
1/2 cup of fresh orange juice (no pulp)
1 thinly sliced scallion
1/4 cup of unbleached, all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
2 medium-sized, thinly sliced garlic cloves
2 bunches of watercress with the stms removed and rinsed well
A few drops of sesame oil
Salt to desired taste
Fresh gorund pepper to taste

Directions

1. Lay the block of tofu on its side and then cut it lengthwise into 4 equal sizes. Then cut the slices diagonally to create 8 triangles. Keep the tofu together in a blog and place it on a plate. Put another plate on top of it and weight it with something heavy to press out the additional moisture. Let the tofu stand for about 15 minutes.

2. Boil your orange juice in a sauce pan over medium-high hear. Boil it until it is reduced to about two tablespoons which should take about 8 minutes. Once this is done, transfer it to a side bowl and stir in the soy sauce, sake, scallion, and 2 tablespoons of water. Set this concoction aside.

3. Grab your flour and spread it out on a plate. Press each tofu triange into the flour and make sure boath sides are coated. Then heat a large suace pan over high hear and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the tofu to the saucepan in one later and cook it until it is lighly golden, turning it over once. Divide the tofu up into 4 plates and set it aside.

4. Take your remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to the already oiled skillet and continue to heat it on high. Add the garlic and stir then add in the orange juice. Cook this for about 30 seconds and then pour the glaze over the tofu triangles.

5. Add the watercress to the skillet and stir fry it over high heat until they wilt. Remove them from the head, stir in some sesame seeds and sesame oil, then add salt and pper to taste. Put the watercress on top of the tofu and serve hot.

Seared Tofu Nutritial Information

The seared tofu sports the following per serving:
184 calories
8 grams of protein
10 grams of fat
14 grams of carbs
0 grams of cholestorol
570 grams of sodium
2 grams of fiber.

Enjoy your seared tofu recipe, we know we did!

A wonderful vegetarian appetizer you can serve your family or guests is mock meatballs. If you’re unsure of what type of meat substitute to use, try bulgur. Bulgur is a crushed wheat of Middle Eastern origin and makes and excellent meat substitute. The recipe below makes 24 meatballs which should serve about 8 people.

Vegetarian Meatballs Ingredients

2 cups of uncooked bulgur, well rinsed.
1 beaten, large egg.
1 tablespoon of minced onion.
Dried oregano (to taste).
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste).
1 cup of tomato juice.
3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Directions

1. Mix your bulgur, egg, and onion together in a bowl. Then season it with the oregano and pepper. Then form the meatballs into walnut-size balls.

2. Grab a large skillet, coat it wil love oil, then place it over a medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook them until they’re well browned. Next, add in your tomato juice, cover the skillet, and cook it for about 5 minutes. Add extra juice if the skillet starts to become dry. The bulgur should be softened to a meatball consistency when they’re ready. Serve your delicious meatballs as desired (A serving dish and toothpicks work great).

Vegetarian Meatball Nutritional Information

Per meatball:
60 calories
2 grams of protein
1 gram of fat
11 grams of carbs
9 milligrams of cholestorol
4 milligrams of sodium
1 gram of fiber

This recipe for vegetarian pizza can be made vegan by leaving off the cheese. If you love cheese but like to go without dairy, you may check some grocery stores and most specialty stores for a product called “VeganRella.” If you decide not to use cheese on your pizza, be sure to sautee the vegetables in olive oil first. However, remember that pizza is not low fat so use plenty of olive oil. This vegetarian pizza recipe takes about 25 minutes to prepare.

Vegetarian Pizza Ingredients

• fresh made pizza dough, dough from a mix, or store-bought crust
• 1 can or jar of tomato sauce, enough to cover the dough (about 2 cups)
• dried or fresh Italian spices ( this is optional)
• chopped vegetables and other toppings to taste:
  • onion, green pepper, red pepper
  • mushrooms, olives
  • zucchini, dried tomatoes, cooked beans or lentils
  • broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, kale, spinach
  • minced fresh garlic, dried crushed red pepper
  • tofu, vegetarian “sausage,” vegetarian “Canadian bacon”
  • etc. Whatever you can dream up! Get creative!
• grated VeganRella (optional)

Directions

Toss some corn meal into a pizza pan, pie plate, or casserole dish, and press the dough into the pan. Cover the dough thinly with red sauce and add Italian spices (optional). Add vegetables and other toppings (the more, the merrier). Top with VeganRella (or with mozzarella, cheddar, colby, and/or Monterey Jack cheese for a non-vegan pizza). Bake about 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. If you used cheese, the cheese should be fully melted by the time you’re dne.

Serve the pizza hot or eat it cold for breakfast like me. I also like to top mine with broccoli sprouts for a little added texture and health benefit. Enjoy your vegetarian pizza and be sure to let us know how it turns out!

This is a delicious Thai tofu curry recipe I found a few weeks ago. Preparation and cook time is about 45 minutes. But if you like tofu curry, then take the time to cook this delicious recipe as you won’t be sorry.

Tofu Curry Ingredients

• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Thai bird or serrano chile, seeded and minced
• 1 t fresh galangal or ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 t lemongrass, minced
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 t light brown sugar
• ½ t cardamom
• ½ t coriander
• ¼ t turmeric
• 1/8 t cumin
• 1/8 t cinnamon
• 2 T peanut oil
• ½ c water
• medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 large potatoes, peeled (optional) and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1½ c vegetable stock or water
• 1 pound extra-firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 c pineapple chunks
• 1 c unsweetened coconut milk

Directions

The easiest way to prepare this tofu curry recipe is with a food processor. If you don’t have one, you can still obviously make this, but you’re on your own. So dust off that food processor and then combine the shallots, garlic, chile, galagal, lemongrass, tamari, and sugar and whip that sucker around until it’s nice and smooth. Next, blend in the turmeric, cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, and 1 T of oil until a nice paste forms. Pour in the water and set aside your paste for a few minutes.

Grab a good size sauce pan and what’s left of your oil and heat it on medium. Add your onion, cover it up, and sauté for about five minutes until the onioan is soft, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes and spice paste and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add your stock, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked, which should take about 20-30 minutes.

Finally, stir in remaining ingredients and cook until hot, about 5 minutes. Serve hot, over the rice of your choice. Enjoy your curry tofu and as always, be sure to let us know what you think!

Tofu Shirataki (pronounced SHE-RAH-TAH-KEE) is an extremely healthy Japanese food made from Konnyaku root (think yams). It is used in everything from sauces, to stir fries, salads, desserts, and everything in between. Tofu Shirataki is an excellent replacement for pasta as it is low in carbohydrates and has no cholesterol. Please keep in mind that it should never be frozen.

What vegetarian doesn’t love tofu?  If you don’t like tofu, my guess is you have a hard time being a good veggie!  This is one of my favorite tofu stir fry recipes.  It takes about 45 minutes to prepare but is well worth it.

Tofu Stir Fry Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, finely chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) package tofu, drained and cut into cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 cups fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 1 cup baby corn, drained and cut into pieces
• 1 small head bok choy, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups bean sprouts
• 1 cup bamboo shoots, drained and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 medium green onions, thinly sliced diagonally

Directions

1. Grab yourself a nice, large skillet, you know, one of those that makes a great weapon. Heat your oil over medium-high heat until it’s nice and hot (don’t lick it at this point). Stir in your tasty onions and cook for one minute. Stir in garlic and ginger, and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in tofu (it wouldn’t be a very good tofu stir fry without it, huh?), and cook until golden brown.  Are you getting hungry yet?
   
2. Stir in carrots, bell pepper and baby corn, and keep cooking those bad boys for about for 2 minutes. Stir in bok choy, mushrooms, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and crushed red pepper, and heat through. Remove everything from the heat and remember not to place a towel on the burner like I once did…
3. Rummage though that crowded pan cabinet until you find a small saucepan.  Once you do, combine water, rice wine vinegar, honey, and soy sauce, and bring to a simmer. Cook for about two minutes, then stir in the cornstarch and water mixture. Simmer that goo until the sauce thickens. Pour the sauce over vegetables and tofu and garnish everything with scallions.

That’s it, you now have one tasty tofu stir fry.  Be sure to let us know how yours turns out.  And don’t be afraid to experiment.  Everyone has different tastes and desires, play with the recipe until you get it how you like it.