Tofu Sandwich and Sweet Potato Fries!

      This recipe is great for when you are craving a bistro-type meal.  My mom would make a version of this sandwich for us a lot  when I lived at home (most all of my recipes are inspired by her in some way) and we stole the recipe, or really the "How To" to make the Sriracha Mayo Sauce from a restaurant we dined at in Milwaukee. What is on the plate in the pictures is a tofu sandwich and sweet potato fries with a Sriracha mayo Sauce. For this one, you will need:

• French Bread
• Trader Joe's Teriyaki Tofu
• Lettuce
• Balsamic Glaze
• Mayo
• Pesto
• Sriracha Hot Sauce
• Frozen Bag of Sweet Potato Fries

     First, heat the oven to 425 degrees F, put the sweet potato french fries on a pan on tin foil.  Follow the directions for the fries on the bag, or wait until they start to sizzle and darken.  

     For the sandwich, heat up a sauté pan, cut the tofu in strips and lay them in the pan.  Let them cook for about 3 minutes on each side (I used the leftover tofu from my salad).  Toast the bread, add mayo, pesto, lettuce, and the tofu.  Top with the balsamic glaze.

     For the Sriracha Mayo sauce, put about 2 Tbsp. in a small bowl and add in a squirt of the Sriracha sauce, stir well.  Taste and add Sriracha sauce as desired.  

     Put it all on a plate and you are ready to enjoy the sandwich quality of bistro in the comfort of your home.  I hope you enjoy this recipe! Be sure to leave comments or questions in the comment section and be sure to follow me using the button in the top right corner! :)

My Favorite Tofu Salad :)

     School has gotten busy for me.  It is right before spring break and all my classes are holding midterms or having projects due; so, for most of my meals I have been sticking to a simple salad that is really quick to make, super healthy, and always delicious.  As I was eating it one day, I figured why not post it here so others can enjoy the unique, fresh taste of it?  No one has exactly the same tastes, which is what makes salad so great.  Salads are easily customizable, adding or dropping something is simple and common; in fact, when I make if for my family, we all have a few main components, but not a single dish looks exactly the same.  I hope you enjoy this salad and I will be sure to post more like this soon.  What you will need is:

• Lettuce
• Tofu (Trader Joe's Teriyaki Tofu)
• 2 Large Mushrooms (Baby Portobellos are my favorite) 
• 4 Large Sun-dried Tomatoes
• 1/4 Avocado
• Cheese (Parmesan is what I use but others love feta on this salad)
• Dressing-I love vinaigrettes, the one used here is a raspberry vinaigrette, but I normally use a balsamic vinaigrette. 

      To start out, I like to firm up the tofu by cooking it for a few minutes in a sauté pan. Heat the pan on medium heat, cut the tofu into semi-thick strips and lay them in the hot pan.  Let them cook about 2-3 min, just till they start getting a little brown, flip them over and wait for the other side to brown.  Take them off the heat and let them cool a moment while you wash and cut up the rest of the ingredients. Cut up the tofu pieces a little bit smaller and put them on top of the salad with everything else. Top with the cheese and dressing of your choice and you are ready to eat.  

I hope you like this refreshing taste of summer.  Be sure to leave any questions or thoughts in the comments, and follow me using the button near the top right corner! 

Taco Salad :)

      This recipe is super fast, easy and is a wonderful, fresh dish for the coming warm weather.  What you will need is:

• A box of Fantastic Vegetarian Sloppy Joe (or other brand)
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Head Lettuce
• 1/4 Avocado 
• Salsa
• Sour Cream

     First, start making the vegetarian sloppy joe mix, which calls for you to boil 1 3/4 cup water, add in the sloppy joe mix with olive oil and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Then wash and cut the lettuce.  Top the salad with avocado, sloppy joe mix, salsa, and a dollop of sour cream on top.  

Hope you liked this recipe! Be sure to follow my blog to get more fun recipes for the spring! :)

Ted Talk

        This post is a little different from my normal ones.  I wanted to share a TedTalk video about health in America.  Jamie Oliver is one of my inspirations and this view of wanting to help, and wanting to teach people how to cook is the reason I started this blog.  It is so clear that change needs to happen if we want to get back on track and become a healthy America and his ideas of change the home, schools, work place, and fast food companies can help us accomplish this task.  I hope you enjoy the video and let me know what you think! Leave comments in the comment section and we can start to fix this problem together.

Here is the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go_QOzc79Uc

Enjoy! :)

Veggie Stir Fry

      I love making a good stir-fry because there is almost no one it cannot please.  My friends, a mix of vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters alike, came to enjoy the meal and not a single one left unsatisfied. Though meat can be added, I made it completely vegan friendly, and incorporated many different vegetables.  It is one of the more time consuming dishes I have posted, but not by much. What you will need is:

• Package of Wild Rice
• 4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• 4-5 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 3-4 Tsp. Sesame Oil
• 3 Peppers (orange, red, and yellow)
• 1 Bunch of Broccoli 
• 1 Package Trader Joe's Teriyaki Tofu
• 1 Eggplant
• 4-6 Carrots
• 1 Package Mushrooms (Shiitake or Portobello)

      First, about 20 minutes before you begin cooking, start up the rice.  It is 1 part rice to 4 parts water.   Bring it to a boil and then turn down the heat and let it simmer.  Wash all the produce and begin chopping.  Once everything is chopped up, heat up a large sauté pan, or wok if possible on medium heat.  Add in olive oil and crushed garlic and let cook until it begins to smell and turn slightly brown, add in carrots. Let the carrots cook for 2-3 minutes, then add in peppers, eggplant and broccoli.  Add in the soy sauce and sesame oil, stir and let cook for about 4 minutes.  Add in the Tofu and mushrooms.  Let cook for 4-5 more minutes.  Plate the rice and add the vegetables on top and it is ready to be eaten.

      The great thing about this dish is it is really easy to customize it.  You can add or take out any vegetable without disrupting the flavor of the dish.  The only thing you should keep in mind is how tough the vegetables are that you are adding.  Because carrots were the toughest vegetable, I put them in first so they could cook longer without overcooking the softer vegetables.  If you ass something like sprouts, be sure to add them last, but if you add something like sugar snap peas, put them in sometime in the beginning.  

      I hoped you liked this fun, colorful recipe! Be sure to follow my blog to get more exciting recipes, and feel free to leave questions or comments for me in the comment section.  :)

Eggplant and Mushroom Pasta-College Student Edition

     This recipe is a quick way to spice up an old favorite.  All you need is:

• 1 Eggplant
• 4-8 Large Mushrooms
• 4-6 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Box of Whole Wheat Pasta
• Jar of Tomato Sauce
• Parmesan Cheese 

     This meal takes some multi-tasking, though it is still a very simple recipe.  Start with a large pot of water on high heat and add a pinch of salt.  Then put the sauce in a small sauce pan and place in on low heat (I like to but it on one of the back burners because I use the front two for the pasta and to sauté the vegetables).  Put a sauté pan on medium/high heat. Then, wash and cut the produce, placing them in the sauté pan with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Add in the pasta when the water reaches a rolling boil.  When the pasta has finished cooking (this time ranges depending on what type of pasta you use), strain, saving about a tablespoon or two of water in the pasta.  Add in the sauteed vegetables, sauce, add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese to the top, perhaps some fresh basil too, and you are ready to serve. 

Hope you enjoy that very simple meal, feel free to ask any questions in the comment box, and be sure to follow my blog for more great recipes.  :)

Brussels Sprouts!

    I have learned that most any ingredient can taste good if you prepare it correctly and this is how I became a huge fan of brussels sprouts.  It is a super easy side dish to most any meals and requires very little cooking time.  All you need is:

• 1 bunch Brussels Sprouts
• 2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Optional:

• 1 Cup Carrots
• Shallots
• Spices

     Wash the sprouts and cut off the nubs at the bottom then cut them in half.  Heat a sauté pan on medium heat with the olive oil (and shallots, if using them).  Put the brussels sprouts in cut face down, add salt and pepper to taste (and spices) and let sit till they really start to get dark, about 4-5 minutes. (If adding carrots, put them in at the same time as the sprouts because they have similar cooking times).  Mix them and allowing other sides to brown and the salt and pepper to spread, let cook for about 2-3 more minutes and then plate and serve.  

Hope you enjoy this easy side dish and feel free to leave questions or other helpful tips in the comments section! :)

Stacked Eggplant -Gluten Free-

          This recipe was inspired by my parents and lack of food in the fridge.  This is a version of a gluten free, lasagna-like dish that my parents would make though, their version normally has added vegetables such as various zucchinis and tomatoes, and also uses ricotta cheese rather than fresh mozzarella.  But, as a college student, this is what I had in my fridge:

• 1 Eggplant
• Fresh Mozzarella 
• Canned Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Balsamic Glaze
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

          I first washed the eggplant and sliced it so they were circular pieces.  I heated up a sauté pan with olive oil--enough to coat the bottom of the pan--a pinch of salt, and a dash of pepper (This can also be done by using a glass dish and put in the oven at 350 degrees F if you are making for multiple people and need more eggplant cooked at once, or grilling them is my favorite but it is currently snowing outside so that is out of the question).  I placed the eggplant in (4 slices) and went to thinly slice the fresh mozzarella cheese.

         After a few minutes (3-4) I flipped the eggplant and then went to heat up the sauce.  You can heat up a the sauce over the stove in a pot on low heat, stirring occasionally, this is to prevent air pockets from forming and explosions of sauce when they reach the surface.  Because I was only making one serving so I put some in a microwavable bowl and heated it that way.  (If you are making the dish for multiple people, you might want to do this step at at the same time as heating up the sauté pan in order to ensure the sauce be warm enough when the eggplant is finished).

         I then took out a plate, and placed one of the eggplant slices on it, laid some fresh mozzarella on it, then another slice of fresh mozzarella, and so on until I used the 4 slices.  I then drizzled some balsamic glaze over the top, topped it with the hot sauce and some grated parmesan cheese.  The heat of the eggplant and sauce should melt the cheese, but if it doesn't, you can always throw the dish in the microwave for a minute or two. I didn't, but it would go great topped with some fresh basil.

         I hope you enjoyed this recipe, it is super quick and very delicious!  A healthy tip: the less cheese you use, the less saturated fat you end up consuming, so thinly slicing is key. If you have any questions or suggestions, please, leave a note in the comments, I want to hear from you!   :)