I follow Oh My Veggies on Facebook which lead me to their website where I was searched for a meatless meal to make for our Whatever! We Can Do Without Meat Wednesday. Now typically, I am not a fan of tofu; I know, weird, right? A Vegetarian who doesn’t like Tofu. It’s the texture of the stuff. And the appearance of it. And the feel of it when you take it out of the package. I am grimacing as I type this…too many vivid thoughts about Tofu. But hey, this recipe made it taste sooooo good! Once I got through all the hurdles: got it out of the package, sliced and got it marinating,  it was easy street after that! And I am pleased to say that it was VERY easy to eat! Too easy! I could easily have had seconds!

Now, of course, I was missing half the ingredients, but I never let that stop me from trying something new! I used what I had on hand: subbed in julienned carrots for red pepper, edamame for the broccoli, yellow pepper just because I had it. And  guess what? Last night when I went grocery shopping? I bought more tofu just so I could make this again!!   Are you now convinced this is good? Go on, give it a go!

3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce (or Tamari)
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic, mashed
Pepper
1 (425g) package Extra Firm Tofu, drained, pressed for 30 minutes and cut into 8 slices.

1/2 cup Quinoa
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 small Red Pepper, diced
1 small crown of Broccoli, cut into small florets
2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
1 Tablespoon Water
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
1 teaspoon Soy Sauce (Tamari)
1/2 teaspoon Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh Ginger, grated
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Splash of Sriracha, to taste
4 slices Baked Tofu (recipe above)
2 Tablespoons Roasted Peanuts, chopped
Green Onions, garnish

30 minutes to Overnight before you want to make this recipe, prepare the Tofu Marinade:
Whisk together soy sauce, maple syrup, olive oil, garlic and pepper in a large zip lock freezer bag.
Lay the tofu in the bag, seal, transfer to fridge and let marinate for 30 minutes or longer, flipping over at least once.
The tofu should soak up almost all of the marinade.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Place tofu on prepared baking tray and bake for about 40 minutes. or until edges are dark and tofu is chewy, turning over halfway through the cooking time.

While the tofu is baking, prepare the Quinoa according to package directions. (1:2 Quinoa: Water; cook for 15 to 20 minutes)
Depending on what I am making, I might use Vegetable Broth instead of Water to cook the Quinoa for extra flavour in the finished product.
While quinoa is cooking, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the red pepper and cook for a few minutes, until softened.
Transfer to a mixing bowl.
Add the broccoli to the skillet with a bit of water, cover with tight fitting lid and steam for just a couple of minutes.
Transfer broccoli to mixing bowl containing the red pepper.
In a pyrex measuring cup or a small bowl combine peanut butter, lime juice, water, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger,sriracha,  salt and pepper; whisk until smooth.
When quinoa is cooked, transfer to mixing bowl containing prepared veggies; toss everything together with the peanut sauce.
Divide quinoa into two bowls, top each with 2 slices of baked tofu, chopped peanuts and chopped green onions,

Serves 2

When living in Australia we had a garden that produced an abundance of fresh produce! Garden Vegetable Spaghetti Sauce was a perfect way to use up some of the bounty of the garden.

Ingredients:

1 Onion, diced

4 cloves of Garlic, crushed

4 stalks Celery, some leaves included, sliced

1 large Carrot, grated

1 Zuchinni, grated

1 Green Pepper, diced

1 Red Pepper, diced,

6 – 8 Mushrooms, sliced or chopped

1 (800g) can Diced Tomatoes

1 (410g) can Tomato Sauce

1 (800g) can of water

* If you happen to have heaps of Tomatoes ripe in  your garden, you can use a kilo of fresh, peeled, chopped tomatoes instead of canned ones

2 – 4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

1 Tablespoon each dried: Basil, Oregano, Parsley

1/2 teaspoon Chili Flakes

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons Brown Sugar

Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste

Directions:

If needed, add tomato paste to thicken. You may add more spices, to taste. Stir in any additions and heat through (15 minutes, while you boil your pasta)

 

 

I attended an Epicure presentation in the Summer of 2013; I bought a Starter set which included Poco Picante Salsa Mix and I have got to say, I use this stuff in a lot of things! First and foremost though, a sprinkle of this stuff in a bit of Plain Greek Yogurt is a great dip! But I digress.
I “Liked” Epicure Selections on Facebook and regularly get recipe ideas in my daily feed. The other day this Mini Meatless Mediterranean Meatloaf recipe came through my feed and since it was Meatless Monday, I thought I would give it a read. Of course I didn’t have Tzaziki Dip Mix in my pantry but it occurred to me that I had made a Mexican inspired Meatloaf in the past…

The long and short of it is that I used my Salsa mix in the recipe and was very pleased with the results. Oh, also, I didn’t have a can of lentils in the pantry…who buys lentils in a can? So I cooked up a cup of red lentils with half a chopped onion, a couple of cloves of minced garlic and a McCormick’s Vegetable Stock cube…all worked out in the end. To complete the Mexican Flare, I topped it with the above mentioned plain yogurt/Poco Picante Salsa Mix, a bit of chopped green pepper, tomato and red onion.

Now I have to admit, this would be pretty challenging to accomplish without a Food Processor; challenging, but not impossible. You would be required to mash the beans and lentils the old fashioned way- with a potato masher; the almonds would have to be ground by hand using a chef’s knife and cutting board but hey! You would have had a great arm workout at the end of it all!

Pretty delish if I do say so myself!

1 can (540 ml) Black Beans, rinsed and drained
*1 can (540ml) Lentils, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked White or Brown Rice
1/2 cup Ground Almonds
1 Tablespoon Poco Picante Salsa Mix <- when I run out, I will use Adobo Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice

1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Picante Salsa Mix
2 strips of Green Pepper, diced
2 slices of Tomato, chopped
1/16 of a Red Onion, chopped

*if using dry lentils:
1 cup Lentils, rinsed and drained
2 cups water
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 McCormick’s Vegetable Stock cube

Bring lentils, water, chopped onion, minced garlic and vegetable stock cube to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl combine plain greek yogurt, salsa mix.
Place in fridge and allow flavours to meld while preparing the meatless meatloaf.
Chop/dice green pepper, tomato and red onion; set aside.

Preheat oven to 375F.
Lightly spray an 8″x4″ Loaf Pan; set aside.
Or lightly spray 6 4″ Ramekins; set aside.

In a food processor, pulse lentils and beans until coarsely chopped.
Turn into a medium mixing bowl and stir together with rice, ground almonds, Salsa Mix (or Adobo Seasoning), olive oil and lime juice.
Turn into prepared loaf pan.
Bake until browned and crisp on top, about 30 minutes.

Top a slice of Salsa Meatloaf with a dollop of the yogurt mixture and sprinkle with chopped veggies.
Serve with a Green Salad.