Creamy Curry with Tofu

If you read my last post, you know that my pal, Nicole (of Nicole Eats) is completely kickass and my recent cooking inspiration. She has been on a mission lately to help me find a recipe for tofu that will make me actually LIKE tofu. Okay, okay, I am a sucker for a really good scramble. But, I mean tofu as a dish. So, while we were chatting last night I saw a recipe for curried tofu somewhere. It stuck in my brain, so I decided that I needed to make some tofu today...and make it curried. This is not the recipe I found online...or anywhere. This came from my head, and I'm pretty stoked about that. So, I (of course) texted Nicole today to ask if it would work or be any good. I got her approval, and heated up my cast iron skillet.

Making tofu is all fine and good, but what else was this chickpea to make for dinner? Well, I do have a killer rice cooker, so I started some rice. What else? Well, I dug around in the pantry and fridge and scrounged up some awesome. I made a mellow, creamy curry to go with the tofu (which was fucking awesome, by the way), and chowed down.

For the tofu: 

• 1/4 block of pressed tofu, cut into small cubes (or whatever size gets your motor going)
• 1 TB cornstarch
• 1 TB of your favorite curry powder (I've been gifted some Shan brand and it is AWESOME)
• pinch salt
• 1TB oil for pan-frying

1.  Heat the oil in a skillet until shimmering. I had mine over a medium-high heat.
2. Throw the cornstarch, curry powder, and salt into a bowl and mix well with a fork. 
3. Toss in the tofu and shake it around until all the sides of the tofu are covered in starch and spice.

4. Now, carefully pour the tofu into the skillet and make into a single layer if possible. Stir every few minutes, until the sides are a bit crispy and cooked to your liking. 

For the Curry:

• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small dice
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1/4 of a large red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, tiny dice
• 1TB or more of your fave curry powder
• 1/2 can chickpeas
• 1/2 can of LITE coconut milk
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 TB cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water until the starch is dissolved

1. In a skillet with a lid, heat the broth with the curry powder and coriander mixed in. I turned my burner to Med-High for this. 
2. Once it's hot, add in the cauliflower, carrot, onion, tomato and garlic. Cook, covered, stirring every few minutes, until the veg is a bit crisp. I think mine took 8 minutes. 
3. Add in the chickpeas, coconut milk, and cornstarch slurry. Keep the lid off, and stir often so the coconut milk doesn't burn to the skillet. Cook until the sauce has thickened to your preference. Mine took about 6 minutes.

Almost there. Just another minute or 2.

So, there you have it. I officially like ONE tofu. And, I am getting back into my kitchen. Thank you, Nicole! You're my foodie BFF. xoxo meg

Curried Lentil Soup - OMFG!

One of my super-close foodie-vegan-blogger friends, Nicole, posted this recipe recently and I knew with 100% certainty that I had to make it. I knew it was going to blow my mind. I was completely right. This soup is fucking amazing. The recipe is perfect in every single way. The only problem I encountered was that I didn't have any celery because I almost never have it around the house. But, it was still so incredibly wonderful that it just doesn't even matter. Make this shit, dudes. You won't regret it.

Nicole's Curried Lentil Soup

What you need:

• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 quart vegetable broth or water
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 peeled carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced (which I didn't have, but the soup was mind-blowing anyway)
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 4 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp dried chili powder (optional, but I seriously recommend it)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Sautee onion, carrots, celery and garlic in oil for 2 minutes. It should look like this:

2. Add parsley, basil and curry powder and sautee for an additional 2 minutes
   — add chili powder here if you’re using it. Like this:

3. Add broth, salt, lentils and tomatoes and bring to a boil, like so:


4. Reduce to low and simmer until lentils are cooked, about 40 minutes— you may need to add a little extra water/broth (I added about 1 1/4 cups water later in the cooking). Here's what mine looked like when it had cooked down to perfection:

5. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and a dollop of vegan sour cream and enjoy! (I only used cilantro, and it was incredibly tasty). Check it out:

Here's a random delicious photo:

This soup makes carrots happy!

You definitely should check out Nicole's rocking blog and make some of her fantastic food. She's my foodie crush.

Review: Cinnamon Bakery (They Rule)

GUYS! I've been a ridiculously busy librarian and I've slacked on blogging lately. For that, I apologize. I've been setting up all sorts of programs for my library and attending conferences and stuff like that, so food has been on the back burner.

So, with that said, I'd like to introduce you to Cinnamon! Cinnamon is a vegan, gluten-free, allergen-free bakery based out of Portland, Oregon. My friend, Geanna, has rocked out a starter business and it is booming! Her donuts are sold around Portland, at places like Food Fight (the vegan grocery store in PDX), and she even has a Treat of the Month club. Seriously, you need to check out the site.

I asked Geanna to send me some goodies to review here, and she did. And they ROCKED!!!

Here's what she sent me (and, being the nice librarian I am, I shared with my husband):

Starting at the top left and moving clockwise:

• Cinnamon Sugar Donut
• Chocolate Donut with Chocolate Sauce
• PUMPKIN SPICED MINI DONUT!!!
• Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

DUDES! They were awesome. All of them. I was sad when they were gone, which took only moments for us to scarf them all down. I seriously can't even pick a favorite. My husband, on the other hand, said that the cookies were hands-down, his favorite.

The donuts were perfection. They were sweet, without being overly sweet. They were chewy and delicious. The pumpkin mini donut was perfectly seasoned. The cookies were absolutely fabulous. They had a classic flavor that brought back memories of my childhood. I loved all of it!!

Come visit Geanna at Cinnamon and check out the goodies. You won't be disappointed. 
Here's how you can contact her:
Phone: 971-258-2995
Email: geanna@cinnamonpdx.com
Twitter: @cinnamonpdx

Veggie Curry Potpie - VeganMoFo #15

Potpie with curry-spiced sauce? Yes, please. I won't share the recipe here as I've posted one version of it in the past. Here it is: POTPIE. Instead of making my own crust, I used a sheet of puff pastry (check your labels, some are VEGAN). I use the basis of the original potpie recipe and I changed it up.

Changes:

• topped with puff pastry
• insides: potatoes, carrots, onions, parsnips, chickpeas, peas
• spices: curry, coriander, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper
• added a little extra almond milk and broth
• bake at 400 degrees F for about 40-45 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the puff pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes before eating.

Here's the progression of dinner:

Beets - VeganMoFo #14

I cannot even express to you how many pickled beets I ate today. Let me just say that I think I may have a permanently stained tongue and a forever-fuschia tongue. This sweet little lady at the farmer's market had quart-sized jars of homemade pickled beets and I couldn't resist. I bought one jar. Once I got home, I couldn't stop eating them, so I went back for another jar. Alas, she was already gone for the day. I guess I'll have to try to find her next week. I need my fix. I'm getting the shakes.

On a separate note, what happens when you eat too many beets? Am I going to poo red? Should I be worried?