Smokin' BBQ Tofu

my rating for this recipe: ★★★★★+  


i absolutely love this recipe...this is one we have tried before, and is my favorite thing we make.  it is so easy, especially the way i've been doing it; I DO NOT USE THE RECIPE FOR BBQ SAUCE BELOW...i use kraft original bbq sauce, which is listed by kraft foods as a vegan product.  it's easier and faster...b/c the only down-side to this dish is that compared to the skill level, it's a bit time consuming.  not terrible though...and more than worth it.  this is the dish that changed my mind about tofu, as you can read in my "give peas a chance..." blog.  i think ANYONE would enjoy this delicious dish!  here is the recipe, along with the recipe for bbq sauce in the cookbook which i have yet to try, but next time i make this dish i plan on attempting it w this sauce...if you beat me to it, please let me know how it is!


ingredients:
1 package extra firm tofu, cut into ½-inch-thick cutlets
1 cup bbq sauce (i don't measure it out, i use as much as needed to coat tofu cutlets)


BBQ sauce ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil or water, for sauteing
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup ketchup
2 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce (i found this at whole foods)
½ cup water
½ tsp tabasco sauce


directions for BBQ sauce:
heat oil in saute pan and saute onion until translucent, about 5 mins.  add remaining ingredients, stir, and simmer over low heat for 10 mins.


directions for tofu:
preheat oven to 350∘ and lightly oil baking dish (i don't oil baking dish, as i find the bbq sauce does the job)

in a skillet coated with oil, saute tofu until golden brown on both sides.
once tofu is crispy, place in baking dish.  spoon bbq sauce over tofu (i coat using a basting brush by oxo which is a great utensil), cover dish, and bake for 30 mins, checking occasionally to make sure sauce has not evaporated (if you use a enough sauce and cover w foil, you don't have to worry about evaporation).


yields 4 servings


recipe source: the vegan table


i love this cookbook b/c it lists the nutrition information which for this dish is, per serving: 241 calories; 12g fat; 10g protein; 28g carbohydrate; 3g dietary fiber; 0mg cholesterol; 815mg sodium.

ok ok, we get it - YOU'RE VEGAN!!!

being vegan is a huge part of my life, so naturally i talk about it.  i'm sure i talk about it often, and i get the sense that some people feel i talk about it more than they would like to hear.  i'm not doing it to be annoying, just as i didn't go vegan simply to annoy everyone around me.  sure, when i'm eating anywhere but home i feel like i'm an inconvenience to waiters, cashiers, friends and family members in their homes...as well as anyone else who happens to be dining out with me b/c i ask a lot of questions, and my order is usually a long one with many specifics.  but i think it's the talking about being vegan when i'm NOT eating that bothers some people the most.  and it bothers me that they are bothered.


so why do some people seem to be bothered when i mention that i'm vegan?  is it really because i talk about it too much?  it's not like it is something i deal with just a few times a month...it's a lifestyle and it's something that is part of my every-day, several-times-a-day life. if i talk about it a lot, it's not because i'm intentionally trying to bother people, nor is it because i think i'm better than them, and it's certainly not because i think i'm going to convince them to change their own lifestyle.  i talk about it because at any given point during my day, i'm within 2½ hours of food consumption, and if i'm doing it anywhere but my own home, it's usually a problem for me.  but that's not the only reason.


i REALLY love food.  i always have.  i get this from my dad; he is the biggest foodie i know.  he talks about food all day long, loves to enjoy flavors, gives food as gifts...heck, he finishes one meal and when everyone else is too full to think about ever eating again, he's already discussing tomorrow night's dinner.  he just loves to taste and eat things.  and actually, before we started utilizing our cookbooks so much, i was a little sad because i wasn't enjoying food as much as a vegan, as i had before.  but lucky for me, with our new recipes we've been trying i've been having SO many more of those "OMG, mmmmMMMMM!" moments, which makes me even happier.  loving food so much again makes me want to talk about my veganism even more.  and of course when i tell someone i ate pancakes this morning, i use the V word...not to shove it down anyone's throat, but b/c i have gotten the "but pancakes aren't vegan!!!!" comment (not necessarily about pancakes, but about other veganized foods i've eaten) so often, forcing me into further explanation that it's just easier to tell people upfront that yes, i used a recipe which excluded all animal product.  of course then people think i used something processed and they think i'm eating "chemicals"...so then i still have to defend my food and list every ingredient i used to cook my vegan meal, and by the end of the conversation i've had to explain my food to death and the person i'm explaining to probably walks away thinking even more than they had before, "we get it - YOU'RE VEGAN!"


i also happen to talk a lot in general, which is another reason my veggie head ways comes up so much...the talking a lot i get from both parents, and it can be a blessing but more often it's a curse.  i find myself getting so excited when i'm talking to certain people, that i start interrupting.  it's been getting worse, and is something i've been trying to work on.  i don't do it b/c i think what i have to say is more important than what they are saying; i do it when i really like and enjoy talking with the person...it's like i'm too excited to share every thought in my head, and i interrupt and talk over which is SO very rude.  it's something about myself i am trying to fix.  but i do believe this is just another reason that i talk about the veg thing so much...b/c i'm just a big blabber face (as you can see in this very blog).


but the people who know me should already know that i talk too much, that i love food, etc.  so why do i still get the feeling it annoys some of them when i talk about my being vegan?  is it because i eat differently than they do?  let's consider this for a moment, and look at the elements of typical conversation between friends and families.  we talk about things like our careers, parenting styles, enjoyment of movies and television shows, etc.  i have a very different job than most people, but i can talk about that without annoying anyone.  i don't have children of my own, but i don't get offended or annoyed when people talk about their children (i guess that's different though, as i love their children).  tv and movies - we can discuss shows/films we've both seen and others that we haven't both seen, and still enjoy the conversation.  i am just trying to understand why when i bring up the V word, i can sense people stiffen-up.


it seems to me that people feel this way whenever someone else talks about taking care of their bodies.  we've all heard and maybe even used labels like "gym freak" and "health nut".  why are people nuts and freaks for caring about their bodies?  i think it has to do with the talking.  people who go to the gym or eat healthy feel so good, they can't help talking about it all the time.  but other people who don't do those things just don't want to hear about it.


vegans have gotten a bad rap.  it's not just in my own personal experience; if you google vegan haters, you'll find a lot of hate out there!  people call vegans "preachy" and label us as arrogant.  i'm not arrogant...i'm just really happy about the way i eat.  i don't look down on anyone else for the way they eat, and i KNOW that anyone who really knows me would never suspect that i do...and yet it still bothers people.


i JUST NOW found a video, having done the google search above myself...and i think this guy is onto something...


http://www.gypsybandito.com/why-people-hate-vegans/

it can't just be about the fact that i talk about food so much.  my dad talks about food all the time, and we poke fun at him for it since he does it more than any other person in the world...but no one seems to get annoyed by it, the way i feel people get annoyed at me.  there has to be more to the story, here.


in the movie "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World", there is a scene which seems to make fun of vegans, when really it pokes fun at people who have that image of vegans as being high-and-mighty.  i had a good laugh for both reasons...at first, when i thought it was making fun of me i laughed (quite a bit) and then half way through i laughed even more when i realized the humor in the idea that people would actually think this way about someone like me.  i laugh at the websites of vegan haters...b/c they are labeling me without ever meeting me, assuming i think i'm better than them, and that any minute i'll be preaching door-to-door with my vegan bible...oops...i mean cookbook, of course.


i guess the point i'm trying to make in this VERY LONG blog post, is that i don't eat the way i do to annoy people, nor is that my reasoning for talking about it so much.  i just love it, and it makes me feel good physically which makes me happy and i like talking about things that make me happy!  so please, if you are one of those lucky people who gets to talk to me often, try to understand that when i discuss my food intake, it is because it is part of my life, and i enjoy sharing my life with you...and nothing more.

Philly Pepper"steak"

my rating for this recipe: ★★★★★

this was absolutely delicious, and we have decided to add it into our dinner rotation. this is definitely a meal that even meat-eaters would really enjoy.

ingredients:

for simple deglaze:

⅓ cup water

⅙ cup soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ tsp grated ginger

for pepper"steak":

¼ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil

3 peeled shallots, thinly sliced

1 lb seitan, sliced

1 cup sliced red bell pepper

1 cup sliced green bell pepper (i used an orange one)

1 cup sliced mushrooms

¼ tsp sea salt

italian or hoagie rolls (we used sliced italian bread)

4 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

nondairy cheeze (optional...see previous recipe)

shredded romaine lettuce (also optional...we forgot it!)

directions:

heat ¼ cup oil in a skillet and saute shallots until transparent; then add seitan slices and saute until lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes. add simple deglaze and stir. let simmer until most of the liquid is reduced.

in another skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil and saute bell peppers until lightly browned then add mushrooms and salt, and saute another 2-3 mins.

on the inside of bread/rolls, drizzle with 1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette. portion one-quarter of each the seitan and bell pepper mixture onto each sandwich, then top with the nondairy cheeze and lettuce.

source: the native foods restaurant cookbook

Cheezy Scramble

my rating for this recipe: ★★★★☆

this recipe was very good. if i had ever attempted a vegan scramble before, i'd probably say it was delicious and give it 5 stars...but the closest thing i can compare it to is actual scrambled eggs, which it is sadly not. but it does come pretty darn close!

for my 1st recipe, please forgive the photo of the leftover cheezy scramble; going forward i will post pictures of the meals before they are gobbled up!

ingredients list:

for cheez sauce:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp garlic powder

2 cups water

1 tsp yellow mustard

4 tbsp vegan margarine

(this makes more than double the amount of sauce you need, but i made it all to use for another recipe we are making for dinner...if you don't need cheezy sauce for anything else you'll be making, you should halve this recipe!)

for scramble:

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

cooking oil, as needed

1 lb extra firm tofu, drained and crumbled

a few pinches of turmeric

salt & pepper, to taste

(i'm not a fan of green pepper, so you can sub w/red or yellow...or just use the whole onion instead!)

directions:

1. for cheez sauce, mix first 3 ingredients together in sauce pan. add water and mix thoroughly. heat on medium until thick and bubbly. remove from heat and add mustard and margarine. set aside.

2. for stir fry, saute onion and green pepper in oil. when they are good and soft, move them to the sides of the pan and form an empty circle in the middle for your tofu.

3. add more oil to the middle of the pan, then add your drained, crumbled tofu. when it starts to get golden, mix in the peppers and onion and keep frying. add a few small pinches of turmeric.

4. when it looks like you could eat it, add the cheez sauce and mix it all in to coat, until that becomes golden brown too. i sauted this for another couple of minutes.

eat and enjoy! this is soooo good and it’s great on toast!


serves: 2-3, preparation time: 20 minutes

source: vegweb.com

Give Peas a Chance...and Tofu, Too!

as a kid, there were a lot of veggies i didn't eat...usually i wouldn't even try them, but even when i made an attempt i usually didn't enjoy the taste. of course as the years went on, i grew up and my tastes changed, and i began enjoying my veggies. but for some reason, peas just never tasted good to me. it wasn't until a few years ago that i started liking (and eventually LOVING) the taste of peas. i guess sometimes you need to keep trying things and eventually you get used to and begin to really like them.

since becoming vegan, this has been the case with tofu. most of the recipes which called for the meat-substitutes such as seitan, tempeh, tofu, etc. were recipes i avoided in the beginning. i had never before eaten these ingredients, nor had i seen anyone prepare them...therefore they intimidated the heck out of me! i stayed away from all of them until last year when my husband urged me to give it a try. i purchased some seitan and made a recipe from alicia silverstone's "the kind diet"...and the end product was a delicious rendition of chicken piccata. after that we started making seitan dishes often. more recently we've been cooking with tempeh, but i still refused to make anything with tofu. i even bought some tofu months back, which sat in my refrigerator way passed the expiration date and ended up in the trash. i had tried tofu a few times, and i couldn't stand the consistency.

going through more recipes, steve (yes, i guess i'm finally introducing him by name...steve is my husband) came across a recipe for BBQ tofu and told me we should try it. i figured my dislike of tofu shouldn't keep him from trying it; maybe after this he'd see how icky it was!! so we put it on our grocery list for the week and a few days later...we tried it.

BBQ tofu is now my favorite thing we make. every tuesday before grocery shopping we plan out our menu list for the week...and every week i insist that we must have BBQ tofu on the list. it just goes to show that even now later in my life when i KNOW i should continue to give foods a chance after not loving them the first or second time, that it is so important to keep trying!

i decided when i started this blog that i only want to post recipes of things i can take photos of...so while you will be seeing a BBQ tofu recipe on here in a few days w/pic, we will start our recipe list off with another tofu dish. Cheezy Scramble coming up...

the beginning of my journey, a few bumps in the road, and finally finding HappyHealthyVille

i already posted some of this in my lengthy little bio they asked for when i was creating this page, but i'll go ahead with it anyway. the beginning of my vegan life was not all greenbeans and sunflowerseeds. i had spent the first 20-something years of my life not only eating, but LOVING animal products. my all-time favorite entrees included meatloaf and marinated skirt-steak. a food order placed by my former self was usually followed up with a request for "extra cheese". i loved my animal flesh and by-products...because never in my entire existence had i stopped for even a moment to consider what exactly i was putting into my mouth. it NEARLY happened in my early twenties when a friend of mine went vegetarian, and after considering her motives for a millisecond i stopped myself and wouldn't allow my brain to process the idea that all the juicy and delicious chicken, pork, and red meat i loved so much was actually the rotting, decaying flesh of dead animals. i remember this same friend told me once that she was attempting to go vegan. "vegan?" i'd asked. she explained the diet, and i couldn't even begin to wrap my head around it. "but what's left? what can you eat?!" i just couldn't understand it...why would someone do that to themselves, and how could they possibly live like that?

i went on in my blissful ignorance, enjoying my hamburgers and chicken parmesan. i was only ever bothered at the thought of eating fish or seafood in general. the idea of eating those slippery, scaly little beings was completely gross to me. most people couldn't understand it, and one day my mother demanded an explanation. why wouldn't i eat fish? fish was so delicious. where had i come from? certainly not her womb, as she LOVED her fishy friends. she had to know what my problem was. so i told her about the slimy scales and how they bothered me. and how fish swim way down in the ocean and i don't know what goes on down there, so i didn't want to eat them. she laughed at me, and asked me whether i was aware of the disgusting, horrible conditions from which my steak came. i became upset, and i told her i did NOT know, and i never wanted to know - because i knew that if i ever truly considered what i was eating, or learned where and how it came from...i would never eat meat again.

...and then came "skinny bitch". it was february 2009. i'd been married for 9 months and was getting the married girl's soft belly and wider face. i hadn't even noticed it until i saw a photo at a friend's house and didn't recognize myself. i needed to loose weight, but i needed help giving up my nightly ice cream bowls. i was poking around the wedding planning forum i still visited on occasion, and i noticed a thread about what the girls were referring to as a weight-loss book. i read a few of the girls' comments, and most of them were hateful, complaining that the authors of the book were rude and and obnoxious and were too harsh with their insults of the overweight girl. i knew it was just what i needed, some tough love! i went out that day and purchased "skinny bitch". i had no idea what i was actually getting myself into.

it took me 2 days to read the book; not because it's a heavy read, i could've read it in one day...but i'd put it down the first day, once i realized what it was about. this was not a diet book - this was a lifestyle change. these foul-mouthed girls were about to tell me all of the things i never wanted to know or think about, regarding my favorite foods. should i read it? could i go on? i knew i would never be able to turn back and i wasn't sure i was ready. it took me only a day to decide...and i went for it.

after turning the last page, i knew i would never eat meat or poultry again. but i still wasn't convinced or grossed out by dairy. i figured i'd give it a shot anyway to see if it would really help me to loose weight.

2 months later, i was back to my original size, if not a little bit thinner. friends and family were noticing and asking me what i'd been doing. when i told people i was vegan, i got some interesting reactions. some were shocked and couldn't comprehend the vegan lifestyle. others expressed concern, telling me i wasn't getting enough nutrition. one friend was so impressed, she went vegan herself. but it didn't matter to me what anyone else said or thought; i was feeling better than i had in years. i had more energy, i was no longer tired all the time, and i was enjoying my food even more than i had before! i found i didn't miss meat at all. and while i did still have cravings for cheese, i decided i could do without it forever because it was worth it.

for the next year and half i ate vegan, but i didn't realize i wasn't being as healthy as i could be. i was spending so much time on making meat-and-dairy filled meals for my omnivorous husband, i didn't focus on my own meals and was eating mostly processed foods. but once my husband did a little research and decided to give up meat, i started trying vegan recipes and eating healthier and feeling even better.

being vegan has changed so much of my life. it eventually convinced my husband to give up meat, it has made me enjoy cooking even more, it makes me feel happier about my body and also because of the impact it has on the environment and so hopefully spares a few of my animal friend lives. but it's not all rainbows and sunshine; sometimes my lifestyle bothers others. i find people getting offended and defensive when i discuss my reasoning for being vegan. i get a lot of eye-rolls and extreme concern for my health. but more on all of this later.

for now, just know that i love being vegan and that i'm writing this blog for myself and for anyone else who might benefit from it. i plan to write about recipes i try, the joys i feel, and even the issues i face. whether you are a fellow veggie-head or not, i send this out to you with love, happiness, and i hope you enjoy reading it, as i know i'll enjoy writing.