Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Tofu Stir-Fry

As tofu and I continue to rebuild our relationship, I had bookmarked this recipe in Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan a few weeks ago. The tofu not withstanding, this sounded amazing. Broccoli? Cashews? Teriyaki? Yes, please. Given my love of these three things, I gave it a go.

And it was pretty tasty. The tofu was probably my least favorite ingredient in the stir-fry, but I think if I had cubed it smaller, it would have been better. I cooked up some brown rice to serve with it. The leftovers heated up nicely for lunch the next day, too!

Even better? I was able to find an online recipe for this here. A note about molasses, as it's required for the teriyaki sauce: use organic molasses because conventional molasses is not vegan! The refining process of non-organic molasses includes animal by-products, and although I cannot remember exactly what it is at this moment (this kind of information has been filed away as "I know it's not vegan, but I can't remember why"), I would be more than happy to find out for you. If you can't find organic molasses at your normal grocery store, try Trader Joe's or Whole Foods! And while we're on this topic, white sugar and powdered sugar fall under this same category. Organic powdered sugar and turbinado sugar (available at Giant and even some Wal-Marts!) are easy alternatives.

Enjoy!

Garlicky Broccoli, Corn, and Bean Burritos

This week was my first full week of work since the middle of December. No, I'm not kidding. Between Christmas break, snow days, a holiday, and a sick day, it's been a good while since I've worked a solid 40 hours. And I'm feeling it. I feel like an 80 year old woman admitting that, but this week kicked my ass more often than not. As such, I was motivated to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible tonight. And thus I present these little babies from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan.

This recipe relies on a lot of kitchen staples, so I only had to pick up the hoisin sauce (in the Asian foods aisle for those who are new to it like I was!), tortillas, and broccoli. Aside from having to wrestle open a new bottle of balsamic vinegar, this was so simple and the end result left my tummy totally satisfied. Mission accomplished.

The recipe says this will make four servings, but I made five burritos because I had so much filling. And honestly, I should have made it six because the last two burritos I rolled were on the brink of explosion.

I was able to find an online recipe for this, but I've got a few comments/suggestions, per the printed version.

• If you don't want to make the beans yourself, you can opt for a can of vegetarian refried beans (I use Amy's Kitchen from Whole Foods when necessary, but made my own for this recipe). 
• I added the tamari to the bean mixture, but I'm not sure if it makes a huge difference.
• Be sure to use vegan worcestershire sauce. I use Annie's Naturals.
• Use 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce and 2 tsp hoisin sauce.
• If you use the nutritional info listed with the recipe online, I'm not sure how accurate it is. It says it makes four tortillas but six servings? Not sure how that works out, so you might want to calculate it yourself.

Aside from all that jazz, everything else appears to be correct. So go forth and cook.

Pureed Spicy Sweet Potato & Peanut Stew with Chickpeas

Source: Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan

Fact: I love food. In the world of vegan food, there's little I won't eat (read: mushrooms). As such, the list of "ohmygod I love this" is quite extensive. On it, you'll find chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and somewhere near the top peanut butter. My love for peanut butter is so obnoxious, a spoonful of pb - be it smooth or crunchy, I don't discriminate - is a sufficient snack. When I came across this recipe, my reaction was somewhere along the lines of, "Ooooh, I have to make this!"

Combining sweet potatoes, peanut butter, and chickpeas might seem like an odd combination, but I've learned to trust Dreena Burton's sometimes unusual sounding recipes. I'm not sure I truly achieved "stew" consistency, but regardless, the flavor can be best described as absolutely delicious. Because bread is also on my "I love this" list, I paired the soup with a slice of French bread and a green salad. The end result? Total nomnomnom.

The online recipe is printed here!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 5-6 cups sweet potato, chopped
• 2 cups onions, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 3-4 lg cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 3 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper flakes
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 3 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas 
• freshly squeezed lime juice, 1/2 lime

Directions

In a large pot on med-high heat, add oil, sweet potatoes, onion, celery, garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add stock, water and 1 1/2 tbsp ginger (save the other half). Stir to combine and increase heat to bring to a boil. Once bubbling, reduce heat to medium-low and cover for 15 minutes or until sweet potatoes are completely softened. Stir in remaining ginger and peanut butter. With a hand blender, puree until just smooth then stir in the chickpeas. Add the lime juice and serve.

Number of Servings: 8