The Gluten-Free Vegetarian

Egg Lentil Curry

eliz — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:13:30 +0000

This is a protein-packed and highly flexible dish. There’s lots of room to modify measurements to whatever happens to be in the pantry, and the eggs and lentils can be cooked up to a week in advance (possibly while fixing another dish using the same ingredients). For more information on the precooked ingredients, look at my post on boiling eggs or this post on cooking tender lentils.

This dish is also built around making your own garam masala mix with individual spices. If you have a garam masala recipe you like, or a curry powder or paste you prefer, they may be a wonderful substitute.

Egg Lentil Curry
serves 4 generously

8 eggs (We’ve used from 6-9 eggs)
1.5 cups dry lentils (we’ve used 1-3 cups)
A bit of olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1 onion, diced
1-2 cans diced tomatoes, no salt added
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp black pepper
cayenne to taste

Precook: Boil the eggs and cook the lentils at your leisure, up to a week ahead of time (eggs and/or lentils cooked more than an hour before needed in this recipe should be refrigerated until needed).
1. Saute the onions and garlic in the oil over medium heat, until softened. While that cooks, chop the eggs roughly; I aim to get the egg whites into 9-12 pieces. The yolks will crumble, either now or in the dish.
2. Add tomatoes, all egg pieces (whites and yolks), and spices. Let simmer a few minutes (adding water if desired).
3. Add lentils. Let simmer further, and adjust seasoning.

Serve hot over rice.

How We Hard Boil Eggs

eliz — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 18:11:13 +0000

There have got to be several dozens of sets of instructions online regarding egg boiling, and I’ve run across several folks convinced that they don’t do it well. It’s true it can be tricky, and the “right” way to do it may well vary depending on your climate, altitude, and other factors.

I’m certainly no expert on the subject. But I want to catalog my current methods for boiling eggs. One is a cooking method for storebought eggs that – for me – has been fairly foolproof so far in a number of different climates. I might get a bit of the dreaded gray ring around the yolk, but not enough to affect the flavor that I’ve noticed. The other method is for when I’m lucky enough to have yard eggs… and I have only tested this here in coastal Louisiana.

NOTE ON STORING EGGS: First, know whether your eggs have been washed or not. Storebought eggs are washed; yard eggs from a neighbor likely won’t be. Washing removes a waxy protective layer that was originally on the egg; unwashed eggs have more protection from invading bacteria and will be safer to eat for longer. If you have some yard eggs on your hands that haven’t ever seen the inside of a fridge, and haven’t been washed, they can be kept at room temperatures for up to several weeks. When eggs are exposed to refrigerator temperatures, then a membrane inside the egg has likely shrunk and separated from the shell, making it easier for bacteria to enter the egg, and making room temperature dangerous for that egg’s future as food. If an egg is store bought, it’s already been washed and refrigerated, and needs to be kept in the fridge for the remainder of its storage life.

Hard Boiling Storebought Eggs

Eggs you’d like to boil
pot big enough to hold them covered in at least 1-2 inches of water

1. Put eggs on medium high heat, and allow to boil. You want a solid boil without it being overly vigorous.
2. Once boiling, set a timer for 20 minutes.
3. When 20 minutes are done, remove eggs from heat and pour out as much of the water as you comfortably can without throwing the (hot) eggs out of the pot. Refill pot with cold water. This refill is for cooling off the pot — pour it out and refill a second time with cold water. Let set for a few minutes.

Eggs are ready to be peeled or refrigerated.

A NOTE ON PEELING BOILED EGGS: Leaving any eggs in cold (or even ice) water helps make them easier to peel. You can leave them whole, or if you’re using them soon you can go ahead and crack them. Some folks swear by adding salt to the water for the same reason. Whatever you do, be aware that there’s a membrane just inside the egg; take a minute to notice it next time you peel an egg, if you haven’t before. If you can hook your thumb under that membrane, and pull shell and membrane off together, you’ll have a much easier time peeling than you will if you’re trying to remove shell from membrane. Fresher eggs have a membrane that’s more attached, unfortunately, so they might be harder to peel. If you’ve got super-fresh eggs, remember the cold/ice water tip.

Hard Boiling Fresh/Yard Eggs
Eggs you’d like to boil
pot big enough to hold them covered in at least 1-2 inches of water
Slotted spoon

1. Put pot on medium high heat with enough water to eventually cover eggs. Keep eggs to the side for now.
2. When water is boiling (you want a solid boil without it being overly vigorous), use slotted spoon to carefully lower eggs into the water.
3. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
4. When 15 minutes are done, remove eggs from heat and pour out as much of the water as you comfortably can without throwing the (hot) eggs out of the pot. Refill pot with cold water. This refill is for cooling off the pot — pour it out and refill a second time with cold water. Let set for a few minutes.

Eggs are ready to be peeled or refrigerated.

Baked Tofu Marsala

eliz — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 01:33:41 +0000

I first found this recipe in a video by Fearn Smith and Russell Pierce. It looked tasty enough to figure out ingredient amounts, so I did. And I posted it here in October of last year. It’s a pretty awesome dish.

But for me, it gets a bit stressful trying to fry the tofu in a timely fashion, while several other things are happening. I also wanted to move us away from frying so often. So, we tried baking the tofu, and discovered we liked it even more.

This recipe plus asparagus tips

Herb Crusted Tofu with Mushroom Marsala (and Mashed Potatoes)
(serves 3-4; to serve less cut back on tofu and mushrooms)

2 14 oz blocks Wildwood Superfirm Sproutofu
1 cup soy sauce
approx 2 cups marsala wine or other dry wine
24 oz baby bellas or other brown mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, julienned or in half slices
gluten-free bread crumbs (about 6 large slices worth)
roughly 1/2 cup Silk creamer or soymilk
thyme, oregano and basil to taste (the recipe originally used herbs de provence, another option)
instant mashed potato flakes
butter, margarine or oil
garlic and rosemary (optional)

1. After preparing tofu, slice each block into quarters, then cut each of those slices on a diagonal. You’ll get eight triangular slices out of each block this way.
2. Marinate these slices in a mixture of 1 cup wine, 1 cup soy sauce and 1 cup water for at least 30 minutes. Keep in fridge.
3. While tofu is marinating, saute the onions in vegetable oil, as slowly as you can to encourage caramelization.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl with herbs of your choice. The chefs in the video used only thyme. I used thyme, basil and oregano. Pull the tofu out of the marinade and dredge them in the bread crumbs.
5. Spray cookie sheet with spray oil and place breaded tofu in single layer on sheet. Bake 30 minutes or so, until golden brown (turning not needed).
6. When onions are soft, add mushrooms and herbs of your choice. Saute until the mushrooms have given up their juice and the liquid has cooked away.
7. Increase heat and add wine to mushroom/onion mixture. Let that cook off until dry.
8. Decrease heat and deglaze the pan with a bit of Silk creamer. Add slowly and adjust to get the sauce volume and thickness that you’d like. The sauce is done.
9. Prepare instant mashed potatoes with potato flakes and butter/margarine, adding garlic and rosemary to them if desired.

Serve tofu on bed of mashed potatoes, with mushrooms and sauce poured on top. Enjoy!

Tofu Pesto

eliz — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 15:20:48 +0000

If you haven’t made your own pesto before, it’s super easy! The recipe (and picture) below include garlic bread.

NOTE: The baked tofu created in steps 1 and 2 also works wonderfully well as a dry snack straight out of the fridge!

Tofu Pesto
Generously serves 4

General ingredients:
3 blocks super firm or extra firm tofu (sprouted or unsprouted)
1 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Tinkyada spaghetti noodles (or other gluten-free pasta)

For pesto:
1/4 cup nuts (pine nuts are traditional; cashews, walnuts or sunflower seeds also work)
3 ounces basil
3-5 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp water
salt
pepper
Choose ONE: 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/2 cup vegan Parmesan or 1/2 cup vegetarian Parmesan (or other hard cheese)

For garlic bread:
Udi’s hamburger buns (1-2 packages)
butter or oil to taste
garlic powder to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set tofu to pressing or defrosting (see tofu post). Meanwhile, combine all pesto ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. (If you’re using Parmesan, that can be blended into the sauce or held back and added on top of the final dish).

2. When tofu is ready to cook with, cut into approximately 1″ cubes. Toss gently with the 1 tbsp of olive oil, all the balsamic vinegar, and a few tbsp of the pesto sauce. Spread tofu in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, until tofu is golden brown.

3. While tofu is baking, prepare pasta according to package directions. I find Tinkyada pasta has a wonderful texture if you follow the energy-saving method explained on the package, and start checking it for doneness about halfway through the recommended time. While tofu and pasta cook, place the hamburger buns soft side up on another baking sheet and slather some butter/oil and garlic powder on them to taste.

4. When tofu is ready, set aside. Turn your oven’s broiler on low, put your garlic bread in, leave the oven door cracked and keep an eye on it! It will brown deliciously and quickly. You may see a need to rotate the tray when the back buns are browning and the front ones need more time. Broiling will only take a couple of minutes!

Serve tofu and sauce over pasta with garlic bread. All kinds of veggie sides works really well with this.

Creamy Tomato Soup

eliz — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:06:17 +0000

Somebody found this delicious tomato soup recipe and made it for us the other night. They adapted this recipe.

Creamy Tomato Soup

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
About 10 sprigs thyme
1 medium/large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 6-oz can tomato paste
2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
1.5 tsp dried basil
1–2 teaspoons sugar, divided
1 half-pint heavy cream
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

1. Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add thyme, onion, and garlic. Cook until onion is completely soft and translucent, 10–12 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add tomato paste. Continue cooking, stirring often, until paste has begun to caramelize in spots, 5–6 minutes.
2. Pull thyme sprigs out (pulling off leaves and re-adding to pot if desired). Add tomatoes with juices, basil, 1 tsp. sugar, and 8 cups water to pot. Increase heat to high; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until flavors meld and soup reduces to about 2 quarts (8 cups), 45–55 minutes.
3. Remove soup from heat; let cool slightly. Discard thyme sprigs. Working in small batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth. Return to pot.
4. Stir in 1/4 cup cream. Simmer soup until flavors meld, 10–15 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining 1 tsp. sugar. Add more cream, if desired.

Spicy Citrus Black Beans

eliz — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:33:02 +0000

We have lentil dishes and red bean dishes, plenty of soy dishes and dishes with lots of different beans. But now we finally have a dish that showcases my favorite bean, and the most beautiful bean. Noms!!

This is an adaptation of this recipe.

Spicy Citrus Black Beans
serves 4 generously, with leftovers

4 cups dried black beans
1 tbsp dried oregano
3 bay leaves
1.5 tsp sage
2 teaspoons salt
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
2 chopped peppers – bell pepper, jalapeño or a mix of the two
6 cloves crushed garlic
2 tbsp chili powder
Tabasco to taste
1 Tbsp cumin
3 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate or 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Prepare the beans, either by soaking them overnight in cold water OR soaking them for an hour after bringing the water to boil. Discard the liquid after soaking.
2. Add beans to a large pot and cover with a few inches of water. Add oregano, bay leaves, and sage. Bring the beans to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the beans are soft, but not quite done (between 30-90 minutes). Add more water to keep beans covered by at least 1/2 inch of water.
3. While the beans are cooking, sauté onions and peppers in olive oil until soft. Add chili powder, Tabasco, cumin, and garlic. Sauté until spices are fragrant.
4. Fish out and discard the bay leaves from the beans. Add the onion mixture and salt to the pot of beans. Cook another hour or so until thickened (keep an eye on water levels).
6 Add half of the orange juice, and simmer. Adjust chili heat at this point. Just before serving, add remaining orange juice, lime juice, and vinegar. Salt to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and plain yogurt (or sour cream). Can be served over rice or chips.

What To DO With Tofu!!

eliz — Sat, 25 May 2013 23:48:54 +0000

If you haven’t cooked with tofu before, it might be intimidating to think about. But it needn’t be! With just a few tips and tricks, you can be well on your way to tasty tofu dishes. With all the tofu we eat – and talk about – on this blog, I want to take a minute and share what I know about cooking the stuff. This is purely from experience over the course of years of vegetarianism; I’ve not had classes or instruction. So, if you know of a better way, or know information I’m lacking, I’d love to learn more! It’s also experience based on my particular supermarket sources, so information in your area may differ.

TYPES OF TOFU

First, in my area you can buy two primary types of tofu.

A common packaging for silken tofu

One type is silken tofu, which can come in soft, firm, extra firm, or other textures, but will always be great for softer dishes like egg salad, sandwich spreads or pudding. Silken tofu is often shelved at room temperature in small, foil-lined containers that it originally fermented in.

Here’s our brand of regular (water-packed) tofu

The other kind of tofu is called regular, tub or water-packed tofu, simply packaged as tofu, without the “silken” word used. Regular (water packed) tofu is often kept near the produce section in grocery stores. It may come in a wide variety of textures as well, but all of these will hold up in dishes like stir fry, fajitas, or barbecue. (Some regular tofu now comes sprouted, which behaves and cooks up the same way as nonsprouted regular/tub tofu, but may be easier on some digestive systems).

I need a knife to get into water-packed tofu. Be careful, and do it near/over a sink!

Most of what we cook here is regular tub tofu, and that’s what I’m going to focus on for the rest of this post (silken tofu can be crumbled straight out of the package or thicker textures of it can be pressed via the process named below.) From here on out, “tofu” means regular tofu.

PREPARING TOFU

(THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF COOKING TOFU HAPPENS BEFORE YOU COOK IT!)

We need to talk about preparing your tofu. As easy as cooking with tofu can be, there is a very important step of preparation that must happen first: we drain the extra liquid. Your tofu has been packed in water, and is saturated with said water. To get the awesome texture you want for these dishes, you’ll want to help the water drain from the tofu first.

You can drain the tofu in one of two ways. Pick ONE of these: PRESSING OR FREEZING:

Pressing Tofu
For this process, you will need:
tofu
paper towels
something weighing a couple of pounds (a pitcher of water will do)
the flatest plates you own (amount of tofu will affect number of plates needed)

1) Open the package(s) and pour the extra water out.
2) Slice the tofu any size that will get you closer to your final preferred size, though broader slices will be easier to transport on and off the paper towels.
3) Then, make a “sandwich” with the following layers:
Place a plate on the counter and lay 3-4 layers of folded paper towel on it.
Place tofu slices in a single layer on the paper towels.
Put another layer of 3-4 folded paper towels on top of the tofu.
Put another plate on top.
If necessary for your tofu volume, put another layer of paper towels on top and keep stacking.
End with a plate on top, and place weight on plate.
4) Let sit for at least 20 minutes. Peel tofu carefully off the towels, and tofu is ready for frying, baking, etc.

Pressing is a rather simple process, and can happen while you’re prepping other ingredients. But as often as possible, we just store our tofu in the freezer, and defrost it instead. Freezing removes a bit more water, adds a bit more chewiness to the texture, and assists the tofu in absorbing more of whatever is flavoring it.

Freezing Tofu
For this process, you will need:
tofu
quart or gallon freezer plastic storage bags (NOT regular plastic bags)
freezer space

1) When you bring your tofu home from the store, open the tubs and drain the liquid.
2) Gather enough tofu blocks for a full meal, and place them in a single layer in a freezer plastic bag.
3) Label the bags and freeze.
4) When ready to cook with the tofu (preferably they’ve been put in the freezer at least 48 hours before, though 24 hours will do in a pinch), remove from freezer and place entire bag in microwave. Cooking times may very in your microwave; I defrost my tofu 3 blocks at a time, at 60% power for 10 minutes on one side and 10 mintues on the other.
5) LET THE TOFU COOL. Spots may get very hot during defrosting.
6) When cool, squeeze the block gently over a sink, and watch the water pour out.

It’s natural for your frozen tofu to turn a golden color – don’t be alarmed!

Once prepped by pressing or freezing, the tofu is ready to cook! We have cooked it into yumminess by: dredging it in breadcrumbs and pan-frying it; dredging it in breadcrumbs and baking it; slathering it in sauce or dressing and baking it; and frying strips, cubes or matchsticks of it in 0.5-1 inch of oil for stir fry, pad thai, fajita dishes and more.

Give it a try and see what your favorite style is! If you got any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

Easy Seasoning for Fajitas/Tacos

eliz — Sat, 25 May 2013 17:30:26 +0000

Rather than risk glutening or settle for high sodium and unpronounceable ingredients, we keep on hand an easy seasoning mix for our fajitas or for general use in nacho/taco dishes. The original source has been lost in our modifications.

The volume as is roughly equates to a single packet of storebought seasoning. I triple or quadruple the measurements, throw it all in a mason jar, cover, shake and store.

Taco/Fajita seasoning
makes equivalent of 1 packet of brand seasoning

1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/8-1/4 tsp. ground red (cayenne) pepper

Combine ingredients in sealable, airtight container. Use as desired (in our fajitas, we use 1 tbsp per block of tofu.)

Red Lentil Stew

eliz — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:02:59 +0000

This is a minor adaptation of Budget Bytes’ awesome recipe. (If you haven’t spent hours yet on her blog, I’d highly recommend doing so!) Our version here is mostly doubled in ingredients, aside from the liquid and a few other tweaks. Sooooo tasty!

NOTE ON PAPRIKA: Using regular paprika will significantly alter the taste here (and not for the better, imo). Besides having a smoky element, smoked paprika is also milder, and has a more complex flavor than the standard American-bought paprika.

NOTE ON RED LENTILS: If you haven’t used this particular color of lentils before, know that they are smaller and cook up faster and softer than the more common brown lentils. Red lentils are a bit sweeter, and don’t hold their shape as well, but lend a wonderful thickness to dishes like this.

RED LENTIL STEW
serves 4 with leftovers!
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves minced garlic
6 oz. tomato paste
2 cups dry red lentils, rinsed
1 lb carrots, diced
2-3 medium potatoes, diced
6 cups vegetable broth (see our recipe here)
2 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Cook the oil, onion and garlic over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add the tomato paste, stir and continue to cook for 3-4 more minutes. As the tomato paste caramelizes slightly, it will get darker and sweeter.

2. Add carrots, potatoes, broth, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne. Stir and brign to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Add salt and adjust seasonings. Serve!

Vegan Broth Powder

eliz — Sun, 12 May 2013 18:52:21 +0000

After years of trying various store-bought bouillion cubes and refrigerated broths – some with questionable flavors and all with too much salt – we found much happiness with this recipe. It’s got a great savory flavor, no salt added, considerable amounts of protein and quite a bit of vitamin B12 (though some of the vitamin can be lost in cooking).

BROTH POWDER
makes about 30 cups of broth
1 1/3 cups nutritional yeast flakes
3 Tbs onion powder
1 Tbs vegan sugar
2 1/2 tsp. garlic granules or powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp finely crumbled dried sage (not powdered)
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric

Blend in a dry blender or food processor until powdery. Store in a dry, airtight container .

Use 2 level teaspoons per cup of boiling water. If a dish calls for broth that will be boiled or simmered in the course of cooking, I simply add the water and powder when it’s time to add the broth. It works itself out. Otherwise, I boil water first in the microwave and dissolve the powder in it, then add it to the dish.