Tofu Tagine Pasta (Can be Gluten-Free!)

Another grey day in Iowa, another perfect excuse to spend a lot of time in the kitchen making new recipes :) These grey days aren't bothering me so much anymore! Bad weather = excuse to stay in and bake/cook = happiness. Ah, the simple things in life. Today's lunch was inspired by a recipe I saw in Cosmo a few months back: Chicken Tagine. It looked really good for a lunch or dinner, except that little problem of chicken not being quite vegan. Buuuut, a little bit of tofu solves that problem! After subbing the tofu for the chicken and making a few not-exactly-minor tweaks to the recipe, I came out with a tofu recipe that is great on its own, and awesome in a pasta dish. The tofu needs to marinate for a long time, so it can absorb a nice flavor--so it's best to begin preparing this dish 8-24 hours ahead of time. Here's the recipe for a fancy-schmancy lunch or dinner, serves 4 people.

Ingredients for the Tofu Tagine:

1 block extra-firm tofu

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon parsley flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon spanish paprika

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions for the Tofu Tagine

Drain the tofu and pat it dry with a napkin. Cut it into strips, about 1 inch wide, 1/2 inch thick, and 4 inches tall. Set aside on a paper towel.

Pour the vegetable broth into a bread loaf pan, and stir in all of the remaining ingredients listed above except the olive oil.

Place the tofu strips into the vegetable broth marinade, and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours. (I let it sit for about 15 hours)

After the tofu has been marinating for 8+ hours, preheat the oven to 350. Bake the tofu for 25 minutes; this really locks in the flavor.

When the tofu comes out of the oven, drain the marinade liquid and, using tongs, gently place the tofu strips on paper towels.

Now, heat up a large frying pan over medium heat, and coat it with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Fry the tofu strips for a couple minutes on each side, until they reach a golden color.

Remove from the heat and set aside. Your tofu is done! Now for the remainder of the pasta dish ingredients...

Pasta Dish Ingredients

1 package (8 oz) fettuccine (I used DeBoles brand gluten-free rice fettuccine)

1/2 zucchini

4 large baby portabella mushrooms

1 lemon

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Pasta Dish Directions

Cook the fettuccine according to package directions, in salted water.

While the pasta is cooking, slice the zucchini and mushrooms into small, bite-sized pieces.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat, lightly coat it with a little bit of olive oil, and stir-fry the zucchini and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Then, remove from heat and set aside.

Drain the pasta and portion it onto 4 plates or bowls.

Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over the pasta, to taste.

Distribute the tofu, mushrooms, and zucchini into each bowl on top of the pasta. Add salt and pepper to each bowl, to taste. Garnish with a bit of lemon zest, if desired.

Serve warm, and enjoy!!

Sweet Potato Bowl

So, I wasn't entirely sure what to call this dish. It seems like the word "casserole" might have been a good fit, but this isn't the sweet potato casserole that most people are familiar with, and I didn't want to have anyone expecting a dish laden with sugar and butter. This is somewhat sweet, but not sweet like the side dish/dessert that is often present at your Thanksgiving dinners. It's savory, a rich flavor that isn't overwhelming--so it makes the perfect autumn dinner entree! This recipe makes a serving for one, hitting at right about 300 calories.

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato

1/2 cup almond milk

1/4 cup oats

1/3 cup Splenda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon maple extract

1/4 teaspoon butter extract (it's vegan)

Dash of salt

Toppings: 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts, 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425.

Fill a medium sauce pan about 2/3 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil over the stovetop. Meanwhile, slice the sweet potato very thinly. I used a chip-maker-slicer that I have, and I can't reccommend these enough!

Once the water is boiling, add sweet potato chips and allow to boil for 6-8 minutes.

While the sweet potato chips are boiling: In a mixing bowl, stir together the oats, splenda, almond milk, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla/maple/butter extracts.

Remove the sweet potatoes from the heat and drain. Pour these into the mixing bowl with the other ingredients, and immediately beat with an electric mixer to mash up as best you can.

Lightly grease a small dish (I used a glass cereal bowl), and pour the mixture into it. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove, sprinkle chopped walnuts over the top, and place back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Finally, remove from the oven, and drizzle the tablespoon of maple syrup over the top. Allow to cool for a few minutes, as it's really REALLY hot. A sprinkle of extra cinnamon never hurts either :) Enjoy as a hot, healthy, and savory dinner!!

Vegan Quiche

Traveling and busy weekends always tend leave me craving one general thing: hot food. Room temperature food is more or less the option (at least for someone on a veg-diet!) during those long car drives, and I start to miss those nice, warm, home-cooked meals. Like vegan quiche.

This has been my number one favorite meal for the last several months. I can't get enough of it! If I had to choose a last meal, this would be my entree. Guess what I'm having on Monday when I get home? (Maybe even Sunday night, if I have the energy to go to the grocery store after the drive...) My point is, even if you're a full-time carnivore, give this a try. I promise, it won't disappoint. The recipe:

Adapted from Meatout Monday's "Classic Quiche Florentine"

Ingredients:

1 package Mori-Nu Firm Silken Style Tofu (about 12 oz)

3/4 - 1 cup diced yellow onion, depending on how onion-y you want it

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, preferably thawed

1/2 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon garlic powder, more if you really like garlic!

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper **UPDATE** If you're not a big pepper fan, do just one teaspoon. (I love pepper, but understand some don't love it as much as I do--but 2 teaspoons do make this really peppery).

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

3 crumbled vegan "bacon" strips

1 Pre-made pie crust--I really like using the Keebler brand reduced-fat graham cracker ready-crust. It sounds weird, I know: "Quiche with a graham cracker crust??" But believe me, it's absolutely decadent.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a small skillet with cooking spray and sautee the onion over low to medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes, being careful not to burn.

If your spinach is already thawed, drain and press some of the extra spinach-juice out with a paper towel. If it hasn't been thawed, microwave until it is (but you don't really want to cook it too much beforehand), then drain and press with a paper towel.

In a blender, combine the tofu, tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and turmeric. This is a little easier if you chop the tofu into smaller bits first. Blend until you have a thick but smooth batter.

Pour the tofu mixture into a mixing bowl, and add in onions, spinach, and crumbled bacon strips. Mix until just combined, then pour everything into your pie crust. Make sure everything is nice and smoothed out...

Place the quiche in the oven, and bake for 45-60 minutes, until the top is firm to the touch (sometimes it cooks faster than others, I think depending on how well the spinach is drained and pressed).

Let cool for about 30 minutes before cutting, store in the fridge, and really really enjoy! ...I'm looking forward to Monday :)

Power Protein Bowl

Here is another relatively new favorite of mine: the Power Protein Bowl. Perfect as a meal on its own, also great for pre/post-workout.

A long time ago, I tried cooking with quinoa. I really tried. I did just like the box said, 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, cover and put it in the microwave and cook for....NO. For me, trying to cook quinoa in the microwave results in spending the next half-hour scraping baked quinoa off of the microwave plate. Quinoa and I didn't get along very well. That is, until a couple weeks ago, when I broke down and decided to try it again. You see, quinoa is such a good source of protein, a complete protein, that I just couldn't give up on it quite yet. And I'm so glad I didn't.

I learned something: quinoa boils over to hell in the microwave, but it cooks up quite nicely on the stovetop :) It only takes a little more patience (I know, not my strong suit either when I'm hungry, but worth the wait). So, that's my recommendation--go stovetop. The rest of this recipe is super simple and easy to cook. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dry quinoa (fluffs up to about 1 cup when cooked)

1 can of black beans (15oz can)

1 package extra firm cubed tofu (or just extra firm and cube it yourself)


Now what's tofu without a marinade? Well, it's cardboard. For the marinade:

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Scant 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1.5 teaspoons black pepper

If you have some finely chopped herbs lying around, you can totally should add some in, a little cilantro went very nicely with mine.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Get the quinoa started first, as it takes the longest--just follow the directions on the box, but go stovetop!

Next, you'll want to grab an 8 x 8 pan and whip up the marinade for the tofu, just pour all the ingredients into the pan and mix them evenly with a fork or spoon, making sure the whole bottom of the pan is covered.

Drain your tofu and pat it dry with a paper towel, then pour the cubed tofu (or slice it up if it isn't already, in little half-inch chunks) over the marinade. Flip the tofu a couple times with a spatula, try to get a coating of the marinade on all the sides if you can. Set the pan in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, then take it out and flip the tofu, and cook for 5-7 more minutes.

Drain the black beans and rinse very well with hot water, drain again and pour into a sealable container. Add in your quinoa and tofu, stir to combine, and enjoy!

Notes:

Makes 4 servings at 200 calories each, this recipe REALLY packs in the protein and fiber. It's awesome fuel for the body--this is a godsend on those long and exhausting days we all run into now and then. Stores in the fridge for 3 days, but it never lasts that long at my house!


Question of the day: What's your favorite non-animal-based protein source?