daring cooks january 2010 challenge | thai satay

so much going on in the new year and so little time to actually update my blog as much as i'd like. with a couple of projects in the works, maid of honor duties for my best friend’s wedding and the general "new year, new life" program, things have been a bit hectic...but this is good!! i thrive during times like these :)

2009 was a hard year for many people i know, and most certainly for me. but i also learned a lot about myself in the process and discovered many new goals and passions in my life, so i can at least say that all was not lost. as for 2010...so far so good!! things have started off on the right foot and i'm hoping the momentum continues...

now on to the challenge:

the january 2010 dc challenge was hosted by cuppy of cuppylicious and she chose a delicious thai-inspired recipe for pork satay from the book 1000 recipes by martha day.

it was such a relief to get an easy challenge after all the holiday cooking and, with that in mind, i settled on tofu as my protein of choice.

first step, marinating the tofu. the marinade consisted of scallions, ginger, lemon juice, ground coriander, cumin, garlic and soy sauce.

after all ingredients were blended in the food processor, everything was poured over pressed firm tofu...

while the tofu sat in the fridge marinating, i made my peanut sauce which consisted of soy creamer, soy sauce, lemon juice, dried red chilies, brown sugar, peanut butter, cumin and coriander.

because i substituted soy creamer for coconut milk, i found my sauce to be on the thin side. i bit of cornstarch dissolved in water, added while the peanut sauce melted over the stove, quickly solved the problem.

i also decided to make a pepper dip on the side....so good, but definitely better on it's own and separate from the peanut sauce. i served my tofu over trader joe's vegetarian fried rice and a side of steamed green beans tossed with soy sauce and salt & pepper. a simple dinner with AMAZING flavor!!

thai satay with peanut sauce

for the marinade:

• 1/2 small onion, chopped (i used 3 scallions instead because it was all i had)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp ginger, chopped
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric (only for color, so i ended up omitting from my recipe)

• 1 lb of extra firm tofu (i used firm, but extra firm would have been better)

press tofu for at least 30 minutes before marinating.

place all other ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. cut tofu block into strips of desired size. cover tofu with marinade in a glass bowl or zip lock bag. seal and chill for at least 2 hours.

heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan over high heat. pan fry tofu strips until golden brown on both sides. serve over rice with peanut or pepper dip (recipes follow).

for peanut sauce:

• 3/4 cup coconut milk (i substituted soy creamer)
• 4 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1-2 dried chilies, chopped (remove the seeds, but set aside for added heat)

mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. add soy sauce and lemon juice, mix well. over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. mix well, stir often. once peanut butter is melted and all ingredients are mixed well, remove from heat. reheat if necessary when ready to serve. optional: add chili seeds to sauce until desired heat is achieved.

for pepper dip:

• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1-2 dried chilies, chopped
• 1 finely chopped scallion

mix well. serve chilled.

the best tofu scramble!!

i love me a good tofu scramble and have tried quite a few recipes and various veggie combos. however, none have come close to the simplicity and perfect balance of the recipe below. i've even made it without any vegetables and it's still delicious.

tofu scramble (recipe available at everydaydish.tv)

i love everydaydish.tv! the recipes are always reliable and it's great to have a video to reference to make sure that you're following the steps correctly.

ever since i've discovered whole wheat lavash bread at trader joe's i've been crazy about making wraps. this scramble makes an amazing breakfast wrap with some sausage crumbles and sliced avocado.....so easy and so good!!

5.30.09 | "egg" mcvegans...fail dvd!

i came across an egg mcvegan recipe and thought i would try to experiment with some tofu scramble and yves meatless canadian bacon i had picked up earlier in the week from whole foods. i got some extra sour sourdough english muffins from trader joe's, added a slice of tomato, some vegan mayo and earth balance and sat down with steve to enjoy our brunch.

i was really disappointed with the results. the sour taste of the english muffins definitely overpowered anything else in the sandwich and was simply the wrong choice for this recipe. as for the vegan canadian bacon...while it smelled delicious as i was heating it up on a lightly oiled skillet, the taste was very bland. i used the best breakfast scramble ever! recipe from vegweb.com and that came out well, as usual. the "cheez sauce" from the scramble, which i always half in quantity, removed the need to add any additional vegan cheese to the sandwich.

i think i can master this breakfast recipe...i just have to work on the components!

5.25.09 | Memorial Day Brunch

Steve and I started off Memorial Day a bit hungover and super hungry. Because we were both craving different things, we made separate meals.

Tofu Scramble (recipe available at Veg Web)

I cut back the "Cheez Sauce" by half and still had more than enough for my scramble. I threw in some diced tomatoes, chopped onions, swiss chard and vegan sausage crumbles I had made earlier in the week. Leftovers worked out perfectly the next day for a hearty breakfast sandwich.

Steve opted for Tofurky Chipotle Hot Dogs...so typical!! :)

Kale and Italian Sausage (recipe available at Veg Web)

Because I had some kale I needed to desperately use, I also made a side dish with the Tofurky Chipotle franks which turned out really well. The recipe recommends using Tofurky's Italian Sausage, but I just don't like them. However I can see how sausage links would add better texture to the dish over plain franks. I think I'll try making this with Tofurky's Kielbasa Sausages next time.