Almond-Crusted Tofu

Deep-fried tofu has always been a favorite of mine - that firm, crispy outside protecting the soft, delicate inside. Needless to say it has always been something I choose at Asian restaurants, and something I make at home as a treat for myself.

This time, I decided to make a slightly different variant on my usual fried tofu with a basic starch batter. I've been experimenting with almond meal a lot, and had a little (starch tainted) leftover from an experiment earlier in the day, so I whipped out my tofu and heated some oil!

I really love the way this turned out - it's definitely not your average crispy tofu. The almond meal gives it a crumbly-like texture on the outside, but it doesn't crumble off the tofu like you'd expect. I should've made three packs and kept the rest for leftovers. This is definitely my new fried tofu standby.

Almond-Crusted Tofu

1 pound firm tofu, drained and sliced into long cutlets
1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup tapioca starch
salt to taste
oil for frying (I used sunflower)


In a deep, non-stick pan or pot, heat oil (about an inch deep) on medium-high heat. You want it just hot enough to make the end of a chopstick bubble if you dip it in.

While the oil is heating, mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Next, you can either dump the tofu in and toss to coat (like I did) or you can bread them individually. I found that the mix made just enough to coat a pound of tofu, but if you need a bit more, you can add a couple more tablespoons of meal and a couple teaspoons of starch.

When the oil is hot, gently lay the breaded cutlets into the pan. Check for browning after about 3 minutes - you want a light golden color on the outside. I prefer to flip the cutlets with chopsticks, as it minimizes splatters.

When the cutlets are browned on both sides, drain on a dish towel. (Or paper towel, but dish towels are washable) Plate and serve with sweet pepper sauce* for dipping.


*I couldn't find the brand that I use online, but it's your basic sweet pepper sauce from the Asian market. It's a tall red-labeled bottle that says "Sweet Pepper Sauce for Chicken"


Enjoy!

Spicy Mango-Cucumber Salad - Raw

Being in Los Angeles has really made me realize that I'm truly and utterly in love with tropical fruit. Not just coconut, but mangoes, avocados, bananas, and pineapple, among others. That's something I really miss about L.A. - the convenience and availability of tropical fruits. Here, it's all in season essentially year-round, and is easily accessible at a low price. That's one food group that I don't think I could ever give up for the 100 Mile Diet.

So, in the spirit of warmer climates and taking advantage of convenience, I've made this spicy mango and cucumber salad. This salad has two kinds of heat - ginger and cayenne - but the ice cold mango with the crunchy cucumber balances it all out well. Then, topped with the silken cashew cream, this was hot weather heaven in a martini glass.

Spicy Mango-Cucumber Salad

1 mango, chunked
1/2 seedless cucumber, chunked
1/2 inch of ginger, minced, skin on
2 squeezes of lime
1 1/2 Tb. agave (less if the mango is really sweet)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (to taste)

1/2 cup cashew cream, no vanilla

Toss all ingredients together except cashew cream, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Serve in fun glasses with a drizzle of cashew cream and a slice of ginger.

Gluten-Free Review: Veggie Chips!

This is the first of a new series of posts that I'll be doing here, reviewing gluten-free vegan products for your eating pleasure!

We just got back from the Natural Products Expo (in Disneylicious Anaheim, CA), where we wandered through a gigantic convention center packed full of items ranging from organic food to eco-friendly fashion. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of my favorite foodie finds, and give you the scoop on some of the best new gluten-free products.

For our first food foray, we'll be starting with a nibble:

Veggie Chips from Good Health Natural Products

I was rather surprised by the little snack-bag that Jeremy had found for me. I hadn't managed to find their booth myself, and after seeing so many aisles of gluten-heavy vegan meats, breads, and cookies, I cast a suspicious eye on this dainty bag of inviting vegetables. I wasn't expecting much, to be honest, because most "vegetable chips" have either wheat flour or whey protein*, but after reading the label and finding neither hide nor hair of said ingredients, I popped the bag open.

As you can see in the picture, the chips come in three flavours (with their respective colours): plain potato, tomato, and spinach. I tried the potato first, and was quite pleased - crisp, crunchy, and not heavy at all. It's airy enough that it didn't stick in my teeth (like most chips do). Next was the tomato flavour, which was tasty, but a bit too subtle (I'm a tomato fiend). Finally, the spinach. Ding! Just enough spinach to be pronounced without being overpowering. I think I could eat a whole full-size bag of the spinach chips in one sitting.

I would definitely recommend these if you like chips but don't like feeling weighed-down or greasy afterward. Watch out for the Veggie Stix though: they have wheat starch, unfortunately.

*I just have a quick thought I'd like to touch on. Why is it that companies feel the need to sneak dairy products into things like chips? I can understand if they're cheese-flavoured, but why flavors like salsa or barbeque that don't actually contain dairy? I was going through the Veggie Chip company's product list, and it really blindsided me to find whey and buttermilk in their "Chilean Lime" potato chips with avocado oil, and almost all of their polenta chips had either buttermilk or wheat. However, if their other gluten-free vegan products are anything like the Veggie Chips, then I won't hesitate to try them too! They do have a pretty decent range of GF vegan chips and popcorn. :)

Update: I'm in Los Angeles!

Holy crap, guys!

Jeremy and I drove down to Los Angeles last week from our home in BC. We left Tuesday afternoon, and arrived in L.A. Thursday afternoon. Something like a 30 hour drive all the way through, not counting a couple stops to see family.

We came down for the Natural Products Expo West this last weekend, which is a trade show for all things organic, natural, healthy, and sustainable. Not just food, but things like body care, clothing, home decor, etc. We've got a ton of new writing material from it, as well as new products I'll talk about, and made some really good connections with a few food companies.

Going to the Expo has inspired me to start another blog, The Cruelty-Free Hippie, where I'll be talking about vegan non-food items like clothing, beauty lines, etc. Also, Jeremy and I are co-creating a blog all about exotic chocolates and teas. We're totally revved up, and can't wait to share all of these things with you! :)

We're going to be staying in L.A. until Saturday morning, at which point we'll be taking a leisurely drive back up the coast to Portland to see family, then haul our Gypsy Van back up to Canada.

Things are going really well with this trip, for sure. I'm still amazed at just how many things we pack into one schedule each day. It's why I haven't posted in a few days - it's been pure madness! It's been refreshing to be down here again, but I'm going to be very happy to be back at our home in Powell River. :)


Blessings and love,
Lyra

Spicy Butternut Threads (Raw) - Butternut Showcase #3

My third and final recipe is very simple - I was so inspired by the butternut squash topping from the last post, I just had to make these. I had about two loose cups of julienned squash left. It was begging for a ginger soy marinade.

They're such a versatile garnish: They can be used for soups, salads, sandwiches, main courses, etc. They're especially great on miso ramen with Japanese yam noodles! Chewy at first - but once they melt in, it's a delicate, tender addition to the soup.

Spicy Butternut Threads


2 cups raw butternut squash, julienned
3 Tb. Tamari, Bragg's, or Nama Shoyu
2 tsp. fresh ground ginger
1/2 tsp. aji panca hot sauce (or favorite hot sauce)
small squeeze of lemon juice

Whisk wet ingredients together. Toss squash in marinade, and let sit for about 30 minutes.

Squeeze out excess liquid, and arrange on dehydrator trays. Dry at 110 degrees for about 4 hours, or until completely dry. They'll be a little flexible. (I just put mine in overnight)

Use as a garnish for any food you like! :)

Paté Stuffed Mushrooms with Butternut "Cheese" (Raw) - Butternut Showcase #2

My second butternut showcase is a bit less in-your-face.

I wanted to make raw stuffed mushrooms, inspired by Leslie Bega's recipe at GLiving. By raw, I don't mean completely unprocessed, as I used my dehydrator to soften the mushrooms, and make them juicier. The result is warm and soft in the mouth, with flavor bursting in every bite. The paté is creamy, tangy, and spicy. I'm hooked!

I'd made a big bowl of julienned squash with my mandolin for a salad earlier that day, so I decided to marinate some extras to put over the mushrooms. They end up being tender and chewy. Mmmm...

Paté Stuffed Mushrooms with Butternut "Cheese"

4 Tb. Braggs or Nama Shoyu
2 tsp. lemon
1/4 tsp. aji panca hot sauce
12 cremini mushrooms, stems reserved
1/2 cup loosely packed butternut squash, julienned

In a large bowl, whisk liquid ingredients together. Wet the mushrooms one by one, making sure to thoroughly coat the insides. Then toss them around in the bowl, and let them sit while you make the paté.

1 cup walnuts
Stems from the mushrooms
1 inch fresh ginger, sliced
1/4 cup bell pepper (I used orange)
2 small green onions, chopped
small handful parsley
2 Tb. marinade
1 small garlic clove
cracked pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp.)
enough water to paste

In the food processor, pulverize the walnuts and mushrooms until you get a coarse meal. Add the rest of the ingredients (except water) and grind down until you have a thick paste. It may ball up on you. Splash the water in small amounts until you get a nice, smooth paté.

Take the mushrooms out of the marinade, shaking off the excess as you go. Add your julienned butternut squash to the marinade, and toss. Carefully press the stuffing into the mushrooms, making good-sized mounds. Then, take the squash and squeeze the liquid out, and lay the bits across the tops of the mushrooms.

Dehydrate at 110 degrees for about 2 hours, or until the mushrooms have softened a bit, and the paté has got a nice crust on the outside. Enjoy!

Jasmine Green Tea with Cashew Cream

It was a beautiful day yesterday. The sun was sending down warm rays, the birds were singing, and all the neighborhood children had converged on my street, as they always do on Saturday afternoons. It was a perfect day for a pot of tea with the room mates.

Normally I don't go for caffeinated teas, but some soft, fragrant jasmine tea was sounding very good to all of us. Jasmine is my favorite caffeinated tea, so that's pretty much all I drink if I don't go herbal.

We were out of rice milk, and I had a nice fat sack of cashews hanging out on the counter. I hadn't ever tried my hand at making nut milk with cashews before. What's a girl to do? Make cashew cream? Yer darn right I did! And I loved it so much, I tripled the batch and have a huge jar of it sitting in my fridge, waiting for lots of new experiments. :D

I am also very much of the opinion that I will never buy prepackaged nut milks ever again. It just tastes so much better to make fresh, whole nut milk. No extra ingredients, preservatives, or anything. It cuts down on packaging and is more cost-effective in the long run. Plus, it's fun and easy to make and it tastes SO much better!!

Oh, and I want to touch briefly on why I'm using lemon zest instead of juice. I'm not really a fan of lemon juice with tea, as I think the tart acidity lessens the subtle nuances of the tea itself. By peeling off the zest and using that instead, you get the fragrant aromatics and essential oil benefits of the lemon without the tartness.

Jasmine Green Tea with Cashew Cream


1 Tb. Jasmine green tea
Zest of half a lemon (you won't need a zester, just a sharp paring knife)

1 cup cashews, raw
1 cup water
sprinkle of vanilla
maple syrup to taste

Preheat the teapot by adding some boiling water, and drain. (This is called "scalding") Fill a tea ball with green tea, and put it in the teapot with the lemon zest. Pour in the hot water and let steep for 3-5 minutes. Remove the tea ball; leaving the zest in is fine.

While you're waiting for the tea, add cashews, water, and vanilla to a high-powered blender. Let it go until it's not gritty anymore, about 3 minutes. When it's creamy, you're got cashew cream, missus! Pour it into a creamer and serve!

When making up the tea for yourself, you could just add a dollop of cream... or you could make it half-tea-half-cream. ;) Restraint is overrated. Nuts are good for you! Sweeten with maple syrup to taste.

Raw Mango and Butternut Squash Jerky - Butternut Showcase #1

So, I've decided to give myself random food challenges.

This will not only be to expand my views of certain foods, but my culinary repertoire. I have to admit that I generally think of certain foods to be good for few purposes. Those tried and true recipes that we all know, and don't really diverge from. No more, I say!

My first challenge is Raw Butternut Squash. I haven't worked much with winter squashes in my life, and I tend to only make creamy soups from them. About a week ago, I did a couple days of just raw food. I had this lovely butternut squash sitting there, crying at me to be used for something... But squash, how could I use you in my raw food adventures? What wonderful flavours could you possibly bring to my raw table? It just screamed CAROB! I don't know why - it just did.

The outcome was amazing! It was spicy, tangy, sweet, and slightly creamy. I ate almost all of it when I found those tasty strips in my dehydrator in the morning.

Mango and Butternut Squash Jerky


1 cup butternut squash, sliced into long, thin strips
1 mango, sliced into long, thin strips
2 Tb. agave
2 Tb. lemon juice
2 Tb. orange juice
1 tsp. cumin
1 Tb. carob
pinch nutmeg
1/4 tsp. aji panca hot sauce*

Mix everything together in a glass bowl, and let sit (I set it in the sun) for about 4 hours. Add the mixture to the dehydrator, on about 100 degrees for about 6 hours or so. (Pretty much as long as it takes to get to a fully dried, malleable state. I put it in overnight with no problem.) If you don't have a dehydrator, use the lowest setting on the oven. If it only goes to 175 degrees, leave the oven door open.

*We used to get this from BeOnLiving.com, but they don't seem to carry it anymore, which is a shame. It's a lovely raw paste made from Peruvian Chiles. Yum!

Traditional Hummous

I've been in a very Middle-Eastern mood lately. After the tabbouleh recipe, I've been practicing with other more traditional recipes, and decided to wing it with a hummous recipe.

I've always loved hummous (or hummus), but the packaged hummous just doesn't cut it in comparison to home made. The great thing about this recipe is that it's a wonderful base hummous. It's delicious on its own, but can be embellished in any way, which is why I'm posting this instead of one of my more involved, fancy recipes. I generally eat hummous with raw veggies, or gluten-free vegan breads. I made savory sprouted buckwheat muffins (that didn't turn out good enough to post, unfortunately) and sliced them up and toasted them... It was fabulous!

Some more ingredient ideas would be: spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, olives, pine nuts, cumin, coriander, toasted almonds, or even something sweet and spicy like pear and cayenne. Hmm.. ideas abound!

Traditional Hummus

3 cups chickpeas, cooked and deskinned
4 Tb. very thick tahini
1/4 water
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil (add less oil and more water if you're cutting fat)
3 Tb. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt, to taste
1/2 tsp. Hungarian paprika
2 cloves roasted garlic
pinch of white pepper

In the food processor, add everything but the olive oil. Blend until mostly smooth, and then drizzle the oil in an even stream until everything is creamy. Garnish with olive oil, paprika, and some salted, dried olives.

Oh, and I just want to touch on one thing. If you want to make the really creamy, smooth, traditional hummous, you'll need to skin the chickpeas. Leaving the skins on makes it a bit more grainy, and I've found it makes everyone gassy. Ew. To skin them, pinch the fatter end of the chickpea, and squeeze until the pea is released from the skin. Here's my bowl of skins! :)

Warm Beet Salad with Tangy Mustard Dressing

Beets! Ah, how I love thee.

I can still remember the first time I bit into a raw beet (with the tops still on) in front of Jeremy on a road trip. He got very wide-eyed and said "You can DO that?!" He likes raw beets too, but had only ever had them peeled and chopped in salads and things. He took a bite, and ended up eating more than I did. I've turned him to the raw side of the beet! ;)

This salad, however, does not showcase raw beets. At first, I was thinking of making pan-fried beet fries. The more I cooked them, though, the more I thought having a sweet glaze on them would be divine... and it was! Oh, how it was...


Warm Orange-Balsamic Beet Salad

2 large beets, sliced into French-Fry-style strips
1/2 cup salt-free veggie stock
1/2 cup orange juice
3 Tb. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for frying

baby spinach
orange segments, quartered

In a nonstick skillet, heat olive oil on med-high. Toss in beets, salt, and pepper, and saute for about 5-7 minutes. Start adding the veggie stock in splashes, letting the liquid mostly evaporate before adding more. This should take about 7-10 minutes. If your pan evaporates too quickly, turn the heat down slightly.

Once the veggie stock is gone, do the same with the orange juice, and toward the end, add the balsamic by the tablespoon. When the beets look good and caramelized with a thick glaze, take off the heat.

Add the warm beets to a bed of spinach and orange, and dress with:

Tangy Mustard Dressing

1 Tb. honey or agave
2 tsp. dijon mustard
splash lemon juice

Whisk ingredients together, and drizzle over beets and greens.

Makes two bowls.

March Royal Foodie Joust!

Remember my entry for the Royal Foodie Joust, but on by the Leftover Queen? It was the Ginger-Lime Tofu with Citrus Marmalade Glaze. Well, the voting begins today! I would love it if you could take a few moments to go to the forum (if you're registered) and vote for me. The winner receives a Royal Foodie Joust Apron. If I win, I promise I'll post pictures of me modeling it! :D

You do have to be member in the forum for at least a week to vote, so if you're not a member yet, you can't vote for me this month. It's a really fun forum though, so I encourage you to join and vote for me next month!


Vote for me!

Banana Fritters with Orange Blossom Honey and Mint Butter

And now for something completely different!

After all that healthy raw food, how could I resist coating my entire kitchen with a nice layer of sunflower oil? I mean, sometimes, we've all just got to say to ourselves, "Yep... SO taking a shower after this."

I've always been a huge fan of banana fritters. Well, actually, deep fried bananas in any sort of fashion. Jeremy and I used to get bananas that were rolled in coconut before being put into an egg roll wrapper for deep frying, but I've got to say I like these better. The batter is made with almond meal and minced dried coconut, which gives it more substance than if I had just used a fine flour. Also, the tangy orange blossom honey cuts the grease a little bit, and gives it a kick, which is really nice. The mint butter is a very nice finish; freshly made it's spreadable and melts deliciously into a silken mint glaze on these fritters. Yum!

The mint butter, I have to say, was a very happy accident. I originally was going to make a mint cream with coconut milk, but I thought it should be thickened, so I added some coconut oil. Much to my amazement, it separated! So I worked some of the liquid out of that beautiful, minty butter, and now it's a solid mass of coconutty goodness. :D

Also, I want to touch on why I use honey in this dish, even though this is a vegan blog. I thought long and hard about this choice, because I want everyone to be able to enjoy my dishes. I understand that many vegans make different choices for themselves, so I'm not trying to turn this into a debate. The honey that I'm using here is from a local, trusted source. I believe that this is a much more sustainable choice for me, because the town I live in is so isolated. (You have to take two ferries to get here from the mainland, as we are on a peninsula, surrounded by mountains.) Plus, I love the flavour it imparts to this dish, especially. Alternatively, you could use agave.

With that said, onto the recipe!


Banana Fritters

4 bananas, thickly sliced diagonally
1 Tb. lemon juice

Evenly coat the bananas in lemon juice and let them sit while you make up the batter.

1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup tapioca starch
3tb shredded coconut
sprinkle cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup water

sunflower oil

Mix dry ingredients together, then add water. You want the batter to be just thin enough to coat the bananas. The coconut and almond meal will soak up some extra water, so add more water by the teaspoon as needed. I used a tablespoon after letting mine sit for about 5 minutes.

In a nonstick pot or deep pan, add about 1/2-3/4 inch of oil. Heat to medium-high, or until you dip the tip of a chopstick in and it bubbles.

Coat the bananas evenly while you're waiting for the oil. I tossed half of them into the batter first, then used the second half when the first was finished. Fry bananas until golden, and place onto a clean towel to drain. (Also, I used chopsticks to turn the fritters, I find there's less splattering - but then, I have a steady hand with chopsticks.)


Tangy Orange Blossom Honey

3 Tb. honey (or agave)
1/2 tsp. orange blossom water
splash of lemon juice

Whisk ingredients together until creamy. I heated up the bowl slightly on low heat until the honey was softer.


Mint Butter

Handful of peppermint, stems removed
2 Tb. firm coconut oil
1/2 can of coconut milk, cream only (must be separated; if not, just a few tablespoons or so)

In the food processor, add coconut milk and peppermint, and blend until smooth. In small chunks, add the coconut oil. Once it looks like a watery mess, spoon it out into a fine mesh strainer. Gently press the water out, making sure not to push the solids through. It helps to roll it around and knead it, almost like a bread dough, or use a spatula to smooth it out, and drain the water. (You'll know what I mean when you're doing it. :) Reserve the liquid for use in something else.

When finished, plate fritters with a drizzle of honey and mint butter on the side. Can you say shower time? I knew you could. :)