1 pkg firm tofu
1 egg
3/4 cup cornstarch
vegetable oil
1 diced white onion
2 tbs minced ginger
2 tbs minced garlic
1 1/3 cup vegetable stock
4 tbs soy sauce
4 tbs sugar
red pepper flakes, to taste
2 tbs white vinegar
1 pkg mushrooms, sliced
rice and steamed broccoli to round out meal, if desired

Drain tofu and cut into pieces about 1/2 an inch cubed. Press in a thick towel under heavy books (put a plate under them to prevent them getting damp) for at least 30 minutes to remove all excess moisture. Freeze overnight for texture, if desired.

Combine vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, vinegar, garlic, and ginger in a reasonably large sealable container (lunch-sized glass lock is fine). Add tofu cubes, covering them as much as possible. Marinate in fridge (2 hours should be good).

Mix egg with 3 Tbs of water. Retaining marinade for later, remove tofu cubes and dip in mixture.

Sprinkle cubes with corn starch to completely cover.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Heat oil for frying in pan. Fry cubes in oil until golden brown and crispy. Drain oil and corn starch crumbs.

Heat 3 Tbs of vegetable oil in pan and add onions and mushrooms. Sautee until brown.

Mix 2 tbs of water and 1 tbs of cornstarch. Add mixture and marinade to pan, stirring well.

Add tofu to pan and toss to coat evenly in sauce.

Serve immediately over your choice of rice, with steamed broccoli.

I was trying to use up some zucchini and this recipe was suggested by 3 separate people on FB.  This recipe may not be new to some people, but I’d never heard of it before!

Ingredients:

• 4-5 zucchini
• salt

Directions:

1. Using a vegetable peeler, slice zucchini lengthwise into a colander – they kind of look like pappardelle (like linguine, but wider).
2. After slicing each zucchini, sprinkle zucchini noodles with salt.
3. Allow zucchini noodles to sit for 30 minutes to allow the excess water to drain
4. Blanche zucchini in boiling water for 1 minute.
5. Use zucchini noodles as you would use regular pasta.  I had mine with spaghetti sauce and meatless meatballs.

Variations:

• I actually only had 1 zucchini and combined it with 1 vegetable marrow and 2 yellow squash.
• After blanching, saute zucchini in olive oil, garlic & parmesan cheese – serve as is.
• Place blanched zucchini in a pan and add pesto and sun dried tomatoes – saute for a few minutes and serve.

This recipe comes from here, with only slight modification.

• 2 large eggs
• 1 avocado
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1-2 tbsp mayonnaise as needed

Hard-boil eggs, and peel. Add avocado and mash until smooth. Dice green onions (coarse or fine depending on preference) and stir in evenly. If consistency is too dry or crumbly, add a bit of mayonnaise and continue stirring until desired consistency is reached.

Makes an excellent sandwich filling, bread dip, or dip for tortilla or pita chips. Best used fresh, although if advanced prep is needed, you could try leaving the avocado pit in the bowl, or adding a little lemon juice to prevent browning.

This recipe comes from here, with only slight modifications.

• 1 head cauliflower
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder*
• sour cream
• olive oil

Cut caulifower into florets and cook in boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and mash while still warm.

Stir cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, cayenne and garlic to taste.

Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat.  Form the mixture into patties about 3 inches across. Cook until golden brown and set, about 3 minutes per side.

Serve with sour cream.

* Note that I know I added one other spice. I’m guessing onion powder, but it might have been something else. I wish I’d jotted this down earlier, as it turned out perfect. That said, you can really adjust the spices to match whatever you want. The original recipe also called for salt, but as usual I omitted it and did not seem to suffer ill effects. I may have used a bunch more cheese than indicated.

This is from The Curry Book by Nancie McDermott. I think that both parts could be made separately, too  — I might just make the sweet potatoes sometime, since they are so good. They are really good separately and they’re really good together, is what I’m saying. Also this makes a LOT, but I’m not really sure how to cut down on the kale thing.

Ingredients

• 3 large sweet potatoes (maybe 1.5 pounds?)
• 1 bunch of kale (I think any leafy green would work in this recipe)
• 2 cups of water

Sweet Potato Toss

• 2  TBSP minced garlic
• 2  TBSP curry powder
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or sriracha)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce [NOTE: use gluten-free soy sauce to make this recipe gluten free]
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Kale Dressing

• 4 TBSP rice vinegar
• 2 TBSP honey (I might use less next time)
• 1TBSP balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper (or sriracha)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a 9×13 pan or a baking sheet.
• Mix the ingredients for the sweet potato toss in a large bowl.
• Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1/2-thick pieces.
• Put the sweet potatoes in the bowl of sweet potato toss and toss them until they’re coated.
• Put the sweet potatoes in the 9×13 pan and put the pan in the oven.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until they’re soft and browned on the edges.
• While the sweet potatoes are baking, wash the kale, cut it into 1/2-inch thick strips, and put it in a large bowl.
• After the sweet potatoes have come out of the oven, boil the two cups of water.
• Pour the boiling water over the kale.
• Toss the kale with tongs or two spoons until it is bright green and wilted.
• Drain the kale in a colander. Put the kale in a bowl large enough to hold the kale AND the sweetpotatoes.
• Make the dressing, pour it over the kale, and toss until the kale is coated.
• Add the sweet potatoes and toss until everything is mixed.
• Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Additional note: this was pretty spicy. If you want it less spicy,use les chilis.