Mushroom gravy:
Melt 0.25 c earth balance in a skillet or wok. Add 2 c. Crimini mushrooms and three minced garlic cloves. Simmer over medium heat for a few minutes. Then add 2 cups vegetable broth then half a cup of flour (I used soy flour) slowly, stirring all the while to prevent clumping.
Tofu steaks:
Cut a block of tofu into 9 strips. Heat some olive oil in a skillet. Mix in a small bowl half a cup of flour, 0.25 c. Nutritional yeast, and 1 T. Black pepper dip each tofu strip in the flour mixture, and fry until golden in the oil.
Put about a cup of watercress on each plate, top with three slices tofu and some gravy.
Wednesday evening the chili was perfect, a nice warm meal, then we were early to bed, from staying out too late the night before. Rob was battling a bit of a cold, and we both were tired.
From Moosewood Low Fat Favorites, Festive Black Bean Chili recipe here.
I like this chili recipe because it is beautiful and colorful! Sometimes I really like using tofu crumbles in chili, but here it just doesn't belong. There is a lot of flavor, and it tastes so good, and so good for you! I served it with a dollop of mashed avocado on top, a sprinkle of daiya cheddar, and a few crackers (because who doesn't like crackers??).
I swapped Friday and Saturday's recipes since the sprouts looked so good in my refrigerator. Friday night we tried out the lentil quiona balls with mushroom gravy and roasted brussels sprouts. The lentil dish came from the Vegan Cuts Fall recipe download which is accessible here:
I deviated from the mushroom gravy recipe, as I already have a really good one, mine used some fresh cashew milk. Next time I make this, I will cook the lentils for longer than stated- they weren't quite soft enough for my liking. I will use 1.5 c. veg. broth to 0.5 c. lentils, and cook first for half an hour.
The Brussels Sprouts were in homage to the delicious ones I tasted last week in North Carolina.
First of all, let me tell you that I am a relatively new Brussels Sprouts convert. My mom didn't like them, so she never made them. The only time I remember eating them growing up was once.
When I was in High School, we lived overseas in Germany. My mom one summer sent my brother, Tim and I to an international swim camp. (This is how I got TB, I'm pretty sure). Being a vegetarian was not a popular thing among the German/Austrians running the camp, so instead of getting special meals, I just got no meat and double the vegetable side dish. One night, the veggies were Brussels Sprouts, and they were cooked in a heavy cream & butter and so slimy! Gross! I was convinced I hated them, and went to bed pretty hungry that night.
In the last few years, I started trying vegetables I didn't like growing up and having good luck (kale, collard greens, Brussels sprouts) and interestingly enough, came to the realization that I didn't like them before because the were too slimy/oily. Turns out that when you cook these vegetables in a healthy way, they taste GOOD!
For roasting, you should really cook at a high temperature (400-500 degrees), but I cooked these at 350 because the oven was already on for the Lentil balls.
I washed and trimmed the sprouts, and because they were so big, cut each one in half. I drizzled them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and baked them for about 40 minutes.
Saturday morning, I did some juicing, and made some veggie juices with beets and greens, some fruit juices with apples and cranberries, and a big mess. If any of my readers know my lovely husband, can you tell him that this year I am asking Santa for a new (heavy duty, wide mouth) juicer?
Saturday we had the vegan Mac and chi from The Vegan Zombie: you can find that recipe here. This is one of their earlier videos, and it just cracks me up! Watch it- I promise you will learn two lessons! (i.e. be careful with herbs @3:29, and always lock your door @ 9:00)
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