• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small red onion, sliced thinly
• 2 jalapeños, seeded and sliced thinly
• 2 poblano peppers or green bell pepper, seeded, chopped into ½-inch pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, optional
• 3/4 tsp corriander
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 (24-ounce) can diced tomatoes, juice and all
• 1 (24-ounce) can gluten-free vegetable broth or water
• 1 heaping T ground cumin
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 C frozen corn
• cilantro for garnish
• tortilla chips for garnish
• Juice from 1 lime
• Salt, to taste

1. Place oil in a 4-quart pot and sauté onions, jalapeños and poblano pepper over medium-high heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. (Add a little more oil or broth if needed.) Add garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and sauté for another minute.
2. Add tomatoes to the pot, including the juice. Fill the tomato can with vegetable broth or water and add to the pot. Stir in the cumin and corriander.
3. Add beans, corn and let simmer for 5 more minutes. Add lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt to taste.
4. Ladle soup into serving bowls. Crumble tortilla chips over the top and garnish with cilantro.

I rarely write my own recipes.  I’m not even sure where to start.  So, I have cookbooks…lots and lots of them.  That being said, I hardly ever follow a recipe from start to finish 100% dead-on as written.  I’m the queen of “adapted from” as you may have noticed from the rest of my blog posts.  This is mostly due to the fact that I look in my fridge and cook from what I have, not the other way around…I don’t read a recipe then shop for the ingredients.  I know, totally inefficient.  My brain just doesn’t work that way.

My friends generally want to know where my ideas come from, so here are the books I keep handy for inspiration.  For your convenience, the title of the book is linked to Amazon where you can purchase the book and the author website is linked to the author name.  Most of the veg community shares recipes for free online, but there is just something about having a cookbook in my hands.  Later I’ll share the contents of my Google Reader with you too.

My top cookbooks:

Appetite for Reduction:  Isa Chanda Moskowitz

Vegan Yum Yum:  Lauren Ulm

eat, drink & be vegan:  Dreena Burton

The Happy Herbivore:  Lindsay Nixon

Vegan Diner:   Julie Hasson

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian:  Mark Bittman

Super Natural Cooking:  Heidi Swanson

This recipe served three as a main dish with a side of edemame with about 2 wraps to spare just using one block of tofu.

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin-Mustard Tofu
Adapted from Appetite for Reduction

Tofu

• 1 block (~14 oz) extra firm tofu, diced in 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce

Sauce

• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (mirin is recommended but I didn’t have it)
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp sriracha or sambal if you prefer
• 2 tsp prepared yellow mustard

To Serve

• About 12 romaine (bib or iceburg will work too) lettuce leaves
• Bean sprouts
• Dry roasted peanuts or cashews
• Rice noodles (the crunchy kind)

Prepare the tofu: Preheat a cast-iron or heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping it once in a while, until it is browned on most sides. About midway through, drizzle with the soy sauce and toss to coat.  I had to add a smidge of peanut oil to this recipe when I flipped the tofu as it was sticking a little.  If you have great patience, and wait it out, it shouldn’t stick.  I do not have patience.  I did however have oil.

Preheat a separate large pan over medium heat with the sesame oil. Saute the red pepper, onion, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 10 minutes. The veggies should be soft and browned. Add the mirin (or rice wine vinegar would work here too) and let cook for about 3 minutes. Add the hoisin, sriracha, and mustard, and cook for another minute.  Omit sriracha if you don’t like spicy food.  In general avoid sriracha if you don’t like spice.

Add the tofu to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve alongside lettuce leaves, to stuff like tacos.  Top with the sprouts and crunchy bits.  Sidenote:  this is a great stir fry and would stand on its own over some brown rice or noodles.

• 1 tsp canola or olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, diced finely
•  4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 T fresh ginger, peeled and diced
• 1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch dice
• 2 tsp regular (sweet) curry powder
• 1 tsp hot curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 C baby arugula or spinach

1. Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion in oil for about 4 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic & ginger, saute for 30 seconds. Add tofu to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tofu has browned on some of the sides.
2. Add the curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, lemon juice & a few splashed of water if it’s too dry. Mix in the arugula. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the arugula is wilted (cover if you want this to go faster).
3. Taste for spices & add another teaspoon of curry powder if needed. Serve!

First, I wish all of you a healthy and happy new year.  Healthier for me began when I gave up meat many moons ago.  Now my biggest problem is eating too much delish vegetarian and vegan foods-portion control Adrienne!  I challenge you to inspire your friends to opt for two meatless days per week (if you/they aren’t already meatless).  Do it for your health, the animals, and the environment.

Secondly, I fall under the category of vegetarian, so I’m looking to cook and eat more under the vegan category in 2012.  For me this will mean increased planning for the weekly menu and reading the labels of convenience foods more completely.  If you are already vegetarian, strive for two days a week as a vegan, see how it goes.  I’d love to hear from you about your successes, challenges and failures.

I’ll keep posting weekly recipes from books and sites around the Interwebs.  If you have  fave blog or book, tell me about it.  I am always in search of new eats.  You can catch my recipe and other rantings on The Mode Life if you so desire.  I don’t always blog about food believe it or not!

Happy New Year friends.  Thanks for supporting my little hobby here at vegbonvivant.com.

At any rate, this recipe is adapted from her marinara recipe (there are like 8 of them in her book) and her “meatball” recipe. The good news is, this recipe makes A TON of “meatballs” and they can be successfully frozen and reheated without too many issues.  Just be sure to freeze them first, then bag them otherwise you will get mush (yes, I got mush once, so I’m saving you the trouble).  The recipe as written fed Mr. Wonderful and I dinner one night, lunch the next day and the other half was frozen for a quick dinner later in winter when we are hibernating; so it’s a ton of food.  Take note, you have been advised (and warned).

Tempeh Black-Eyed Pea Balls

• 12 ounces of tempeh (1.5 packages)
• 1 (15 oz) can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp of dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• Black Pepper (several pinches)
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/4 tsp salt

First, steam your tempeh.  Frankly tempeh isn’t that appetizing unsteamed.  This is probably why you avoid using it, you had that one bad experience where you just used it straight from the package and it was gross.  Give tempeh another try-steam it before you use it.  Off soapbox, back to cooking.  If you have a steamer, great, use it.  If you don’t or, if you are like me, and have no idea how to use the steamer you have because you use it like once a year, forget it and grab a glass microwave safe dish.  For you steamer elitists, once the steamer is ready, break the tempeh into bite-size pieces, and steam for 10 minutes.  For you rugged folks, break tempeh into small hunks, drop it in the bowl/dish, cover with water and zap it on high for 5 minutes or so, then leave in there for another 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350, and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, use a fork to mash the beans. They should be well mashed, with no whole beans left, but not totally smooth, like a puree. Add the herbs, minced garlic, spices, soy sauce, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, and mix well.  Isa says don’t use a food processor here, but if you aren’t a total ass about it you can use it, just DO NOT PUREE the mixture or you will be sorry.  Remember at the end you are trying to achieve hamburger-like [gag] meatball consistency.

When the tempeh is done, add it to the mix, and mash well. It’s good if it’s still steaming, because it will help all the flavors meld, before baking. When the mix is cool enough to handle (a few minutes), add the bread crumbs and salt. Unlike raw cookie dough which is amazing out of the bowl, do not eat these before you bake them, they don’t taste that yummy.  They become delicious with the addition of heat.

Make “meatballs” using a 2 tsp of the mix, roll the mixture into walnut size balls, placing them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (I’ve said this twice, don’t forget the parchment paper).  Isa recommends to spray the balls liberally with cooking spray, and cover loosely with tinfoil. Bake for 15 minutes, flip the balls, and bake for 10 more minutes, uncovered.  I didn’t bother with the spray or the cover.  I baked them until they looked done, shook them once or twice while they were baking, then removed them before they were all dried up.  This is why I like cooking and not baking so much.  Lots more room for error.

So if you are still with me after all of that, marinara sauce coming your way next.

Basic Marinara

• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp of dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (24 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp of salt

• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, washed, chopped and browned
• 2 cups sweet potato, diced and steamed

Preheat a 2-quart pot over medium/low heat. Saute the mushrooms in the oil for until browned, add garlic and red pepper flakes into the oil, saute for about a minute-warning do not stand over the pan when you add the red pepper flakes unless you are wearing a gas mask.

Add thyme, oregano, and pepper, and saute for a minute more, adding a splash of water if necessary. Add the tomatoes, steamed sweet potatoes, salt, and stir to combine. Cover the pot, leaving a gap for steam to escape, and cook for 10 minutes. Salt if necessary.  This is ready to serve over pasta and “meatballs” above.

Semester is finally coming to a close.  My grading is nearly finished and it’s time to get some good food up here for the month of December! This is a wonderful dish perfect for those potlucks where you can’t take another helping of green bean casserole made from gray, canned, green beans (not that those little crispy onion things aren’t delicious, but come on!).  This will spice things up.  This modified recipe is courtesy of Vegetarian Times’ reader recipe contest of 2011 and is featured on the cover of the December 2011 issue.  This recipe made enough for me to make a 9×9 pan for dinner, then freeze a fully made 8 1/2 x 11 pan for later when we have company.

Sauce 

• 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tsp ancho chile powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chile powder

Filling 

• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
• 1 1/2 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (3 cups)
• 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 16-oz. jar prepared medium salsa
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, drained and minced
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

Enchiladas

• extra virgin olive oil, for brushing baking dish
• 16 6-inch corn tortillas, warmed
• 2 limes, cut into wedges, for garnish
• 1 avocado, sliced, for garnish
• 1/2 cup faux sour cream, for garnish
• Cilantro sprigs, for garnish, optional

To make Sauce: Bring all ingredients to a simmer in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to combine, then remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
To make Filling: Heat oil in separate saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft. Add sweet potatoes, tomatoes, salsa, garlic, chipotle chile, and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft. Mash mixture with potato masher until combined. Add black beans, and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
To assemble Enchiladas: Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 13- x 9-inch baking dish with oil. Spread 1/2 cup Sauce in bottom of dish. Fill tortillas with Filling. Roll, and pack close together seam-side down in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce.  Bake 15 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with lime wedges, avocado slices, faux sour cream, and cilantro sprigs, if using.

It’s been a while since I last posted.  Hey, I’ve been busy over at The Mode Life with a few posts not related to food.  I know, right?

Cupboard is bare except for the Doorganics delivery from Tuesday, so I whipped up a stir fry from some veggies and this sauce.  Don’t be too disappointed, I didn’t take pictures, but I assure you…it was delish.  Mr. Wonderful approved.

Ingredients (you probably have these in your kitchen already)

• 1/2 cup low-sodium veg broth or water
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sherry or mirin
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

In a small bowl, combine the stock with the soy sauce, mirin, agave, cornstarch slurry, vinegar and sesame oil. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

In a medium saucepan, heat the peanut oil until shimmering. Add the ginger and crushed red pepper and cook over high heat (be careful not to breathe this in right away, trust me), stirring, until fragrant and golden. Add the stock mixture and boil over high heat until thickened and glossy, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a glass jar and let cool or use immediately over stir fried veggies and tofu.

Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

Today was the last day of eating at my used-to-be-favorite brunch establishment in Grand Rapids.  After nearly a year of blissful eats, one dish more satisfying than another…today I suffered my last disappointment in a string of weeks of less than savory breakfast experiences.  Today, I drank my last cup of lukewarm, yet burnt coffee and attempted to order my last item that is printed on the menu, but “we are out of that item at the moment” (how in the eff are you out of PANCAKES?).  Today, I broke up with my weekly brunch joint.

As the events of my last brunch as a regular tumbled through my head, I was obsessed with three things:

1) How in the heck do I make lemon ricotta pancakes?

2) Will a breakfast tickle taste as good at home as it does here?

3) I must learn how to make a chipotle-jalapeno vinaigrette for Huevos Rancheros with scrambled cilantro eggs, pronto.

Here is my attempt at a Breakfast Tickle.  I actually think that my version is a little bit more fresh after not sitting under a heat lamp waiting to get delivered to me by an incompetent server not interested at all with my level of hunger.  I know it looks weird, but I promise this is like a breakfast party in your mouth.

Breakfast Tickle

as Interpreted by Veg BonVivant

• 1 whole poblano pepper
• 2 T natural peanut butter
• 2 tsp real maple syrup
• 2 slices cooked MorningStar Farm bacon
• 1/2 super ripe banana
• 1 piece regular naan bread
• 1 egg, fried, over medium, easy on the salt

Fire up the gas stove on high, place washed and dried pepper directly on flame (turn on the exhaust fan please, or face not being able to read the rest of the instructions here…the oil will consume you).  Wait for skin to get black and bubbly, remove from heat and place into a paper bag, roll over the top and wait 5 minutes to handle.  After cooling, use the bag, not your bare hand, to remove stem, seeds and skin of the pepper.  This should leave you with a super floppy, charred, yet delicious specimen of a roasted poblano pepper.  Save this gem for assembly.

Over medium heat in a lightly oiled skillet, “fry” your banana (cut in half length-wise) until caramely and delicious-at this point you can fry your egg too, over medium if you are funny like I am about the yolk or over easy if you like a gooey mess like Mr. Wonderful does.

While you are frying your banana and egg, in a 350 oven warm up naan bread until pliable, not hard.  Remove naan from oven, spread with the peanut butter.

To assemble the whole Tickle:  take the peanut butter coated naan put butter up on a plate, follow with poblano, banana, bacon, then egg.  Drizzle with maple syrup and then devour.  I use a fork and knife to avoid complete disaster, Mr. Wonderful goes rogue agent on it and crams it into his face in about four bites.  This my friends is the difference between girls and boys.