Tofu n' Broccoli

I, Nicole Williams, love tofu. These are 5 words that I could never have imagined typing a year ago. I was the girl who wanted nothing to do with that white, mushy, weird health food. I had no idea what it was even made out of, but I was pretty sure that I didn't want to know. Then, I took the time to actually learn how to cook tofu, and I realized just how delicious it can be when done correctly. I also did some research on its many health benefits including being low fat and high in protein. Studies have shown that this magical bean curd can lower bad cholesterol and triglycerides. Soy isoflavones in tofu have even been shown to reduce breast, uterine, and prostate cancer. Did I mention that it's a good source of iron?
Tofu is one of the cornerstones of any good vegan diet. Whenever I get "the protein lecture", I am quick to inform the lecturer that I eat tofu once or twice a week and get all the protein that I need. Tofu is great in all different kinds of recipes, because its nuetral flavor will easily take on whatever spices or marinade you use. So, gentle readers, please stick with me over the next few days as I present my own personal salute to tofu.

The Basics
When cooking with tofu, it's important to know exactly what kind of prep work you're looking at. Tofu comes packaged in water, so the first thing that you want to do is rinse it under cool running water. Then, I give it a gentle squeeze and lay it on a cutting board between two paper towels, pressing gently but firmly until most of the moisture comes out. It should feel like you are making love to the tofu, I promise. I'm not sure why you are supossed to do all of these things, I think that it's either to prep it to absorb flavors or maybe just so that it doesn't get mushy. The next thing I do is roll the tofu in a little cornstarch before cooking. It helps it get a nice crispy coating.

Tofu n' Broccoli

• 6 ounces of non-silken tofu, drained, pressed, cut into squares, and rolled in cornstarch
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. corn starch
• 2 c. fresh broccoli

Mix 2 tbsp. water, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a bowl.
Coat a pan with nonstick cooking spray and drop the tofu into it. Let it cook a few minutes until it is golden brown and then flip and brown the other side.
Add 1 1/2 tsp. of the soy sauce mixture to the pan along with the broccoli and the rest of the water.
Stir-fry for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 minute.
Add the remaining soy sauce mixture back into the pan, stir well to coat, and serve over rice, noodles, or by itself.

The Best Vegan Brunch Buffet in LA

OK, to be fair, this is the only vegan brunch buffet that I have ever heard of in Los Angeles. However, if you haven't been out to Silverlake to try the Meet Market, I highly suggest going one Saturday or Sunday morning. They have pancakes, french toast, tempeh bacon, tofu scramble, breakfast potatoes, fruit, and unlimited coffee and orange juice. This is all for the ridiculously low price of $10 (that's less than 2 soy lattes at Urth Cafe for anyone who was counting).
A few weeks ago, I convinced my friend to make the brave trek to Silverlake for brunch. I am slowly becoming one of those "west side people" who never makes it to the other side of the 405, but I had read about this brunch and knew that I had to try it.

Quinoa Stuffed peppers

 Stuffed peppers are one of those Italian dishes that I always remember having around when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I refused to eat anything green, so I really missed out. Now that I'm older, I feel bad for my mom, because I was probably such a pain in the ass to feed. I'll try to do better with my kids, which I am not having for awhile, despite my sister passing on my mom's message to get to work on some grandkids. 
So, I grew up in New Jersey, and while my personal affiliations lean more towards Irish, sometimes I feel like I should get some sort of honorary "guidette" award. This is probably a good time to make some comments on MTV's Jersey Shore. I watched a few episodes, mostly because everyone I know kept asking me if New Jersey was really that bad. I will say this: I grew up at the Jersey Shore and 90% of the wintertime population was completely normal. However, in the summer a lot of tourists from Northern Jersey and New York come down to live in the summer rentals. They turn our quiet, classy town into Ed Hardy central and their bars start pumping house music at 180dB. It would be easy for me to rag on them, but I am grateful to the Italians for bringing such good food over to America. So, I salute you and your forefathers with my recipe for quinoa-stuffed peppers. This dish is a great way to use up vegetables that you might have on hand near the end of your grocery cycle, or to use some things that have been hanging out in the freezer. It's also a nifty use of quinoa, which is probably one of my favorite superfoods.

Doctor, Doctor

I am currently on my third day of the McDougall program. It’s a 12-day program focusing on starches, with fruits and vegetables playing important supporting roles. There are no meat or dairy products on the McDougall plan, so it’s very similar to veganism. However, the McDougall plan challenges us to make one major change in our lives: eliminating all oil.

Why do we hate on oil? Well for starters oil is fat. Pure fat. Your body loves to store fat. Personally, my body prefers my abdominal region, but maybe your body favors the derrier or thighs. Maybe you just have a fat face. We are all different in this regard. According to Dr. McDougall, fat deprives cells of oxygen and produces free radicals. Basically fat is causing damage to your body.

You may not buy into this, so let me spell it out very rationally. There are 120 calories in a tablespoon of oil. For 120 calories you could instead be eating:  17 cups of spinach, a small baked potato, over a cup of cornflakes, or 21 extra large strawberries. Out of these things, what is going to keep you full longer? What is going to be nutritionally dense enough to get your body the nutrition it needs? What is going to keep you from over-eating?

I’m 3 days into the plan, and I have been amazed at how full I have felt. I feel like I’ve been gorging myself on whole wheat pasta, vegetables, beans, whole grains, and fruit. The amazing thing is that I am losing weight again, and I have been on a pretty solid plateau for over a month. I’m still 9 pounds away from my ultimate goal, and I’m planning on McDougalling my way there.

The McDougall website has a lot of recipes on it, which I appreciate. My only gripe is that most of the recipes in the meal plan are pretty awful. It’s not that you can’t have delicious oil-free food, because you can. The cooking techniques, spices, and ingredient measures have been pretty off. Luckily, I’ve been able to catch most of them before or during cooking. Others I have had to suffer through. Check back often to see some of the things I’ve managed to come up with.

Strawberry Banana Pancakes

I think that it's really commendable that I am so good at beating a dead horse re-inventing this vegan pancake recipe. At this point in the game, I'm doing it just to challenge myself and see just how versatile of a little recipe this is. Future implementations will include granola, chocolate (not chocolate chip, actual chocolate), and coconut macadamia. Maybe I should open up my own vegan pancake restaurant. I suppose that I would need some savory pancakes to round out my menu. I would also need capital: lots of capital. I've been toying lately with the idea of writing my own book. The concept would be a guide to healthy living, a way of turning your life around, through improving your diet, exercise, and lots of delicious and nutritious recipes. I worry that no one would want to buy it, so feel free to post reassuring comments about how you would buy two if you had the chance.
The other day I ended up with a banana on the edge. You know what I'm talking about. The skin is starting to develop some brown splotches and you know that a matter of hours stand between you and a wasted quarter. I knew that I had to act fast. I really love bananas. The potassium in them is great for light-headedness, which I sometimes have a problem with. Some people argue that 100 calories for a piece of fruit is excessive. Those people are stupid, bananas are great, and here's a new recipe.

Friendship Cookies...Oops

So we took to the mean trails of Alta Dena with the LA Veggie Hikers. Always one to cause trouble, my boyfriend got into an minor altercation over a parking space. I will not comment on who was right or who was wrong.He pulled a U-turn to get into a parking space and someone in the car behind him pulled a U-turn to get into the same parking space. Looks were exchanged.
Obviously someone in this relationship didn't get a check next to "plays well with others".Luckily for the both of us,  I got a check mark next to "seeks validation."
Today I decided to bring along something delicious my favorite Los-Angeles based vegetarian hikers. I decided that cookies are hands down the best snack for the middle of a hike. Not only were they a great pick-me-up, they were also easy to carry in the rockin' backpack I got from work.
I got to thinking about what went in to a good trail mix. I knew that I needed dried fruit and nuts, and I almost used chocolate chips. However, at the last minute I decided on carob chips instead. I'm big on the carob chips lately, because they are lower in fat and calories than chocolate. They also pack in more nutrition, and in a cookie the taste is indiscernible. <tangent> Whole Foods sometimes carries carob chips in the bulk section, but I found out the other day that they usually only have them during the holidays. It wasn't a big loss, though, because I did end up with a perfect excuse to visit the co-op. They not only had carob chips, but I also went home with some cinnamon bread made from wheat berries. This is going to be very important, as I am planning on going on the McDougall plan this week </tangent>. More on that later.
I did not commit to a fruit/nut combination before going to the bulk section. Sometimes locking yourself in to a cookie filling can really backfire. So, I allowed the availability to be my guide and came up with some of the most delicious, moist, chewy vegan cookies I've ever had.

Healthy Fried Ice Cream?!?

I know what you're thinking right now: "What kind of drugs is she taking, or more importantly what kinds of drugs should she be taking?". I know it sounds crazy, because the term deep fried ice cream calls up visions of fatty frozen balls of ice cream rolled in a crunchy cinnamon mixture and deep fried in oil. I used to love me some deep fried ice cream, as you can see in this picture. You can also see my flabby arms and chubby little face. To channel my favorite vegan authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin would say: that is not the way to a sweet ass. Not only is that dessert as big as my head and following several margaritas, it's also a perfect storm of fat, milk (the intended purpose of which is to fatten baby cows), and tons and tons of sugar. However, it also tastes like heaven on earth, so I was in quite the conundrum the other day when I started craving it.
 Sometimes, part of being vegan is using a little ingenuity. I found a great recipe in a cookbook called College Vegetarian Cooking, which I picked up hoping to find some quick, easy, and tasty meal ideas. I was not disappointed, and they had a great recipe for what is essentially an ice cream cake with cornflakes on top of it. It was delicious, but their recipe still called for a bit more sugar than I would use and of course ice cream, so I made a few adjustments of my own and ended up with a delicious frozen treat.

Vamping on French Toast

Being vegan doesn't always have to mean being healthy. In fact, I have seen a number of people who are vegan, but continue to eat shitty diets full of carbs and oils. So, this conception that all vegans are rail thin with perfect skin is not something that is always true. Although, it is something that this particular vegan aspires to, and 95% of the time, I eat meals that further this goal. On the other hand, sometimes it's the morning of my birthday and I feel entitled so something just a little more special.
Before moving to West LA and becoming one of those people who needs to work up the motivation to journey east of La Cienega, I used to reside in uber-hip Los Feliz. Out of habit, I still go to the doctor over there every couple of months. I used to always round out the trip with a little visit to Fred 62, which used to be my favorite kitschy diner until I discovered Swingers' and her vegan pancakes.
Fred's is a great place, if you are willing to look past a less than stellar wait-staff and the fact that sometimes you have to wait an hour for a table. The food is absolutely delicious, and one of my favorites was always the Bearded Mr. Frenchy, a french toast coated in corn flakes and then deep fried. Even before I went vegan, I felt that the dish was a little heavy, which means that to someone with normal taste buds, it probably tasted like a lard parade. Anyway,I made this special occasion-only breakfast in April when I wanted something absolutely bananas for my birthday.

A joke I heard the other day.
How many vegans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Answer: Two. One to change the lightbulb and one to read the ingredients. Ba-dum-ba. Here's the recipe.

Good Date, Good Risotto

 I was really hoping to put together a bitter, man-hating cookbook full of vegan recipes and bad date stories. To further that goal, I had a friend over to cook risotto, play scrabble, and drink a bunch of red wine. Secretly, I think I was hoping for some fantastic story about burning down my apartment or him spilling red wine all over my carpet. It would have been great if he got belligerently drunk and had to be forcibly removed from my apartment. Unfortunately, all that happened was that we made a killer risotto and I got my ass kicked in Scrabble. I suppose I could always do a chapter on good dates and good recipes, but I'm not sure how many of the 23 dates I went on between January and May would make it into that category.
So, it looks like it's back to the drawing board on the whole cook-book concept, but there's more than one reason behind that. I can save all that for another post, in the meantime, let's get down to the risotto.
A risotto is created by gently pan-frying grains of aborrio rice and then slowly adding liquid to the rice as it cooks. The secret to risotto is that you have to stand there and stir the rice almost constantly for about 20 minutes. That's what makes risotto the perfect date meal, because you can do all of the exciting work and then make your date stand at the stove and stir it for you. I actually busied myself about the task of making vegan brownies, but it is entirely possible to make up a task on the far side of the kitchen, and as long as it is more interesting than stirring, you would be coming out ahead. Now, this can probably blow up in your face if your date doesn't know what they are doing. It's amazing sometimes how people manage to screw up the simplest things. I was lucky enough to leave my risotto in competent hands and we were rewarded with a risotto so rich and creamy that it's hard to believe it's actually vegan. The mushrooms and peas in this recipe pack in a solid serving of vegetables and the spices that we ended up using were delicious, if a little unconventional. I paired the risotto with a salad, although I suppose you could use it as a side dish. However, it's so delicious that you won't want to touch anything else on your plate and so filling that you don't need anything else for a perfect meal, except maybe some witty banter and a nice glass of pinot noir?

My First Time

The other day I was sifting through my desk at work, and somehow a recipe had gotten trapped in a folder full of very project management important documents. It was a hand-written copy of my very first vegan recipe. My younger sister went vegan when I was in college. I believe that she ran into some "vegangelists " at a concert and was quickly converted over to a plant-based diet. I am not proud of the fact that I was not as understanding as I should have been. It just seemed so foreign to me that she would choose to avoid all animal products. Plus, she's always been thin and gorgeous, so the benefits to her appearance were not as evident as they were on someone like me. Now I realize that she had it right back then. One Christmas I went home and, as a show of good faith, baked vegan pumpkin muffins for breakfast. Even though I wasn't sold on the whole "vegan thing" at the time, I do remember very distinctly that these muffins were more delicious than I thought they would have been.
I've tweaked the recipe just a little bit, because it did include a fair bit of sugar and fat. I left out some of the sugar, which leads to a spicier muffin, and replaced most of the fat with applesauce. Applesauce is hands-down the best fat replacer when it comes to breakfast breads. It keeps them moist and delicious without adding unnecessary inches to your waistline. These muffins are really delicious and perfect for a chilly morning, or, if you live in Southern California like me, just any time that you get a craving for some pumpkin awesomeness.

Potato Pancakes

One of my favorite Easter memories dates back to my senior year in highschool, when my friends Phil, Siobhan, and I made potato pancakes over Easter break. We used Phil's mom's recipe and ended up with what I remember to be about 3 million potato pancakes. They were delicious, but we deep fried them in oil, which is fine when you have a 17 year old metabolism, but not now. I have also been known to frequent the Red Lion in Silverlake, an open-air beer garden where the hefeweizen is cold and the potato pancakes are delicious (but so not vegan and so not low-fat).
After having some success with the idea of baked eggplant Parmesan, I wanted to try something similar with potato pancakes. Taking the eggs out of the mix created a binding issue, so I used a batter-like mixture to hold it all together. By broiling the pancakes and brushing oil on top, I got the crunch that comes from a good potato pancake with a very small amount of the fat. Also, I pre-cooked my onions, because I hate the taste of raw onions, which you can easily get stuck with if your pancakes aren't well-cooked all the way through.

Pumpkin Pancakes

On Easter, I left my comfortable sanctum of the west side and made the drive over to Silverlake to try  out the Meet Market's much-buzzed about vegan brunch buffet. I was particularly impressed by the  pancakes, which were spicy and sweet and had the distinct hint of cinnamon. I spent most of the ride back pondering what might have made those particular pancakes so special. It wasn't until I got back home that it hit me. A little light bulb went off over my head, and if I were a comic book character, my thought bubble would have been flashing "pumpkin" in some sort of comic sans font. On my next Whole Foods trip, I picked up a can of organic pumpkin puree. I like that Whole Foods stocks pumpkin puree all year long, whereas Trader Joes will usually on carry it seasonally. Libby's makes an organic 100% pure pumpkin puree, but to buy that I would have to go to a Ralphs or Albertsons. Similar to my failed experiment with adult education classes, I do not do well when I venture out into the general populace. More on that particular quirk of mine later.
I was very pleased with how these pancakes turned out. They are slightly denser and thicker than "the pancakes", which would make them perfect for a hearty fall breakfast. I know it's a bit early to plan for these things, but I will probably whip these babies up for Thanksgiving.

Light and Refreshing Fruit Salad

Is this really a recipe? I guess that I'm not sure. I think that on a very technical level, any time you put together more than 3 or 4 ingredients, it can be considered some kind of a recipe. Also, my fruit salad is more than just a couple of pieces of fruit cut up and thrown in a bowl. It has a very secret, very special dressing that is chock full of cinnamon. When I make it in the afternoon, I use champagne, but when I make it for breakfast, I use orange or pomegranate juice or whatever juice I have laying around. Obviously, such a fancy dressing gives this fruit salad a wow factor that makes me look brilliant and the people around me look very satiated.

Fruit Salad "Recipe"
4 cups of assorted fruit. I like apples, strawberries, and bananas. You can get exotic and use kiwis or even throw in some berries, it's up to you.
1/4 c. fruit juice or champagne
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. agave
I'm not going to belittle you with instructions, just be sure to mix the dressing before you toss it with the fruit.

Tofu Curry

I've said it before and I will say it again. I have recently become obsessed with Indian food, and it's not just because I'm trying to use the huge jar of curry powder I bought. Since so many Indian recipes are already vegetarian, it's really easy to adapt them to be completely vegan. Plus, the spice and strong flavors are a nice break from my staple convenience foods like salads, veggie burgers and "quesadaiyas".
Tangent: I think it's important for everyone to have a couple of go-to dishes that require little to no cooking and can be put together in a matter of minutes. It's what keeps me from breaking down and running to the nearest drive-thru. However, any really healthy lifestyle does require commitment to the kitchen. It's not easy to come up with new, nutritionally balanced meals every week. I feel like I dedicate a lot of time to researching and building recipes, and that's before I even set foot in the kitchen.
I just felt like I had to vent my semi-frustration with everyone out there, because I don't want to come off as some sort of preacher. The next time that you are stressing out about meal planning, or feel like you spend too much time in the kitchen, just know that I have been there too. The bottom line, though, is that we spent a lot of time doing a lot of things: working, hanging out with friends, running errands, etc., and it's just as important to spend time nourishing and strengthening our bodies. So, here's a recipe that I came up with so you wouldn't have to.

Vegan Cinco de Mayo

I was never a huge fan of Mexican food, and would eat it every once in a while, despite living at the epicenter of Americanized-Mexican food. Most Mexican restaurants put chicken stock and/or cheese in just about everything, and I had no problem giving them up when I went vegan. However, sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder. As a result, when Cinco de Mayo started looming closer, I started thinking about a taco night. I was planning on being at work pretty late tonight, so I celebrated Cinco de Mayo eve last night. Please note that in some regions, it is referred to as Quatro de Mayo, and some may just know it by it's more commonly occurring instance: Taco Tuesday. I enlisted the help of a talented and capable sous chef to help bring my vision into being.
Trader Joe's has great fat-free vegan refried beans, and we jazzed them up by heating them and then mixing in about a quarter cup of cheddar daiya. They may look a little weird coming out of the can, and fresh beans would always be preferable, but as a quick side dish, they cannot be topped. Unless of course, you are also making Spanish rice. Usually I will cook brown rice in vegetable stock, but last night I also cheated and used pre-cooked brown rice, which I mixed with some sauteed onions, garlic, vegetable broth, and half a can of crushed tomatoes. We just set that on medium heat and let the liquid cook off. We took quite a few shortcuts last night, but I feel like we illustrated a very important point: it is possible to cook a quick and healthy dinner on a week night. Plus, it was delicious.
I rounded out the menu with mushroom tacos, home-made pico de gallo, and guacamole. My guacamole recipe is very simple. Take an avocado and mash it with a tablespoon of lime juice and a touch of garlic salt. That's all you need. Avocado is delicious on it's own, and if you think you need to muck it up with a bunch of other things, you are sadly mistaken. If you need to be fancy, you can garnish it with a sprig of cilantro. Otherwise, you can find an outlet for your fancy cooking by referring to the recipe that follows.

Mixing the Mean Trails of Runyon Canyon

Way back in March, I went on my first hike with my new veggie hiking group. They were a great bunch and we took sort of an urban hike through the streets of Beachwood Canyon where we saw some great architecture.  I have a tendency to get really "into" things, and my hiking excursion was no different. In addition to packing a hat, extra water, and a first aid kit, I also brought along a brown paper bag filled with delicious vegan trail mix. A hike isn't the same without trail mix. I was so into the whole Saturday hiking idea and it was so beautiful outside, that I followed up the hike with a second hike in Runyon Canyon Park. A few years ago, my friends and I got hopelessly lost trying to find Runyon Canyon Park. In retrospect, it wasn't nearly as cool as we thought it was going to be. There were a lot of dogs and a lot of trail runners. I have nothing against dogs on trails, but trail runners drive me nuts. I'm like a spooked horse every time one of them whizzes by. Also, I have a problem when dog owners don't pick up after their pets and the entire park starts to smell like a giant horse stall. On the up side though, there were some great views of the city.
More relevant to my readers than the views, I made a really exciting trail mix for this hike. For me, a good trail mix has 3-4 main components. The compulsory components are granola, fruit, and nuts. You should include one thing from each category. The fourth component is more optional, and it varies from trail mix to trail mix. For our purposes, we can call it the "yum factor". It's usually something along the lines of chocolate or carob bits, and its job is to bring the outfit all together. In this trail mix, I used a hint of bourbon vanilla extract and plenty of cinnamon. The cinnamon and vanilla take this particular trail mix to a whole new level. You could probably use regular vanilla extract, but I would only do it if you were looking for an excuse to chase the trail mix with bourbon.

Does Your Mother Know What You're Up To?

Follow me here: Abba Reference -> Mamma Mia Reference -> Greek Recipe
Gyros are something that I never liked as a non-vegan. I had never even tried one, so it was puzzling when I found myself craving them a few weeks ago. I've also been making it a point to expand my main dish repertoire. Sure, I give good breakfast, but a girl has to diversify. Also, I've been bringing my lunch to work every day, so I'm always looking for something that I can bring in and assemble quickly. I suppose you could assemble these at home without the soy-yogurt sauce, but even then I would worry about my pita getting soggy. As it was, I toasted the pita lightly and packed everything separately. The picture to the right is from when I made them at home for dinner. I don't want anyone accusing me of doctoring blog photos.
Originally I wanted to use seitan for this recipe, but Trader Joes was fresh out and I did not feel like making a trip to Whole Foods, so I ended up with beef strips. After relaying the recipe to a friend, I was informed that TJ's beef strips are actually Morning Star beef strips. Morning Star discontinued them, but Trader Joe's sells them under different packaging. It's funny to me how elusive some vegan food can be. These beef strips are shrouded in mystery. It really goes to show how far we vegans are willing to go in pursuit of a good meal.

Pumpkin Pie Wontons

Sure, every good food blogger has a pumpkin recipe that they save and publish in the fall, when pumpkin is a staple on American dinner tables. Not me. I'm a loner Dottie, a rebel, and that means posting my pumpkin pie wonton recipe in May. It also means making my pumpkin pie wontons whenever I want, and just because I love pumpkin. I first used this recipe to bring to a New Years Eve party, and the filling was a hit, but the actual wontons tasted like crap. This is because I tried to make my own wonton wrappers, which was a mistake because I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't really have a choice at the time, because both Trader Joes and Whole Foods were sans-wonton wrappers. Literally 2 days after I couldn't find them anywhere, I saw an entire display of asian wrappers at Ralphs of all places. So, you don't have to go to any kind of a fancy store to find your wonton wrappers, you just have to carefully check the label to make sure that there aren't any little baby animals or baby animal derivatives in them.
These wontons are super easy to make, except the assembly which can be a little tedious. If you can, I would reccomend engaging a qualified sous chef to assist.

Pumpkin Pie Wontons
1 c. canned pumpkin
2 tbsp. maple syrup
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
16 wonton wrappers
cinnamon sugar for dusting (you can make your own with 2 parts cinnamon and 1 part raw sugar)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix pumpkin, maple syrup, sugar, and pie spice.
Spoon 1 tsp. into the center of each wonton wrapper. Fold in half an moisten the edges to seal.
Arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray.
Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over each wonton.
Bake for 16 minutes, or until wontons are a golden brown.
Flip them over and bake for 2 more minutes, then let cool completely.