South Beach Diet's Broccoli Stir Fry with Tofu & Cherry Tomatoes

This recipe, from the South Beach Diet cookbook by Arthur Agaston, is very easy to make - just make sure to prep all of the ingredients before you start. I would recommend doubling the sauce for anyone who wants a bit extra to go with their rice.

 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon dry sherry

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 large bunch broccoli, cut into small florets

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

4 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 cup cherry or yellow pear tomatoes, halved

8 ounces firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/4″ cubes

Directions:

In a cup, whisk together the broth, soy sauce, sherry, and cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned. Add mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and tofu and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to collapse.

Stir the cornstarch mixture and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the mixture boils and thickens.

Serve over white or brown rice.
  

Quinoa, Kale, and Broccoli Salad

 

 

I threw this recipe together based on what was in my fridge. Although it was a good salad warm, it was even better cold the next day!

Ingredients:

1/2 red onion, chopped finely

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups of kale, washed and shredded

1 cup of quinoa

2 cups of water

2 heads of broccoli, chopped into small florets

1 carrot, shredded

1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts

 

Dressing:

4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon of whole grain mustard

 

 

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in large frying pan. Add onion and garlic and fry until translucent, around 8 minutes. Add quinoa, kale, and water. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and then simmer until the liquid is gone, around 15 minutes. Meanwhile, steam broccoli for 5 minutes, until bright green and slightly tender. Mix vinegar and mustard in a small bowl to make dressing.

 

When the quinoa and kale mixture is ready, add broccoli and carrots. Mix in dressing to taste. Top with pine nuts.

 

                                              

 

 

 

 

Kale Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing

I am super excited about the new cookbooks that I got for Christmas. One of them, Forks Over Knives, is particularly exciting because the recipes are all vegan, and all low fat. I usually don't get too excited about salads in cookbooks - I rarely have the patience to follow recipes for something I feel like I can put together just as easily on my own. However, this book has quite a few salad recipes that caught my eye. The one I made the other day, a kale salad with maple mustard dressing, was surprisingly unique in taste.
 
 Dressing:

• Zest and juice of 1 lemons
• 1 cup cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbps cup tahini
• 1 tbps stone-ground mustard
• 1 tbps Braggs Amino Acids (or wheat-free tamari or low-sodium soy sauce)
• 1 tbs. 100% pure maple syrup
• 2 tbps nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/4 cup water

Salad:

• 6 cups kale, ribs removed & shredded
• 2 cup of broccoli florets, cut into tiny pieces
• 1 cup of red cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup of carrots, shredded
• 1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1. Place all dressing ingredients into blender and blend until smooth (add more or less water to get to the desired consistency)
2. Mix salad ingredients together and add dressing.

Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe With Rotelle

So I have to admit that when I got the cookbook "Veganomicon" for Christmas last year I was thrilled to try out what my friends called the "Vegan Bible". Sadly, since the initial read-through, this cookbook has been relegated to the back of my bookshelf and has rarely seen the light of day. I pulled it out last night, desperate to find a good recipe for the tempeh sitting in my fridge. And promptly realized why I never use it. As a single professional, I usually only have a few staple ingredients on hand to cook with. The recipes in Veganomicon always call for more ingredients than I have in my pantry and more time than I have on hand. So I was surprised and pleased to realize I had everything to make one of the many tempeh recipes in there last night. Well, everything except the broccoli rabe....but I did have a bag of frozen broccoli in my freezer. The tempeh marinade was actually delicious and the perfect amount of spicy for me.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb whole wheat spiral pasta

Spicy Fennel Tempeh:

1 (15 ounce) package tempeh, cubed

1/2 cup vegetable broth, plus 2 tablespoons vegetable broth

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 tablespoon fennel seed 

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Broccoli rabe:
1/4 cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 bunch broccoli rabe, tough stems trimmed, chopped coarsely (1/2-3/4 pound)  * I used a bag of frozen broccoli cut into small pieces
2 -3 tablespoons white wine or 2 -3 tablespoons water or 2 -3 tablespoons vegetable broth
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar or 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt & freshly ground black pepper

 

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions, usually about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, toss with a teaspoon or two of olive oil and keep covered either in a large covered serving bowl or the cooking pot. While your pasta is boiling, prepare the other ingredients.

 

2. Tempeh: Place the tempeh in a large, nonstick skillet. In a measuring cup, whisk together the vegetable broth, tomato paste, soy sauce, garlic, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, and oregano. Pour over the tempeh, stir to coat, and cook over medium heat until the liquid starts to simmer. Cover the pan and steam the tempeh for 8 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the tempeh is tender. Stir a few times while tempeh is steaming.

 

 

3. Transfer the tempeh to a bowl and crumble about half the cubes with the back of a spoon.

 

4. Wipe down the skillet to remove any leftover tempeh sauce, return the skillet to medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. To test the heat, drop a bit of tempeh into the oil- when it sizzles, the oil is hot enough. Add the tempeh and stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes, until it begins to brown. Remove from heat, add to the pasta, and keep covered.

 

5. Broccoli rabe: Pour the remaining olive oil into the pan and add the sliced garlic. When the garlic begins to sizzle, stir and cook it for about a minute. Add the broccoli rabe (or defrosted broccoli, in my case), stir to coat it with the oil, sprinkle with a little salt, and cover the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the white wine and steam for 8 to 10 minutes, until the broccoli rabe is bright green and its stems are tender (you may need to do this in 2 batches, just add the second batch of broccoli rabe when the first batch has wilted enough to leave room in your pan)

 

6. Remove the cover and continue to saute for an additional minute or two, until any excess liquid is evaporated. Pour the cooked broccoli rabe onto the tempeh and pasta, sprinkle with red wine vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and toss everything to mix.

 

Broccoli and Spinach Vegan Quiche

I have had this recipe from Lindsey Nixon's book "Everyday Happy Herbivore" on my "Try" list for some time. Working from home today gave me the ability to give it a shot for a quick lunch. Very easy and made from ingredients I usually have in my fridge every day. Lindsey mentions using any type of greens that you want - I used some broccoli and spinach. I also subbed out the garlic and onion powder (personal taste) and added in harissa powder in their place for some spice.  I will post my modified recipe below - Lindsey's recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

• 1 pound extra-firm tofu
• 1 tsp harissa powder
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp salt 
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1½ tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 cups fresh spinach chopped
• 2 cups of broccoli florets, chopped very small. 
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes                                      

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a shallow 9" pie dish and set aside. Steam broccoli (I used my microwave) until bright green and slightly tender. Combine all ingredients, except spinach and broccoli, in a food processor or strong blender and whiz until smooth and creamy, stopping to break up chunks and scrape the sides as necessary. Mix in the vegetables in and transfer batter to pie dish. Using a spatula, spread the mixture around so it's even and tight. Bake 30-40 minutes, until golden and the center is not still mushy. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before slicing.
 

 

Baked Orange-Teriyaki Tofu with Stir Fried Broccoli and Red Peppers

This baked tofu recipe was adapted from Vegan Bites by Beverly Lynn Bennett. It can be eaten alone, on salads, in a stir fry, or with a side of vegetables. Tonight I used broccoli and peppers, along with some reserved sauce, to make a stir-fry base to add the tofu to.

Ingredients:

1 lb extra firm tofu, drained and cubed

¼ cup tamari

2 tbps apple cider vinegar

1 tbps orange marmalade

1 tbps orange juice

4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

4 teaspoons maple syrup

1 tbps minced garlic

1 tbps minced fresh ginger

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp sriracha

2 heads of broccoli, cut into small florets

2 red peppers, cut into strips

Sesame Seeds for garnish

Directions:

Gently squeeze tofu to rid of excess water. Cut tofu into small cubes and place in a shallow baking dish.   

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place all remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk them together until well combined. Pour sauce over the tofu pieces in the dish and flip over each piece until evenly coated on all sides. Reserve 2 tablespoons of sauce.

Bake tofu for 20 minutes. Flip pieces over and bake for 15-20 additional minutes, until most sauce is absorbed.

Meanwhile place broccoli in a covered microwaveable container with tbps of water and cook for 2 minutes on high. Then heat the remaining sauce in a wok and add steamed broccoli and sliced peppers. Cook until lightly wilted. When tofu is done, add to wok, heat, and serve. Sprinkle sesame seeds over plate.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli with Israeli Couscous

Memorial Day weekend here in Boston seemed to bring with it a barrage of temptations for the vegan in me: burgers, hot dogs, lobster rolls, ice cream....the list goes on. To get back on track this week I whipped up a super quick salad as an easy "work-day" lunch.

Ingredients:

Two sweet potatoes

2 heads of broccoli

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of Israeli couscous

1 tablespoons of pesto

Preheat oven to 425'. Trim and cut broccoli into small florets. Peel & dice sweet potatoes into one inch cubes. Toss sweet potatoes with half of the olive oil and spread onto a baking sheet (I sprayed mine with a non-stick olive oil spray for good measure). Cook for 10 minutes. Toss broccoli with remaining olive oil and salt, and add to the pan after 10 minutes. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender and broccoli is crisp.

Meanwhile, cook Israeli couscous according to package directions. Once tender, mix the couscous with the pesto. Top with the roasted vegetables and voila - a filling, healthy, vegan lunch. This made around four large servings for me.

Broccoli Pesto Fusilli with White Beans

This broccoli pesto recipe was on the bland side but healthy and very easy. It is also a kid friendly recipe - an easy way to get vegetables down. I added a little sriracha to my dish for an added kick (if you know me, I add sriracha to almost every dish) and enjoyed this quick, relatively no-cook pasta meal.
Ingredients:
1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 15.5 oz can of white beans
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
10 ounces whole wheat fusilli

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook broccoli until just tender and bright green, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer majority of broccoli to a food processor. Reserve a few small florets in a bowl. Return water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. When draining the pasta reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

Add oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, pine nuts, and 1/4 cup of white beans to the food processor with the broccoli. Puree until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down side as needed. Transfer pesto to the pot with the drained pasta. Stir to coat, adding enough reserved pasta water to make a creamy sauce. Stir in remainder of the beans and reserved broccoli and heat over medium until warmed through.

Season with salt and pepper.

Sweet & Sour Tofu

While the ingredient list for this stir fry might look long, it consists mostly of pantry staples. The stir fry comes together very quickly -  perfect for a busy evening after work. Serve over cous-cous or brown rice to make a full meal.

The dish was modified but based mostly on this recipe I found online

Ingredients:

1 pound firm tofu, patted dry cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¾ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons raw sugar
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari
1 teaspoon sirracha
1 teaspoon ginger root
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 cup diced red or green bell peppers
½ cup diced fresh or canned pineapple
2 cups broccoli
Sesame seeds and/or chili pepper flakes, for garnishing

Directions:
1. Lightly steam the broccoli and set aside
2.  In a bowl, coat the tofu with the cornstarch, sesame oil and salt. Set aside.
3.  In a seperate bowl, whisk together the ketchup, sugar, vinegar, tamari, sirraccha, and ginger
4. In a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the tofu and fry, turning, until crisp and golden on all sides, about 8 minutes
5. Add the bell pepper and broccoli and continue to stir-fry for 2 minutes.
6. Add the sauce and stir until it is thick and clings to the tofu and vegetables, 2 minutes.
7. Top with sesame seeds or a pinch of chili pepper on top

Chinese Noodles with Broccoli & Tofu

This dish completely satisfied my craving for Chinese take-out  - and no need to resist ordering egg rolls!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces rice vermicelli
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
• 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into strips
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
• 1 tablespooncurry powder
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin matchstick strips
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 tablespoon white wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 cups small broccoli florets

Directions

Soak the rice noodles according to package directions until softened. Drain well and set aside. Place broccoli in a covered container with 1 tablespoon of water in the microwave on high for 1 minute to lightly steam.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and stir-fry until browned, adding 1 tablespoon of the soy and a sprinkling of curry powder sauce while cooking.

Remove and set aside on a plate. Reheat the skillet with the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the bell pepper, steamed broccoli, and carrot and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Stir in the remaining curry powder and stir-fry 10 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, along with the wine, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes, stirring to mix well. Stir in the broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

Add the drained rice noodles and return to a boil, stirring to coat the noodles in the sauce. Add the steamed broccoli and reserved tofu, and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed by the noodles. Enjoy!