15 May 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: asian, comfort food, sesame, sides, soy, tamari, tofu, vegan, vegetarian
In the past I had cooked meat for Michael and I enjoyed the challenge of making new dishes with different techniques. I no longer cook meat at all, but still like the challenge of trying new techniques ๐ This was a fun way to make tofu that we both really enjoyed. It was Super perfect with my Sweet Roasted Broccoli.

Braised Asian Tofu
1 block firm tofu (I used light), cut in half lengthwise, and then sliced into 1/2 inch slices
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used canola)
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon sesame seed, crushed and toasted
- Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add tofu slices and be careful not to overcrowd. Brown each side, 2-3 minutes per side. When golden, remove to a plate. Continue cooking all tofu until done.
- After the tofu is cooked and removed, add tamari, water, sesame oil, scallions, garlic and chili powder. Stir and place tofu slices back into the pot. During the cooking process the liquid will eventually cover all of the tofu.
- Place the pot over medium heat. Cover. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat.
- Top with sesame seeds and enjoy ๐

10 May 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: comfort food, cream, gravy, mushroom, pasta, quick and easy, sauces, soy, soy crumbles, Tofutti, vegan, vegetarian
Here is another Stroganoff recipe. The first one was such a hit but I still always love to experiment. I whipped this one up super fast and it was great! It was very different from the first one since I included the crumbles and vegan sour cream. Try both and see which one you like best ๐

Mushroom and Crumble Stroganoff
Makes 4 servings
1-lb. pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
1-lb. pkg. Morningstar burger crumbles (or your favorite soy crumbles)
1 cup vegan (I used Hain Pure Foods Vegetarian Brown Gravy Mix)
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces vegan sour cream (I used Tofutti)
3/4 cup white cooking wine
- Cook the pasta in boiling water.
- While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, heat the oil and cook the onions and mushrooms until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.
- Drain the pasta, and serve the sauce over the noodles.

05 May 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: brussel sprout, comfort food, green, quick and easy, salad, sauces, sides, soy, Stir-fry, tofu, vegan, vegetarian
We love all things Brussel Sprouts and this one was a real winner ๐ definitely on the sweet side, so you may want to tone down the brown sugar, but it was very tasty the way we made it. Pecans went perfectly with the sprouts. For my go-to brussel sprouts I normally use pine nuts (although once I made with pistachios) so this was a nice change. Plus I loved using the same pan to have a great one-pot meal. Fast to make, Easy to clean up and Really yummy to eat!


Caramelized Tofu and Brussel Sprouts
adapted from 101cookbooks.com
Serves 2 – 3 as a main, 4 as a side
1 block extra-firm tofu cut into thin 1-inch segments
a couple pinches of fine-grain sea salt
a couple splashes of olive
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
4-5 tablespoons fine-grain natural cane sugar or brown sugar
1 lb. brussels sprouts, washed and cut into 1/8-inch wide ribbons
Cook the tofu cubes in large hot skillet with a bit of salt and a splash of oil. Saute until slightly golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and pecans, and cook for another minute. Stir in sugar. Cook for another couple of minutes. Scrape the tofu out onto a plate and set aside while you cook the brussels sprouts.
In the same pan (no need to wash), add a touch more oil, another pinch of salt, and dial the heat up to medium-high. When the pan is nice and hot stir in the shredded brussels sprouts. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring a couple times (but not too often) until you get some golden bits, and the rest of the sprouts are bright and delicious.
Combine and Enjoy!!

Super Bright Green Brussels ๐

Tofu and Pecans
28 Apr 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: almond milk, comfort food, cookies, cream, dessert, Ener-G, entertaining, guest post, snack, soy, Tofutti, vegan, vegetarian
My wonderful friend and reader, Kim, has shared some really great recipes with me in the past. I am super excited to have her Guest Post here ๐ These cookies look absolutely amazing!!!! I think these would be great for any holiday or event as they are so versatile!! YUM!!!!
———————————–
So I always find family holidays a bit tough because they always revolve around candy and sweet baked goods.ย So every year I usually try out a new recipe of some sort to see how it comes out and to test it on my family.ย My goal is to find the perfect vegan holiday recipe that not only will I enjoy, but my family will as well (and they are picky eaters).ย So I found this recipe in VegNews and decided to give it a go.ย Not only did it come out fantastic but my family can’t get enough of them.ย My Grandmother and myself were up to our elbows in cookies for Easter, with frosting everywhere.ย We spent a good amount of time trying to design the perfect cookie to be photographed, but got so tired by the end of the night that we only shot a few cookies and decided that we would just slap some frosting on the rest for the family.ย They are so delicious that we didn’t think the family would mind or notice.ย Hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as me and my family does.
Vegan Sugar Cookies
For the cookies:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegan margarine, softened
3 teaspoons ener-g egg replacer, mixed with 1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup vegan sour cream
4 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the frosting:
1/4 cup vegan margarine
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons soymilk (I use almond milk)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
(for the frosting I think they messed up the amount of milk. It ย makes
a crumbly consistency so i usually follow it and once it’s mixed I
slowly pour in more milk until it becomes a nice smooth frosting)
- To prepare cookies, preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl cream margarine and sugar until fluffy. ย Add egg replacer, vanilla, and sour cream and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry mixture to wet
- Mix for 1 to 2 minutes or until combined then roll dough into large ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes
- Remove dough from fridge and roll out 1/2 inch thick on floured board. ย Cut using cookie cutters. ย Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden. ย Allow to cool before frosting.
- For frosting mix all ingredients with mixer on medium speed until creamy and soft (will need to add more milk I have yet to calculate how much I usually add so just eye it)
- This makes a lot of cookies and I usually put the dough in the freezerย while each batch is in the oven so that while your waiting the dough doesn’t get too soft ( just don’t leave it too long or else you will have iced cookie dough)
And be warned these are addicting, be prepared to eat at least 5 before you even offer them to anyone else because they are that good. My grandmother ate at least 2 handfuls by Easter and she doesn’t usually eat that much sweets.
11 Apr 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: asian, mushroom, quick and easy, soy, soy crumbles, tamari, tofu, vegan, vegetarian
This was super yummy, quick to make and very low in fat, which is always lovely! Perfect weeknight meal! Deelish!


Veggie and Tofu Moo Shu
Makes 8 wraps
8 – Whole Wheat Tortilla Wraps
12-oz. bag dry broccoli slaw mix
8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1 block tofu, cubed and crumbled (or vegan crumbles)
1 cup water chestnuts
1 can bamboo shoots, drained and chopped
3 tablespoons tamari
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
dash white pepper (black is fine, if you don’t have white)
hoisin sauce
- In a small bowl, combine tamari, vinegar, garlic, cornstarch, and pepper. Mix well and set aside.
- Heat a wok to medium-high heat. Add tofu and cook, 2 minutes.
- Add broccoli slaw and mushrooms to wok and, stirring occasionally, cook for 3 – 4 minutes, until veggies are soft.
- Add bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and sauce to the pan, mix well, and cook for an additional 3 – 4 minutes, until entire dish is hot.
- Remove from heat and transfer moo shu mixture to a serving dish. Set aside.
- Serve tortillas and hoisin sauce alongside moo shu mixture. Spread hoisin sauce on tortilla and spoon moo shu mixture and wrap.
- Enjoy!
17 Mar 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: cake, chocolate, cocoa, comfort food, cream, dessert, entertaining, quick and easy, snack, soy, tofu, vegan, vegetarian
Recently I needed a fast dessert to bring to a party. I didn’t really have time to make something, and not that there is anything wrong with buying something to bring, it just really isn’t me. So I needed to improvise ๐ My mom had recently sent me a 5 minute recipe for a Tofu Dream Pudding. (Thanks Mom!) I figured why not use this recipe to make a quick pie.
The pudding was incredible!!! We could have just eaten this on its own but it was super deelish as a pie filling as well.


It is easier to slice when frozen, but even more deelish when defrosted!
Tofu chocolate Pudding & Whipped Cream Pie
Pudding
Recipe adapted from food.com
- 2 boxes of firm silken tofu (the asceptic type…One brand is Mori-Nu…not the water packed kind!)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder (good quality)
- Simply blend tofu, cocoa, sugar, vanilla in a food processor or blender until smooth and well blended.
- Add the almond extract in a little at a time, and adjust to taste. (optional)
Pie
- vegan pie shell (I chose chocolate…see picture below)
- vegan whip cream (I used Soyatoo Soy whipped cream and was not so impressed, buy Hip Whip instead)
- chocolate bar
- Pour pudding into pie shell
- Decorate with whipped topping and then grate chocolate over it.
- Either serve immediately or freeze. (freezing made it perfect for travel! But it tastes best defrosted)

Pie Shell

Just the pudding in the pieshell

The pudding was amazing just on its own!
21 Feb 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: almond milk, comfort food, mushroom, pasta, sauces, soy, tamari, vegan, vegetarian
HOLY deelish!!! This was soooo good!! You can also use any combo of mushrooms and I’m sure it would turn out really good! Michael and I could not get enough of this pure, vegan, comforting goodness! I would suggest eating this with a spoon to make sure you get all that lip-smackin sauce ๐


Mushroom Stroganoff
Makes 4 servings
2/3 cup water
1 large onion, chopped
4 cups sliced white mushrooms
2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 cup sliced oyster mushrooms
1 dash cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons white wine
3 tablespoons tamari
1 cup soymilk
1 cup Vegetable Broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup cold water
1 freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 ounces dry fettuccine noodles, cooked
- Place the water and onion in a large non-stick skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are slightly limp.
- Add cayenne, wine, tamari, soymilk, and broth and mix.
- Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover and add cornstarch mixture to pan, cook, and stir until thickened. Season with black pepper to taste.
- Serve mushroom mixture over fettuccine.
07 Feb 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: comfort food, entertaining, h'orderves, puff pastry, quick and easy, snack, soy, vegan, vegetarian
Michael always loved these and I wanted to make them for us Vegan style ๐ Now that I have made these several times over the past couple of years, I have to admit, I adore them as well! This is not one of those super healthy recipes but it is a fun party food to have occasionally. Perfect for company, parties, especially a football loving crowd! I always make 2 batches as these go Fast!!

Super Quick Vegan Pigs in a Blanket
- 1 package of puff pastry (several of them are actually vegan ex. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls)
- 1 package of vegan hot dogs
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Separate the dough into the pre-cut triangles. Roll each triangle around each vegan hot dog, making sure the dough is even till the ends. Slice each hot dog into 3 or 4 pieces. Place on a parchment paper lines baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes till the pastry is golden.
Serve with mustard or ketchup and Enjoy!!
31 Jan 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: almond milk, breakfast, comfort food, entertaining, h'orderves, nutritional yeast, quick and easy, sides, snack, soy, tofu, vegan, vegetarian
Vegan Quiche!! Seriously! How fabulous are these! So perfect!!! They were amazing to have as breakfast or as a side next to some veggies or as a quick go-to snack. Plus, they were super tasty!! The crust is a little crumbly, but it was worth it.


Vegan Mini Broccoli Quiche
Recipe from http://www.glueandglitter.com
Crust
2 2/3cups all-purpose whole wheat flour
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup soy milk
filling
1 package soft silken tofu
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. tumeric
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cup frozen or fresh broccoli, cut into small florets and peeled stems
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Mix the crusts – dry ingredients together, then add the wet and stir until well combined. Press about 1/3 cup crust into each cup of a regular muffin pan. With your hands form the cups up the sides and make sure they are pressed well together, without cracks or holes.
- Vita-mix or blend all the filling ingredients except the broccoli until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the broccoli.
- Spoon the filling into each cup, and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the tops start to brown.
- Cool for 10 minutes and then using a knife remove from cups and Enjoy ๐

raw crust

before the oven
10 Jan 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: asian, comfort food, maple syrup, quick and easy, sauces, sides, soy, tamari, tempeh, tofu, vegan, vegetarian
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Sorry to have disappeared for a bit there, but Michael and I spent almost a month in India, so please forgive me ๐ It was one of the most amazing experiences of our lives. (Post to come soon!)
Back to healthy and deelish Vegan goodness for 2011!!!
This dish was amazing! I love tempeh so much but Michael doesn’t typically like it and he really enjoyed this dinner! It is all about these deelish flavors. You can use tofu as well if you prefer it or to mix it up.
I have been a little short on time these days so haven’t been cooking nearly as much as I like. But when I do get to it is really special time in the kitchen and even better at dinner time with Michael ๐ But I am trying to come up with different time-saving techniques so I can cook more regularly. Normally I would squeeze the orange juice myself (all you need is 3-4 oranges) but instead I bought fresh OJ for the recipe. Just nice to know I can still make a deelish meal and save a little time here and there. I also always keep my ginger root in the freezer so it stays for longer. What I have been doing now is grating most of it and then putting it back in the freezer. That way when I have a recipe or dish that calls for freshly grated ginger all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer and measure, simple and perfect!

Orange Pan-glazed Tempeh
adapted from 101cookbooks.com
serves 3-4
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons tamari
1 1/2 tablespoons mirin
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
roughly 10 ounces of tempeh (or extra-firm tofu)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lime
- Put the orange juice in a small bowl and combine with ginger, tamari, mirin, and maple syrup, ground coriander, and garlic. Mix together and set aside.
- Cut the tempeh (or tofu) into thin-ish, bite-sized pieces, and if working with tofu, pat dry with a paper towel.
- Put the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the tempeh and fry for 5 minutes, or until golden underneath. Turn and cook the other side for another 5 minutes, or until golden. Pour the orange juice mixture into the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced to a lovely thick glaze. Turn the tempeh once more during this time and spoon the sauce over the tofu from time to time.
- Serve the tempeh drizzled with any remaining sauce and a squeeze of lime, with the coriander scattered on top.
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