Baked Tofu and Summer Pasta salad

Today I am going to a BBQ for my friend's birthday and everyone will be bringing a little something. I decided to make a Summer Pasta salad for a side dish and Baked tofu with vegan spicy mayo as an appetizer. The pasta salad is vegan and gluten-free.

Summer Pasta Salad 
Ingredients
Gluten-free brown rice/veggie pasta spirals
Red onion, chopped
Green and Red bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 can cannellini beans, no salt added, drained and rinsed
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
1 can heart of palm, drained
3 tbsp vegenaise
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
drizzle of evoo
sea salt, ground pepper + smoked paprika to taste

Directions
1. Cook pasta according to directions. In a large bowl mix all the veggies.
2. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water. Toss into bowl with veggies.
3. Add spices, vegenaise, vinegar and evoo. Mix evenly and store in fridge until ready to serve.

Baked Tofu
Use extra firm sprouted tofu. I used the Nasoya brand for this. Drain tofu and pat down with a paper towel. You want to get most of the liquid out. Cut tofu into slices then cubes. In a large bowl season the tofu how you like. I used Braggs nutritional yeast, ground black pepper, low-sodium soy sauce, a dash of cayenne pepper, and freshly minced garlic. Toss until evenly coated. 
Brush EVOO on a baking sheet and set to 400 degrees F. Evenly spread the tofu on the baking sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Take out of the oven and flip tofu. Broil for 3-4 minutes. Done. For the vegan spicy mayo just use some Vegenaise and sriracha.  Perfect party appetizer for vegetarians and carnivores alike! 
 
Cooking can be simple and fun. Take the time to make things at home. It's healthier than eating out and you know exactly what's going into your food.

Enjoy!
-Kat

'now or later' vegan burgers

This recipe came from the latest issue of Vegetarian Times magazine. I've always wanted to make my own veggie burgers but have always been intimidated by the task. I came across this very simple recipe and got excited. The result was excellent.

Ingredients
2 cups canned black beans, 1/4 cup canned lentils (both no salt added)
^you can use any beans you like and save the liquid
4 carrots, grated
1 small onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or parsley)
3 cloves garlic, chopped (1 tbsp)
spices of your choice, sea salt and ground pepper (tsp each)
4 tbsp olive oil

Directions
1. Pulse beans, carrots, onions, oats, parsley, garlic, spices in a food processor. (I have a small one which this would work better in a large processor. You want the consistency to be chunky and since I have a small processor it takes longer to pulse everything causing it to liquefy easier).
2. Let rest for a bit before shaping patties. The above ingredients gave 5 patties. Wrap them up in plastic and refrigerate. In about 30 minutes they will be ready to cook.
3. Spray cooking spray onto a skillet at medium heat. Cook each side of burger for 3-5 minutes. You want some crispiness on each side.
4. Pop any patties that you don't use into the freezer!

As a side dish I roasted some asparagus and mushrooms. YUM! Roasting veggies is soo easy. Set your oven temp to 425 degrees. In a large bowl mix the veggies with 2 tspn olive oil, nutritional yeast, ground pepper, sea salt, dry parsley and garlic salt. Bake for about 15-25 minutes, checking on the veggies at 10 minute intervals.

More recipes soon!! Happy cooking and cook with more vegetables! Green is good for you....

-Kat

On November 28, 2008

I became vegetarian the day after Thanksgiving in 2008. I told my family at that dinner that it would be my last "meat" meal. They all thought I was crazy and they didn't get it. No one understood why in the hell I would want to give up meat
So that was the last time I enjoyed my mother's turkey, a recipe passed on by three generations.
This November will mark four years of this journey, which has had it's ups and downs to say the least. This post if for people who are transitioning into vegetarianism and want some understanding.

Now, I cannot say I never ate meat after my decision. About 8 months after I started my meat-free diet (to be clear, I am a pesco-lacto-ovo vegetarian) I decided to try eating meat again. Honestly I don't remember why I wanted to go back but I did. I started out with a Publix ham and turkey sub. Gross. One of my once favorite things tasted so different to me. I figured OK, maybe I just need to get used to it. I made picadillo, a latin dish made of ground beef. The meal came out great but when I tasted it, it just didn't feel right. The last thing I ate before I ran back to my vegetarian lifestyle was a chicken salad- I couldn't even finish it. I took the chicken out and just ate the salad.

Throughout that time period I had a couple more slip ups, like taking a bite out of my brothers "sausage" dog at a Santana concert, or accidentally eating a meat taco that my friend ordered instead of my bean one. I ate the entire taco, was definitely too drunk to notice the difference. EVERYONE slips up once or twice. But the consistency in my life got better. I started eating fast food MUCH less, stopped replacing meat with MORE carbs, and recognized that I needed to learn more about food.

I became vegetarian because I love fruits and vegetables! So I needed to get myself acquainted with the food group. I began juicing at the beginning of this year and HOLY SHIT what an amazing addition to my diet. I have a profound belief in finding a diet for life. Something you can stick to day in and day out. And I have found mine.
I want to share with you my love of cooking, stories from my life, and some advice (which will hopefully help!).

People ask me all the the time, WHY? Why don't you eat meat? I can never answer because there truly are too many answers! It started out as a challenge to myself. I really just wanted to see if I had the will power to do it. And it morphed from there. I do eat fish sometimes, I eat cheese, some dairy products and eggs. ALL other animal foods I do not eat. I do it for my health, to help the Earth by not adding to pollution caused by animal farming, because of the cruelty to animals in the farming industry in America. When I buy fish I buy responsibly farmed or wild caught. I try to buy organic produce and food as much as possible. I am not perfect and I am not rich so this can become difficult but I try my best to buy the cleanest, most responsibly farmed food I can find.

After all, you are what you eat.

Are you vegetarian? Have you thought about becoming one? Give me your thoughts. Let's discuss.

-Kat