General Tso's Tofu with vegetables

 

In 2014, at the vegan restaurant A Single Pebble in Burlington, Vermont, I ate one of the best meals of  my life. I couldn't finish it all and took back the leftovers. The next day my less food loving friend offered to pack up my stuff from kitchen table, we were in a bit of a hurry. I was a bit hesitant, but was working on receiving help from others and letting go of control. On the road I asked if she had remembered to take the Single Pebbel leftovers. She had missed it. I was devastated, we can't get this in Sweden and I knew I wouldn't have the energy to try to make it.

Yesterday was the day, 12 years later, with energy and lots of white rice to use up from an  event, and researching and combing 3 recepies and adding veggies, I have finally gotten around to trying it. It worked out fine, and was so delicious, and not super hard. It takes a little time to fry the big tofu cubes on almost all sides, that's it. So here goes:

600g Peas of Heaven's firmer tofu in 3cm cubes

3/4 dl potato or corn starch

big pinch of salt

coldpressed rapeseed oil to fry in

Put half of the starch with some salt in a plastic bag and toss with half of the tofu cubes to coat them in 2 batches. Fry in batches on medium heat in a flatbottomed iron skillet on all sides until golden.

1 sliced big onion or chunks of leek

2 big carrots sliced diagonally in ovals

1/2 broccoli in small florets

1 yellow pepper sliced

1 red pepper sliced

or other vegetables of your choice or in your fridge

coldpressed rapeseed oil to fry in

Wok the veggies in a wok

The Sauce

10 cm of white leek chopped in 

2 tbsp sesame oil

2-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cm ginger, minced

1 red chili/chiliflakes

3/4 dl tamari

3/4 dl datesyrup or other sweetener of your choice

1/2 dl brown rice vinegar, take less if you can't get the brown mild deepflavoured one

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp potato/corn starch

2 tbsp water

In the pan of the fried tofu, fry the leek in sesame oil.

Mix the starch and the water. Add that and the rest of ingredients of the sauce and simer gently for 5 min.

Add all the veggies, and the tofu for that meal and mix gently.

Save the extra tofu for next meal so it doesn't get soggy.

Enjoy with rice and sprinkle with

3/4 dl chopped spring onion or leek

dry toasted sesameseeds

  

Green pea soup

 

So simple, quick and delicious, thanks Teo and Nataly for this recipe!

For 6 portions you need

10 garlic cloves minced

1 1/2 dl white cooking wine, zeta has an organic one

5 tbsp bullion powder/cubes

1.2 kg green peas

water to cover the peas well

3 dl vegan cooking cream

Sauté the garlic on medium heat, then add the wine and boil it a few minutes

I mix the bullion powder in a bit of cold water with a whisk, before adding to the pot,it doesn't clot so easily then.

When boiling again, add the peas and boil a few minutes so everything is hot but doesn't turn brownish.

Remove from the heat, add the cream and then mix well with a hand blender.

Serve with a big dollop of vegan unsweetened yoghurt, so you can have a bit of cool yoghurt with every spoonful of warm soup.

Jewish Cabbage Rolls

 

Wonderful for Chanukah or a festive winter holiday meal 

1 round head of cabbage on the large side

Filling

4 dl cooked round short grain brown rice or barley

600g beyond mince/anamma mince

rapeseed oil

300g brown champignons

300g aubergine

1 1/2 big onion

3 big garlic clove

2 dl Tamari/soysauce

salt

black pepper

4 tbsp paprika

Sweet & Sour Tomato sauce

1 big onion

rapeseed oil

3 cloves of garlic

1 green smaller apple

1 1/2 l puréed tomatoes (4 cartons)

4 dl of cabbage water

5 tbsp date syrup or other sweetness

3 bayleaves

1/2 dl white vinegar 

1/2 dl lemonjuice

1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon 

salt pepper

Cook the rice the day before or before starting to make the cabbage rolls.

Bring water to cook the head of cabbage to boil in a water cooker or another pot.

Cut out the cabbage center. You can save it and boil it too for a dish of fried leftover cabbage and filling.

Place the cabbage in a fitting pot and pour the boiling water over it.

Boil with a lid until soft so you can start separating the leaves one by one with a fork, letting it drip before placing it on a big kitchen towel to dry a bit. You can place all the leaves on one or two towels, and start rolling up the rolls as you wait for ore inner cabbage leaves to soften while boiling.

Filling

Fry the finely chopped onion on medium heat to caramelize för 15 min, stirring occasionally.

Add the finely chopped garlic and fry 3 min.

Add the mince and cook 5 min.

Add the finely chopped mushrooms and aubergine and fry for 7 min or so stirring occasionally.

You can use any combination of mince, mushrooms and aubergine or omit some and replace with the others.

Season with theglutenfree tamari or soysauce (preferably Chinese mushroom soy), salt, black pepper and paprika. 

Taste to balance the saltiness and pepperiness. Cook some more.

Toatosauce

Fry the finely chopped onion on medium heat to caramelize för 15 min, stirring occasionally.

Add the finely chopped garlic and the finely chopped green apple and fry for 5-10 min.

Add the puréed tomatoes, sweetness, cabbage water, bayleaves, vinegar, lemon, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cook for 30 min on low heat.

Oil a big oven tray or 1 or 2 pots that will fit the around 30 rolls.

Pour a bit of toatosauce on the bottom.

Scop 1-2 heaped spoons of filling onto the base of the cabbage leaf, fold the base over and fold in the sides and roll up the roll placing it with the seam downward. Place the rolls snuggly next to each other.

Pour toatosace around and over the rolls. In a pot you can make 2 layers with toatosauce inbetween.

Save the inner part of the cabbage that is to bent to make rolls and fry with leftover filling and tmatosauce the next day.

Cook for an hour in the middle of the oven at 180 degrees C or on the stove on low heat with a lid.

Enjoy with more brown short grain round rice. You can make extra toatosauce so you know you have extra to dress the rice with!

Avocadomaki ris

Kom precis på denna goda superenkla rätt som är som sushi, utan jobbet att göra den!

Koka rundkornigt råris. Ha i  per portionsskål:

1 liten avokado i bitar  i det varma riset

1/2 tsk finriven ingefära

1 1/2 - 2 msk - en skvätt tamari

1 tsk - lite rårisvinäger

och 1/2 tsk wasabi

Så gott! Du kan också äta den med ark av nori rivet i bitar som du skopar upp riset med. Och du slipper extra sockret i den inlagda garin - ingefäran, och saknar det inte. Sushi feeling så ofta du vill oavsett hur mycket energi du har o laga den.

Örtsalt

Det är lätt att göra sitt eget örtsalt, lika gott som det godaste köpta!

Ta 2 delar purjolök, en del persilja och en del selleri, ett par vitlöksklyftor eller 5, och en halv del havssalt. 

                    

Mixa med 1/2 dl vatten för att knivarna ska snurra.

                           

Bred ut och torka på låg värme, 40°, lääänge, typ 30-40h. Vänd så torkar det fortare, behövs mycket mindre på andra sidan. 

Bryt i bitar o mixa till ett pulver och fyll på i din herbamareburk!

Svartkåls/Grönkålschips

Svartkåls/grönkålschips! Orsaken till att jag skaffade en torkugn är det går att äta kopiösa mängder av dessa försvinnande goda nyttiga rawchips! Prisvärt är det också jämfört med köpta potatischips. Jag brukar göra på ca 2 knippen. Min godaste smaksättning är:

Olivolja, vitlök, citronsaft, cayennepeppar, rökt paprika eller paprika och rökt salt och en skvätt tamari. 

 

Blanda och repa i av bladen från stjälkarna. 

            

                               Stjälkarna kan användas i soppa, wok eller gryta

 Blanda, blanda och torka i 7h på 40 grader eller i vanlig ugn med lyckan på glänt med ätpinne. 

Vänta, njuut och upprepa!

 

Thailändsk risnudelsoppa

 

Varje vår när skogslöken som också kallas kajpen eller gotlandslöken börjar växa får jag sug efter denna beroendeframkallande soppa. Fräsch o snabb att koka ihop och kan inte sluta ät den! 

Per portion stek:

1 vitlöksklyfta, finhackad

2 tunna  skivor ingefära, finhackade

1/3 - 1/2 röd chili, finhackad i

1 msk kallpressad rapsolja

Om du har mangold stjälkar eller andra gröna bladstjälkar är det här de ska hackas och stoppas i och steka med. Koka upp 1/2 l vatten och häll i när det är gyllene stekt. Ha i:

2 msk marigold buljong (finns på gryningen i Stockholm)

1 risnudel boll (tex yakso på goodstore i Stockholm)

1 tzay soy fillet, tuna skivad (finns i Stockholm på coop zinken och bagarmossen)

Koka tills risnudlarna är mjuka, 7 min och ha i:

2 dl strimlade gröna blad, tex. nässla, mangold, bok choi, grönkål, palmkål, bladraps, kålrabbi...

1/3 gul lök tunt skivad från rot till topp (blir sötare)

12 skivor morot, skurna på diagonalen för mer balans mellan yin och yang

Häll upp i skålen och blanda i:

1 dl skivad skogslök eller färsk lökblast eller salladslök

droppa över:

1 tsk färsk citronsaft

och toppa med 1/2 dl koriander, hackad

Njut!!