One of the best vacations I have ever had was in Tuscany!  I think if I were to move from the United States, that would be my destination of choice, although in all fairness I have not travelled to enough destinations to be fully equipped to make that decision.  In any event, I just love Tuscany; I love everything about it.  We stayed in the tiny village of Gaiole in the Chianti region, where the rolling hills are breathtaking and as we walked along exploring, the smell of fresh tomatoes, parsley, basil, and garlic was intoxicating.  The food we ate there was among the best food I have ever had.  That is why as soon as I returned home, despite jet lag and tons of laundry, I couldn’t wait to recreate this sauce, which we enjoyed on pasta, on pizza, and even drizzled over grilled veggies.  I think I did a really good job of replicating the sauce, and it even makes me feel a little like I’m back in Tuscany, at an outdoor cafe, under the stars, sipping a nice glass of Brunello di Montalcino.  Ahhhhhhhh Tuscany.

• 1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 2.4 oz. jar capers, drained (capers are actually sun-dried pickled flower buds that are salty and delicious and quite nutritious)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 t red wine vinegar
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper

Process all ingredients in a food processor, or in a large bowl with an immersion blender.

Tonight I put the salsa verde on linguine and added some halved cherry tomatoes.

I also made some with whole grain rotini for lunch tomorrow, since this recipe makes enough sauce for 1 lb of pasta.

This was such a huge hit with my family that I know I will be making it again and again,  especially since it was quite easy to make!  I have to give a shout-out to my neighbor Diane, the most lovely and incredible neighbor!  She told me about her coconut tofu with orange sauce and it sounded so amazing I knew I had to make it.  In my pre-vegan days I loved coconut shrimp and I couldn’t wait to capture some of those flavors again.  This is what I created from her guidelines and I can’t thank her enough!  It was also the perfect recipe in which to incorporate kuzu, my favorite thickener. To learn a little about kuzu, click here.  I hope you love this recipe too!

• 1 16 oz package extra firm tofu, pressed
• 1 T ener G egg replacer with 4 T warm water
• 1 T coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/3 cup panko crumbs
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1-2 T coconut oil (not needed if baking)

sauce:

• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 t brown sugar
• 1/2 T orange zest
• 1 T vegan butter
• 1 T kuzu root starch (or cornstarch) mixed with 3 T water
• 1 T chopped cilantro for garnish

Press the tofu, either with a tofu press, or if you don’t have one, by placing the tofu on a plate, covering with some paper towel and another plate on top, and then piling heavy items on top of that, such as a large pot or some heavy books.  Let sit for 20 minutes and this will release a lot of the liquid from the tofu.

Next, cut the tofu in half lengthwise, and then into 8 rectangles.

In a small bowl, combine the panko, coconut, brown sugar and salt.  Mix well.

In another small bowl, combine the egg replacer and the coconut aminos.

Dip the tofu pieces in the liquid, then into the crumbs.  Really press the crumbs into the tofu on all sides.

Heat 1 T coconut oil in a large pan over medium high heat and sautee the tofu until golden on both sides.  You may need to add the second T coconut oil once you flip the tofu.

If you prefer to bake the tofu, it is just as delicious, but a bit less golden brown. 

baked coconut tofu

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place tofu on a lightly greased baking sheet and spray it with oil spray.  Bake 10 minutes per side and then broil on high for 3-5 minutes, watching so it does not burn.

For the sauce, bring the orange juice and brown sugar to a boil in a medium pan.  Let boil for 3 minutes.  Decrease the heat to low and add the zest, salt and vegan butter.  Stir in the kuzu.  Remove from heat.  Add cilantro and serve immediately.  The sauce will start to congeal if using the kuzu, but this may be an added bonus.  My family loves it because it is like a marmalade.

serves 4

I LOVE SEITAN!!   I love it sauteed, steamed, fried, and baked, but my favorite way to enjoy seitan is grilled!   This recipe is so simple and can be made using my basic seitan recipe, or by purchasing seitan already made.  When I don’t have time to make it myself, I like to use West Soy Seitan, which is available at health food stores and specialty markets like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.  The advantage to making the seitan yourself is that you will end up with nice cutlet size pieces, as opposed to the smaller cubes or strips available pre-made.  But whichever seitan you use, this recipe will be sure to please!  If you use the pre-made seitan, then you will need a grilling basket.  You can also forgo the grill and sautee the seitan in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and it will still taste great!

FOR MY BASIC SEITAN RECIPE – CLICK HERE.

You will need 9 “steaks” – which is 1/2 of my basic recipe for seitan, or 2 boxes of West Soy Seitan.  

• 2 T sesame oil
• 1 entire bulb of garlic, pressed
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 1/2 T agave nectar

Mix together in a small bowl and then rub 1/2 t onto the front and back of each “steak.”

Oil your grill and grill the seitan steaks about 3 minutes per side.

For the sauce, combine the following:

• 1 T rice wine vinegar
• 1 T agave nectar
• 1 T braggs liquid aminos

Serves 4

I really love SEITAN!!  For those of you who are not familiar with it, let me get you up to speed.  Seitan is a plant-based meat alternative made from wheat gluten.  The beauty of seitan is that it is really easy to make at home and freezes well too!  And who wouldn’t love a protein source that offers 20 grams of protein for each 3 ounce serving and yet only 1.5 grams of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat?  Seitan is also very versatile.  It can be baked, grilled, sauteed, fried, or prepared just about any way that you would prepare meat.  So who needs that nasty meat anyway?  If you have not tried to make seitan yourself, please go for it.  You will be glad you did.  If you are not into cooking, you can purchase seitan at health food stores and specialty markets like Whole Foods.  When I am in a rush, I will use the West Soy brand, but the pieces are small and imho are best suited for a quick stir fry.  Not that there is anything at all wrong with that!  That is delicious!  However, in many of my recipes, the seitan is much better when it is the size of what a cutlet of meat would be.  By making my own seitan, I can make it any size I want.  

Making seitan makes me happy!  There is no fat to trim or blood to rinse off or e coli or salmonella to wipe off from my countertop!  No hormones or antibiotics in it at all.  And when I have the finished seitan cutlets on a plate I think about how easy it was to make a cruelty-free protein source that is so much healthier than meat and then I compare that to the entire wretched process of how a piece of steak or breast of chicken gets on a styrofoam tray at a supermarket chain and what that entails.  The difference is astonishing.  One is so good, healthy, compassionate and the other just so horribly bad – bad for your health, bad for the environment, bad for the animals.

This recipe is adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan with a Vengeance.  All Isa’s cookbooks are incredible!!  The actual work time is minimal, maybe 20 minutes tops, but it does take a lot of time on the stove, so plan accordingly.  That is why I usually make my seitan over the weekend.  The recipe will yield enough seitan for 2 family meals or 4 meals for one or two people.  I actually double the recipe and thereby get enough seitan to make 4 meals for my family, and I freeze at least half of it which is great!  Then, I just defrost it in the fridge the night before I want to use it and it is ready to go!

BASIC SEITAN RECIPE

Ingredients for Seitan

• 2 c vital wheat gluten – you can get this pre-packaged from Arrowhead Mills for example (they carry this at my local Shoprite) or you can get it in bulk from health food stores and specialty markets like Whole Foods.
• 2 T flour
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• 1 c vegetable broth
• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 1 t ketchup
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 T chickpea flour

for the broth –

• 9 c water
• 3 c vegetable broth
• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t onion powder

In a large bowl, combine the 3 first ingredients. 

In another bowl, combine the next 4 ingredients. 

Pour the wet into the dry and mix with your hands and knead until it is all incorporated.  

Knead in the chickpea flour.  

Let dough rest for 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile, mix the broth ingredients in a large pot, but do not heat yet. 

Roll the dough into a 10” log

Cut into 6 pieces.

Place the pieces into the cold broth.  Partially cover and turn the heat to high.  Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 90 minutes. 

Remove from heat and let cool in pan for another hour if you have the time.  At this point, you can use the seitan, store in the broth in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for later.  I usually cut each of the 6 pieces into 3 cutlet size pieces, so I wind up with 18 cutlets from this recipe.  If you are using it later, don’t slice it into individual pieces until you are ready to use it.

There are so many foods from my pre-vegan days that I remember loving, but I would not want to eat them today.  I think I am actually more fond of  the memories that are attached to the particular foods, rather than to the foods themselves.  That’s why this dish is perfect for me – it evokes the memories I have of scallops, namely family dinners out at favorite seafood restaurants, yet I don’t have to contend with that chewy texture, which never really appealed to me at all.  The taste was what I liked and I think I captured that here, although the seafood taste is very mild and if you are looking for something that has the texture of real scallops, this is probably not the recipe for you.  If, however, you enjoy having fun with food, and creating interesting and visually pleasing dishes, then this may be the best dish you ever make.  There certainly were a number of fans eating it for dinner in my home!

• 2 14 oz. packages extra firm tofu – pressed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 bulb garlic, pressed
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/2 t paprika
• 1 t kelp granules
• 1 t onion powder
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 2 t salt, divided
• 2 T vegan butter
  
• 1/4 c white wine
• 3/4 c vegetable stock
• 2 T italian seasoned bread crumbs
• handful fresh parsley, chopped
• 16 oz. linguine – cooked as per package
• juice of 2 lemons

Cut tofu in half widthwise.  

Cut circles into the tofu.  I use a cap from a spice jar and I am able to get 6 circles from each piece of tofu, so 24 in all.  Don’t throw away the in between pieces!  Just like munchkins are just as delicious as donuts, the odd shaped pieces taste great too.  I just cook them in the same pan once I remove the “scallops.”  And if you are short on time, forget the circles completely and just cube all the tofu.

Sprinkle tofu with almost all of the paprika, kelp, 1 t salt, onion powder and garlic powder.  Save a bit for the other side.

Heat olive oil in a large pan and place the tofu seasoned side down.  Sprinkle the remaining spices on the top.  Cook over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes per side until golden.  Remove tofu.

Melt the earth balance in the same pan.  Add onion.  Cook until translucent.  Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more.  Add the wine, and turn up to high heat to burn out the alcohol for about 3 minutes.  Return heat to medium high and add stock, remaining t salt (unless you are using a high sodium broth) and the juice of 2 lemons.  After a few minutes, add the breadcrumbs and stir well.  Remove from heat and stir in parsley.  Pour over cooked linguine and top with “scallops.”

Serves 6-8