Creamy Corn-Crusted Tempeh Pot Pie - Vegan MOFO Day 14

Tempeh is a totally awesome ingredient to cook with.  I have used it to make the famous tempeh "bacon", my Cantonese style "steak" and Masterchef pressure test stroganoff.  

Last week, I made the Creamy Corn-Crusted Tempeh Pot Pie from Terry Hope Romero's Viva Vegan.  I made a few substitutions and omitted a few ingredients but it still tasted very yummy!  

I don't think I should post the recipe as the author hasn't shared it on-line. It is like the Chilean version of shepherd pie but tastier. We both like the crispy but smooth corn topping a lot!  K doesn't like olives, so I skipped it (and the fresh basil leaves that we don't have).  I also used dried cherries instead of dark raisins (as I couldn't be bothered to go to the shops again).

  

yum

shaved Cheezly for extra awesomeness 

Tempeh is a totally awesome ingredient to cook with.  I have used it to make the famous tempeh "bacon", my Cantonese style "steak" and Masterchef pressure test stroganoff.  

Last week, I made the Creamy Corn-Crusted Tempeh Pot Pie from Terry Hope Romero's Viva Vegan.  I made a few substitutions and omitted a few ingredients but it still tasted very yummy!  

I don't think I should post the recipe as the author hasn't shared it on-line. It is like the Chilean version of shepherd pie but tastier. We both like the crispy but smooth corn topping a lot!  K doesn't like olives, so I skipped it (and the fresh basil leaves that we don't have).  I also used dried cherries instead of dark raisins (as I couldn't be bothered to go to the shops again).

  

yum

shaved Cheezly for extra awesomeness 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

San Fran Day 1: Little Bird, Pica Pica, Cafe Gratitude

We went to Little Bird Coffee House for a late breakfast on our first full day in San Fransico.

'

 K had the special of the day: Vegan "bird nest" ($7, scramabled tofu on hash brown).

K thought it was pretty yummy but a bit small. (Fair enough, considered it is only $7) and she ordered the signature dish (pardon my Masterchef talk) Blue Corn Waffle with blueberries, banana and real maple syrup ($6! What a steal!).  It was amazing.

Their coffee was amazing too, I will talk about it more on my up coming Toby's America Coffee Adventure blog post.

For lunch, we went to Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, a vegan-friendly gulten-free restaurant in the Mission district. (menu here)

K ordered the  Vegetariana Arepa ($8, as you can see, it's got grilled tofu, avocado and grilled plantains)

It was relativelty cheap, filling and super delicious.  K declared that it was the best Mexican food she's ever had. I orded the La Shuli Cachapa ($9, corn pancake with black bean and friends).

I loved the texture of the pancake and the black beans and mixtures of toma(y)to and Mexican (h)erbs.  K seems enjoying it too.  We both had the Morena sauce, which is a cold black bean sauce.  It was surprisingly mayo-like and amazing (Sauce of the month idea, Lord Of The Fries?).  I stole some of Matt's Yuca (or Plantains) chips.  It was awesome!

 

And then I walked around the massive Amoeba Music...

For the last meal of the day, we went to Cafe Gratitude in Mission (Menu here), an all vegan and  organic cafe.  It was pretty new age without being too airy-fairy.

K had the "I Am Warm-Hearted" ($11, Grilled polenta with cashew ricotta and Brazil nut Parmesan).  I had a few bites, it was pretty interesting, in a good way.

I felt like something healthy, so I went for the "I Am Fortified" ($12, Veggie with quinoa, brown rice and Thai-almond sauce).  It wasn't blend at all. The sauce was nothing like a satay sauce but very tasty.

Little Bird Coffee House
835 Geary St, Tenderloin
San Francisco, CA 94109

   
Pica Pica Maize Kitchen
401 Valencia St, Mission
San Francisco, CA 94103

Cafe Gratitude
2400 Harrison Street, Mission
San Francisco, CA 94110

We went to Little Bird Coffee House for a late breakfast on our first full day in San Fransico.

'

 K had the special of the day: Vegan "bird nest" ($7, scramabled tofu on hash brown).

K thought it was pretty yummy but a bit small. (Fair enough, considered it is only $7) and she ordered the signature dish (pardon my Masterchef talk) Blue Corn Waffle with blueberries, banana and real maple syrup ($6! What a steal!).  It was amazing.

Their coffee was amazing too, I will talk about it more on my up coming Toby's America Coffee Adventure blog post.

For lunch, we went to Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, a vegan-friendly gulten-free restaurant in the Mission district. (menu here)

K ordered the  Vegetariana Arepa ($8, as you can see, it's got grilled tofu, avocado and grilled plantains)

It was relativelty cheap, filling and super delicious.  K declared that it was the best Mexican food she's ever had. I orded the La Shuli Cachapa ($9, corn pancake with black bean and friends).

I loved the texture of the pancake and the black beans and mixtures of toma(y)to and Mexican (h)erbs.  K seems enjoying it too.  We both had the Morena sauce, which is a cold black bean sauce.  It was surprisingly mayo-like and amazing (Sauce of the month idea, Lord Of The Fries?).  I stole some of Matt's Yuca (or Plantains) chips.  It was awesome!

 

And then I walked around the massive Amoeba Music...

For the last meal of the day, we went to Cafe Gratitude in Mission (Menu here), an all vegan and  organic cafe.  It was pretty new age without being too airy-fairy.

K had the "I Am Warm-Hearted" ($11, Grilled polenta with cashew ricotta and Brazil nut Parmesan).  I had a few bites, it was pretty interesting, in a good way.

I felt like something healthy, so I went for the "I Am Fortified" ($12, Veggie with quinoa, brown rice and Thai-almond sauce).  It wasn't blend at all. The sauce was nothing like a satay sauce but very tasty.

Little Bird Coffee House
835 Geary St, Tenderloin
San Francisco, CA 94109

   
Pica Pica Maize Kitchen
401 Valencia St, Mission
San Francisco, CA 94103

Cafe Gratitude
2400 Harrison Street, Mission
San Francisco, CA 94110

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Trippy Taco 2

Remember back in July last year when I announced that Trippy Taco was my favourite cafe? Well it still is but I haven't been back much since we purchased a tortilla press and started making my own corn tortillas. I think I actually prefer out tofu tacos but their black bean tacos are definitely superior. This time though we both decided to go with the combination of tofu and taco filling which is a winner. I didn't realise that you could have both, why didn't anyone tell me earlier? I had their corn tacos, look at all that salad, surely they are healthy:



Whereas, Toby had the wheat based large burrito:



And because the tacos didn't fill me up, we shared some trippy fries. These are perhaps my favourite fries. I can't resist their spices, mostly smoked paprika I suspect.



For other reviews check out easy as vegan pie, vegan about town, vegan and vegematirian.




Trippy Taco
48a smith st  234 Gertrude Street
Collingwood Fitzroy
9415 7711 

Remember back in July last year when I announced that Trippy Taco was my favourite cafe? Well it still is but I haven't been back much since we purchased a tortilla press and started making my own corn tortillas. I think I actually prefer out tofu tacos but their black bean tacos are definitely superior. This time though we both decided to go with the combination of tofu and taco filling which is a winner. I didn't realise that you could have both, why didn't anyone tell me earlier? I had their corn tacos, look at all that salad, surely they are healthy:



Whereas, Toby had the wheat based large burrito:



And because the tacos didn't fill me up, we shared some trippy fries. These are perhaps my favourite fries. I can't resist their spices, mostly smoked paprika I suspect.



For other reviews check out easy as vegan pie, vegan about town, vegan and vegematirian.




Trippy Taco
48a smith st  234 Gertrude Street
Collingwood Fitzroy
9415 7711 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Best Tofu Tacos!!!!!!!

A few weekends ago, we invited Bec and Troy over to try out tortillas. Armed with a tortilla press, we were able to make better tortillas. We also made salsa, which I imagine is more authentic but nothing like store brought salsa, guacamole, and a lentil filling.

The star of the night however was this taco filling that Toby made, it was fantastic. We did purchase some sweet smoked paprika (the one in the can with the corny looking couple on the front) and Spanish oregano from Casa Iberica, so not sure how much of a part the two herbs played. We realised that the smoked paprika smells like Trippy Taco fries.

Anyway on the recipe, it's pretty simple, punching with flavour and I think superior to Trippy Taco's tofu filling. It was inspired from this recipe here, but we made a few changes including substituting the taco seasoning for this:

1 part garlic powder (We substituted more onion powder cos of Bec's allergic to garlic)
1 part onion powder
1 part oregano (using the fancy Spanish one)
1 part paprika (using the fancy Spanish one)
1 part tsp salt
1 part pepper
1 part chilli powder
2 part cumin

And the rest of the recipe, although we recommend doubling it, so you have plenty:

• 1 pack of dry tofu (from the Asian grocery store)
  
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons of taco seasoning above (we made plenty so that we has some leftover)
  
• 2 1/2 tbsp tamari/soy sauce
• 2 tbsp veg oil
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup water
  

1. First, open and drain package of tofu.
2. Mash tofu with a fork.
3. After the tofu is sufficiently mashed, add 3/4 cup of chopped onions. Mix onions and mashed tofu well.
4. Stir the 2 tbsp of oil into the tofu and onion mixture, coating it evenly.
5. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and get it really hot on a burner. When the cooking oil makes a sizzling noise, transfer tofu and onion mixture into the hot pan.
6. Cook it on high for a minute and then turn it down to medium heat.
7. Take 2 1/2 tbsp tamari and pour it over tofu and onion mix, then stir.
   
8. Add taco seasoning.
   
9. After blending the taco seasoning with the tofu mixture, evenly pour 1/4 cup of water over your mix. Stir with spatula or spoon for even coverage.
10. Add nutritional yeast.
    
11. Cook the whole seasoned tofu mixture on medium heat for a total of around half and hour to blend flavors and make onions approach caramelization. Don't put a lid on it; let the moisture evaporate. Check on it every 5 minutes or so and stir.
12. At the end of the approximately 25-30 minutes mash the tofu mixture flat in the pan, sprinkle lime juice then flip over the flattened mixture as though it were a pancake , do it in 4 or 5 segments. Then mash it flat again, turn the heat up to medium high, and cook it for 4-5 minutes on med high.
13. Turn over segments of flattened mixture, re-flatten, and cook for another 4-5 minutes. These last 2 steps are to dry out and brown the mixture a bit.
    

Here is one with lettuce, nacho cheezly, salsa:

A few weekends ago, we invited Bec and Troy over to try out tortillas. Armed with a tortilla press, we were able to make better tortillas. We also made salsa, which I imagine is more authentic but nothing like store brought salsa, guacamole, and a lentil filling.

The star of the night however was this taco filling that Toby made, it was fantastic. We did purchase some sweet smoked paprika (the one in the can with the corny looking couple on the front) and Spanish oregano from Casa Iberica, so not sure how much of a part the two herbs played. We realised that the smoked paprika smells like Trippy Taco fries.

Anyway on the recipe, it's pretty simple, punching with flavour and I think superior to Trippy Taco's tofu filling. It was inspired from this recipe here, but we made a few changes including substituting the taco seasoning for this:

1 part garlic powder (We substituted more onion powder cos of Bec's allergic to garlic)
1 part onion powder
1 part oregano (using the fancy Spanish one)
1 part paprika (using the fancy Spanish one)
1 part tsp salt
1 part pepper
1 part chilli powder
2 part cumin

And the rest of the recipe, although we recommend doubling it, so you have plenty:

• 1 pack of dry tofu (from the Asian grocery store)
  
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons of taco seasoning above (we made plenty so that we has some leftover)
  
• 2 1/2 tbsp tamari/soy sauce
• 2 tbsp veg oil
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup water
  

1. First, open and drain package of tofu.
2. Mash tofu with a fork.
3. After the tofu is sufficiently mashed, add 3/4 cup of chopped onions. Mix onions and mashed tofu well.
4. Stir the 2 tbsp of oil into the tofu and onion mixture, coating it evenly.
5. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and get it really hot on a burner. When the cooking oil makes a sizzling noise, transfer tofu and onion mixture into the hot pan.
6. Cook it on high for a minute and then turn it down to medium heat.
7. Take 2 1/2 tbsp tamari and pour it over tofu and onion mix, then stir.
   
8. Add taco seasoning.
   
9. After blending the taco seasoning with the tofu mixture, evenly pour 1/4 cup of water over your mix. Stir with spatula or spoon for even coverage.
10. Add nutritional yeast.
    
11. Cook the whole seasoned tofu mixture on medium heat for a total of around half and hour to blend flavors and make onions approach caramelization. Don't put a lid on it; let the moisture evaporate. Check on it every 5 minutes or so and stir.
12. At the end of the approximately 25-30 minutes mash the tofu mixture flat in the pan, sprinkle lime juice then flip over the flattened mixture as though it were a pancake , do it in 4 or 5 segments. Then mash it flat again, turn the heat up to medium high, and cook it for 4-5 minutes on med high.
13. Turn over segments of flattened mixture, re-flatten, and cook for another 4-5 minutes. These last 2 steps are to dry out and brown the mixture a bit.
    

Here is one with lettuce, nacho cheezly, salsa:

reade more... Résuméabuiyad