Indian Food (Explorations in Tofu: Part 2 of 5)

I love Indian food- it’s delicious and super easy to get vegan. Although Palak Paneer (or Saag Paneer? I think Palak is a type of Saag...) is one of my favorite dishes. After going vegan I missed those chunks of cheese. Yummmm. 

Anyone so last night I decided to make a vegetable curry because I had leftover veggies from a party platter I made last weekend. While I was cooking the curry, I forgot I had some long lost frozen spinach and a block of tofu, and decided to try a vegan palak paneer, for my explorations of tofu series.

Vegan Vegetable Curry

1 can of light coconut cream

1-2 tbsp of curry powder (I love a ton of curry, but start with a little and work your way up to taste)

2 tsp of garlic salt (Use more if needed)

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

A vast array of vegetables (I used broccoli, snap peas, and carrots)

1.              Heat up the coconut milk over medium.

2.              Add all the spices and stir till combined.

3.              Add all the vegetables; stir till vegetables are all covered.

4.              Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. I like my vegetables still a bit firm so do this to taste. 

Palak Tofu

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup finely chopped onion

2 cups frozen spinach (next time I’ll try fresh)

1 medium tomato

¼ package medium-firm tofu (optional)

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp coriander

2 tsp turmeric

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp vegannaise (or coconut milk + sprinkle of salt)

1.              Heat up half the olive oil with the onions over medium

2.              Right as the onions get glassy add the spinach and stir. Let simmer.

3.              Chop the tomato up and throw it in the blender or food processor till pureed. Add to the spinach.

4.              Add all the spices and vegannaise and stir till combined. Taste it- add any additional amount of spices to get to the right flavor for you.

5.              Chop the tofu into bite size pieces. Add to the spinach, stir till covered and reduce heat to low medium. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Serve both dishes over rice and enjoy!

Gluten Free "Lasagna" recipe

I recently tried a new spaghetti squash recipe, and although it was nice- I always return to this recipe. I was trying to figure something new for dinner and my coworker, Lisa, just rattled off this recipe off the top of her head. It sounded great so I added a few things and Brian and I loved it.

If you’ve never cooked spaghetti squash before, you are in for a treat! It’s very easy, very fun, and very interesting. The texture is amazing for being a squash! I found this great page with easy directions on all the different ways to cook the squash. This website gives very easy step-by-step directions on how to cook a spaghetti squash. I prefer the boiling method.

Ingredients:

1 Spaghetti squash cooked and scooped out

2 cups of tomato sauce

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 cloves crushed garlic

Olive oil

1 large zucchini, sliced very thin (I use a vegetable peeler)

1 cup of Daiya mozzarella “cheese”

Directions

1.              Preheat oven to 350. Sauté onions in olive oil over medium low heat. Add garlic. Sauté till translucent.

2.              Add sauce and tomatoes and continue cook on medium low.

3.              In a 12”X9” baking dish evenly lay about half the cooked spaghetti squash out. Spread a cup of the tomato sauce mixture over. Then sprinkle half the cheese over the sauce.

4.              Next lay out the thinly sliced zucchini out over the cheese like lasagna strips. Spread the rest of the squash over the zucchini, the rest of the sauce over the squash and the rest of the cheese over the sauce.

5.              Bake for about 30 minutes.