A Quick Vegan Caesar Salad

When inspirations strikes you have to go with it. I came home from a nice outing with my husband and I had in mind for dinner some kind of greek dish with orzo, beans, mustard greens, dill, olive oil... But then I got lazy and when I saw that I had romaine, tofu and a day old french bread, I decided to change gears and throw together a quick caesar salad. Here's what I did.

First, I made homemade croutons. I cubed a loaf of day old french bread and tossed them with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I baked them in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I sauteed cubed tofu in olive oil, soy sauce and some seasonings. This takes only about five minutes. You can use what you like. I had sansho spice which has a mixture of red chili, seaweed, sesame and sansho pepper. Set tofu aside to cool.

When croutons are done, set them aside to cool as you make a quick dressing. I stirred in a salad bowl, 1/4 cup of vegan mayo with a 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard, garlic powder, a dash of salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar. I tossed some romaine lettuce in the dressing, then added the croutons and tofu. Dinner was great! Tomorrow, stay tuned for that orzo dish. It might just happen.

Soeur Leila's Red Lentil Stew

This may not look like much but believe me when I say that is the most flavorful combination of comfort food ingredients: red lentils, noodles and crispy pita croutons. I've made this once before about a month ago and I was so impressed with it. Today was the perfect day for it as we just got a bit of rain outside. I got the recipe from a food memoir called "Memories of a Lost Egypt". You can find the recipe posted online here. Substitute water for the chicken broth and use a couple of quartered fresh tomatoes instead of canned. And do make the pita croutons. They are the perfect crispy accompaniment to the thick, luscious velvety stew. A squeeze of lemon prior to serving is nice as well.

Red Lentil Stew adapted from "Memories of a Lost Egypt"

2 cups red Lentils
4 cups water plus 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, quartered
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 large carrot, cut into 1" pieces
2 small zucchini, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon cumin
1/3 pound vermicelli or angel hair, broken. I used fine cut vermicelli like this.
Salt And Pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Croutons:
Olive oil
Pita bread cut into pieces

Method:
Combine lentils, water, 2 TB olive oil, onion, tomatoes, carrot, and zucchini in a soup pot. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are very soft. Puree entire mixture in a blender or food processor. Return to pot and add cumin, pasta, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. In another pan, saute chopped onion in 2 TB. olive oil until well browned. Add to stew along with the parsley and simmer for 5 minutes.
To make the croutons, heat some olive oil in a pan and fry pita bread pieces until browned. Drain on paper towel.

VeganMoFo: A Stew in the Fall.

What better food to eat in proper fall weather than a stew? I'm soooo glad that our hot, humid summer has finally turned into mildly sunny, breezy, chilly weather! This is still Southern CA so it's not that cold but just enough nip in the air to make you want comfort food. Last year's Veganmofo on this same day the 5th of October, I made a soychorizo corn stew. Well, I decided to make it again and it was even better than I remembered! I didn't have any green pepper or eggplant so I subbed carrots and zucchini. Any squash or veggies will do really...


I put homemade roasted garlic croutons on top (crouton recipe from Veganomicon). This is a really tasty stew with a bit of spiciness from the chorizo. I had a little taster bowl for lunch and it was so warm and comforting. I'll be having more when I get home from work today.