Meal 3 Summary (TVP Veggie Burgers)

TVP Veggie Burgers

Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 3 hungry eaters

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup tvp (texturized vegetable protein)

1/4 oats

1/2 onion (diced)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 cup water (hot, almost boiling)

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp extra sauce (ketchup, sweet chili sauce, bbq sauce; optional)

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Spices to taste (if you want a spicy flavour, try curry power and chili powder. If going for savoury, try oregano, rosemary, savoury)

Put water, spices, onion, garlic, oats and tvp in mixing bowl. Mix well and add soy sauce and peanut butter. Then add nutritional yeast and mix. Make into patties. The recipe should make 5-7 patties depending on how large you want to make them. If the consistency isn’t sticky enough, try adding a bit of flour or corn starch. Fry patties over medium heat in a pan. They should take about 5-10 minutes to cook, but it depends on what consistency you want. 

Adapted from here. 

Meal 2 Summary (Ginger Ale)

Ginger Ale (Adam 5/5 Alex 4/5)

What an adventure. So, we added a lot more yeast than was called for and had a nice surprise: some of the batches turned (we think) alcoholic. Yay! So, if you want Ginger 'Beer'/'We think it's beer,' just add more yeast! The theory (I think) is that after the yeast uses up the sugar, it begins producing alcohol. Enjoy!!

Ginger Ale

Ginger Ale

(adapted from here)

Time: 5 minutes

1” grated ginger

1 cup sugar

1/2tsp baker’s yeast*

2tbsp lime juice
2L water

optional:

1 apple, diced finely

1tsp cinnamon

Mix ingredients into a large bowl and dissolve sugar. Pour into Mason jars and screw on lid. Let sit at room temperature out of direct sunlight for 3 days. Enjoy. 

*In some of our batches, we added 1/2tbsp-1tbsp of yeast which made the ale taste (we think) alcoholic. Experiment! I personally liked having a 'hopsy' flavour, but having it simply sugary and 'poppy' is good too. 

Meal 1 Summary (Tofu Scramble, Peanut Sausages)

This is our veganized version of a classic American breakfast. We were short on the bacon, but maybe next time we'll find a recipe for that to add hilarity.

Tofu Scramble (Adam 3/5 Alex 3.5/5)


While easy and quick, the tofu didn't get firm like we were hoping. Perhaps too much milk was the problem. Regardless, they were still tasty. Make sure to have some bread to accompany them!

Peanut Sausages (Adam 4/5 Alex 5/5)


Yum yum yum. If you get the preportions of flour and water right (a tad tricky, but it will happen) they firm up quite nicely! These are very tasty with a nice texture and finished off the irony of our meal quite well.

Scrambled Tofu and Peanut Sausages

Scrambled Tofu

Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 pck soft tofu

1 tbsp soy milk

1 tbsp chili powder

Salt

Pepper

Put tofu in a bowl and break it apart with a knife. Add soy milk and ‘scramble’ the tofu. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add tofu mix to the pan, add chili powder and fry until desired consistency (extra water will have steamed off and the mixture is mushy, but not too watery). Top with salt and pepper to taste.




Peanut Sausages

Peanut Sausages 

Adapted from “Vegan cooking for One”-Leah Leneman

1/2cup peanuts, chopped finely

2 slices of bread, ripped into crumbs 

2 tbsp flour*

1tbsp tomato sauce

1tbsp soya sauce

1/2tbsp oregano (or any other herb)

1tbsp nutritional yeast

4 tbsp water*

*start with 2 tbsp of flour and 4tbsp of water and adjust to a consistency you like. 

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Feel free to change the way they are spiced, but keep the soya sauce. Adjust the water and flour until the mixture can be formed into sausage like shapes and holds together. Cook on a pan with oil on medium, turning occasionally. 

Week 5: American

We dropped the ball a little bit on this one, with exams and all. But here are some recipes that we made for American week.

Scrambled Tofu
TVP Veggie Burgers
Ginger Ale
Peanut Sausages

Summary (Pea Soup)

This was a scrumptious, filling meal. Super easy to make

Pea Soup (Adam 4/5 Alex 4/5)

Doesn't blow my mind, but it was homely. We enjoyed it in the park and it was one of the best soups I've had as a stand alone meal filler. We used ruffles all-dressed chips as 'soup spoons' which was extra fun!

Pea Soup

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 6

1 900g bag Split Peas
2 medium onions
3 cloves garlic
1 leek
2 small carrots
2 stalks celery
1 cube vegetable bullion
salt (to taste)
sage (to taste)
parsley(to taste)
oil
water

Fry onions, garlic, and leeks in oil over medium for 4 minutes. Then add in other ingredients and enough water to cover all the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

Summary (poutine)

The. Best. If there is one recipe on the blog (aside from Chinese week, which you must do), make this one. Easy and very very yummy. My mother was down for the weekend and was thoroughly weirded out/ impressed by the strange concoction.  
 Daiya, a soy-free vegan cheese is a bit of an esoteric ingredient. We found it at the Stone Store in Guelph, but you could probably find it at any health-food/hippy-food store.

Poutine (Adam 5/5 Alex 6/5)

All that needs to be said has been said. Put on epic music; cook; enjoy. 

Meal 3 (Poutine)

Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Fries
5 medium potatoes, cut into fry shape
Vegetable Oil
1 Package Daiya (soy-free vegan "cheese")

Gravy
2 tbsp margerine
1 onion, diced
2tbsp flour
1tbsp cornstarch
1.5 cup water
2tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp nutritional yeast

Fry onions in a small pot with the margarine over medium for 4 minutes. Add remaining gravy ingredients and turn heat to low.

While the gravy is simmering on low, cut the potatoes. Place the cut potatoes on a plate and microwave for 5 minutes. Transfer onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 350 until golden brown (~10 minutes).

Top fries with gravy and daiya. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds.

Enjoy noms.

Gravy based on this recipe

Summary (TVP Tortiere)

I found the bare bones of this recipe while perusing the internet some time ago. It was such a weird idea, I never thought I'd actually make it. Then the blog happened...

Tortiere (Adam 4.5/5 Alex 4/5)


Ok, so I feel the need to justify giving this only a 4/5. The recipe is amazing, but when we made it we used oil instead of vegetable shortening in the crust- big mistake. Vegetable shortening makes the world go round, and the blood pulse through my veins (although ironically it does the opposite of that). There. I said it.

Otherwise the recipe was yum yum, yum yum yum. yum.

Meal 2 Summary (TVP Tortiere)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Crust

3 cups white flour

4tbsp sugar

1 cup vegetable shortening

4tbsp soymilk (or water)

Filling

4 sm mushrooms

2 sm onions

2 tsp vinegar

2 tsp soya sauce

1 tbsp oil

3 sm potatoes

Allspice

Basil

Salt 

pepper

Parsely 

Basil

Thyme

2 cups Tvp

1 cup boiling water

2 cups water

2 cloves garlic

3 sm carrots 

Directions

Fry onions and garlic in a medium pot over medium heat for about 4 minutes. In a small bowl, add the water to the TVP. Add this and the remaining ingredients into the pot, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook while preparing crust (10 minutes).

Prepare crust first by cutting vegetable shortening into flour in a medium bowl. Add sugar, a pinch of salt, and soymilk (or water). Mix and then flatten half into a pie dish. Add filling into pie dish. Flatten the remaining half of the crust and gently place on top of the tortiere filling.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until slightly brown crust appears. Fill one's self with food.

Inspiration from here and here. 

Summary (Ketchup)

This was a nice easy ketchup to make. Further, the results were astonishing! I think Adam almost fainted with tasty overload- I soon followed.

No one eats ketchup just like that!! Here it is on some of Adam's favourite home made burgs' and focaccia.

Ketchup ( Adam 5/5  Alex 5/5) 

When considering the rating, Adam said "put me down for 5/5, no question". THAT'S how good it was! 

'nuff said.

Actually no. It was quite easy to make and has a high yield. Cost was pretty low too, so it's a good investment. 

Ketchup (Catsup for you Americans)

Time: 45 mins

Serves: (makes 1L)

2lbs tomatoes, diced

5 medium onions, diced

1 cup vinegar

2/3cup sugar

2tbsp salt

1tsp cinnamon

1tsp cloves

1/2tsp allspice

1/2tsp mace

1tbsp mustard seeds

1tsp dill, minced

Bring tomatoes and onions to a boil in a medium pot. Lower heat to low, add remaining ingredients. Maintain a simmer for 30 minutes. After the ketchup has cooked for 30 minutes, blend it, and pour it into containers.

Enjoy delicious. 

Inspiration: this recipe

Meal 1 Summary (Vichyssoise)

We had two guests over to direct us in the making of this amazing dish! Marc and Guy came and taught us how to make Vichyssoise (of which neither of us had heard).

Vichyssoise: (Adam: 4/5 Alex 4.5/5)

I must admit, I was initially a bit turned off by the striking colour which Guy described as 'Algae soup'. My qualms were resolved the instant this sweet soup touched my lips. Yum YUM. We have some good guest cooks! Perhaps we should have others cook for us every night :)

Vichyssoise (Potato Leek Soup)

Prep time: 10
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 hungry men (we are now above the age of 20, so yes, we are men)

Ingredients:
3 leeks
2 tbsp margarine
3 cups potatoes, chopped
2 tbsp dill
1.5 bullion cubes
2 cups water
1/4 cup vegan cream (optional)

Fry leeks over medium heat in margarine. Meanwhile, boil potatoes until soft. Then drain potatoes, and add back to pot with leeks and remaining ingredients (minus the cream). Simmer for 10 minutes, then blend mixture until desired consistency. Then add cream.

Inspired by this recipe

Week 4: Franco North America

Not sure if this counts as an ethnic region, but we make the rules. Adaptations will abound. Joy and potatoes will be had.

Grocery List:

2.5 kg Potatoes
1 medium bag Split Peas
2 lbs Tomatos
3 Leeks
1 Bunch Celery
8 sm Mushrooms

Total: $23

Recipes:

Vichyssoise
TVP Tortiere
Poutine
Home-made Ketchup
Pea Soup

Meal 2 Summary (Focaccia and Pasta Aglio e Olio)

This is a classic Italian meal that I have gotten used to growing up as a kid (Alex). The focaccia recipe takes a while to perfect, but I imagine someday we'll get there.  Be prepared for carbs. Guess Nona doesn't believe in atkins.

Focaccia (Adam 4.5/5 Alex 4.5/5)
Yum. I'm a bread sucker and this was wonderful. Rosmary on top, margarine in the middle, yummy all around.


Pasta Aglio e Olio (Adam 3.5/5 Alex 4/5)
Really easy meal. Don't be deceived: it's taste value is quite high. That being said, I like more that oil and garlic in my pasta (sorry alex)

Focaccia and Pasta Aglio e olio

Prep time: 15 mins

Waiting: ~1h (dough rising etc)

Serves: 5

Focaccia

1tbsp yeast

4c white flour

2tsp salt

1tsp sugar

1cm slice Crisco/ vegetable shortening

Place 1tbsp yeast in a small bowl along with 1tsp sugar and 2cups warm water. Stir and let sit for 15 minutes. While waiting, fill a large bowl with 2c white flour, 2tsp salt, and a 1cm slice of Crisco. Mix the Crisco in. After the yeast is prepped, pour into the large bowl, and add another 2c white flour. Mix an knead dough. Add more flour if too sticky. Place in a bowl and cover for 45mins. After this time, spread the dough out on a full size baking sheet, and let rise for another 15 minutes. Bake for ~10 minutes at 370F or until lightly browned. 

Pasta Aglio e Olio

1/2 package spaghettini or spaghetti

1/4c olive oil

salt as needed

6 cloves garlic, chopped in half

5 large mushrooms

Heat the oil in a small pan over medium. Add the garlic cloves and chili peppers if desired. Stir to ensure garlic doesn't burn. After the garlic is browned slightly, turn the heat to low and cook mushrooms for 5 minutes.

Bring a large pot full of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook to desired consistency. 

Mix pasta and oil. Salt as needed (don't hold back on the salt! It brings out the flavour). 

Meal 1 Summary (Mushroom Wine Risotto)

A classic Italian dish. Using Arborio is key here in order to create the thick consistency desired. Usually risotto is cooked with white wine, but Adam had some leftover red from a friend, which gives it a super dooper wooper fun colour.

Oh, we also had some leftover baguette and bruschetta topping from a family supper, so we tossed it in!

Mushroom Wine Risotto (Adam 4/5 Alex 4/5)


A great filler meal. Prep was easy and decent output. As it always happens when I don't watch Alex, he added too much rosemary. I keep telling him, but he doesn't listen. BEWARE! Rosemary is good, but not too much. edit: yes I do

Mushroom Wine Risotto

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time 40 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1lb mushrooms, chopped
2tbsp olive oil
chili peppers to taste
1tbsp Rosemary
2tbsp wine vinegar
1.5 cups wine
1.5 cups Arborio rice
~4 cups water

Fry the cut onions and garlic in a large pan with 1/2 the oil over medium for 5 minutes. Add the chili peppers, rosemary and rice, cook for another 5 minutes (to brown the rice). Add the wine and 1cup water. Simmer for 40 minutes, adding water as needed (try to maintain an oatmeal consistency). Add salt as needed to the risotto.

While the risotto is simmering, prepare the mushroom topping! Fry the cut mushrooms in a small pan over medium along with the other half of the oil. Fry until desired consistency is reached (~10 mins for us).

Once both are done, serve the risotto on a plate with the mushrooms on top.

Note: For the wine, you can use leftovers (we had some leftover homemade red!) or if you are even cheaper, you could probably get away with wine vinegar, which we bought at the grocery store for about $2.

Week 3: Italian aka We are Lazy and Italian is Easy

So...  I think we're doing a reduced Italian week, because things just got crazy this week. For those of you who have been considering it, I suggest you try a grocery list of ours and follow along one of the weeks! This one is particularly cheap (which means I like very much!)

Grocery list: broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms (2 medium containers), head of garlic, shortening, 1 pckg arborio rice

Total: $16.69

What we're cooking:

Mushroom Risotto
Focaccia Bread
Pasta Aglio e Olio (with some veggies)
Roasted Veggies

Yum!

Meal 3 Summary (White Bean Dip)

This was a fun little dish that probably was the easiest to make of any of our recipes so far. It was great: a dish very unlike our "usuals."

White Bean Dip (Adam 4/5 Alex 4/5)

This was really fun to do as a mini-dinner. I would suggest it as an appetizer: we dipped bread it in, but you could also dip in some veggies. The original recipe is made with fermented soybeans, but we used more common white beans instead! If you wanna be funky, you could try out some different beans. As is said in the recipe, the addition of lime (or lemon) juice is a key addition.

White Bean Dip

Cooking time: 15 mins
Serves: 6

1/2 can white beans
1/3small onion, minced
3 mushrooms, diced
1 small hot pepper, minced
1 can coconut milk
2.5tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
3tbsp lime juice (makes it super yummy)
salt as needed

Mash beans. Pour coconut milk into a small pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add remaining ingredients (save water). Place the water in a bowl, add cornstarch and whisk. Add water+ cornstarch to pot. Lower heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Add more cornstarch to desired consistency.

Loosely adapted from this recipe.

Meal 2 Summary (Red Curry, Coconut Soup)

Summary

Thai! Am I right? What more needs to be said?

Red Curry (Adam 3/5  Alex 3.5/5)

This curry was fairly run of the mill. While delicious, it received a low rating from Alex because it was not different than our usual curry dishes. It wasn’t spicy enough, unfortunately. That being said, our dinner guest, Ramita, said that it was very tasty!  I suggest adding some more cayenne to ensure a proper spice level!

Coconut Soup (Adam 4/5  Alex 4.5/5) 

Woowee as Adam would say! I love anything with coconut milk and this is no exception! It has a great variety of flavors from intense spice to sour with a hint of salt. The tangy taste was a yummy addition!

Coconut Soup

Coconut Soup

1. 0.5pkgs tofu, diced
2. 2 cans canned coconut milk
3. 2 cups water
4. 1 (1 inch) piece ginger
5. 3tbsp lemon juice
6. 2 stalks lemongrass (optional)
7. 1 pound shiitake mushrooms, sliced
8. 1 tablespoons hoisin sauce
9. 1/4 cup brown sugar
10. 1 teaspoon red curry paste
11. 3 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
12. 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

Directions

Add all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Once a boiling state is achieved, drop heat down to low and cook for 10 minutes.
Recipe can be found here.

Red Curry

Red Curry

1. 1.5 pkgs tofu, chopped in pieces appropriate to your mouth size
2. 2 tablespoons cooking oil
3. 2 tablespoons red curry paste
4. 2 green onions, chopped
5. 2 small onions, chopped
6. 3 cloves garlic, chopped
7. 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
8. 2 cups coconut milk
9. 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
10. 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
11. 2 tablespoons white sugar
12. 1/2 cup cilantro leaves

Heat oil in a medium pot and fry onions with heat on medium (both green and otherwise) for 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and drop heat down to low. Cook for 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Recipe adapted from here.

Meal 1 Summary (Rice Paper Rolls)

[Insert yum yum comment here]. This week, we had the pleasure of two wonderful dinner guests. Clara even (with some help and taste testing from Adam) brought along some dessert yummies! She also showed us this amazing blog with vegan quasi healthy desserts that blow your mind!
To compliment the rice paper rolls, we ate some more of the heaps of cabbage salad we had lying around.

A picture of the Rice Paper Rolls (in case you couldn't figure it out)

Our lovely complementary cake. Thanks Clara and Adam!

Rice Paper Rolls (Adam 4/5  Alex 4.5/5) 

Unlike many of our other recipes, this was not found on the web. This is based off of the memory of a similar dish that Alex's dad whips together for special occasions (read: when he begs enough). It's a really simple and versatile dish. Really, you can put whatever you want inside of them! 

Cake (ALWAYS 5/5 IT HAS CHOCOLATE)

'nough said. (Cake recipe Mousse recipe)

Thai Rice Paper Rolls

Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 5

1 package rice paper rolls

Protein Innards

1. 1cup chickpeas
2. 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3. 1/4cup parsley 
4. 2 cups bean sprouts
5. 1 bell pepper
6. salt
7. 2tbsp sweet chili sauce (optional)
8. 2tsp cumin

Carrot Innards

5 carrots, grated

2tbsp lemon juice

2tbsp sugar

1tbsp sesame oil

1/4cup cilantro

Sauce Innards (or dipping sauce if you're a dip)

1. 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2. 2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
3. 1 tablespoon water
4. chopped roasted peanuts

Directions

1. Put all of the Roll Innard ingredients in a small pot and cook over medium for 10 minutes.
2. While these innards are cooking, prepare the carrot innards and set aside in a medium bowl.
3. Then prepare the sauce ingredients.
4. Once the cooking is done, the ingredients can go into rice paper rolls.
5. Place a sheet of rice paper into a bowl filled with warm water. Once the paper has become soft and malleable, take it out, place it on a tea towel, and pat it dry. Then place it on a plate, put a little of each innard along the middle (similar to the way you would make a fajita). Then wrap by folding each side in (the paper will stick to itself, and it will look like a burrito)!
6. Eat.
7. Complain because you're too full.

Week 2: The Thai Experiment

This is going to be the best week yet. Thai is amazing.

Grocery list: 4 cans coconut milk, lime juice, 1 can white beans, sweet chili sauce, hoisin sauce, mushrooms (~1lb), garlic, 2 hot peppers, 1 bell pepper, bunch cilantro, fresh ginger, peanuts.

Total: $28.76.

What's on the menu?
-Green Curry
-Mushroom Curry
-Soy Bean Dip
-Coconut Soup
-Rice Paper Rolls

Meal 3 Summary (Cabbage Salad, Chinese "Steamed" Buns)

Wowee. Lots of good food and unconventional to boot. We were not sure what to expect, but it turned out to be quite filling.

Cabbage Salad (Adam 3.5/5  Alex 3.5/5)
This recipe worked out well: not too much work and a ton of salad. We have a giant tupperware of leftovers for today. Although it must be admitted that we were initially wary of the notion of a cabbage salad, this dish brought an unexpected surprise. We added some extra filling from the Chinese "Steamed" Buns on top of the salad, which made the dish even tastier.

Chinese "Steamed" Buns (Adam 4/5 Alex 4/5)
I got the idea for these buns from a place I used to go in China Town in Victoria. They sold steamed buns filled with barbecued pork, so this is in essence a vegan adaptation of that. Though traditionally steamed, we baked the buns instead as a way to make the recipe easier. The first time making these was a bit chaotic and took a little long, but most of the time was spent trying to figure out what we were doing. We suggest using left over seitan if you have any from the mandarin seitan. The result was really really tasty.

Chinese "Steamed" Buns

Prep/cook time: 45 minutes

Makes: 8 buns

Buns:

1tsp yeast

1 cup warm water

2 cups flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vegetable oil

Filling:

2tbsp vegetable oil

2tbsp sugar

2tbsp wine vinegar 

2tbsp soy sauce 

1tbsp grated ginger

1tsp cayenne

2 stalks celery, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

3 small carrots, diced

1 recipe seitan (optional)

Dissolve yeast in water. Mix in the other ingredients (I used a fork and then my hand; the original recipe called for an electric mixer). Knead. 

Leave dough for 5 minutes. Then roll it with a rolling pin (we used a bottle because we didn’t have one) on a lightly floured surface into 40cm by 25cm dimensions (you can role it to whatever dimensions you want, depending on how you want the buns to look). With your fingers, brush the surface lightly with water.

Prepare filling by frying the spices in a small pot along with the oil on medium. After 3 minutes, add remaining vegetables and cook over medium low for 10 minutes. 

Add the filling just far enough away from one of the longer edges so that you will be able to roll the dough over it. Roll the dough over the filling and continue to roll it into a log. Cut the log into eight even pieces. Close the ends of the cut pieces, so the filling wont fall out.

Let the pieces rise in a damp cloth for about 20 minutes (if you’re impatient, you can take them out after 10, but they may not rise quite as much).

Bake for 15 minutes at 350, or until slightly browned and have a firm, but not crispy outside. 

Let cool slightly and serve.

You can really add any filling you want to the buns; we just made one up. Dip in any applicable sauce you have lying around the house. For dessert, we suggest using the left over marmalade as a filling.


Adapted from this recipe.

Cabbage Salad

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 8

1. 2 cups Cooked white rice
2. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
3. 1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted
4. 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
5. 1/2 head cabbage, shredded

Salad Dressing

1. 1/3 cup vegetable oil
2. 1/3 cup wine vinegar
3. 2 tablespoon soy sauce
4. 1 tablespoon sesame oil
5. 1/4 cup white sugar

Directions

Fry nuts and sesame seeds over medium heat in the 1/4cup vegetable oil. After about 5 minutes, add the rice. While frying, shred the cabbage and place in a large bowl. Prepare the salad dressing in a separate small bowl and whisk together. Add the dressing to the cabbage along with the fried rice. Toss and serve! This was adapted from a recipe found here.

Meal 2 Summary (Sesame Tofu, Singapore Noodles)

Well, maybe we just love every kind of food, because I have a feeling we're going to rate these meals at the top of their class.

Sesame Tofu (Adam 4.5/5; Alex 4.5/5)

This was a lovely surprise. As authentic as it gets, this recipe held true to its promises! The sauce is a carbon copy of sesame sauce you would find in Chinese restaurants. While the flavour was untouchable, the tofu needs to be fried in a better manner- suggestions welcome!

Singapore Noodles (Adam 3.5/5; Alex 4/5)

What this recipe lacked in quality it made up in quantity... holy man. So many noodles. I am going to have trouble getting up after this serious amount of food. Fullness to a whole 'nother level. The flavour was unique, very gingery. Alex said it tasted like stuff he had in restaurants, but I've never had singapore noodles before, so I can't say. Chopping the veggies took awhile, but the cooking time itself was very short. Chickpeas were an unusual addition, but added some needed protein. All in all, a great cure for the mid-week blues. 

I would suggest cooking some steamed rice to serve over the sesame tofu. I just mixed it with the noodles, which was fine, but the noodles lost some of their own original flavour in the yumminess of the sesame sauce.

Singapore Noodles

Serves: 6-8
Cook/prep time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:


2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
4 mushrooms
1 package dry rice vermicelli
2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
2 green onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 red pepper, diced
4 small carrots, diced
1/4 Package soft tofu, coarsely chopped
1 cup chickpeas, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil

For sauce:

3tbsp Curry powder
1 tsp Thai Curry Paste (optional: can use any sort of curry paste or hot-sauce, but it will taste different depending on what you use)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 cup water
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 tsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil


1) Put the rice vermicelli in a large bowl and soak in boiling water. Drain noodles and set aside.
2) Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat. Add curry powder, ginger, and garlic. Add water, soy sauce, sugar, and curry paste. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3) Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over medium. Add remaining garlic and ginger, and fry for a couple minutes. Add celery, carrots, onions, pepper, sprouts, green onions, and mushrooms. Fry for 2 minutes. Add tofu and chickpeas and fry an additional 3 minutes until vegetables soften.
4) Mix vegetables, noodles, and sauce, adding chopped peanuts on top.

Based on this recipe

Sesame Tofu

Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4


1 package firm tofu, cubed

Marinade

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon cooking wine

3 drops sesame oil

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Sauce

½ cup water

1 cup broth

¹¼ cup white vinegar 

¼ cup cornstarch

1 cup sugar 

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon chili paste 

Prepare the marinade in a small bowl. Add the tofu, and let sit for 20 minutes, stirring once after about 10 minutes. 

Add all of the sauce incredients in a small saucepan. Heat over medium for 5 minutes, and then turn the heat off, stirring frequently.

 Once the tofu has been marinated for 20 minutes, fry it in a large pan over medium in 3tbsp oil.

After the tofu is fried, add it to the sauce and serve over a bed of rice.

Recipe can be found here

Meal 1 Summary (Mandarin Seitan, Hot and Sour Soup)

Whoo wee... Yum yum yum. We started off with a bang. I hope you will still consider us credible if we give our first recipe such a high rating!

Mandarin Seitan (Adam 5/5 Alex 4.5/5)
A long time favourite Chinese dish, this vegan version did not let us down. Making the seitan was a lot faster than expected with great results. It has a high return on time invested! This recipe produces some powerfully nom-able mandarin seitan that must be watered down with lots of rice to ensure your taste buds can survive long enough to taste the hot and sour soup to follow. Also, we forgot to add the wheat gluten and nutritional yeast in the grocery bill because we already had it; they are fairly cheap ingredients, so please forgive our error!

Hot and Sour Soup (Adam 4.5/5 Alex 5/5)
Man, this recipe was a sitter! (excuse the poorly adapted British football expression) The two of us were running around, chopping the veggies and throwing the stuff in the pot! I would highly recommend the coconut milk, it was an amazing addition. Also, if your spicy level is not high, reduce cayenne from the posted amount. The soft tofu is supposed to be 'fake scrambled egg,' but the soup had lots of tofu, so don't worry if you just want to use one of the two tofus. The pot was full to the brim, super powerfully tasty and actually kind of reminiscent of restaurant hot and sour soup. I have been looking for such a recipe for a long time and this is it!

In conclusion, Chinese = best.

Hot and Sour Soup

Serves 4-6
Total cooking/prep time: 35 minutes


‎2 Tsp Sesame oil

3 large mushrooms, diced

4 cups water

1 cube bullion

2 stalks celery, diced

3 small carrots, diced

1/3 brick firm tofu, diced

1/2 medium apple, diced

2 teaspoons soya sauce

5tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp sugar

Dash of salt

2 stalks bock choy, coarsely chopped

2 stalks green onion, coarsely chopped

1/3 brick soft tofu

1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

1 tsp cayenne

1/4 cup coconut milk

Dash of ground pepper

Fry sesame oil and mushrooms in a medium pot. Add 4 cups of water and the cube of bullion and bring to a boil. Add celery, carrots, firm tofu, and apple and boil for a few minutes. Mix together soya sauce, vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Add to soup. Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water and add to soup. Reduce heat to medium. Break apart (scramble) soft tofu with a fork and add to soup. Then add coconut milk and cayenne and let juices mix for a couple minutes. Add pepper and serve.

Loosely adapted from a recipe found here.

Mandarin Seitan

Mandarin Seitan 


Serves 4-6
Total cook/prep time: 40 minutes + prep/cooking time for seitan itself.

1. Double a recipe for seitan
2. 2tbs vegetable oil
3. 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
4. 1 teaspoon pepper
5. 1/2 cup orange marmalade
6. 1/2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
7. 1/4 cup soy sauce
8. 2 tablespoons honey
9. 2 garlic cloves, minced
10. 2 1/4 teaspoons ground mustard
11. 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

After the seitan is made, cut it into bite sized pieces. Fry these pieces in a large pan along with 2tbsp vegetable oil until crispy (10 mins). After this is done, remove from heat. 

Add all of the ingredients, save the seitan, in a loaf pan. Stir until well mixed and then add seitan. 

Bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to coat the seitan in the sauce.

Serve on a bed of plain rice.

This recipe is based off an existing recipe that can be found here. 

Week 1: "Chinese"/"What We Think Chinese Food Is"

Ingredients we needed to buy*:
Apples, wine vinegar, corn starch, marmalade, carrots, orange juice concentrate, bok choy, green onion, garlic, celery, tofu (one firm, one soft), bean sprouts, 3 bell peppers, mushrooms, cabbage.
Cost: $37.53

So, here's on the hit list for the week:
-Mandarin Seitan
-Hot and Sour Soup
-Sesame Tofu
-Singapore Noodles
-Steamed Buns
-Cabbage Salad
-Fried Rice


*This assumes you own basic ingredients such as salt, soy sauce, sugar, rice etc...