Mushroom and Swiss Chard Frittata

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Because I spent so many years skipping breakfast to make it to work by 5:30 a.m., I can now fully appreciate taking my time for a good, hearty meal to start the day and with Swiss chard in my farm crate I knew I would be making a frittata this week.

Mushroom and Swiss Chard Frittata
serves two

1 tbsp olive oil 
1/2 small yellow onion, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped
4-5 large cremini mushrooms

4-5 ounces extra firm tofu
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup vegan mozzarella cheese, shredded (I use Daiya)
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp tumeric
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a small baking dish or loaf pan.

In a small bowl crumble the tofu until it is the texture of ricotta cheese. Add nutritional yeast, vegan cheese, mustard, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined. Set aside.

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent . Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add mushrooms and chard and saute for five minutes.

Mix vegetables into tofu mixture until uniformly combined. Firmly pack frittata mixture into baking dish smoothing over the top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until frittata starts to brown on top. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Once cooled turn baking dish upside down to release frittata.

 Enjoy!

What's your favorite breakfast dish? Are you a sweet or savory morning eater?

Quinoa Stir Fry with Ginger Peanut Sauce

I posted this picture a couple weeks back in one of my Crate Full of Veggies blogs and was recently reminded I had never gotten the recipe up! So here it is. This seasonal stir fry is one of my favorite ways to use both quinoa and broccoli. And how can you go wrong when ginger peanut sauce is involved? 


Quinoa Stir Fry with Ginger Peanut Sauce
gluten-free
serves 2
prep time: 35 minutes

1/2 cup quinoa
3/4 cup water

1 tbsp oil 
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium-sized head of broccoli, chopped
2 carrots, cut into thin strips
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

Ginger Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar 
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

fresh cilantro or basil
peanuts

Optional: 4-6 ounces extra firm tofu cut into thin slices and prepared in my super secret, super lazy way
or my other lazy way: 1/2 package marinated, ready to eat tofu:

 or really any way you like to prepare tofu.

Rinse the quinoa several times and add it to boiling water. Cook covered for about 20-30 minutes, until water has evaporated and quinoa is light and fluffy. Leave covered, with heat off, for an additional ten minutes.

While quinoa is cooking, get to work on the vegetables. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or heavy-bottom pan.  Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Toss in the remaining vegetables and stir fry until just tender. Do not over cook. They taste a lot better when there is still a snap to them. Remove from heat and set aside.

Mix the ingredients for peanut sauce together. Because I don't like cleaning my blender and I never can fully mix it with a fork, I place all the ingredients in a small mason jar with a lid and shake it for several minutes. I found it to be the easiest, cleanest way for peanut sauce. Once well combined, pour over vegetables and stir to combine.

Serve over cooked quinoa and top fresh cilantro, peanuts and tofu (if desired).

I hope you all had a great summer weekend!

Happy Fathers Day and a Tofu Reuben Sandwich

For those of you who don't know, I have the best life partner one could hope for. He also happens to be among the top Dad's in the world and today is celebrating his first father's day.

Happy Father's Day, Jason!

After four trips to the store (I have been a bit disorganized lately) I finally had all the ingredients to make him his favorite meal: pancakes and veggie sausage. And we enjoyed breakfast in the warm summer sun, sitting on our brand new deck.

To all my father readers, a very happy Father's Day to you!

After breakfast Jason came online to share with you his very special Reuben Sandwich recipe.
Welcome Jason!

"This is my favorite sandwich to make.  I especially love making this sandwich for meat lovers because they are always shocked at how much they love it. The key to a successful sandwich (any sandwich) is the sauce.  Sometimes, when I find a good sauce I contemplate making a sauce-only sandwich.  This Reuben has an easy to make yet AWESOME thousand island dressing that you can put together with ingredients you already have. Make plenty of it.

The tofu is simply a vehicle for sauerkraut and sauce so don't worry if you aren't super experienced cooking with tofu or aren't sure you like it--just make sure to cook it long enough"

Tofu Reuben Sandwich
makes 1 sandwich

2 slices of bread (I always use Dave's Killer Bread--good seed)
1/3 cup sauerkraut
3 slices of tofu, about 1/4 inch thick each
salt and pepper
pinch of turmeric and chili powder

Reuben Sauce
1 heaping tbsp vegenaise
2  tsp ketchup
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp sirracha 
salt and pepper

Heat oil in cast iron skillet. Once hot, place tofu on pan. Let tofu cook at medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until cooked on the outside.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together sauce ingredient. Toast bread in toaster or on a separate skillet.

When tofu is finished on one side, flip and season with salt, pepper, turmeric, and chili powder. Cook the other side for 5 minutes and flip the slabs a few times to spread the seasoning around. Turn the heat off and move the tofu to one side.  Add the sauerkraut to the other side of the skillet; it will soak up whatever spices didn't stick to the tofu. I usually add some pepper as well. Let it sit for about 2 minutes in the hot pan and then you are ready to assemble the sandwich!
Toast.Tofu.Sauerkraut.Sauce.Toast. Enjoy!

Lemon Pepper Quinoa Pasta with Blackened Tofu

 gluten-free & vegan

This Lemon Pepper Pasta is a great meal for a warm day. The quinoa pasta is a light alternative to wheat pasta and the crisp asparagus and lemony tang welcome in the fast arriving summer.

Lemon Pepper Quinoa Pasta with Blackened Tofu
yield: 2

1 1/2 cups quinoa pasta

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium leek

1/2 bunch asparagus

4-6 sun-dried tomatoes

about 10 kalamata olives

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp olive oil + 1 Tbsp for skillet

pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

1 Tbsp chopped basil

salt and pepper

6 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into four slabs
1-2 tsp veggie broth paste (I use Better than Bullion) or 1 cup veggie broth

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile heat up 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and leeks and let cook five minutes, stirring often. Add chopped asparagus (stems removed), chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and halved kalamata olives. Continue cooking for another couple minutes, stirring occasionally until asparagus is heated up, but still has a slight crunch. Remove from heat. Mix the cooked noodles into skillet. Add lemon juice, olive oil, cayenne pepper, basil, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Blackened Tofu

Okay this is my super-easy, super-lazy, and super-secret tofu technique.
1. Heat up a second skillet over medium-high heat
2. Brush both sides of each tofu slab with a very small (1-2 tsp total) amount of veggie stock paste
3. Place on hot skillet and grill 2-3 minutes on each side.

If you don't have or can't find veggie stock paste you can marinate the tofu in veggie broth for at least 30 minutes before grilling.

Plate up, sprinkle with ground peppercorns and enjoy!