Thai Peanut Noodles 5/5 Spoons

I was torn today. Do I make easy and healthy peanut noodles or some other made up concoction that takes a lot more time? PEANUT NOODLES WINS! They usually win.

This is such an easy dish to make as long as you have all the ingredients. And I will say, just keep a couple of limes around all the time and you can really make a bastardized version of this anytime you want! This is vegan, made with whole wheat noodles and CRAZY tasty. It will satisfy anyone in your home, guaranteed. Unless they have a peanut allergy, then yeah, stay far away.



I would say this easily serves 4-6 hungry mouths.

Thai Peanut Noodles

1 lb. whole wheat linguine noodles (or something more Asian, but hey, I love these)

Vegetable oil for pan
8 ounce container tofu, drained and pressed until it is firm and not wet anymore then diced in 1 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 small onion, sliced thin
2-3 carrots, sliced thin
3-4 garlic cloves, diced
1-2 t. dried ginger (it’s what I had on hand, use twice as much of the fresh stuff if you have it)
Juice of 1 lime
Few dashes of tamari (to deglaze the pan)
Salt & pepper to taste

Sauce:

6 T. peanut butter
1 c. vegetable broth
¼ c. water
¼ c. tamari (or soy sauce)
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. sambal oelek (this is a chili paste that is DELICOUS and lasts forever; you can find it in most standard grocery stores)
2-3 T. cornstarch
Dash dried ginger
Salt & pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lime

Unsalted peanuts, chopped for garnish
Green onions, diced for garnish
Sriracha (or your favorite hot sauce) for garnish (I like it hot, hence the big yummy squirt on top!)

I always start my noodles first. So yeah, you know how to cook pasta right?

Oil your pan and crank it up med-high heat. Throw all of your chopped veg and tofu in the pan and let it get nice and crispy for 1-2 minutes before stirring. The tofu will stick, but hey, no biggie. Season with salt & pepper and add your ginger. Stir again. Things will start to get brown and crispy after another 3-4 minutes. Turn your heat down to low-med and add your tamari and lime juice and stir. Just keep stirring occasionally and let everything get all lovely together.

When your pasta and veg are just about done, start your sauce. It only takes 3-4 minutes to get bubbly and thick. I basically just throw everything in the pot and stir before even turning on the heat. Cornstarch works better with cold liquids, so just stir a few times and then turn your heat to medium. Make sure to stir every 30 seconds or so to prevent burning. Once it gets thick toss it in with your noodles and veg. Garnish and serve!

It’s really as simple as that. This dish just makes me happy. And it tastes even better the next day as a cold salad. And it’s totally customizable in that I kind of use whatever veggies I want and sometimes use tempeh instead of tofu.

It feels so good to be back writing again and writing recipes! I mean these are just things I make for myself and my roommates but it's nice people are reading. I hope to do a dessert review soon. Perhaps a baked doughnut? YES!

Vegan Hungarian Goulash 4/5 Spoons

I've never had goulash before. In fact, I don't think I ever once thought about it. My roommate told me she loves goulash but she had only had a meat-filled version and I was willing to try and make her a cruelty-free version. So since I had no frame of reference, I like to think this turned out pretty well. It wasn't my favorite thing in the world but it was hearty, delicious and made everyone in this apartment full and happy.

(Photo courtesy of Saveur)

Here are my notes:

-- I think I only used one onion, two onions kind of seemed insane considering the size of the ones I can find at the grocery store.
-- Instead of beef, I used Gardein's Beefless Tips. I think this was my favorite part. I actually fried them in a shallow pan separately and just added them over the goulash when I was about to eat. Since we aren't using animal parts that need to be cooked down for a long time to release their fat and make them tender (ew), this really cuts down on the cooking time. Make sure to fry these nice and crispy because then they really stand up to the potatoes and other strong flavors.
-- Paprika is what makes goulash well.... goulash. I was so freaked out to use 1/4 c. of any spice but it works, trust me. It imparts a spicy intense flavor that is not too overwhelming. Make sure to get Hungarian paprika too, I think it really makes the difference. Often times you can just find it at your grocery store and it's not crazy expensive, so go for it!
-- As for an Italian frying pepper, I used a Cubanelle. I think you can use whatever mild pepper you can find at your local store.

I served this goulash over a heaping pile of pasta but I've seen it being served over rice or mashed potatoes as well. Since there were already potatoes in it, I figured pasta would be a good addition. I really enjoyed this dish and probably will make it again (mostly because I have a bag of Hungarian paprika to use, ha). I have no idea if this authentic in any way but it sure was delicious. A lovely vegan friend of mine has a recipe for a Goulash with mushrooms instead of a beef substitute. I look forward to trying that as well, check out the link.

So, blogging in 2012 is feeling pretty good. I can't wait to continue reviewing awesome recipes for you all and I swear the giveaway will be coming up soon!

JACKIE'S TOP 5

So, I know I was going to review Red Velvet Waffles with Coconut Cream Cheese Topping first but I just wanted to come here and throw out some of the recipes I can't wait to make. I always have a long list of things I'm dying to make, but these are my top 5 as of right now. My stomach is just not as big as my desire to make all this food! Here we go (and these aren't any order, I'm just listing them off):

#1: Sweet Corn Arepa Pancakes

(Photo courtesy of roboppy's Flickr page)

I've never had an arepa.... until this morning. Well let me say that I had an arepa style pancakes at Tweet (my favorite brunch spot in Chicago) and they were dynamite. They were covered with creme fraiche, soy chorizo, over easy eggs, avocado, some sort of amazing hot sauce and black beans. Every bite was a dream. I want to re-create some of those same flavors at home with this recipe. It calls for some orange juice which I think is a great compliment to the strong corn flavor. This is an easy meal with a ton of flavor and my favorite thing of all: a vehicle for a million condiments piled on top.

#2: Cookies and Cream Fudge Brownie

(Photo courtesy of BBC)

Not gonna lie, I have a huge crush on Lorraine Pascale.

(Photo courtesy of Tory Burch)

Sigh.....

Anyway, she has a show on Cooking Channel called Simply Baking. She made these on her last show and they looked so fudge-y and decadent, they are totally going to be made for like Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert. They are not everyday brownies but I bet they are just what I'm looking for.

#3: Vegan Nanaimo Bars

(Photo courtesy of One Green Planet, which is an awesome website BTW)

I had no idea what Nanaimo Bars were until like last week. I had heard of them but literally my mind always went blank when people talked about them. For some reason the name alone evoked feelings of numbness. Don't ask me why, I don't question my motives anymore.

I don't know what I was so scared of.... these are veganized bars filled with chocolate, graham cracker crumbs, nuts and a creamy pudding filling. WHAT HAVE I BEEN MISSING ALL THESE YEARS???? I can't wait to make these and review the hell out of them here. Then we can all share in the joy.

#4: Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Coconut Milk (Vegan and Gluten Free!)

(Photo courtesy of Gluten-Free Goddess)

I love pumpkin anything. Pumpkin soups are amazing. The last time I made pumpkin soup I had told my roommates that I was making it and to not eat dinner after work because there would be delicious food waiting for them. I felt like a jilted wife when they both came home at 10 pm having had dinner and ready to go to bed. Don't I sound sad here? I don't want to equate fall soup with depressing dinners! Anyhow, I divided up the soup into portions and ate it for a week and it was just as good on the 7th day as the 1st. This one is vegan and gluten-free and sounds amazing.

#5: Fettucine NoFredo with Roasted Butternut Squash (Vegan)

(Photo courtesy of Kreeli)

This is my friend Christa's dish (she used to run VeganMania in Vancouver, she is pretty amazing and you can find awesome recipes there). Vegan alfredo sauce? You are joking. But that picture is no damn joke. I plan on making this on a really cold day which will be coming sooner rather than later.

Thank you for indulging in my food fantasies. There will be a waffle recipe review this weekend. Until then, take care of yourself and eat some great food!

Pasta Fagioli 4/5 Spoons

Hey lovers! Sorry that I've been missing in action but I actually have a temp job right now and that means that I barely have time to cook good meals or eat good food. It sucks but I manage! And now I'm heading out to New York City and Boston for a week and I could not be more excited. Things are crazy but it feels really good to be tired from being busy all day, it's rewarding to say the least.

So I had my apprehensions about this soup at first. The picture looked great (down below there) but that isn't always an accurate representation of course. I will say, this soup was pretty darn amazing and ended up looking like the picture. Go figure. This had such a nice hearty tomato flavor and the pasta and pureed beans really added something extra. It would be ideal for winter nights or just when you need a serious "soup hug". Soup hug = a big bowl of soup that just melts all your daily worries away. It works, trust me.

(Photo courtesy of Skinnytaste)

Here are my notes:

-- I ended up using two cans of cannellini beans because I thought the soup was a little thin for my taste at the end. And I pureed the whole soup with my immersion blender. It seemed like it needed to be zapped a few times to get that rich and thick tomato soup from a can vibe that is so great. And it doesn't hurt to have more protein and fiber in your diet.
-- I used a can of diced tomatoes but ran it in my food processor until it was smooth. And I always use sodium free tomatoes just because I do. I'm sure I make up for it in added a lot of kosher salt but oh well. We only live once.
-- And as for herbs, I honestly didn't even measure them. And I didn't even add a bay leaf. I worked with what I had. But I did use fresh parsley because that stuff could make a toilet seat taste fresh.
-- Of course, I used veggie broth.
-- As for the ditalini (which I love), I cooked it separately and then added it in my soup as I went back for more. If you leave the pasta in the liquid and refrigerate it overnight, you will end up with a big poofy thick pasta mess on your hands. It's really not the worst thing ever, but it tastes so much better when you have that pasta saved away from the soup.
-- And since I'm a sucker for parmesan, of course I put some on the top. Obviously this is vegan if you leave that out and still just as good.

This review is short but sweet (or savory) and of course, I put my No Meat Mama stamp of approval right on this recipe. I will be back again soon with more reviews and another giveaway. So thanks for reading and have a great Labor Day!

Spinach Almond Pesto (one of my own recipes!)

I hardly ever share my own recipes here (since I don't have as many as I would like) but I want to share with you my favorite pesto recipe that I use all the time:

Spinach Almond Pesto

4 c. spinach (or a 6 ounce bag of spinach)
1 lemon, juiced
3 garlic cloves, cut in a few pieces, but no need to mince
2/3 c. parmesan cheese
½ c. almonds (I use raw, but toasted would be super nice!)
¼ t. ground black peppercorns
¾ t. kosher salt
¼ c. extra-virgin olive oil (use the good stuff since this will be raw)

Throw all ingredients (excluding oil) into a food processor or blender and whir for a few pulses until chopped pretty fine. Stream in oil until the pesto is fully incorporated. Use right away or let sit in a covered container for up to 2 days in the fridge or a couple of weeks in the freezer. The spinach might give off some water so just skim the liquid off whenever you use the pesto. Enjoy!

You could easily substitute arugula or basil for the spinach or walnuts or pine nuts for the almonds! Make it your own!

I just created a new e-mail address for The No Meat Mama (nomeatmama@gmail.com) so if you have any questions, requests, comments or baking/catering work you want to give me (please? haha), you can reach me there!

I'll be back soon with more food and recipes and know how and awesomeness. Stay cool everybody!

Peanut Noodle Vegetable Soup 5/5 Spoons

I bet you all get really sick of me reviewing 5 star recipes. Actually, why would you? Don't you want to know that I'm constantly eating amazing meals? I would like to wish wonderful meals for everyone in the world. Well if you want to see me break and get mad about something I ate then this post is not for you.

(Photos courtesy of thursday night smackdown)

So I woke up this morning with the full intended desire to make some coffee, sit on our patio and read. Then as soon as I got dressed and my coffee was waiting for me, it started to rain. Dammit. I sat around feeling sorry for myself and then realized I have a lot of veggies to eat up and whoa, I should make that Peanut Noodle Vegetable Soup I had a recipe for. I thought this was also one of those throwaway recipes that I wouldn't end up making and I would have a sad, floppy head of cabbage just rotting away in my fridge. Nope, I wouldn't allow that to happen to this most honorable of vegetables! I'm so glad I made this, especially on such a drizzly dark day. It was warming, creamy but light and full of spice and tart sharpness. A lot of different wonderful flavors play together and sing in your mouth. Plus, it is SUPER healthy. Here are my tweaks and notes:

-- I'm really bad at remembering to grab fresh ginger when I'm at the market, even if it is on my list. So like many other recipes, I used 1/2 T. of dried ginger instead.
-- I definitely used more than 1 t. of red chili flakes. I would guess about twice that because I like it spicy.
-- Did you know that sweet potatoes are different than yams? I used a sweet potato here, there are not a lot of yams floating around in Chicago.
-- When I use canned tomatoes, I puree them in food processor because I don't like chunks. I think the tomato puree in this was perfect.
-- I used vegetable broth over water just to add more flavor.
-- I'm pretty loyal to Jif or Peter Pan peanut butter, so I used that instead of natural. I honestly don't think it would make much of a difference here.
-- So I cooked some cellophane noodles and they like grossed me out once they were done. I know it sounds weird but the texture made me nauseous. At the end here I threw in about 1/2 box of thick spaghetti broken into small pieces. It was perfect.
-- The lime in here is SO GOOD. I would suggest just squeezing the whole lime into the soup and mixing it a bit right before you serve. And I didn't add anymore hot sauce, but it would be nice to cater to each individual person's taste and have it on the side.

Okay, so it seems like a lot of notes, but really I don't think I deviated too much from the original recipe. So yeah, go out and make this now. It is chock full of vitamin C and beta carotene (from the sweet potato, carrots and cabbage) and protein from the peanut butter (although adding some tofu in here would be even better.) All I'm saying is that I love you guys and you need your vitamins. Mama is just watching out for you.

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce 4/5 Spoons

The queen of pasta and all Italian food is Lidia Bastianich. Go ahead and find me another woman who tops her skills. I'm waiting..... Nope? I didn't think so. Okay, well I mean there are probably women living in middle of nowhere Genoa making the ultimate pasta dish in the world but I can only work with what I have and know. Anytime I watch her show on PBS, I have to make pasta either that day or as soon as I can. She encouraged me to work on this dish again. Although Lidia might not approve of my changes or my use of boxed pasta, I think she would be proud of my brand new pasta outlook.

(Photos courtesy of Pioneer Woman)

This is my second time making Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce. The first time I made it, I did not like it all. It was too soupy and rich for my taste and I almost gave up on the recipe. I am so glad I didn't! With my own tweaks and changes, I think I made this recipe damn near perfect. Here are my notes:

-- The first time I made this I used gnocchi. I thought maybe I could somehow copy my favorite dish at Angelina in Green Bay but that did not work out so well. I think gnocchi (in my kitchen) works better with simple butter based sauces, not complex tomato based sauces. I tried fettuccine instead and thought it was spot on. The noodles pick up the thick sauce and are hearty enough to not fall apart like spaghetti.
-- I used only one can of Contadina sauce instead of two because only two people were enjoying this dish. But I still used a whole onion, 4 cloves garlic and all the rest of the ingredients the same because I wanted a really thick but not fatty sauce.
-- Speaking of fatty sauce, I hated using the heavy cream in the first try of this dish. I don't like to use thick dairy products because I hate the way they make me feel while eating them. They are too heavy and make me feel gross after eating. Instead of the cream this time, I used 4 ounces of low-fat cream cheese. It worked SO WELL. You have the richness of the cheese but a lot less fat than heavy cream.
-- I prefer this dish without the fresh basil. I make the sauce and add dried basil and oregano and also omit the sugar. The fresh basil is too overpowering and it is all you can taste when you eat it.
-- When the pasta is done, I do not save the water either. Like I said already, I wanted a really thick sauce but if you want it thinner, save the starchy cooking water.

Once the sauce is thick and rich, drop the delicious al dente pasta into the pan and mix it around until it is totally coated. Turn it quite a few times and top with a nice sprinkling of parmesan on top. When I picked this up with a tongs, I swirled it into a beautiful little pile on my plate and served it with some warmed Tuscan bread. It is rich, tart and salty without being too heavy or overpowering in any particular flavor.

I give this recipe:

4/5 Spoons!

Less than a day to enter the first No Meat Mama giveaway! I will announce it tomorrow afternoon and good luck!

Asparagus-Goat Cheese Pasta 4/5 Spoons

Howdy loves! I have a little down time today after moving boxes this morning and having a phone interview this afternoon so I'm here to review a wonderful recipe for you all. I made this Asparagus-Goat Cheese Pasta one night for my friend Kristin and I. I am always broke, so she often comes over for dinner instead of going out and blowing tons of cash.

(Photo courtesy of Real Simple)

I love any excuse to eat goat cheese. It is an acquired taste for sure but I think if you like stinky, weird cheeses you would love goat cheese. I mean really, it is pretty mild compared to say French aged cheeses. It has a lovely smoothness to it with a mild twang that lets you know what you are eating. So combine the twang of goat cheese with the salty earthiness of roasted asparagus, I'm so in.

Here are my notes:

-- I never boil or steam asparagus. I love the flavor of roasted veggies and anytime I can, I love to make them that way.
-- Like any happy home cook, I like any excuse to make a roux. I think it worked well with this dish but that there may have been way too much broth (vegetable in this case) and it made the sauce too watery for my taste. I would probably use half of what the recipe calls for next time. I like a richer sauce when it comes to dishes like this.

I served with this some sliced French bread and it worked wonderfully to sop up all the extra sauce in our bowls. This took about 30 minutes to make so if you want something easy and slightly fancy, I would totally choose this again.

I give this recipe:

4/5 Spoons!

Packer Cupcakes or Vegan Red Velvet Cake next? Hmmmm.......

Baked Mac & Cheese 3/5 Spoons

As a quick aside, is anyone else having an awesome 2011 so far? I don't know if it is just my attitude or what, but I feel great. I blame it on there being no snow on the ground, which I find to be the best thing ever. Anyway, on to the food....

So I made this Baked Mac & Cheese the other night and it was like the most average meal ever. I've had worse and I've had a lot better. The thing is that I've made this before and I know I'll make it again because a. it is easy b. there is a load of spinach in it and c. it is a fine meal for a night when you don't really care what you eat. I know I'm not really "selling" this meal but it's a good way to pack in lots of whole wheat pasta and spinach along with a boatload of delicious cheese. Sounds like a good combo to me.



(Photo courtesy of Eating Well)

Here are my notes:

-- I used fresh spinach because I had it handy, but I've used frozen before and it works just as well.
-- For the cheeses, I used a combo of Parmesan, cheddar and some Mexican blend (without spices) and I thought it was a good mixture.
-- I used about an entire box (14.5 ounces) of whole wheat pasta instead of just 8 ounces. Really, i think you could do even more, the cheese sauce is pretty plentiful.
-- Normally I taste test all my food before I let anyone eat it, but this was an off night and I didn't really particularly care. This definitely needs some salt added, it tasted a little bland when made according to the recipe.

I give this recipe:

3/5 Spoons!

Not sure what I have next but no doubt I'll be back with something!

Tortellini with Italian "Sausage" and Fennel 4/5 Spoons

Whew, 3 out of 3. I knew I could do it all today.

I made this dish last week and I've been thinking about it all week. If you are unsure what to make this coming week (or anytime), I highly suggest it. So why only 4/5 stars? I'll tell you below.



(Photo courtesy of Bon Appetit)

Bon Appetit is one of my favorite magazines and has an awesome array of recipes. It is not super veg friendly but you can find some real great gems if you look and a lot of the recipes are easily customized with non-meat counterparts. So many of their desserts are insane and amazing looking like Apricot-Raspberry Pavlovas with Sliced Almonds and Maple Cake with Maple Syrup Frosting. WHAT.

Back to the recipe.... Here are my tweaks....

-- I did not use any mushrooms. Sad as it is, my roommate does not like them. I think she is crazy, but I like to be accommodating!
-- Instead of sausage, I used Lightlife Italian Style Sausages. I cut them up into small chunks and fried them before throwing them in the pasta.
-- And if you haven't figured it out already, I used 1 cup of veggie broth instead of chicken broth.

There is a nice mix of flavor with the licorice flavor of the fennel, the spiciness of the "sausage", the saltiness of the parmesan and the chewy smoothness of the cheese tortellini. The only thing I would change is either using less cream or just omitting it all together and adding maybe a spoonful or two of sour cream. I thought the cream made it a little too soupy but after it cooled down, it wasn't such a big deal. So that's why the 4 stars, I thought the addition was pretty unnecessary and I will know better next time. I will definitely be making this again though.

Tomorrow, Vegetarian Midwest Tater Tot Casserole a la Jackie!

Vegan Cincinnati Chili Mac 5/5 Spoons

WHAT'S UP BITCHES!!!

I'm back. Two days without me, how do you live? I'm sure you make do.

So I don't have a picture for this and usually I won't cook a recipe unless there is a picture attached. This is such a basic and hearty meal, I assumed it would all turn out okay. It totally did. More than okay really.

Ah, what the heck, here is a random pic of Cincinnati Chili Mac. This is one that probably look the most like the recipe I used except mine was much more vegetable based of course.



(Photo courtesy of Rock & Roll Cafe)

I really don't know much about Cinicinnati Chili Mac or why it is different than regular chili mac from the Midwest... but it was ridiculously delicous. It was hearty and filling served with spaghetti and you can really taste the spice and warmth from the cinnamon and green chilies. I used 1 1/2 t. of chili powder, you could definitely bump it up to 2 t. and make it even smokier. I added cheese to mine making it decidedly not vegan BUT this meal is vegan to begin with so add what you wish! Tofutti Sour Supreme, green onions or Daiya Cheddar would all make this kick ass and cruelty free.

Oh and PS - I added a bag of Morningstar Farms Veggie Crumbles, I think it was a perfect addition.

I give this recipe:

5/5 spoons!

Not sure what is coming up next... I may try to veganize Ina Garten's Fleur De Sel Caramels recipe. I like a challenge and my lovely friend Kris Anne has now motivated me to try it out. See you this weekend my loveys!