Masala Tofu Scramble

There are some meals that simply don’t photograph well. This is one of them. We’ve been having this scrumptious tofu scramble for months as a quick dinner on busy nights and I’ve tried to get better pictures but alas, the meal that tastes sooo good looks like a mess on camera. Oh, well. Trust us. It’s delicious.

It’s also incredibly kid-friendly but depending on how much tolerance your kids have for spice, you may want to start out with half a pepper (which they can still pick out) and work your way up.

Makes 2-3 servings

1 14 oz. package extra firm tofu, crumbled
1/2 small red onion, minced
1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1- 2 green Thai, serrano, or cayenne chilies, stems removed and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon red chile powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon kala namak (optional)
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

Press tofu between two plates to get rid of any extra moisture. Crumble tofu with clean hands in medium bowl and set aside.

Heat oil in heavy pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add cumin. When seeds start to sizzle (30 seconds), add onion, ginger, chilies, and turmeric. Cook until browned, 1–2 minutes, stirring as needed to keep from sticking.

Add tofu and mix well until everything turns yellow (from the turmeric) and mixture is warmed through.

Add salt, kala namak (if using, it will give the scramble an egg-like smell and taste – we omit) and cilantro. Mix well.  Serve with toast spread with vegan margarine (our choice), a warm roti, or rolled in a wrap.

Nutritional Information per serving (based on 3 servings, toast counted separately): 238 calories, 17 g protein, 0 g fibre, 15 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 5 g carbohydrates, 352 mg sodium

From Vegan Indian Cooking by Anupy Singla

 

 

Black Olive Tapenade

Although I don’t consider this recipe particularly kid-friendly, my kidlet insisted I include it as she loves olives and has been clamoring for us to make some tapenade ourselves ever since we had it in France AND she heard that I used to make it all the time before she was born.

This is a really simple and very forgiving recipe and it makes a lot of tapenade  – which will keep for up to a month in the fridge when covered properly.

Makes roughly 4 cups

1 pound or 2 cans of pitted black olives
1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained
2 medium garlic cloves, slightly crushed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice or more to taste

Place the first four ingredients and 1/4 cup of oil in a food processor and pulse once or twice. Slowly add the remainder of the oil, pulsing until nicely chunky.

Spread on fresh bread or crackers or mix with cooked pasta and enjoy!

Nutritional Information per 2 tbsp serving: 55 calories, 3 g protein, 1 g fiber, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 1 g carbohydrates, 186 mg sodium

Thai Chili

This turned out quite spicy which pleased my husband to no end, but the kidlet requested it a little less spicy next time and I think I would advise upping the bulgur to 1 cup and the light coconut milk to 1 cup as well if you have kids with less adventurous palates. Otherwise it was very tasty, easy to make and a really nice blend of flavours. It made me think that I am going to try making a more traditional chili with bulgur used in place of ground beef and see how that works out.

Makes 4 servings of 2 1/2 cups each (10 cups)

1 1/2 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp ground cumin
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup uncooked bulgur
1/2 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed (2 cups)
1 large green pepper, chopped (2 cups)
3 cups cooked kidney beans, drained and rinsed (roughly 2 cans)
1/2 cup light coconut milk
2 cups jarred or boxed tomato puree/passata
2 green onions, chopped
Fresh ground pepper to taste

In a 4 quart pot, add curry paste, cumin and a bit of broth. Mash mixture and stir until paste is no longer in lumps. Add remaining broth, bulgur, potato, and bell pepper. Set over high heat and bring mixture to a boil. Cover tightly, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes.

Add beans, coconut milk and passata to pot and stir. Cook, uncovered, for 7 min, until bulgur is tender and chili is thick. Stir in scallions and black pepper and serve hot.

Nutrition Information per serving: 369 calories, 18 g protein, 19 g fibre, 3 g fat, 69 g carbohydrates, 517 mg sodium

from Clean Eating Magazine, January 2011

 

Crack Wraps

This is one of my kidlet’s absolute favourite recipes. And although we use Daiya cheese to make the recipe completely vegan, you could easily use a nice cheddar and regular margarine if you’d like.

Makes 4 servings

4 whole wheat tortillas/wraps
1 cup hummus
1/2 cup shredded non-dairy cheese (we use Daiya cheddar shreds)
1 Tbsp melted vegan margarine

Spread each tortilla or wrap with a generous amount of hummus and top with cheese. Fold the sides in or, if your tortillas are large enough, tuck both ends up and roll like a burrito.

Brush the outside of each tortilla or wrap with the melted margarine. Grill on both sides until the outside is toasted and the cheese has melted.

You can do these up in a skillet or you can grill them on a barbecue or indoor grill. We like to do them on our George Foreman indoor grill and we leave them in for roughly 10 minutes.

Yum!

Nutrition Information per serving: 275 calories, 8 g protein, 5 g fiber, 11 g fat, 24 g carbohydrates, 520 mg sodium

from Peas and Thank You by Sarah Matheny

Quinoa with Red Pepper, Green Onions and Sundried Tomatoes

I was in the mood for something a bit more substantial than my usual lunch and I wanted to make something where I would have leftovers for a couple of days. I like grain “salads” and since I only had a few vegetables on hand that weren’t already earmarked for other meals (I’m a big menu planner), I came up with this dish. There’s a bit of a bite to it with the cayenne and the chili powder but as long as you keep it to a pinch of each, it’s not anything that should turn off the kids.

This was easy to make, turned out delicious and filled me up nicely. It could be served as a side dish to dinner or as a main with a large green salad. The leftovers are perfect for lunch.

Makes 3-6 servings

1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 sundried tomatoes, packed in oil, medium dice
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cored, medium dice
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa (dry)
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of chili powder
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Using a fine mesh strainer, rinse quinoa really well to remove the bitter coating. Rinse until the water runs clear.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic and saute until onion softens, roughly 3-5 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add rinsed quinoa, cayenne and chili power and bring back to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, roughly 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes before fluffing with fork.

Stir in cilantro, sea salt and black pepper to taste and serve warm, at room temperature or cold.

Nutrition Information per serving (based on 3 servings): 298 calories, 11 g protein, 7 g fibre, 7 g fat, 50 g carbohydrates, 542 mg sodium

Creamy Butternut Tagliatelle

This vegetarian recipe is a huge hit in our house. Quick and easy to make, it’s higher in fat than our usual recipes so we don’t tend to make it as often but it’s one of the few ways that the kidlet actually likes butternut squash.

Makes 4 servings.

250 g (1/2 pound) tagliatelle
2 tsp olive oil
400 g (3 cups) butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 tsp salt
150 g package garlic-and-fine-herbs cheese i.e. Boursin

Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions but without salt. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water for sauce.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil, then squash and salt. Season with pepper. Cook until squash is tender and starts to brown, about 10 mins. Add 3/4 warm water and cook until it is absorbed and squash is fully cooked, about 5 more mins. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add reserved pasta water and stir in cheese. Simmer until smooth and slightly thickened, about 2 mins. Drain pasta and toss with sauce. Season with pepper.

Serve with a nice green salad.

Nutrition Information per serving: 446 calories, 11 g protein, 4 g fiber, 20 g fat, 60 g carbohydrates, 518 mg sodium

from Chatelaine magazine, March 2012

Rush Hour Pesto Pasta Soup

Dinner doesn’t come much easier than this tasty and filling soup which can be on the table in under fifteen minutes.  The recipe is vegetarian, not vegan, but if you omit the parmesan cheese or substitute some vegan mozzarella shreds, it would taste every bit as good.

Makes 4 servings

4 T. pesto
4 T. grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
2 cups cooked whole-wheat macaroni
1 can (15 ounces or 540 ml) no-salt-added chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

Place the cooked macaroni and chickpeas in separate bowls. Make sure the macaroni and chickpeas are at room temperature so they don’t cool down the broth.

Spoon macaroni and chickpeas into individual serving bowls, then ladle warm broth over the top.

Add a spoonful of pesto to each serving and stir it in. Top with parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Information per serving: 287 calories, 13 g protein, 6 g fiber, 8 g fat, 41 g carbohydrates, 748 mg sodium

Quick and Easy Focaccia

There’s a wonderful Italian bakery in our neighbourhood that makes freshly-baked focaccia and the kidlet loves it. The only problem is that it’s rather pricey and often they’re sold out on the day we would like to buy some. So… we came up with this recipe and the kidlet has declared that it’s just as good as the stuff from the bakery. Yay! Fantastic taste, ready when we want it and so much gentler on the wallet.

Makes 8 servings

1 pound storebought pizza dough
nonstick spray for hands and baking tray
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp minced rosemary (fresh or dried)
1-2 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 450 F and spray a 13 x 18 inch baking tray with nonstick spray. Add the storebought dough, straight from its package, and push and stretch it (clean hands please!) into a rectangle about 10 x 15 inches.

Brush generously with olive oil and sprinkle with the rosemary and kosher salt.

Bake on the centre rack for 15 minutes or until lightly brown on both bottom and top.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for roughly 15 minutes, then brush on a little more olive oil.

Eat!

Nutrition Information per serving (based on 1 tsp salt): 156 calories, 4 g protein, 2 g fiber, 4 g fat, 26 g carbohydrates, 415 mg sodium

Rush Hour Black Bean Soup

Really quick and easy to make, this soup can be on the table in roughly 15 minutes. It’s a little higher in sodium than most of our other recipes but it’s low in fat and tastes delicious.

Makes 4 servings.

1 tsp olive oil
1 container (500 ml) fresh salsa
1 can (540 ml) refried black beans
1 can (540 ml) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (398 ml) low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup sour cream or dairy-free sour cream (optional)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Heat the oil in a saucepan or large pot over medium heat.

Add the salsa and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Add the refried beans, black beans, and broth and bring to a simmer.

Cook until warmed through, roughly 5 minutes.

Top with sour cream and cilantro if desired.

Nutrition Information per serving (without sour cream and cilantro): 274 calories, 14 g protein, 15 g fiber, 1 g fat, 47 g carbohydrates, 881 mg sodium