Cooked Vegan Recipes

Low Fat Vegan Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble With Veggies

January 18, 2012 by Veronica Grace 16 Comments

Low Fat Vegan Oil Free Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble With Mushrooms, Onions, Broccoli, Zucchini, Red Peppers

Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble With Mushrooms, Broccoli, Pepper and Zucchini

This is by far the best tofu scramble I have ever tasted, including at vegetarian restaurants. It is also the first scramble I have ever made personally. I was really going for something that would be savory and flavourful and have some colour and dynamic to it and not like a plain tofu only style scramble. I guess I wanted to go big or go home, and dove right in.

So I searched around and found great inspiration from my friend Malloreigh’s Semi Famous Tofu Scramble. She puts tons of veggies in her scramble, and I agree it works. So I have made this recipe below A LOT!!! I of course, took out the oil, switched to light coconut milk, and changed some of the seasonings to make this a low fat vegan chef (and Dr. Mcdougall) approved version. I think you will enjoy it just fine without the oil.

Every time someone wants a special breakfast, I make this. My mom and her husband even love it and they are new to tofu and not even vegan. If you’re used to eating eggs, let me tell you this tastes BETTER than eggs because it’s so flavourful, you will think salt and pepper eggs are boring next time you have them.

Some people might think ewh weird eating vegetables for breakfast, but everyone in Asia has soup and vegetables for breakfast, and even Americans have veggies for breakfast! Omelettes are often stuffed with veggies, and so are those potato egg skillet thingies at Denny’s lol. It’s not strange, it’s delicious. Try it! Potatoes do not have to be the lone breakfast veggie any longer.

Here’s my signature version of Tofu Scramble:

Low Fat Vegan Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble (with Broccoli, Zucchini, Pepper and Mushrooms)

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients:

1 package firm tofu, drained (pressed firm tofu is perfect too)
5 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp herbamare or salt, or to taste
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)
1/2 cup light coconut milk (I use So Delicious SugarFree Original, use unsweetened only please)
1/2-1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups whole mushrooms, chopped (or about 1 -1/2 cups sliced)
1 small crown of broccoli, chopped into half florets
1/2 red pepper, sliced lengthwise and then in half
1/2-1 small zucchini, chopped in half moon thinly (thinner is better to cook faster)

Directions:

1. (Depending on your type of tofu you may or may not need to cut it first before pressing.) Cut tofu into 8 pieces if it’s hard to press with your hands. Squeeze out excess water with your hands or with a tea towel. Crumble tofu into a bowl. If your tofu is easy to crumble, I lay it on a clean tea towel and wrap it up and press all the water out and then crumble it into a bowl. I have used both styles of firm tofu, any firm tofu is good, just get the excess water out. Don’t use silken tofu for this.

2. Add the nutritional yeast, herbamare or salt, dijon mustard, maple syrup and half of coconut milk. Mix until combined.

3. Next sauté the diced onion dry in a non stick pan or wok over medium heat until soft. Trust me, it will not stick if you have a good non stick pan. (If you don’t have non stick, you can use vegetable broth to cook in) Add the garlic and mushrooms; stir and cook for about 3-4 minutes. (The mushrooms should release water and keep everything from drying out and sticking)

4. Add the crumbled tofu and cook, stirring or tossing gently for about 10-15 minutes. The tofu is very forgiving. You can basically cook the rest of your breakfast while stirring occasionally in your non stick pan without worry. If your non stick pan is not so great, you can add a little vegetable broth or water and in small amounts and keep stirring. You want the tofu to absorb the flavours and cook well without burning.

5. When your other breakfast stuff is almost ready (if you have any), add the broccoli, zucchini, red pepper, and the rest of the coconut milk, mix together and cover with a pot lid. Let it steam for about 5 more minutes until the broccoli is cooked and bright green. Don’t let it burn, add a little more liquid if needed if it’s really dry. You can use extra coconut milk or a bit of water.

6. Taste test and adjust seasonings if desired. You don’t want your tofu to be too wet, just wet enough that everything can cook and not stick to the pan. Serve right away. I like to eat mine with hash browns or my vegan banana pancakes.

Additional Tips:

Make sure your zucchini is sliced thin enough, you probably don’t want hard crunchy zucchini. If you cut it thicker you can add it right after the mushrooms and cook it with the tofu before you add the rest of the vegetables.

Cook your vegetables until they are the tenderness that you like. Try not to overcook them so the broccoli stays together and looks nice.

Variations:

You can change out any of the vegetables if you don’t like them, or don’t have them. It may sound weird having broccoli for breakfast but trust me, it is delicious and not weird! My family loves it. I think the essentials would be onions and mushrooms in this recipe. You could also throw some spinach in at the last minute to wilt if you like instead of broccoli or zucchini.

If you are feeding more people, you can just up the veggies in this recipe and spread out the scramble. I’ve done that and served 5 people a side serving before fine. If it’s just 2 of you, you can share it with some fruit, toast, pancakes etc and be stuffed!

Add some spiciness to the dish with some tobasco or chipotle chili powder if you want to heat it up.

Have you ever made tofu scramble before? What do you think of this recipe?

Low Fat Vegan Tangy Collard Greens With Mushrooms, Onions and Coconut Milk

January 17, 2012 by Veronica Grace 31 Comments

Tangy Collard Greens with Mushrooms, Onions and Coconut Milk

Here is my delicious low fat vegan collard greens recipe!

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This is an easy oil free and super delicious side dish that you can prepare to accompany any meal! A lot of people know of collard greens, but have no idea how to prepare them healthily, or at all. Generally in the southern United States, it is fried or deep fried and this pretty much negates the benefits of eating collards for health, because your body is dealing with all the denatured carcinogenic fats and free radicals from the oil slathered on it.

To get the health benefits of greens they should be prepared simply. Some of them like baby spinach and tender lettuces can be eaten in raw salads. Collards can be used in raw sandwiches (burrito style rolls) or steamed or sautéed gently.

Depending where you live it may be easy or difficult to find collard greens. I’m in Texas right now, and they are abundant, it only costs about 88 cents (USD) for a giant bunch of them! In Canada, I can only get them in Whole Foods and it costs about $2.99 (CAD) per bunch. So we’re loading up on them here!

Collard Greens Lower Cholesterol Better Than Kale or Broccoli!

“In a recent study, steamed collard greens outshined steamed kale, mustard greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage in terms of its ability to bind bile acids in the digestive tract. When this bile acid binding takes place, it is easier for the bile acids to be excreted from the body. Since bile acids are made from cholesterol, the net impact of this bile acid binding is a lowering of the body’s cholesterol level. It’s worth noting that steamed collards show much greater bile acid binding ability than raw collards.” Ambrosone CB, Tang L. Cruciferous vegetable intake and cancer prevention: role of nutrigenetics. Cancer Prev Res (Phila Pa). 2009 Apr;2(4):298-300. 2009.

Brief History of Collard Greens

Like kale, cauliflower and broccoli, collards are descendents of the wild cabbage, a plant thought to have been consumed as food since prehistoric times and to have originated in Asia Minor. From there it spread into Europe, being introduced by groups of Celtic wanderers around 600 B.C. Collards have been cultivated since the times of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. While collards may have been introduced into the United States before, the first mention of collard greens dates back to the late 17th century. Collards are an integral food in traditional southern American cuisine.

How to Select and Store Collard Greens

Look for collard greens that have firm, unwilted leaves that are vividly deep green in color with no signs of yellowing or browning. Leaves that are smaller in size will be more tender and have a milder flavor. They should be displayed in a chilled section in the refrigerator case to prevent them from wilting and becoming bitter.

Place collard greens in a plastic bag, removing as much of the air from the bag as possible. Store in the refrigerator where they should keep fresh for about three to five days.

Cooking Collard Greens

It is very important not to overcook collard greens. Like other cruciferous vegetables overcooked collard greens will begin to emit the unpleasant sulfur smell associated with overcooking. To help collard greens to cook more quickly, evenly slice the leaves into 1/2-inch slices and the stems into 1/4-inch pieces. You may boil or steam them up to 5 minutes and then season.

For more information on collard greens check out this website http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=138&tname=foodspice

Oil Free Baked Potato With Tangy Oil Free Collard Greens

Giant baked potato with salsa, hummus and "Tangy Collard Greens"

Low Fat Vegan Tangy Collard Greens with Mushrooms, Onions and Coconut Milk

This collard greens recipe is much lower in fat than traditional collard green recipes that call for frying onions in oil first and then adding the greens. I serve these with giant baked potatoes for a completely filling meal. (Yes, dinner can be this simple and delicious!)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 large bunch collard greens, washed
1/2-1 cup of sliced mushrooms of choice
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1/2 cup light unsweetened coconut milk (So Delicious SugarFree Original is excellent for this, don’t use vanilla or sweetened for this recipe)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp herbamare or salt
1 tbsp of lemon juice (or more if desired)
1/2 tsp sugar or sweetener
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Take the stems off of the collard greens by turning them upside down and making a small circle with your pointer finger and thumb and squeezing the leaves down and off from the stem. Like you would straighten a pipe cleaner. Cut the remaining parts of the stem off the top if you miss any bits.

2. Bunch all the collards up together on a cutting board and cut into chunks.

3. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. When boiling, add the collard greens and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain well.

4. In a large non stick skillet, turn to medium heat. When it’s hot add the onions and sauté dry for 5 minutes. (TRUST ME, it will NOT burn if you use a non stick pan, and no oil is necessary!) Add the mushrooms, collards, coconut milk and seasonings except for pepper and sauté for 8-10 minutes until collards are at desired tenderness.

5. Taste test and add fresh ground pepper and any additional seasonings like more lemon if desired.

6. Serve as a side dish with your meal. (I love serving these with baked jacket potatoes, beans, or rice.)

Variations:

You can also try this recipe with other greens like kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, beet greens etc. If you use baby spinach, DO NOT boil it, you can just wilt it in the pan with the coconut milk in a few minutes. Make sure your onions and mushrooms are cooked first before adding the spinach.

If you don’t want to use coconut milk, feel free to use a low fat almond or soy milk instead. The coconut flavour is very mild in this and not essential to the overall taste.

Try other seasonings as well, add some spices like paprika, chili, cumin etc instead of the dijon and nutritional yeast. Mix it up!

*If you don’t want to use a non stick pan, you can put the collards, onions and mushrooms into a steamer basket, steam for 5 minutes over boiling water and then drain. Season to taste with the coconut milk and seasonings and stir to combine.

See non stick pans – are there safety concerns http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/healthandfitness/a/nonstickpans.htm You should NOT worry about cooking oil free over medium heat in a non stick pan. If nothing is flaking off, or food is not being burned onto the pan on high heat for a few minutes this is not a concern.

Have you ever cooked collard greens before? What do you think of this recipe?

How To Make A Vegan Dragon Roll Sushi Roll (Uramaki) With Photos!

January 10, 2012 by Veronica Grace 5 Comments

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll

Dragon rolls are generally not vegan or vegetarian and filled with smoked eel and drizzled with eel sauce. But they look so pretty and are covered in avocado, which is vegan and delicious in sushi.

So here’s my version of a vegan Dragon Roll. It’s very similar to making my vegan California Roll, but we’re going to take the avocado out from the middle, and put it ontop of the roll instead and add some additional filling.

Makes 2 dragon rolls

You Will Need:

1/2 recipe of sumeshi aka sushi rice (found here)
2 pieces nori seaweed
4 sticks julienned cucumber (see my post on prepping veggies here)
4 sticks julienned carrots, steamed gently
4 sticks another vegetable of choice, I used julienned zucchini, steamed gently
4 strips sliced green onion (scallion)
1 small-medium avocado

To make this vegan sushi roll we are going to use the thick style sushi mat. (The one on the bottom) It’s much stronger and will give a firm shape to the sushi. I bought a set of sushi mats in a cheap 2 pack on Amazon for about $7 with free shipping. You can also find a single mat for a few dollars on Amazon like this one . Asian stores will sell them as well.

How To Wrap Your Bamboo Sushi Mat For Uramaki – Inside Outside Rolls

We’re going to wrap our sushi mat in plastic wrap/saran wrap. We do this because sushi rice is SUPER sticky and will make a mess on the bamboo mat, yet it comes off easily from the plastic wrap. Basically you’re going to wrap it like you would a present with wrapping paper, tucking in all the sides and the wrap should cling to itself to seal it.

How To Wrap Sushi Mat For Uramaki Inside Out Sushi Rolls

Sushi mat wrapped on one side and sides tucked over

Take a piece of plastic wrap and put it on top of one side of the mat. Flip it over and then tuck in the side and top and bottom so that the back side is totally sealed.

Sushi mat with front side covered in wrap

Next, take another piece of plastic wrap and place it over the front side (that has the sides tucked in) and flip it over and tuck in the sides and top and bottom again.

Sushi mat covered on all sides and pulled tight

Now your sushi mat is ready to make vegan Dragon Rolls.

How To Make A Vegan Dragon Roll (Uramaki / Inside Outside)

Step 1: Measure between 3/4 and 1 cup of sushi rice depending how much rice you want on your roll. (They are very filling, usually a person can only eat 2 of these rolls max because the rice is so filling.) I used a heaping 3/4 cup of rice and it was just enough for me.

Step 2: Lay your nori sheet SHINY side up (with the dotted line side face down) This is the backside of your nori sheet and we’re going to cover it with rice. Dump your rice into the middle of the nori sheet.

Step 3: Using your rice paddles (or very wet fingers) gently push the rice outwards and to the edges and the corners. This will take a while until you get the hang of it. You can leave a tiny space on the top and bottom of the sheet and this will make the roll easier to roll up.

Continue spreading out the rice until you have a layer about 1-2 rice grains thick. It won’t be perfect, but as long as there are no big gaps it will be good.

Step 4: Press your rice down on your nori sheet so that no grains are sticking up and it’s level.

Step 5: Pick up your nori sheet from the bottom, holding tightly and flip it over away from you. Now the dotted section side should be facing you.

Step 6: Fill your nori sheet with desired filling. In this case for my vegan dragon roll, lay 2 strips of cucumber lengthwise, 2 strips of carrot, 2 strips of green onion and 2 strips of zucchini. Spread them out so they fill the entire roll. It can spill out a little over the side, but not too much. Your filling is going to lay in the first rectangular area of the sheet. After the little bottom bar.

Step 7: Next we’re going to grab the bottom of the sushi mat and bring it up and over creating a tube. You want to make one roll so that you cannot see your filling anymore and tuck and squeeze it under with your hands and the sushi mat. You want to make each roll tight so that your sushi stays together and the filling won’t fall out of the middle when you slice it.

Continue rolling tightly up the nori sheet.

This is what it looks like when 1 full roll is done. Continue rolling.

Roll your nori sheet up until the end. You shouldn’t have to wet the end of the nori to seal it. It has moisture from the sticky rice. You want to squeeze it firmly and evenly all across the mat when you get to the end to seal the roll evenly.

This is what your sushi roll looks like when it’s sealed.

Step 8: Flip your sushi roll over so the seam side is faced down.

Step 9: Next slice your avocado thinly and lay each piece onto the top of your sushi roll.

Step 10: Bring your mat up over the roll and press down on the avocado on the top and sides. Just hard enough to crush it against the rice so it sticks.

Step 11: Get a very sharp knife, wet it thoroughly with water and make a 6-8 cuts to the sushi roll to create sushi pieces. This takes some time and patience. You must wet your knife between EACH cut because your knife will be covered in sticky starch from the rice. If you don’t keep the knife wet and clean before each cut you can tear and mangle your pretty sushi roll. I generally cut these ones into 6 pieces. But if you’re feeding children, it’d be better for 8 pieces so it’s not too big for them to bite into.

Vegan Dragon Roll

Next plate your sushi and serve with soy sauce or tamari and chopsticks! Enjoy your beautiful vegan Dragon Roll!

How To Make A Vegan California Sushi Roll (Uramaki / Inside Outside Roll)

January 8, 2012 by Veronica Grace 22 Comments

How To Make A Vegan California Sushi Roll With Avocado Carrots Cucumber Inside Out Uramaki Roll

Vegan California Roll (Uramaki Style)

California rolls are not normally vegan, but you can make them that way at home! Who needs to buy expensive veggie sushi rolls at the store when you can make your own at home?

California rolls are probably the most familiar type of sushi roll to North Americans. It was designed by a Japanese chef in the 1970’s in California to hide the seaweed used for the roll inside and instead put the rice on the outside of the roll. Therefore being less intimidating and easier to stomach for those not accustomed to eating seaweed and enjoying it.

This Vegan California sushi roll is a Uramaki style, which means inside out or inside outside roll. It’s appealing to look at and can be topped with many things like avocado (like in a Dragon Roll) Sesame seeds (common on California Roll) or fish (like in a Rainbow Roll).

I’m going to show you how to make a basic vegan California roll. To veganize it, we’ve had to take out the basic ingredients of a California roll though, the crab stick (fake crab made from pollock fish) and the mayonnaise. Obviously crabstick is not vegan, so I omitting that.

I’m pretty against the idea of eating sushi with mayo as well, because it contains eggs and is basically all oil. Vegan mayo is more a transition food, and not a health food. In North America we use way too much mayo as it is, and this is not part of traditional sushi at all. It’s just a condiment used in California to entice Americans into eating sushi who wouldn’t consider otherwise. This roll tastes delicious without it and is creamy from the avocado.

You can scope out your local health food store or vegetarian-friendly Asian shop if you’re dying to get some vegetarian crab stick for the roll. I just personally don’t have a taste for fake meats and fake fish, and prefer vegetable fillings myself.

This is my version of a healthier California-esque sushi roll. (Because most people think inside out sushi rolls are always California rolls! lol)

Thin and Thick Style Sushi Mats

To make this roll we are going to use the thick style sushi mat. (The one on the bottom) It’s much stronger and will give a firm shape to the sushi. I bought a set of sushi mats in a cheap 2 pack on Amazon for about $7 with free shipping. You can also find a single mat for a few dollars on Amazon like this one . Asian stores will sell them as well.

How To Wrap Your Bamboo Sushi Mat For Uramaki – Inside Outside Rolls

Sushi mat wrapped on one side and sides tucked over

Take a piece of plastic wrap and put it on top of one side of the mat. Flip it over and then tuck in the side and top and bottom so that the back side is totally sealed.

Sushi mat with front side covered in wrap

Next, take another piece of plastic wrap and place it over the front side (that has the sides tucked in) and flip it over and tuck in the sides and top and bottom again.

Sushi mat covered on all sides and pulled tight

Now your sushi mat is ready to make vegan Uramaki sushi (Inside out) rolls.

How To Make A Vegan California (Uramaki style) Sushi Roll

Makes 4 Rolls

You Will Need:

1 recipe of sushi rice (found here)
4 pieces nori seaweed
8 sticks julienned cucumber (see my post on prepping veggies here)
8 sticks julienned carrots, steamed gently
8-12 slices of avocado

Step 1: Measure between 3/4 and 1 cup of sushi rice depending how much rice you want on your roll. (They are very filling, usually a person can only eat 2 of these rolls because the rice is so filling.) I used a heaping 3/4 cup of rice and it was just enough for me.

Step 2: Lay your nori sheet SHINY side up (which the dotted line side face down) This is the backside of your nori sheet and we’re going to cover it with rice. Dump your rice into the middle of the nori sheet.

Continue spreading out the rice until you have a layer about 1-2 rice grains thick. It won’t be perfect, but as long as there are no big gaps it will be good.

Step 4: Press your rice down on your nori sheet so that no grains are sticking up and it’s level.

Step 5: Pick up your nori sheet from the bottom, holding tightly and flip it over away from you. Now the dotted section side should be facing you.

Step 6: Fill your nori sheet with desired filling. In this case for my vegan California roll, lay 2 strips of cucumber lengthwise, 2 strips of carrot and 2-3 slices of avocado. Spread them out so they fill the entire roll. It can spill out a little over the side, but not too much. Your filling is going to lay in the first rectangular area of the sheet. After the little bottom bar.

Continue rolling tightly up the nori sheet.

This is what it looks like when 1 full roll is done. Continue rolling.

This is what your sushi roll looks like when it’s sealed. If you want to add sesame seeds to your sushi roll, now is the time to do it. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top and bottom of the roll and use the sushi mat to press the sesame into the roll.

Step 8: Flip your sushi roll over so the seam side is faced down. Get a very sharp knife, wet it thoroughly with water and make a 6-8 cuts to the sushi roll to create sushi pieces. This takes some time and patience. You must wet your knife between EACH cut because your knife will be covered in sticky starch from the rice. If you don’t keep the knife wet and clean before each cut you can tear and mangle your pretty sushi roll. I generally cut these ones into 6 pieces. But if you’re feeding children, it’d be better for 8 pieces so it’s not too big for them to bite into.

Next plate your sushi and serve with soy sauce or tamari and chopsticks!

How To Make Perfect Sushi Rice For Vegan Sushi Rolls With Photos!

January 8, 2012 by Veronica Grace 12 Comments

Sushi rice is called sumeshi in Japanese. It is essential to making sushi, and contrary to what you may think it is not just plain white rice that is used. It is cooked and then seasoned to have a tangy sweet taste.

This page will tell you how to make the perfect sushi rice for sushi. Check out my recipe for Vegan California Rolls when you’re done.

How To Make Perfect Sushi Rice With Step By Step Photo Instructions

To make this recipe you will need:

2 cups sushi rice (short grain)
2 cups filtered water
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp herbamare or salt (You can use more if you wish, but you’re going to dip the sushi in soy sauce anyways which is very salty)

Tools needed:

Fine mesh strainer or sieve
Rice paddle or wooden spoon
Large Wooden/Glass/Ceramic/Plastic bowl (not metal)

Step 1: Measure out 2 cups dried sushi rice (short grain white or brown rice. It must be short grain!) You can double if desired, but this will make enough sushi for at least 4 large rolls and a small roll or two. Enough for 2 adults for dinner, or two single lunches.

Step 2: Rinse your rice through a fine metal sieve until the water runs clear, OR soak in a large bowl of water and mix around by hand to get the excess starch off. Rinse and soak a few times until the water is clearer. This is important and will make your rice turn out better.

Step 3: (Optional) Let your rice soak for 30 minutes.

Step 4: Place rice and 2 cups water into rice cooker or pot. (If using more rice, always use a 1:1 (same) ratio of rice and water)

Rinsed sushi rice in rice cooker

Step 5: Rice cooker instructions: Set the white rice program and let it cook. My favourite rice cooker is my Zojirushi 5 1/2 cup rice cooker because it has settings for white rice, brown rice, mixed rice, porridge and cake. Yes you can even cook cake in this rice cooker! It’s wicked. Check it out. If fancy rice cookers aren’t of any use to you, check out this Hamilton Beach rice cooker (for $45 with free shipping) I use frequently when cooking at my mom’s house. It’s great too for basic rice and has never overcooked or burned the rice. I used to use those $10 rice cookers with just an on off button, but often times they would turn off before the rice was done, overheat and cause overcooked or crusty rice. If cooking for a family, I highly suggest getting a decent rice cooker to free you up from the stove and the guesswork of making perfect rice. When the rice is done cooking and the buzzer goes off, leave the rice for 10 minutes to let steam. Don’t open it and don’t touch it.

Stove top instructions: In a pot, place the rinsed rice and equal parts of water and bring to a boil. Stir the rice occasionally to prevent any grains from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once it reaches a boil, turn down the heat to medium low, cover with a lid and steam. Do NOT open the lid until the rice is done steaming. You will lose your moisture and heat and jeopardize your rice being cooked evenly. Use a clear glass lid if you can. The rice is done cooking when the water disappears, this happens between 8 and 10 minutes depending on the type of stove you have. Remove the rice from heat.

Perfectly cooked sushi rice

Step 6: Measure 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp granulated sugar and 1 tsp herbamare or salt. You can use more salt if you want, but really its not necessary if you’re going to be dipping your sushi in soy sauce which is super salty anyway.

Rice vinegar, sugar and herbamare (salt)

Step 7: Make sushi vinegar. Heat a small pot (not metal) over medium heat and add vinegar, sugar and herbamare (or salt). Stir.

Combine vinegar, sugar and salt in pot

Sushi vinegar is ready

When it is bubbling and everything is dissolved remove from heat and let cool.

Step 8: Remove rice from pot or rice cooker with a wooden spoon or that plastic rice scoop you have. You basically want to scrape the bottom and dump the rice in 1 or 2 strokes so that you don’t damage the sushi rice too much and mash it. Pour it out into a wooden, glass or plastic bowl. If you put it in a metal mixing bowl, you risk the chance of ruining the flavour when pouring vinegar on it and it reacting with the metal. Don’t do it. Only scoop out perfectly cooked rice, if any is stuck or undercooked, leave it in the pot.

Sushi rice removed from pot

Step 9: Gently cut into sushi rice with paddle to break up.

Perfect seasoned sushi rice

Step 10: Season sushi rice by drizzling sushi vinegar evenly across rice. Cut into rice gently again to combine and spread out the seasoning.

Let your perfect sushi rice cool off before making sushi. If it’s too warm it can stick to the sushi mat and be hard to work with. Now you are ready to prep your veggies or filling for sushi rolls!

How To Prep Veggies For Vegan Sushi Rolls

January 8, 2012 by Veronica Grace 3 Comments

Vegan California Rolls (Uramaki style)

This post is about how to prep your veggies to make vegan sushi rolls. Check out my recipe for Vegan California Rolls.

Vegan sushi rolls are great because they can appeal to everyone from vegans and vegetarians to people who would rather not eat traditional sushi that contains raw fish.

They are fun to make and can be made up in advance for fancy hors d’oeuvres, a potluck, a themed dinner, a lunch box, or a snack! Choose your favourite fillings and I will give you some tips on how to prepare them for putting into sushi rolls.

Generally, the Japanese do not eat raw plain vegetables in their sushi rolls. They mainly use raw fish, cooked shrimp, cooked crab, pickled daikon radish, egg roe, or cooked egg. The raw vegan friendly items you will find are generally cucumber and avocado. Basically because their texture is desirable raw and you can’t really cook them.

For other harder vegetables they are blanched or gently steamed so they can be easier to chew and more pleasurable to eat. You don’t have to steam your crunchy vegetables if you don’t want to. But I’ll give you some suggestions for which ones to do so for a more enjoyable roll.

For cucumber, the English variety is best because it has few seeds and is tender. You want to slice the cucumber about in half and then slice a 1/2″ thick slice vertically down the cucumber. Next julienne it in strips. You will need about 2 strips of cucumber for each roll you are making.

Slice out the seed portion from your cucumber. You don’t need to use it to make sushi rolls.

If you’re using Bell peppers (capsicum) you can leave them uncooked and raw and just slice the top off and julienne into strips.

For carrots, peel them and slice just like the cucumber into 1/2″ thick slices and then julienne.

I recommend steaming the carrots gently so they are not rock hard and crunchy in your sushi roll. It’s up to you, but steaming for 1-2 minutes will improve the eatability of your veggie sushi.

The carrots have turned a light orange and are al dente. Set aside to cool before rolling into sushi.

For avocado, ensure you have a ripe one. The one I have here is pretty ripe so that’s why it’s a little mushy. Generally sushi bars use semi ripe or a little underripe avocado because they go through so many of them and if they are firm it’s easier to work with. Personally I think crunchy watery unripe avocado is gross and will not use it in my cuisine. So pick a green avocado a few days before you want to make sushi and let it ripen on the counter. It is ripe when soft to the touch. Cut it open, pull out the seed and make slices into the avocado. You can pull out a slice at a time as you slice it, or scoop it all out with a spoon.

All my veggies are now prepped and ready to fill my sushi rolls.

Additional veggies you may want to use in your vegan sushi rolls:

green onion – leave raw, wash and slice lengthwise once and then horizontally once.
asparagus – cut off the hard bottoms, and steam gently for 1-3 minutes and let cool.
yams/sweet potato – peel and cut into long rectangular strips and steam until just cooked but still firm.
zucchini/courgette – peel and julienne like cucumber and steam gently for 1-2 minutes if desired. This improves flavour.
pickled daikon radish – can be purchased at Asian markets and julienned. They are usually bright yellow in colour and is used in Oshinko sushi rolls.
sprouts – you can simply wash and dry sprouts like sunflower or alfalfa and use in addition to other veggies in a sushi roll. By themselves would not be very flavourful.

You can also roll sliced tofu, marinated tofu, or bean curd skin in your vegan sushi rolls if desired as well.

Karmyn Malone’s Review Of My Savory Raw Dinner Recipes DVD and Book Set

January 5, 2012 by Veronica Grace 2 Comments

—————–
If you’d like to give the DVD set Savory Raw Dinner Recipes a try, you won’t
regret it.

Go to: http://www.plantbasedu.com/savory

Mediterranean Flax Tortilla Wrap

——————
My review of Veronica Grace’s Savory Raw Dinner Recipes System

by Karmyn Malone
——————

Aloha!

I want to share with you my thoughts on the new Savory Raw Dinner Recipes system
created by Veronica Grace the Low Fat Vegan Chef.

Once our daughter Rainbow was born I was ready for some new, raw, and savory recipes.
I’ve been getting “fruited out”really easily post pregnancy and need something savory
after each fruit meal.

Since I’m busy taking care of Rainbow (and Andrew!) I don’t have a lot of time to spend
in the kitchen creating new recipes.

I kept “bugging” Veronica to share her recipes with me,and once I tried making a few of
them I was thrilled at how most of them came out.

Strawberry Pecan Spinach Salad

My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE recipe is her “Strawberry Pecan Spinach Salad.” This
recipe alone makes owning her “Savory Raw Dinner Recipes” WORTH IT. If I could
make it everyday I would. It’s so good that once I went to four different stores looking for
fresh strawberries and was so disappointed when I had to come home empty handed!

Lower Fat Taco Salad

That day I decided to “settle” and made her “Low Fat Taco Salad” instead because I didn’t have
any strawberries. I have a similar taco salad recipe that I enjoy but she used a couple of KEY
ingredients in her salad that WOWED me! Hmmmmmm …. why didn’t I think to use those?

Thai Tom Kha Soup

“Easy Fat-Free Veggie Soup” is very light and refreshing. Another delicious, spicy and
hearty soup is ” Thai Tom Kha Coconut Soup.” I felt like I was in a cooked food Thai
restaurant but of course it’s prepared raw.

Definitely a recipe for the raw Thai food connoisseurs out there.

It’s so nice to have another raw recipe system that tastes great without resorting to using tons
of oil and salt (although some of the recipes do use a TINY amount of salt).

Also the recipes don’t take all day to prepare like the ultra complicated gourmet raw recipes
that will make you thirsty enough to drink toilet water, nor will they make you sick due to
the nuts, oils and avocado used in them!

I’m not kidding — many of those gourmet raw recipes will use nuts, oil AND avocado in one
recipe! I had a recipe like that recently that a friend prepared and I was sick to my stomach
for the rest of that night. I’m talking painful and laying in bed kind of sick.

Veronica Grace’s “Savory Raw Dinner Recipes” nicely compliments Roger Haeske’s
Savory Veggie Stews (http://www.veggiestews.com). In other words, they’re two distinctly different recipe systems.

Veronica's Amazing Raw Lasagna

There are simple recipes that you can make everyday as well as dinner party oriented recipes
to make for special occasions (I’m really looking forward to making “Veronica’s Amazing
Raw Lasagna”)

Some of the recipes do call for salt, onions and garlic. Of course this is completely
optional.

I’ve made some of those recipes without any salt and they’re still delicious.

And mind you the quantity of salt in these recipes is MUCH lower than what you’d find at
a typical gourmet raw food restaurant. I’m talking a pinch of salt.

BTW, I had a mega bowl of “Strawberry Pecan Spinach Salad” for lunch just before writing
this review today. Boy that salad really hits the spot.

A great thing about their system is if you’re not at all into using garlic, onions,
apple cider vinegar and salt, the recipes still taste great even if you omit these
ingredients. I was surprised that the flavor was still good when I omitted some of
these ingredients.

Also you can adjust the seasonings to your taste preferences and they still taste
great whether you like your food mildly seasoned, medium or super seasoned! There
were even certain condiments that I didn’t use at all and the recipes I made still
tasted AMAZING!

Fat Free Stuffed Peppers

Overall I’ve found the “Savory Raw Dinner Recipes” to be just what I needed to
balance out my sweet fruit consumption with more savory meals.

As a nursing mom, my dietary needs are much different than when I wasn’t nursing.
A constant source of mineral rich savory meals after fruit is now mandatory for me.

I think you’re going to find a number of recipes that’ll satisfy your need for
something hearty and savory and yet are easy to prepare.

With much aloha,

Karmyn

P.S. My 4 1/2 year old son Andrew just loves these recipes. He constantly asks me to make
Veronica’s recipes.

He licked his bowl CLEAN after eating her “Strawberry Pecan Spinach Salad” and her “Low
Fat Taco Salad” (when he does that then I KNOW it’s a new favorite dish for him!)
————–

Click the picture below to find out more about my program Savory Raw Dinner Recipes.

If you’d like to give the DVD set Savory Raw Dinner Recipes
a try, you won’t regret it.

Go to: http://www.plantbasedu.com/savory

If you’d like to find out more about Karmyn Malone and her raw food journey go to http://karmynmalone.com/ or find her on Facebook

Low Fat Oil Free Vegan Baked Maple Yam Pecan Casserole

January 4, 2012 by Veronica Grace 11 Comments

Low Fat Oil Free Vegan Maple Syrup Yam Sweet Potato Pecan Holiday Casserole

Low Fat Vegan Maple Yam and Pecan Casserole

Featured in my new recipe eBook: Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World with other holiday favorites like Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Holiday Stuffed Acorn Squash, Cranberry Apple Pecan Stuffing, Cheezy Sauce For Steamed Vegetables and 5 different gravy recipes and more!

I want to share some of my delicious Christmas dinner recipes I made last year with you. Baked Yam Pecan Casserole is super easy to make and one of my favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes.

It was my extended family’s first “predominantly vegan” Christmas and holiday dinner. My mom was so thrilled not to have to deal with a turkey, so she just had her husband pick up some pre cooked roast turkey for himself and my grandmother, and the rest of us just at vegan and loaded up on all the delicious sides!

We made my new Cranberry Apple Pecan Stuffing, mashed potatoes and 2 kinds of gravy, vegetables in cheezy sauce. I know some of you will be wanting the recipes, so here’s another one for you to save for special holidays, or whenever you have a serious Yam craving! (Or if you are obsessed with sweet potato casseroles, or sweet potato pie, like they are in the South. I’m in Texas right now lol)

Now these are actually yams, but Americans will still call them Sweet Potatoes. Pretty much anything that seems like a potato and tastes sweet, they call sweet potatoes. In Canada and the rest of the world, they are called yams (In Australia kumara). Hence why I called the recipe a Yam Casserole. I think the name “sweet potato” is very ambiguous and confusing, as in the USA it encompasses basically any starchy root than is semi sweet, whether it’s golden yams, purple yams, orange yams (like above) etc. Check out the Wiki on yams if you don’t believe me!

This recipe is SUPER easy and you can of course scale it down if you don’t want lots of leftovers.

This recipe is also oil-free, Earth Balance-free and guilt free! If you don’t have maple syrup, you can certainly use some agave, brown rice syrup or other preferred sweetener.

Low Fat Vegan Maple Yam Pecan Casserole (Sweet Potato Pie -ish)

(You can also half this recipe, if you don’t want leftovers)

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

5 large yams (orange flesh sweet potatoes in the USA if you insist on calling them that 🙂 )
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp herbamare
1/2 cup pecan halves

Directions:

1. Peel and slice yams into 2″ thick slices. (This is so they cook faster)

2. Steam yams or cook in a pressure cooker just until tender. As soon as you can poke easily with a fork and break them apart they are done.

3. Drain and turn into a bowl and mash with potato masher.

4. Add seasonings and stir gently.

5. Pour into a casserole pan, garnish with pecans and keep warm in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until needed.

6. Serve.

What’s your favourite Christmas or Thanksgiving side? What did you have this year for Christmas dinner? Sweet potatoes or yams?

Special Occasions: Holiday Vegan Pecan Pie (Not Low Fat!)

January 4, 2012 by Veronica Grace 3 Comments

This recipe I am mentioning as a special treat my mom and I made for our family this Christmas. It was the first time my mom was eating vegan for Christmas, and we wanted to make a holiday pie that everyone could have for dessert without dietary restrictions.

We were much too full after eating our Baked Maple Yam Pecan Casserole and Fat Free Vegan Cranberry Apple Stuffing so it wasn’t eaten until much later in the evening, and I waited until the next day. It’s just such a rich dessert!

I found the recipe here, and just a warning, in no way shape or form is this a low fat or oil free recipe! I just wanted to offer my feedback on how this vegan pecan pie came out, and if you are making it for your family who will be having pie anyways, at least you can have a bite or piece while making and serving it!

We did not have a pastry cutter OR a food processor down here, but my mom managed to cut in the Earth Balance and make the crust without too much rolling or mixing. It was pretty thick and sturdy, not greasy or flaky though and you can tell it’s definitely homemade and not store bought! 🙂

The filling set really well at the sides, but next time I would bake it longer as it was still not firm in the centre. So it did not come out looking like a perfectly cut piece of pie, but everyone that ate it, didn’t care and enjoyed it anyways! It is very rich, so we cut only tiny pieces instead of a standard 6 or 8 pieces that most people do.

I also specially bought whole wheat saltine crackers, because the recipe said to do so, but in an effort to lower the fat content you can use plain saltines as they have less fat in them than the whole wheat ones. (Whole wheat tends to be dryer, so they always add more oil to baked goods). This serves to thicken up the filling and add some strength to it. You could try adding an extra saltine or two as well, maybe it would be firmer in the middle.

Anyway, this is my first attempt on a vegan holiday pie, and it didn’t turn out too bad! Just make sure to not make it only for yourself and share it with your friends and family!

Oil Free Low Fat Vegan Cranberry Apple Pecan Stuffing

December 26, 2011 by Veronica Grace 11 Comments

This is a very delicious and healthy, but decadent stuffing recipe you can use for Thanksgiving or Christmas! It contains no butter, margarine or earth balance, and you won’t even notice! It’s full of flavour and very moist and tasty with so many colours and textures to enjoy.

We ate it along with my Baked Maple Yam Pecan Casserole and Decadent Vegan Pecan Pie. Make sure to book mark this!

This photo above was my first time making it and it turned out very well and since then it has become the stuffing recipe that I use from now on. I wanted something with cranberry and pecan in it, and then threw in mushrooms, celery, apple and apple juice as well. In fact my family DEMANDS that I make this savory stuffing recipe each year and no one minds not having turkey flavoured stuffing at all!

This recipe makes a large casserole pan full, so definitely only do the full recipe if feeding a family. If you’re a small family or a single you could half the recipe if you’d like to make less. It definitely won’t disappoint and everyone will rave about how tasty this home made vegan stuffing is.

Fat Free Vegan Cranberry Apple Pecan Stuffing

Ingredients:

15 cups large cubes of bread
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
2 cups mushrooms, diced
1 cup cranberries
2 apples, diced
3 1/2 cups apple juice
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2/3 cup pecans
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 tsp crushed dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried margoram
1/2 tsp dried savory

Directions:

1. Toast bread crumbs at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until dry. Check after 10 minutes to prevent burning. Alternatively you can spread on a cookie sheet and dry out overnight.

2. Slice pecans halves in half. (This makes them spread farther and keeps the recipe lower in fat) Toast pecans at 350 for 5 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning.

3. Soak dried cranberries in 3 cups of apple juice for 30 minutes.

4. Saute onions, celery and mushrooms in vegetable broth over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until soft.

5. Saute diced apples in 1/2 cup apple juice, brown sugar and cinnamon until soft.

6. In a large bowl combine ingredients and mix thoroughly until all the herbs are spread out and the bread is moist. If your bread is still a little dry you can pour a little extra apple juice in the bottom of the roasting pan to prevent burning and drying out.

7. Spread out in a large lasagna size roasting pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until heated through.

Cooked Vegan Recipes

Low Fat Vegan Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble (with Broccoli, Zucchini, Pepper and Mushrooms)

Collard Greens Lower Cholesterol Better Than Kale or Broccoli!

Brief History of Collard Greens

How to Select and Store Collard Greens

Cooking Collard Greens

Low Fat Vegan Tangy Collard Greens with Mushrooms, Onions and Coconut Milk

How To Wrap Your Bamboo Sushi Mat For Uramaki – Inside Outside Rolls

How To Make A Vegan Dragon Roll (Uramaki / Inside Outside)

How To Wrap Your Bamboo Sushi Mat For Uramaki – Inside Outside Rolls

How To Make A Vegan California (Uramaki style) Sushi Roll

How To Make Perfect Sushi Rice With Step By Step Photo Instructions

Low Fat Vegan Maple Yam Pecan Casserole (Sweet Potato Pie -ish)

Fat Free Vegan Cranberry Apple Pecan Stuffing

What do you think? What’s your favourite type of stuffing?