zucchini

20 Minutes To The Table Episode 5: Zucchini Rotini Marinara with Vegetables

August 25, 2013 by Veronica Grace 14 Comments

It’s been a long day, you’re tired, you’re hungry and you have no imagination for what to make for dinner. – I know this feeling and what to make for dinner when I have no inspiration. This vegan Zucchini Rotini Marinara is something that I make quite often because it’s easy to throw together and it’s great for using up vegetables in the fridge. Sometimes I’ll add in some mushrooms, broccoli, or carrots, but I really love this version with zucchini, bell peppers and peas. I use whole grain rotini and I like this style of noodle because it holds onto the sauce well, has a nice texture and looks really pretty on the plate. I got a giant box of this at Costco for a good deal. It lasted me forever and made quick meals really easy.

I actually prefer a spiral type of noodle compared to spaghetti or fettucini as well. This way I can add more veggies and have a little less pasta. Most of the time I make my own pasta sauce each time with just canned tomatoes and season it and blend it up, but I wanted to show you a quick version of this recipe. I know most of you are probably used to buying pasta sauce in a jar.

When I went shopping in Canada there weren’t too many brands of pasta sauce available that didn’t contain olive oil, canola oil or soy bean oil, but I did find 2 different brands. Just look for one that has a low fat, or light description on the front and then check the back to see if it has any oil. I really try to make sure everything I buy is oil-free, it just doesn’t need the extra calories and I don’t enjoy eating slick or greasy food anymore.

Vegan pasta marinara is one of the easiest dishes you can make, but you can make it delicious and special by jazzing it up with some fresh veggies, cooking them perfectly and seasoning your sauce to your liking. I always like to add some fresh chopped onions for more flavor. The recipe video is below.

If you enjoy my video please click on it to view it in youtube so you can click the like icon and subscribe to my channel so you can get more recipe videos. Thank you for the support!

Recipe follows below.

20 Minutes to The Table Episode 5: Zucchini Rotini Marinara with Vegetables

ZucchiniRotiniMarinara-1

Serves 6

Pasta Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
2 zucchinis sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
300g/4 cups dried whole wheat rotini (or GF)
1 700 ml/ 24 oz. jar of pasta sauce (look for oil free and low in sodium)
1 tbsp. fresh parsley
Salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt if desired.

2. When water is boiling add the pasta, bring it back to a boil and then begin timing it as per the directions on the package.

3. Saute onion in a non-stick pan, dry for 4-5 minutes.

4. Add the zucchini and bell peppers. Cook until just tender.

5. Add the tomato sauce and stir to combine, when hot add the frozen peas.

6. Test the pasta for desired doneness. Drain in a colander.

7. Add drained pasta to pasta sauce in a large saute pan (or a pot if you don’t have one large enough).

8. Marry the flavors together for a minute or two to help the pasta absorb the sauce.

9. Add the fresh parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

10. Serve!

Cranberry Walnut Salad

Ingredients:

4 cups Spring Mix salad
2 tbsp dried cranberries
2 tbsp walnuts, chopped
Balsamic vinegar to drizzle

Directions:

1. Assemble salad in a bowl or on plates.

2. Drizzle with dressing and serve along with pasta.

What is your favorite type of pasta and vegetables to cook together?

What do I bring for vegan camping?

August 4, 2013 by Veronica Grace 41 Comments

I went camping for the past 2 weekends this summer in the Rocky Mountains and although it’s a lot of work packing and setting everything up, it is fun getting out of the house, away from the computer and offline for a little while to just relax. Here’s some photos of our tent site to start.

Campingtent2

I will admit I was a little concerned with ravenous mosquitoes and rain so I got an eating tent as well, which was handy as it did indeed rain pretty hard twice over the weekend so at least some of the stuff was protected and we could sit under the tent and wait for the rain to pass. The funny thing is we were the ONLY people tenting in this area, everyone else had trailers and toy haulers to hide in. It’s definitely more work tenting, but it’s more affordable and still kind of fun. Although it is quite chilly each morning!

Campingtent

Oh and we also went to do some dirt biking….

Um yeah so I’m apparently trying out dirt biking, even though I have no experience riding dirt bikes or motorcycles in general. It’s probably the scariest thing I’ve ever done, but I got all this second hand gear to try it out. And I’m super glad I did!

Dirtbiking2

Let’s just say that I came home with 8 bruises (2 big ones on my legs) and a smashed thumb from dropping the bike on myself and falling over several times going up and down steep rocky hills. It’s not easy learning how to to shift a manual transmission bike and steer and not be scared of crashing going down a giant hill at the same time lol. I’ll be trying it again, but I have to say I’ve never been so sore in my life. I could barely move the next day after coming home because of the bruises on my legs, and my arms and shoulders were exhausted from picking up and pushing the 250 lb bike up and off me and up and down the hills I couldn’t do.

Dirtbiking

I feel ridiculous in this outfit. The pants are very high waisted and so thick and bulky they make me sweaty. I also feel like I’m wearing space boots and an astronaut’s helmut!

Dirtbikes

Here’s our dirt bikes, my bf so lovingly built this little red one for me. I can’t imagine riding anything more powerful, it already feels beastly enough for me… lol

And now you’re probably thinking I’m insane and wondering what the point of this post was, well I want to show you what I brought for food camping, because a few of you wanted to know if I had any “camping recipes” on Facebook. Well I wouldn’t say recipes, but quick meal ideas because honestly spending time prepping, cooking and cleaning WHILE camping in a tent isn’t my kind of idea of fun. I needed a break from food prep and clean up, so I tried to make everything super simple to prepare. The last thing you want to be is hungry and cranky trying to start a camp fire and reach for snacks instead of a healthy meal.

So here’s my list of the top 6 things I brought for vegan camping to keep things simple and healthy for the weekend

Fruitplate

1. The first thing I bring camping is pre washed and cut up fruit, each packaged in their own individual containers. (Ex. watermelon cubes in a giant container, pineapple chunks in a medium container etc.) This ensures that the fruit stays fresher longer so juicy fruits such as watermelon and pineapple don’t speed up the ripening process of berries or change their flavor. I brought watermelon, pineapple, red grapes, blueberries and strawberries. I always do my fruit this way and store it separately as I like fresh tasting fruit and not mushy muddled flavors. Whenever I want some fruit I can just grab a plate and a fork and plate some up for breakfast, a side for lunch or a snack. Almost half of my cooler is packed with large containers of prepared fruit to keep me eating fresh and healthy even in the great outdoors.

Veggiekabobs

2. Veggie kabobs are next on my list because I don’t make them at home very often and it’s kind of fun to cook over the fire or a camp stove. I pre wash and slice up all of my veggies and place them in a container and can easily assemble as many as you like for your side dishes. For my kabobs I used yellow and green zucchini, bell pepper, red onion, and mushrooms. I used a metal grate like this to place over the camp stove or fire to cook them.

Veggiekabobs2

Instead of brushing the veggie kabobs with oil, I like to drizzle or marinate them in balsamic vinegar and sprinkle a salt and pepper grinder mix over top of them for roasting. If you really like the veggies to absorb flavor I suggest using a little bag or container to toss and marinate them in balsamic vinegar. I was making mine very quickly and just drizzled a bit on top before grilling.

RoastedCorn

3. Fresh corn is another fun food to bring camping. I got some fresh corn on the cob (you can find this organic and gmo free from farmer’s markets and some health food stores so please don’t freak out) and put it in the cooler along with my ice. When I went to take it out it was actually soaked in water, and this was quite helpful. Pre soaking your whole corn cobs helps them retain moisture while cooking.

RoastedCorn2

Next peel off just the outer layers of the corn husk, leaving the thin inner layers, wrap the cobs tightly in tinfoil and then place directly on a low fire or hot coals for about 20 minutes just until tender. This was the first time I’ve ever put corn directly on a fire and it turned out great! Camping food doesn’t have to be anything complicated, I just keep it really simple and let me tell you my friends were certainly jealous of my fresh and tasty meals I made!

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

4. For hearty breakfasts I made a double batch of my Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble and kept the seasoned tofu in one container and the sliced veggies in little bags separately so I could cook as much as I needed each day over the camp stove. Super easy and nice to have a hot breakfast when it’s cold every morning.

Vegan Chickpea Quinoa Burger with Lemon and Thyme

5. For fun I also bring some veggie hot dogs and veggie burgers (see my chickpea quinoa burgers, yam black bean burgers and spicy Mexican black bean burgers). You can also get vegan marshmallows as well to roast over the fire.

credit theartfulgourmet.com

6. To round out my veggie offerings I also brought mixed salad in little ziploc bags for easy serving and used balsamic vinegar as a quick dressing.

So there you have it, a little insight to my vegan camping adventures and what I bring to keep it simple and healthy in the great outdoors. What do you think? What do you like to bring camping and where do you go camping?

Raw Vegan Recipe: Zucchini Cashew Ranch Dip

March 31, 2013 by Veronica Grace 18 Comments

Hey everyone! The other day I was invited over for a friend’s house warming and I assumed that I would be the only vegan attendee. So what I did was brought a few things that I would be able to eat, that would also appeal to other types of tastes as well. I made some vegan nachos using seasoned soy beef and some vegan cheese to show off that vegan food could be tasty. BUT I only make that kind of food when I’m serving people totally unfamiliar with vegan food. I don’t make that kind of food at home or for myself. So I also wanted to bring a healthy option to balance that out.

I thought of serving a veggie tray as that would be quick and easy to bring as well. Lucky for me my local grocery store now makes veggie trays without that dairy based dip in the middle, so I could run out and grab it and just focus on making the dip portion from scratch. Of course I could chop the veggies myself as well, I just didn’t really have a handy travel tray so this worked well for me.

I had been thinking about a way to make a tasty ranch-like dip, but lower in fat. And I was inspired by my Hemp Seed Hummus recipe from Savory Raw Dinner Recipes which uses raw zucchini as the base instead of nuts to cut out some of the extra calories. But I didn’t want it to just taste like raw zucchini so that’s why I added some raw cashews so it had that nice creamy taste to it as well. I promise you won’t be able to taste the zucchini. 🙂

This recipe was a real hit and everyone could not believe that I had made it myself (or that anyone would be a vegan chef let alone a low fat one) but I was very happy that everyone found it delicious even after I told them there was raw zucchini in it! Hurray! Score one for the low fat vegans.

So I wanted to share this recipe with you because quite often I hear the pleas of newbies craving something tasty to dip their raw celery and broccoli into and this is very easy to make at home.

I use a VitaMix for my heavy duty blending, but don’t worry if you don’t have one I have included some tips like soaking your cashews and dates, that will help make the blending process in your regular blender much easier.

Raw Vegan Zucchini Cashew Ranch Dip

Makes enough dip to serve with 1 large veggie tray

Ingredients:

1 medium/medium large zucchini peeled and diced into small cubes (approx 2 1/4 cups)
1/3 cup cashews, soaked for a few hours and drained
1-2 medjool dates, pitted, soaked and chopped
2- 2 1/2 tbsp meyer lemon juice
1 tbsp nutritional yeast *optional for flavor
1-2 small cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp diced sweet onion (or 1 tsp of onion powder)
1 tbsp chopped curly leaf parsley
1 green onion/scallion, sliced (green top portion only)
1/4 tsp Herbamare or salt or to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Splash or two of unsweetened almond milk (if necessary to blend in a regular blender)

Directions:

1. Combine everything but the parsley, green onion, salt, and pepper in a Vitamix or a food processor and blend. (It’s important to have everything in small pieces so it’s easier to blend together. A high powered blender with a tamper is preferable.)

2. Add remaining ingredients and blend on medium low to break up the fresh herbs into smaller pieces. Taste test and add additional salt, pepper or lemon juice as desired.

3. Refrigerate before serving.

Additional Tips:

If you have a Vitamix you do not have to soak the cashews or the dates or use the almond milk, but if using another blender or food processor that is lower powered it is highly recommended to make this dip easier to blend.

Let me know what you think of this dip! And what is your favorite raw veggie for dipping?

Low Fat Vegan Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Boats

October 24, 2012 by Veronica Grace 17 Comments

These vegan quinoa stuffed zucchini boats would make a delicious entree for a special dinner or any holiday occasion. I really think it’s important to have a nice entree when serving a holiday meal without meat so those who are not used to eating vegan feel more comfortable eating something more eye catching and filling than a plate full of vegetable sides.

Honestly I think that’s the major problem with people’s perception of a vegan diet. When you take away the meat, they assume they are supposed to just eat salad, a side of steamed vegetables and maybe some rice or a potato and this can get rather mundane day after day. I find that most traditional restaurants have no clue how to make a vegan plate and often just take take take without giving anything back. No meat, no cheese, no creamy sauce/dressing and you’re left with a tiny plate of vegetables with little calories (so you’re starving 30 minutes later).

Don’t let this happen to your family or dinner guests! If you want to serve them a delicious vegan dinner, why not have a beautiful entree like a stuffed vegetable? I have made Greek Stuffed Eggplant on the blog here, Greek Stuffed Peppers and Holiday Stuffed Acorn Squash in my new ebook here. All of them contain rice, so let’s switch it up and try quinoa instead of rice for a change?

Now quinoa can be quite bland on it’s own so it’s nice to serve with saucy vegetables, or season it while it cooks (which is what I did in this recipe.) Then I sautéed it with cooked vegetables to let the flavors meld and then tossed in some chopped pecans and cranberries for good measure to add some more flavor and texture to it.

Most recipes I’ve seen on the internet for zucchini boats are based on ground beef and then topped with cheese and let’s face it, zucchini doesn’t have to be completely hidden by overpowering flavors for people to enjoy it! Zucchini lovers unite! Show everyone how delicious it can be on it’s own without being covered in meat and cheese. 🙂

Check out my recipe below:

(Vegan) Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Serves 8

Ingredients:

Quinoa:

1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup vegetable broth low sodium or homemade
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp fresh or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper (as desired)

Zucchini Boats:

4 medium zucchini, washed
1 medium sweet onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 handful of greens like spinach, chard, beet greens etc. chopped
1/2-1 cup vegetable broth low sodium or homemade (to cook with)
2 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
2 tbsp cranberries (apple juice sweetened)
1/4 tsp Herbamare or salt (or as desired)
Fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Soak the quinoa in a bowl of cool water for 15 minutes.

2. Fill a large 6 quart/litre pot with water and bring to a boil.

3. While waiting for pot to boil, drain quinoa, add vegetable broth 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, thyme and salt and pepper to a small pot. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat and cook for 25 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff and set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 375 F / 191 C and add zucchinis whole to the large pot of water and boil for 15 minutes until tender. Set aside on racks to cool.

5. Slice zucchinis in half and scoop out the middle seeds, leaving enough flesh to hold the zucchini together. Chop the flesh and set aside. (You can use or discard the seeds if you wish. I discard most of them in favor of the other diced vegetables I’m using)

6. Meanwhile in a large skillet or wok add 1/2 cup vegetable broth and heat over medium high heat. When hot, add onions carrots and thyme. Sauté for 2 or 3 minutes and then add celery, some of the zucchini pulp, balsamic vinegar and garlic. Continue cooking until tender. Add more broth if needed to prevent sticking. Toss in pecans, cranberries, and quinoa and season with salt and pepper as desired.

7. If desired sprinkle some balsamic vinegar and/or salt lightly on the inside of the zucchini boats. Stuff the zucchini with filling mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes until tender.

8. Serve warm.

Please note: you will not have room for all the other vegetables and quinoa if you use all of the zucchini pulp and seeds. So i just use the pulp and chop it and discard the heavily seeded parts.

I served these with traditional Thanksgiving sides like Garlic Mashed Potatoes and stuffing. For more Thanksgiving and other delicious entree recipes check out my new recipe ebook Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World. (Some favorite holiday recipes include Holiday Stuffed Acorn Squash, Garlic Mashed Potatoes With Mushrooms and Onions, Cranberry Pecan Holiday Stuffing, Holiday Yam Pecan Casserole, The Best Cabbage Rolls and more.)

Have you ever had stuffed zucchini before or any other stuffed vegetable?

How To Make Raw Vegan Veggie Stuffed Collard Wraps

January 24, 2012 by Veronica Grace 21 Comments

How To Make Raw Vegan Veggie Collard Wrap Sandwich

Raw Collard Wraps With Veggies, Sprouts and Guacamole

Are you looking for a quick and healthy wrap that’s maybe low in calories and more whole foods based? Or maybe you’re looking for a gluten or wheat free sandwich option. Well check out my raw veggie collard wraps!

So… I totally forgot to add these delicious collard wraps to my recipe program Savory Raw Dinner Recipes because they were so easy to make I did not write the recipe down! LOL. When I compiled the recipe book I did not have it on my computer and I forgot about it. So I’m posting it here for you instead. These raw collard wraps are really easy to make if you have access to large size flat collard green leaves and are really impressive to non raw foodies.

If you haven’t checked out Savory Raw Dinner Recipes, I highly recommend you do. I created the recipes and did all the photography myself. These are possibly the sexiest lower fat gourmet recipes you’ve ever seen. Even if you just enjoy some healthy food porn photos, you should check it out!

If you live in the south you can find collard greens at most grocery stores or Walmart, but if you live in the north or in Canada you’ll have to go to Whole Foods or your local community health food store.

In the South it’s about 88 cents (USD) for a bunch of collards. In Canada, it costs us about $2.99 (CAD) for a large bunch. Overall, it’s a pretty cheap wrapper to make a raw burrito or sandwich, just make sure you select a bunch of collards that have lots of large flat leaves, not bent, crushed or small leaves as you’ll more likely end up having to make tiny raw vegan tacos instead because you can’t wrap the collards like a burrito.

If you DON’T have collard greens, it won’t really turn out the same. The key to this wrap is the collard green’s very large, strong and pliable leaf. You can try using other greens, but what you’ll get instead is more of an open face sandwich/taco/boat that you sprinkle toppings in and eat kind of like a hot dog! Probably tastes the same, but will look different. You can try both style of raw wrap.

collard

This is what a collard leaf looks like whole. You will see it’s flat and not curly like kale.

How To Make Raw Vegan Veggie Collard Wrap Sandwich

Raw Collard Wraps With Veggies, Sprouts and Guacamole

How To Make Raw Vegan Collard Wraps

Serves 2

For this recipe you’re going to need:

2 large collard green leaves, washed
1/2 ripe avocado (should give to your thumb when pressed)
julienned or spiralized carrot and/or beets
julienned cucumber
julienned pepper
julienned zucchini
A few sprouts (If you have, I used alfalfa, you can use sunflower, pea shoots etc)
Seasonings if desired: lime/lemon, salt, pepper, olives

Tools:

A sharp knife
Flat surface

Step 1: Lay your collard leaf out flat on a cutting board stem side facing UP. Next take your sharp knife (it needs to be sharp, and not a serrated one, I cut myself once sawing into my finger) and angle it down and into the stem of the leaf. Shave the stem from the leaf horizontally and away from you. You want to do this so you can roll and fold your collard leaf without it cracking and splitting. Keep shaving down the stem a bit at a time, until it is flush with the leaf and then cut the edge off the stem end so it is straight at the bottom. Test your collard leaf now to see if it will roll easily into a small burrito. If it does, you’ve got your collard stem thin enough. Once you do this once, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

Step 2: Spread 1/4 of a ripe avocado (half of your 1/2 avocado) onto you collard leaf leaving an inch or two from the bottom end of the stem. Spread it in the middle area only, not all the way out to the sides and top. Season if desired over the avocado for flavour.

Step 3: Lay your veggies and sprouts nicely in the bottom portion to middle of your collard leaf, still leaving and inch or two at the bottom part of the stem. Keep everything in the middle and far away from the top and sides, just like you would fill a burrito.

Step 4: Roll the bottom stem end of your collard leaf up and away from you and make a full roll. Tuck in the sides of the leaf and continue rolling and tucking in as you go. Keep your roll tight so when you cut it your filling doesn’t fall out.

Step 5: Hold your wrap tightly and then carefully slice it in half. If desired you can skewer it with a toothpick to hold it together and set it on a plate.

Step 6: Repeat for the other wrap.

I would recommend sticking with a thick creamy filling like avocado, guacamole or my Lower Fat Hemp Hummus (from Savory Raw Dinner Recipes) instead of using a fruit or vinegar based dressing, as the taste of collards is quite strong and with just a vinegar or lemon base it won’t really be that delicious. Unless you’re like a hard core raw foodist, in which case you probably eat raw kale by the bunchfuls… every day… Just kidding! Rock on! 🙂

Serve this wrap with a raw soup, green salad or fruit salad. This is not a low fat recipe, technically because the veggies and wrap have so little calories. This is why I did not use an entire avocado for the recipe, otherwise it would be very fatty. I want to emphasize that on it’s own this is a very LOW CALORIE wrap, pretty much a snack. Since we don’t want to load up on nuts, seeds and oil on a low fat raw vegan or 80/10/10 diet, this should be part of a meal. We enjoyed this with a fat free soup recipe from Savory Raw Dinner Recipes and lots veggie sticks with my raw hummus. You just can’t see it from the photo, but the soup was present!

I have seen some restaurants steam the collard leaves as well for those who prefer a milder taste (sort of like steamed cabbage in a cabbage roll) so that’s always an option if you’re looking for a softer texture in your wrap!

How To Make Raw Vegan Veggie Collard Wrap Sandwich

What do you think of these wraps? What did you fill yours with?

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.

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

Have you ever made tofu scramble 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 Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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

Thin and Thick Bamboo Sushi Mat

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.

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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.

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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.

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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.

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

Continue rolling tightly up the nori sheet.

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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.

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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.

Vegan Dragon Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

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 Sushi Roll Uramaki Inside Out Roll Avocado Vegetables

Vegan Dragon Roll

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