Tofu Mushroom Burgers

These are very low calorie for a burger of any kind, but the flavor and texture are very good for a vegan burger.

Note: this one takes a bit of time to make the burgers as they stay in the pan about 15 minutes for each round of 2-4 burger patties.  So, I usually set my timer and go about my other business once the pan cooking starts (soup making or laundry!).    However, even though this recipe takes some time, it makes enough burgers for several meals, or you can freeze them for later use (they freeze wonderfully). 

Ingredients:


1 pound block of organic firm tofu
1 large onion

½ pound button mushrooms

½ pound other variety mushrooms (oyster is a favorite)

1-2 cups raw old fashioned or quick oatmeal, as needed

Seasonings (adjust as desired for your family’s tastes):

Pepper, about 2 teaspoons

Crushed red pepper, about 2 teaspoons (or cayenne, about 1 teaspoon)

Garlic powder, about 2 teaspoons

Paprika, couple dashes from the jar

Chili powder, 1 teaspoon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Rough chop the vegetables.  Put the tofu, mushrooms, onions and seasonings in a food processor and blend until smooth.   (If mixing by hand, dice the onions and mushrooms fairly small, first.)   Then add 1-cups of oatmeal to thicken.   The consistency will not be runny but will not be firm either.  

In a skillet misted with oil or wiped out with a paper towel that has oil added on it, scoop out ½ cup of the mixture.   With a small or medium skillet, you may only be able to cook 2 patties at once.   My big one will do 3-4 at one time. 

Cook on medium-high until the burger starts to brown on bottom, allowing you to flip to the other side cleanly.   Once both sides are browned and it’s firm on the outside, remove the burgers to a baking pan or sheet.     You may have to refresh the oil spray or wipe between burgers but shouldn’t have to do so when you flip each one. 

Once all burgers are ready, put the baking pan in the oven on 350 for at least 30 minutes.    They will continue to firm up on the inside in the oven, and even more so as they cool once removed from the oven.    A convection oven will require less time. 

For toppings, we use as many vegetables as we can fit onto the bun… raw onions for sure, chopped lettuces, sliced tomato, and sauces like ETL friendly ketchup, mustard, and others (Bbq?).    On lower grain days, I use with romaine leaves – still delicious and cuts the calorie count down significantly.

Our bun is a 100% whole wheat, low sugar, not terrible on sodium one, or you can use a whole wheat pita that you cut down to the size of the burger patty (bake the pita scraps later for hummus).

Chili Pie

I'm not generally big on casserole type recipes but saw this one online that combined several of my husband and daughter's favorite foods and thought I would take a shot at something new. 

I've adapted the recipe from a Dr Fuhrman member who in turn adapted it from fatfreevegan.com.

Ours, so far, is made with two of our existing recipes, but we may switch to making it more from scratch if the circumstances are different.   This time, we already had chili made to use as the first layer, next time we might make the layer from beans, peppers, and so on instead. 





The first layer is the black bean chili, recipe here







Next, we added a layer of frozen, chopped greens.  We used collards but kale, spinach, or other would work.  



The third layer was the "Cheeze" from our Mac & Cheeze recipe, recipe here

The last layer was 1/3 of a bag of frozen hash browns.

After assembly, I baked it in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, but it was still very liquid, so I left it in there for another 45 minutes while I baked a loaf of banana oat bread.   

The final product was a huge hit with my husband who ate two servings and asked for leftovers with his lunch.  

Now that I'm thinking about it....I may always make this recipe with the black bean chili and Mac & Cheeze sauce because that way I end up with nearly a week's worth of food for the family.   The casserole, the chili, and the Mac & Cheeze.    I'm not going to say how I know this, but the Mac & Cheeze tastes great on top of the chili, also.    :)  

 

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Vegan Pho

We are addicted to Pho and have been for years, many years before our switch in eating style.  As is true with many recipes, this one is a work in process that may never have an end.   Nonetheless, here is our latest attempt, pictures to follow later.

Vegan Pho

Broth:

1-2 large onions, chopped

2 inch piece ginger root, minced and peeled
½ - 1 lb mushrooms, chopped
2 garlic bulbs, minced
5 large carrots, shredded
1 cup white cabbage, shredded  

Water saute the above until it starts to get soft (onions translucent) and mushrooms release their water, then add 6 cups water or vegetable broth.    Add seasonings (below) in a seasoning ball/strainer or just pop them in and be prepared to fish them all out. 

 

Seasonings:

Star anise – 1 or 2
Cinnamon stick – 1
Cloves – 1-2 Tbsp
Corriander seeds – 1 tsp
 
Cook broth and seasonings in the crockpot on high 4 hours or on the stove, simmering for 45 minutes.   Add vegetables, additional mushrooms, or tofu cubes as desired. 

Possible vegetables:

Sliced into ribbons – collards, bokchoy, cabbage, broccoli slaw greens, other greens

Continue to cook until the vegetables are finished, then remove the strainer ball. 

Serve over spiralized zucchini or other noodles;  rice noodles are traditional but not really nutritarian.  

 

Garnish with :

Lime wedges

Bean sprouts
Green onions
Serrano chiles
Ciliantro
Basil
Sriracha sauce, optional  

Note:  many sauces are high sodium, high sugar, and non-vegan.   It is possible to replicate the taste of these sauces in many ways depending on your personal sodium intake needs.   

 

 

"Not Beef" & Broccoli

My old chinese food favorite was Beef & Broccoli; this is our version of a Not-Beef & Broccoli that has the same flavors without the meat.   (Will update with pictures as soon as I can.)

Serves about 6 as a main dish


Ingredients:

1 pound mushrooms
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 pound broccoli florets, raw or frozen
1 cup carrot sticks or chops
1 cup sno peas, asparagus, or other vegetable
Vegetable broth
Brown rice or quinoa, cooked

Water saute the mushrooms, onion, garlic, and bell pepper in 1/4 cup of water, adding more water as needed.  Cook until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms start releasing their water.   Add 1 cup of no salt added vegetable broth.

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli and other vegetables until brightly colored, well before they get soft.  Add to the saute pan and toss with the sauce, recipe below.  

Serve over cooked brown rice, quinoa, or a bed of chopped broccoli slaw, cooked greens, raw greens....the possibilities are endless. 


Sauce:

1/2 cup onions, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced

Saute these in a small pot with 1/4 cup of water or a half teaspoon of olive oil until onions are translucent.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix 3/4 cup red wine with 1 TBSP cornstarch until dissolved. 

When onions are cooked, add the wine sauce to the pot as well as 1 TBSP oyster sauce or hoison sauce and 2 TBSP lower sodium soy sauce or Braggs or a soy sauce replacement (vinegar, onion powder, molasses).   Cook about 5 minutes on medium/low until it thickens and flavors merge.  

Healthy Stuffed Potatoes

I've wanted to try making these for months now and finally had an occasion to do so (and finally had potatoes in the house).  They turned out so good that I didn't like the ones that had the sauce on them because it was strong enough to mask the incredible flavors of the food.

They were a hit among our guests as well, most of whom were not vegan or nutritarian.

 

Ingredients:

Potatoes, 12 whole spuds**
Broccoli, about a pound of florets
Sno peas or asparagus, 1 cup or more
Shredded carrots or matchstick carrots, 1/2 cup
Mushrooms, 1/2 pound
Onions, 1 cup diced
Garlic, 5 cloves
Seasonings, garlic powder, pepper, paprika, onion powder, red pepper, etc.

Optional - sauces, see recipe links and notes, below.

* measurements are approximate depending on the size of the potatoes, but leftover "stuffing" is not a bad thing!  Our guests were dipping into the leftover stuffing and eating it with a fork. 

** any kind of potatoes will work for this including sweet potatoes, but we used russets with our first try.


Directions:

Wash potatoes, make a couple of shallow slices in each with a knife or pierce with a fork.

Bake at 350 for about an hour, depending on your oven it may be more or less time, until the potatoes are fully cooked.

Let potatoes cool, then slice each potato in half lengthwise. Next, scoop out most of the flesh from each half, leaving a thin layer inside the potato to keep the skins intact and upright, about 1/4".   You can discard the flesh or save it for another dish (sweet potatoes can be added to many soups, stews, chili, etc. for a great nutrition boost and delicious flavor boost). 

The above steps can be done the night before if you are making them for company, or just make them far enough ahead of dinner time to allow them to cook and cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, chop onions, garlic, mushrooms and sauté in a pan until onions are translucent (water sauté or use a teaspoon of olive oil).

Steam the raw vegetables, broccoli, sno peas, asparagus, carrots (or microwave if using frozen) until they are just beginning to soften and are still bright green/orange.

Combine all of the cooked vegetables in the sauté pan, season well with your choice of seasonings. 

With a slotted spoon, scoop out the vegetable/mushroom mix and add to the potato skins.   At this point, I added a bit more seasonings, more garlic and black pepper, then put them in the oven on broil for about 2-3 minutes.

The potato skins were slightly crispy even without using any oil on them.  

 

 

Sauces:

There are two recipes for sauces for these potatoes that we made, but neither ended up being necessary due to how delicious these were without any sauce at all.  

One sauce, recipe to follow shortly, was our Asian themed sauce, reminiscent of the Beef and Broccoli sauce at our favorite Chinese food restaurant.  

The second sauce was the "cheese" sauce from the Vegan Mac & Cheese recipe here.



Pasta e Fagioli, The SOUP

An old family favorite, made over.   I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to get to ETL-izing this recipe, but the wait has only made it taste better. 

I'm not sure Olive Garden would recognize it now. 


Ingredients:

1 extra large onion, chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
5 large carrots, shredded
1 bulb of garlic, or less, to taste
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 cups minced greens like kale, collards, spinach

1 pound dried beans, cooked, or equivalent in canned, no salt added if possible
      We use pintos, navy, cannellini beans but any will work
2 oz whole wheat or other pasta, small shaped, cooked
14 oz +/-  canned or cooked tomatoes
2 tablespoons condensed tomato paste

Seasonings - pepper, splash white or rice vinegar, garlic powder, dash cayenne or red pepper, etc. 


Directions:

I start by boiling my beans in the morning, letting them sit an hour, then popping them into the crockpot on high for 3-4 hours without ANY seasonings.  

( Mom's best friend, pictured below, cooks while she sleeps, shops, works, works out, and so on.)  



Later, saute vegetables in 1 tsp olive oil or 1/4 cup water for about 10 minutes.














Then, add 1 cup water and continue to cook until onions are translucent, carrots start to get soft. Add water if needed; this will start to make its own thick broth. 













After beans are cooked, add cooked vegetables with their broth to the beans in the soup pot or crockpot. 



 




Add seasonings, tomatoes, paste, sauce and let simmer for 30 minutes.    Before serving, add precooked pasta. 

 

With the pasta added -