Sour Kick Quinoa

I know I said I would not post anything this week, but made up something to eat and turned out really good so I am…This is a very refreshing dish, nice for summery days! The flavor is tangy and sour yet delicate! Try it and serve as a side dish or main. Its also really high in protein and healthy. You will need quinoa [can be found in health food stores], fat-reduced coconut milk[can be found at *thanopoulo* or asian supermarket] ,green sour mango [asian supermarket], edamame soybeans [asian/japanese supermarket] and well, lemon. This is my mom’s favorite dish since I created it!

Ingredients :

-2 handfuls frozen edamame

-1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

-1 green sour mango [same shape with the Thai yellow mango, but green]

-2 tbsp fat-reduced coconut milk

-1 lemon

First rinse and rub quinoa 4-5 times, kind of like sushi rice. Then boil for 15 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool. Steam soybeans in their shell for around 8 minutes, peel and chop sour mango in bite sized pieces. Put mango to steam as well for 2-3 minutes [do this only if mango is hard, to soften it]. Squish the soybeans out of their shells carefully , mix with mango pieces and add coconut milk and lemon. Combine with cooked quinoa, toss well and serve!

Smoked Stir Fry

Wow I havent posted anything for too long! I have been busy with other things, since it was my birthday this weekend and I threw a party. But now I am back, posting two recipes in one day! Anyway no one cares, so I will get to the point.

This stir fry is healthy, fast, tasty,and easy to make, so have no fear. You just cant mess up with this. You will notice I am using grapeseed oil, which is my new best friend. I found it at the supermarket and though it sounds fancy, it was rather cheap [ cheaper than virgin olive oil ]. This oil is very light and full of polyunsaturated fats- its actually very low on the saturated fats, and is good for frying in high temperatures [ unlike olive oil, which in Greece everyone thinks its the healthiest. Yes people, it is very healthy raw in salads, but never, ever actually fry things in it! ] So yeah, grapeseed oil. Get some if you can gwt your hands on it.

-200 gr smoked firm tofu[ if you dont have smocked tofu use plain and add 1tsp of liquid smoke flavor ]

-1/2 Tbsp grapeseed oil

-1/4 cup soy sauce

-1/4 cup lemon juice

-3 tsp teryaki sauce

-1/2 Tbsp ketchup

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1 Tbsp dried onion flakes

-1 tsp veggie powder seasoning

-2 carrots

-8to10 dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms

-1 red pepper

-1/2 tsp barbecue seasoning powder

Chop up veggies and tofu. In a wok, add grapeseed oil and garlic powder and throw in veggies. Sautee for 2 minutes, add soy sauce and lemon and lower to medium heat. Add all the remaining ingredients and cook on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. If the water evaporates, add some more. [ I added about one cup ] Check carrot pieces, and if tender, the stir fry is ready. Remove from heat and serve!

Soy Spatzle Stir-Fry

I got these soy spatzle things from a health food store. The were at the pasta section, described as ’soy pasta specialty’. Spatzle- or Knopfle is something like a pasta specialty made with eggs and flour, a traditional German dish( I have never tried it). I am guessing that the soy spatzle I bought has that name because they are shaped like traditional spatzle but basically are textured soy pieces. I have cooked with them several times, and though they have nothing to do with pasta, they are really good! They are very similar to soy curls, but have a firmer texture and different shape. I used them in stir fry and they are like ‘tiny chewy chicken pieces’. Here I made an easy and fast stir fry with carrots, fresh onions, soy sauce and lemon. Topped with raw crushed pistachios that really add to the flavor.

For one serving You need :

-1 big carrot sliced

-2-3 fresh green onions chopped

-3/4 cup dry soy spatzle (or soy curls)

-1/3 cup soy sauce

-juice from1 lemon

-1 vegetable stock cube

-1 tbsp raw unsalted crushed pistachios

First boil 1 cup of water and pour over spatzle in a bowl. Crumble stock cube with your finger inside the bowl. Cover and ket stand for 10 minutes or until spaztle becomes soft. Spatzle does not need straining after soaking like soy curls. If using soy curls, strain well.

In a non stick pan add carrots onions and soy sauce on medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, add soy spatzle and lemon juice and cook for 10 more minutes or until carrot are cooked how you want them. Remove from heat, top with crushed pistachios and serve!

Stuffed Onions

Stuffed onions…Usually you see them stuffed with ham, sausage or mincemeat. But this is my alternative to stuffed onions: soymince stuffing!!

You need :

6 large onions

1 cup soymince

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp barbecue spices

1 onion stock cube

1/2 vegetable stock cube

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp nutritional yeast ( optional)

1/2 cup tomato puree

1 tbsp olive oil + more for baking

Cut the top of the onion and cut off from the other side as well, only the tip of the onion. Like that:

Put them to boil or steam for 15 min ( until soft not mushy!). Now boil the soy mince as well to soften it.(3-4 min) Drain soymince and onions and leave to cool. Once you can touch onions take out all inside of onion, leaving 2-3 layers( onion shell).

Preheat oven at 180c.

Chop up the inside of 3 onions and place in a saucepan adding soymince, tomato puree, stock cubes, spices, oil and salt. Cook for 15 minutes stirring often. 5 minutes before you finish cooking the stuffing add nutritional yeast and stir.

Now place onion shells on an oiled baking dish and with a spoon, take some of the soymince and stuff onions like that:

Bake for 30 minutes and serve! Makes 6 big onion shells.

SoYvlaki Kalamaki

Hello!So as you might know in Greece souvlaki is a traditional food that everyone eats- think about it like Greek fast food. And of course its meat(chicken or pork). Kalamaki means stick, so souvlaki kalamaki is basically meat on a stick! So I made a vegan version of this!!!very very exciting for me! I used tvp soy chunks again, marinated for 2 days in a soy and lemon based marinade I came up with !(mmmm…) The flavor is meaty but light, kind of like the chicken version of souvlaki. This recipe is PERFECT for barbecue parties!!!

You need :

-2 cups textured soy pieces

-1/4 cup soy sauce

-3 squeezed lemons

-2 tbsp ketchup sauce

-1 chopped onion

-1 tsp oregano

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1/2 tsp veggie sesoning

-1/2 tsp lemon pepper

-4 drops smoke liquid flavor

-1/4 tsp mixed barbecue spices ( like Tone’s)

Boil the soy pieces to soften them, drain them and press them. Mix in a bowl all the ingredients for the marinade and add the soy bites. Stir so all the pieces of soy are covered with marinade. Refrigerate for 2 days. If you can during these two days stir the mix a few times to cover well all the soy pieces with the marinade.( Like two times, nothing crazy)

………….2 days later you need : bamboo sticks,2 green peppers,1 tbsp olive oil

Cut the peppers in squared pieces (approximately 3.5 x 3 cm). Now on a bamboo stick pierce through (almost to bottom,leave one inch space so you can hold the stick) three pieces of soy and 1 piece of pepper, then three more soy pieces and one piece of pepper again,and if you still have some space on the stick put 2 more pieces. Your first kalamaki is ready!!Repeat until you have no more soy pieces. ( Makes 10-12 sticks). Now its time for grilling!! Brush your grill or grilling machine with the olive oil and place the soyvlakia. Grill for 10 minutes or until the soy pieces have grill marks on them and the peppers are tender. Serve with oven fries or grilled pitta bread!