Hot and Sour Soup

This soup is fairly simple and quick to make. The only problem I encountered was trying to find the wood ear mushrooms and lily buds. My local market did not carry them but thankfully a little Asian market down the street did. I did not find any packages labeled wood ear, so its good to know that it also goes by the name black fungus.

If you cannot handle spicyness well, reduce the amount of chili paste added. I found the one tablespoon to be a little too spicy for me.

I made some dumplings to go along side this. Recipe for that coming soon : ]

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Serves 6

Ingredients

* 8 dried wood ear mushrooms ( also known as black fungus )

* 7 dried shiitake mushrooms

* 14 dried tiger lily buds

* 7 cups vegan "chicken" broth ( try Better than Bouillon ) or vegetable stock

* 2 Tb canola oil

* 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated finely

* 1 Tb red chili paste

* 1/2 cup bamboo shoots, diced

* 1/4 cup tamari

* 1/2 tsp sugar

* 1 tsp salt

* 3/4 tsp pepper

* 1/4 cup rice vinegar

* 3 Tb cornstarch

* 1/4 cup water

* 1 ( 14 ounce ) package of firm tofu, pressed and drained, cubed

* 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil

* chopped green onions and cilantro, for garnish

Directions

1. Soak the dried mushrooms and tiger lily buds in warm water for 20 minutes.

2. Trim off any tough stems and slice the mushrooms. With your fingers slice the tiger lily buds.

3. Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the ginger, chili paste, mushrooms, lily buds, bamboo shoots and tofu. Cook and stir for 1 minute.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the tamari, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar. Pour in wok and toss well.

5. Add stock and bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Stir in the tamari, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar.

7. Combine cornstarch with water. Add to the pot and heat until boiling. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

8. Turn off heat and stir in sesame oil.

To Serve - Divide into 6 soup bowls and garnish each bowl with scallions.

Chipotle Chili

I know, I know it's the beginning of August and I am making chili! Totally not the season for it but I couldn't help but make it. There's this new little restaurant out here in Los Angeles called Chili Addiction and after eating there and looking through there menu again online, I had a huge craving for some home-made chili.

I love how the chipotle peppers add a smokey, spicy taste. This recipe makes a whole lot of chili, so I decided to play around with it and serve it in different ways. The first was the traditional chili in a bowl, garnish with vegan sour cream and chives. Next, I just had to make chili cheese fries for my boyfriend. I am most likely going to have this again for lunch tomorrow, since it made so much. I'm thinking that I will cook some macaroni noodles and serve the chili over that. Oh and I garnished all of it with Daiya Cheddar cheese mmmm!

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Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
* 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
* 1 large carrot, chopped
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
* 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped chipotles in adobo 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
* 3 cups cooked red kidney beans, drained
* 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, drained

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, peppers and garlic and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until vegetables are softened but not browned.

2. Add chipotles, oregano, cumin, chili powder and salt. Stir to blend. Add tomatoes and 4 cups water. Gently simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

3. Add beans and simmer an additional 30 minutes. Garnish individual bowls with green onions or vegan sour cream, if desired.

Spicy Tortilla Casserole with Roasted Poblanos

Another great recipe from my Viva Vegan cookbook! But I think I timed this wrong..it is way too hot to be roasting peppers and baking. Last week tricked me with the cool 75 degrees we were having here in California. Then the heat wave hit and it was too late to change the recipes I had planned. But either way, I am happy I made this dish, it came out looking and tasting great. Definitely like no casserole I have ever made before!

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Serves 6, or 4 to 5 generously
Time : About 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 pounds white potatoes, peeled
* 1 pound poblano chiles ( about 4 large chiles )
* 1 small white onion, minced
* 1 ( 28 ounce ) can diced tomatoes
* 2 to 3 serrano or jalapeno chiles, stemmed seeded ( if less heat is desired ) and chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 2 Tb peanut oil
* 1 cup vegetable broth
* 1 pound corn tortilla, preferably a few days old ( 14 to 16 tortillas )
* 1 recipe Pine Nut Crema ( See Below )
* 2 Tb pumpkin seeds or pine nuts

Directions
1. Roughly chop the potatoes, place them in a large saucepan, and fill with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, partially cover, and cook for 14 to 16 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, press into large crumbles.

2. Meanwhile, over a gas burner, roast each whole, intact poblano chile. Use metal tongs to turn the chile several times over the flame until its skin is blackened, sizzling, and blistered, 3 to 5 minutes. Place the roasted chile into a tightly covered container or a sealed paper bag. Repeat with the remaining chiles. Alternatively, you can roast all the chiles on a rimmed baking sheet at 450 F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until their skin is blackened and the chiles have collapsed. Allow the chiles to cool enough to be handled. Gently remove their skin, split open, cut away the stem and seed base, and remove any excess seeds. Chop the chiles into 1/2 inch strips and set aside.

3. Make the tomato sauce : In a blender jar, pulse together the onion, diced tomatoes with their juice, chopped serrano chiles, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt, to blend an almost smooth salsa ( some fine chunks are okay ). In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and carefully pour in the salsa. It may splatter a little but that's all right, just keep stirring. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the vegetable broth and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, preheat the oven to 375 F and have ready a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan and a sheet of foil large enough to tightly cover the pan.

4. Assemble the casserole : Pour 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the pan and tilt it to spread it around. Using tongs, dip a tortilla into the pot of sauce and place it on the bottom of the pan. Continue with five more tortillas, dipping them in the sauce and overlapping them, spreading their edges a little up on the sides of the pan. Top with about half the crumbled potatoes and sliced poblanos, then ladle another 1/2 cup of sauce on top. Dip another tortilla in the sauce, layer it on top of the potatoes, and continue as before with five more tortillas. Finally, sprinkle the remaining potatoes and poblano strips on top. Tear any remaining tortilla into thick strips, dip them into the sauce, and spread them on top of the casserole. Pour any remaining sauce evenly over the casserole and cover with foil, crimping the edges tightly. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and take off the foil. Increase the oven temperature to 400 F.

5. Spread dollops of the Pine Nut Crema over the top of the steaming hot casserole. You don't have to be even about it; a few bits of the casserole showing underneath are fine. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds over the crema. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the top of the crema is golden and the seeds are toasted. If desired, broil the casserole for 4 to 5 minutes to continue browning spots of the crema, but watch carefully as not the burn the seeds.


Pine Nut Crema
Makes about 1 1/2 cups crema

Ingredients
* 12 ounces soft silken tofu
* 1/2 cup pine nuts
* 2 Tb lime juice
* 1 Tb olive or peanut oil
* 2 tsp cornstarch
* 1 clove garlic, grated
* 1 tsp salt

Directions
1. In a blender jar, pulse together the tofu, pine nuts, lime juice, olive oil, cornstarch, garlic and salt until smooth and creamy, scraping down the mixture several times with a rubber spatula. Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt and lime juice if desired.

Chili-Glazed Tofu over Asparagus and Rice

The tofu in this recipe reminded me a lot of a Teriyaki marinade I've made in the past. The only real difference is that this one is a little spicy. If you can't handle much spice, try adding less chili sauce or no chili sauce, would also work. I would recommend marinating the tofu over night because the longer you let it sit in the sauce, the more the tofu will absorb the flavor. The rice tasted like a grown up version of fried rice and the asparagus and carrots went very well with this dish.


On another note, I haven't been really been myself lately..I feel like my mind is somewhere else. A pit bull that I love dearly has been diagnoised with cancer, again for the second time. The first time resulting in him losing his right leg. Currently his poor little body has five tumors and the doctors said he might have had a stroke recently. This is the first animal that will be passing soon, that I have gotten so attached to. To anyone who has lost a pet, my heart goes out to you. I never expected how painful this would be. This picture was taken Monday of my beloved Buddy.




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Ingredients
* 1.5 cups of long-grained rice, cooked
* 2 1/4 cups chopped asparagus ( about 1 pound )
* 1 Tb peanut oil
* 2 Tb sugar
* 4 Tb rice vinegar
* 4 Tb low sodium soy sauce
* 2 tsp ginger, minced
* 2 tsp hot chili sauce, such as Sriracha
* 1 pound Extra-Firm Tofu, drained and cut lengthwise into 6 pieces
* 1 cup, carrots, julienned
* 2 cloves of garlic, minced
* 1 tsp dark sesame oil

Directions
1. Combine sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and hot chili sauce in a medium sized bowl and mix well. Add cut tofu to the bowl and marinade for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

2. While rice you cook your rice, heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Add a little of the soy sauce mixture; cook 20 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

3. In a medium size wok or medium pan, add 1 Tb of olive oil and heat over medium flame. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until it become fragrant. Add carrots and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the start to soften up a little. Add asparagus and cook for another 2 minutes. Lastly, add the cooked rice and sesame oil and mix well.