Sunday, May 16, 2010

Vegetarian Cooking

I have been vegetarian for 6 months now (yay me!!) and as I have mentioned on twitter before, I feel like it has made me a better cook. I am constantly trying new things and my food is always so colorful now. 

This is what I made tonight. 

Vegetarian Stir-Fry/A mix of the random veggies I had in my fridge

Ingredients:
(you will notice that none of these are exact measurements... thats because I just make my "recipes" up as I go along)
Coconut Oil (or canola oil) - as much as you need to coat the pan
Tofu - 1/2 a package sliced into bite sized pieces
Red Onion - about 1/2 of a medium onion chopped
Celery - a few stalks chopped
Green Pepper - as much as you want, cut however you want
Broccoli - as much as you want broken into bite sized pieces
Cauliflower - as much as you want broken into bite sized pieces
I had the broccoli and cauliflower steaming in a small pot while the tofu and onions cooked just to help cut the cooking time.
Green Onion - one big stalk chopped - this is optional I guess if you already have the red onion in it... but I love onions so I added them 
Black Beans - 1/2 a can drained 
Cooked Brown Rice -  about 1 cup, it depends on how many veggies you're putting in (I cooked mine right before because it takes longer to cook brown rice and then I put it in the freezer for about 10 mins because when you are making a stir-fry/fried rice type of meal its easier to use rice that is cold) 
Soya Sauce - a squiggle over the pan (heehee... I love the word squiggle!)
Ground Ginger - as much as you want
Garlic Powder - as much as you want 
Sea Salt - a few grounds over the pan 
Pepper - shake it til your hearts content 

In a large pan over medium to high heat, melt the coconut oil and add the tofu. Cook it until its slightly browned on both sides. You need to stir it constantly. Once its mostly browned add the red onion and fry it up until the onions start to turn clear. (3 or 4 mins). Sorry... I forgot to take a picture at that stage. 

Then add the green pepper, celery and green onions. Stir for a minute or so and then add the broccoli, cauliflower and black beans. 

How good does this picture look? And all thats in it so far is veggies and tofu! 


Keep cooking until you think all the veggies are cooked. I like them a little crisp still so a few mins is all it took. Then add the brown rice, ginger, garlic, sea salt, pepper and soya sauce. Mix well and serve. 

Ps - food always tastes better in a square dish. LOL 


I usually make pretty big meals on Sunday nights so I have lunch for tomorrow, and possibly the next day too! LOL 

This isn't an exact recipe or anything, its just what I made off the top of my head. A lot of people always ask me what I eat now that I'm vegetarian and this is just a small example of the creations I can make. 

BTW - I absolutely love being vegetarian. I feel fantastic with almost all the foods I eat (I still eat ice cream and chips and some crap like that every now and then but for the most part I eat really healthy). I have no intentions of going back to eating meat. 

6 comments:

Jessica (Bayjb) said...

Wow that looks amazing! I need to get more on the vegetarian cooking wagon. I love meat but don't always need it.

Angela Tolsma said...

what kind of tofu do you buy?? The kind I got a safeway tasted awful so I want to try another brand.

Mich said...

Namine - I usually buy mine at superstore. I don't know the name brand of it but if you click on the picture of all the copped veggies you can see what the label looks like. Tofu is a bit picky... it mostly has no taste but then takes on the flavour of whatever you cook it in. marinating tofu is always great too.

Alyssa said...

i completely agree that food tastes better in square dishes. everyone in my house thinks im weird for that theory... but whatever, they just dont get it!
:)

Amy said...

I third the square dishes comment! Haha! This looks good. I made a stir fry the other day with Superstore's green curry paste...so yummy. I get my tofu there too and like it.

Anonymous said...

That is the reason I have only square plants and bowls in my house!! Lol!!

I am going to try this receipt out. I have started thinking about becoming a vegetarian, mostly because I don't eat red meat. But I do eat lots of seafood. I guess it comes with the territory of living in the south.

Hope you post more receipts!!!