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.