Recipe: Baked butternut squash, brussel sprout and onion

butternut-squash-brussel-sprout-and-onionGreat side dish!
Easy to make and a crowd pleaser (adults & kids alike)

Ingredients:
3 cups cubed butternut squash
4 cups brussel sprouts halved
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 tablespoon no-salt seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. In large bowl, toss together squash, brussel sprouts, onion and olive oil. Spread out on cookie sheet. Sprinkle no-salt seasoning. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until squash is fork tender and brussel sprouts have some brown edges. Serve as side dish or main course.

Only bummer was no left overs.

Recipe: Vegan tofu veggie stirfry


tofu stir fryI’ve been in the mood for a stir fry with tofu, so I cleaned out the fridge from all the veggies I could get my hands on. Ultimately, the recipe turned out really good.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 white onion sliced
3 clove garlic, minced
4 baby bokchoy, cut into fourths lengthwise
2 c carrots sliced diagonally
1 head of broccoli cut into florets
1/2 orange bell pepper julienne sliced
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and diced
2 zucchini sliced
1 package extra firm tofu, cut into rectangular slices about 1/2 inch thick
Tofu seasoning: Mix together 1 tablespoon each cumin, chinese five spice, crushed red pepper, white pepper
Water for stir fry
1/2 cup cilantro, rough chop for garnish
1 lime, cut into fourths for garnish
For extra heat, use chili paste or Sriracha for garnish (a little goes a long way)

DIRECTIONS:
Start with cooking rice because you’ll want the rice ready to eat before the stir fry is cooked. We used 2 cups brown rice, which yielded about 6 cups cooked. We like to have extra rice on hand for left overs. Rice cookers are a wonderful invention!

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees. Line 1 cookie sheet with parchment paper so that the tofu doesn’t stick. One piece at a time, coat the tofu slices with the tofu seasoning and lay the slices on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip the tofu slices and bake for another 10 minutes. Should be firm, with a little crispness on the edges. If not crispy, don’t bake longer because can get too hard. Once ready to serve, diagonally cut the tofu rectangles.

While the tofu is baking, cook the stir fry. Heat large skillet on medium-high heat. Add about 1/4 cup of water and water sauté the onion, garlic for about 3 minutes, adding water as needed so that the veggies don’t stick. Add the other veggies and continue to water sauté until cooked al dente – about 5 minutes. Covering the pan helps keep the moisture in for the sautéing

To serve, bed of rice with veggies and tofu rectangles on top. Garnish with cilantro, lime and Sriracha. No oil, no salt, no sugar, no explaining vegan needs to a Thai waiter. How do you say “bon appétit” in Thai anyhow?

stiry fry 2

Enjoy, my friends!