Vegweb.com's General Tao's Tofu

Amazing! That's the first thing you should know about this recipe. There are so many vegan recipes on the web and they are not all great but this recipe for General Tao's Tofu came very highly recommended and with it's own video demonstration so I had to try it. And let me repeat this is amazing!

True enough, it's not the healthiest thing in the world, but no one is saying that you should eat fried food dipped in a sugary sauce every day (unless you're feeling hormonal and then you have free license to do what you please!).

I would only make two small modifications to this recipe: double the sauce and double the amount of egg replacer. The directions were a bit vague on how long you should cook the sauce so I prepped all my ingredients ahead of time (the day ahead actually) and made the sauce at the same time I fried the tofu and let it cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally. I also recommend that you freeze your tofu ahead of time to give it a better texture.

To make this recipe a little more healthy I plan on trying this recipe with half the tofu and adding a ton of vegetables or just omitting the tofu all together and using the sauce for a vegetable stir-fry.

Without futher ado here's the recipe:

1 box of firm tofu

egg substitute for 1 egg

3/4 cup cornstarch

vegetable oil for frying

3 chopped green onions

1 Tablespoon minced ginger

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

2/3 cup vegetable stock

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

4 Tablespoons sugar

red pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon sherry (optional)

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

steamed broccoli

For Tofu:

Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks. You can freeze tofu the night before to get a more chicken-like consistency, but it isn't necessary. Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer/water mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl.Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil.

For Sauce:

Let me just repeat, I strongly recommend doubling this sauce.

Heat 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and vinegar. Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over your choice of rice.

To check it out the video demonstration of this recipe go to:

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8769.msg76700

The Cheezly Has Landed....

Yep. I did it, I shelled out the $7.49 (temporary price) plus shipping and handling and bought two packs of Cheezly Vegan Cheese Alternative in the Mature White Cheddar Flavor. In all I spent $20.93 for two Cheezly's (I really just like saying the name). I'm leaving the country next week for a couple weeks so I'm not going to crack them open and give them a try just yet but, as soon as I get back I'm lining up a complex Cheezly obstacle course full of panini's, casseroles and pizzas to give you guys the full scoop.

Restaurant Review: Amalfi Ristorante Norfolk, VA

Located just a little less than 1.5 miles away from PETA'S headquarters in Norfolk Virginia is Amalfi Ristorante (2010 Colley Ave, Norfolk, VA), an Italian restaurant that can cater to the needs of vegans, vegetarians and omnivores alike.

From the moment I bought my ticket to travel down to the Hampton Roads area I’d been researching the restaurant options in Norfolk. After all, it is the home of PETA so I expected nothing short of spectacular vegan dishes that I’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else. I ran across the menu for Amalfi and I immediately knew this restaurant was "the one". I think that Amalfi and I just might be soul mates! (If restaurants had souls of course).

Amalfi offers an array of options that I have seen nowhere else. Vegan versions of Chicken Marsala, Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken & Vegetable Panini, and Roasted Vegetable Risotto just to name a few. Since I'm usually only in the area for homecomings I knew it would be awhile before I was back again so I chose a dish that I loved from my first bite as a child and hadn't had in over 2 years: fettuccine alfredo.

Let me start by saying that once I ordered, my dish was out in record time. I barely had time to read more than 2 pages in my book (The Way We Eat: Why our food choice matter by Peter Singer and Jim Mason just in case you were wondering). I immediately dived into the fettuccine and it was superb! A perfect marriage of cream, butter and cheeses. But, of course, the best part was that there wasn’t any real cream, butter or cheese in sight (and somewhere in the Midwest a dairy cow is breathing a sigh of relief. lol.)

The portion sizes were extremely generous and I’m embarrassed to say as I’m writing this blog from the Newport news airport I’m digging into this amazing alfredo cold and it’s still delicious. And although I’m not a huge fan of chocolate ( I know, I know I’m the only woman on Earth who isn’t fanatical about chocolate) their chocolate cheesecake is also a MUST HAVE.

If you’re in the Hampton roads area or if you’re ever even kind of close to Virginia I highly recommend Amalfi Ristorante. It is worth the gas, plane or train ticket - I promise.

To check out Amalfi Ristorante and their menu go to their website at http://amalfiristorante.net/index.html

Shells & Chreese Please

For the last 3 weeks I’ve been working out like a maniac and eating like the perfect vegan in preparation for my 5 year reunion homecoming this upcoming weekend at Hampton University. But after sitting in a nutrition class for 3 hours I came home starving and all I wanted was mac & cheese and French fries.

Lucky for me I already prepared for such a moment. I had one lonely little russet potato and a box of Road’s End Organics Dairy Free Shells & Chreese tucked away in my pantry. At the beginning of my vegan experience I tried their dairy free Fettuccine Alfredo and it made me swear off of boxed foods forever. In a moment of weakness I picked up these Shells & Chreese and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting bland and boring but what I got was a subtle yet delicious flavor. It reminded me of a toned down (much quicker) version of The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook’s Mac & “Cheese” Casserole.

I made a couple modifications to turn up the subtleness of flavor in this dish and make it stand out. I added about 1 tablespoon margarine, and although I don’t usually add salt to things just a pinch of salt really made this dish phenomenal. Next time I might even add another tablespoon or two of soy milk.

With these little modifications you have a great side dish (or main dish if you’re being bad). Now that I think about it, I’m going to go have second helpings right now!

Enchiladas are back!

The very last meal I had before I went on a 21 days fast and subsequently became a vegan was Amy’s Kitchen Cheese Enchiladas. Anyone who knows me knows my obsession with cheese enchiladas runs deep. As a vegetarian the first thing I would do when I went back home to Fresno (yes, Fresno) is head to Bobby Salazar’s and get my cheese enchiladas, literally the first thing I would do.

Now that I’m a Vegan with a capitol “V” I still want my enchiladas and I found the answer in Amy’s Kitchen Black Bean Vegetable Enchiladas, they are absolutely perfect! Not only do they come in a pack of two that are ready in 5 minutes but they also come in a complete meal with beans and rice or in a low sodium variety as well. Even better it’s certified kosher (just in case you were wondering) and it’s gluten free.

On a recent trip to Trader Joe’s this weekend I came across their version of these enchiladas and they were equally fantastic and much cheaper. If you happen to have a Trader Joe’s near you I recommend stopping by and trying their enchiladas as well.

Ahhhh yes, the enchiladas are back!