Potato Stir Fry

Lately, I've been really into potato stir fries. I make the same sort of meal often, and just switch up the ingredients depending on what I have or what I'm trying to use up. This is a pretty quick meal... Maybe 30-45 mintues start to finish. I realize that I love to be in the kitchen, so a meal that takes close to two hours doesn't phase me. But, I dont' make those kind of meals every night. This is something I would make when I don't feel like making a totally kick-ass dinner, just a kick-ass one.


1 lb potatoes (I used small yellow ones this time), cut into large chunks
1-2 tsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced (3/4 inch squares)
8 oz tofu, pressed (even if it's only for 5-10 minutes, do it!)
1-2 tsp soy sauce or tamari
1/2 tsp tumeric
2-3 tbl earth balance or other butter substitute
2 leaves of rapini ,rolled tightly and sliced thinly diagonally, (rapini looks like chard, any leafy greens would work here)
1/2 cup collard greens roughly chopped
1-2 carrots, grated
1-2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup green chili or other salsa
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (optional)


Guacamole
1/2 avocado, smushed
1 tomatoe, diced
1 tbl red onion, diced
1 tsp lemon or lime juice
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper

Add potatoes to a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes or until very tender. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and onions. Sautee for 2-3 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add the tofu by crumbling with your hands. Add the soy sauce and tumeric. Continue to cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is drying out and getting crispy on some sides. Remove from pan and set aside in a bowl.

When the potatoes are finished, add the earth balance to the same pan you used for the tofu. Add the potatoes, coat them all with butter and let cook for 5 minutes or so, until the one side is crispy. Stir occasionally, cutting the potatoes into bite size pieces with the end of the spatula. Cook until the potatoes are as crispy as you want. Add the tofu mixture back to the pan along with the carrots, rapini and collard greens. Stir fry for 3-5 mintues. Add the green chili and garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes if you desire. Top with the guacamole and DIG IN!

This is what rapini looks like.

Tofu Nuggets, Garlic Fries and Sautee'd Fall Veggies

I love tofu nuggets! The key to tofu is marinating and then cooking until it changes texture. So, these take awhile, but a lot of the time is inactive. I don't make this very often because I rarely remember to start marinating the tofu ahead of time... but yesterday I did. We were on our way out to go paint at All Fired Up (super fun by the way), and I threw the tofu in a plastic bag with the soy sauce and water and walked out the door. Easy Peasy. I also added some frozen garlic french fries from Trader Joe's to this meal. French fries are vegan, thank GOD. And then of course, the obligatory vegetable. I'm not going to lie, sometimes eating vegetables is like a chore. But as with all chores, it is necessary and you'll probably feel better after. I was using up some veggies from our veggie box for this stir fry, not sure I'd pick this variety of vegetables out of the grocery store. Anyway, on with the recipe-

Tofu Nuggets:
16 oz tofu (any firmness is fine)
2 tbl soy sauce (or tamari)
2tbl water
1/4 cup nutrional yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Cut the tofu into 4 or 5 strips and place in a plastic bag (a produce bag is a good size). Add the soy sauce and water, you can add a little more of both if needed. Then place the plastic bag in a bowl and let sit in the fridge for 1.5 hours or more. Rotate the tofu slabs once or twice.

Heat oven to 375. Mix the nutritional yeast with the spices in a small plate. Cut the tofu slabs into 5 or 6 pieces, to make cubes. Roll the cubes in the nutritional yeast mixture and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating the cubes one to three times.

Garlic Fries:
I put these in the oven half way through the cooking time of the tofu nuggets. Flipping fries once.

Veggie Stir Fry:

1/2 small white onion, cut into 1/2 squares
4 turnips, sliced and then cut in half
leaves of four turnips, chopped roughly
1/2 cup green beans, ends chopped off and cut in half
1 clove garlic
2 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper
thyme

Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium with the olive oil. Add the onions and sautee for 2 minutes. Then add the turnips and sautee for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and turnip leaves and sautee for 2-3 more minutes. Season with salt, pepper and thyme.
Enjoy!

Tortillas con vegetales y salsa verde

I don't really know what to call this dish, so I'll just say what it is, but in Spanish. It reminds me of a dish called "chiliquiles' that we serve at the Blue Onion. I have never had the one at the B.O.; in my imagination it would taste like what I made tonight- hearty, chewy, rich and savory. I had some potatoes that I cooked the night before, so this came together in flash. I served it with a side of black beans.

1 orange bell pepper, sliced 1/8"- 1/4" thick
1/2 medium onion, sliced 1/8"-1/4" thick
2 cups cooked potatoes chopped roughly into small pieces (1/4 -1/2 inch cubes)
4 6" inch corn tortillas, ripped into bite size chunks (if they're a little stale, that's even better)
1/4 cup ish earth balance (I know, it's crazy, you can cut it in half if you're trying to be low fat)
1/4 cup green chili salsa (I used Salsa Verde from Trader Joe's)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes
1/2 tsp soy sauce

Garnish
avocado, tomato, cilantro, whatever really


Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the earth balance (or olive oil) and add the red peppers and onions. Stir fry for 3-5 minutes and then add the potatoes. Continue to stir fry while adding the rest of the earth balance. Smush the potatoes a little with the end of your spatula. Add the tortillas after 2 minutes. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the green chili, soy sauce, cumin and red pepper flakes. Stir fry for another few minutes and then turn the heat to low. Continue to stir occasionally for 2-5 minutes.

Serve with beans and garnish. And tortilla chips if you've got 'em.