Smoky Soy File & Tabasco Potatoes

I haven't been publishing anything for a while, since i've been really busy but now i will start doing it again! Here's a recipe for a dish i did a while ago. I try to remember all i added in, since it's a while ago and i always cook from my head, hah! I was in a mood of making barbecue flavored food, so i made up this great recipe!

You need:

Dried Soy files
1 can thick Tomato sauce
Tabasco ( hickory and normal)
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Chili powder
Bacon salt or smoke salt
Potatoes
1 bottle of beer
Oil
Vegetarian broth cube

First put the dried soy files boiling in a vegetarian broth. Peel the potatoes and heat up the oven up to 225 celsius degrees. Chop the potatoes on half thin pieces and place them in a bowl that has some space for broth too. Add salt, pepper, 3-4 cloves of garlic (chopped), Tabasco (hickory and normal), chili powder and in the end beer and a bit of water. Put the potatoes in oven and cook about 30 min, until they are soft and you can smell the delicious spices. Meanwhile pour the water out of the files and squeeze the extra liquid out. Heat up a pan and add some oil. Fry the soy files on the pan until they get nice crispy skin. Then add tomato sauce and a bit of beer. Add Salt, pepper, chili powder, tabasco and my key spice in this dish is "Bacon Salt". You can find that in extreme food stores or online, just google it, but it's damn good stuff! I used the normal and the Hickory bacon salt. This stuff does not contain bacon, only just artificial flavors. So it's suitable for vegans too ( and makes everything taste like bacon, haha! If you don't have that stuff, you can use smoky flavored or hickory flavored salt too. Let the soy "suck" all the flavors in for about 10-15 min with a small heat. Taste that there is enough flavor and serve with the potatoes and some apple-radish salad. DE-Licious!

"All you can Find"

I made this veggo-plate one day when i was too lazy to go to food store and just crabbed stuff that i had at home and made food from them. I cook like this quite often, haha! So i found some dry soyballs, green longbeans, beetroots and full grain couscous. Here's how i made this delicious dish:

• Dry soyballs/Soy bites (about 2-3 dl is enough for two people)
• Beetroots 
• Green beans ( i used frozen ones)
• Couscous
• Butter
• Garlic 
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive oil
• Spices like, garlic-pepper mix, grilling spice and cummin-pepper mix

First peel the beetroots, cut them in cubes and put in a boiling water. Add a hint of salt on the water. Put the green beans on a bowl to melt. Boil some water on a waterboiler and pour it into a bowl, where you add the dry soyballs and cover it with the lit. Let them stay covered for about 10-15 minutes, until they are soft. (Optional: You can also boil them in a pot). Then when the soyballs are soft, pour the water out, run some cold water on top of them (to make them cool down quickly) and squeeze the water out of the balls with your hands. Add the balls into a bowl, add olive oil and the mixed spices. You can use your own imagination to spice them up. I always mix different spices.After that pour some olive oil on pan and heat it up. Fry the balls until they are crispy. Put them on side to wait. Add some oil on the pan and fry the green beans. Just add hint of salt and pepper. Put them on the side to wait. Meanwhile boil some water with the water boiler again. Add about 3 dl couscous into a bowl. Pour about 2 dl water in and mix, add more water if looks too dry. Add some salt and a big chunk of butter. Mixx well, cover with a lit and put a side to wait for about 3-5 minutes. The beetroots should be ready at this point. Pour the water out, add some butter, chopped garlic, salt & pepper and mix. Serve everything together and enjoy. This was delicious!

Spaghetti Soy-Bolognese

Today i made fast dinner. Spaghetti Bolognese by using Swedish product "Anamma sojafärsh". I have just recently found Anamma - vegetarian products and i really like them!  Read more about Anamma products on their webpage. Anyway, this dish is so fast and easy to make. I make it quite often, when i am tired and want to eat some simple delicious food, that i can make fast. Here is a recipe for you to make this too:

Ingredients:

• Soy "Meat" (groats) You can use the frozen one or dried one. I used one bag of frozen Anamma groats. 
• 1 Onion
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• Tomato paste
• Pecorino cheese
• Mozzarella cheese
• Heinz ketchup
• Salt & Pepper
• Santamaria Garlic & Pepper and BBQ & pepper spice mixes
• Olive oil
• About 2 dl Cream
• About 2 dl water
• Full-grain Spaghetti

First put the Spaghetti on boiling (add some salt & olive oil on the water). Cut the onions and garlic. Add some olive oil on pan and pour the frozen soy in. Let it come to heat so the soy melts fast. Add some more oil and the garlic & the onions into the pan. Start frying the soy. Add the spices. When soy & onions has fried a bit (starts getting more brown), add some water and then the tomato paste. Mix well all the time. Add some ketchup also in. Pour the cream into the mix, lower the heat on low level. Grate some Pecorino cheese in, mix well and taste. Add more spices if needed. Spaghetti should be ready at this point (after about 10-15 minutes). Pour the hot water out and pour little bit olive oil into mix with the spaghetti. Place the spaghetti on a plate, add some sauce on the top and sprinkle some grated Mozzarella on top. Garnish with fresh basil. Fast, simple and Delicious!

Vegetarian Loaf from Soy "meat"

This was experimental test how to make vegetarian "meat loaf" by using soybean groats. Turned out to be really good! I served it with mashed potatoes, creamy pepper sauce and a salad. So here is a recipe for how to make the Loaf;

Ingredients:

• 1 Onion
• 3 big cloves of garlic
• 3-4 dl frozen spinach
• 3 eggs
• 1 package of Halloumi cheese
• About 2 dl flour
• About 2 dl breadcrumps
• About 5-6 dl Soybean groats (this you can find in most eco stores or Asian stores, if your local store does not sell it. You can also use Quorn if you choose to)
• Olive oil
• Butter
• Salt & Pepper
• Mixed spices ( i used Santamaria's Garlic & pepper, BBQ & pepper and Jamie Oliver's Barbeque mix)

First you need a casserole which is oblong-shaped. (or you can make it in folio, but i prefer in casserole). Butter the dish well. Fry some onion, spinach and garlic in oil and add the Soybean grouts (You have to boil them first/let them stand on a hot water to make it soft, if you are using the dried ones) and the spices to the mix. Cook it for a while and then add halloumi that has been hacked into small pieces. When the cheese has melted a little bit, put the mix on a bowl to cool down for a little while. Add the eggs and the flours and mix it well. Add more flours, if the mix is not thick enough. Pour some olive oil also in the buttered casserole and pour the mix in. Smooth the top even. Cook the loaf in oven  for about 30 min (might be less or more,depends on the ovens power) in 200 ºC until the surface looks nice and brown. Take out from the oven and let it cool down for a bit. Cut nice thick slices and serve with whatever you prefer. Delicious!

I love Sushi

Sushi is one of my favorite foods. You can make so many different variations of maki-rolls / nigiris. Simply love them! I love the pickled ginger too, so that pink one is my favorite. Nowdays you can find almost all the ingredients from local food stores, but ofcourse you can find them in Asian stores too.  Here's one little recipe how i like to make Tofu-maki rolls.

You need:

• One packet of hard Tofu
• Avocado
• 1 Carrot
• Cucumber
• Iceberg lettuce
• Nori (Seaweed)
• Wasabi
• Rice vinegar
• Sesame seeds
• Soy sauce
• Heinz tartar sauce (or cream cheese, mayonnaise)
• Sushi rice or plain porridge rice
• Sesame oil, Chili oil, salt, pepper & Soya sauce for the marinade for tofu
• Cooking oil for frying the tofu. 
• Rolling mat

First cut long thick slices from the tofu and marinade them. Put the rice in a rice cooker or in a pot. I myself use rice cooker, because it's easier to cook rice in it and you don't have to watch after it. Nowdays you can find rice cookers really cheap in basic home elektronic stores. Start preparing the vegetables next. Cut long thick slices and put them a side. Prepare some big wide slices from the lettuce. Fry the tofu slices in oil on a hot pan until all the sides are nice and golden brown. Put the tofu on cooling down. Meanwhile the rice sould be ready. Pour the rice on a flat bowl/dish and let it coold down. When the rice has cooled down, pour some rice vinegar all over ther rice, but be carefull that you don't pour too much! The key of making really good sushi is to make perfect rice. It takes a long time to learn it, but practise makes perfect! Mix the rice gently. Prepare the nori on top of the rice mat. Be sure that you have the right side on top. So put the shiny side down. First add some tartar sauce with using knife (you can also use mayonnaise or cream cheese, but i like tartar in my maki)Then add the lettuce. Then add rice, make a nice little ball in your hands and put it on top and start pushing it flat on the matt. Make sure you leave about 2-3 cm free space on top of the nori. Add  a little stripe of wasabi by using your finger in the middle of the rice and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. Then add some tofu, carrot, cucumber & avocado evenly on top. Start rolling the maki with the mat. Squeeze it tight in every roll and when you come near to end, stripe some water on the end of the nori seaweed with your finger and roll the maki to the end. Cut about 2-3 cm thick pieces with using a sharp knife. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger. Enjoy!

Vegetable Stew

Warming stew with lot's of flavors and vegetables. Such a wonderful dish! Perfect on a cold winter day. I made this over a year ago, so i'm not sure if i remember the correct recipe, but i'll try. So here it comes:

Ingredients:

• About 5 Potatoes 
• 2 Carrots
• 1 big Onion
• 1 Broccoli
• 1 Sweet potato
• 1 Zucchini
• About 2 dl Meat substitute made from Soy (You can find these in most of the food stores and also in Asian stores or ecological stores.) 
• 3 cloves of Garlic
• Fresh Parsley 
• Vegetable broth
• Olive oil
• Chili
• Salt & Pepper
• Soy sauce
• Fresh Tarragon
• Santamaria Garlic & Pepper mixed spices

Peel the potatoes, onion, carrots and sweet potatoes. Chop them into small pieces and add into a pot of boiling water (about 1-1 and half liter, depends how much vegetables you are using). Add vegetable broth (cube or fresh, i used couple of cubes), chopped chili and garlic, salt and pepper and some olive oil into the stew. Let it boil for about 5 minutes. Add the meat substitute (soy meat), broccoli and Zucchini into the pot. You can add some soy sauce and other spices according to your taste. Let the stew boil until all the vegetables are soft and the broth looks nice and thick. Finally add some fresh Tarragon to the mix, and let it rest for a little while. Serve with some garlic bread and enjoy!

Vietnamese style Vegetarian noodle soup

Today i made one of my favorite styles of food, Vietnamese. Never been in Vietnam, but sure would love to go there one day to taste the food and learn about their culture. This is a lovely comfort food for a cold rainy day! Here is a recipe for you to try out:

Ingredients:

Portion about 2-4 persons

• 1 packet of ready fried tofu (you can find this in most Asian stores frozen or fresh)
• 2-3 big cloves of Garlic
• Small piece of fresh Ginger
• Red chili ( as much as you can take, i put one big one, without the seeds)
• 3 small carrots
• 1 lime
• 1 branch of Lemon grass
• Salted peanuts
• Half eggplant
• Fresh Coriander
• Bean sprouts
• Bok Choy (you can find this in most Asian markets)
• 1 small Broccoli
• 2 fresh Shiitake mushrooms
• 1 branch of Celery
• 3 branches of fresh spring onion
• Vegetable broth (Knorr; Vegetable fond "Du Chef")
• Rice noodles ( You can find these in most Asian stores, i picked the wide ones)
• Soy sauce (Kikkoman)
• Sesame Oil ( i used special Sesame-Ginger mix oil)
• Fish sauce (optional) If you want to make a vegan version, just use soy sauce.
• Basic cooking oil

First chop the tofu into smaller pieces and marinade it with soy, sesame oil and fish sauce. Meanwhile start prepping the other stuff. Cut garlic cloves, ginger and chili into small pieces. Put them on side in a bowl. Cut vegetables (carrot, broccoli, eggplant, celery and Shiitake mushrooms) into pieces and put them a side in a bowl. Make the broth by adding about 1 liter water in a pot, one vegetable broth (i used the fresh one). Add some soy sauce & fish sauce into the mix. Cut some lemon crass (hack it with knife first) and add it into the broth. Add also some of the chilies, garlic and ginger into the mix. I also added little bit fresh spring onion. Heat up to boil, and let it be on a low heat. Taste that it's salty enough! Same time you can start cooking the tofu on a hot pan. Add some cooking oil, bring up to heat and fry the tofu nice and golden brown. Put the ready Tofu on a bowl to wait. Boil some water with water boiler, add the rice noodles in a big bowl and pour the water in. Let the noodles rest in the hot water for about 5-10 minutes, until they are soft and ready. Meanwhile start cooking the vegetables. Add some oil, garlic, ginger and chili on the pan after cooking the tofu and pour the vegetables in. Mix it well, you can let it cook under a lit if you have some, but don't cook it too long. Vegetables need to be fresh and crispy. When vegetables look to be quite ready, add the beansprouts, bok choy and the cooked tofu on the mix. Mix it well, let it cook for a little bit, until the bok choy looks soft. Pour the water out from the noodles and add a nice pile on a plate. Add the vegetable mix on top and pour some broth in. Squeeze some lime juice on top and add some fresh coriander too. Hack some salty peanuts in a mortar and pour it on the top. Enjoy!