Well first of all, hello everyone. Some of you may have noticed a lack of posting the last couple of weeks – this month the MHK owner’s day job is quite hectic, hence the lack of posts. But we’re still at work here as well, and we are happy to share today’s recipe with you. We have made mention a few times of the lack of spicy food in this area, but this recipe, a nice surprise from the Hannaford Supermarket magazine, packs a marvelous wallop – and we didn’t even have to enhance it ourselves! This is a pretty classic Cajun recipe, from the “holy trinity” – onions, peppers and celery, the base of many Cajun dishes – to the Cajun seasoning, but the addition of the chipotles is a nice twist. If you don’t have pre-made Cajun seasoning, you can make it yourself – here’s a general recipe: ¾ cup salt, ¼ cup ground cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons ground white pepper, 2 tablespoons ground black pepper, 2 tablespoons paprika, 2 tablespoons onion powder, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon thyme. You can add chili powder or oregano too. We removed the whole chipotles from the soup before serving, but you could chop them up instead of leaving them whole for even more spiciness. The beer adds some nice depth to the dish, and the rice makes it a hearty meal. Plus it’s vegan and it will fill you up – healthy and hearty, can’t beat that. This recipe will serve 8, but we cut it in half. Enjoy!
Fiery Vegetarian Gumbo
(serves 8 )
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 bell peppers (any color), diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
¼ cup all-purpose flour
12 oz. bottle dark lager beer
4 cups low- sodium vegetable broth
14.5 oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
7 oz. can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 cups rice, cooked
5 oz. spinach leaves
In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, peppers, and celery. Sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Add Cajun seasoning and flour and stir to combine. Add beer and deglaze the pan by scraping up the brown bits from the bottom. Add vegetable broth and stir to combine. Add diced tomatoes and chipotle peppers, with sauce. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium low to maintain a low simmer. Add spinach and simmer for 10 more minutes. Divide rice evenly into soup bowls. Ladle gumbo into bowls and serve immediately. Eat!
A neighbor of the MHK, who is responsible for a couple of the delicious recipes posted here, informed us that she had come across a recipe for vegan chocolate avocado cake. I know, those words don’t seem right together. But she made it, and generously supplied us with a slice yesterday. And it was…not bad. The icing was actually quite good, consisting of avocados, lemon juice, sugar and vanilla. The avocado served as a vegan substitute for butter, and the frosting tasted pretty close to regular buttercream. The cake was not nearly as successful, utilizing avocados in place of butter and eggs, and cocoa powder in place of any actual chocolate. The texture was ok, but it had no flavor at all. It didn’t taste like chocolate, and really wasn’t sweet enough. But when eaten with the frosting, it was certainly palatable as a healthier version of chocolate cake.
Looking for a unique side dish for your next barbecue? Kiwi Magazine presents this great idea, and as we discovered last night, it’s quite delicious; and no animals were harmed in the making of it. In fact, no animal products were used whatsoever. It’s extremely simple – grilled tofu and homemade barbecue sauce. The sauce is not very thick, but it’s full of flavor which the tofu absorbs nicely; next time, however, we will add some spiciness to the sauce. Grilling tofu gets it nice and firm on the outside while leaving the inside smooth, creating a dish that’s a nice twist on traditional BBQ sides. Enjoy!
BBQ Tofu Bites
(serves 4 as a side dish)
½ cup tomato sauce
2 heaping tbsp. chopped yellow onion
1 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. paprika
2 tbsp. molasses
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 tbsp. brown sugar
15 oz. extra firm tofu, drained
Peanut oil
Salt
Combine the tomato sauce, onion, peanut butter, soy sauce, paprika, molasses, vinegar and sugar in a blender or food processor. Blend until well mixed. Pour into a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, uncover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Pat the tofu dry with a paper towel. Slice in half horizontally, then slice each half diagonally to form 8 triangles. Heat grill on medium. Gently toss tofu with oil and salt. Grill tofu about 7 minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer from grill to a platter. Drizzle sauce over tofu and serve remaining sauce in a small bowl. Eat!
Ah, fried rice. It’s a dish that’s so very good when it’s done right, and so very disappointing when it’s not. We still think the best fried rice around is at Benihana, but here at the MHK we’ve been making a pretty decent version for many years now. This recipe uses tofu as its protein, keeping the meal nice and vegetarian. If you want to go full-out vegan, just omit the eggs. And if you don’t want any of that hippie-dippy tree-hugging stuff, you can use shrimp, pork, beef, etc. in place of the tofu. This is a one-plate meal that’s easy to make, fills you up and tastes great. You can certainly add other vegetables like peas, mushrooms, or corn. Cook the rice at least 30 minutes in advance (you can even cook the rice a day prior and refrigerate it). We also recommend a sprinkling of hot chili sauce if you like a little spiciness. Enjoy!
Tofu Fried Rice
(serves 4)
4 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 (15-ounce) package extra firm tofu, drained and cut into ½-inch cubes
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sliced green onions
1 cup carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons sake (rice wine) or rice wine vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
½ teaspoon sesame oil
Thinly sliced green onions (optional)
Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu; cook until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan. Add eggs to pan (you may need to add a bit more oil first); cook 1 minute or until done, breaking egg into small pieces. Remove from pan. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to pan. Add onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger; sauté 3 minutes. While vegetable mixture cooks, combine sake/vinegar, soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Add cooked rice to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add tofu, egg, and soy sauce mixture; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until well combined. Garnish with sliced green onions, if desired. Eat!
I don’t like Paula Deen’s voice at all. It grates on me like the beeping of a truck backing up at 5AM. I do like death metal music, but I’m sure some of you would rather hear the truck instead. What’s my point? Well, here’s a vegan recipe that looks great, but is presented in a, shall we say, unique way? Okay? Hooray. This is more for novelty than a serious recipe (but it really does look good), but we hope you enjoy it.
A neighbor of the MHK, who is responsible for a couple of the delicious recipes posted here, informed us that she had come across a recipe for vegan chocolate avocado cake. I know, those words don’t seem right together. But she made it, and generously supplied us with a slice yesterday. And it was…not bad. The icing was actually quite good, consisting of avocados, lemon juice, sugar and vanilla. The avocado served as a vegan substitute for butter, and the frosting tasted pretty close to regular buttercream. The cake was not nearly as successful, utilizing avocados in place of butter and eggs, and cocoa powder in place of any actual chocolate. The texture was ok, but it had no flavor at all. It didn’t taste like chocolate, and really wasn’t sweet enough. But when eaten with the frosting, it was certainly palatable as a healthier version of chocolate cake.
Looking for a unique side dish for your next barbecue? Kiwi Magazine presents this great idea, and as we discovered last night, it’s quite delicious; and no animals were harmed in the making of it. In fact, no animal products were used whatsoever. It’s extremely simple – grilled tofu and homemade barbecue sauce. The sauce is not very thick, but it’s full of flavor which the tofu absorbs nicely; next time, however, we will add some spiciness to the sauce. Grilling tofu gets it nice and firm on the outside while leaving the inside smooth, creating a dish that’s a nice twist on traditional BBQ sides. Enjoy!
Ah, fried rice. It’s a dish that’s so very good when it’s done right, and so very disappointing when it’s not. We still think the best fried rice around is at Benihana, but here at the MHK we’ve been making a pretty decent version for many years now. This recipe uses tofu as its protein, keeping the meal nice and vegetarian. If you want to go full-out vegan, just omit the eggs. And if you don’t want any of that hippie-dippy tree-hugging stuff, you can use shrimp, pork, beef, etc. in place of the tofu. This is a one-plate meal that’s easy to make, fills you up and tastes great. You can certainly add other vegetables like peas, mushrooms, or corn. Cook the rice at least 30 minutes in advance (you can even cook the rice a day prior and refrigerate it). We also recommend a sprinkling of hot chili sauce if you like a little spiciness. Enjoy!
The Mouse House Kitchen 