Vegan Ginger and Soy Tofu Stirfry with Spicy Peanut Sauce

VEGAN GINGER AND TOFU STIR FRY
With Spicy Peanut Sauce

Makes 3-4 servings 
(add more vegetables to stretch things farther, or serve with rice or bean threads)

YUM. It's one of our go-to "Meatless Monday" entrees! It's a quick, easy, meatless dish that offers lots of plant based protein, healthy fats, and deliciously healthy veggies! We rarely have left overs. ;)

You can stretch or modify this recipe by serving it over rice or bean threads if you prefer--but I like to cut the calories and up the healthy fiber with lots of yummy stir fry veggies.

INGREDIENT LIST:

-(1) 14 oz container of firm tofu (I prefer to use Nasoyu Organic Lite Firm Tofu)
-Stir fry veggies (show here are cubed zuchinni, red and orange sweet peppers, green onions, broccoli and sugar snap peas)
-Preferred oil for cooking and sauce (I used raw vegan coconut oil this time, but you could easily sub olive, peanut, or another oil throughout the recipe)
-Fresh minced ginger (or powder if you prefer) and fresh chopped garlic (or powder if you prefer)
-Soy and teriyaki sauce
-Sriracha Sauce
-Natural peanut butter or PB2
-Sesame seeds for toasting (optional) and orange for garnish (optional)


HOW TO MAKE IT:

I start by cubing my tofu. If I have time, I will marinate it in soy, teriyaki, or a blend of both! When I'm running short, I toss it into a hot pan with a tsp or so of oil and sautee it while adding the sauce on top. Add the finely minced ginger half way through cooking. Carefully stir periodically and once tofu chunks are brown, remove from pan to be added to vegetables later.

I wash, chop and stirfry my vegetables using the same method: a little oil, a little soy and teriyaki, and a little fresh garlic. Stir fry veggies are best, in my opinion, seared in a hot pan, slightly al dente. Once they are cooked, gently toss together the tofu and vegetables. 

  

The spicy peanut sauce:  First, I warm a few tablespoons of soy, water, and oil (in this instance I used raw coconut oil) in the microwave. (This is no exact science--feel free to taste as you go, I know I do!) Though I usually use natural peanut butter (2-3 heaping tablespoons), I decided to try PB2 this time (3-4 heaping tablespoons). It blended nicely and the flavor was good--in fact, a very nice substitute!-- but I can't lie: natural peanut butter is the overall winner. Be careful with the soy--it is VERY salty. If you do accidentally have too much in the mix, level it out with more peanut butter and oil. I also add a nice healthy squirt of sriracha (it's a mellow heat, but add more or less to your tastes) and blend until it is creamy! It will thicken as it stands; warm just before serving so that it drizzles onto stir fry nicely.

Mmm...toasted sesame seeds set things off! Of course, this is an optional step along with the sliced orange (and so is the pretty design you see below, but hey, this vegan tofu stirfry was the star in a photo shoot)! Plate the combined tofu and veggies and serve with peanut sauce for drizzling.



ENJOY!

Turkey, Sweet Potato and Pea Curry {Plus Kale!} Crockpot Dinner

Turkey, Sweet Potato and Pea Curry {Plus Kale!} Crockpot Dinner

You can easily subtract the meat (and garnish of yogurt) from this dish to make a wonderful vegan dinner! 

Serves 2 for dinner, or perhaps 3 smaller lunch servings

YUM. This was dinner last Friday, and it was all just "thrown" together with creativity in the crockpot with delicious results. I had to share this quick, healthy and tasty recipe with you! Remember, curry spices are absolutely wonderful for your health, as well! Here's what I did:

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb lean ground turkey

2 large sweet potatoes, washed and sliced into thick rounds

1 bag of frozen peas

5-6 green onions, diced into small pieces

4 large leaves of Kale, chopped into small pieces

1 cup of water

Turmeric

Cumin

Curry Powder

Cinnamon

Garlic

Pepper

Kosher Salt

Garnish: Greek yogurt and fresh chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

Add the turkey (raw) into the crockpot (I have a medium sized pot which was plenty big). You can brown meat ahead of time if you like, I didn't to save time. This created somewhat bigger chunks of turkey in the curry, which we really liked, rather than fine bits. Add potatoes, peas, chopped onions and kale. Add cup of water. Stir ingredients. Add spices to taste, and stir once more to incorporate everything.

Turn crockpot on high (depending on the power of your crockpot) and allow to simmer for about 4 hours with lid on. This was an easy "lunchbreak" dinner for me, because I threw all of the items together on my lunchbreak from work, and when I returned...voila!

You will know your curry is done when potatoes are soft. Yes, the rounds will fall apart. Gently stir and break apart any extra large chunks of turkey if you have included the meat. Once you have stirred and incorporated all the ingredients carefully, serve in bowls with a garnish of Greek yogurt and chopped fresh cilantro!