Asian Sesame Noodles

Tiffany has an office Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow and what will she take into the office?  After all, this our very first vegetarian Thanksgiving.  She'll simply forgo the bird and leave it to the office carnivores.  Instead, there will be a plethora of non-meat choices to delight the palate.

So, what is Tiffany bringing to the non-human animal consumption party?  She has made Asian Sesame Noodles (today's recipe) and Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Spread (recipe for another day).  Tiffany and I were first introduced to Asian Sesame Noodles at a friends house in Ocala, Florida where our guests had a wine-pairing party.  Absolutely delicious and totally unique.

Asian Sesame Noodles

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma "Complete Entertaining Cookbook"

Serves 10 to 12.

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes pasta noodles
• 1/2 cup sesame oil
• 1/2 cup black soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp black Chinese vinegar
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp hot pepper oil
• 1/2 cup finely sliced scallions (green and white parts) 

Ingredients:  soy, vinegar, black sesame oil, hot pepper oil

1 bunch = 1/2 cup chopped scallion

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the noodles according to package direction. Drain, rinse well under cold running water until chilled, and drain again.  Put in large bowl.
2. Combine remaining ingredients.  Stir into cold noodles, mixing well (use hands to distribute sauce evenly).  Chill overnight.

Rinsed pasta (exciting huh?)

Combined sauces

It's the classic Chinese flavor.  The perfect combination of sweet, salt, and hot pepper.  The flavors meld perfectly in this recipe and the ingredients thoroughly lock onto each piece of pasta.  You will amaze your friends with the exotic tastes dancing upon their lips and tongue.

Nutrition per cup

Hi-dee hi-dee make the office happy-ho my friends!

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Chipotle Black Bean Soup

Adapted from recipe from Goya.

Makes eight 1-cup servings.

One serving with dollop of non-fat Greek yogurt.

Tiffany and I realize that we weren't consuming enough legumes in our diet these past few days.  We've been doing excellent on the rice, vegetables, and fruits but lacking on legumes.  So, it was time to make some Chipotle Black Bean Soup.

The basic difference between Goya's recipe and mine?  Sssh... I didn't use Goya brand.  Also used 2 chipotles instead of 1 because Tiffany and I like really spicy food.  Goya recommends olive oil and I used coconut oil and I only had red onion on-hand, not yellow onion.  Oh yeah!  Almost forgot... I added the frozen corn and cocoa powder.  Dunno whether you've ever added cocoa powder to a spicy dish (like chili).  It does something magical to the pepper flavor!

Ingredients:

• 3 cans (15.5 oz) black beans, divided
• 2 chipotles, plus 2 tsp sauce from 1 can Chipotle Chiles in Adobe Sauce
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp organic 100% coconut oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 cup frozen yellow corn
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup fat-free Greek style yogurt

Directions:

1. In bowl of blender, add 1 can of black beans, chipotles and broth.  Puree until smooth, about 30 seconds; set aside.
2. Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat.  Add onions and peppers; cook until soft, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cumin; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds more.  Add reserved black bean puree, remaining black beans and cocoa powder; bring mixture  to a boil; reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until soup thickens and flavors come together, about 10 minutes.
3. Divide soup evenly among 8 serving bowls.  Top with a dollop of yogurt.

Sauteing onions and pepper in coconut oil.

Early stage of cooking before thickening.

The verdict my friends?  No, it's not as good as it looks.  It's even better!  :)  Delicious, spicy and hearty.  Hey!  Look at the calories.  (Gawd I love pointing that out!)

Nutrition per serving (1 cup).

Hi-dee hi-dee delicious & nutritious soup-ho my friends!

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Chucky & Tiffany Love IKEA!

With my catalog, hat, jalapeno, Bragg's and dagger.

IKEA is not only a wonderful place for great values but also a simple breakfast value!  I don't know whether you are familiar with IKEA or not but each store has a cafeteria.  The cafeteria opens one half hour before the store officially opens for business.  They have a $0.99 breakfast every weekend morning (it's free during weekdays).  Its called the "Small Breakfast" and includes scrambled eggs, hash brown potato, and two strips of bacon.  For $1.99 you will get same plus three strips of French toast ("Regular Breakfast").

Tiffany and I always try to get to IKEA when the cafeteria opens.  We enjoy the $0.99 breakfast, a cup of coffee and wait for them to open the sales floor one half hour later. But what are two vegetarians to do now? We don't do meat any longer.

Oh no!  No more IKEA breakfasts?  "Most certainly not my dear friends!"  It's now time for "I'll have the small breakfast.  Hold the bacon, please."  What did Chucky and Tiffany do today?  They took along a jar of Bragg's organic seasoning and a zip-lock bag of sliced fresh jalapenos. A most delicious scrambled egg and hash potato breakfast, I might add.

Now that we are no longer carnivores, Tiffany and I must adjust, get creative and think outside of the culinary box.  It's no longer, "What do they have on their menu?"  It's now, "Based upon what's on their menu, what choices can I make?"

In truth, it has not been difficult these past 51-days.  Just about the only place not really catering to vegetarians is McDonald's and Wendy's.  Not that I have the slightest inkling but Burger King has a veggie patty burger menu selection.  Yes, both McDonald's and Wendy's have their salads but it that really offering non-carnivores true menu choice?  Psst... bypassing the fast-food burger joints really isn't a loss to either Tiffany or I.

Okay.  There are many other franchise chains also not catering to our new lifestyle.  But, more places offer us choices than those who do not.  

This morning a free burger offer from a national restaurant chain arrived in Tiffany's e-mail to celebrate her upcoming birthday.  "But I can't use it.  It's for a hamburger and I no longer do carnivore." Tiffany said.  Then I explained that there are two possibilities which may exist:  (a) they may have a vegetarian burger on their menu or (b) inform the server that you're a vegetarian.  I'm almost certain that the manager would allow substitution of any vegetarian selection of equal or lesser value.  They're not going to shun you because you happen to be a vegetarian.  Instead, they wish to acknowledge and celebrate your birthday.

Tiffany?  Oh, she's going to be a little over 18-years old in a few days.  (No dog house for Chucky.)

Hi-dee hi-dee IKEA-ho my friends!

Tofu BLT

Ha!  You saw yesterday's blog didn't you?  What?  You didn't!  What's wrong with you?  There is some really good stuff snuck in the crevices of my blogs.  Live a little!  Laugh a little!  Waste just a little bit of you time on me, okay?  Thanks, friend.

Yesterday I made my first batch of Tofu Bacon and shared with you.  Why would I want the stuff?  Is it because I absolutely love and miss bacon?  Actually, I do like bacon but never ate much of it when I was a (ugh) carnivore.  But, one thing that I truly do miss bacon for... the BLT (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato) sandwich.

Man, you guys are quick!  Yeah.  This blog is about making a BLT using Tofu Bacon.  What's that, you say?  Yes.  Perhaps my blog title gave it away?

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• Bread - Any good quality bread.  Grill or toast it.  I grilled mine using a cast iron skillet.
• Vegenaise - I prefer the low-fat blend.
• Lettuce - Be generous my friend.  It's not gonna bite.
• Tomato - Fresh, juicy, and screaming to be used.
• Tofu Bacon - 4 slices per sandwich.
• Fresh ground pepper.
• Sprinkle of sea salt.

Oops!  I missed a piece of tofu bacon.

Now we're getting somewhere!

It's nutritional, yummy and calorie friendly.  Remember, I simply use Pam or nothing at all when grilling my bread.  The calories pretty much originate from the bread, vegenaise, and tofu bacon.

Nutrition for one sandwich

Hi-dee hi-dee delicious sandwich-ho my friends!

Tofu Bacon

Adapted from:  VegWeb (recipe submitted by Julie Gross)

Ingredients

• 1 package firm tofu (each block carefully sliced into 16 pieces)
• 6 Tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)  <-- try Lee Kum Kee brand, you'll love it!
• 1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• Nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

1.  Mix soy sauce and liquid smoke.  Set aside.

2.  Heat seasoned cast iron skill over medium-low heat.  Spray with Pam
     cooking spray.  In small batches as necessary, add tofu slices.

Tofu slices added to seasoned cast iron skillet

3.  Set the timer for 5-minutes and carefully move tofu slices throughout
     the process.

4.  Spray top of slices with Pam before flipping and cooking another 5-
     minutes, moving occasionally.

Flipped after 5-minutes

5.  Based upon appearance, flip again and continue cooking until crisp golden
     browned.

6.  Carefully spoon soy sauce + liquid smoke mix using appropriate portion of
     mixture (based on how many batches it's going to take).

7.  Grind fresh pepper onto tofu slices.

8.  Sprinkle with nutritional yeast flakes (optional).

9.  Repeat process until all strips have been prepared.

"It's BACON!  Vegetarians don't know it's not bacon!"

Ha!  It's killing you, isn't it?  Inquiring minds wanna know, "So?  How was it?"  "Does it really taste just like bacon?"  "How about the texture?" Gosh ~ you folks are the inquisitive bunch!

No.  It does not taste exactly like bacon.  But, let's be honest here.  Does any non-meat substitute truly taste exactly like its carnivore counterpart?  No.  Perhaps the correct question would be, "Does it taste good?"  "Is it delicious?"  "Would you make it again?"  The answer to these questions my friends is yes, yes and yes.

It is scrumptious, is quite similar to bacon, is both crispy and chewy, and look at the nutrition below.  You can't go wrong with tofu, folks!  I do need to refine the recipe and method.  Maybe tweak the ratio of soy sauce and liquid smoke.  Maybe add a skoosh of sea salt.  Perhaps set the range one level higher?

However, you can't go wrong.  It's simple, delicious, and nutritious.  Isn't that what we're truly looking for?  I want it to be effortless. It has to taste good.  And it can't be calorie laden (for me).

Nutrition per slice

Hi-dee hi-dee yummy bacon-ho my friends!

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A Plea for Hygiene

Hi everybody.  I know.  It's a little off the beaten path tonight.  I thought that I'd share an office dilemma that I felt forced to address today.  Sadly, probably not unheard of in today's office environment.

Hey!  Can a plastic doll have his privacy please?

What to do about an office hygiene problem?  How best to handle it within the confines of a very small company.

Let me explain the company that I work for.  It's a very small company of only nine employees, myself included.  Of the nine employees, five are basically "Chiefs" and three of us are "Indians".  Besides the product that we make, we are absolute experts at micro-management techniques.  Perhaps you might say that it's perfected where I work.

Here is the situation and an e-mail that I sent to the entire organization this afternoon:

I know what you're thinking right now.  "Chucky.  Why didn't you just go to your manager and explain the situation?"  To put it politely, my manager hasn't the slightest business acumen.  His people skills are absent and he is only capable of making a bad situation worse.  If I had to guess, he would probably call out the individual in front of everyone and made everyone feel uncomfortable.

Now.  Before you go chastising me for taking the approach that I did, let me explain what I first did.  I first indirectly informed the company's owner of the situation via a neutral party.  I truly believe that the neutral party informed the owner of the situation but he elected not to do anything about.  I was hoping for a company-wide e-mail from top management similar to mine.  Short, sweet, and non-accusatory.  Our company owner is a true practitioner of the maybe-if-I-don't-act-it-will-simply-go-away business management philosophy.  His sole function is to lead without understanding and to direct without inquiring.

Should I catch this individual a fourth time?  At that point I feel obliged to simply call them out to make note of their act.  I honestly believe they are not even aware what they are doing.  Perhaps they were raised behind the barn somewhere between the out-house and dog house?

So... what would you do?  What would you have done differently?  Should Chucky have pulled out his dagger?  "Kill, Chucky!  Kill!"

Hi-dee hi-dee hygienic-ho my friends!

Crock Cheeze (Mock Cheese Spread)

Credit:  Veg For Life

This cheddar-style spread is sharp, tangy and rich.  It's reminiscent of the aged spreads found in small, brown pottery crocks in gourmet restaurants and specialty food shops.

Why do I absolutely love this recipe?  It could not be easier to make.  It tastes delicious and is excellent with crackers or as a sandwich spread.  OMG!  And look at the calories (see below).  Vegan, healthy, and low-calorie.

• 1/2 pound regular tofu (firm), rinsed, patted dry, and crumbled
• 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp light miso
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard

Miso, tahini, and tofu

Nutritional yeast flakes

1.  Place all ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until very smooth.  Stop the processor occasionally to stir the mixture and scrape the sides of the work bowl.

Raw ingredients in food processor

Cuisinart does its job

2.  Spoon the mixture into a storage container and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.  It will keep for about a week in the refrigerator.

2 cup Pyrex dish contains caloric gold

Yield:  2 cups

Nutrition per tablespoon

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