bell pepper Archives - Page 4 of 4

Quick Szechuan Stir-Fry

August 12, 2010 by epicureanvegan

CAUTION: this can get hot very quickly—that is, when I make it. I tend to get a little heavy handed with the hot spices, much to the dismay of the rest of family. Once again, I put a little too much heat on this stir-fry, earning a few glares from the Husband and 6th Grader. They agreed that it was really tasty and liked the udon noodles a lot, but the numb lips interfered a little. Next time I’ll go easy on the szechuan sauce.

INGREDIENTS:
1-8oz pkg Koyo Organic round udon noodles
1/4-1/2 C szechuan sauce like San-J brand
1/4-1/3 C tamari sauce
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1″ pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
1-2 Tbs olive oil
1 small summer squash, cut into small pieces
1 can sliced water chestnuts
8-10 mushrooms, sliced
4-5 green onions, sliced
Toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:
Cook noodles according to package instructions (they take about 7-8 minutes). Heat olive oil and garlic in a skillet. Add bell pepper, water chestnuts, and squash; saute for about 15 minutes, or until softened. Add mushrooms, green onions, tamari, and szechuan sauce. I’d start with about a 1/4 cup of the szechuan sauce and go from there. Cook for another 5-7 minutes, then add the cooked noodles to the pan and stir to combine everything. Top with sesame seeds. Depending on how hot you make it, serve it with a hankie to wipe the brow! Enjoy!

Stuffed Mushrooms

July 20, 2010 by epicureanvegan

I needed to come up with an appetizer to feed a crowd, so I came up with my own vegan version of stuffed mushrooms. They were pretty easy to make and were gone in no time. Another great ingredient to add is a couple of Field Roast Italian Sausages–just thaw, chop and add to the food processor with the bell pepper.

INGREDIENTS:
About 30 mushrooms, washed and stems reserved
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper
5 green onions
3-4 Tbs Earth Balance margarine, divided
1/2 C bread crumbs
6″ of a garlic scape
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 C vegan mozzarella (like Vegan Rella), shredded

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325. Saute the mushroom caps in 2 tablespoons of margarine until they just begin to brown on each side. Then set aside.

Chop up the mushroom stems, red bell pepper, green onions and scape. Here’s a scape:

Add all four to a food processor and chop up until fine:

Transfer to the same pan that you used to saute the mushrooms caps in, and saute the pepper mixture in 2-3 tablespoons of margarine for 3-4 minutes. Add bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Remove from heat. Stuff each cap with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the pepper mixture and a medium pinch of cheese.

If you are making these ahead, you can stuff them and refrigerate them, but add the cheese just before baking. Bake for 15 minutes and enjoy!

Baked Tofu and Roasted Asparagus Pasta Salad

May 31, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is a flavorful salad that is ideal for those summer get togethers, both served cold or warmed up. Roasting the asparagus only takes 10 minutes and is perfect in this salad.

INGREDIENTS:
16-oz farfalle, cooked, drained and rinsed in cold water
1 pkg Westsoy Garlic and Herb baked tofu, cubed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1″ pieces
2 Tbs fresh thyme, chopped
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs olive oil, divided
3-4 Tbs jarred or homemade basil pesto
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 C walnuts, chopped and toasted

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheeting with foil. In a small bowl, mix asparagus pieces with 1 Tbs of olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste. Layer onto baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the pasta with the pesto, bell pepper, and tofu. Once asparagus has cooled (it won’t take long) add to the pasta mixture. Mix in the thyme and salt and pepper to taste. In a small bowl, combine balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and remaining 1 Tbs of olive oil. Pour over pasta mixture and combine well. Refrigerate for a couple hours and when ready to serve, mix in the walnuts. Enjoy!

Western Tofu Scramble

April 29, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is a great way to start the morning! Especially when the morning is snowy. Yes…snowy. It’s the end of April, right? Well it snowed last night, so instead of heading out for my morning walk, I decided to cook up a protein-packed breakfast and tackle that walk later when things clear up.

INGREDIENTS:
1 Tbs olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1-14oz pkg. extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and crumbled
3 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 a large orange or red bell pepper, diced (about 3/4 C)
4 green onions, sliced (or 1/4 C of diced yellow onion)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/3 C salsa
1/4-1/3 C vegan cheddar or pepper jack cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. Add garlic and bell pepper. Reduce to medium heat and saute until pepper is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the green onion and saute another minute, then add the cumin and turmeric. Add tofu and stir to combine–the turmeric will immediately turn the tofu yellowy-orange, like real scrambled eggs. You don’t have to use it–totally optional. Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the salsa, then the cheese. Serve alone, or wrap in a warmed flour tortilla and enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Seitan

April 9, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is a really quick and easy meal to throw together–less than 30 minutes. Tofu can easily be substituted for the seitan and other vegetables can be added as well. The original recipe calls for frying the seitan in 2″ of oil, but I’m not a fan of deep-frying so I sauteed the seitan instead, which worked out great. This recipe makes quite a bit if you use 2 packages of seitan–it’ll feed 4-6. For a small crowd, I’d do just 1 package and halve the other ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:
2 packages seitan cut into bite-sized chunks
3/4 cup flour
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup water
Peanut oil (I used olive oil)
1 green pepper cut in chunks
1 red pepper cut in chunks
1 onion cut in chunks
1 can pineapple chunks (drain, but reserve 1/4 C of juice)
Jar (11.5 oz) of sweet and sour sauce (I like Kikkoman’s brand)

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together flour, water, cornstarch, salt and baking soda in medium bowl.
Stir seitan into batter until well coated. Heat 2-3 Tbs of olive oil in a large skillet. Add seitan. Because of the batter, the pieces will stick together–use a metal spatula to turn sections of seitan and cut apart later. Cook until golden brown, then remove from heat; keep warm.

Combine green pepper and onion and sauté for 5 min. Add pineapple and reserved juice, and sweet and sour sauce. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Pour over seitan–I recommend not adding the seitan to the pan because the coating may come off. Serve with rice and enjoy!

Recipe source: Vegweb

Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa Stir-Fry

January 24, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This recipe from Veganomicon is so flavorful and delicious!
It helps to have all the ingredients ready and chopped up before your start and the recipe calls for chilling the quinoa once it’s done, but I didn’t have time for that, so I filled the sink with cold water and placed the pan of quinoa in the sink–it worked beautifully. I also made some other changes to the recipe, but I’ll list the original and my alterations.

INGREDIENTS:
Quinoa:
1 C quinoa, well rinsed and drained (I like Ancient Harvest brand–already rinsed)
1 C pineapple juice (I used a cup from the canned pineapple you’ll need for the stir-fry)
1 C cold water
1/4 tsp soy sauce
Stir-fry:
4 oz cashews, raw and unsalted
3 Tbs peanut oil (I used olive oil)
2 scallions, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 hot red chile, sliced into very thin rounds (When I started this, I realized I didn’t have one…oops)
1/2″ piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced (I also added one diced yellow bell pepper)
1 C frozen green peas or cooked edamame (I used the edamame)
1/2 C fresh basil leaves, rolled and sliced thin shreds
2 Tbs chopped fresh mint
10-oz fresh pineapple, cut into bite sized pieces (about 2 C–I used canned)
3 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs vegetable stock
1 Tbs mirin
Lime wedges for garnish (I drizzled jarred lime juice on top)

DIRECTIONS:
Prepare the quinoa first: Combine the quinoa, juice, water and soy sauce in a medium-sized pot. Cover, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Stir a few times, lower heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 12-14 mins until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa appears plump and slightly translucent. Uncover, fluff and let cool. For best results, place the quinoa in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight, or chill for 1 hour. Like I said, I cooled it in a sink of cold water.

To prepare the stir-fry: Use a very large skillet–at least 11 inches. Place the cashews in the dry pan and heat over medium heat, stirring them, until lightly toasted, 4-5 mins. Remove the cashews from the pan, raise the heat to medium and add the oil, scallions, and garlic. When the garlic starts to sizzle, add the sliced chile pepper and ginger. Stir-fry for about 2 mins then add the bell pepper(s) and peas (or edamame).

(Such a colorful dish)!
Stir-fry for another 3-4 mins, until the bell pepper is softened. Add the basil and mint and stir for another minute before adding the pineapple and quinoa.
In a measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, vegetable stock and mirin. Pour over the quinoa mixture. Stir to incorporate completely and coat the quinoa. Continue to stir-fry 10-14 mins, until the quinoa is very hot.

(I see why the recipe called for a very large skillet)

The recipe didn’t say anything else about the cashews, so I added them the last 5 mins of stir-frying. Serve with lime wedges and additional soy sauce to season individual servings to taste. Serves 5-6. Enjoy!

Recipe source: Veganomicon

Seitan Fajitas

January 21, 2010 by epicureanvegan

I love that there is a tasty alternative to meat. Even The Husband went so far as to say that he liked these better than chicken. This…coming from a man who absolutely loved chicken! Maybe it’s because seitan really, truely has the same texture and similar flavor to meat, particularly chicken, but none of the saturated fat, hormones and antibiotics. These were super easy to make and I served them with a scoop of refries with vegan cheddar melted on top. Talk about a yummy, protein-packed meal!

INGREDIENTS:
2 pkgs seitan, break up or slice into pieces (I like Westsoy brand)
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 large red onion, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
3 cloves minced garlic
1 packet fajita mix + 1/2-3/4 C water
Tofutti sour cream
Vegan cheese, shredded, cheddar flavor
cilantro, chopped
Salsa
sliced avocado (optional)
Flour tortillas (I like Whole Foods brand–organic and small. They come in whole wheat, fat free and Homestyle (white). I like the taste and that they are the perfect size. Small, so I don’t feel like I have to load up a large tortilla. I can always make 2 if I want more).

DIRECTIONS:
Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until tender, 3-5 mins. Add seitan and saute for 10-12 mins. Combine the fajita mix with the water and add to the pan. Coat veggies and seitan and cook for 2 mins on med-high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover for about 3 mins.

I like to spread a Tbs or so of Tofutti sour cream on a warmed tortilla, then add a bit of cilantro, then seitan mixture and top with vegan cheese and salsa. If I have avocado, I’ll add 1-2 slices on top. Roll up and enjoy!