Curried Tofu Sheet Pan Dinner

This amazing recipe is from Cooking Light magazine, and they give credit to Robin Bashinsky for the original recipe.  I've tweaked it a little here, but the idea is still the same.

NOTE:  You'll need 2 sheet pans for this recipe.

Ingredients:
3 T. canola oil, divided
4 t. curry powder
1 1/4 t. salt, divided
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes that are 1/2-inch in size
1 14-oz pkg extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes that are 3/4-inch in size (If you're new to tofu:  get the Chinese kind, not the silken kind.  Freeze it for 24 hours, then thaw it before cooking, as this gives it a better texture.)
canola cooking spray
2 10-oz bags frozen cauliflower florets, thawed
6 oz. fresh green beans, cut into 1.5-inch pieces
1/2 c. plain, unsweetened coconut milk yogurt (vegan)
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 c. chopped unsalted cashews


Method:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  Place 2 rimmed baking sheets in the oven during the preheat.

In a large bowl, combine 2 T. canola oil, curry powder, and 1 t. salt.  Add the sweet potatoes and tofu, and toss to coat.  Carefully remove the hot sheet pans from the oven and coat each pan's cooking surface with canola cooking spray.  Arrange the sweet potato-tofu mixture in a single layer, divided between the 2 pans.  Set the tossing bowl aside, and bake the sweet potato-tofu mixture at 500 degrees F for 10 minutes.

While the sweet potato-tofu mixture is cooking, add the last 1 T. oil to the tossing bowl.  Add the cauliflower and green beans, then toss to coat.

Remove the pans from the oven, and carefully (Caution!  It may splatter oil!) add the cauliflower-green bean mixture divided between the two pans.  Toss the contents of each pan, then arrange back into a single layer, and return to the oven to bake until the potatoes are tender, about 10 - 12 more minutes.

While this is baking, combine the yogurt, lime juice, and remaining 1/4 t. salt.

When the potatoes are tender (check with a fork), serve the vegetables drizzled with the yogurt sauce and sprinkled with chopped cashews.  Serves 4 - 5.

Lentil Cakes with Salad and Yogurt

This delicious lentil cake recipe is from Cooking Light magazine. I only changed the oil a little and removed the dairy.

They suggested serving the cakes over a salad and topped with the minted yogurt sauce (as in the photo).  I like this combination of foods, but I enjoyed them more as 3 separate foods served together, not as one dish:  lentil cakes with a salad and raita-like yogurt both served on the side.  The lentil cakes would be fantastic stuffed into a pita, too! 

Ingredients:

2 t. plus 1.5 T. canola oil

3/4 c. chopped onion

1.5 T. minced garlic

1 c. plus 2 T. old-fashioned oats (not the quick-cooking kind - If it is important for this dish to be gluten-free, be sure your oats fit the bill.)

3 T. red wine vinegar, divided

1.5 t. salt, divided

3/4 t. freshly ground black pepper (or more, to taste)

3 large eggs

2 15-oz cans lentils, rinsed and drained

1 c. plain, unsweetened coconut milk yogurt

3 T. fresh lemon juice

3 T. finely chopped fresh mint leaves

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 c. (packed) baby arugula (or more, as desired)

2 c. (packed) baby spinach (or more, as desired)

Method:

Heat 2t. canola oil in a large non-stick or seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic, and sauté until onion is translucent.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the onion mixture, oats, 1.5 T. vinegar, 1 1/8 t. salt, black pepper, eggs, and lentils.  Pulse 5 or 6 times.  (The mixture may seem wet, but it will firm up over the next few minutes.)  Shape the mixture into 3-inch patties.

Heat 1.5 t. canola oil in the same non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 6 or 7 patties to the pan, and cook until browned on one side.  Flip the patties, and cook until browned on the second side.  Remove patties, and repeat with another 1.5 t. oil and 6 - 7 patties.  Remove patties, and repeat with the last 1.5 t. oil and patties.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix the yogurt with the remaining salt, the lemon juice, and mint.  Divide between 4 small ramekins.

Combine the remaining 1.5 T. vinegar with the olive oil in a large bowl.  Add the arugula and spinach, and toss to coat.

Serve the lentil cakes with the salad and ramekins of minted yogurt on the side.

Serves 4.

Chocolate-Chip Coffeecake

This one is a similar story to the stuffed chard leaves:  got it from The Commercial Appeal, original recipe from Carol Borchardt (I believe she is a personal chef.), I made some modifications to suit me.  The only story change here is that today wasn't the first time I've made this one.  I've had to work on it a bit to get a topping version I really like.  Here it is:

For the cake:
vegan margarine and flour for the pan
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
a 6-oz. container of plain vegan yogurt (although, honestly, I've used lemon-flavored vegan yogurt, and it worked fine...I'm sure other fruit-flavored yogurts would be fine.)
1 egg (or if you want this cake to be vegan, try using Ener-G's Egg Replacer)
1 t. vanilla or almond extract
1/2 c. canola oil


For the topping:
1/4 c. chocolate chips (and, hey, nothing's stopping you from using more, right?)
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. granulated sugar
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
2 T. vegan margarine (I like Earth Balance vegan margarine.), cold
1/3 c. chopped pecans


To make it happen:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Grease an 11-inch x 7-inch (or 11-inch x 8-inch) baking dish with vegan margarine.  Put a handful of flour in the pan and shake it around so that the butter is coated with flour (discard any remaining flour in the pan).


In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake-ingredients flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a smaller bowl, combine the yogurt, egg (or egg replacer), and vanilla/almond extract.  Add the yogurt mixture and the canola oil to the flour mixture.  Stir until well-blended, and pour into the prepared pan, spreading evenly over the bottom of the dish.


Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the batter.  In a small bowl, mix the topping-ingredients flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon.  Cut the cold vegan margarine into small chunks.  Using your fingers, mash the margarine chunks into the flour-and-sugar mixture so that the mixture becomes crumbly.  There should be no visibly powdery ingredients left, no trace of flour or sugar.  Mix the chopped pecans into the crumbles, then spread evenly over the cake batter.


Bake 35-40 minutes.