Glazed Tempeh Strips with Collards (WFPBNO)

These tempeh strips are marinated for a short time in a delicious sweet, sticky and a little heat sauce. Then baked. I served this with freshly cooked collard greens that had sautéed in a garlic, vegetable broth until they were tender. So delicious and really simple. 

• 8 ounces tempeh, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• a few grinds of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 

Whisk together syrup, orange juice, ketchup, mustard, sriracha, soy sauce, pepper and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. 

Bring this glaze to a simmer over medium heat and cook 6-8 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Place tempeh strips in a heat safe container. I used my 8x8 baking dish. Pour the hot glaze over the tempeh and let marinate 30 minutes or more.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the tempeh strips on the baking sheet. Reserve the marinade. Cover the baking sheet with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven, remove foil, flip the pieces over and brush with more glaze. Return to oven for 5 more minutes, without the foil cover. Remove from oven and brush once more.

Serve with cooked collards and a side dish of your choosing. I had a vegan mac and alfredo in the pantry. You can serve with the glaze on the side so that you can add more if you would like. 

This was so good and I used some leftover tofu scramble with a tempeh strip the next morning for a delicious breakfast burrito!! 

Enjoy!

Dynamite Sushi Bowl (WFPBNO)

I have never rolled sushi, even though I have everything to do so. I've seen a couple of sushi bowls online and decided to give my hand a whole food plant based sushi bowl. This was amazing. It made enough for two meals (4 servings) with a little rice left over. You will not be disappointed in making one of these bowls. Be sure to prep all your veg while the tofu is marinating or baking. You can use more or less wasabi depending on how much heat you enjoy! Also you could sub out some of the veg. I tried to make mine like a California roll without the cream cheese. I prefer to serve this dish in a bowl, but my big bowls were all in the dishwasher when I made this.

For the tofu:

• 1 12-ounce package extra-firm tofu
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup roasted garlic rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons agave
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

For the bowls:

• 4 servings sushi rice, cooked according to package directions
• 1/2 cup julienned carrots (1/4 cup per bowl)
• 2 persian cucumbers diced or cut into strips (1/2 a cucumber per bowl)
• 1 avocado, cubed (1/2 per bowl)
• Garnish: black sesame seeds, pickled ginger, alfalfa sprouts
• save the marinade from the tofu add wasabi to taste, mix well
• sriracha + mayo for a spicy mayo drizzle

Press the tofu for about 30 minutes to get rid of excess moisture. Cut into bite sized cubes and marinage in soy sauce, vinegar, agave and garlic.

Preheat convection oven to 375F. After marinating tofu add to a rack placed over a baking sheet.

 Bake for 20-25 minutes until firm and brown. Set aside.

To make your bowl, add rice, place tofu and veggies on your plate/bowl. Top with soy sauce/wasabi combo, spicy mayo, sesame seeds and pickled ginger!

This is a delicious dish. If you want WFPBNO be sure to make your own mayo. I used a vegan mayo to save on time, since you don't use very much.

Enjoy!!!

Sesame Noodles w/Crispy Baked Tofu

This is a really quick dinner with the exception of baking the tofu. If you cook the tofu in advance it's super fast to throw together. If you are making everything at the same time, be sure to get your tofu in the oven before you start the noodles since it takes 30 minutes to cook the tofu. I cooked my tofu in the convection oven in a pan that has a solid bottom and a grate that sits on top which allows the air to flow all around the tofu, much like an air fryer. I baked some mini vegan egg rolls to go with this dinner.

For the tofu:

• 1 package tofu, firm or extra firm
• 2 tablespoons Coconut Aminos
• 2 tablespoons Garlic and Herb Seasoning (if you don't have this use garlic powder, onion powder and some other dried herbs you like)

For the noodles:

• 1 8-ounce package Chinese Noodles

For the sauce:

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (or more if you like it hot)
• Garnish: sliced scallions, black pepper, more Sriracha and sesame seeds

Drain your block of tofu and place on a clean kitchen towel. Preheat convection oven to 400F.

Press for 20-30 minutes. I like to use the heavy lid from my Dutch oven for pressing.

The pressed tofu should be pretty dry which will allow it to soak up the marinade.

Mix the soy sauce and garlic seasoning in a bowl. Add cubed tofu and gently stir to coat all the pieces.

Add the coated, cubed tofu to a baking rack (I use parchment paper to keep the tofu from sticking).

Bake tofu for 15 minutes. Flip each piece and bake another 15 minutes.

Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small mason jar and shake well. Set aside.

Start water to boil for cooking the noodles. When the tofu is almost done; cook the noodles according to the package directions. When done strain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

To prepare the noodles, add them to a nonstick skillet until they begin to warm. Don't let them stick. 

Add all of the sauce ingredients from the mason jar and give it a good toss to coat all of the noodles.

Plate the noodles with chosen garnishes and add tofu to the side. You could throw the tofu into the noodles in the skillet but I didn't want to take a chance on breaking them up.

Enjoy!!

Baked Soy Sauce & Sriracha Tofu

 This tofu is so flavorful and made a delicious addition to a bowl I prepared for dinner last week. It has a little bit of kick to it but not too much. You can mix the soy sauce and sriracha together and give it a taste before you add it to the tofu if you prefer your food less spicy. You could also start with less sriracha and add more if you want to kick it up a notch. This is a very versatile dish and can be eaten hot or cold. Add it to salads, stir-fries, sandwiches or like I did; add it to a bowl.

• 1 block extra-firm tofu (mine wasn't the kind in the tub of  water, it was shrink wrapped)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoon sriracha

Preheat oven to 425F. If you need to press your tofu do that first. If it's the dense, shrink wrapped type you won't need to do that. Just dry it off. Cut into equal size pieces, mine were about 1/2 inch thick. Add to a large bowl.

Add the soy sauce and sriracha.

Gently stir to combine and coat the tofu.

Place on parchment lined baking sheet.

Cook for 10 minutes. Then flip and add any remaining marinade to the other side of the tofu. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Once done remove from the baking sheet. You can eat this hot or cold. It's delicious as is or amazing added to a Burrito Bowl or other type of bowl dish. I'll be posting that recipe next week. I made 4 bowls using this yummy tofu.

Enjoy!!!!