Tofu Spring Rolls

Tofu Spring Rolls

I love spring rolls! They are such a light but filling treat. The idea for spring rolls had manifested in my mind weeks ago. And the other night, I was sitting at home doing homework when I was suddenly overcome by the sudden urge to cook. (SHOCKER!) Knowing that I had ample supplies with which to work from (I had just gone shopping), I immediately set up my workspace in the kitchen to whip up a few of these babies.

My workspace included: A large, shallow bowl for dipping the rice paper rolls into, a pot of water for the rice noodles, and a pan for sauteing the tofu block that I had already pressed. The rice noodles take only minutes to prepare. They only cook for about 6 minutes in the boiling water and then you can just drain the water out and set them aside until you're ready to use them. Next up: the tofu: Into the pan went a marinade mixture of soy sauce, toasted sesame seed oil, a pinch of ground ginger and a splash of EVOO. The tofu, which I had already sliced into long, thin strips, was next in the pot. A few minutes on each side and then into a dish with a paper towel to drain off the excess liquid.

As for the rice paper rolls, all you need to do is make sure you have a dish that is large enough to hold whatever size your wrappers are. I happened to use a glass pie dish with about a 1/4 inch of water. The sheets of rice paper only need to sit in the water for about 45 seconds to a minute. Careful though: If they sit too long they will become mush! After you soak the wrapper, you should remove it from the water and lay it onto a flat surface. Now you're ready to add the stuffing and roll it up.

The insides of a spring roll are entirely up to the chef making them and also whatever happens to be at his or her disposal. In my case, I happened to have a bag of shredded broccoli, red cabbage and carrots, as well as a small head of lettuce. Into the spring roll it went with a few strips of the marinated tofu, a small handful of the rice noodles and a few pieces of lettuce. I rolled it all up and that was it! SUPER simple!

As for a dipping sauce, I simply seasoned some Hoisin sauce with some chili oil until it was just spicy enough and I was good to go. Seriously it was THAT easy.

Alright folks, that's all I have for you for now. Stay tuned...more vegan goodies to come!

Walnut Chocolate Fudge

Today I made fudge! I have never made my own fudge but I had the sudden urge to try it today and I am quite pleased with the results:


Yum! It was SO easy! In fact the hardest part was probably being patient since the cooling time takes a couple of hours. Other than that, it's a snap!

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Recipe:

Yields 2 to 3 dozen fudge squares

12 oz nondairy semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons of non-dairy butter plus 1/2 tbsp for greasing the pan
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 non-dairy milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or any other nut that you prefer

Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan with nondairy butter.

Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a double boiler. (If you do not have a double boiler, you can easily create your own by placing a small saucepan inside a larger pot that's filled with a small amount of water.)

Heat the mixture on medium heat. Stir constantly so that you do not to burn the chocolate. Keep heating until the mixture becomes smooth. Add the nuts and briefly stir once more.

Pour the hot mixture into the prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly for several hours in the refrigerator.

After thoroughly chilled, remove the pan from the fridge, cut the fudge into small squares and enjoy with friends!

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This recipe was very simple. It definitely made me think about other fudge variations that I could try. Perhaps something with coconut or peanut butter? Hmm... What are some of your favorite fudge flavors?

Aloo Do Piaza & a Mango Shango

My oldest sister and her family came down from Michigan to stay with us this past weekend. On their last night here, we decided to go out to a local Indian restaurant called Spice Xing. I don't have much experience with Indian cuisine, but I've been there once before and really enjoyed their food. Some of their foods are a little bit spicy for me but the few things I've tried have been absolutely delicious. I love that their menu even has vegan items marked with a "v" right next to the prices. It's wonderful to know that I can order so many things without having to "special request" anything. All you other vegans out there know what I'm referring to. ;)

To start with, I ordered this fruit beverage called the Mango Shango:


It was AMAZING! I didn't get the full breakdown of everything they put in this, but I do know it had mango juice, pineapple juice and a few other fruit juices along with a swirl of raspberry coulis. It was so refreshing and the little cherry on top was a more than welcome garnish! It should be no surprise that this definitely came in handy when I received my spicy entree:

Aloo Do Piaza

The menu describes it as "cumin tempered potatoes with scallions and bermuda onions." I am a big fan of potatoes and an even bigger advocate for onions. This meal was a perfect blend of both. I would certainly order it again!

As I mentioned before, I haven't had much in way of Indian cuisine but based on my few experiences, I would certainly be open to trying other things. What are some of your favorite dishes? What would you recommend?

Alright folks! That's it for now. I must return to my stack of homework. Ugh! On a good note though: I'm currently in the process of cooling some fudge that I made this morning. Pictures and post to come so stay tuned!