Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl & Oreo Peanut Butter Pie

We had a friend over last night.  A friend who isn't vegan.  Because we pretty much keep a vegan household, we only ever cook vegan food.  So anytime anyone comes over I like to find recipes that I know both vegans and non-vegans will like.  We've had a lot of success with pastas, fajitas, enchiladas and some rice dishes.  Last night, I decided to make Isa Chandra Moskowitz's "Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl with Tofu & Kale" from her most recent cookbook, Isa Does It.  If you aren't familiar with Isa Chandra Moskowitz, I suggest you get familiar now!  She is an amazing vegan cookbook writer and has wrote some of my favorites!  This one is definitely top 5!  Everything in the book is simple, quick and easy.  So far, I haven't had any issues finding any ingredients she uses.  Also, check out her book "Veganomicon" for the ulitmate tome in vegan cooking.

I hope you enjoy this one!  It's one of our favorites!

Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl with Tofu & Kale serves 4

For the tofu:
1 TBS olive oil
14 oz extra-firm tofu, pressed and bite-sized cubes
1/4 tsp salt

For the sauce & kale:
2 tsp olive oil
1 TBS minced fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water (or more if too thick, I used almost 1 3/4 cups)
1/2  cup smooth peanut butter
2 tsp curry powder
2 TBS rice vinegar (found in the Asian section of your grocery store)
2 TBS tamari (or low-sodium soy sauce or Bragg's)
2 TBS agave nectar
1 tsp sriracha (not all asian hot sauces are vegan, check the label)
1 bunch kale, stems removed, torn into pieces
Pinch of salt

For serving:
4 cups brown rice, quinoa, or rice noodles
Sriracha (optional)
Fresh Cilantro (optional)

Prepare the tofu: Preheat a cast-iron skillet over high heat.  Once heated, add olive oil in a thin layer.  Add the cubed tofu and sprinkle with salt.  The tofu should immediately sizzle when it hits the hot pan; otherwise, turn up the heat.  Cook for about 7 minutes, tossing often, until it's nicely browned.  I tend to be very meticulous when frying tofu, I make sure each piece is browned on at least 2-4 sides, turning each individual piece once one side is browned.

Prepare the sauce: Preheat a saucepan over medium-low heat and add the oil.  Saute the ginger and garlic in the oil for about 30 seconds.  Add the water and deglaze the pan, then turn up the heat a bit.  Once the water is warm, add the peanut butter, curry powder, rice vinegar, tamari, agave, and sriracha.  As the ingredients heat up, the peanut butter will blend smoothly into the water as you stir.  It should take 5 minutes or so, stirring often.  Taste for seasonings.  I actually had to add a little more water at this point to thin out my sauce, it was quite thick.

Prepare the kale: Steam your kale with a sprinkle of salt for about 5 minutes.  I like to steam my kale in the rice cooker while my rice is going.  I just wait until the rice has about 5 minutes left to cook, then add my steamer top with the kale.

To assemble: Spoon the rice into bowls.  Add kale, then tofu, then top with sauce.  Top off with sriracha and cilantro, if you like.

Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl with Tofu & Kale

For dessert last night, I threw together Oreo Peanut Butter Pie!  A delicious, rich pie with a chocolate cookie crust and peanut butter Oreo filling.  Yum!  This was incredibly easy to make and super easy to veganize!

Oreo Peanut Butter Pie makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

1 package vegan cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 TBS alternative milk
2 cups alternative whipped cream (whipped coconut milk is yummy, find the recipe here.)
18 Oreos, coarsely chopped, divided
1 9-inch chocolate pie crust

Instructions:

Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy.  Add the peanut butter and milk; beat 2 minutes more or until smooth.  Fold in the whipped topping and 1 3/4 cups chopped cookies.  Spread into pie crust.  Sprinkle with remaining cookies.  (I actually just put all my cookies into the pie filling.)  Refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight.  YUM!!

Oreo Peanut Butter Pie

As always, let me know if you try out these recipes, and what you think of them!!

Cheers, Monica

Rustic Pasta

Alicia Silverstone... Most people know her as the actress from "Clueless" or the blonde girl in that Aerosmith video. These days I know her as an amazing vegan cookbook writer and mom who has written two of my favorite books: "The Kind Diet" and "The Kind Mama".

This recipe is an adaptation from her "Rustic Pasta" recipe in "The Kind Diet". I made this for my parents, and they loved it! Even my mom, who stays away from pasta (because of her diabetes) loved it. I substituted quinoa pasta for regular pasta for many reasons. Quinoa has a lower glycemic index, is a complete protein, is both organic and non-GMO, and it tastes amazing!

As Alicia states in her cookbook, this pasta is great on it's own with a big salad or topped with some veggie "meat balls".

Rustic Pasta

Ingredients:

1/4 lb pasta (quinoa pasta is best)
2 TBS olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or sliced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 TBS shoyu (or Bragg's Liquid Aminos)
pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
5-6 TBS marinara sauce (find some without high fructose corn syrup)
1 package seitan or vegetarian meatballs, optional

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, then add the garlic and cook until the onions are transparent. If using, add the seitan or meatballs and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
Add the celery and sauté for a couple of minutes. Stir in the shoyu (or Bragg's), salt, and garlic powder. Add the cabbage and sauté for about 4 minutes. Reduce heat and cook for a few minutes longer.
Add the pasta and marinara sauce to the skillet and toss together. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes and serve.











Maybe have this meal with a big salad and "Clueless" playing on Netflix. =)

Enjoy!

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