Welcome back to my second Meatless Monday. It's a gorgeous day in the Okanagan and what I want more than anything is to get outside and harvest some more tomatoes. I have been doing that almost daily and after the kids are in bed at night, I'm either cutting them up and putting them in the freezer, or I'm making salsa and canning it. It's been a GREAT tomato gardening season! We eat a lot of tomatoes in the winter, as I add them to so many meals. Stay tuned for my Salsa making/canning experience later this week and let's get cooking with an Asian inspired dish, for our Monday Meatless dinner. Do you have places to go too?
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| Stay tuned....and join me in making some salsa later this week |
You know what I love about "Smoked Tofu and Vegetables?" They aren't just a healthy, MEATLESS, combination, but they are SUPER EASY TO PREPARE. Perfect, if your Monday is like mine and kids are flying in and out of the house, off to after school activities. I like them to have something filling either coming or going.
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| The little girls are off to ballet after school which makes dinner time more hectic |
For years, my kids, especially my older ones, would protest when we had a meal with tofu. As soon as they arrived home after school the question, "What's for dinner Mom?" would be asked, with hopeful anticipation and I would reply with dread, "tofu," knowing a groan would be their response. What about tofu makes kids groan? And why did I always reply to their, "what's for dinner question," with the protein choice of the meal? Why didn't I say instead, "we are having, Squash, Carrots, or Broccoli?" You know why, because in many parts of the world, meat and potatoes is still the way people want to eat, choose to eat, like to eat. They probably don't know any better. We used to not know better. It was the way I was raised to a degree, and also many comfort foods were associated with meat centered meals. Meals like; meatloaf, chicken pot pie, and pork chops with orange slices.
"Sigh,"......that's me.
I know 20 some years ago, when I started cooking with tofu now and then, my kids felt TOFU was synonymous with vegetarianism ,and anything with the word "vegetables" in the title, was not good in their books. KIDS!
Thankfully~
Times change~
Palates Evolve~
And I have grown up too~
I have a more discerning desire to feed my family healthier choices and as a side benefit, it helps the earth. (Although if I was really smart, that would be my number one reason to become a vegetarian, since, if I help the earth, I help ALL the children in the world)
Whatever my children's perception was, the bottom line is that tofu is a good source of protein when choosing a meatless meal and maybe it didn't hurt that I found a yummy smoked tofu that everyone likes. It's meaty, savory, and of course, it has a great smokey taste. It just adds another flavour dimension to our meals.
If you have a busy Monday, or any day of the week, the biggest part of making a stir fry is cutting up the vegetables but make it easier on yourself, and do it the night before, placing the veggies into a large container and store them in the fridge until you are ready to WOK with them. Okay, poor pun, but speaking of woks, you don't need one to make this meal, just a large frying pan will wok, I mean work. (sorry, I couldn't resist)
Having said that, once you have used a wok and experienced how fast it cooks, while maintaining the texture of your food, you will want to purchase one for your kitchen. I have an electric wok, but I have always wanted to do the hanging wok from the ceiling thing, which says to me....
dinner in a sec.
Okay, ready to start chopping? by the way, you don't have to limit the vegetables to what I have chosen. You can add anything you have in your fridge, the more the better, the brighter the colour, the healthier. I have chosen kale as my main green vegetable, as that's whats in the garden right now but broccoli works great and would be my other number 1 choice.
Meatless Monday #2 - Smoked Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients
Rice, thin egg noodles or Spaghetti Squash (we chose the later for this dinner as it's in season)
Marinade:
2 cups of vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 Tbsp of low sodium Soy Sauce....my number one choice is the Bragg's variety when I have it
1 Tbsp honey (or sugar)...this is optional
3 teaspoons of cornstarch
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp powered ginger
Opt: 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Now for the rest of the ingredients - vegetables, etc: Note: If you cut the veggies in strips, more of the vegetable can absorb the spices and it will improve the flavour of the dish
2 tbsp of sesame oil
3- 4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of grated ginger
1 chopped white onion
1 stalk of celery sliced
1 red hot pepper cut finely (optional...even our kids are starting to like things SPICY and even though I also have red pepper flakes in the marinade, I like layering my spices)
1 orange, red, or green sweet pepper, sliced
2 to 3 carrots sliced
2 cups of red cabbage..sliced
2 cups of kale or broccoli, cut up
1 sliced small zucchini
1 cup of mushrooms, sliced
1 package of smoked tofu cut up in cubes
Garnish of green onions, sesame seeds or almonds
Directions:
Cook the rice, noodles or spaghetti squash, as we have done, before you start your stir fry, as that part of the meal takes the longest to cook. Once you start cooking with the wok, dinner moves fast!
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| I had this cooked in the afternoon and Harrison just scooped the spaghetti squash and put it in a casserole while I stir fried...I also had rice cooking on the back burner..I use brown rice which takes 40 minutes |
1. Heat oil in wok, then add, onions, garlic, ginger, celery and red hot pepper
2. Add tofu and mix well with the above spices and vegetables, Cook for several minutes
3. Add the vegetables that will take the longest to cook, saving the softer veggies for last
Cook these for a bit, stirring well, then add the last of the vegetables, in this case the mushrooms and zucchini....leave the more tender veggies until the end to avoid mushy veggies
4. Add the marinade to the vegetables and mix well with vegetables. If the heat is too high, turn down to medium low, and cook with cover on, stirring occasionally, checking often to see if the vegetables are cooked through, don't let them get too soft, not a nice texture in my opinion.
When the kids start circling the island, (that's what they do in my house when they are hungry) then serve on a bed of rice, noodles, or like we did today with rice AND spaghetti squash. I topped it with green onions but you can garnish it with sesame seeds or do what we do often, a handful of almonds
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| Wished I had cut up my green onions a bit smaller, but hey, you should see them in my garden..they are HUGE...also, this dish is for William and he likes his food separate...so it's not plated for an adult...but he eats like one in amount! |
For my blog sake, and because Will has to head off to swimming right after dinner, I dished him up first.
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| He told me to tell my blog friends that the spaghetti squash was a nice touch |
Well it's that easy.
Sometimes we make things so hard in life but choosing to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle is quick and really perfect if you are a busy mom too. I'd like to think that when my grandchildren ask their parents, "What's for dinner?" someday, and my kids tell them, " Grandma's Tofu with Vegetable Stir fry, they will say, "Hooray!" I'm holding the vision for someday having grandchildren AND a world where everyone has food on their dinner plate. and peace in their heart.
Join me as I end this blog post with one of my son William's fav songs. In the evenings, after bath time, teeth have been brushed, stories are read, after I have said goodnight, sleep tight to his twin sisters, Will often asks, "can you come and lie with me for awhile Mom?" When I shut out the evening work of making lunches and cutting up and processing more tomatoes, and accept his offer, it's the BEST time of my day. "It's a choice to make a better day..."
Will starts singing the first song on the CD with his sweet, clear little boy voice. Sometimes he talks about his day with me and sometimes he asks me about my day....he's very mindful that way. He asks about children all over the world. As his body relaxes and his breathing slows, we both drift on the wings of the music.
I remember a time, being little like him. A 7 year old in the 60's. My Dad had died in a truck accident 2 years before and I can recall feeling so small, so insignificant in the world, and yet, there was this tiny part of me that was BIG. I didn't know it then, but I believe it was my shining soul energy. Even though times were often tough, I held onto that golden cord connected to this loving part of me, and I knew, if I had the opportunity to grow up, I would try to make a difference.
I'd like to think with my writing I make a dent on this earth, and by raising children who are conscious of their own golden cord, that we will all weave a thread of love and peace around the world. IT'S MY HOPE. Here's the song that Will sings from his, "KIDS FOR PEACE, " CD, called, "We are the World." It's a good song to sing on Meatless Monday!
If you can't see the youtube video below, click on this hyper-link, We are the World.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessings from Hope
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