Saturday, October 29, 2011

How Do You Cook Tofu?

How Do You Cook Tofu?

 So you bought a box of tofu and either tried to prepare it and it turned into a complete culinary disaster, or it has been sitting in your fridge just waiting to go bad because you don't dare pull it out and try to use it.  Well, have no fear, tofu is very easy to prepare IF you know how to do it.

If you do not know how to prepare tofu it can end up having a terrible taste and texture.  Many people who say they don't like tofu, don't like it because they have never had it prepared properly.  I decided to do a little tofu tutorial on how to cook tofu and use it in recipes so you can enjoy it rather than loathe it.

This simple tutorial will teach you how to cook tofu without any added oil, and yet you will achieve a beautiful browned tofu that will be a delicious addition to any recipe.
How To Cook Tofu Tutorial



  1. Purchase Firm or Extra Firm tofu in the water packed cartons.  *Do not get silken tofu!
  2. Cut the plastic and drain out the water
  3. Press the tofu in a large kitchen towel to remove most of the water, do not press too hard and damage the tofu.
  4. Slice the tofu in squares or triangles as you see above.
  5. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and place the tofu in the skillet as shown above.
  6. Use a spatula to press the water out of each slice of tofu as it cooks, it will sizzle as the water is released.  Continue to do this until the tofu slices no longer sizzle when pressed and they are browned on the bottom.
As you can see the tofu will brown very nicely and you do not have to use any oil to get this beautiful browning of the tofu.

8.  Flip the tofu and continue pressing the tofu with the spatula to remove water and brown the other side.

9. When the tofu is browned on both sides, remove from the skillet.

10.  Marinate the tofu in whatever marinate you will be using.


Examples of Marinades:

Barbeque sauce
Teriyaki sauce
Fajita sauce
Stir fry sauce

You can use any marinade that you want, make sure to marinate for about 15 to 30 minutes before cooking.  You can even marinate the tofu overnight for best results, but if you are just making a quick dinner 15 minutes is adequate.  Once the tofu is marinated you can either cook it in a skillet with the sauce and veggies or you can bake it.

Beautiful Asian Tofu Sweet and Sour Stir fry




As you can see, with this method of cooking tofu leaves a beautiful browned appearance and a very good texture.

Try out this method of cooking tofu and let me know how it works for you!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Vegan Tempeh Bacon Swiss Panini and Thanksgiving Recipe Blog Fest

Vegan Tempeh Bacon and Swiss-style Cheese Panini


This Recipe Features the FAMOUS Peaceful Kitchen Sunburger with a slice of homemade tempeh bacon, homemade rich and delicious swiss style cheese on whole grain bread and grilled to perfection.  This is my husbands #1 favorite sandwich of all time. 

You will absolutely LOVE the new white cheese recipe in this sandwich, it compliments the tempeh bacon and sunburgers beautifully.  I know many readers have been searching online for the Sunburger recipe and unfortunately I have not posted it on the blog.......until now!

The sunburger recipe is featured in MANY of my recipes and it is such a staple item that I decided I needed to post it on the blog so everyone can make a batch and use them in their cooking.  I will put it in another post so it can be listed on its own and easy to find but due to popular demand it is now available.

My kids also really enjoyed this sandwich and made them on their own for lunches until we ran out of tempeh and homemade white cheese.  This is a VERY quick and easy dinner when you are in a hurry or simply don't feel like cooking.





Thanksgiving Recipe Blog Fest






Starting Nov. 1st I will begin posting a new vegan Thanksgiving recipe several times a week.  If you follow the blog throughout the month of November you will have a complete collection of AMAZING Thanksgiving recipes to prepare your own Peaceful Thanksgiving Dinner!

Thanksgiving Recipes will include:

Yam Casserole with cinnamon streusel topping
Green Bean Casserole in a delicious cashew cream with homemade onion rings
Seitan tofurkey and gluten free tofurkey
Mashed potatoes with homemade vegan gravy
Cranberry Salad with delicious cashew whipped cream
Whole grain tempeh sausage stuffing
Gluten free quinoa stuffing
Whole grain Crescent Rolls
Ranch dressing
Pecan pie
Pumpkin pie
Chocolate silk pie
Old Fashioned Apple pie
and much more..........

The Peaceful Kitchen Vegan Sunburger Recipe

Veggie Sunburger Recipe



This is the sunburger recipe used in most of The Peaceful Kitchen recipes!  I have received many requests for this recipe and I know it is a central recipe for readers so I have made it available for you.  Simple, delicious light and very versatile veggie burger.  Delicious light veggie burger that can be used in any recipe calling for chicken.



Vegan Tempeh Bacon Recipe

Vegan Swiss or White Cheddar Cheese Sauce Recipe

Vegan Swiss & White Cheddar Cheese Sauce Recipe

Delicious, rich and creamy soy free, dairy free, vegan sharp white cheddar or swiss-style cheese sauce.  This can be used in casseroles, quesadillas, grilled cheese, in dips or any recipe that calls for a white cheese.  This can easily be used in any recipe calling for swiss or sharp cheddar.  If you want a more swiss flavor use less tahini, if you want a more sharp taste use more tahini.

This recipe has received RAVE reviews in everyone who has tested it.  Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Vegan Creamy Potato Corn Chowder Recipe

Creamy Potato Corn Chowder Recipe





This delicious creamy soup features a rich cashew cream base filled with fresh potatoes straight from the garden, homegrown organic corn, celery and the perfect blend of spices to create a delicious, hearty meal on a cold fall evening.  Your family will think you have slaved in the kitchen making a delectable rich soup, just don't tell them it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare.  Shhhh.....I won't tell.

I have to apologize, I am a little behind on my blogging....and well if you want to make fun of my organizational skills well.....then.....okay!  I admit my organizational skills are not so good.  I lost the charger to my camera battery and so I have not been able to take photos of all the yummy recipe creations I have been making.

I cannot post a recipe without a photo, it is the photos that display how yummy the food is.  Ask my husband about the panic I was in to find my camera battery charger.  Well, luckily my husband did find it and so I am back to blogging again.

My kids have been enduring my endless pumpkin recipes and interestingly my husband and kids have whined about every single one of them when they asked What's for dinner?

When I said, Pumpkin Alfredo, my family groaned.  Well, it was a HIT!  They loved it.  You'd think they would learn to just realize that even non-traditional combinations can be delicious, but it never fails.  If it isn't typical comfort food like veggie burgers and mashed potatoes I will inevitably hear whining.

Tonight was no exception, we had Pumpkin Sloppy Joes.  The kids thought I had lost my mind, when I told my husband he tried to be polite but didn't seem interested.  However, my son ate a full plate of the sloppy joe mix without any bread!  Yeah, it's THAT good!

Stay tuned for the pumpkin alfredo and pumpkin sloppy joe recipes!

Okay...on to the yummy potato corn chowder recipe...







Monday, October 10, 2011

Roasted Vegetables with vegan sharp cheddar over brown rice

Roasted Fall Vegetables with Homemade Vegan Sharp Cheddar Cheese 

 
Delicious fall vegetables marinated and roasted in the oven and topped with rich & creamy homemade sharp vegan white cheddar cheese served over brown rice.   Vegetables are marinated and roasted in an Italian seasoning and then topped with delicious vegan white cheddar cheese.

I have a delicious cheddar cheese sauce recipe but this new sharper cheese is absolutely delicious.  I have been using it in panini's, cheddar apple tarts and many other recipes and it has an amazing flavor.  The best part about this amazing cheese is that it is dairy free, soy free and made from whole foods only!

The roasted vegetables make a delicious meal, but you certainly could add your favorite veggie burger, tempeh or garbanzo beans and it would make a heartier meal in a snap!  My kids loved this meal and even ate their zucchini which they usually complain about.  Fall in our house is pretty much zucchini from the garden in every meal so they tire of it, but the addition of a delicious cheese changed their tune this time!  



Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Garbanzo Quinoa Cheese Cup Recipe

Garbanzo Quinoa Cheese Cup Recipe





Healthy Garbanzo beans, quinoa and cashews are processed and then mixed with an array of fresh vegetables, nutritional yeast, and spices....then topped with delicious, creamy, rich cheese sauce and baked to perfection. 
Okay, so I admit, this recipe isn't your typical comfort food or familiar recipe.  However, it is fast, easy, simple and even the kiddos will enjoy it. 


I have wanted to create a recipe with quinoa for quite awhile, but I haven't been able to come up with something that I thought would appeal to the whole family.  The night I created this recipe I was looking for something quick and easy to make and the idea for this recipe came up.  You don't have to bother making patties out of them, you just throw everything in a muffin tin and bake!  It is so simple!  If you let them cool a little bit they will hold together, we just scraped them out of the muffin tin while they were hot so they didnt' have the cute little muffin shape for the photo shoot.

My 12 year old daughter helped me make this, she had a lot of fun processing the ingredients in the food processor and mixing them together by hand in a bowl.  Kids LOVE anything they can spoon into a muffin pan and 'decorate', in this case we 'decorated' with cheese sauce instead of icing.  Bring the kids into the kitchen to help prepare the meal and they will be more likely to enjoy it.

I saved a couple for the next day and just left them in the muffin tin and they retained the cute muffin shape and they were almost better the next day after the flavors really had time to mix together.  Either way it is a delicious and really easy dinner recipe.  Enjoy!