Pra Ram

This is a take on one of Natalie's favorite thai dishes, Pra Ram.  It's pretty simple and very delicious, especially if you like peanut sauce dishes.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb           Extra Firm Tofu
3/4 cup     Vegetable Broth
2 Tbsp      Soy Sauce
2               Carrots
2               Medium Zucchini
1 lb           Broccoli
12             Basil Leaves
4 Tbsp      Creamy Peanut Butter
1/4 cup     Non-Dairy Milk
1 Tbsp      Asian Sweet Chili Sauce
1 Tbsp      Honey or Maple Syrup
1 tsp         Lime Juice

Preparation

1 - Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2 - While the oven is preheating, combine 1 Tbsp each of soy sauce and vegetable broth
3 - Cut tofu into 1/2 inch cubes and dip each cube into mixture, fully covering it, before place it on a baking sheet.
4 - Bake in oven for 15 minutes
5 - While tofu is baking, prepare vegetables.  Slice carrots, slice zucchinis into half moon pieces, and chop broccoli into medium-sized florets
6 - Cook vegetables (we prefer steaming them) until slightly crispy.  Put basil leaves in at the end, just long enough for them to wilt
7 - To make the sauce, heat the peanut butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in the rest of the vegetable broth.  Add the milk, soy sauce, chili sauce, and honey and heat until bubbly.  Just before taking it off the heat, pour in the lime juice and mix.
8 - To assemble, place 1/4 of the vegetables and tofu onto a plate or bowl and then drizzle with 1/4 of the sauce.

makes 4 servings.

Zucchini Tomato Bake

This is a fast, yummy side dish.  Just chop some veggies, throw it in a pan and bake for 30 minutes!

Ingredients

4              Large zucchini, sliced and shopped into quarters
20 oz       Grape tomatos, sliced in half
3 Tbsp     Minced garlic
1/4 cup    Parmesean cheese, or non-dairy cheese substitute
1/2 tsp     oregano
1/2 tsp     basil
1/2 tsp     thyme
1/2 tsp     salt
1/4 tsp     black pepper
2/3 cup    fresh basil, finely chopped

Preparation

1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cook a 9x13 pan with cooking spray
2 - Combine all ingredients, except fresh basil, in a mixing bowl (make sure all vegetables ar throughly coated with the spices and garlic)
3 - Transfer combined ingredients to the pan
4 - Cook uncovered for 25-35 minutes, depending on how crunchy you want your zucchini
5 - After baking, sprinkle basil over the top.


Makes 4 servings

Pesto Veggie Quesadilla

This is a new one which we've only tried once, but it was very tasty so I'm putting up on the blog right away.

Ingredients

4 Wheat tortillas
1 cup      Yellow Squash, sliced and chopped
1 cup      Zucchini, sliced and chopped
1/2 cup   Red Onion, chopped in large pieces
1/2 cup   Red Pepper, chopped in large pieces
1/2 cup   Green Pepper, chopped in large pieces
4 Tbsp    Pesto sauce
4 oz        Vegan cream cheese (Tofutti is our preferred brand)
4 Tbsp    Vegan pepper jack cheese, grated (Daiya is our preferred brand)
1 Tbsp    Mexican seasoning

Preparation

1 - Chop all the vegetables
2 - Heat up grill (we just used our George Forman grill) and coat with cooking spray
3 - Place vegetables on grill (may take two rounds depending on size of your grill)
4 - Sprinkle seasoning on vegetables, and let them cook, periodically moving them around until all veggies are soft
5 - Heat up griddle or frying pan on medium heat
6 - Lay out tortillas, spread half with 1/4 of the cream cheese, followed by 1/4 of the pesto sauce
7 - After veggies are done cooking, divide them into 4 parts and place on top the pesto covered side of each tortilla
8 - Sprinkle 1/4 of the grated cheese on top of veggies and fold tortilla over
9 - Place folded tortillas on heated griddle or pan, cook on each side until tortillas are golden brown
10 - serve with fresh salsa and guacamole.


Makes 4 quesadillas.