We've been cutting back on meat and replacing our dinners with vegan based foods every now and again. We'll see how long this lasts. Cooking vegan style food is extremely time consuming and messy. Right now though, it's still fun and I'm learning a lot about the secrets of vegan cooking.
Per the requests of a few friends, I'm happy to share those recipes that seemed to be the most tasteful to us. This recipe is from the cookbook "Veganomigon."
Chili cornmeal-crusted tofu
Corn/vegetable oil for frying*
1 pound extra firm tofu – drained and pressed
1 cup soy milk
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cornmeal
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 Tablespoon grated lime zest
1 ½ teaspoons of salt
Slice the tofu width-wise into eight slices, then cut each of those sliced in half diagonally – from the upper left corner to the lower right corner so you have 16 long triangles. Set aside.
Combine soy milk and cornstarch in a wide shallow bowl. Mix vigorously with a fork until the cornstarch is mostly dissolved.
In another shallow bowl, toss together the cornmeal spices, lime zest and salt.
Frying directions:
Heat about 1/4” oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Dip each tofu slice in the soy milk mixture. Drop it into the cornmeal with your dry hand and use your other hand to dredge it in the mixture, so that it’s coated on all sides. Transfer the tofu to the skillet into two batches so as to not crowd the pan. Fry the tofu for 3 minutes on one side, use tongs to flip and fry to 2 more minutes. Drain on paper towel.
Southwestern corn pudding
2 Tablespoons Corn oil
4 cups fresh corn (about 6 ears)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 Jalapenos, chopped finely
1 cup coconut milk
¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup corn meal
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 cup finely chopped scallions
¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne
Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease an 8” baking or casserole dish.
Saute the corn, bell pepper, and jalapenos in a large skillet for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, stir together the cornstarch and coconut milk until the cornstarch has mostly dissolved.
When the corn and peppers are ready, transfer 2 cups of them to a food processor (or blender). Add the coconut milk and cornstarch mixture, and pulse about 20 times until the mixture is mostly pureed but not completely smooth.
Transfer to a large mixing bowl and mix with the remaining corn, cornmeal, maple syrup, scallions, cilantro, salt and cayenne. Put the batter into a baking dish and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
