Easy Weeknight dinners Presents: Quick asian stir fry!

Who doesn't like a quick stir fry? This was such a fast and easy dinner. The use of somen noodles sped up the process considerably, feel free to use rice if you prefer though.

Quick Asian Stir Fry
Number of tools: 8 (cutting board, knife, jar, measuring cup, garlic press, wok, sauce pot and spoons)
Time: Approximately 20 minutes

Step one: Make sauce.

In a jar combine these ingredients and set aside:

2 small hot peppers, minced
1 inch of garlic root, minced
3 cloves garlic, put through a press
1/8 cup minced scallions
pinch fresh cilantro (I love it, my husband hates it... use you best judgement)
1/2 cup sake or other dry white wine
juice of 1/2 lime

Step two: Prepare somen or rice noodles, according to package directions

Step three: Quickly stir-fry veggies in a hot frying pan or wok using the tiniest posible amount of sesame or peanut oil. Add the sauce combination at the end and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced.

This is a good combination: 1 carrot, 1 cup cabbage (from a bag of pre-shredded cole slaw mix), 1/2 red or orange bell pepper, 1 cup snow peas, 1 cup mushrooms, 1/2 cup edamame

Step four: Serve stir fry over noodles or rice. Dig out your best chop sticks and dig in!


Stir fry's are really easy once you figure them out. Technique is everything. Here are a few hints:

1. The pan needs to be REALLY hot.
2. The order of the vegetables is crucial. The veggies that will take the longest to cook go in first and the fasted veggies go in last. That way everything will be cooked perfectly.
3. Cut everything as close in size as possible to ensure even cooking.
4. If you do not have time to make your own sauces, don't be discouraged. Buy those bottled ones, they taste fine. Just keep an eye on the sodium level and look out for fish sauce as an ingredient.

So now that you know what to do, have fun and go to town making the fastest dinner ever.... stir fry!

Tonights quick and easy dinner......

Bean Quesadillas!

Traffic was horrible today and I got home too late for a big formal dinner. I also wanted to finish up some things, so I used the last brown rice tortillas, some black beans and a little of my new favorite vegan cheese and fixed a vegan quesadilla which was out of this world! This has to be the fastest dinner I have ever made for myself! When I served it with a little salsa and some green beans it rounded out the meal and enabled me to finish preparing dinner quickly.

Since there is no recipe to share, I thought I share something else that has been on my mind lately. On my ride into work the news on NPR has been all about the G7 summit and the economy. It has caused me to consider economizing more and more myself. People tell me it must be expensive to be a vegan, to eat so many vegetables, to be so healthy etc... all the time. Here are some tips/reminders I have come up with for how to be a frugal vegan in the kitchen:

Tips for being an economical vegan in the kitchen

1. 
   
   Remember to use ethnic markets when possible. Often vegan recipes call for specialty spices and ingredients. You can get these things very inexpensively at ethnic markets. Asian markets are great places for tofu, tempeh, seaweed, edamame, sesame oil, soy sauce and all sorts of vegetables. Indian markets will carry tons of dried rices, beans and spices all at lower prices than your local supermarket. Italian markets often have good wines and canned tomatoes.


2. 
   
   Shop at farmer's markets. This may not always be the cheapest but it is good for the economy and the enviroment as your food is traveling less and you are putting your hard earned dollars back into the local economy. Additionally, there are often farmers who use organic practices but who are unable to afford organic certification... it pays to ask.


3. 
   
   Use a CSA. This is one I need to get on board with. Community Supported Agriculture provides you with a portion of the harvest in exchange for paying for a share. It can be a great deal and helps the local economy. Check out http://www.localharvest.org/ to look for one near you.


4. 
   
   Bake your own bread. Finding vegan bread can be a real pain... and often it is VERY expensive. So the frugal solution is BAKE YOUR OWN! This isn't that hard. I can't make a pie crust to save my life but even I can work out bread. Start with muffins and quick breads and then work your way up to yeast bread. Before you know it you will be turning out bagels, scones and english muffins too. This is a good beginners yeast bread.


5. 
   
   Beans and plain tofu are your friends. All of those preseasoned vegan products are very convenient. They are also very expensive. Dried beans are extremely cheap! A block of plain tofu can be marinated and cooked into a delicious meal with a little pre-planning. If you went to an Asian grocery store then dinner just became even cheaper! Also you can tailor your recipes to your own needs, cutting back sodium or fat and adjust the spices to suit your tastebuds.


6. 
   
   Learn to make your own seitan. Use the internet and cookbooks to find recipes for whatever you like to eat alot of. There are recipes for vegan ice creams, seitan sausages, almond milks even vegan yogurts. Invest in some decent cookware and you should be able to whip up plenty of delicious foods.


7. 
   
   Plan ahead. I mean to say, don't waste food! If you make a big casserole or stew freeze some for later. Freeze some of the peas you get in your CSA pick up. If you have a bumper crop of tomatoes, make sauce. You can even use your old vegetable peelings to make homemade vegetable broth. Try to creatively reuse your leftovers in order to avoid waste.


8. 
   
   Pack your own lunch. Brown bag it instead of spending $10 a day on lunch. The savings really add up. Fifty bucks a week becomes two hundred bucks a month becomes... well I think you get the point!


9. 
   
   Avoid the soy latte trap. This is a hard one for me! Every soy latte I buy averages three dollars. A coffee from home is maybe 10-50 cents depending on how much soy milk I use. Not to mention the savings in wasted paper cups (no matter how often I bring my own cup, they still put it in a paper one first...)


10. 
    
    Eat in season. Another no brainer... food that is in season is cheaper, tastier and often has a smaller carbon footprint because it is not being shipped from around the world. Wait until the summer for corn and the fall for pumpkin. You tastbuds and your wallet will thank you!


11. 
    
    Remember that you do not NEED vegan cupcakes to survive. You do however need a reasonable balance in the bank. You can always learn to bake them yourself... this is much cheaper than paying $6.50 a piece for one.


12. 
    
    When reasonable, buy in bulk. This can save you money if you can actually finish the amount of food you have purchased before it spoils. Just don't buy bulk without doing your math first. Bulk buying doesn't always save money.

Well there it is... some frugal vegan tips. If anyone else has some please share. I am by no means perfect. I certainly buy vegan cupcakes and soy lattes, but even if we manage to reduce our purchases of these things we can save alot of money over the year.

Easy Weeknight Dinners Series presents: Southwestern Wow!

Since my week doesn't seem to be getting any easier... this is the second installment in my new series of simple family dinners for weeknights. Tonight's meal has a slightly higher sodium content than I would like but it is still has a fat free option and is quite tasty. This is so simple that it is almost silly but I was able to throw it together in about 30 minutes and the bulk of that time was spent just letting the rice cook which makes it a definite plus in my book.

Southwestern Wow!

Number of tools: 5 (pot, cutting board, knife, spoon, can opener)
Time: Approximately 30 minutes

Ingredients:
olive oil or extra broth for sauteing
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS dried oregano (or you can just give it a good sprinkle...)
2 chipotle peppers*
1 cup uncooked rice (I set this for white because that was what I had, brown rice would be awesome, just adjust the water/vegetable broth)
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 can of low sodium corn (15 ounces)
1 can of black beans (15 ounces)
1 cup frozen chopped spinach

Possible stir-ins and additions to make it fancier:
Vegan cheese
Vegan sour cream
guacamole
tortilla chips

Method:

1. In a tiny amount of olive oil or broth saute the onion and garlic until slightly translucent.
   
2. Add the chipotles and oregano stirring constantly.
3. Stir in the dry rice for a few seconds until everything is well mixed then add the water.
4. Bring to a boil, add corn and beans.
   
5. Return pot to a boil then reduce heat.
6. Simmer mixture until rice is done (mine took about 25 minutes) adding the spinach a few minutes before serving in order to heat through.

* A note about those chipotles: Two make it pretty spicy so you may want to reduce them amount or omit them all together. Also if you don't have chipotles on hand DO NOT even consider going to the store. This is supposed to be quick and easy! Use some other type of hot pepper or a small sprinkle of hot sauce.

Easy Weeknight Dinners Series presents: Veggie Pasta Presto!

This has been one of those crazy weeks where there haven't been nearly enough hours in the day to accomplish even half of my to-do list. I am lucky if my husband and I eat one balanced meal-a-day (I wonder...do cheerios even count as a balanced meal?) and takeout menus are scattered across the dining room table instead of dinner plates plates heaped with nutritious and lovingly cooked meals.

This is a sure sign that I need an intervention...

As I was pondering with great distaste my lack of both time and tasty vegetable concoctions it occurred to me that many people were also probably suffering from similar time constraints. After all, I can't possibly be the only person with a long commute, large to-do-list etc... Thus I was inspired to start this little series:

Easy Weeknight Dinners

Nothing you'll find within this series could ever pass for gourmet. But it is all quick, simple and nutritious. Best of all, the recipes shouldn't require any special trips to the health food store for weird ingredients.

Without any further ado... here is the first installment.

Veggie Pasta Presto!
Number of tools: 6 (2 pots, cutting board, knife, spoon, strainer)
Time: Approximately 35 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb penne pasta
1 lb frozen broccoli
olive oil or white wine for sauteing
additional olive oil/ vegan butter for pasta (optional)
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
generous sprinkle basil
generous sprinkle marjoram
1 can plum tomatoes (28 ounces)
1 cup frozen peas

Method:

1. Put a pot of salted water on to boil for pasta.
2. In a tiny amount of olive oil or white wine (for fat free version) saute onion, carrot and garlic.
3. When onion is nearly translucent add basil and marjoram and saute for about a minute more.
4. Add canned tomatoes (including liquid) and bring to a boil. Break up tomatoes using the spoon and boil for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary (if you like a sweeter sauce, this would be the time to add sweetener... though I don't advocate it)
5. By now the water should be boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package directions, adding the frozen broccoli for the final few minutes of cooking time.
6. Drain the pasta and broccoli and return to pot.
7. If desired, stir either olive oil or vegan butter through pasta (to prevent sticking) and broccoli and season generously with pepper and salt if necessary (skip this step for fat free).
   
8. Stir in vegetable mixture and serve.

Note: My husband actually likes this dish as it stands in step 7 with LOTS of pepper and olive oil. He calls it "Macaroni and Greens". This is what it looks like.