Did I Mention Our New Panini Grill?

Yes indeed.

Our kitchen is home to a shiny, new panini sandwich grill and we couldn't be more excited!

Loads of thanks to our friend, Shaun.

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I think we were actually his tester Guinea-pigs, because after sampling only 37363536 amazing and tasty things we'd grilled, he went and bought himself one too!

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The grill was actually a Christmas present specifically for my Middle Sprout. She'd had it on her wish list for over a year. No Ipod, no cell phone requests like most 15-yr-olds; this girl is truly the kitchen appliance queen and loves cooking, experimenting and playing with food as much as I do. We're fortunate that she's willing to share all the grilled goodness with the rest of us family members.
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Now everything on our plates has those delicious toasty stripes. Even slabs of pineapple. (Without a doubt my FAVORITE!!)

Mr. Panini gets used frequently for quesadillas.

I've been having a lot of luck with vegan Tofutti slices; super-yummy with some cilantro, onions and tomatoes!

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Avocado slices are good too, but my kids aren't fans of green goo oozing from their quesadillas. How sad. More for me.

Slices of potato turn out great! These had a little olive oil, pepper, sea salt and rosemary. I don't remember how long they took, but it was a while; do them on med-low so they cook through before browning to a crisp.

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I didn't get a picture of the some of the tempeh - it was Shaun's favorite. Turned out pretty amazing too!! I simmered it in apple cider, let it marinate over night and grilled with a little soy sauce.

Grilled peanut-butter and sliced strawberries on thick whole-grain bread. Better than it looks!!

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So decadent, but certain nine-year-olds like it better than junk food, that's always a plus.

And it actually makes AWESOME panini-type sandwiches too - who knew? Currently, I'm really liking grilled eggplant and portabello mushrooms on sourdough, or a tempeh-rueben.

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If you've been considering yet another counter-hogging appliance, it's definitely a great multi-tasker. Lots of fun, super easy, get's dinner done FAST, hardly any clean-up, you don't need any oil for grilling most things.

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Even vegans can get plenty of use out of these babies as our pictures show... Have a great week!!!!

Bourbon BBQ-Sauced Tofu

Oh man, this is such a great way to have tofu. I suppose I should have pictured it all healthy-like with rice and some greens and such, but quite frankly, I'd really PREFER to eat it plain.
Just like this.
Lick it off the plate.
And maybe DRINK some of the extra sauce.

Crispy Tofu with Bourbon BBQ Sauce

1 lb. firm tofu, pressed overnight in fridge.

Cube tofu, in medium cubes (or whatever size you want to work with, smaller is just more tedious)
Toss with a Tbsp or two of cornstarch until all pieces are lightly coated. Shake off excess.

Fry in hot peanut oil, turning until all sides are crisp and brown. Leave each side until it browns, do NOT turn constantly!

Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Add to BBQ sauce and simmer for 30+ min until sauce is thickened.

Bourbon BBQ Sauce

3 tablespoons margarine
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup bourbon (or apple cider I suppose!)
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is best, mmmm)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce (or 1 Tb. soy)
1 Tbsp. or to taste, of your favorite hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt the butter with the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for until golden, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine; add fried tofu cubes, reduce heat to low and cook until thickened, about 30 to 45 minutes.

You can stick cocktail toothpicks in the cubes if they are dense enough and serve at a party! We did this last New Years and it was a huge hit!!

California and Grandma's Birthday and Grilled Tofu

Just some random posts of family and food at Grandma's 90th Birthday Party.

We had such a wonderful time, can you tell?! The first thing we did was toast Grandma and her 90 well-lived years.

I added random pictures of me with my Grandma, my crazy and hilariously fun cousins, my darling little niece with the dog, and my wonderful Auntie J.

Of course the spread was far from vegan but my family watched out for me, (I have an awesome family!) and I made a side trip to Trader Joe's for veggie burgers, tofu, hummus and such.

Not to fear, I had plenty to eat right along with everyone else...









I'll leave you with my newest Tofu creation.

Grilled Tofu Kabobs

• 1 package EXTRA FIRM tofu
• 4 cups random veggies
• (tiny baby eggplants, cherry tomatoes, pre-boiled new potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, red bell peppers, pre-boiled baby carrot chunks, paper thin ginger slices)
• 2 cups marinade of your choice:
• I used:
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp. Tabasco

I learned something recently. I really didn't think you could actually marinate tofu and have the marinade soak in.
But, the secret to actually getting marinade to soak IN to tofu is to press the tofu a LONG time until it's squeezed practically dry and THEN marinate. It soaks up the marinade just fine!

So, here's what you do, it takes some advance prep but it's SOOOO worth it:
Slice block of tofu into thick slices. (About 4 in a block.) Wrap in
6 layers of paper towel. (I know, sounds wasteful, but this is what works - if you have a lot of cheesecloth, use that.)

Lay in a shallow baking pan or similar
and weight down with another pan of the same size. Put several heavy books or cans on top the covered tofu.
Put in the fridge 4 hours or overnight. Unwrap the soggy towels and wrap in dry paper towels. Do the process all over again for at least 4 more hours.

Unwrap tofu. It should have shrunk and become dense and dry and firm. Cut into cubes.
Put into a bowl or bag with marinade. Marinate overnight.

Thread onto skewers with the above listed veggies and several slices of ginger.
Grill over med-high heat for about 15 - 20 min., turning several times until veggies are very done. Baste with marinade several times while grilling.

Gently remove from grill. Serve hot. (If you grill extra, throw 'em together for an awesome Grilled-Veggie and Tofu salad the next day.)

Surround yourself with family and enjoy!

Bumper Stickers and BBQ Tofu for Supper

First news of the day: I added a new bumper sticker to my Mom-van and just have to show it off. (The Vegetarian one..).
This event is impressive in itself because I'm actually not a 'bumper sticker' fan... but someone gave me "Who Are These Kids..." a year or two back and EVERYONE said it was so "me" that I just had to put on the van's pristine, unadorned backside. It gets great comments absolutely all the time (which I find weird since I never notice, much less comment on, other people's adesivo com frases humorísticas... but I digress).
Anyway, my kids found and LOVED the new "Vegetarian" bumper sticker especially for it's 'sprouting' reference, ('cause I always refer to them as my "Sprouts" of course). I figure a little PR for a vegetarian lifestyle is a good thing, but that's the last one - no more humorous adhesive on my hiney!

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Next, a simple but most excellent supper made by myself, and my friend Froggy-boy. We both thought it was worthy of a passing mention here just for it's simplicity and delicious-ness alone.

• Kale with roasted red peppers and sesame seeds. (No recipe, that's all there was to it.)
• Baked Tofu with BBQ sauce. (Again, no recipe, just slabs of tofu, baked with sauce - sooo yummy!)
• Garlic and Herb Oven-Roasted Potatoes (Recipe below)

Garlic and Herb Roasted Potatoes

6 Yukon Gold Potatoes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp. finely grated lemon peel
2 garlic cloves (You KNOW I used more than this!)
large handful fresh basil leaves
2 - 3 sprigs fresh thyme and sage
1 tsp. onion salt
Seasoning Salt (I use Johnny's 'cause it's made nearby in Tacoma, no MSG and way cheap) and pepper to taste

Cube potatoes. Place in roasting pan or shallow rectangular baking dish.
Put all other ingredients in food processor and blend until liquefied. It will be thick and green and garlick-y.
Pour about 3/4 of the mixture over the potatoes and mix well. (I use my hands).
Bake at 450 degrees for 45 min. or until starting to brown and crisp. Stir several times.
Pour remaining seasoning mixture over potatoes, toss well and serve. Yummmmmm.

There were no leftovers.