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!!!!

Curry Veggies and Tofu

I had a bunch of tofu to use up last week, so I cubed it, browned it in some coconut oil, and then froze those cubes.

So this week when I was feeling tired, (lazy) and not very creative, but craving tofu and curry, it was SOOO easy to whip this together!

Yellow Curry, Tofu and Veggies

1 Tb. Aroy-D brand yellow curry paste

(I'm posting a picture because people keep asking where I find vegan Thai curry paste.

This brand, Aroy-D, makes a very authentic, but vegan, Thai-style curry paste that does NOT have shrimp paste, fish paste, bonito or any other non-vegan nastiness in it.

It's a million times more flavorful than the bland 'supermarket' varities, so give it a try if you get a chance!

Read your labels though, many curry pastes are not vegan. I find it at my local Asian market.)

1 can coconut milk
Aprox. 1 lb. tofu, cubed and fried until brown.
2 cups veggies*

*This is PERFECT for leftovers!!
Most veggies (except peas) should be cooked or partially cooked through before adding to curry.
Other good choices are cauliflower, peas, white or sweet potato cubes, mushroms, garbanzos, green beans, tomatoes or okra.

To put it all together:
Wisk curry paste and coconut milk together over med. heat until curry paste is mixed in completely and sauce is heated though.

Add fried tofu cubes, as much as you'd like. Simmer in curry sauce until tofu is hot, about 10 minutes.

Add 2 cups (or more if you want) cooked or partially cooked veggies - I used leftover zucchini and frozen peas tonight. Simmer until veggies are heated thru and done to your preference - this won't take long if they're already partially cooked.

Serve over steamed rice.