Exxon Valdez Stir Fry

I'd been in the world less than a year when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound and spilled 240,000 barrels of petroleum. Boy am I sure glad nothing like that's happened since! I'd post another link to the article I wrote about the justice of eco-terrorism, but maybe it's enough just to mention that I wrote about the justice of eco-terrorism.

Vegansaurus tells me that some women are using fur as hair extensions. That's the kind of choice that'll inspire me to vomit on someone.

This meal did the opposite of make me want to vomit. It's a bit weird because I had to use all the fresh food I had lying around before I leave town for the week. Virginia is for lovers. Or for hanging out with one's parents.

makes approx. 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. long grain brown rice

1 yellow onion, diced

1 lb. tofu, cubed

1 crown broccoli, chopped

1 c. baby arugula, tightly packed

1/2 clove garlic, minced

1/2 hot house tomato, sliced

1 avocado, chopped

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

sesame oil

shoyu soy sauce

cayenne

ground Tellicherry pepper

red pepper flakes

curry powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the rice.

2. Sauté onion in a large pan with oil. Add tofu. Once the bottoms start to brown, toss in broccoli.

3. Once you've minced the garlic, throw that in and douse it all with soy sauce and pack the arugula in on top. Let it get cooking for a while.

4. After the broccoli has acquired a bright sheen, add in the tomato, avocado, seasonings, and yeast flakes. Pour in more soy sauce if needed. Mix it all up and cook until the nutritional yeast starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Cut the heat.

Polygamy Outlaw Edamame Salad

I'm stealing facts from the NYT now (via Wikipedia. of course). Congress outlawed polygamy on March 22, 1882. I'm guess I'll state that without editorializing.

This meal came together in 15 min. It's leftover edamame and sweet corn fried with half an onion, half a tomato, and an avocado in soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds. Plus 1/3 c. quinoa. Simple. I realized that I often use spices too liberally.

This is the first time I've truly procrastinated in maybe two years. I've got a paper due 4pm on Thursday and I haven't written a single word. Time to get cracking. And then after that maybe I'll stop procrastinating with respect to what I'm doing after graduation.

How to be a plant.

Johnny Appleseed Stuffed Buttercup Squash

I had no idea, but Johnny Appleseed was one of the greatest people to ever live. Who knows really, but he was vegetarian, treated animals with the utmost respect, was a lifelong itinerant, wore shabby clothes, planted apple nurseries, etc. I wish there were more primitive Christians in the world, because then I would be so much cooler with Christianity. Seriously, I'm gonna go to the library and take out all the books on J. Appleseed like tomorrow.

I think this squash is buttercup. If someone reading this knows better, tell me what's up. I'd never cooked one before, but I totally lucked out with the purée I filled it with. So good.

makes 2 halves

INGREDIENTS:

1 buttercup squash, halved

1/4 c. cashews, soaked in 1/2 c. water

1/2 crown broccoli

1/2 hot house tomato

2 cloves garlic

salt and pepper and paprika and hot sauce to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Place the squash, broccoli, and garlic in the oven. Take the garlic out after a few minutes.

3. In a blender, purée cashews and water. Add in the tomato, broccoli, and garlic; purée until smooth.

4. After the squash has been cooking for approx. 25 min., fill it with the puréed stuff and pop back in the oven for another 15-20 min.

I ate this with some delicious baba ghanoush, black olives, and chips that my good friend made and brought over. So nice of her.

 

If y'all missed it on Vegansaurus, there's a Vegan Pen Pals Project! Do it!

Biggie Smalls Bruschetta and Stir Fry

The Notorious B.I.G. was murdered 14 years ago. We all know the story, so I'll just leave ya with a track. So many classics to pick from, but right now I'm partial to "Juicy". Bringing you back.

The bruschetta's just some slices of bread drizzled with olive oil and topped with leftover sauce from the spaghetti I made a couple nights ago. 18 min. in the oven at 375F.

makes approx. 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. long grain brown rice

5 shallots, diced

1 fat clove garlic, sliced

1 lb. tofu, cut into little rectangles

1 1/2 broccoli crowns, chopped

1 hot house tomato, sliced

1/8 c. walnuts, chopped

shoyu soy sauce

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. black sesame seeds

1 tsp. white sesame seeds

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/4 tsp. cayenne, 90k Scoville

1/4 tsp. salt

sesame oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Simmer the rice 45 min.

2. Sauté the shallots in a large pan in sesame oil. After they start to brown, add the garlic for a couple minutes, then toss in the tofu and broccoli. Douse in soy sauce, cover for a while.

3. Once the broccoli starts to turn bright green, uncover and add in walnuts, tomato, and seasonings. Heat through, try to get the broccoli a little crispy on the edges.

Here's my review of Mike Leigh's most recent film, Another Year.

Cato Street Conspiracy Beans and Rice

181 years ago a plot to assassinate all the British cabinet members and the prime minister was thwarted. Go big or go home, right?

My coworker called in sick today so I'm on duty 4pm-12am. Luckily, the navy beans'd been soaking for a while (2 days...) so when I got out of class I threw 'em on the stove, made some rice, and fried up the other stuff. I haven't tried it yet. The plate presentation was scraped into a plastic container immediately after the above photograph was taken.

makes approx. 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb. navy beans

1 c. rice

2 hot house tomatoes, sort of cubed

1 avocado, sliced

1 poblano pepper, diced

1 medium white onion, diced

cumin

coriander

cayenne

salt and pepper

red wine vinegar

oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak the beans overnight (or longer, if you plan incorrectly) in 4 c. water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cook for 70 min.

2. Bring the rice to a boil in 2 c. water, simmer for 45 min.

3. Sauté onion in oil in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the pepper. After another few minutes, add the tomatoes, avocado, seasonings to taste with a splash of vinegar. Cook until desired texture.