Tofu Stir-Fry w/Spicy Garlic Sauce (Gluten-Free Option, Sugar-Free Option)

This was incredibly fun to make and I've only made it once before when I tried to figure out one of the sauces for my favorite "treat", stir-fried tofu in garlic sauce. Once a month or so, my family and I will get American-style Chinese takeout and this is my go-to dish aside from dumplings, desserts and steamed veggies. It is quite fattening so I won't eat it often, but it is especially addicting with the conflicting flavors and textures...and probably because I make it extra-spicy. You've probably had it before, and every restaurant has a slightly variating style - so I'm going to put my own little "Shin-Spin" on things. Whatever veggies you have on hand will do, so I'll list what I put in my stir-fry later.

(Spicy Garlic Sauce Ingredients)

• 1 & 1/2 tbl Rice Vinegar
• 2 & 1/2 tbl Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 tsp Raw Sugar or Stevia (optional)
• 1/4 tsp Good Sesame Oil (retains both taste and smell)
• 1 tbl Veggie Oil
• 2 tbl Good Soy Sauce or Tamari
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha
• 5 Crushed & Minced Garlic Cloves
• 1 pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 tsp Cornstarch
• 2 tbl Water

(Directions)

• First, mix the water with the cornstarch.
• Saute your minced and crushed garlic in the veggie oil until softened and is lighter in color slightly.
• Add in your vinegars, soy sauce, and oil. Stir and let bubble
• Squirt in your sriracha and sugar, add a bit of pepper flakes and wait about 15 seconds.
• Mix in the slurry of cornstarch and water, then stir it in until it has thickened to your liking.
• Quickly coat your preferred veggies in this addictively spicy sauce and serve over a nice bed of rice.
• Enjoy!

My personal stir-fry contained mung bean sprouts, brocolli sprouts, carrots, baby corn, pan-fried tofu, steamed mushrooms, sweet peas, green bell pepper and broccoli. Since the garlic sauce is so flavorful and has a lot of sodium, I wouldn't suggest adding salt or anything else to the other ingredients so to keep it healthier.

Somalian Fried Rice (Surbiyaan) and Tikka Masala Tofu

This is the first Somalian dish that I've made and I absolutely love it. A mix of my favorite flavors, spice, and herbs make this a wonderful one-pot dish for anyone. To cool it down it is best to serve with a few nice pieces of muufo and have a great family meal. I took an easy shortcut with this - so feel free to do the same.

(Somalian Fried Rice Ingredients)

• 1 package of Saffron/Basmati Rice
• 1/4 cup Brown Rice (long grain)
• 1 Small Bell Pepper
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 4 cloves of Minced Garlic
• 1/2 small Jalapeno (minced)
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp Cardamom
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Coriander
• Minced Cilantro (at the end)
• Water

(Tikka Masala Tofu Ingredients)

• 1/2 Package Firm Tofu
• 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 Small Minced Onion
• 2 cloves of Garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1-2 tsp of Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of Coriander and Nutmeg
• A pinch of Allspice
• Minced Cilantro
• 1/2 cup Tomato Sauce
• 1/4 cup Non-Dairy Milk

(Directions)

• For the Fried Rice: Add your spices to the water and once it comes to a full boil you can add the peppers, garlic and rice. Place the pot top on top of them.
• Slice your red onion. Dry cook onion in a pan and once the rice is finished steaming.
• Turn the heat off and keep the lid on for 15 minutes. Then you can add in the onions and cilantro.
• Serve next to some muufo with cilantro and the tikka masala and enjoy!


• For the Tikka Masala Tofu: Marinate your tofu in everything but the last two ingredients for at least 3-5 hours and cook with 1/2 tsp of Olive Oil until the tofu is well browned.
• Add the tomato sauce and let it cook for about 5 minutes - then slowly stir in the soy mil.
• Cook for one more minute and turn off the heat. Place on top of your fried rice.

Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

This dish is good throughout the year but is especially good when the weather is cooling down. The notes of a sweet and crunchy crust on top paired with soft lentils, pops of peas and a delicious spicy garlic sauce is what one needs to warm up.

(Crust Topping Ingredients)

• 1 Steamed and Mashed Sweet Potato (skin on)
• 1/4 Cup of Real Maple Syrup
• A pinch of Sea Salt

(Lentil Shepherd's Pie Filling Ingredients)

• 1 Head of Minced and Salted Garlic
• 1/2 Small Onion (minced)
• 3/4 Cup Vegetable Broth
• 3-5 tbl Sriracha
• 2 cups Cooked (but not mushy) Green Lentils
• 2 Medium-Sized Carrots
• 1/2 cup Peas
• A Dash of Cajun Seasoning
• Salt to taste

(Directions)

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
• Saute your garlic and onions in a pot until they become slightly translucent, then add the sriracha.
• After it has cooked for a few seconds and lightly sticks to the pan. Add about 1/4 of a cup of the broth. Stir and add in your carrots.
• After about five minutes, add your lentils and more broth as needed.
• Once the carrots have slightly softened and add the peas to the pot.
oil up your ramekins. Spoon some of the filling in leaving about 1/4 inch of space on top. Stack your sweet potato mash on top.
• Bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes or until lightly crisp and fully browned.
• Serve and Enjoy!

Halloween Goodies #1 (Peanut Butter Caramel Popcorn)

Scary, isn't it? The dark shadow, the red fabric and the eerie glow of the popcorn tell you not to put it in your mouth. But the popcorn is so inviting and it smells divine! The tantalizing smell of caramel, the pop of the spice and the hint of salt and peanut butter is too much to resist. This devilish treat is surely a crowd pleaser for the little goblins and ghouls who will most definitely appear at your house. Keep your popped corn on hand - because this is going to be a sweet ride!

(Peanut Butter Caramel Popcorn Ingredients)

• 5 tbl Coconut Oil
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup White Sugar
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/4 Cup Soymilk
• 2-4 tbl Low-fat Peanut Butter
• A Small Squirt of Lemon Juice
• Unsalted Crushed Peanuts (optional)
• Cooked popcorn

(Directions)

• Melt the coconut oil in a thick-bottomed pan and add in your sugar. Stir those in for a while as you drizzle in the soymilk. Let it thicken and bubble.
• While still stirring, add the salt and pepper flakes. Let that go for another five minutes and add the lemon juice. It should be thick and you should kind of be able to tell how far the caramel is in with it's thickness.
• Stir in the peanut butter and a touch of extra salt if you like, it should look like a thick caramel by now. Stick a spoon in it to test it's thickness.
• Spread it over your popcorn evenly and sprinkle the peanuts over. Mix it together until coated and serve warm or cooled.
• Enjoy!

Unh Na Naan Na Naan

Look at that up there - not so quick! You don't want it to notice you checking out all of its fine curry graviness, speckled with little bits of ginger, carrots and edamame and bulked up by bits of tofu. Its so saucy and seductive, it's practically calling you over to inhale its mild heat and smooth texture. When you finally take the courage to fully look it over and lift just a forkful of this curry to your mouth, your mouth and stomach will beg for more! But this isn't the best part of the meal, not even by a long-shot.

You see its two friends there? They look kind of frumpy and unattractive standing in the back don't they? You'd be wrong thinking that the curry is the spotlight of the meal, its simply a reason for you to use those two pieces in some kind of twisted sandwich, getting both your fingers and face messy. All you want is to shovel your mouth full of this garlic naan like there's no tomorrow. But again, you have to play this cool as you lift it up to your face and smell its delicious bready-aroma. You can see the slight sheen of oil emanating from their bodies and the flecks of parsley sprinkled atop the flat-bread. That isn't even the best part - there is sweet and savory minced garlic stuck in the middle of that bread, and you definitely need to get to it. One bite and you're through the oil with herbs over that floury bread, another bite and you start to taste the slightest flavor of that aromatic garlic, and at the third bite you're in the middle of garlic-nirvana - swimming in a sea of passion with the sweet but slightly pungent flavor of the garlic. You close your eyes as you're enveloped by it and you love every single minute. You open your eyes and see that your hands are gravy-stained, the pot you use to cook with has been wiped clean, and all of your naan bread is gone. What do you do now? Make more of course!

(Naan Bread Ingredients) -Makes about six naan dough-balls

• 1 and 1/4 cups of All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 of a teaspoon of Baking Powder
• 1/4 a cup of Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 a teaspoon of Cumin
• 1/4 a teaspoon of Coriander
• 1/4 a teaspoon of Iodized Salt
• Unsweetened Soymilk (to make it enough to come together)

(Optional)

• Half a cup of fresh parsley or cilantro (to sprinkle over the finished bread)
• Oil.

(Curry ingredients)

• Firm tofu (cubed)
• Oil.
• Carrots, peas, onions, mushrooms (any vegetables you like)
• Sriracha sauce
• Golden Curry's curry paste

(Directions)

• For the Naan Bread: Mix the dry ingredients together thoroughly and create a well in the middle. Pour some soymilk in until it comes together but isn't too wet of a dough. Knead it together for about 4-7 minutes or until it comes together fully and feels a bit elastic. After you've mixed the dough together, place it in a bowl off to the side and start working on your curry.


• For the curry: Press some of liquid out of the tofu. Then, pan sear it on all sides until golden. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Saute your vegetables. Add a few chunks of the curry paste and water. Stir until paste is dissolved. Then add cooked tofu.


• Back to the Naan bread: Get out a rolling pin and flour the area and everything that you're working with. Take out the dough and cut it into equal pieces, then roll out each ball as thinly as you can. Then cook it(baked or fried) however you want until it blisters and looks like my bread. If it gets extremely puffy - don't worry, it just likes you.
• If you prefer to stuff the bread, put it in the middle of the thin bread and then fold the pieces of the dough around it. After that, flip it over onto its seal and roll it out to its thin stage, repeating with each dough ball. Then bake or fry until it blisters and looks like my bread.

Although it isn't much, these recipes are my own so if you use them on your site please do notify me. If you have questions or simply want to comment, I'd love to respond.
Enjoy!