1 box Penne Rigate 1 pkg. (8oz.) Tempeh - crumbled 1 tsp. whole fennel seeds 1 tsp. rubbed sage 3 T. Tamari 2 T. Olive Oil A jar of your favorite pasta sauce.
- In a large pot bring about 3-4 quarts of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box. - In a saute pan heat the olive oil. - Add the tempeh, and lightly brown (about 2-4 minutes). - Add the fennel and sage, stir to mix, cook an additional minute. - Add the tamari - cook until the tamari dries up an additional 2 or 3 minutes (it will stick to the pan, not to worry). - Add about 3/4 of the jar of pasta sauce, lower heat and simmer until the sauce is hot. I usually only use 3/4 of the jar because I like to save the rest for re-heating any leftovers. If you plan on eating all of the pasta then use the entire jar of sauce. - Add the bolognese sauce to the cooked pasta and enjoy!
Here's a little spin on cooking Quinoa. Using 1 c. Quinoa + 1 3/4 c. water + 1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil + Optional Bragg's to taste (see below). - Rinse the quinoa thoroughly - Add to a hot pan and stir around for about 3-5 minutes - The quinoa will end up being dry (just like it was before you rinsed it). You will notice the difference in the way it moves around the pan more easily once it is dried. - Let it cook/toast this way for about 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn it. If it is sticking drastically to the pan you can remove it from the heat or lift the pan above the heat. The pan should have plenty of residual heat in it to gently toast the quinoa. - Add the oil and stir to incorporate, letting cook an additional 1-2 minutes. If it's not sizzling, move the pan back to the heat. At this point the aroma should be like a pleasant popcorn-like smell. - Add the water, being careful of splattering. - Bring to a boil, cover and lower heat to a simmer. - The quinoa takes about 15 minutes to cook (hardly much time at all). - Turn heat off, stir quinoa, return lid and let sit for an additional 5-minutes. - I love eating my quinoa with Bragg's liquid aminos and sauteed kale or braising greens. yummmmm
Herbivore - The Earthly Grill Price range $ - $$ We ate lunch at the Berkeley location on Shattuck ave. (there are two other locations in S.F.). It's a pretty straightforward restaurant with a very wide selection of menu choices. According to their web page they serve breakfast, which sounds fantastic. For us, this wasn't a restaurant that's particularly about the "service" or "ambiance," it is all about having plenty of options to choose from and not skimping on the portions (loved that about Herbivore). I can't really say the food is outstanding, but it doesn't seem like the type of place that is striving to wow critics. If you're vegetarian/vegan and you're hungry and you don't want to search a menu for options available to you (or create your own dish out of ingredients found on a menu), then Herbivore will do you good.
Maya Restaurant $$ - $$$ Not vegetarian, but there are options. Not quite as many options if you are vegan, but you won't leave hungry. Located in Sonoma (on the square). We love Maya! We're not entirely certain if that's because of the food, or the Tequila. Maya has an extensive Tequila list where you can order by the 2oz. pour, by the flight (a sample of a couple of varieties), or by the Margarita (there's no better hour than Happy Hour!). Speaking of hours, they seem to be closed during siesta hours (I can't remember the exact times and their website doesn't mention it) so maybe call ahead if that could be an issue. The complimentary tortilla chips are ever present with two types of salsa. They also have a "hot" salsa which you have ask specifically for, and we end up mixing the hot into the other two mild salsas. My fiance eats fish, so he's all about the fish tacos. While I always go for the Grilled seasonal vegetable platter for an entree. There are a number of vegetarian and vegan options available for appetizers as well (you can probably get full on them alone). The last time we were there they had a fresh fruit appetizer plate (served with agave/honey for dipping) that is perfect for the vegan in you, delicious! Check out their menu online. The food is great, the ambiance is inviting and relaxed, and did I mention Tequila?! yummm
Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon, here's a recipe for homemade Seitan as adapted from The Angelica Home Kitchen cookbook. It takes about 10-minutes to form the dough and knead it, 30-minutes to let it soak (plenty of time to prep the other ingredients), 20-30 min. to rinse, and 2 hours to let simmer in broth.
2 lbs. unbleached white all purpose flour (equals roughly 6 1/2 cups) 2 lbs. whole wheat bread flour 6 c. cold water
-Combine the flours, add the water and knead until you have a smooth and firm ball of dough. You may need a little extra flour for this process to get beyond the tacky consistency. Place this ball of dough in a large bowl and cover with warm water for 30-min.
While the dough is resting, get your broth ingredients together. 1 large yellow onion cut into large pieces 3 carrots cut into large pieces 2-3 stalks of Celery, cut into large pieces 4-5 cloves of garlic cut in half 1 piece of ginger about 3" long chopped up 3 sprigs of thyme 2 bay leaves 1 tsp. black peppercorns 2 leaves of fresh cooking sage 1 1/2 c.Shoyu or Tamari 1 gallon of water Place all ingredients into a stock pot.
After 30-min. dump the water out that the seitan was soaking in and place the dough into a colander, put the colander into a bowl. Fill the bowl with cold water and gently knead the ball of dough for 5 minutes. Dump the starchy water and fill the bowl back up with cold water while gently kneading for another 5-min. The dough should have the consistency of a bowl of wet socks. Dump the starchy water and fill the bowl back up with cold water while kneading the dough for another 5-min. Dump the water and fill with warm water and knead the dough until the water starts washing out clearly. About 5-10 min. For the last 5-min. rinse again with cold water. The water should be relatively clear by now and the dough should be firmer and about 1/2 the size from what you started with.
Seperate the dough into 2 or 4 smaller balls. Add to the stock pot, bring to a boil, simmer for 2 hours. Try to keep the seitan submerged under the water if you can. I used a glass bowl that was heavy enough to weigh down on the seitan that was bobbing up.
I apologize for the lame video. I've never used iMovie before and don't know how to add effects or Text. It should help a little though, right?
