Saag Tofu

Tonight the omnivore and I are making vegan Indian dinner for his parents. His mom is in charge of bread, and I've already been informed that there is one egg in the naan she's making, about which my omnivore said "it's just one egg in the whole batch, that's barely any in each individual naan piece..." Grrr.

My dish is saag paneer (tofu), which I made vegan/vaguely followed from an epicurious recipe

Saag tofu

3 large bunches of fresh spinach (I'm sure you can use frozen too)
1 onion diced
3 garlic cloves diced
1 jalapeno diced
2-3 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I didn't have ginger or nutmeg so this was the closest I could get)
2 tbsp water
1/2 a brick of tofu, cubed small after pressing
2 tbsp veggie oil or earth balance
1/2 cup or so of canned coconut milk (though if I could do it over, I would make my own cashew cream)
1/2 container of single serving plain soy yogurt
salt to taste

Tofu:
1. Boil salted water.
2. Once boiling, add the cubed tofu and turn off heat.
3. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
4. Drain and set aside

Spinach
1. Separate the leaves and the stems, wash leaves well.
2. Wilt the spinach in a pan.
3. Place wilted spinach on a cutting board and chop finely.
4. Leave to cool, after which the spinach must be drained

Everything else:
1. Saute diced onions and garlic in oil.
2. Add spices and water.
3. Simmer for 5ish minutes
4. Remove onto cutting board and chop as finely as you can (or if you have a food processor handy, use that)
5. Add the spinach to the garlic-onion paste in the frying pan, and add coconut milk and tofu.
6. simmer for 5 minutes
7. Add yogurt
8. Salt and respice to taste (be careful!)

let it simmer until ready to serve.

The Omnivore made dahl.

It should all be tasty.

- Hanna

Bad vegan!!!

I'm back! and I must confess that I've been a TERRIBLE vegan. In late August I moved to Washington DC where I'll be continuing my dissertation research at the NIH, and for some reason, I'm finding it uber difficult to be vegan here. The holidays only worsened the problem because I decided not to be a pain in the ass and I basically ate anything that people put in front of me (I stayed vegetarian though). I ate mashed potatoes with cream and butter, gnocchi and gorgonzola (a personal favorite of mine), cheese enchiladas, ricotta tart, pirogis with sour cream (I don't like tofutti), and basically as much cheese as I could down. As a consequence, I've gained almost 20 pounds and I don't fit my pants any more. The holidays are over now, and because I feel like shit, I've decided that I should get back to my healthy vegan lifestyle. I've done really well for the last 3 days since returning from holiday vacation, and I expect to do well from now on. My partner seems to be on board, and I've asked him not to offer me food that isn't vegan because if I wasn't offered it I probably wouldn't have the impulse to say yes. It's really tough being vegan and dating an omnivore. I've also decided to stockpile healthy vegan snacks at work because there aren't many healthy or vegan options from the convenience store at the NIH even though the place is supposed to be dedicated to health! I bought larabars, walnuts, sesame sticks and carob and spirulina chunks, which should keep me well nourished. Here's hoping I can stick with it because I really do feel healthier and happier when I eat thoughtfully.

This week, I'll be posting about the following items from my vegan menu:
Enchiladas with roast veggies
Latkes
Saag paneer and dahl
and more...