Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

This one came out of trying to healthy-ify some favorites:

Recipe
Sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sambal (chili paste)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp sesame oil

Tofu
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sambal
3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp water
12 oz extra firm tofu, pressed and diced

Pad thai
1 medium spaghetti squash, halved and de-seeded
4 tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped into strips
other stir fry veggies (e.g. mushrooms, broccoli) if you want!
4 scallions, cut into 1-2 in pieces
3 tbsp chopped peanuts
lime wedges, cilantro, purple cabbage

• Preheat the oven to 400, and roast the squash cut side down, about 30 minutes.
• Whisk together the sauce.
• Whisk together the tofu sauce, and coat the tofu pieces.  Stir fry in a wok with a little oil until golden brown.
• Saute the red bell pepper (and other veggies if needed) once the tofu's done.
• Once the squash is done, shred with a fork to make noodles.  Add it to the skillet, then add the sauce.
• Serve topped with the tofu, scallions, peanuts, lime, cilantro, cabbage

Notes
Must have been too busy digging in to take a picture.  It's a new favorite though!  Just make sure you start the squash early if you're hungry...

Cauliflower Miso Soup

Tried to do something light and healthy that could use up some of the extra miso paste from the last recipe, and found this...

Recipe

head of cauliflower, floret-ed
2 shallots, peeled and cut into quarters
4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tbsp red miso
1 tsp sherry vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 c unsweetened almond milk
2-4 c vegetable stock or water
1/4 c walnuts

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the cauliflower, shallots, and thyme with some olive oil, salt & pepper.  Roast on a parchment-lined baking sheet, 20-25 minutes until starting to brown.
• Set aside a few florets for a fancy garnish.
• Blend the roasted veggies with the miso, vinegar, soy sauce, almond milk, and 1 c of the stock.  Add more stock and keep blending until you like the texture.
• Heat the mixture in a pot.
• Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil and toast the walnuts with more thyme, salt & pepper.
• Serve the soup topped with cauliflower, walnuts, and extra oil if you want!

Notes

Might not have had super high expectations for this one, but it was really, really good!  Roasted cauliflower is pretty good on its own, and everything combined had a nice, rich, nutty taste.  Also classy.  Yum!

Zha Jiang Mian

Another ATK IG recipe: Beijing-style meat sauce...

Recipe

8 oz ground pork (we replaced with vegan crumbles)
1/8 tsp baking soda (I guess ignore for vegan crumbles)
5 tbsp red miso paste
5 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp molasses
8 scallions - white & light green in 1/2 inch pieces, dark green sliced thin
2 garlic cloves
1/2 in ginger, peeled and sliced
4 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 lb lo mein noodles
1/2 english cucumber, cut into matchsticks
6 oz bean sprouts

• Toss the pork with 2 tsp water and the baking soda, and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Whisk together 1/2 c water and the miso paste, soy sauce, hoisin, and molasses.
• Pulse the white and light green scallion parts, garlic, and ginger until coarsely chopped, then add mushrooms and make an awesome-smelling finely-chopped mixture.
• Heat pork mixture with some vegetable oil in a large saucepan for a minute, then add the mushroom mixture.  Cook 5-7 minutes.
• Add the miso mixture and cook 8-10 minutes while noodles cook.
• Combine sauce and cooked noodles, top with cucumbers, sprouts, and scallions, and eat!

Meatless Mushroom & Chickpea Pasta Sauce

Alright, here's another faux-meat sauce, this one courtesy of the America's Test Kitchen IG:

Recipe

10 oz cremini mushrooms*
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced*
1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes*
1/4 c tomato paste
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 c vegetable broth
15 oz chickpeas, rinsed
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
*feel free to add more as desired!

• Pulse mushrooms in a food processor until in little (1/8-1/4 in) pieces.  Heat 5 tbsp of oil in a dutch oven over medium high and cook mushrooms (and a little salt) until browned.
• In the meantime, pulse the onion similarly (don't need to clean out the processor between all these ingredients).  Add to the dutch oven until soft.
• Mix the extra tbsp of oil plus the garlic, oregano, and red pepper in a bowl.
• Add the tomato paste to the pot and cook a minute or 2.  Reduce heat to medium and clear space in the middle for the garlic mixture; add it and cook and mix in until fragrant.
• Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer about 5 minutes.
• Pulse the chickpeas similarly, and rinse in a strainer until the water runs through clear.  Add to the pot and simmer about 15 minutes.
• Stir in basil and salt & pepper, and serve over pasta!

Notes

This is a bit more complicated, but comes out really, really good!  Great to make a big batch and get a few meals out of it.  Might even be jefe-friendly?

Tofu Bolognese

Alright, now getting into the vegan phase - thanks Anne ;)  First up...

Recipe

2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1 block extra firm tofu
3 c tomato sauce
1 lb spaghetti or other pasta

Preheat oven to 350, and oil or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Mix the seasonings and stuff into a brown paste, and crumble in the tofu.  Mix it in real good, spread on the baking sheet, and cook for 35-45 minutes.  Toward the end, cook up the tomato sauce, then add the tofu, and serve over pasta (cook that in there toward the end too).

Quinoa & Spinach Patties

In my phase of looking for good vegetarian (not yet vegan...) recipes - ones that are filling, delicious (obv.), and as a bonus good for leftovers - found this one!

Recipe

1 c quinoa, cooked
4 eggs, whisked
1/3 c parmesan cheese, grated
3 scallions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c spinach, chopped & steamed (frozen OK)
1 c breadcrumbs

Basically, once you've done the above to each ingredient, mix them all in a bowl.  Let sit to absorb some moisture, and make patties.  Heat some oil in a skillet and cook in batches, 8-10 minutes per side until golden and a little crisp.

Baked Cod with Parm & Garlic Butter

Getting through some older recipes - for this one, actually have a picture of the end result so read on...

Recipe

3/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 lemon (juice & zest)
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 tsp paprika
3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 lb fresh cod

Preheat the oven to 400.  Mix the parm, garlic powder, paprika, and lemon zest on a plate.  Melt the butter and get your stations set up for the fish > butter > cheese > greased sheet pan; top with the extra butter!  Cook for about 15 minutes.  Squeeze on the lemon juice and serve!

Notes

As promised: