Crispy Sesame Tofu and Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

Recipe from Rainbow Plant Life (Nisha Vora) 
Servings: 4

This is one of those “moan meals” during which every bite will produce a moan from the eater.  It looks like a lot of ingredients, but the this is quite easy to make.  The sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.  While the tofu and mushrooms are roasting, you can clean up any dishes you used for prepping and set the table. This is definitely company worthy!  

Tofu and Mushrooms
1 (16-ounce) block of extra-firm tofu
16 ounces of oyster mushrooms (can substitute shiitake mushrooms)
2 - 2½ Tablespoons neutral-flavored oil, divided 
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 Tablespoon tamari or soy sauce 
1 Tablespoons arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
1½ Tablespoons panko breadcrumbs 
1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds or white sesame seeds
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1 small batch of rice noodles or brown rice noodles (4 to 6 ounces)
1 large head of Bibb or butterhead lettuce

Garnishes: chopped cilantro, chopped chives or scallions, and sesame seeds

Spicy Almond-Sesame Sauce
4 Tablespoons smooth, creamy almond butter
½ to 1½ Tablespoons Sriracha
½ Tablespoon black vinegar, or 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon agave nectar (or maple syrup)
½ Tablespoon tamari or soy sauce 
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1- inch piece fresh ginger, minced or grated (or heaping teaspoon minced from a jar)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 Tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 425°F/218°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drain the tofu and press it.  Once pressed, chop the tofu into small cubes. Place tofu cubes in a large bowl. Add 1 Tablespoon of the neutral-flavored oil, the 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, the 1 Tablespoon tamari, and 2 pinches of kosher salt. Toss to combine. Then add the arrowroot powder, panko, and sesame seeds. Gently toss to combine, using a spoon or your hands. Spread the tofu out in a single layer on the lined baking sheet.

Clean off the oyster mushrooms with a damp towel. Then, slice off the tough woody ends. Use your hands to separate the bunches into individual mushrooms; for large mushrooms, slice them in half. Add the mushrooms to the same bowl used for the tofu; toss with the remaining 1 to 1½  Tablespoons neutral-flavored oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms on another lined baking sheet. Bake the tofu and mushrooms in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the trays from the oven and toss the tofu and flip each mushroom over. Return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes, until tofu is crispy and browned and the mushrooms are golden brown. 

While the tofu and mushrooms are baking, cook the rice noodles according to the package. When they are done cooking, drain the noodles. Use scissors to cut the noodles into bite-sized pieces. While the tofu and mushrooms are baking, make the Spicy Almond-Sesame Sauce. Add the almond butter to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 25 seconds to help loosen it up. Then add the remaining ingredients except for the water and whisk well to combine. Then, stream in the water and whisk to thin out the sauce until pourable but still thick.
Assemble the lettuce wraps: Separate the lettuce leaves. Spoon a small amount of the cooked rice noodles on top, followed by the baked tofu and mushrooms. Spoon the sauce on top. Repeat with remaining lettuce and fillings.

*Note: Calories per serving: 586 calories

Heirloom Bean and Mushroom Stew (Vegan

Serves 6

Recipe from Food52

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

We thought this was just scrumptious.  It’s such a simple dish and easy to make, but it’s definitely company-worthy.

1 pound Christmas lima beans or other large limas

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

6 ounces Portobello mushrooms, chopped

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced

3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 heaping teaspoon dried thyme

1 (28 oz.) can plum tomatoes in puree

½ cup red wine

½ cup reserved bean cooking liquid

½ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Place the beans in a large pot and over with water by about two inches.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the beans are tender. (Christmas lima beans can take up to two hours.) Drain, reserving ½ cup of the cooking liquid.  Clean and dry the pot. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in the same large pot.  Add the onions and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and thyme, raise the heat to medium-high and cook for 5 minutes longer, stirring constantly.  Add the tomatoes including the puree, crushing the tomatoes with your hands and discarding any hard stem ends.  Add the wine, bean cooking liquid, parsley, salt and pepper.  Gently stir in the beans.  Simmer, partially covered for about 20 minutes.  Serve over soft polenta*, crusty bread, brown rice, noodles or pasta.  By my calculations, 1 of 6 servings is about 499 calories.

Soft Polenta (Makes 4 servings)

Recipe from Everyday Food

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

(Polenta has cheese and butter and so it is not vegan. If you wish to serve the stew vegan, serve it with brown rice or whole-wheat pasta or a crusty bread.)

4 cups water

1½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

¾ cup yellow cornmeal or polenta (not quick-cooking)

¼ cup freshly, finely grated cheese (Parmesan, Asiago or sharp Cheddar)

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

In a large saucepan combine the water, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Whisking constantly, very gradually add the cornmeal in a thin stream, whisking until smooth before adding more.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, simmer, whisking often, until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat; stir in the cheese and butter until smooth.  Serve immediately.  By my calculations, each serving is 135 calories.)

Spaghetti Squash Yakisoba Style

Serves 4

Recipe from PickledPlum.com

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

I’m always happy to find a new and different meatless main dish to add to my repertoire, especially one that uses spaghetti squash!  We thought this was very tasty and perfect for a light dinner.  To make prep even easier, roast the spaghetti squash in advance and scrape the pulp into strands.  Store it in the fridge for up to 2 days and then proceed with the recipe. 

1 small spaghetti squash (about 1 ½ pounds)

1 small onion, finely chopped

10 shiitake mushrooms or cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 cup coleslaw mix or a mixture of shredded cabbage and shredded carrots

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dried red chile, chopped or 1 cube of Dorot Frozen Red Chili

Sauce:

4 Tablespoons soy sauce

½ Tablespoon honey (use sugar to make this recipe vegan)

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Cut the spaghetti squash in half, scrape out the seeds with a spoon.  Microwave for 20-25 minutes (or bake in the oven at 400F for 40-50 minutes.)

Use a fork to scrape the flesh into strands.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil and the onions.  Cook the onions for 3 minutes or until they are softened.

Add the coleslaw mix and red chile and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the spaghetti squash, scallions, and the sauce.  Mix well until the sauce has evenly coated all the vegetables.  Cook for a minute or two.  Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Spring Linguini with Prosciutto & Mushrooms

This husband-tested recipe comes from Alice’s Kitchen.
Serves 4

For those of us in Orange County, it’s morel mushroom time. My hubby and I, along with many other Hoosiers, count the days until spring when the morels poke through the winter leaves on the forest floor. Don’t fret! You don’t have to have morels to make this dish. This is a recipe in which you can use morels and/or other mushrooms of your choice. Lost River Market & Deli now has local morel mushrooms!! If you’ve only eaten batter or breaded fried morels, you are in for a treat when you give this recipe a try. Prosciutto is now available at Lost River & Deli. I’ve been waiting and waiting! Prosciutto [proh-SHOO-toh] is the Italian word for "ham." Prosciutto is ham that has been seasoned, salt-cured (but not smoked) and air-dried. It's usually sold in transparently thin slices. Prosciutto can be eaten as is and is a classic first course when served with melon or figs. It can also be added at the last minute to cooked foods such as pastas or vegetables. Now, if you don’t grow your own asparagus, you’ll find some in the produce section at Lost River Market & Deli as well. Soon, there will be locally grown asparagus! You can substitute sugar snap peas or even sliced yellow squash, if you wish. This recipe is pretty flexible. We now have locally grown fresh thyme leaves at the store.

1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Several sprigs of fresh thyme leaves or 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bunch fresh asparagus, sliced about 2 inches long (substitute about 1 cup of fresh sugar snap peas or 1 sliced yellow squash, if you like)
1 ½ cups or so, sliced mushrooms (I used a mixture of baby bellas & morels.)
2 oz. Prosciutto, chopped
8 oz. uncooked linguine
Kosher Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste (easy on the salt because Prosciutto & parmesan cheese are salty)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (or just a big squeeze of half a large lemon)
2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream, optional, but wonderful
(If you wish, you could even add 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts just before serving.)

Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt the water. Cook linguini according to the package directions.
Meanwhile, sauté the onions, garlic and thyme in the olive oil & butter in a large skillet over medium heat until the onion is tender. Add the asparagus, mushrooms and Prosciutto. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The asparagus should be bright green and crisp tender.
When pasta is done, drain and then add to the asparagus mixture. Add lemon juice, Parmesan cheese and cream. Season with salt (not too much) and pepper. Toss and heat on low for about 1 minute and then serve.
Serve this on its own or with a crisp salad and/or grilled fish or chicken for a special dinner.

Curried Millet, Shiitake, and Corn Salad

Recipe from Gourmet Magazine January 1996 and Tested in Alice's Kitchen

Serves 4 to 6


Jim and I had never eaten millet before. After several customers at Lost River Market & Deli asked us what to do with it, I decided I'd better do some homework. Millet is a small round golden whole grain that has a high vitamin and mineral content. Although millet is unfamiliar to most people in this country, it is a staple throughout Africa, India, and Asia. I found tons of information about the benefits of eating millet on the internet and there are many recipes as well to be found. For the recipe below, I used corn that I had bought (and then froze) from Steve Hays last summer at the Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market. If you don't have corn in your freezer, you can buy it, of course, at Lost River Market & Deli. Some time in the past few years, Jim developed an allergy to shiitake mushrooms. He eats just one and gets a rash all over his body! So, for this recipe, I substituted the baby bella mushrooms from the produce department.
Right now millet is only 99¢ a lb. and can be found in the bulk section at Lost River Market & Deli.

4 tablespoons vegetables oil

1 cup millet

2 cups water

1/2 onion, chopped fine

1/4 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 cups fresh corn (cut from about 4 ears), or frozen, thawed

1/2 teaspoon curry powder (I used hot curry powder.)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice-wine vinegar

1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves, washed well, spun dry, and chopped fine



In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat and cook millet, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes, or until it makes popping sounds and begins to turn golden. Remove skillet from heat.
In a small saucepan bring water to a boil and stir in millet. Cook millet, covered, over low heat 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Transfer millet to a large bowl and fluff with a fork.
In cleaned skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté onion, stirring, until softened. Add shiitake and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add corn and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Still in curry powder, soy sauce, vinegar, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste and add to millet.