I found this on the saucy/quirky vegan food blog of Molly Patrick and Luanne Teoh. The blog is called "Bold Vegan" and this Fiery Garlic Tofu does look bold enough for my taste.
Curried seitan panini with slivered collard greens, red onion, grilled zucchini & gruyere
I like experimenting with meat alternatives, so I'm always picking up items at the grocery store that interest me. My local Whole Foods Market carries Sweet Earth Seitan (Wheat Meat) in a curry flavor, and since I'm keen on curry these days, I picked it up. I've had such great vegetarian sandwiches at some of the wonderful restaurants here in Los Angeles, such as Mendocino Farms, Veggie Grill, Native Foods and Juicy Ladies. The things they do with Tempeh, tofu and Seitan!
I made this panini on a Wednesday afternoon when I was feeling the need for a splurge... but being early in the New Year, I wanted to keep the cheese, bread and calories on the low side. In the top photo I used homemade sandwich bread from my friend Susan Valiant from Mabel's Kitchen in Fresno, CA., a thick, dense and salty white bread. The second version uses a lower calorie Sourdough bread from Francisco International from Ralph's supermarket. Each slice is 60 calories, and although the sandwich looks flatter after pressed, I assure you it's still delicious and satisfying.
INGREDIENTS
4 slices sourdough bread (Francisco International Sourdough Sliced Bread)
1/4 cup Light shredded Mozzarella
2 oz gruyere cheese
2 pieces Sweet Earth Curried Seitan, sliced lengthwise as thin as possible
1/4 thin sliced red onion
1 cup Collard greens, sliced thin (Trader Joe's is actually selling packaged shredded collards right now)
1/2 medium zucchini, sliced thin on the diagonal
Olive oil spray
Heat skillet on medium high, add olive oil spray, add onion, then thin-sliced zucchini. Cook until onions and zucchini are browned then add collard greens. Toss until wilted, add seitan strips and cook a bit more until setean is warm. Set aside.
In panini press, oiled grill pan or on grill: spray olive oil on one side of each slice of bread. Add gruyere cheese on bottom, then add veg and seitan mixture. Add Low-fat cheese on top. Place second slice on top and press on grill until cheese melts and bread is browned to a nice crunch. If you don't have a paninii press, just use another pan or even your spatula to press it, and turn sandwich as each side gets brown.
2 SERVINGS
Fish sticks 3 ways
I'm a lazy cook. There are strict limits on how much time I'll spend preparing meals & how much cleaning will follow. So using prepared foods is a must & good old Trader Joe's is a major resource. If you don't have Trader Joe's in your region, I can only say how sorry I am! While I eat mostly vegan and vegetarian, sometimes I break my code and enjoy some fish. Usually salmon or sushi, but when I miss fried food, I buy a box of TJ's Reduced-fat Fish Sticks and keep them in the freezer for the occasional fried fish splurge. Here are three tasty quick lunches I make with them.
Spicy arugula salad with crunchy fish and Trader Joe's Spicy Peanut Vinegraitte. Ingredients: Arugula + heirloom cherry tomatoes + spoonful of black beans + persian cucumbers + shredded red cabbage + sliced red onion. Add three crunchy fish sticks, cut into squares and tossed with 2 tablespoons Trader Joe's Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette.
Fried fish sandwich with fried Gruyere and schiracha mayo. Ingredients: Double fiber english muffin, toasted + sliced red onion + sliced persian cucumber + red cabbage, arugula and romaine + tomato + sriracha mayo (1 tbs canola mayo with a healthy squirt or two of sriracha) and one slice of gruyere melted directly in the lightly oiled skillet.
Japanese-style fried rice with crunchy fish. Ingredients: slivered collard greens + Trader Joe's Japanese-Style Fried Rice + 3 crunchy fish sticks cut in half. Not shown: crumble roasted seaweed on top.
Grilled Salmon Burger with Mustard Aioli Slaw
This is one of my quick lunches. It uses these Trader Joe's products: Premium Salmon Burger, Arugula, Mustard Aoli, red onion, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes (sliced), japanese cucumbers (sliced thin on the diagonal), pickle relish. Non-trader items: Orowheat Double Fiber English Muffin, red cabbage slaw + black Sesame seeds.
To make the slaw, place handful of arugula in a bowl, add cabbage slaw and a few red onions. Clip into small pieces using kitchen scissors. Spoon in one scoop of Mustard aioli and one of sweet pickle relish. Sprinkle in black sesame seeds & mix. Salmon is grilled in cast iron grill pan (sprinkle with sea salt, fresh rainbow pepper & red pepper flakes)after defrosting on auto setting in the microwave. I grill the muffins face down in the same pan which is sprayed with olive oil, then finish off in toaster. Assemble and enjoy.
Bombay Taco
I bought a box of Patel's Curried Lentils at the grocery store the other day. You know, one of those indian meals in the foil bag. When I opened it for lunch I wondered what to serve it on, and remembered I had some tortillas in the fridge. So I warmed the tortillas on the gas burner and spread the curry on them, piled some romaine on top and wrapped it up. It was so delicious I ate three in rapid succession. Today I took it to the next level, and roasted some cauliflower, added red cabbage, sliced persian cucumber, tomato, & cilantro. Even better!
Bombay taco: lentil curry with roasted cauliflower
