Sunday 6 July 2008

Old favourites with new twists!

More of my usual eats for dinner this week- pasta and stir fries! I have tried some new foods though, which have been yummy!

Stir fry 1:
Seitan stir fry

I have never been able to buy seitan before. However, recently I went to a health food shop which had a jar and I bought it to try. I loved the chewy texture and really enjoyed it in the stir fry. Unfortunately, the shop is not somewhere I can get to often, so I may have to try making some seitan myself for next time!



Stir fry 2:
Soya mince stir fry

I tried using soya mince, just for a change really. I also used some beetroot in this stir fry. I thought it would add a bit of colour (it turned the mince sort of pink in places!). I also thew in sugar snap peas, which I love in a stir fry. They are so lovely and crunchy!


Stir fry 3:

Tofu stir fry in a garlic and lemongrass sauce sauce

I bought a new stir fry sauce to try when I went shopping the other day. I usually alternative between black bean and spicy tomato szechuan sauces or I just season with a little salt. However, I fancied trying something different and so picked up a garlic and lemongrass sauce, with I thought would make a nice change. It was really tasty as the garlic was really strong in flavour, so it is definitely a sauce I would purchase again.

Pasta dish 1:

Basil tofu pasta with tomato sauce

A pasta dish, which I enjoyed this week, used a packet of basil tofu that I purchased from a earlier in the week. It is basically firm tofu, marinated with olive oil, basil and some other herbs. It smells just like pesto! I chopped it up and put it in a tomato sauce with peppers and mushrooms, which I served with wholemeal pasta twists. Yummy!



Pasta dish 2:

Tempeh with noodles in a creamy sauce

Another pasta dish this week used another new find of mine- tempeh. I loved it! I have been desperate to try tempeh for ages and finally tracked some down in the freezer section of a health food shop I visit regularly. I was really excited to use it but couldn't decide what to cook! I didn't want to use it in a stir fry because I thought that it would get lost with all the veggies etc and I wanted to really taste it. In the end, I made a simple creamy sauce for the tempeh and ate it over rice noodles. I found the texture really unusual but really, really delicious! I hope that the health food shop continues to stock it- next time I think I will have to buy several packets!

7 comments:

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Your pasta dishes always look so delicious, especially that last one.

Ooh, and I'm so sorry, I just realized I owe you an email! I will send one soon, dear girl!

Emma said...

Thanks!

Don't worry about the email, I am sure you have been busy. I look forward to receiving it soon anyway!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Oh my gosh, your comment on my blog (re: you are an exception to this) made me laugh so much! Thanks for sticking up for me!

peony in a nutshell said...

its so good actually finding someone also from london (ish) area! because most vegan food blogs are american and so i can never get the same stuff they have out there :(
you inspiree mee :D
sammi
xox

http://www.cosmicwild.blogspot.com/

Emma said...

CCV- glad it made you laugh! You are more than welcome- I'm happy to stick up for you any time!

Cosmicwild- love your blog, and it is great to 'meet' you too! : )

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

*Hugs*
I'm so glad I know you, Emma.

(As soon as I finish responding to the onslaught of comments I received these past two days, I'll send you a nice long email... maybe by Christmas LOL!)

Vaala ◪ said...

Those dinners look great especially that basil tofu pasta with tomato sauce. It's making me hungry!

Seitan is hard to get here too but what I've tried hasn't exactly inspired me. Maybe I should give it another shot or take up your idea and make some myself.