Vegetarian Philly Sandwich

Today I had great plans to make a vegetarian Jambalaya with nice chunky vegetables and a rich tomato sauce, along with a few meat substitutes.  I have learned that plans change when you don't feel well.  Not wanting to give up and throw a meal in the microwave, I made a Philly sandwich with grilled portabello mushrooms.

Vietnamese Bahn Mi Sandwich with BBQ Tofu

If you've never had a traditional Bahn Mi sandwich, do yourself a favor and try one immediately!  Don't dismiss this sandwich after reading the ingredient list.  Believe me, it all goes together to form a sandwich like no other.  This is not a Subway / Jimmy John type sandwich, but I am betting that Bahn Mi sandwiches could definitely be the food trend of 2014 if more people tried them.  This sandwich is quite possibly the easiest sandwich to make that will make you look like a professional to those who try it.  If you want more protein options, try thin sliced bbq pork, chicken, beef or shrimp.  Even a crab cake would be good.

Cut tofu into 1/2" slices and press on clean towels for 1 hour.  Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce and bake on a foil lined cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray, for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

while to tofu bakes, make your pickled daikon & carrot mix (Do Chua) or better yet, make it the day or two before.

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
1 pound daikon radish, each no larger than 2 inches in diameter, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons plus 1/2 cup sugar
1  1/4 cups distilled white vinegar
1 cup lukewarm water

1. Place the carrot and daikon in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt and 2 teaspoons of the sugar. Use your hands to knead the vegetables for about 3 minutes, expelling the water from them. They will soften and liquid will pool at the bottom of the bowl. Stop kneading when you can bend a piece of daikon so that the ends touch but the daikon does not break. The vegetables should have lost about one-fourth of their volume. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water, then press gently to expel extra water. Return the vegetables to the bowl if you plan to eat them soon, or transfer them to a 1-quart jar for longer storage.

2. To make the brine, in a bowl, combine the 1/2 cup sugar, the vinegar, and the water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour over the vegetables. The brine should cover the vegetables. Let the vegetables marinate in the brine for at least 1 hour before eating. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. Beyond that point, they get tired.

Recipe from: Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors (2006, Ten Speed Press)

Next, make the cilantro mayo.  Mix a cup of mayo, 2tsp Tamari (or soy sauce) and 1/4 c chopped cilantro leaves and refrigerate.  Reserve the remaining cilantro leaves for topping the sandwich.

Next, cut an English cucumber in 1/8" slices on a bias.  They look fancy and fit the bread better.

Slice a red onion and a jalapeno pepper thin.

Now that the prep is done and hopefully your tofu is out of the oven and allowed to cool a bit, it's time to assemble your Bahn Mi.

On a small French roll, spread a thin layer of cilantro mayo on the inside of both pieces and top it with 2 pieces of BBQ Tofu.  If you are serving multiple people, you can use a larger French loaf and slice it to size.

Next, add the sliced cucumber and onion.

Add the pickled vegetables and the jalapeno slices.  If you remove the seeds and the veins from the jalapeno, it will be less spicy, some are barely hotter than a green bell pepper.  If you like it even spicier, try a serrano pepper.

You don't have to slice the Bahn Mi in half (don't give anyone a reason to take the other half!)  Serve this sandwich with your favorite chips.  Maybe some Wasabi Kettle Chips for the adventurous few.

Pad Thai with Sriracha Peanut Tofu

For a couple of weeks, I've had an idea for putting some kind of spicy crust on tofu, so it fits my taste buds a little better than a plain baked or fried slab.  I'm a big fan of Thai Peanut Sauce and I like Sriracha in small doses, so as to not overpower the other flavors in the dish.  This version of Pad Thai is not authentic, nor is it like any other version I've eaten (and I've eaten a lot) before.  Due to my diet restrictions, I'm advised not to eat peanuts in crunchy form, so this version has no crushed peanuts.  You are free to add them, along with the cabbage and bean sprouts that are traditional.  I chose to go with bok choy instead, because it was in the refrigerator.  Since this is not an authentic regional cuisine blog, I'm not afraid to substitute vegetables.  It's better to use items when they are fresh, rather than being a rigid recipe follower, within reason. You don't want to substitute pork rinds for rice noodles or anything crazy. 

First, slice the tofu into 1/2" rectangles and place clean kitchen towels beneath and on top of the slices, top with a flat pan that covers all slices and add can goods or something with a some weight to it so it presses the liquid out of the slices.  There's plenty of YouTube videos to show this process.  I let mine press for about 30 minutes while I prepared the remaining components.  The pressed slices should be dry to the touch.  While you wait for the pressing, chop 1 bok choy, 3 cloves garlic, 6 green onions, shred 1 carrot and cut a lime in half. See picture below for the finished prep.  I used Whole Foods tofu, but I found that Costco carries tofu in a 4 block case for just a little more than the single block at Whole Foods.

Next, soak the rice noodles in hot tap water.  Make sure to use a big enough pan so the noodles are covered.  I used a bread pan for this bag and it was perfect.  Do not use boiling water, as it will make the noodles mushy.  Keep in mind that you will be finishing these in the pan, which will finish cooking them.  I have tried almost every variety of rice noodles in the market and basically, they are identical in every way but price.  Stick to the long noodles in a basic bag.  There are varieties out there that are perfect 8" length and put in a thick paper box, but they are up to 4 times as expensive.

Next, in a metal or glass bowl, add 1/2 cup peanut butter, 2 Tbl Sriracha, 1 tsp garlic chili sauce and 2 Tbl of Frank's Sweet Chili sauce.  As you mix this, it will become a very firm paste.  You will need to add hot water to smooth it to a consistency of a buttercream frosting. If you taste it (and you should), it should be rather spicy, as it is going on tofu, which has little flavor.  Think of it like how salad dressing is very strong if eaten plain, but it mellows on the lettuce.  Next, spread this mix on your pressed tofu slices.  Make sure you cover the entire piece so that it gets a good crust.  I spread mine on with the back of a small spoon.

Place the coated tofu slices on a foil lined pan. Put a thin coat of oil or Pam on the foil to prevent the tofu from sticking.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes. I used the convection feature on my oven, but if you don't have that option, you may need to bake it a little longer.

While your tofu is being pressed, you prepared the bok choi, garlic, green onion, carrots and lime.  Heat a wok or a large pan on high heat with 2 Tbl vegetable or canola oil.  When it's really hot, but not smoking, add the bok choy and the white parts of the green onion.  After 30 seconds, add the garlic.  Stir continuously and add the carrots and green onion and cook for 1 minute.

Next, add the drained rice noodles and the packaged Pad Thai sauce.  I used Blue Dragon brand and I liked it.  There are many recipes for this sauce if you prefer to make it from scratch.  Add the juice from half a lime. Use tongs to toss until combined. Remove from the heat.  I should note that there are many brands of prepared sauces and a lot of them have a ton of sugar in them.  Check the labels or use the Fooducate app on your smart phone.

By now, your tofu should be ready and looking like this.  Use a spatula when removing it from the pan to avoid having the topping crack and fall off.  When eating the final dish, I had some of the crispy bits fall off and they added a nice little crispiness to the noodles.  I think the tofu prepared this way would go great over fried rice or even plain steamed rice with some chopped cliantro and lime.

Here is the final dish.  Pad Thai with Sriracha Peanut Tofu.

I hope you try this dish.  I made it for the first time for this posting, but I know I will make this many more times.  I put 2 pieces of tofu on my dish, but I could've gotten away with just one.  I was pretty full after eating all this.  My Fitness Pal with only 1 piece of tofu shows the final dish with 290 calories, 26g carbs, 16g fat, 13g protein and 8g sugar.

Vegetarian "Chicken" Parmesan with Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Roasted Spaghetti Squash, vegetarian "Chicken" patty, smoked provolone and roasted garlic marinara

1 spaghetti squash, cut in half and remove seeds. Rub cavity with olive oil, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Roast cut side down at 425 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool enough to remove the tender "noodles" with a fork and mix with more olive oil, salt & pepper. I was going to add parmesan cheese to it, but I had none.

MorningStar Farms Chicken Patties are vegetarian and very good.  I put the patties on my baking pan with the squash after the squash roasted for 25 minutes.  The package says cook 9 minutes, flip and cook another 9 minutes.  I put the smoked provolone cheese slice on during the last 5 minutes.  The marinara is Muir Glen Garlic Roasted Garlic organic pasta sauce. I garnished with some basil flakes that my mother sent from her garden. Adding a vegetable side of asparagus, broccoli or boiled carrots would brighten up the dish.

According to My Fitness Pal, this dinner as plated, was 422 calories, 37g carbs, 8g fat, 16g protein and 11g sugar.  120 of the calories were for the olive oil.

Welcome to Kicking & Screaming Vegetarian!

Hello, my name is Craig.  This blog is my attempt to show some of the vegetarian dishes that I am cooking as a result of some health issues that made me consider a true vegetarian diet. I've also had the desire to start a blog for a long time.  Now I can check it off the list.

Up until 2004, my work history was all about food.  I've cooked at McDonald's during high school and I've cooked for Hall of Fame rock stars when I catered.  I've been thankful for each job and the experiences, good & bad, gained from the time spent at each job.  McDonald's taught me teamwork, sanitation and food safety.  Catering for famous people taught me to be thankful for the normal people I know.  I am a former meat cutter, chef, caterer and big-box food service manager.  I now work in an office, so cooking is not my primary focus, but I have never lost the love for food and I've continued to share the excitement of those who truly appreciate a meal cooked with skill & love.

When I was first bitten by the culinary bug, I tried to figure out how I could go to the Culinary Institute of America.  It was the only school that I would ever consider seriously.  My income level  was just high enough to prevent me from getting financial aid but my bills prevented me from taking 2 years off of work.  So, I did the best thing I could.  I bought the books that the Culinary Institute of America used and read everything.  I was lucky enough to live close to several used bookstores and I bought every single copy of Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Food Arts and Cooks Illustrated that I could find.  They were all less than .50 each and I scoured them to learn how the professionals cooked, while trying to find ways to change the recipe.  The magazines kept up with the latest food trends and the newest gadgets.  I watched all the cooking shows I could.  Back then, there was no FoodTV.  There was Julia Child, Great Chefs (on the Discovery Channel), PBS had Yan Can Cook, The Frugal Gourmet (I loved that show!), Mary Ann Esposito and the master.... Jacques Pepin. I love to watch Jacques techniques.  The cooking shows back then were not smooth and flowing.  They were rigid and edited to only show technique, ingredients and the final plate.

When I felt ready to get a real restaurant job, it was almost impossible to get a job in a professional kitchen, without experience.  I applied to the big resorts and was actually told by one chef after my interview that he didn't think I was right for the job.  I had 7 years of meat cutting experience and I thought I nailed everyone of his interview questions, but he was the almighty chef and I was sent walking.  Nine years later, that same chef applied for my job.  I was leaving the corporate chef world and he wanted my job.  I kindly called him and thanked him for his resume, however, I didn't feel he was right for the job.  He never knew who I was, but I felt vindicated.  He was qualified, but my company was not going to pay relocation costs that he wanted.  Back to my story.... I finally got my break.  I was dating a girl who had a brother, who was friends with the sous chef at the hottest new restaurant in town and I used that connection to get an interview.  I told the chef that I would do whatever it takes to get the job.  He called a couple days later and offered me the greatest job in the world.  I was going to be the newest prep cook at City Grill in Tucson, AZ.  For me, it was like winning the lottery, even though we all know that a prep cook is just one step above the dishwasher.  Most times, you work at a table right next to the dish machine.  I was the first one there every morning and I sometimes waited for an hour until the "responsible person" would show up in a gin-soaked haze with the key to open the back door.  I took my job serious, more serious than those around me thought I should. Most of my co-workers were very talented, but they were burnt out.  They were on the downside of their culinary career, while I was looking forward to launching mine.  I learned a lot at my first job in a real kitchen.  Most importantly, I learned to take advice on how to be more efficient. No wasted steps and no wasted food.  The restaurant was named Best New Restaurant of the year and the writer of the article mentioned several items that I was solely responsible for.  It was a great pat on the back, even if the executive chef stepped in front of that pat and took all the credit. I later found out that he was using recipes from Mark Miller and others. Oh well, he had the $150 Braggard chef coat and mine was food stained from actually working, so I let him take the photo op.

I had many other kitchen jobs after that first one.  Like most cooks, I bounced around; sometimes making a lateral move, rather than dealing with an unappreciative and untalented chef with a fake French accent.  I continued to move up in my career, even if the new job was the same position, it was at a more respected kitchen.  I finally found a corporate job where I worked from 7am to 3pm, Monday - Friday.  I took it as a great time to start a catering business.  I did parties my way and it was my menu.  It was great.  I was finally able to do it my way.  I could still keep my day job and cater at night and on the weekends.  After 3 years, I called it quits.  I went back to school and got the degree I started before my first kitchen job.  I can now enjoy piling into an overcrowded restaurant on a Friday or Saturday night with the rest of the world that works "normal business hours", instead of sweating in one.  I miss the professional kitchen, but I don't miss the low pay, the over inflated egos and the poor treatment from people in the industry who have no idea what it takes to put a plate of food on a table.  Don't even get me started on front of the house managers and servers.

This blog is not my goal to convert anyone to a meat-free diet, nor am I a fan of those who do.  This is simply an experiment to see if I can reap the benefits of a non-meat diet, while I am recovering from stage 3 colon cancer and currently going through a chemotherapy course.  I'm not searching for sympathy either.  I just feel I should not purposely avoid the real reason I began this experiment into the vegetable-only arena.

I am very lucky to have a wife that is supportive of anything that will make me healthy and happy.  She is eating what I eat, with minor variations due to a hectic work schedule and a desire for a cheeseburger every month or so.  I'm also lucky because she is a fantastic baker.  I am sure I will be posting pictures of her creations soon.

I called my blog "Kicking & Screaming Vegetarian" because I've always loved meat and growing up as a son of a meat cutter, meals where supposed to be meat & potatoes and if you didn't have potatoes, you just had more meat.  Tofu, Tempeh, Seitan and Textured Vegetable Protein were all foreign to me.  Like a lot of people, I tried tofu.  I did what they said, I cut it in cubes and put it in my stir fry.  They said "it takes on the flavor of the stir fry".  "They" didn't tell me to properly prepare the tofu and they sure didn't tell me that mushy chunks of goo would ruin the $25 worth of vegetables that had the misfortune of sharing the wok with the goo.  This experience would wind up scaring me away from tofu for a long, long time.  Well, that was 20 years ago and I've let go of the betrayal that tofu left me with that day.

I've found that there are so many more very good meat substitutes in the grocery store, than even 5 or 10 years ago.  I will be sharing those products with you, not because I'm a paid sales agent for them, but because, as a person who likes meat, I found that there are many products that are of high quality and do not leave me feeling like I got swindled.

I would appreciate any feedback from those who take the time to visit my blog.

Thank you,
Craig