Vegan Storecupboard Challenge 2024

~FlowerPot~

Looks delicious! 
Inspired by your delicious meals, I have made a salad thing for tea. I'm not vegan, so I did include a sneaky piece of edam cheese.
I took a pic to share, it's not up to your level, but it was tasty and there were alot of variety. Will try and do this more! 

leftatthetrafficlights

Looks lovely @~FlowerPot~ 😁 what's in with the rice? (looks a bit like very small sprouted aduki beans but I'm not sure! 🤔) 

Dinner last night was a bean casserole with rice for dh - I didn't bother as I had a headache (currently working it's way into the first migraine I've had in years! 🤦‍♀️) and really didn't feel like eating 😕 tonight dh will probably just grab something from the freezer - I'm going back to bed to sleep but hopefully normal service will resume tomorrow 🤞

~FlowerPot~

oh no sorry to hear your not well. i hope you manage some rest and feel better tomorrow x

its a wild rice and normal rice mixed with quinea and grated carrot. i must get some seeds to sprout, i have done any for a while!!

im going to have another go this evening. but it will prob be served with a fish cake, well DHs  defintely will. i am going to consciously try and eat less meat. thank you for inspiring me to make an effort!!

leftatthetrafficlights

Thanks @~FlowerPot~ , I'm feeling a lot better now 😁 

Tonight's dinner was fried rice, lemon butter beans (cooked with lemon juice, lemon verbena, preserved lemons, thyme and stock) and the final bag of steam fresh veg (we bought them for my grandbaby but he's not keen on the sunshine mix). Piccie is of dh's dinner as I had an enormous moong bean omelette earlier and I'm still stuffed!! 🙄😂 

leftatthetrafficlights

Yesterday I had a plate of rocket, pomegranate, butter beans, avocado, hommous and balsamic - I forgot to take a piccie 🤦‍♀️ 

I'm making tofu and cooking some grains later but I'm not sure yet if they will feature in tonight's food or tomorrow's as I need to check the fridge for leftovers and re-purpose anything I find - I'll report back later! 

~FlowerPot~

I have a pack of tofu. Just sitting in the fridge and it's nearing the best before date. 
When we've had it before, only a few times, it's always been a bit underwhelming. Hence it sitting in the fridge!! What is you fav thing to do with it?? 

leftatthetrafficlights

It depends on what type of tofu it is @~FlowerPot~ - if it's silken it's best for sauces and dressings; if it's by the tofoo company it's extra firm and excellent for marinating and baking/air frying/frying in slices; if it's general firm stuff it's best for scramble or breaking into pieces for dishes. Let me know what type it is and I'll let you know how I'd use it 😉

I had a different day to the one I was expecting so dinner tonight was ratatouille with leftover butterbeans, mixed grains, rocket, pomegranate and hommous. Lush!! 😋 

~FlowerPot~

It's the tofoo brand! 

leftatthetrafficlights

@~FlowerPot~ - if I buy tofu that's my preferred brand for firmness - it doesn't need pressing and holds its shape really well! 

I would either slice or cube it then pop it into a marinade for a minimum of 4 hours (preferably overnight) or for up to 48 hours. The longer you can leave it, the more flavour it absorbs. Then either bake, airfry or cook in a frying pan (I have a very good non-stick sautè pan so don't use any oil) 

Marinade wise, it depends on what you like or fancy - these are ones I use regularly;
1) gochugang paste, miso paste, mirin and rice wine vinegar
2) lemon juice and zest, dill or tarragon and garlic 
3) orange zest, orange juice blended with dates, chocolate mint balsamic (or a good plain balsamic) 
4) blended tomatoes and basil (you can use passata and pesto)
5) blended tomatoes with liquid smoke and chilli sauce
6) whatever dregs of sauce bottles you have - mix with a bit of water
7) tandoori spices, lemon juice and vegan yoghurt 

Realistically, the possibilities are endless! 

My preference is to take the tofu out of the marinade, pop it in my sautè pan and cook for a few minutes on each side then put the remaining marinade in the pan and cook until warmed through. 

You can also use it in curries, casseroles, crumble it and cook it like mince, cover it in breadcrumbs and fry in oil etc - there are stacks of recipes on line and on YouTube if you want some inspiration, the stuff above is just how I tend to use it 😁 

Hope that helps! 

leftatthetrafficlights

The last couple of days have been mainly leftovers- I made a walnut, lentil and mushroom mince bolognese for my grandbaby on Wednesday so had that on Wednesday and Thursday then Friday night had the leftover dark speckled lentils with mixed grains and barberries along with rocket, pomegranate and balsamic salad. Yesterday we had pizza - it's been a long time since I had one and although it was pleasant enough, it will be a considerable period before I have another! 

Tonight we had black bean chilli, tofu cooked in a gochugang, mirin, tamari, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce marinade, mixed grains and a rocket and grated apple salad. I popped a bit of soya yoghurt on mine as the tofu was spicy!! 🥵😂