I enjoy my time in the kitchen. To me, it feels like a break from other work or chores the way another person might find a nice bubble bath relaxing.
However, there are some nights when I just need to get dinner on the table with as little fuss as possible. I’m sure I’m not alone here, and so I’m sharing three dinners that are made with ease and are of course, vegan.
The first meal, which is the easiest is a tostada and salad combo. To make one tostada you will need:
1 tostada
¼ C vegetarian refried beans
1 TB black olives
2 tsp diced jalapenos
? C vegan cheese
2 tsp thinly sliced green onion
2 tsp diced avocado
salsa
vegan sour cream
Take a tostada and spread vegetarian refried beans on it. Then you top with sliced black olives, jalapenos and sprinkle with cheddar style vegan cheese. I like the Daiya brand. Put the tostadas on a cookie sheet in an oven preheated to 350 degrees and let bake for ten minutes. During the ten minutes, thinly slice green onions, dice avocado and get out your vegan sour cream and salsa. You’ll also want to put your salads together at that time. When the tostadas come out of the oven, top with avocado, onion, salsa and sour cream.
The second meal idea is also paired with a nice green salad. This will be polenta, beans and sauce. Polenta is often used in place of pasta in parts of Northern Italy. I remember my grandfather used to eat all the time when I was a little kid. Making polenta is labor intensive, but for our purposes, we’re going to use the pre-made version that comes in a log. To make the polenta for two, you will need:
1 18 oz polenta log
½ C cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
¾ C organic pasta sauce
½ C mozzarella style vegan cheese
Slice polenta into half inch rounds, top with cannellini beans, organic pasta sauce and vegan cheese. Put your polenta with sauce, beans and cheese, which will all be on a cookie sheet, into an oven preheated to 350 for 10 minutes. Again, you assemble the salads while the main dish is in the oven. However, if you have a little more time, before you add the sauce, beans and cheese, put the polenta rounds in the oven for ten minutes to make them a little crispy around the edges.
The third meal idea takes a little more prep time, but is just as easy. I call this one barbeque and beets. To make the barbeque tofu you need:
1 16 oz block organic, extra firm tofu (Twin Oaks is best)
½ bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce
organic spray oil
Pat dry and crumble the tofu it into a large bowl. Coat it barbeque sauce and let it marinate for at least an hour. I let mine marinate all day in the refrigerator. After the tofu has marinated, remove it from the bowl with a slotted spoon or spatula and spread it out on a cookie sheet that you’ve lightly sprayed with oil. Bake the tofu at 400 for 40 minutes. Be sure to flip the tofu over at the halfway point. Put the baked barbecue tofu into pita bread and add onion, pickles, banana peppers - whatever sounds good to you.
For the beets, you’ll need one beet per person. You’ll also need to put them in about 20 to 30 minutes before the tofu. Wash and dry the beets and wrap them tightly in aluminum foil. Bake them for 40 minutes to an hour. Larger beets will take longer. The beets are done when a knife goes through them easily. While the beets are cooking, make the dressing to go on them. For the beet dressing you’ll need:
3 TB balsamic vinegar
2 tsp yellow mustard
2 tsp agave nectar
fresh ground black pepper to taste
Place ingredients in a small jar and give it a shake. When the beets are done and cool enough to handle, peel them (which is much easier after they’re cooked), slice them and drizzle dressing on them. Serve them along with the barbeque tofu.
There you go. Three easy, no fuss dinner ideas for those busy weeknights.
If anyone has questions for me, I can be reached via email at wvtfveggie@gmail.com
