Carbonara Sauce

A good vegan carbonara sauce is probably my favourite when it comes to pasta. I love it´s creamyness and the savory crunchy tofu. Sadly it includes quite a bit fat and since I think, that it´s best for me, when I avoid fat as much as I can, I don´t eat it as often, as I wish I could. Nevertheless, it´s very delicious and I highly recommend you, to try it out. As usually, you can easily adapt this recipe, simply by using different spices and herbs. I tried to make this version very light, so that it would match the warm sunny weather.

Ingredients:

• 1 block of smoked tofu -> I prefer one that has a very stong salty and smoky taste
• 1 medium onion
• 1-2 gloves of garlic
• 150 ml of soy cream (or any other vegan cream alternative)
• ~150 ml of vegan milk of your choice. I usually go for almond milk.
• Salt to taste
• freshly ground pepper
• parsley (at least three tablespoons)
• the zest and the juice of one organic lemon, to give everything a fresh taste

Directions:

1. Take your block of tofu and cut it into small cubes.
2. Take your onions and your garlic and cut it into small pieces. 
3. Take a small to medium sized pan and heat it on high heat. If you want to, you can add a little bit of olive oil.
4. Fry your tofu in the pan until it´s brown and slightly crunchy.
5. Add onions and garlic and turn the heat to low heat. Stir it frequently for around two minutes.
6. Now add the lemon juice and the zest, stir it and add the cream and the milk. 
7. Turn off the heat and add the parsley and the salt.
8. Serve the sauce with your favourite pasta (I used angel hair pasta) and add the freshly ground pepper on top. You may decorate your dish with green asparagus, since it goes very great with the taste of it. 

Enjoy your meal and tell me, whether you´d liked it.

All time favourites: Chili

Especially when the days are still a little cold and I am craving a hearty dish, I go for my version of a vegan Chili. Most vegan Chilis go for a meat substitutes, such as tofu. As I like my Chili lighter and a little more fresh, I won´t use any substitutes wheather they are soy- or wheatbased. Instead I go for a variation of beans and different spices. 

Ingredients:

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1-2 cans of different beans (I used kidney beans and black beans, but chickpeas work great as well)

1-2 bell peppers (I usually go for the orange or yellow ones, since I like them more. But you could use, whatever you want)

1 onion

1-2 gloves of garlic

1 lemon

Cumin, Paprika, Thyme and Coriander (I would use a pinch of cumin and at least half a teaspoon of everything else)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon oliveoil

Directions:

Add first you have to finely chop your onion and the garlic. Then heat the oliveoil in a pot and fry the onion, until it´s slightly translucent. Next you add the garlic, stir everything for about 30 seconds, and add all the spices. Stir for another few seconds, then put in the beans and the crushed tomatoes. You need to turn down the heat and let everything simmer for at least ten minutes. Use the time, to get the juice and the zest from your lemon and cook yourself some rice, to eat with your chili. When your chili has cooked properly, you can add salt and pepper to taste and finally add the lemon juice and the lemon zest.

With the lemony taste, the chili gets a really fresh flavour, which totally matches with the spring wheather. The chili also tastes great when it´s cooled down or when you heat it up the following day. To give everything an even more special touch, I would try to add some mint.

Enjoy your meal!

All time favourites: Bolognese

In this series I am going to show you recipes that I make at least twice a month because I just love them. This version of vegan bolognese is not the most usual one. I like to switch the vegetables once in a while, so you could use onions instead of the bell pepper. To make everything more unique, I used the pine nuts, which gave the meal a special nutty flavor.

Ingredients:

1 block of tofu with nuts (or smoked tofu)
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 red bellpepper
2-3 gloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of Tomatopaste
5 tablespoons of pine nuts
the juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon of oregano and thyme
soy sauce
hoisin sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil






Directions:

Start by preparing your ingredients. At first you need to slice your bell pepper in cubes and mince your garlic. Then you have to use a fork to break the block of tofu. Heat your pan with the olive oil on high heat and fry tofu, bell pepper and garlic. When everything is browned nicely, add the pine nuts. After a while you can add the juice of half a lemon, the hoisin and soy sauces and the tomatopaste. Mix everything well and finally add the crushed tomatoes. Let everything simmer on low heat for about ten minutes. You can use this time to cook your pasta according to the directions on the packaging. If your sauce turns out a little to dry, add some water. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve it hot. The sauce will  last for 2-3 medium portions of pasta. You could also add some nutritional yeast.

Enjoy your meal!