quiona with tofu and veggies

i'm slowly starting to enjoy eating more foods raw and not only is it healthier but saves time too : P

here is a simple meal I enjoy especially when pinched on time. great if you have left over quinoa or any other grain! 

ingredients:

• quinoa precooked
• spices- red pepper flakes, black pepper
• small onion
• olive oil
• veggies you have/like- carrots, broccoli, bell peppers
• spinach or kale
• tofu - cut into squares

how to:

1. cook your grain, add salt to the water for more flavor
2. in a skillet heat olive oil & cook onions until translucent
3. add your veggies- carrots, broccoli, bell pepper etc cook until soft
4. add spices you like to your taste
5. optional to cook your tofu in separate pan with olive oil (i'm now used to just adding it in raw to my bowl at the end)
6. once your veggies are soft add your spinach to the skillet for few minutes until it wilts  OR again optional to just put it it in raw as i have. 
7. in a bowl add your desired amount of quinoa, add your veggies, add your tofu and check spice/taste level to your liking!

tofu pot pie

this was divine. and yes, vegans can enjoy delicious pot pie too!
i found a recipe online but i ended up putting in much more so here is what
i did. mostly because i did not have two small pot pie pans but one big one
and made plenty for four people. also it is great as a leftover!

crust
3 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 stick vegan butter (earth balance)
1/2 teaspoon salt
 ice water

filling
8 ounces super or extra firm tofu
3 tablespoons olive oi divided
2 small yellow onion diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2-3 carrots diced
2 garlic cloves crushed
2 potatoes diced
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup fresh/frozen peas
1 tsp (originally asked for 1 tsp thyme and 1 tsp sage)
salt and pepper to taste

how to crust part #1

• chill ingredients and tools (fork or pastry blender)
• place flour in mixing bowl and chill in freezer while preparing filling
• cut the stick of vegan butter into squares and place into bowl and put inside freezer

how to for filling

• preheat 400 degrees F
• take tofu out of package and  press between paper towels to drain water
• cut tofu into 1/3 inch dice or bite sized peices
• heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat 
• cook tofu until golden brown and set aside when done in a bowl
• heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in same skillet
• add onion, celery,carrot, and garlic and saute onion until translucent
• add diced potatoes to skillet and cook until tender not mushy, stir! (might take a while for potatoes to be tender, try them and make sure they are not still hard if you don't know)
• add flour, nutritional yeast, and soy sauce to skillet and stir
• add veg. broth and stir until well combined, scraping brown bits from bottom
• add tofu, peas, sage/thyme, and stir to combine
• remove from heat season to taste with salt, pepper (i found i didn't need a lot so try before you go crazy) 

how to for crust part #2

• take all chilled ingredients and utensils out of the freezer
• break off pieces of butter into the flour and mix it into the flour as best you can (using a food processor for this would make it easier, add flour and vegan butter into processor and mix until you get very small clumps)
• add small amounts of ice water to the flour and mix
• use hands to knead the dough until not sticky anymore
• roll out the dough so that you will have enough for both the top and bottom layers (estimate)
• place the dough in the bowl and cut the extra strips
• the extra is to be used for the top layer of the pie; re-roll out the extra strips and use the bowl to measure that the size of the dough will cover the entire top

assemble and bake

• oil a little the pan you are using and place crust bottom in the pan, press edges using fingers
• spoon in the entire mixture of tofu and vegetables made
• place the top of pan crust left over veggies and fork edge of pan to seal 
• make a large X in the middle of bowl with knife 
• bake until golden brown about 30mins
• let sit/cool, then enjoy!