STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

i am not a vegetarian or vegan, but i do try to cook meatless at least 3 days a week just to switch things up a bit.

i have a few vegetarian cookbooks, but my favorite one also happens to be vegan - you might already have it, but i wanted to recommend it anyway. it's the voluptuous vegan by myra kornfeld.

here is the link to the book on amazon -

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0609804898/qid=1104516557/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/002-1624965-3076014?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

i have to second the voluptuous vegan! it is definitely my favorite cookbook. every recipe i've made from there has been amazing. (in fact, last night i made the paella from this book)

i also love:
how it all vegan

Greendiamond,

This tofu recipe is one of my favorites. i make this all the time. I add vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and onions to the recipe and serve it over soba noodles with a side a soy beans. I am not a vegan or vegetarian but eat as much tofu as possible. Sometimes i double the marinade and the sauce but go lightly on the oil so it doesnt sabotage the flavor of the other ingredients.

The marinade:
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
1 tablespoon Oriental sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 pound extrafirm tofu, cut into 3/4inch cubes and patted very dry

The sauce:
1/2 teaspoon chili paste with garlic*
1 tablespoon naturalstyle peanut butter or tahini
2 tablespoons dry sherry, rice wine, or vermouth

* Chili paste with garlic can be purchased in oriental food shops, supermarkets, and many specialty food shops.

In a medium size bowl combine the marinade ingredients. Gently stir in the tofu and coat well. Let marinate for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours. Cover and chill if longer than 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the tofu and its marinade into a shallow baking dish in one layer. Bake for 15 minutes, tossing once with a spatula.

Combine the sauce ingredients and pour over the tofu. Toss to coat evenly. Return to the oven and bake 10 more minutes, or until golden brown. Let sit 10 minutes before serving; it should be served warm, not piping hot.

I agree with all of the above and would add that if you are concerned about cholesterol, oats and soy products and even an ingredient found in tea help to lower levels of LDL/bad cholesterol. Also olive oil lowers bad cholesterol and raises good cholsterol - there are good fats and bad ones!

I actually read all of this in the latest (January) issue of veg. times, which has an awesome article with yummy recipes (I think several are vegan) about the 7 Superfoods: spinach, blueberries, tea, tomatoes, broccoli, soy, and oats (which is great b/c I eat almost all of those things on a daily basis, or at least very regularly). Anyway, the recipes are terrific and you can substitute soy products or egg substitute for dairy & eggs on some of the recipes where there is dairy (use your judgment). Even if you choose not to use the recipes, it's an excellent article - I have already made the spinach/tomato pie (made it sunday and have sliced it up/frozen it to stretch over several nights this week) and am making the blueberry oat muffins tonight to take to work as snacks.

Of course, one can lower cholesterol without going completely vegan - it's all about moderation and also adding the aforementioned cholesterol fighting foods to your diet. You might consider baby steps. I'd never give up cheese (although I also read some incredibly disturbing things in the latest VT about dairy and egg farms), but I do watch my cholesterol since a post-vacation (i.e. post-binge) cholesterol reading showed my overall reading to be a bit high (luckily, mainly high in good cholesterol). I am just saying you can have it both ways if giving up dairy/eggs altogether is hard for you, but doing a temporary fast could be a good cleansing as well.. just make sure you're getting calcium from somewhere, like soy yogurt (I love o'soy by stonyfield farms).