A Personalized Throw Pillow and Vegan Tomato-Free Cajun Jambalaya

I mentioned in one of my very first posts (among my very first not-so-flattering attempts at food photography) that there is a wonderful infographic created by Amy Sly for 'The Worst Dinner Guest Ever'. My friend sent me a link to it just before attending his Thanksgiving potluck a couple of years ago, and I now regularly check out her website. Recently, I saw that she sold prints and decided to order myself a throw pillow. This way, when I'm feeling sad about all of the concentric circles on the days when eggs and floured tofu end up in my pad thai order, I will have something to hug.

I wrote her to ask if I could spread love about her on the world wide web- something you probably don't need to ask permission for- and it turns out she is just as lovely as her artwork. You can check out her other awesome stuff here: http://www.amysly.com (I highly recommend the 'Am I Wearing Pants?' infographic - it's so important in this confusing time of jeggings, swants, and Miley Cyrus to educate women on healthy pants behaviour). And, here is my new pillow- snuggled in with the rest of my amazingly coordinated living room decor:












In other news, I am officially done my first semester of grad school, and can pay attention to what I'm doing in the kitchen again. This morning, instead of researching social justice, I looked for ideas for warm one-pot meals. Apparently, Cajun jambalaya is made sans-tomatoes. While this recipe lacks the signature "Cajun spice" blend, I made up my own with what I had. If you can eat cornbread, it would be an excellent side. I used a crockpot, but a regular one would do just fine as well.

Vegan Tomato-Free Cajun Jambalaya   

Ingredients 

2 yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp peri peri
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp tamari sauce (GF)
2 sweet potatoes, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
4 cups vegetable broth (GF, CF & TF if necessary)
1 1/2 cups brown rice

For the tofu:
1/2 block extra-firm plain tofu
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp hot sauce (TF)
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 tsp each salt & pepper

Directions

In a large pot on medium heat, fry the oil and garlic in the olive oil for 3-5 minutes, until onions are tender. Add the spices and vegetables, stirring well, and cook for another 5 minutes. When they begin to tenderize, add the broth, tamari sauce and bay leaves.

When the broth begins to simmer, turn the heat down to low, add the rice and cover. Cook for 30-35 minutes, until the rice is done.

While the rice is cooking, chop the tofu into small 1/2" cubes and mix in a bowl with the hot sauce. Pour the potato starch, salt and pepper onto a small plate.

On a medium non-stick frying pan, heat the oil. Coat the pieces of tofu with the salt and pepper starch mixture and cook on the frying pan. Pay attention and flip often (I kind of like it when they get a bit blackened but that's just me). Once the outsides are crispy, add them to the jambalaya mixture and leave covered until serving. Serves 6.