Benihana-Style Vegan Meal

BENIHANA STYLE ONION SOUP

There’s only one thing to say: this recipe will not disappoint. (Oh ya, serve with benihana-style salad & vegan fried brown rice)

10 cups hot water
3 - 4 generous tsp Better Than Bouillon Brand No Chicken Base bouillon (Ok, so I should probably tell you that you can use 5 - 6 low sodium veggie bouillon cubes which you are, of course, allowed to use if you prefer BUT the Better Than Bouillon has a WOW! POW! delivery in the flavor department!)
1 tsp. sea salt (oooo ok so here I am telling you add more salt. This is optional)
2 maui onion, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1 yellow onion
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
8 oz thinly sliced mushrooms
sliced green onion

Combine water, salt & bouillon in crock pot & turn on high. Coarsely chop onions, carrot & celery. Add all to crock pot & let cook 4-5 hours. Try 2 -1/2 hours on high, then 1 - 1-1/2 hours on low, tasting broth as it cooks.
When broth is done, strain out 1/2 - 3/4 of the veggies, leaving some onion. Dump in as many or as little sliced mushrooms as you like & let cook on low for 5 - 10 minutes more.
Spoon into soup bowls. Add green onion. Serve.
If you like, you can take some sliced onion dredge it in plain soy milk then flour and fry in oil on the stove put atop the soup. or serve on the side.

As a side note, try using different onion combinations. Use what you can find or what onions YOU prefer. Find which flavors YOU like best. This is an easy, no-fuss recipe to use over & over again, so switch it up!

BENIHANA STYLE AMAZIN' ASIAN DRESSING

Very, very close to the restaurant’s dressing but better! You can spread it on fresh, organic greens and fresh veggies which you won’t get at Benihana! Amazing to dip crudites!! Note that this makes roughly 12 servings, but since you won't want to stop eating it, I would recommend doubling, tripling or even quadrupling it. Left-overs will stay good in the fridge for 7 - 10 days.

1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup peanut oil
6 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
6 Tbsp. water
6 Tbsp. chopped fresh gingeroot
3 Tbsp. chopped celery
3 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce (normally I would recommend using Tamari because I’m such a
fan, but definitely use low-sodium soy for this recipe - the flavor
is just sooo good and tangy and delicious!)
6 tsp. tomato paste
3 - 4 tsp granulated sugar
3 tsp. lemon juice
sea salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process until almost smooth & dump over everything! Lick your damn blender clean! Yummy!!


HOT VEGGIE MAMA'S FREID RICE

This was, more or less, thrown together for a quick meal & thank goodness because it ROCKS! If you've got a large grill pan for the stove top, use it! It is such a great pan for making this radical rice!

-6 - 10 servings short-grain brown rice, cooked & cooled
-1 package frozen veggies (there are great organic stir-fry veggies, or just do your run-of-the- mill peas & carrots, then add corn - whatever YOU like!)
OR 1 - 2 cups of your favorite chopped veggies - IE bell pepper, onion, broccoli, carrots, etc
-1/4 - 1/2 cup Tamari (adjust this according to your sodium preference)
-1 - 2 Tbsp. oil (sesame, canola, coconut, peanut)
-1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder (or more if you are like me & obsessed with putting garlic on, well, everything!)
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp ginger powder
-sea salt & pepper to taste
-premade tofu cubes, tofu scrambled "eggs", seitan, or soy chicken

Heat oil over medium heat. Add frozen veggies - cook down according to package directions, usually 5 minutes or until fresh veggies are slightly soft but still firm, about 3 - 5 minutes. Add a little garlic & ginger powder at this point. & stir, stir, stir.
Drop in the rice! Stir everything around so it is all mixed together. Add tamari & mix around more. Flatten mixture out in pan with a large spoon or spatula & let cook for a few minutes. Mix around & repeat one or two more times. Add your "meat" & cook until just heated through. Add sea salt & pepper to taste. Serve immediately. SOOOO good hot!

This is a fun, fairly easy week night family dinner (well, around here anyway!) or fun dinner party meal - serve vegan eggrolls or wontons as an appetizer! & what's great is, the dressing can be made up to 1 week ahead of time, the soup can be made in the morning or afternoon & the rice takes hardly any time at all! & there you have a Benihana type feast - without the random guy sitting next to you eating the poor dead cow flesh! (or in my case, my dad! Love you, dad!)

Serves 6 - 8