Tofu Breakfast Sandwich

Psst....hey you. C'mere. Closer, wipe that sleep out of your eyes. Smell that? Mmmmmm.... That's the smell of vegan breakfast heaven. Don't be shy, pull up a seat and dig in!Ok, so it won't be that easy. You'll actually have to prep these babies a day ahead to let them marinade, but I promise they're worth the wait. The pics of them made with whole grain rolls and organic sweet clover sprouts (yum!) are on the other camera, but even just on whole wheat bread with Veganaise, organic avocado and some salt and pepper were just super yummy and a perfect way to start the day!

New York Deli Style Tofu Breakfast Sandwiches (courtesy of VegWeb)
For the marinade:
1 1/2 tablespoon vinegar (any kind but Balsamic)
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard (or less, if using ground mustard powder)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 tablespoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder dash each of salt, pepper, onion powder
1 sandwich-sized slab of extra-firm tofu*

*the VegWeb recipe calls for frozen then drained tofu. I tried this originally as it's what I had and was looking for a recipe specifically calling for frozen/drained tofu. Today I had it with tofu that had never been frozen and I gotta say...I liked that MUCH better. I think the trick is to press it for at least thirty min to get out a lot of the moisture.

Press one block of Extra Firm Tofu well, slice into slabs whichever way you prefer to make sandwiches with. Place in marinade for at least 24 hours, turning once or twice, if you think of it. Heat skillet on Med heat and coat with either cooking spray or a little bit of oil (I use Grapeseed). Brown both sides (I even press the slabs into extra nutritional yeast, because I'm crazy like that). Serve on lightly toasted bread of choice with fixins you love!

I found that simplest is most yummy, just some Veganaise, fresh avocado and sprouts on a whole grain roll was my favorite. Oh, I also tried this over roasted herbed potatoes, topped with sprouts, with Veg'con cheeze sauce drizzed on top. I must admit, THAT was pretty perfect.

Have fun with it. It's a great way to turn peeps on to tofu as it isn't overpoweringly flavored, and allows the tofu to be tofu and really sing just as it is, texture and all.

In other news, just when I thought that my morning couldn't get better than feasting on the above sandwich, I got a welcome surprise on my blog....a comment from a local legend and all-around amazing human being, Tempeh Jose!

I realize you're not all familiar with who the heck it is I'm referring to. Check him out at www.tempehshop.com. He's the local tempeh guru in my neck o' the woods and I'm hoping to test some of his newest creation. I've consumed more than my weight in his existing tempeh and it is such great stuff! It truly won me over when I was just eh about that particular soy product. He supplies the local grocer and tastiest restaurants in town. Such a cool member of our community.
I'm inspired to get some of his tempeh and get back in the kitchen and share it with you here!

Until then, you know I'm gonna do it......here's Taylor, by morning light.

Seitan Roast Revisited, in a Marsala Reduction!

I never did blog about Thanksgiving last year. A shame, really, as I'd made for my family this Crock Pot Seitan Roast. Aside from nearly killing my brother* with it, it was a huge hit!

The recipe makes quite a large roast so I froze half of it and just remembered I had it in the freezer last week so I thawed it and have been enjoying the easiest, most delicious dish I've made up in a looooong time.

See, I love seitan, but it's hard to find the right recipe or the right flavor or texture. While I'd made this particular roast before and enjoyed it, it didn't really sing. I figured it just needed the right sauce or accompaniments.

Enter the thawed roast on a night when I was exhausted, didn't have much in the house save some staples and a ridiculous hunger for some comfort food.

Seitan Roast in a Marsala Reduction Over Mashed Cauliflower was born.
It's not really a recipe...but here's how it goes.

Heat about a tablespoon of Smart Balance in hot pan. Slice seitan to the thickness of your liking (I prefer very thin slivers and lots of 'em, but the Cap'n requested thicker pieces tonight so we went that route. still good!) and brown on each side. Ladle in a few tablespoons of the roast's juices (from the bag or container you're keeping your seitan in) into the pan, add a few glugs of marsala cooking wine and a few splashes of lemon juice. This is all on med heat until it bubbles and begins to thicken. Then reduce the heat to med lo and let it all reduce, turning the seitan periodically.

As for the cauliflower**, I just chop up a head, steam it, smash it, add a little Smart Balance, a splash or two of soy milk, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and mix with a fork until fluffy. Serve the seitan over a cloud of this and a side of your favorite green veggie.

You could make a gravy, but you don't even need it.

*the roast calls for vegan oyster sauce made with shitake mushrooms. my little brother is allergic to mushrooms and I had him try it, totally forgetting about the mushrooms in the mix. he woke up the morning after thxgiving with a throat near swollen clothes. I foolishly asked him, what the heck did you eat?! oops!

**I've seen some recipes for mashed cauliflower that call for using corn starch and a cooking method of cooking that requires entirely too many steps. it may not help the carb quotient, but I tend to think of making mashed cauliflower whenever I have one or two of those little potatoes all lonely in the bag. They seem to help achieve a fluffy, less watery texture.

Tofu in the Mists

I don't know why, but I really dig this first shot of my otherwise boring breakfast. So misty, so mysterious... when the steam subsides you see it's just another tofu scramble. Tofu, onion, garlic, broccoli, and some Lite Life Tempeh Fak'in. A slight sprinkling of shoyu, a generous helping of nutritional yeast, a little thyme, a lot of smoked paprika. Boring, sure, but some pretty great stuff all the same.

and what kind of post would this be without a little Taylor? no post from me, to be sure! Here she is this fine morning with that face that says she's on her way to 'up to no good' and fast!

Happy Monday!

Fatfree Vegan Just Made My Morning!

It's that time of year again, where I stock up on my six pound (yes, six POUND) bucket 'o nutritional yeast from Vegan Essentials. Ever since this lovely stuff arrived in all it's flakey, golden glory, I've been salivating thinking of the things I've been craving to make with it. What I woke up and *thought* I'd be treating myself to was a vegan omelette a la FFV, but alas, I had no tofu. Knowing that Susan would surely have something I that would inspire me I headed over to Fat Free Vegan and this caught my eye, her Golden Potato and Tempeh Casserole.
I halved the recipe and only used one really large Russet potato. I also found, at the last minute, that I had no miso in the house (which was sadly ironic as I had it in my hand at the store the other day thinking, 'wait. i have a ton of miso at home, right?' wrong!)

In the end, this was a-MA-zing as it was. I can only imagine that the addition of miso would make it heavenly. I otherwise kept to the recipe, minus swapping a couple shakes of my shoyu bottle in place of my absent miso. I also used store bought LiteLife Tempeh Fak'n as I had some in the 'fridge that needed using up. The only Spanish paprika I have is smoked so I used that and it just intensified the smokey flavor. Oh, and I omitted the optional vegan parm dusting at the end. Guess I didn't follow the recipe exactly much, eh?

This was the best brunch (with the addition of a quick smoothie while it baked made of a banana, some frozen raspberries, frozen mango, and some plain soy milk, yum!) I've had in ages! I can't wait to make the full recipe again some time soon. The sauce really gets thick and creamy and cheezy and crusts up on top and along the sides like good cheese sauces of old.

Thank you, Susan! For adding to the vegan repertoire, another morning meal success!

If you're not a fan of smokey things (I never used to be) I'd bet that Isa's tempeh fauxsage crumbles from VWaV would make a phenomenal sub and, actually, I'm gonna try that variation next.

I'm not able to cook up a lot of elaborate things in the morning as Taylor is all about a.m. play time, but her Aunt gifted her a little walker (i know, i know, they're awful contraptions that only negligent and horrible parents would use these days...spare me*) and we happily roar and giggle in the kitchen some mornings as she chases the dog around and tries in vain to open cabinets. it allows me to cook a hot meal in the morning on occasion and allows her to run around free instead of flapping her arms in a tizzy until we walk her incessantly around by the hands since this kid thinks crawling is for babies* and will be walking on her own in no time!

*i, and a whole generation of now able-bodied folks grew up with walkers and developed just fine. my daughter is never left unattended and is thrilled by her newfound 'freedom'.

*i am also aware how important the act of crawling can be in development and we try multiple times daily to win T over to the art of crawling, but she is the master of her own everything and she's not having it. so stubborn. i have NO idea where she gets that from ;)

V'Con Pumpkin Cake & a Little Morning Magic

I haven't baked anything in quite a while, but I'm so glad that when the opportunity presented itself, I chose to bake this, Veganomicon's Pumpkin (Funny, I keep typing 'P-u-n-k-i-n'. Coincidence?) Cake with Pecan Streusel Topping. Although, in my case, it quickly turned into Walnut Streusel as that was all I had.

Regardless, this stuff is GOOD. Nay, GREAT! It's pumpkin-y, light, not overly sweet, but just enough to satisfy a craving. The topping is just a light scattering of extra yummy, crunchy goodness. Did I mention how moist it is? It's super moist. Another Veganomicon instant favorite. I haven't even shared any with anyone yet. This could be dangerous!

Just look at that topping!
And so moist yet not dense, very light and cakey in texture. What? Cakey is a word, right?

As for the magical aspect of this post, I just wanted to take a moment and give props to my Magic Bullet. Since our move, I'd had it on the counter but not used it. Silly me, because with this handy gadget (thank you, wonderful SIL for gifting to to me a couple years ago!), one can wake up, stumble groggily to the kitchen, toss in five basic ingredients and magically a tasty, healthy breakfast is born!This one was a yummy blend of just frozen organic raspberries, one organic banana, a tablespoon of organic raw almond butter, a few tablespoons of hemp seed, and enough plain soy milk to blend it all together.

I really want to get into making a more green smoothie in the mornings, but I'm a bit daunted by the amount of greens required to go into them. It seems as though everyone I see on the blogs includes around five cups of a green. Seriously? How do ya keep that kind of quantity on hand? and how ever would i fit that into my trusty Bullet?

Now, Why Didn't I Think of This One Sooner?!

Lemon Herb Soy Curls!It's no big secret 'round here that I'm in love with Dreena Burton's Lemon Herb Tofu from 'Vive le Vegan!'. What's not to love? It's easy, can be eaten, hot, cold, on it's own, in a sandwich, in a salad, as a salad, and is basically a flavor party in your mouth.

Last night I wanted easy, flavorful, and was craving Soy Curls. What I love about Soy Curls is that I can basically take any recipe that calls for any protein and replace it with them and viola! Instant yum with very little fuss and tons of flavor.

So basically, here I just rehydrated some Soy Curls, tossed them in the recipes marinade, and baked just as the recipe called for. Meanwhile, I cooked up some Ezekiel pasta (Have you had this yet? soooo good. Firm and nutty and extremely good for you, packed with fiber and protein, this is a new favorite pasta of mine) and tossed some frozen organic peas into the pot to cook along with it.

Once drained, I tossed the pasta and peas with a little bit of Earth Balance and topped with the Lemon Herb Soy Curls. Very satisfying and extremely flavorful.

I admit that Ezekiel pasta didn't win me over from the start. While I love the bread, I wasn't sure that I was really enjoying the pasta as it is firmer and a bit courser than a whole wheat variety. But, just as I learned with whole wheat pasta, if you let it cook just a tad more than the box calls for, you get a much better result. Not mushy, just a bit more tender and less starchy tasting. Now? I love the stuff!

And it's certainly a good thing to love as it offers a flourless variety of pasta that is organic and a complete protein!

The Return of the Taco Salad

Once upon a time, I had a ton of weight to lose. I saw a nutritionist, changed my diet, exercised every day, and basically LIVED on taco salads. What's not to like? They can be varied so you don't get sick of 'em, they're easy, and they taste scrumptious.

Since I got pregnant, I've been stuffing myself when I get the chance. First, it was because I was 'eating for two', then it was the breastfeeding. That stuff makes ya ravenous! Now? She's eating just fine and the other, sadly, ended months ago. Time to shed those last twenty pounds! Bring on the Taco Salad!
The great thing about being vegan and eating a taco salad is you don't get caught up in drowning them in things like cheese and sour cream. Normally, I love to, instead, drown mine in a chipotle dressing that blows Moe's outta the water, but it's Vegannaise based and not the best bet every time when trying to whittle the waistline, so I was looking for a way to nix it. (I'll be sure to dig it up and share it with you soon, though, because it is SUCH a treat when I'm making them for others and don't run the risk of having a full carafe of dressing to use up on my own that I just have to share it!)

You can go the route of beans or crumbles or, you can do like I did with this one, and saute some tempeh. The flavor of chili powder, cumin, tamari, and a dash of chipotle is such that I never even boil or steam the tempeh. Never notice the bitterness in this dish. I heat up a touch of oil and brown the crumbled tempeh. Add some spices, water, brown some more. Sprinkle in some tamari, soy sauce, or shoyu, and let it get all brown and yummy before taking off the heat.

In place of the dressing (I promise, it's amazing but you won't miss it if you do this), I just chop up a juicy, red tomato. Add some red wine vinegar, oregano, & pinches of sugar and salt to taste and toss. Let that sit while you put together the rest. I like to chop up some lettuce and toss it with some chopped cilantro. Place that either on a plate or in a tortilla shell bowl (you know, if you've been good all day and can eat up the extra calories that way). Top with the tempeh and marinated tomatoes. Green or red onions are good here as well (I didn't have any). Avocado is even better (none of that on hand either). this is where I HIGHLY recommend Dreena's avocado cream. super yum. As I said, I was sans avocado, so that was a luxury I didn't have and I admit, I had to use up some Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream on mine. I know, this is not the healthiest option, but here's a trick. Place one Tablespoon in a plastic or pastry bag. If you're using plastic, seal and cut a tiny hole in the corner. Decorate your salad with the 'sour cream' in such a way that is pretty, spreads it out evenly, but delivers only half the recommended serving size! So good.

I'm not a fan of any vegan cheeses so I never top with that, but you could certainly add that addition if you're so inclined. And seriously, the avocado cream...the cashew one....oh yeah, it's fantastic. The best part? If you're preparing this for one? You'll certainly have left over ingredients to toss together in a snap the next day either in another salad or a wrap. Oh, and if you were to leave out the shell, scoop up the bites with baked tortilla chips for a lower fat meal!

From the Cook Who Never Cooks These Days

Seriously, I don't know how you vegan momma's do it out there, with all the amazing culinary prowess! Me? I've been living on things like oatmeal, cereal, Amy's foods, salads, tofurkey outa sandwiches, and other pre-packaged easy fixes.

I so miss my time in the kitchen! But tonight was a nice little peek thru the window into what lies ahead. I WILL make time for more cooking. I can't promise anything all that involved any time soon, but I was reminded of just how perfect simple vegan cooking can be.

Enter the perfect easy stir fryMy only regret is that I did not make a pot of brown rice but instead threw a bag of Uncle Ben's plain brown rice in the microwave. Eh, whatever, it's the rest that made this so great.
All I did was toss some (cubed very small and well drained) tofu in some heated olive oil (I usually would use grapeseed but Olive's what we have on hand right now) until it started to brown. Then, Grit style, I sprinkled with Shoyu and a light dusting of nutritional yeast. After that browned a few minutes I added broccoli florets and cooked until the broccoli let go of that earthy, nutty aroma you get when you saute it on the dry side. A tad more shoyu, a bit more n.y. a couple times over until just flavored but not overly so.
I removed that from the heat and placed it in a serving bowl.
Next, I put a couple tablespoons of Smart Balance in that hot pan and tossed in a package of sliced portabellos (this is all organic produce) and sprinkled them with some garlic powder. The heat went up a tad so that the mushrooms would brown and not steam and I let them do just that for about five minutes. they went on top of the tofu and broccoli and OH MAN was dinner good tonight!
So simple, so tasty, so healthy....so GOOD!

in other news, how cute is Taylor experiencing tofu for the very first time?she loved playing with it but doesn't like putting anything that's supposed to go in her mouth in her mouth just yet. that's ok. that's what mommies have immersion blenders for, right? ;)

Remember Me? How 'bout some Mock Crab Cakes?

Ok, so it's not much of a segway from my last post ions ago to this one, but it's pretty much how I feel these days, longing to cook something fun and blog about it but totally too frantic to get anything done that is blogworthy.

While I wish I could say that these babies were made with the amazing okara that came from a yummy batch of soy milk from my swanky new Soya Bella, I can only say that they were pretty great with just run of the mill store-bought tofu (and I've yet to make anything particularly 'yummy' with my Soya Bella...yet!). These are basically carrot, onion, celery, parsley, Vegannaise, bread crumbs, tofu, kelp powder, and Old Bay seasoning, coated with panko, fried, then baked for about fifteen minutes. I topped 'em with a very unoriginal blend of Vegannaise, organic ketchup and some horseradish which really made them sing. Served 'em up with a side of broiled nutritional yeasty (i cannot ever bring myself to say 'nooch-' anything) cauliflower and grape tomatoes and feasted on a fine vegan dinner. I think the only change I'd make next time is to use more of a binder like flax meal and water to help them to stick together and not be so delicate.

Not too shabby for a gal with a seven month old, six felines, one really bad but totally lovable 85 lbs of yellow lab silliness to corral and a bum neck. (yep, this post was inspired by me in a cervical collar all hopped up on steroids and muscle relaxers. good times.) luckily, the felines are adjusting pretty nicely to their new space so they don't cause much trouble,the dog is happy to mope in the kitchen just waiting for crumbs...and the seven month old? you just put her jumparoo wherever you need to get something done and viola! you have about thirty minutes of total baby euphoria. go!we're totally loving it living at home in a fairy tale neighborhood, a house that feels made just for us, and in a town we have always been in love with. we're surrounded by friends, family, and a like-minded community full of fun stuff to do. now, if i could just get the mounds of belongings from out of the garage into our living space i might know where half of my kitchen stuff is....but who has time what with all this fun we're having!

thanks for all your comments all of the time. I can't say that i'll be back regularly just yet, but i'm certainly making my way!

we're moving!

Well, after a year of trying to sell our home in this almost nonexistent market, we finally did it, and managed to find our dream house back home for a price we can afford. Now, once all the paperwork is done and both houses close, we'll be on our way!

So, what with all of that, a recent three day stay in the hospital due to a raging kidney infection, this crazy tropical storm bringing all kinds of weather (though I should probably thank the universe for sparing both our locations thus far from anything truly damaging. may that hold true thru the end of it!), and three feral kittens who recently showed up at our doorstep (literally) that I'm trying to foster then find homes for (even though the Cap'n keeps calling one of them Seven, as in the seventh stray cat we take in. sigh), I think this blog may be on a bit of a hiatus. We hope to be fully moved by the end of September, so I'm thinking I'll make it back to the blogosphere by Halloween, for sure, complete with scary vegan treats and cute baby costume. Until then I hope I even find a moment to check out all of your blogs and if not, I know I'll have a ton of catching up to do!

For now, here's Taylor. Lately, she's been trying to talk like crazy and I've taught her to roar like a lion. too cute.
Thanks to everyone who always still checks in even though it's been a long while since I shared anything edible. It's nice to know you're all still there!