Italian Caprese Sandwich

Yes. Hello! Once again, I've been blog-delinquent, and while I have a few fairly valid excuses (end of the school year, my oldest Sprout graduating, dead computer, etc) I think I'm up and running again and have several new posts I'm excited to share in the next few weeks! Please stay tuned. No more wandering off...

Vegan Caprese Sandwich

"Caprese" is a traditional Italian combination of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. While it's usually served as a salad, I like to serve it on crusty bread or focaccia.

I also skip the mozzarella (even though I know this is a signature ingredient in the "traditional" sandwich) and use either marinated, thinly sliced tofu, or, since the introduction of a fairly good vegan mozzarella (Teese) sometimes I'll use that. Either way, use garden-ripened tomatoes and lots of basil and the end result is fresh tasting, easy and the perfect picnic food!


For about four people:
Bread for four people: Crusty baguettes or rolls, chewy ciabatta or focaccia bread (Safeway bakery makes some beautiful, little, all-vegan, ciabatta rolls that are perfect here!)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
4 garden-ripe fresh tomatoes
4 thin slices very fresh, firm tofu, marinated** OR thinly sliced Teese brand mozzarella-style vegan cheese
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Cut bread in half. Lay, cut-side up, on baking pan and toast under broiler until just barely starting to toast.
Remove from oven and rub with clove of garlic, as much or little as you like. Drizzle just a tiny bit of olive oil on bread.
Layer sliced tomatoes and sliced tofu or cheese evenly over four sandwiches. Lay basil leaves on top. Season with salt and pepper. Make into sandwiches and cut in half for easier eating.
Can be wrapped well and kept for a day or so in the fridge or ice chest. The flavors soak into the bread and are DELICIOUS!!

**Marinated tofu: thinly slice 1/2 a block of firm tofu and lay in shallow glass dish. Sprinkle heavily with salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 cup FRESH squeezed lemon juice over tofu and turn to coat. Refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning several times. The lemon juice won't cover all of it and it won't really soak in, just flavors the outside. Drain and pat off excess marinade to use.

I'll proudly leave you with a picture from Jessika's high-school graduation two weeks ago - because even though it's not actually food-related, I'm just that proud.

Mandarin-Sesame Pan-Seared Tofu

I am not a huge fan of canned fruits but I'll also use just about any (vegan) food I have available to me rather than waste it. That said, last week a friend gave as a whole case of those little cans of mandarin oranges; and while I was appreciative, I was also a bit stumped.

Canned oranges. I thought those went away in the '70's or were reserved for neon-colored Jell-O salads. Well, aside from being packed in a pretty sweet syrup, they weren't bad and worked great in smoothies and on breakfast pancakes, but today I decided to try them in a more savory application and they added just the right contrast of color, sweetness and mild citrus. Obviously you could do this with fresh oranges or mandarins too.

Mandarin-Sesame Pan-Seared Tofu

Prepare Tofu:

1 Lb firm water-packed tofu; 1.) frozen, 2.) thawed and 3.) pressed under heavy weight to remove almost all liquid. You should have a very porous tofu product that will soak up lots of marinade.

Prepare Marinade:

3/4 cup mandarin orange segments (fresh or canned) whizzed into a liquid in food processor

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup apple or orange juice or white wine

3 Tbsp. dark sesame oil

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. agave syrup, brown rice syrup or corn syrup

2 teaspoon finely shredded fresh ginger

Blend all marinade ingredients in food processor.

Slice tofu into 1/2-inch thick slices.

Lay in flat baking dish or plastic storage container.

The tofu should have been pressed very well so no liquid remained and there is lots of room to soak up marinade.

Pour marinade over tofu. It should cover all the tofu. Let marinate an hour or so, turn slabs over, let sit another hour or overnight...

Remove from marinade, pat dry and fry in well-oiled very hot iron (or non-stick) skillet. Tofu should sear and turn dark and crispy on the edges. When browned on both sides, set in warm oven until all pieces are done.

Boil marinade until it reduces and thickens.

Lay tofu on serving plate.

Scatter several spoonfuls of mandarin orange segments over tofu. Drizzle with reduced marinade if desired.

Serve with veggies and fried rice or whatever suits you...

Super Easy Tofu And Broccoli Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

This is about as basic a meal as we get around here. Easy, simple, my kids love it and I almost always have all the ingredients on hand.

Of course, use whatever veggies you like, broccoli just took over as the vegetable of choice when my Sprouts were younger; sometimes dinner wasn't worth forcing them to take another bite of dreaded carrots, mushrooms or squash.

Now, thankfully, they like pretty much everything, but they still ask for this combo fairly often.

Serve it with rice, noodles, miso soup or pot stickers.

Super Easy, Super Simple Tofu And Broccoli with Peanut Sauce

• 1 tub or package water-packed firm tofu, well-drained (I wrap in paper towels and press for about 1/2 hr. if I think about it)
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• peanut oil
  
• soy sauce
  ~~~
• large bunch fresh broccoli, broken into med-small flowers (or the large frozen pieces work fine here too. Use straight from the package.)
  ~~~
• Peanut Sauce (To make it SUPER easy on yourself? Don't tell anyone, but the jarred stuff from Trader Joe's or The Ginger People works well here, OR use the recipe below if you prefer)
• Sesame seeds

PREPARE THE TOFU:
Cut tofu into small cubes, about the size of a sugar cube, sprinkle lightly with soy sauce. Stick in a ziploc bag with the cornstarch and toss until coated, remove from bag, shaking off any excess.

Fry in a shallow layer of peanut oil: To fry - Heat oil in pan (I like a non-stick, but use what you like) add 1 layer of tofu cubes without overcrowding, let sit in hot oil for a few minutes to develop a 'crust' and then turn carefully. Do a couple more turns, waiting a couple minutes in between sides, until crisp and very slightly browned (light tannish). Remove to a paper-toel to drain. This process is MUCH easier than it sounds. Repeat until all tofu is browned.

PREPARE BROCCOLI: Wipe excess oil from pan. Add brocolli and quickly stir-fry with a few dops oil and soy sauce until bright green and tender crisp (or to your liking).

Add tofu back to pan with broccoli, and carefully add peanut sauce to your preference (we prefer a light coating, some people like it swimming in sauce). Stir carefully to heat thru, another minute or two and serve, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

~~~~~~~~~~
PEANUT SAUCE

• 1/3 cup peanut butter, any type, softened
• 3 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• juice from 2 limes (or 3 Tbsp rice, or cider vinegar)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, shredded fine (I use a microplane)
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 1+ clove garlic, pressed
• 1/8 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
• salt to taste

Mix together. If too thick, add water or apple juice to thin to your preference. This can also be whizzed up in your food processer.

Green-Chile-and-"Cheese" Vegan Omelet

Yes, I realize the words 'cheese', 'omelet' and 'vegan' aren't typically used in the same sentence, let alone a vegan recipe title, but re-inventing traditional recipes is a challenge you know I can't pass up.

I had a lot of fun figuring this one out, and though Julia Child might beg to differ, she's not around any more, and I personally think the final result is definitely worthy of the name "omelet".

Now, I know there have been several "omelet" recipes in vegan blogs and brunch cookbooks lately, but most of them used only besan (chickpea) flour or tofu and the ones I tried were either a bit dense, or didn't stay together all that well - absolutely no offense to the people who created those recipes, they were good, but somehow not quite what I was craving...

Well, I discovered combining the tofu and besan, you get a slightly sturdier omelet that cooks up nice and tender yet holds together when stuffed with fillings. Obviously these don't HAVE to be "Green-Chile-Cheese" omelettes, fill them with whatever you like. Definitely use the India Black Salt though, if you possibly can. I've been using it in tofu-scramble for many years and it makes a huge difference in taste!

Green-Chile-"Cheese" Omelet

• 1/2 a box Mori-Nu Silken Tofu, firm
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup plain unsweetened soy/rice/almond milk
• 2 tsp. potato starch or cornstarch
• 1/4 cup besan/chickpea flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp. India Black Salt (optional but definitely gives it that authentic "eggy" taste)
• Season to taste with: pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. almond butter or cashew butter
• Fillings: I used a couple Tbsp. chopped green chiles and a couple Tbsp. Daiya vegan cheese, but use whatever you want. If using veggies, just cook and keep warm ahead of time, because they're added at the last.

In a food processor, blend the tofu, nutritional yeast and soymilk until smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients and process again until very smooth. The batter should be like medium pancake batter. If too thick to pour smoothly, add a bit more soymilk, but if runny like crepe batter, add more besan flour. I think I always play with the amounts of liquid, I may need to adjust that in future versions of the recipe...

Heat a small non-stick frypan/skillet over medium to med-low heat and brush pan with a light layer of oil. This really only works well with a non-stick skillet, I love my cast-iron pans too, but this just does NOT work in cast iron.
Add about 1 cup of the omelet batter at a time, and smooth it quickly and evenly in the pan. It should be somewhat thinner than a pancake. Allow to cook for about 2 - 5 minutes, until the colour changes (it will become more yellow as it cooks) and the top appears a bit dry, but don't let it get dark brown on the bottom, you may have to check a couple times.

Flip the omelet carefully (they do crumble a bit depending on how thick/thin the batter was) the best way to flip is to use two wide spatulas... Then cook on the other side for 3 or 4 minutes. Put cooked fillings on omelet. (If using "cheese" that will melt, cover the pan and cook on low another two minutes or until cheese melts) .

Fold omelet over filling, slide onto plate, top with additional garnish or cheese or salsa or parsley and serve to appreciative fans and family! (Ignore the fact that no green-chiles are showing in my photo, they're in there somewhere!)

You may need to add more liquid as you go, the batter thickens as it stands. Keep a wire whisk handy to re-mix ingredients before cooking each omelet.

Crispy Tofu and Gravy

Crispy Fried Tofu and Brown Gravy

This is the simplest supper I can imagine; super-quick and I always have the ingredients on hand...

Here's how you do it:

• Cube well-drained, extra firm tofu, and toss with *seasoned cornstarch so you have it coated in a light layer.
  (*That's just cornstarch mixed with a good dose of whatever you like - we used lemon pepper, cayenne, sage and a little salt).
  
• Pan fry (yes... FRY!) until crispy and lightly browned, in a thin puddle of peanut or coconut oil, turning as needed.
  
• Keep tofu cubes warm in a low oven.
  
• Wipe out skillet to remove most of the excess oil and crumbs.

Make gravy:

• Melt 2 Tbsp. margarine in the same skillet.
• Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. flour over margarine, cook and stir over medium heat until tan-brown.
• Turn heat OFF and gradually stir in 1 cup soymilk.
• Season with 2 tsp veggie buillion powder ("beef" flavor if you have it, though veggie flavor is fine too), 1/2 tsp. sage and 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper.
• Stir (a wire whisk is best) until all browned flour is well incorporated.
• Whisk in 1/2 cup water.
• Turn heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens, about 7 minutes.
• If it boils too hard, turn heat down a little.
• Taste, and season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle (or better yet, POUR) gravy over tofu. Enjoy.

Olive-Tofu-Pecan Spread

I know it looks like a bowl of oatmeal, but I promise it's a delicious and crazy-simple dip (more of a "spread" texture) that NO ONE will ask or care if it's "weird vegan food" or not.

This is my stand-by when I need a 'spread' sort-of party-food thing at the last moment, and have to impress non-vegan sorts with too. Don't TELL them it's tofu, for goodness sakes, wait until they've licked the bowl clean and are asking for the recipe. (*gloats*)

It's good with crackers, with celery and carrots or in a sourdough bread bowl. Also great for sandwiches should you have any leftovers!

Olive-Tofu-Pecan Spread

1 cup firm tofu, mashed fine with a fork

1/3 cup pecans, ground fine but into large crumbles... not totally into powder, in food processor or blender

2/3 cup black olives, chopped (you can use a couple Tbsp. kalamata olives if you want extra tang and saltiness, but it's good with standard old black olives too).

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 finely chopped onion (or chop celery and onion in food processor, but I like the uniform tiny chunks you get by hand chopping...)

1 1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. seasoning salt

1/2 cup Vegannaise vegan mayo (or equal parts Tofutti Sour 'Cream' and vegan mayo)

Mix ingredients well. Chill several hours. Enjoy! That's it!

Tofu That's Sort-of Like Breakfast Sausage...

This amazing brunch was a joint effort between Shaun and myself.

Doesn't it look lovely? (If I do say so myself!)

Shaun had been wanting to copy a particular "breakfast sausage" -style tofu that's his absolute favorite menu item at "Hillside Quickie", a vegan Southern/soul food restaurant near here. The place is AMAZING but we just can't go out for breakfast every day...

I think we came pretty darn close to their recipe though!!!
.
No specific amounts yet, it's still a work-in-progress, but the method we used was:

• Freeze firm tofu.
• Thaw, drain and press.
• Slice into thick slabs.
• Marinate in soy sauce, liquid smoke, red wine, and a bunch of other spices and things...
• Fry until crisp in a well-oiled HOT pan.
• Top with gravy*.
• Enjoy! (Oh, some toast is good too).

*I used Isa's "Chickpea Gravy" which is like crack in this household... someone was nice enough to post the recipe here: Punkrock Chickpea Gravy. I admit it's the main reason I own Vegan with a Vengance, (I am just SOO not a "cookbook" sorta person) but if you've never tried it, DO!!!

I don't get the "breakfast sausage" similarity quite so much, but it's deliciously juicy, smoky, chewy, fried...pretty amazing stuff!

So yeah.... that was brunch. Fall-off-your-chair sort of delicious.

The next day we went to Kokeb Ethiopian Restaurant with fellow vegan friends from Seattle.

Ethiopian is truly a dining experience everyone needs to have. Lots of restaurants here in Seattle, but none in Albuquerque, (where Shaun lives) so what better reason to go?

You can read about it on their website. Lots of vegetarian choices too!!

Not only that, but I got to hold the cutest baby in Seattle... or Washington... maybe the world. (He's vegan too, how awesome is that?).

Happy New Year

Yes, I'm a week late, but you know I love showing off family and friends at least as much as food; so here's some fun pix from the New Year's Party.

(and a great recipe. I won't leave you hanging without recipes!!).
























My middle "Sprout" blew off her friends' invitation and opted to hang with the less cool adults tonight. (Probably afraid to miss out on family gossip!) It's OK, we had more fun anyway!

This is, of course, three of my lovely sisters, and me.
























I thought the steam from the hot cider added a neat effect to this picture, though maybe it looks like smoke...which it wasn't.

And I assure you, she's drinking cranberry juice, which I suppose, doesn't sound too believeable either.















Just a few of the party goodies - vegan except the cheese plate.
Don't know if you can see them, but we had vegan:

- Chex Party Mix
-Olive Tofu Pecan Dip
- Best Vegan Ranch (can even be made RAW!)
- Gingerbread and Lemon Bundt Mini-Cakes
-Stuffed Mushrooms
-Vegan Fudge (SOOO good!! from "Shmooed Food")
- Black-Bean-Corn Salsa (recipe below)


Easiest Black-Bean-Corn-Salsa-Salad:

1 can, 14 ounces, black beans, rinsed and drained
1/1/2 cups frozen corn kernels (I like tiny white corn here)
1 small red or orange bell pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 a bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons hot sauce, just eyeball the amount
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
Salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients. Let stand at least 15 minutes for corn to fully defrost and flavors to combine, toss and serve. The corn will also place a quick-chill on this as it
defrosts -- no need to refrigerate!

Happy New Year


And hopefully no one will try sticking a cold beverage bottle on your neck.

Stop smirking!
It's cold!

Very-Veggie Pasta Salad and Rhubarb-Ginger Crisp

Hello dear ones, I swear I'm still cooking and eating. Just not blogging. Sad really, because I have no excuse.
So here to appease you, a couple items of yumminess that we enjoyed last week:

Very-Veggie Pasta Salad
(This makes a HUGE bowl, we keep it in the fridge and munch on it for several days. The kids LOVE it and it's crunchy, cool and nutritious in hot weather when you just don't feel like eating anything!)

4 cups cooked pasta of your favorite shape
1 cup broccoli flowerlets, blanched briefly in boiling water
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup garbanzos/chick peas
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 small can sliced black olives
1/2 cup coarsely shredded carrot
3/4 cup (1/2 a package or so) baked, flavored tofu, cubed
1 cup chopped fresh (raw) spinach or arugula

Mix the above ingredients together.
(You can really use whatever veggies your family prefers here)

Dressing:
1/4 cup good olive oil or grapeseed oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 cloves pressed garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk dressing ingredients together, pour over salad. Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill salad and enjoy.

And next? Soooo easy.

Rhubarb-Ginger-Apple Crisp
2 c. rhubarb, diced
3 large apples, cut in bite sized pieces (peel if you feel the need, I don't)
1/2 c. sugar
1 tablespoon crystallized ginger, minced
1 tablespoon flour

For the crisp:
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
4 tbs. vegan margarine, cold, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 c. oatmeal

Place rhubarb, apples, 1/2 cup sugar, crystallized ginger, and 2 tablespoons flour in a large bowl and toss well.
Combine “crisp” ingredients in a bowl and mix with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly.
Spread about 1/3 of the crisp mixture on the bottom of a greased baking dish.
Place the apple rhubarb mixture on top of the crisp mixture. And spread the rest of the crisp mixture on top of the apple rhubarb mixture. Bake at 350F for 30+ minutes, until fruit is tender and topping is browned.
Serve warm or cold.

Asian Market Finds

We had to go into the city for a few errands this weekend, so we stopped by one of our favorite places; the Asian Market. To celebrate Cinco de Mayo. (Kidding! That was my kids' comment...) Anyway, I love the place because I always find all sorts of inexpensive, yummy - and vegan - goodies.

Just thought I'd post some pictures of our favorites...

Here's my daughter's first choice: Vegetable Dumplings (or steamed buns) filled with mushrooms, cabbage, bok choy, leeks and TVP - just steam and serve... simple, low-fat and filled with veggies my kids will actually eat - always good in my book!

Next up: Look at these boxes!

They are Japanese, marketed just for tofu storage, and they were 50 cents each! It's a 3-pc. set consisting of box, lid and mesh insert to hold the tofu. They fit my bricks of fresh tofu nicely (which I also get at the market, in bulk). I'd always had a problem with decent storage for bulk tofu though; ziploc bags were drippy and a pain, and I hadn't found any plastic containers that were a good fit - but these are perfect - and reuseable! The insert helps you pick up the tofu up out of the water without fishing around breaking the tofu and making a mess with water draining all over the place. Yes, I have these problems sometimes, you probably don't. Anyway, as you can see, I immediately put them to good use. (I know, I get WAY too excited over simple things...)

Korean sesame candy - usually this stuff comes in a big bag; dry, crunchy and individually wrapped, but this stuff's made fresh! Chewy, nutty candy made primarily with peanuts and white or black sesame seeds, it tastes a lot like very nutty peanut brittle. Oh my gosh, I could eat this stuff long after it was good for me. (though sesame seeds are a great source of calcium and protein, so I figure that's a great excuse!!).

Canned mock meats and coconut milk. The mock meats seem weird in a can, I know, but they're surprisingly very good! Read the labels of course but these are just chunks of seitan in a broth - great in stir-fry or curry.

Then there's this: "Seattle Ramen". You gotta LOVE it!!

It's the store's own brand of "Top Ramen" noodle soup (which is just the model health food, I realize), but the 'Hot and Spicy' variety here happened to be vegan, so we couldn't resist picking up a few packages...

Vegan Ranch Dressing!

Supper was simple and boring tonight, but it's probably one of my kids' all-time favorites.

Sloppy Joes, which I can make blindfolded, and a HUGE bunch of fresh veggies dipped in ranch dressing. The Sprouts and I could live on veggies and ranch, I swear.

BV (Before Veganism) we were all HUGE Ranch Dressing addicts - almost harder to give up than cheese - and it's taken me many trials to find the exact recipe combination that tasted "ranch-y" and tangy and creamy enough for all of us. Here ya go... (Oh, and I'll post the Sloppy Joes another Day).

Enjoy.

Ranch-Style Dressing

2/3 cup Vegannaise (vegan mayonnaise)

1/2 cup plain soy milk

2/3 cup Sour Supreme vegan sour cream

2/3 cup pureed silken tofu

1 tsp. white vinegar

1/2 tsp celery salt OR:1 tsp celery seed AND 1/4 tsp salt

*2 tablespoons chopped green onions (or fresh chives, chopped)

*1/4 teaspoon onion powder

*1 Tablespoon minced parsley (fresh is WAY better here)

*1 garlic clove, finely minced

(*You can whiz the chives, parsley, onion and garlic with a little soymilk in the food processor to speed up making the dressing)

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Use an immersion blender to combine all ingredients, or shake in a jar with tight-fitting lid.

Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.

Chill for an hour or so to thicken and blend flavors.

Makes 2 cups.

Sweet and Sour "Chicken"

OK, this is one of those embarassing 'recipes' that people rave over, and yet I really don't do anything but throw a few things together...

Another of those "almost fools the omni's" sort of thing...

Quick and Easy, Sweet and Sour 'Chicken' and Veggies


1 Package "Health is Wealth" chicken-free "nuggets" (or vegan nugget type thing of your choice)
1 red bell pepper- cut in chunks
1 green bell pepper - cut in chunks
2 plum tomatoes- cut in chunks
1/2 sweet onion - cut in chunks
1 12 oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 cup Wing Yip Sweet and Sour Sauce (or your favorite bottled sweet-and-sour sauce)
Thaw the nuggets (leave package at room temperature a 1/2 hour or so. Cut the "nuggets" into quarters.

Brown the nugget pieces in oil until crispy. Set aside.

Stir fry peppers and onion until tender-crisp.
Add tomatoes, pineapple and Sweet and Sour sauce.
Simmer for 5 - 10 min until sauce is hot.
If there doesn't seem to be enough sauce, add a little of the pineapple juice you drained from the can.
Add "chicken" chunks, simmer another 2- 3 minutes.
Serve over hot rice.

This also works great with cubes of browned tofu or tempeh but they usually take a bit longer to brown.

Oliva-Tofu-Pecan Dip

First Christmas Party of the season tonight:

Didn't have a whole lot of time last night and wanted something that I could mix up ahead of time, so I brought this super-mega-easy-yummy dip, and some rather generic crackers. My mom actually gave me the recipe a few years back - Good stuff!!

No one asked or cared if it was vegan and the bowl was cleaned out when I left so I guess that's a good sign. Seriously, this is my stand-by when I need a 'spread' sort of thing and have to impress omnis. It's good with celery and carrots or in a sourdough bread bowl too.

Olive-Tofu-Pecan Spread

1 cup firm tofu, mashed fine with a fork

1/3 cup pecans, ground fine but not totally into powder, in food processor or blender

2/3 cup black olives, chopped (you can use a couple Tbsp. kalamata olives if you want extra tang and saltiness, but it's good with standard old black olives too).

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 finely chopped onion (or chop celery and onion in food processor)

1 1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. seasoning salt

1/2 cup Vegannaise (or equal parts Tofutti Sour 'Cream' and vegan mayo)

Mix ingredients well. Enjoy! That's it!

Tofu Thoughts

FRESH TOFU

Woo-hoo! Jackpot!

Went to my favorite Asian grocer tonight, and they had just filled the bulk buckets in the cooler with fresh tofu.
Their fresh (not the stuff in the little plastic box) tofu sells out within a couple HOURS, so I rarely manage to get my hands on any. You just grab a chunk out of the water with the tongs, put it in a plastic bag. Tonight I stocked up - it keeps for quite a while if I put it in a Tupperware and change the water daily - and it freezes great!

If you've never had fresh (I mean REALLY amazingly fresh) tofu from a bulk bin or tub, I suggest you try it - it's SOOOOO good! Trina, my Vietnamese friend, told me about this particular market - said they're known for having the best tofu in town. I have to agree, and now I'm spoiled - this is the only way I'll buy the stuff.

OK, so what to do with it?















Not that I have ANY trouble findng a use for tofu, but Littlest Sprout wanted "Chicken Tofu Sticks" (with barbeque sauce of course!!) and since it's so quick and simple and we were running late - well, we basically made a meal of fried tofu and salad. Maybe not the most healthy supper on the planet, but I can think of worse.

I'm not really sure where this recipe came from or if it ever WAS a recipe, but I've been fiddling with it for years (like most of my recipes); since my oldest still likes real (*gasp*) chicken when out with her Dad once in a while, I've tried to season these sorta the way she likes. Go with less cayenne or lemon pepper if you prefer. Cold, the next day, these things are very scarily chicken-like...

"Fried Tofu Chik'n-Style"

6 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast
1/2 cup finely ground dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dry vegetarian "chik'n" bullion/broth powder
1/2 tsp. sage
1 tsp. garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
lemon pepper to taste

1/2 cup soymilk
1/4 cup Vegenaise or other vegan mayo. of your choice
2 Tb. nutritional yeast
peanut oil for frying
1 pounds firm, fresh tofu, drained, blotted dry and cut into "sticks".

In a small bowl, whisk the Vegenaise, soymilk and 2 Tb. nutritional yeast; in a separate dish, toss the cornstarch, breadcrumbs and nutritional yeast with the salt and spices.

Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a cast-iron or non-stick pan. (I know, I know!!)

Dip each tofu stick in the soymilk mixture to coat, then roll in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing the mixture on. Carefully lower into the hot oil and cook for 2 minutes. Turn with tongs and continue cooking until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with dipping sauce.