VeganMoFo: Tofu Benny October 28, 2009

Ever since I got Isa’s Vegan Brunch, I have been itching to make the Tofu Benny.  Just looking at the picture in the book makes me hungry.  This was the recipe that I wanted to post for the first day of VeganMoFo III, but I couldn’t find Black salt (Kala Namak) for the life of me.  I finally caved in and ordered it on Amazon, and actually received it pretty quickly.

I guess you could say that I have procrastinated writing this entry because I actually made it a few weeks ago.  Bad Monkey, Bad!!!

This recipe was actually very easy to make.  You only have to follow two rules: remember to marinate your tofu, and timing of the 3 different parts of the recipe.  I decided to go with the Diner Home Fries instead of the English Muffins as my base for the Benny, and they were fantastic and came together pretty easy.  I decided not to boil the potatoes.  Instead I placed them in a microwave safe bowl, added a little olive oil to the potatoes, cover the bowl  in plastic wrap, and set the microwave for 5 minutes.  This actually makes cooking the potatoes A LOT quicker than boiling and reduces the dishes 🙂

I marinaded the tofu overnight, so that the flavors had more time to develop.  When I opened the marinated tofu in the morning, it completely smelled like eggs.  I would attribute this to the use of black salt because the sulfuric smell added that extra goodness to the tofu.  If you make the recipe you really need to use black salt to bring it all together.  I think the marinade for the tofu would work great with a tofu scramble so that you can get the same flavor profile as eggs.  When everything was ready, I plated it and then sat down for brunch.

HOLY CRAP!!!!

This was fantastic.  The tofu totally had a flavor reminiscent of eggs.  Everything worked perfectly together.

Vegan Adventure #18 and VeganMofo #3 October 3, 2008

I have been looking at this recipe for awhile and kept wondering what Green Thai Curry tasted like.  I guess it was the list of ingredients that had been putting be off, but finally I buckled down and decided that it was time.  The hardest part of the recipe was making the green chile paste, which I will admit I could have done a lot better with.  First off, when Isa says to use a coffee grinder to grind your spices DO IT.  Don’t think this would be the best time to use your mortar and pestle that has been sitting untouched for almost a year.  Because if you are me there is no way that you will be able to grind the spices into a powder.  But the coffee grinder you don’t use very often would have done the job.

Vegan Adventure #14 September 22, 2008

Remember awhile back when I posted about vegan biscuits and gravy.  That was adventure 7 if I am not mistaken.  I had mentioned a vegetarian restaurant that I used to frequent back in college that had some vegan offerings on their menu.  One of their offerings that I was always curious about was scrambled tofu.  My friend Stack use to go there and everyone that he was with used to complain when he got the scrambled tofu.  I always wondered what it looked like and tasted like.  I guess one day I should go back and order both of these dishes for breakfast and see how they measure up to Isa’s versions.

My curiousity got the best of me and when I finally go my nutritional yeast in I knew that I had to try my hand at some Scrambled Tofu.  It was very simple to make and it smelled fantastic when it was cooking.  I also made some spicy potatoes to go along with it.  I learned a trick from my Cooks Country Magazine a few years back when it comes to pan frying potatoes.  If you cut them up and microwave them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap it will cook the potatoes and you just brown them up in the skillet.  I used to go through the trouble of steaming them first and then putting them in the pan.  The microwave is A LOT faster.  This also works if you want to make roasted potatoes too.  When you take them out of the microwave toss them with seasoning and throw them in a 350°F oven until brown and toasty.

Everything turned out great and very tasty.  Since I was the only one eating the scramble there was no way that I could eat something that serves four in one day.  I decided to save some for the morning and I heated them up and they just weren’t as good as they were when they were fresh from the skillet.  So I guess next time I will make what I need.  The recipe would be pretty easy to scale down 🙂

Spicy Potatoes

Courtesy of Pastrybrush

2 small Yukon Gold Potatoes, 1/2 dice

1 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tsp cajun seasoning

Put the diced potatoes in a microwave safe dish and place plastic wrap over them.  Cook on high power for 5 minutes.  Heat oil in a medium skillet on medium heat.  Add the potatoes and sprinkle on the seasoning.  Cook until the potatoes begin to brown and crisp up on the outside.  Serves one.

Vegan Adventure #13 September 19, 2008

Wait for it…

Wait for it…

Sorry, it isn’t a cupcake 😦

It’s SPANAKOPITA!!!!

Okay, first thing first, back in college I use to always go to a Greek Restaurant with A-Jello every Tuesday and Thursday.  We would sit at the bar and people watch, since it was right on the corner.  We went there so much that after I graduated I went back a year later by myself and the owner still remembered me and asked where A-Jello was.  The owner was hilarious.  The stories he used to tell :sigh:  I miss that place.  I used to always get the Gyro and a Pita Pizza with Cucumber Sauce.  I think A-Jello used to get the Soulvaki with either a Pita Pizza or Fries.  Oh the simple times.