Tofu Scramble: So much better than stupid eggs!
I thought I'd start my first post with a picture of my breakfast from this morning — it was delicious and I just wish I could have shared it with all of you! Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for the recipe, although I did take a few liberties with the list of ingredients. But that's the best thing about the cookbook Vegan With a Vengeance, the author (mentioned earlier in Stacey's Favourite Cookbooks) encourages her readers to follow their hearts when it comes to vegan cooking, and not feel confined by the recipe's guidelines.
For me, the tofu scramble was pretty much what inspired me to pick this book over some of the other options available — that, and her emphasis on using cheap, easy-to-find ingredients (remember what I said in my bio about being super poor?). The original recipe calls for mushrooms, but I don't really like them all that much (not enough to buy them, anyway). I do, however, love red peppers like nobody's business! So I substituted those babies in place of the 'shrooms.
I have to mention that I haven't always been the biggest fan of tofu. In the past, the way it was presented to me in most dishes made it seem like a big block of rubber. There was never a whole lot of effort made to feature its possible textures, or to take advantage of how easily it absorbs other flavours. This recipe, along with some curries and stir-fries I've tried, has made me truly appreciate how awesome this pressed bean curd can be.
SCRAMBLED TOFU
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms (this is where I added the red pepper, but you can add any veg you like!)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (if you don't have this, don't add any water when cooking)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 carrot, peeled and grated (optional: I like this, but I obviously didn't have any on hand this morning!)
For Spice Blend:
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme, crushed with your fingers (I only had the ground kind, but no biggie)
1 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
Heat your oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions for 3 mins until softened. Add the peppers (or mushrooms) and cook for 5 more mins. Add garlic, sauté 2 more mins, then add the spice blend. Mix for 15 seconds. Add 1/4 cup water to deglaze the pan (scrape it to get all the good stuff that's sticking to the bottom).
Crumble tofu into the pan, mix well, but don't crush it. Let cook for about 15 mins, stirring occasionally and adding splashes of water to keep it from sticking — lower the heat a bit if needed. Add the lemon juice, then the nutritional yeast and mix it up.
Fold the grated carrot in at the end. Serve with other delicious things like guacamole or salsa or toast or potatoes. FOLLOW YOUR HEART <3