Tofu Big Mac

Who says vegans can't have big macs, or at least burgers that are healthy and tasty? This tasty package consists of a buttered, toasted brioche bun, seared seasoned tofu, lettuce, fire-roasted red pepper, basil pesto, avocado, and mesclun mix.

It's A Wrap

Pickled seared tofu + bell peppers + lettuce + pita bread wrapped in parchment, paper towel, and plastic wrap for ultimate drip control = one quick, tasty lunch!!!

Cornmeal Crusted Tofu

Cornmeal Crusted Tofu

1 block very firm tofu

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup cornmeal (grind it for a smoother texture)

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 large egg, beaten

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

Dry the tofu very well and season with salt and pepper. Mix together the cornmeal, salt, paprika, and garlic powder and place in a shallow dish. Cut the tofu into pieces (any size you wish) and coat with flour. Dip in beaten egg then coat in cornmeal mixture.
Pan-fry in hot oil on all sides until crispy.

Mushroom Green Pepper Dip/Filling

The secret to the smooth body and texture of this recipe? Tofu - blended until smooth. This adds lots of protein and calcium to the dish, and is also a great alternative for those who love the idea or texture or nutrition that hummus provides, but cannot tolerate beans.

Mushroom Green Pepper Dip/Filling
cooking oil
1 package (8 ounces/250grams) white button mushrooms, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, finely diced
1 small or 1/2 large white onion, finely diced
1 package firm tofu, well drained and patted dry
1/4 cup tahini paste
1 Tablespoon prepared mustard
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika, to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, green pepper, and onion and cook, sweating the vegetables but not coloring them, until just softened but not mush. Remove from heat and cool. You may prefer to cook the vegetables one at a time in the pan, they won't take long.

Place remaining ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary, adding more mustard, vinegar, or oil as needed. Stir in the vegetables. 

Now this can be used as a dip, spread or filling. I used it as a filling for Mushroom Green Pepper Pinwheel Bites, using yesterday's vegan pie dough recipe. I rolled it out as thinly as possible, spread thinly with this mixture (I did have some leftover), and rolled it up and sliced it, just like making cinnamon rolls. Then since the dough was very soft I popped them in the freezer for an hour to firm up, then baked them at 350◦F for half an hour until golden. I cut them in half to serve. This made about 25 whole pinwheels, or 50 halves. Makes a nice hors d'oeuvres that freezes well too.

Roasted Pepper Dip

Roasted Pepper Dip
1 jar roasted red peppers (about 500mL)
1 small green pepper, diced
1/2 block firm tofu, broken into chunks
2 Tablespoons tahini
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste

Drain the red peppers well and pat them dry to remove excess moisture. Then combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until combined. You may make this completely smooth if you wish, or you can leave it slightly chunky. 

I would describe this dish as a cross between a salsa (with peppers instead of tomatoes) and a hummus. The difference being, the smoothness and body of this dish does not stem from chickpeas or even beans, but from tofu instead. Tofu makes a smooth dip and is a great alternative for those with bean or legume allergies (not extremely common, but still existent) or those who choose to avoid or don't like beans (beans, beans, the magical fruit...). The flavor comes from the peppers. You could easily roast your own red peppers for a more economical, but more time consuming, dish. I would estimate you would require two full peppers. 

I recommend this dip with my Spicy Cornbread Triangles from yesterday's post.

Hummus Tofu Pasta

Happy Halloween! Today I am sharing an easy recipe because I happened to use a cute Halloween coloring as a prop.
This is a really easy recipe I came up with just using leftovers. I realized I had plenty of pasta, but I didn't really have any sauce ingredients, or so I thought. But I managed to make something out of basically nothing again.

I cooked some multigrain fusili pasta. Meanwhile, I seared some tofu cubes in a little oil until crisp. Then I mixed together a little leftover hummus and red pepper dip I had, added some garlic powder, onion salt, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil, and milk. I heated this up and tossed it into the pasta, then tossed in the tofu. It worked. It was a flavorful sauce enough to coat the pasta and made a quick weeknight meal. Just round out the meal with some vegetables and dessert of course. 

Tofu, Green Beans, and Potato Chips

Well, I was attempting to be creative, pretty, and precise with this plating. This caused me to realize why all the really intricate, professional-looking, fancy plates are always so small of portions - it is easier to arrange less food to look pretty. Since I was making this plate of food for myself for my dinner, I wanted enough food to keep me going, so the plating may have become a little clunky, but it is a start!

The inspiration for this dish, as with many of my recent dishes, came from what I found in the refrigerator and cupboards. I wanted a quick, nutritious meal for myself. I began by lining the plate with fresh, crisp green beans. If I really wanted to be tedious in plating, I would have cut the green beans to ensure they were all the same length, but personally I think that is a waste of food for just myself consuming it. Next, I stir-fried one small sliced onion and two cloves of chopped garlic in a little oil with some cubed (or irregularly chopped) pieces of tofu, along with some paprika and seasoning. Meanwhile, I thinly sliced a medium-sized potato and fried it in some oil to obtain some quick potato chips.

I arranged the tofu mixture over the green beans, and used the potato chips to line the edges of the plate. This was a tasty, well-balanced dish with some variety in color and texture. 

Lentils with Tofu Triangles and Coconut Foam

I haven't really posted any more posts from my trip lately. I guess it's because I have been cooking and baking quite a bit lately. I thought I would share this post today, however, because it was one of the best culinary experiences I have ever had. 

I had this for lunch at a posh, well decorated, yet reasonably priced café, that seemed to focus on real, sustainable food, and had plenty of options to suit everyone's tastes, including some vegan options. As I am not a huge meat fan, I opted for one of the vegan options, as did two others from our group of five. Luckily, we were not disappointed! I cannot remember the exact name of this dish, but it is composed of a mixture of green lentils and bean sprouts, mixed with some finely chopped vegetables and seasoning. On top are some beautifully cut pieces of cooked tofu - how it was cooked I am not entirely sure - but it was firm and very flavorful. Probably the star of the dish though, was the coconut foam served on top, one of the easier tricks in molecular gastronomy. This created a nice tasty sauce for the dish, and brought another intriguing texture to the mix. I must say, I am not a huge fan of foamy textures, but I did enjoy this. The entire dish was presented beautifully, with a sprig of lavender, and it was the perfect size for lunch. A very enjoyable meal - i would definitely order this again. 

Fall Vegetable Curry

This is a quick and nutritious one pan meal that tantalizes with its spicy aroma. This is a vegan recipe, and is chock full of vegetables and lean protein. It is perfect served over a bed of rice. It is not too spicy, so increase the amount of spice if you wish. You can also add more tomatoes or broth if you like your curry to have more of a stew-like consistency. 

Fall Vegetable Curry

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 package firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch cubes

½ large sweet potato, cubed

½ head cauliflower, chopped

½ small white onion, chopped

2 teaspoons curry powder

½ cup vegetable broth

½ can chickpeas, rinsed

½ can diced tomatoes, drained

cilantro, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the tofu and sweet potato and sauté for three minutes. Add the cauliflower, onion, and curry powder and sauté for a few minutes. Stir in the broth, chickpeas, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer for ten minutes. Garnish with cilantro. Makes about four servings served over a bed of rice, couscous, or quinoa.