Tag Archives: tofu

Sesame Sweet Marinated Tofu

Posted on August 18, 2013 | 1 comment

(First  A Quick Note from Your Vegan Neighbor:  Hi everyone! Please forgive me for being away so long – unfortunately during the move I misplaced my camera! I know its around here somewhere & I am one box away from coming across it & I will fill this post with pictures asap! I’m glad t0 be back! As always, feel free to send me suggestions for future posts or Dinner & a Movie ideas!)

I wish I could’ve shared this gem earlier in the summer! I was gonna call this recipe “sweet sesame marinated tofu”, but my kids love this recipe so much, we decided that flipping the words to sesame-sweet made a better name – because now they tend to call it “sesame stweet tofu” 🙂

My daughter just started kindergarden… I really can’t believe it. The time I part-dreaded/part looked-forward-to has finally arrived! Sending off my girl into the big world… It’s a big step for her and a dose of reality for me. My baby is growing up and a new chapter in her life – and mine – is beginning. I’m getting the hang of waking up at 6 am and making her lunch, getting her dressed, fed, ready… Some mornings I feel like I am in school too!!

I struggled with the idea of homeschooling, which I find wonderful for many reasons, though I think my daughter is one who will thrive in the social environment of which modern day public school is… Plus she’ll have access to some things that aren’t as accessible to me daily (computer lab, science equiptment, my undivided attention for 8 hours).  Now that I’m working outside the home anyway, I’m not home as regularly to teach her as public school can!

(By the way, making a packed lunch that is healthy & exciting to eat is an art that I am trying to master! I’m intrigued by these bento boxed lunches, but haven’t ventured there yet. When I do, you’ll be the first to know! Right now, I’m just packing her favorites and keeping it healthy!)

I wanted to make this recipe because my daughter LOVES snacking on these straight from the fridge. They are an excellent quick go-to healthy snack for anytime, such as right after school or while dinner is cooking! They are also an excellent topping for salads… a great way to incorporate a little extra protein (and hey, maybe get your kid to try a salad)!  I strongly recommend using the firmest tofu you can find. I like to use bulk tofu, which is usually super firm!

Sesame Sweet Marinated Tofu

makes 16 squares

  • 1 block extra firm tofu
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp brown rice syrup
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 2 Tbsp tamari
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 Tbsp sesame oil (add last * see directions)

Turn the tofu on its side and slice the tofu in three slices lengthwise. (I cut down the middle first then cut each side in half carefully). Then lay the tofu flat and cut vertically and horizontally, turning it into 16 squares.

1) Using a large nonstick pan, lay out all 16 squares of tofu.

2) Add all of the other ingredients (except the sesame oil) right on top, drizzling the brown rice syrup and sprinking the ginger over the squares, then cook on med-high heat, jiggling your pan occasionally. Once you see the liquids cooking down some, flip your squares over carefully, then continue cooking until most liquid is gone.

3) Lower heat to low-medium and drizzle the 1 Tbsp sesame oil over the top. Cook until only slightly wet. Let cool on pan for several minutes after cooking, then refrigerate until ready to use. Store with any extra “sauce” and refrigerate.  Eat right from the fridge or on top of a salad! Before serving on salad, cut each square diagonally (making two triangles).

This tofu accompanies this Nori Sesame Dressing like a dream come true! Keep refrigerated & eat frequently!

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Posted in appetizers, salads, snacks, tofu, Vegan

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Vegan Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta

Posted on February 13, 2012 | 1 comment

Well, Valentines Day is tomorrow.  You know, when someone puts their time and energy into making a homemade meal, there is nothing that could be better or more loving, at least in my opinion. I would much rather enjoy a delicious homemade meal for Valentines Day in the privacy of my own home than to sit in a crowded restaurant with (often) over-priced food.  Maybe that’s just me, but there is something extremely sexy about a man (or woman) cooking in the kitchen for their loved one.

Valentines Day is also one of those occasions where you may want to consume a small (or large) amount of wine – I would like to use Sir Paul McCartney as my example here, when he sings, “I want to tell her that I love her a lot, but I gotta have a belly full of wine”… well, who wants to stop ole Paul from saying that?! And what better a day than Valentines to say or hear those words ‘i love you’… without also hearing an “Uh oh, my dear – we are being pulled over”!  Yes, Valentines Day is a great opportunity to stay home and have a nice candle-lit home cooked meal… and to indulge a bit 😉

So, one of my favorite meals EVER is lasagna. There is nothing in the world like a good lasagna.  There are many things to love about lasagna.  I love how versatile lasagna is.  I love how yummy it is.  I love how you have leftovers.  I love that my kids love it.  I love how you can basically make it out of whatever veggies you have in the fridge.

When I make lasagna, I usually stick to the basics… onion, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini and yellow squash.  Combine those with some noodles, a good sauce (homemade is best, but sometimes you gotta go with the jar), and a good ricotta recipe and you will find yourself content.  Make that very content.

Now I would like to share with you my delicious homemade ricotta recipe.  It is SO easy, and SO good, you better just prepare yourself!

~ TOFU RICOTTA ~

This is my original delicious tofu ricotta recipe.  This is enough for one lasagna. Simply blend until desired consistency in the food processor – be sure to pulse in the basil last so your ricotta wont turn green!

  • 1 block extra firm tofu (drained)
  • 1/2 – 1 cup soymilk
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 cup Vegan Gourmet mozzarella cheese, shredded (you will need one entire block to have enough to shred some on top)
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • salt & pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (pulse in last)

ricotta necessities (minus basil and tofu)

blending up the ricotta in my food processor

Heres how much basil I used - please note that this amount of basil is for two lasagnas.

TO MAKE (ONE) LASAGNA:

You will need:

  • at least one jar of sauce
  • lasagna noodles (1-2 boxes)
  • veggies of choice (my last lasagna contained: 1 onion/ 1 cup chopped mushrooms/ 2 zucchini & 1 squash, quartered/ 2 cups packed spinach).

Start by cooking your lasagna noodles al dente.  I like to saute my veggies about 5 minutes to soften them up, then I just stir them right into my ricotta to save a step for easy lasagna stacking. Assemble lasagna as shown below in a 13 x 9″ pan and bake for an hour, covered, at 350.  Sometimes I like to broil it uncovered for 2-3 minutes at the end, just to get the top cheese meltier.

(That last step of broiling is unnecessary if you use Daiya cheese, though I LOVE the flavor of the Vegan Gourmet so much, I have actually never tried to make lasagna using Daiya, though I bet it would be just as fabulous. You maybe would need two bags though, since it comes pre-shredded.)

  • shredded cheese on top
  • sauce
  • noodles
  • sauce
  • ricotta/veggies
  • noodles
  • sauce
  • ricotta/veggies
  • noodles
  • layer of sauce on bottom of pan

These are my favorite noodles

dont forget to wash your veggies!

I like to lightly saute all the veggies

Here I am, building up the layers...

Here is one of them about to go in the oven... I would've liked to have a bit more cheese on top but I ran out!

Voila! This slice for my daughter came out beautifully!

I like to eat mine with some good buttered bread on the side! You gotta have bread to wipe up all that extra yummy sauce and ricotta that falls out!

Our family was part of a “food tree” where we signed up to bring a home cooked meal to a friend who just had a baby, hence the two lasagnas.  If you ever have the opportunity to participate in one, sign up!  It feels so good to help people! And you parents (especially you new parents) know how good a nice meal can be when you don’t have to throw it together yourself while the baby is napping!  (And just so you know, they said the lasagna we brought them was “the bomb”!)

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Posted in dinner, pasta, tofu, Vegan, vegetables

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Vegan Chicken Pot Pie

Posted on January 20, 2012 | 3 comments

As I was looking to eat up some produce and clean out the freezer this afternoon, I discovered I had all the essential ingredients to make a vegan chicken pot pie.  I hadn’t made one in a while, and I somehow forgot how much I loved them! I tend to think of pot-pie as a cold-weather comfort food,  and I’m still waiting for it to get colder here where I live… but as far as I’m concerned, there are no rules on good food – I’d eat this meal any time of the year!

I’m glad I made something new today because the last few days I have been cooking all my old favorites, most of which I have already posted on my blog.  This week we have had my fettuccine no-fredo, mac-n-cheeseless, and homemade veggie burgers (which is actually one I have not blogged yet).  Here’s some more of what we’ve been up to…

I cooked my first donut-holes in my Babycakes cake-pop maker and they turned out really fantastic 🙂  My kids couldn’t get enough of them (surprise, surprise)! I just veganized one of the recipes in the book that came with the machine. Boy was it nice to eat a little donut hole again that wasnt fried (though I have been meaning to make some “real” donuts soon).

These apple cider donuts with cinnamon sugar & powdered sugar were great!

This morning we made my buttermilk biscuits for breakfast and I tried something new by adding a round tofu “egg” (if you will) to make my own sort of “McVegan Biscuit” thing… It was really easy and was a nice change to try something new – I just cut my block of tofu down the side 2 times to make 3 skinny rectangles (about 1/4″ thick), then I used my biscuit cutter to cut 3 big circles out of the rectangles (1 of which I cut in half again to make 2 really thin circles for the kids), then I cut the rest in strips.  All I did to cook them was pan fry them in a teeny bit of olive oil and I added a splash of soy sauce while they were cooking.  I mean, it’s no egg, but it was good, esp on top of my little GimmeLean Soysage Patty 🙂

My McVegan Biscuit = soysage & tofu patties in a buttermilk biscuit! Next time I'm adding soy cheese!

Anyway, so back to the pot pie… this recipe was originally in the Vegan Planet cookbook (as the Winter Vegetable Pot Pie) although I changed their recipe quite a bit.  I may also suggest making the dough ball first, as I find it easier to roll out a crust when the dough is cold. In fact, I usually put my ingredients (flour and all) into the freezer to get really cold before making the crust.  It seems to make the dough easier to handle and tear less while rolling.

~Vegan Chicken Pot Pie~

TO MAKE THE FILLING:

    • 2 large all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
    • 3 long baby carrots (or 1 large carrot) chopped
    •  1 bag of frozen veg (10 oz bag)
    • 1 1/4 cup vegetable stock
    • 2 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
    • 1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp water
    • 1 Tbsp olive oil
    • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
    • 12 ounces of mock meat coarsely chopped (I used an entire bag of Gardein chicken scallopini + 1 more patty, though you could also use seitan or tofu)
    • salt and pepper to taste
TO MAKE THE CRUST:
  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  •  1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup chilled corn or canola oil
  • 2 Tbsp ice water

1) First make the filling by cooking the potato & carrot in a pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside

2) In a small saucepan, bring the stock and tamari to a boil over med-high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Simmer, stirring, until thickened 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

3) Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Transfer the onion to a lightly oiled 2-quart casserole dish.

4) Reheat the skillet and add the “meat”. Season with salt & pepper to taste and cook, stirring until browned, about 5 min. Transfer to the casserole dish.  Stir in the peas, potatoes/carrot mixture, and sauce and set aside.

5) Preheat the oven to 350 F.

6) Make the crust by combining the flour & salt in the food processor, pulsing to blend. Add the oil and process until the mixture is crumbly.  With the machine running, slowly add the water and process until the dough forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle slightly larger than the casserole dish. Place the crust over the casserole and crimp the edges. I found that rolling the dough on parchment paper made it a breeze to flip the crust over right on top of the casserole. 

7) Bake until the filling is hot and bubbly and the crust is lightly browned, about 45-55 minutes.  Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Devour.

Perfect for my pot pie!

This is the "chicken" I used - it was great!

Here is the filling before adding the sauce...

... and after adding the sauce! Time to make the crust!

~ ~ ~ rolling out the crust ~ ~ ~

Hey! I'm ready for the oven now!

Here it is just out of the oven! Time to set the table!

The first piece always crumbles apart, but... who cares?!

*
And yes, we all cleaned our plates! AND my husband and I both had seconds…
*
*
It was really funny & sweet because during dinner, my daughter said to me, “Mom, I’m in love with your food!” and when Arlo was taking his last bites, he said “WOOW“! (It was kinda like saying wow how that Joey guy says “Whoa”!)
*

"All Done!"

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Posted in baking, dinner, fall, lunch, seitan, tofu, Vegan, vegetables, winter

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Portobello Green Bean Casserole

Posted on December 22, 2011 | 1 comment

There is a dish I feel must be consumed at some point during every holiday season… a green bean casserole. I admit, I meant to make this before Thanksgiving!  In fact, I meant to share several good holiday-ish h’oerderves, but now I find it is already 3 days until Christmas and I find myself repeatedly asking, “where did the time go?!” (Did I mention that I haven’t wrapped a thing yet?! Thank goodness my husband is taking the kids to his mom’s for the day today, so I can spend my day wrapping all the gifts!)  

I don’t know if I mentioned before, but there are, I believe, 11 birthdays in my family (among the two biggest family-gathering-holidays, Thanksgiving and Xmas)  just between November and January – oh – and that does not include my friend’s birthdays!  So, as you can imagine, my brain has been pretty busy remembering to mail cards, make food, make plans regarding how and when we are having get togethers (& what I am to bring), buying gifts, etc., plus the every day to day life… “Life is what happens to you while your busy making other plans” – WELL SAID, John Lennon.  With all this going on, my poor blog has been neglected 😦  Well, one of my new years resolutions is to make sure I don’t slack off on sharing vegan deliciousness!  )You may be interested to know that I acquired an ice cream maker at an early christmas gathering… & I can’t wait to try it out!)

My kids are funny about green beans.  For some reason, they don’t normally like fresh green beans.  However, they will totally eat up canned green beans (only the regular cut kind, not the french cut) and they REALLY eat ’em up when we play a game I like to call “Buh-Bye Green Bean” (where we put one in our mouths and suck it in really fast – they think it is hilarious and it really makes them excited to clean ALL the green beans from their plate!).  This is one recipe using fresh green beans I found that they enjoy, and I hope you & yours do too!

Buh-Bye Greenbean!

I came up with this recipe after scoping out several green bean casserole recipes and then combining my favorite bits and pieces of each one, until… TA-DA!  A delicious green bean casserole appeared… like magic 🙂  Well, almost.

~Portobello Green Bean Casserole~

  • 1 1/2 – 2 oz fresh green beans (prepped and cut into 2″ pieces) 
  • 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2-3 small cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 block xtra-firm silken tofu, crumbled well or pureed (I like the Mori-Nu brand… though I bet a 1/2 – 3/4 block of regular drained tofu would work just as well as the silken tofu)
  • 3 large Portobello caps, cut into chunks (or a pre-sliced 6oz pack of caps works just as well)
  • a large box (1 qt) of Imagine brand Creamy Portobello Soup (you can use anywhere from half to the whole thing…  I usually use 3/4 of the box.
  • 1/2 tsp dry dill
  • 2 Tbsp butter/soy margarine
  • 1 1/2 tsp parsley
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • dash cayenne
  • 1 can (6 oz) French’s fried onions (or make your own)

    Gather ye rosebuds (or in this case, ye ingredients) while ye may...

1)  Preheat your oven to 375.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook the green beans for about 6 minutes, strain, rinse with cold water & set aside.

2) In a skillet, heat olive oil.  Add onion, garlic & cook about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until soft.  Set aside.

3)  TO MAKE SAUCE: heat about half of the box of soup (or up to 3/4 of the box) with the margarine.  Add the tofu* and all other spices.  Cook until it thickens up a bit and becomes a little more “saucy”. Add the mushroom/onion/garlic mixture. Stir together well.  (*If crumbled, the tofu will look chunky… if this is gonna be an issue for you, simply puree the tofu before adding it to the soup, or use an immulsion blender if you have one -just make sure to do so before adding the mushroom mixture.  Adding the tofu helps give the casserole that thick creamy goodness, plus protein/vitamins.  Personally, I think I prefer to puree mine into the soup.)

4) Pour the beans into a 9 x 13 casserole dish (or 8 x 11.5 if you must) and pour the sauce over the top. Mix slightly. Cover and bake about 15 minutes.  Remove top/foil and add the 6-oz container of fried onions.  Bake another 15-30 minutes until browned and bubbly.

before the final bake with the onions on top

Voila! It's all done when it's nice and cripsy on top

The color of the creamy sauce is dependant on how much soup is used. If you use more soup, your sauce will appear darker.

P.S. Truth be told, the last time I was making this (yesterday) I somehow forgot to let my soup/sauce thicken… maybe it was the 2 kids running circles around my legs, grabbing onto me while screaming and tickling each other… MAYBE.  Anyway, I forgot to let the sauce thicken, and before I knew it, I was pouring it over the green beans, creating a very watery looking green bean soup! Not appetizing.  SO… I ended up having to deconstruct my casserole by straining out all my veggies with a slotted spoon (which was a huge pain in the arse) so I could cook the sauce down to thicken it up. Take my advice – don’t let that happen to you!  Ay-yi-yiiiiii! Sometimes kids can be so distracting! 🙂

Who ME? Distracting?! (Buh-Bye Greenbean! See YA!)

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Posted in beans, dinner, fall, holidays, tofu, Vegan, vegetables, winter

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Soysage Casserole

Posted on December 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

This is a great breakfast or dinner casserole.  I could literally eat this for every meal – and so could my kiddos 🙂  It can also be made ahead of time, which is great if you are a busy body.  I included this in the “child’s play” category because it’s easy to assemble, but mainly because the kids love helping tear up the bread (though obviously they can’t help cook the “soysage”!).

For this recipe, I prefer using Lightlife Gimme Lean “sausage”, though any other kind of vegan sausage would surely work (though I have never used another kind).  Some people don’t care for all these “fake meat” products, but for the most part, I find them tasty and a quick healthy source protein.  Having been vegan for 10+ years now, I have tried almost every brand of fake meat, cheese & other non-dairy products out there and I’m always open to trying anything new that I see. Some faux-foods have been not-so-great, but I definitely also have ones that I truly enjoy & find delicious!  If you ever want to know my opinion on a product, don’t be afraid to ask! (P.S. I do not get paid by any company whose products I show… If I am endorsing it, it’s because I truly think its great to use in my recipes.)

That being said… onto the bread!  I find that the heartier/granier the bread the better the casserole.  I would not recommend using a really soft bread, as I have found through experience.  I really like using Masada 6-Grain bread. I cannot stress this enough-  a thick, hearty (or grainy) bread makes the best casserole!

This recipe has been adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Vegan Planet, though I have made several changes to the original recipe.

~Soysage Casserole~

  • roughly 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 cups crumbled soy sausage (I like to use two tubes of Lightlife Gimme Lean Soy Sausage, prepared as directed below)
  • 2 blocks soft or firm tofu, drained and then crumbled
  • 2 cups soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp ground or whole fennel seeds (if using whole, chop them up into little bits – this is usually what I do)
  • salt and pepper
  • 8-10 slices of bread

1)  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the soysage* and cook, stirring until browned. This will take several minutes.  Once browned, remove from heat & set aside.

*If you are using Gimme Lean Soy Sausage, do this by tearing it into little bits (roughly 1/2″ – 3/4″ pieces) and throwing them right into the skillet.  It’s a little sticky and mushy… just keep ripping it into small pieces (you can chop them up further with a spatula if necessary while you’re stirring them around with the onion) then continue following recipe above, cooking until lightly browned.

2) In a large bowl, combine the crumbled tofu, milk, thyme, fennel, and a little salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well, then mix in the sausage mixture and set aside.

3)  Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces and place in a lightly oiled shallow 9 x 13″ baking dish.  Pour the sausage mixture evenly over the bread and set aside several minutes until the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes or overnight. If it looks a bit dry anywhere, it doesn’t hurt to add a splash of soymilk where needed.  (If you do refrigerate until morning, let it come to room temp before baking.)

4)  Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake until the casserole looks puffy and lightly browned, about 45 minutes.  Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.  Let cool slightly. Devour!

Mmmmm! I could eat this for every meal!

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Posted in baking, breads, breakfast, child's play, dinner, tofu, Vegan, winter

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Fettuccine NoAlfredo

Posted on October 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

So this is my vegan version of Fettuccine Alfredo…  I have always wanted to try making an alfredo sauce using cashew cream (surely an awesome recipe like that exists out there somewhere)… however…I LOVE the way this sauce turns out so much that I always end up saying, “I’ll try using cashews next time!” and then I keep making this one again and again and again and again! (It’s truly that good!) I prefer to use the Vegan Gourmet brand of mozzarella soy cheese in this recipe.  Serve with some sliced & buttered French bread on the side. This recipe always gets my kids to happily clean their plates… and there really isn’t anything much better than that!

~Fettucini No-Alfredo~

Saute in a little olive oil & set aside:

  • 1 small (or 1/2 of a large) yellow onion
  • 4 cloves chopped garlic

To make the sauce, puree the following in a food processor:

  • 1 block xtra-firm silken tofu (i like the MoriNu brand)
  • < 1/4 cup vegenaise (vegan mayo)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup soymilk
  • 1 tsp arrowroot flour (or perhaps cornstarch)*
  • heaping 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 cup shredded (packed) Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet mozzarella soy cheese
  • the onion & garlic mixture from above
  • pinch nutmeg, pinch cayenne pepper
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • fresh basil for the top (or you can mix in 2 tsp dry basil to the sauce)
  • 2 packs regular fettuccine noodles (I usually use DuBoles)

*I initally used the arrowroot flour as a thickening agent, though since it is such a small amount, I honestly don’t know if it is really a neccessary ingredient.  If you don’t have any arrowroot, I wouldn’t sweat it.

After you have made your sauce, heat it over medium heat in a saucepan, whisking often. It’s okay to let it bubble a little, but don’t let it boil rapidly.  You should probably keep a cover on it so it doesn’t splatter. Turn heat to low until noodles are done, but continue whisking every minute or two.

Cook fettuccine noodles according to the package.  Drain noodles & toss them with the sauce, or if you prefer, plate noodles and then top with sauce & fresh basil. Serve with sliced bread, if desired, & ENJOY!

Gathering the ingredients...

Now you see it... now you don't!

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Posted in dinner, pasta, sauces, tofu, Vegan

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Best Banana Bread

Posted on September 25, 2011 | 2 comments

I dont know about your kids, but my kids LOVE banana bread!  This is THE perfect way to use those bananas that are turning brown! The riper the bananas the sweeter the bread! If you are looking for a quick healthy take along snack, this bread is the one! If you are looking for something to bring to a get together, this bread is sure to please both kids and adults! (Want another reason to love it? It freezes well!)

This recipe took shape as I was looking for a way to make a really nice moist bread… I decided to try using silken tofu, which gave it the nice fluffy moist texture I was going for and also some protein! 🙂 And by adding a handful (or more) of chopped walnuts, you also get some of your omega-3’s for the day! Mmmmm! Can I please have some more?!

Banana Bread (makes one regular sized loaf)

Mix in a bowl:

  • 1 3/4 cup bread flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (set aside to fold in last)

Blend in food processor:

  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 5 Tbsp soymilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • about 1/2 block firm or xtra firm silken tofu (*see note about silken tofu) … I usually use slightly more than 1/2 the block
  • 2/3 cup raw sugar
  • 1/4 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Pour wet ingredients into center of dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. You dont want to overmix nor do you want a pocket of flour hiding in there, so mix it until you feel good about it. (No whisking allowed!) Fold in the walnuts and pour the batter into a lightly oiled (or sprayed with non-stick spray) 9″ loaf pan. Bake 45-55 minutes until golden brown. Let it cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes and then place on wire rack to cool some more.

*I like to use the Mori-Nu Silken tofu. It is in a vacumm sealed box that can be kept at room temperature so it wont be found with the refrigerated tofu. They store it in the aisle with the asian foods at my local health food store. There are different kinds (soft, firm, extra firm) and for this bread I like either firm or xtra firm. In your average grocery store it will most likely be found in the “health” section.

I have never tried this recipe with all purpose flour, so give it a shot if you dare, though I strongly recommend following my recipe for the best results. I really like the texture and nutritional content of the bread flour (the kind I get is in bulk and is labeled “unbleached bread flour” and has a slightly brown speckled coloring to it). This is not pure whole wheat bread flour, which is much heavier & grainier. Regular bread flour should be available at all grocery stores.

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Posted in baking, breads, snacks, tofu, Vegan

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V’egg Salad

Posted on September 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

I have been eating this v’egg salad for the past 10 years, ever since I moved to Athens in 2000.  It is originally from the Daily Co-op Deli on Prince Ave.  I have never had a better faux-egg salad!  My kids love this stuff (& its packed with protein)!  It’s easy to prepare and it also can be eaten many ways: My husband’s favorite way to eat it is on crackers with a splash of frank’s hot sauce on each bite! It’s also great in a sandwich or alone. I have eaten this sandwich on many picnics & even while floating down the Broad River a time or two!  Believe me… it never disappoints.

  • 1 block tofu, crumbled (I always use tofu in bulk or the xtra firm water packed kind)
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 cup Vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise)
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped finely
  • 1/4 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large pickle, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 3/4 tsp dry dill
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients except tofu.  Break up the tofu into crumbles and then mix all together.

~ makes 3 ( 8 oz.) containers

I actually served this v’egg salad at a recent party as “deviled v’eggs” by cutting a block of xtra-firm silken tofu into 8 pieces, and using a melon-baller to scoop out the center of each piece, which I then filled with the v’egg salad & a dash of paprika.  It truly looked and tasted like the real thing!! The silken tofu tastes completely like a hard-boiled egg and with the faux egg center – well – let me just say I had quite a lot of compliments on my h’ordeurve!

my deviled v'egg horderves

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Posted in appetizers, lunch, sandwiches, snacks, tofu, Uncategorized

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