George Foreman Tofu

I have tried many ways cooking tofu, the challenge is getting the texture right. I like it to have a chewy outside and tender inside. But most importantly it has to taste good!!!!!
There are many ways to achieve this, but the challenge is not to use a ton of oil. Fried tofu is awesome but it will take on 2/3 of a cup of oil per pound of tofu. So usually I use one of two methods, first is to cube the tofu and mix in a bowl with a couple of teaspoons of oil with spices, and bake at 375 for about 20 min,
or I will marinate and cook in the George Foreman grill.
Here's what it takes:
Marinade - process in the blender

• Fresh ginger
• Fresh garlic
• Soy sauce
• Oil - teaspoon

Tofu - cut in 1/2 inch thick slices
Marinate the tofu for about half an hour, then grill for about 15 minute, brush with marinade.
I usually cook two pounds of tofu so there is left over tofu, which is awesome on salads, sandwiches, tacos, or by themselves.


Served with instant brown rice and steamed broccoli, I take a cup or so of the marinade and added a teaspoon of corn starch then heated in microwave until thickened, serve on top. This meal took about 40 minutes.

New Tofu Method = Awesome Tofu Salad Sandwich!!!!

I am always looking for new methods to cook tofu. I am constantly surprised how much the texture and ability to hold flavor changes with preparation method:

• Fried
• Raw
  
• Frozen
• Baked
• Shredded (like Cheese)
• Crumbled
• Grilled(BBQ)
• Grilled (George Foreman)
• Scrambled
• Roasted

A few weeks ago I discovered a new method "random large grate shredded" then baked. The key is to use the big slice side of the grater, and to turn the tofu as you grate. This creates randomness that helps create a fantastic texture when baked.
After grating the tofu, put in large bowl with 2 Tablespoons of oil(per pound of tofu), and add your favorite spices. I used curry, oregano, garlic, onion, salt and pepper in this batch.
I will be posting some other various soon, including fajita style.
Then I sliced potatoes and carrot in my new food processor(birthday gift from Nikki... THANK YOU!!!)
Gently mix until spices are evenly distributed on tofu and veggies.
Spread on parchment covered baking sheet, and roast at 400 degrees. At 15 minute increments take out of oven and turn/mix. 30 minutes should do the trick, what you are looking for is browning on the edges of the tofu. some will be more cooked than others, randomness is your friend!!! EMBRACE!!!!!
Take out of the oven and let cool, if you can wait!!! The kids were drooling so I served them up, while finished mine.
To finish my tofu(Chic'n Style) salad, I added Veganaise, minced white onion, and green onion!! I served this on tortillas with baby greens. Unfortunately only had two tortillas, so after I ate these I made a baby green salad with the Chic'n Salad on top.
Very tasty!!!!!
Super Mario Approves!!!!!

Blackened Tofu.... Light Dinner?

We went to the movies this afternoon, we saw Bedtime Stories, which was pretty good except the hamburger scene which made us all a bit uneasy!!!!! We ate a good amount of popcorn and candy, all washed down with big sugary pops!!! This is not something we do often because, we all end up feeling not so well after wards.
By the time six o'clock rolled around I was getting hungry, so I thought I would pursue an idea that came to mind a couple of weeks ago!
Blackened Tofu Sandwich, with tomato, avocado, spinach and some mayo on English muffin bread. No side items = light dinner!

The blackened tofu was done on the George Foreman grill, I made a marinade with:
2 table spoons Soy Sauce
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke
2 table spoons blackening spice mix
some garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika
The tofu marinates for about 15 minutes, then onto the GF grill for about 10 minutes, then flip and spoon on some marinade and cook another 10 minutes. You know it is ready when the tofu is easy to pick up with a fork and it does not fall apart.
The sandwich was a real winner, Addison really liked it, Carter was not very hungry so he had a PBJ.

Yay Vegan Posole!!!!

I mentioned to my daughter that I was going to make posole and she did a happy dance like she was at a Oprah's favorite vegan things taping!! Posole is a family favorite and in the winter we have it at least once a month. It is fairly easy, versatile, cheap and tasty! Here's what I did:
1 lb red potatoes large diced, leave the peels on!
Put in pan and cover with water, simmer for about 10 minutes
put the following in the pot with potatoes:
1 small white onion, chopped,
2 teeth of garlic, pressed
2 cans posole (hominy)
1 can green chili enchilada sauce
1 vegan no chin'n bouillon cube
A couple dashes of cumin
Simmer for 10 more minutes
Garnish with chopped poblano peppers, jalapeños, cilantro, salsa casera, and a squeeze of fresh lime. Serve with warm corn tortilla and vegan butter and salt! Muy bien!

Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

Here is a simple, easy soup for a cold day!

Cream of Cauliflower and Broccoli Soup
1/4 cup of raw cashews
2 vegan no chic broth cubes
1 tablespoon curry
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
put all of the above with 4 cups of water in the blender and process until smooth, I would have added 1 boiled potato to the blender if I had one, makes "cream" soups a bit thicker.
After blending I put the base in my soup pot to simmer.
I took a head of cauliflower rinsed and cut into bit size pieces and did the same with some broccoli.
I tossed the cauliflower and broccoli with a bit of oil and some curry and salt and baked in the oven at 375 for about 15 minutes.
Once the cauliflower and broccoli were cooked I ladled the the soup base into a bowl and placed the roasted veggies on top. For a garnish I took 2 x 2 puff pastry squares and put a dab of olive tapenade on top, pinched them up and baked for about 15 minutes.

Lentil Soup

This morning I pulled a bag of lentils out of the cabinet and set them out because I wanted to make lentil soup. I have never made lentil soup and I thought it was a good idea because lentils cook in 20 to 30 minutes. I also had a couple of sweet potatoes that needed to be used up so I thought I would roast those and put them on top.
I figured this would be quick and easy.... pop the potatoes in the oven, cook the lentil soup and we would be eating in 30 minutes.
I cubed the potatoes, seasoned them with cinnamon, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper.. and slammed them in the oven.  Meanwhile the lentils were coming to a boil.... Seasoned them with a couple of bullion cubes, salt pepper, lime juice. I sautéed some baby carrots, garlic and onions a few minutes to soften. After that was done I pureed the veggies in the vita mix, and added them to the soup.
In the dream scenario the lentils would have been tender and ready to blend, because they had cooked for 35 minutes, but they were still tough.... ten more minutes... fifteen more minutes....starting to question the liar who wrote the instructions on the lentil bag. The lentils took about an hour to cook, so much for quick!!!
Put the lentils in the vita mix and in about 15 seconds I had what resembled sickly colored mashed potatoes......!@#$. Keep your cool!!!!  Once I added 8 cups of water it was closer to the right consistency, and it tasted good.
I topped with roasted sweet potatoes, green onions and jalapeños and it tasted great!

The sweet potatoes are one of my favorites savory, salty and sweet. Some pumpkin seeds would have been a nice addition too.

Sweet Potato Ginger with Charred Sweet Tomatoes!

I decided to buy a case of sweet potatoes for a catering gig and a few of the sweet potatoes were the size of small dog, which is pretty big for a sweet potato!!! I had some extras so decided to make soup.

Here's the recipe:
Take 1 gigantic sweet potato or equivalent small sweet potatoes large dice, add 3 teeth of garlic cover with water and boil gently till soft.
In your blender place a thumb of fresh Ginger, minced add 1 cup of water, blend till smooth. When the sweet potatoes are done cooking put in blender and process till smooth, you may need to add some hot water to make it smooth, add salt to taste.
While the potatoes were boiling I took sweet little tomatoes, and cut them in half and tossed with olive oil, garlic, crushed Rosemary, salt and fresh ground pepper. I placed the tomatoes on parchment on a baking sheet and baked at 425 until the tomatoes looked charred, about 20 minutes.
This is so simple yet so freaking awesome, the sweetness of the potatoes goes nicely with the tang of the tomatoes, the Rosemary is essential for some reason. We also used some chutney that my mom made and sent in an a Christmas goodie box, which added a nice texture and some intenseness!