The Tofu Whisperer

Image courtesy of vegansoiree.com

So I signed up to take part in the vegan month of food AKA MoFo blog roll. Essentially you have to post every day. Instead of dwelling on my short comings here, I'm just going to do better :). Today I'm going to blog about Tofu, specifically my friend Sienna who I call "The tofu whisperer" behind her back. I randomly met Sienna at a downtown playgroup, and her epic awesomeness and lifelong vegetarian status makes her one of the coolest people I know. I have always liked tofu, and my children are weirdly obsessed with it. If they see me cooking it, I'm hounded until I give it up. I suppose the bland, whiteness appeals to kids-but adult usually have more discerning palates. Tofu is kind of like flour, not much until you do something with it. Sienna always has some tasty tofu snack at playgroup and has really revitalized my love for the stuff. Her fried tofu was an instant favorite( we looove fried anything!) and is super easy to do.

Sienna's Fried Tofu
1 block firm or extra firm organic tofu
Soy sauce, tamari or Braggs liquid aminos
Nutritional yeast for rolling (probably about half a cup)

Cut tofu first in threes horozontally. This will give you three rectangular shaped slabs-keep them stacked though. Next, cut end to end about 1/4-1/2 inches apart (so your slices look somewhat like french fries.) Have a bowl ready and put a few tablespoons of soy sauce for the tofu to rest in and soak up. Place nutritional yeast in a flat bottomed plate or pan for easy rolling. For each piece, drenge in soy sauce, then roll to coat in nooch (bad ass name for nutritional yeast :). In the meantime, about 1/4 cup cooking oil to med-high heat. Cook tofu in batches, turning to cook each side to golden brown. Be careful, as the water in tofu can make the oil splatter and hurt when turned. Remove from oil when golden on all sides and drain on a plate with cloth or paper towel. This is great cut up and used in fried rice, stir fries, on it's own or in pretty much anything. We like it best with sweet/hot mustard for dipping.

Thanksliving!

Holidays are without a doubt one of the most challenging times to be vegan. Loved ones comfortable enough with you to say whatever they're thinking, practicing your "grin and bear it" face, and everyone sitting around the table to celebrate around a dead body. You can expect to hear such classic quips as "what about killing the vegetables? You don't think they feel pain", "I'd rather die than give up X", "I tried being a vegetarian, and it didn't work", "I love meat", "what other purpose do they have", and "mmmm, xyzzzzzzzzzzzzz". I feel like it's a disservice to people trying out this lifestyle to claim that it's always a piece of cake. Saying "no" to your grandma's famous X, or sister in law's delicious y can be sucky. But even suckier would be ignoring your moral and ethical feelings just to appease others. Over time, loved ones will(hopefully) accept your choices, learn how to veganize foods with a little guidance, and maybe even like some of it themselves. So this brings me to "Thanksliving" at our house. Not bound by tradition and the same old, I can try out fancy recipes each year to my heart's content. This year's comes courtesy of vegnews.com (a great source for just about everything) and the Vegan Dad blog. Check out the recipe here!

As you can see, mine turned out almost identical to the fancy photo-which means it's pretty easy to do. It was paired with a really decadent sweet potato casserole topped with walnuts/brown sugar/veg butter topping, additional stuffing because that's my favorite part and pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream frosting for dessert. Yum, I wish every day was Thanksliving!

I changed my mind, there will be soup for you.

This recipe comes to you from my friend Anna's blog in good ole San Antonio. This soup is THE BOMB. No piddly "I'm still hungry after my soup dinner" nonsense. You may in fact feel so full you want to vomit just a little bit. Here is the recipe:
http://carrotandpotatotime.blogspot.com/search?q=tortilla+soup
Above is the picture of what mine looked like. Mmmm...I want it right now!