Although my first encounter with Scrambled Tofu was pretty unsatisfying, I've been tweaking the process for the past year and found something my husband and I both like. The recipe is the same as linked above, except that I don't use bell pepper anymore - just nicely browned onion and garlic in olive oil.
The key, I think, is draining the tofu. That gets rid of the strange flavor.
This morning,
I grilled a corn tortilla, spread some re-fried beans on the roasted corn goodness, spooned on some tofu scramble, and topped with salsa and fresh diced tomatoes.
It's not something I would make every morning, but sometimes during a fast a little extra protein helps.
Since I would eat Mexican food five times a week if my family tolerated it, this meal is a special treat for me.
Here is a Weekly Guide that lends itself to variation.
Tips:
1. At the beginning of each week, make a big batch of salad that keeps well for easy lunches. Kale salads (savory or sweet) and cabbage salads (Mexican Coleslaw, Oriental) keep well.
2. Also make a big batch of soup (save the pasta and rice to add by the day, if your soup has those ingredients).
3. Try to make double ingredients on one day that you'll use some of tomorrow. (Quinoa casserole one night and Quinoa Pizza Balls for lunch the next day; or rice with stew one night with leftovers as stir fry later in the week)
Sunday
Lunch - Baked Fish & veggies (tahini sauce or garlic lemon or OJ soy ginger)
Supper - Pizza (veggies and Daiya shreds; or baked with olive oil then add hummus, tomato, cucumber; or cashew "cheese" topped with roasted veggies) Monday
Breakfast - Baked Oatmeal
Lunch - Soup and/or Salad (Lentil, Fasolada, Kale and White Bean)
Supper - Mexican (Wet Burritos, Butternut & Black Bean Enchiladas, Fiesta Quinoa Casserole, Beans and Rice) Tuesday
Breakfast - Toast
Lunch - Soup and/or Salad
Supper - Nuts or Beans (Thai Tofu and Broccoli w/ Peanut Sauce; Kenyan Greens and Peanut Sauce; Tofu Spinach Pies, Not-Meat Loaf, Patties or Balls (Quinoa Pizza Balls, Tuna Potato, Sushi Rice & Veggie, Chickpea Fritters, delicious Chickpea "Meat"balls, Falafel Burgers) Wednesday
Breakfast - Muffins
Lunch - Loaf/Patties/Balls or Soup Leftovers (have you tried Alton Brown's Winter Vegetable Soup? It's delicious!)
Supper - Shrimp (Creole with Rice, Garlic & Lemon with Pasta, Stir-Fry) Thursday
Breakfast - Oatmeal or Maltomeal
Lunch - PBJ or Mexican (Tostadas or Burritos with refried beans, caramelized onion, tomato, lettuce, corn)
Supper - Canned Fish (Salmon Potato Patties & fried cabbage; Tuna Noodle Casserole) Friday
Breakfast - Toast or Pancakes
Lunch - M'Jeddrah (make extra caramelized onions on Thursday and use them today); veggies
Supper - Italian (Tomato Soup and Grilled "Cheese"; Pasta and Sauce; Caponata; Eggplant) Saturday
Breakfast - Potatoes Plus (Breakfast Burritos, hash browns and scrambled tofu)
Lunch - Leftovers or Freezer-to-Oven (Fish Sticks, Shrimp Poppers, Dollar Tree Spring Rolls, Boca Burgers, Waffles)
Supper - Crockpot Stew for after Vespers (Meatless Stew over Rice; Mushroom Stew w/ Potatoes)
In Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf was dressed like Granny...
In the Gospels, Jesus warns us that wolves can come in sheep's clothing...
In Snow White, the wicked witch appeared as an elderly lady selling apples...
In Ratatouille, everyone thought the boy was cooking but it was really a rat...
In my kitchen this morning...
... the wolf in egg's clothing was TOFU.
I can't say I'd recommend them piled on a plate. A better option would be wrapping the "scramble" in a tortilla with some refried beans and salsa.
It was worth a try. And if you want to duplicate the deception, here you go:
Ingredients
1/2 of a small onion, finely diced a sprinkle (2 TBS?)of chopped bell pepper I had in the freezer 3 cloves of garlic, squished through the garlic press 1 TBS margarine dash of salt dash of pepper turmeric 1/2 a block of semi-firm tofu, drained & patted dry
1. Saute the onion & bell pepper in the margarine until soft. Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds.
2. Crumble the tofu into the pan and season with salt, pepper, and a few sprinkles of turmeric to make it yellow.
I am a high school teacher (Speech, English, Drama, and Debate) and school is rapidly approaching. We were blessed to home school last year, so are a little nervous about the kids being back in public school, though they are in wonderful programs. This year we'll have my husband in grad school, my son in 2nd Grade, and my daughter at Montessori preschool, so we'll all four be in four different schools!
Anticipating the need to give more time to my family and my classroom, I plan on substantially decreasing my blog presence. I did a similar thing last August, but had not the grace to let you know first.
My goal is to post once a month, near the beginning of the month, so here is my post for August: Dormition Fast Menu
Sunday - Procession of the Cross Supper:Caponata and Polenta (with olive oil instead of butter)
Monday Breakfast:Vegan Banana Bread I can't count the endless number of times we've enjoyed this - thank you so much, Matushka Emily, for sharing it! Lunch: Crock Pot Veggie Soup Dinner: Tostados (crunchy corn rounds topped with seasoned refried beans, caramelized onions & kale, tomatoes, and guacamole)
Tuesday Breakfast: English Muffins and Fruit Lunch: Polenta Slices (leftover from Sunday)with Peanut Butter Sauce or with Caramelized Onions and Kale from yesterday Supper:Purple-hull Pea Patties or Pasta and Marinara
Thursday Breakfast: Squash Bread (like Banana Bread recipe, but use mashed cooked Sugar-Pumpkin Squash in place of banana) Lunch: Bean Quesadillas Supper: Liturgy for the Transfiguration
Friday - Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Breakfast: English Muffins and Fruit Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly Supper: Grilled Fish marinaded in Dales
Saturday Breakfast: Pancakes Lunch: Bread, Earth Balance, and Sauteed Greens Supper: Pizzas made with Mission Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Wraps and the crust, Basil Almond Pesto, mushrooms, tomatoes, and veggie mozerella.
Fries w/ Baked Beans Pizza (either w/ Vegan Cheese or with Caramelized Onions, Roasted Veg) Pasta Salad or Viniagrette Potato Salad M'Jeddra Cabbage Soup (but with Veggie Boullion) Red Lentil Soup Boca/MorningStar/Hilary (for those who can't have soy) Popcorn Shrimp (from freezer) Po-boys Bean Burritos
Dinner Rotation Nana's Shepherd's Pie (Shhh! Don't tell - my kids think their grandmother invented this recipe!)
Stuffed Mushrooms (these are the BEST! I think I'll bring them to a Pre-Sanctified Potluck)
Bean Pot Soup over Rice (15 bean mix w/o packet; add sauteed onion, 1 can rotel and juice of 1 lemon when beans are done cooking)
With the Nativity Fast coming up, along with the inevitable and painful lack of breakfast cereal and milk that might mean for you, I thought I'd chat about toast.
Of course, you could always poor orange juice or Gatorade in your Cheerios. We did that for several years with my son who was allergic to dairy. Or you could use your favorite nut milk, though the cost of those is significantly more than dairy milk. I do buy some for my coffee - which maybe shows my selfishness that I'm willing to buy a little for me but hate to buy enough to supply the whole family with a Life cereal habit. Let's be serious, though, and this is one reason why I've been moving away from cereal and towards other forms of breakfast even when we are not fasting: what child eats only the serving size of cereal? My children easily double or triple a serving, making the box of cereal last maybe two days, so even if it was on sale, it feels like money slipping down the drain.
So we are going to save money and eat a little toast sometimes. We'll also eat baked oatmeal, breakfast cookies, and muffins; but let's not forget toast, because one doesn't have to prep it the night before. Hypothetically, everyone in your family might not mind eating plain toast every morning for weeks. If it had butter on it, that's one thing, but it's not the thing we are doing just now. Plain toast would certainly be simple and within the spirit of the fast, and even monastic, maybe. Actually, that might be your child's dream breakfast scenario, and if so, you can joyfully quit reading here. My children, at least some of them, would tire of plain toast if it wasn't on the side of some scrambled eggs. We - those of us feeding a family with various growth stages, tastes, and needs - must live with the reality we've got when menu planning. It would be nice to plan in some options that can leave our littles feeling content after breakfast. A slice of white bread toast will not do that.
First, since you are not getting the protein you would have procured in a glass of milk, it would be nice if your bread had protein. Also, fiber would help fill up your crew, so they are not asking for more toast an hour later. I'm sure you know some good brands, but if you do find yourself at the store looking, try to choose a loaf with at least 4 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber per slice.
I'm going to share my favorite two bread recipes. One is nutrient dense for the parents and one is just filling for the kids.
1. El Seed
If you have time and already buy these sorts of ingredients in bulk anyway (hello, my friends making a gluten-free menu), then this recipe from My New Roots is super; literally, almost all the ingredients are super foods. Take a look:
photo courtesy of Sarah Britton at www.mynewroots.org
1 cup / 135g sunflower seeds
½ cup / 90g flax seeds
½ cup / 65g hazelnuts or almonds
1 ½ cups / 145g rolled oats
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks (3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder)
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt (add ½ tsp. if using coarse salt)
1 Tbsp. maple syrup (for sugar-free diets, use a pinch of stevia)
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil or ghee
1 ½ cups / 350ml water
I change the directions a little. I replace the nuts with pepitas because we have a nut allergy at our house. This makes it totally Seed Bread. The same person with the nut allergy also does not prefer the chunks in the bread, so I grind all the dry ingredients in a food processor before mixing in the wet. The result is bread that looks less artistic and more like normal bread. Also, friends, I buy the generic version of Metamucil. Yep. Look at the two ingredients: psyllium seed husk powder and sugar. Just don't buy the orange flavor! Also, omit the maple syrup because the powder comes with a little sugar. After mixing and baking the bread, let it cool then slice it and place in a freezer bag. It makes great toast right out of the freezer and here are the nutrition facts in case you are curious:
6 grams of protein
5 grams of fiber
2 grams of sugar
12 grams of healthy fat (0 cholesterol!)
8% of iron for the day
178 calories per slice
I'm just going to put this our there: my kids don't like this bread. But my husband and I do. My mother likes it so much that she said that from here on out, for every birthday or Christmas present, she wants a loaf of this bread. However, I still must feed the kids, so I buy them cheap bagels and whole wheat bread from Aldi, force them to include some sort of protein, and trust their child-like metabolisms and prayer.
photo courtesy of artisanbreadinfive.com
2. Bucket Bread
The children's favorite bread is what we call Bucket Bread, from Artisan Bread in Five, because I ask my 10 year-old or 14 year-old to keep a bucket mixed up for me. No kneading. Super quick. It is worth it to watch this video about how to take a handful of dough out of the bowl and form it for baking.
I've mentioned this bread before. The bucket lives in the fridge and whenever we want a loaf (say, wouldn't that soup be more tasty with some warm fresh bread?) I scoop a blob of it onto a pan and bake. Also, we use it for pizza dough and focaccia, and that website has about 50 other ways you could use it. If you leave the scraps of dough in the bucket after using the last bit, and mix the new ingredients right in there with the old, you'll develop a slight sour-dough tang that makes it a little more complex and less flat and white-bready. Basically, once your kids are old enough to mix this for you - I keep a laminated copy of the recipe right in the pantry next to the flour - and they realize that they will have to eat the store-bought 100% whole wheat bread if they don't mix it up for you, the bucket can stay full all the time.
And you can use the leftover bread for toast.
Toast
You know how to make toast and top it with what your family likes.
Here are some obvious choices:
I don't have a picture of the Beany Cheese Spread on toast, but here it is in a tortilla.
You'll have to use your imagination.
You get the idea. To increase the variety for your toast, try to keep some options on hand, options that have protein especially. Please let me know if you have some good ideas, because I am always on the lookout for more!
*I don't get any affiliate Amazon money when I put up these links, but maybe I should set that up!
This morning,
