Fresh Tofu Scrambler

Every good vegetarian has a recipe for a tofu scramble tucked in her or his apron. It's probably one of the very first dishes a new vegetarian learns to prepare, and puts to rest any misgivings one has about not liking tofu. My first introduction was about 17 years ago in a dinner lovingly prepared by mom using a Fantastic Foods mix and served on English muffins. A meal that is now one of my all-time comfort foods.

It's one of those perfect, reliable eats - a dependable friend during meal planning. Always there for you, like lasagna or a stir fry, willing to use up any veggies you need to move out of the crisper; always a complete source of nutrition and whole foods; always willing to be brunch (with toast), dinner (in a tortilla), a snack or anything in between; and, thanks to Fresh Tofu, always ready to show of its local flavor.


One of my favorite discoveries during One Local Summer, Fresh Tofu has been supplying the east coast with organic tofu since 1984 and is distributed throughout New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I purchase mine at a local natural food store (Plumsteadville Natural Foods), though Whole Foods carries it as well. It truly is a superior product, living up to its name and consistently giving great texture and taste to my favorite bean curd recipes. If the gourmet mecca that is Horizon's uses Fresh Tofu, you can safely bank on it awesomeness. Besides, anyone with a flying block of tofu for a logo has got to pretty much rock, right?

Although creating and perfecting a great tofu scramble recipe is one of those must-experience kitchen intimacies, everyone needs a place to start. Vegan cookbook author extraordinaire, Isa Chandra Moskowitz's, version is a great place to do so and provides the base for my recipe below. Her spice combination is so colorful and the flavor can't be beat. If you're not vegan or vegetarian, that shouldn't stop you from honing your scramble skills. In fact, one of my favorite versions is a cilantro-heavy one made by an omnivore friend.

Tofu Scrambler
serves 4

1 pound organic Fresh Tofu, drained and pressed well
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium chopped onion
1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped kale (or other dark, leafy green)
1/2 cup chopped peppers, carrots, and/or any other veggie in the fridge
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
hot sauce to taste

spice blend:
3 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high. Saute onions 3 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms, saute 5 minutes more. Add garlic, saute 2 minutes more. Add spice blend and mix it up for 15 seconds or so. Crumble in tofu and mix well. Let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding splashes of water if necessary to keep it from sticking too much.

Mix in kale and other vegetables, cover for five minutes, allowing steam to soften them. Stir in hot sauce to taste. Mix in nutritional yeast.

Serve with toast (Bakers on Broad Complet bread was used above) and fruit for breakfast, or in tortillas with guacamole and salsa for dinner.

Although this is my standard recipe, it's really more of an outline. I can't say I've actually ever made the same scrambler twice. Everyone seems to find their own special ingredient, whether it be a spice or veggie or secret sauce, so don't be afraid to experiment!

> Cross-posted at www.farmtophilly.com.

Cooking together: Beet, Barley and Black Soybean Soup with Pumpernickel Croutons

Ms. Kelly and I were recently discussing ways in which we could encourage one another to try all the sure-to-be awesome recipes in Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. It's not like we don't like to cook, and it's not like Isa's recipes are ever less than brilliant. It's more about that bit of extra planning and time trying new recipes calls for. We just needed to come up with that little extra push. Choosing and cooking the recipes together seemed like a perfect solution, but the little bugger abandoned me for the big city a couple months ago. We're not terribly far away from each other, though it's far enough to be a pain in the ass.

And then, once again, the internets, specifically the Google, saved us.

We can cook them "together" using GTalk. Sweet!


We don't actually have copies of Veganomicon yet, and decided that we could warm up using a recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance, Isa's first book. Kelly and I both had an abundance of beets on hand from our CSA shares and with that in mind, she smartly chose the Beet, Barley and Black Soybean Soup with Pumpernickel Croutons recipe.


Smart, yes, but really... ew. I thought it sounded gross. I can honestly say that even if my pantry held nothing but barley and black soybeans and my fridge nothing but beets, I never would have considered making that recipe. Ever.

In the name of collaboration and our goal of trying new things, I played along.


The choosing, planning and prepping went well, as did the first half of cooking time. Somehow we became unsynchronized and she ended up eating 30 minutes before I did, but other than that, everything went really well.

Even better, the soup turned out awesome. The color was to die for and the light texture offered by the barley didn't weigh down the bowl. Most importantly, the relatively small list of ingredients allowed the fresh beet and dill flavors to take the lead in a simple broth of tamari and water.

Huh. Who knew I was a such borscht girl?


About half of the ingredients were local: beets, onion, dill and garlic from Blooming Glen, and pumpernickel bread from Bakers on Broad. Non local ingredients: black soybeans, barley, tamari, olive oil, balsamic vinegar (all organic and purchased at independently-owned health food stores) taragon leaves, pepper and salt.

We had fun, accomplished our goal and determined the venture a success. Yay, us! Hopefully, we'll be doing cooking together again soon :)

BBQ "Pomegranate" Tofu

A big yummy salad with spinach and spring greens, avocado and pomegranate served with Vegan with a Vengeance BBQ Pomegranate Tofu (pg. 149) and Coconut Rice with Toasted Coconut (pg. 109).

The picture above is from the first time I made this dish, and I've made it several times since. It's fast become my new favorite meal to share, as everyone (omnivore, veg*n, etc.) seems to have love for this BBQ sauce. My take has evolved into BBQ "Pomegranate" Tofu because after going to two Indian markets, an gigantic international market and Whole Foods, I've yet to find the pomegranate molasses the recipe calls for. Additionally, besides the first time I made the sauce, I've not been able to find pomegranates, as they're out of season.

Most recently, I brought in the BBQ Pomegranate Tofu, without any trace of pomegranate, for Fun Lunch Day(R) at my work. It was served with the coconut rice and a side of steamed veggies (orange, red, yellow and green peppers and cabbage) and a spring mix salad.

When at first I couldn't find the molasses, I used this recipezaar.com "Homade [no, that is not a typo] Pomegranate Molasses" recipe, http://www.recipezaar.com/86849. My method has slowly dissolved itself to any combination of pomegranate juice and/or regular molasses, or no substitution at all. I don't really notice the difference.

I'd still like to get my hands on some pomegranate molasses, if only out of the desire that seems to have built exponentially into an obsession since I can't find it near my home. I know I could find it online, but really, it's the thrill of the hunt, you know :)

And speaking of fun lunch, here's a gratuitous photo of momma Sam with a meal collected from several vegetarian side dishes in the prepared foods section at the DelVal Market. She was quite happy to show this off to her veg*n coworkers! Be sure to note Cinder's shameless chops-licking:

Chickpea and Spinach Curry

I made the Vegan with a Vengeance chickpea and spinach curry (pg. 170) for dinner a little while ago and it was scrumptious. It made great leftover lunches for the week for me, too :)

For dinner, I served it with short grain brown rice cooked in vegetable stock and Bragg's, and a a side of Cascadian Farm "French-Cut Green Beans with Toasted Almonds." Apparently, the string beans are part of Cascadian Farm's "gourmet box" line. Who knew I was so fancy? They were a mistake purchase; I meant to grab two boxes of spinach, but grabbed one of these instead. I'm not a big prepackaged food person, so they'd been sitting in the freezer for a month or two, until, in a search for something green to serve on the side of this plate, I had reason to use them. I was pleasantly surprised! They look and tasted fresh, and the very light seasoning let the natural flavors of the beans and almonds really stand out.

Wow. This is a gripping entry, eh? Shall I try again?

Dinner was good. I recommend both the recipe and the beans.

That is all!

Garlic soup

White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup from Vegan with a Vengeance (page 67).

Yum, garlic. This soup is lovely! I must say that the flavors and textures are really just not complete without an additional bowl-to-mouth vehicle (besides the spoon, i mean). It's perfect with a super yummy bread. Might I recommend Bakers on Broad sourdough or Italian slices? :)