Here is another easy way to use leftover tofu.  Curried Tofu Salad.

Cube or mash leftover firm or extra firm tofu into small pieces, and pour a small amount of soy sauce over to give the tofu some extra flavor.  Add diced celery, carrots, and onions.

Gently mix in vegan mayo.  Season with salt, pepper, and curry powder.

Mound the salad on some hearty whole wheat bread or into lettuce cups for an easy and healthy lunch.

If you mash the tofu well, you can also use this salad as a dip for crackers.

I’m feeling a bit under the weather today, so for my sixth VeganMoFo post I’ll leave you with some photos of my vegan answer to greasy chinese take out:  General Tso’s Tofu.

Extra firm tofu is pan fried.  Frozen stir fry vegetables are added to the pan for a few minutes.  Bottled General Tso’s stir fry sauce (check labels for a vegan brand, many exist) is added along with some Sriracha for more heat.

Top with sesame seeds and you have an equally fast, less expensive, more healthy and more delicious alternative to take out.

Something with bbq sauce was on the list of meals to make this week.  I didn’t know exactly what I was going to make, but I knew I wanted tangy, sweet, and spicy bbq sauce.

We didn’t have any store-bought bbq sauce in the house and I had never made it myself, but I figured I would give it a shot since I had all the necessary ingredients.

It was much easier to make than I expected!  I cobbled together a bunch of recipes from the internet, but the combination I used was: organic ketchup, molasses, vinegar, brown sugar, honey, hot sauce, black pepper, cayenne, garlic, and oregano.  It just needed to simmer for 20 minutes and it was thick and sticky.  It was exactly what I was going for.

With the sauce done, I needed something to put it on.  Since Mex and I are going to San Francisco for the weekend for Foodbuzz Fest (sooo excited!), we wanted to use up some of the perishables in the fridge.  I had tofu leftover from making the Basic Scrambled Tofu the other morning, some homemade seitan (from the vegan cookbook bible, Veganomicon, which I love and which you should own), and 1/2 a sweet onion.  Sounds like vegan kabobs to me!

I cut the tofu into cubes and marinated it in bottled italian dressing for about 30 minutes.  I cubed the seitan and chopped the onion into large pieces.

I threaded all of the ingredients onto wooden skewers, (which I soaked in water for about 1 hour so they wouldn’t burn) alternating between the tofu and seitan with sliced onion in between.  I basted them with the bbq sauce and then Mex grilled them until there were char marks, or about 5 min on each side.

I served the kabobs with brown rice and some Vegan Broccoli-Cranberry Salad.  This is my rip off of a picnic classic, broccoli-raisin salad.  Your mom or grandma probably makes it.  It’s broccoli florets mixed with a combination of mayo, vinegar, sugar, and raisins.  The traditional recipe is terribly bad for you- 1 cup of sugar stirred into 1 cup of mayo?  Ew?

So my vegan version used just a few teaspoons of Veganaise, a splash of white vinegar, and a pinch of brown sugar.  I seasoned it with some black pepper and garlic powder and let it chill for a few hours in the fridge.  The vinegar in the dressing helps the broccoli soften a bit.  I added dried cranberries at the last minute.

Slices of buttery avocado rounded out the meal and added a bit of texture. The best bites were a bit of seitan, onion, and cool avocado with extra bbq sauce on top.

Drool.

These might be my new favorite way to have vegan bbq.  I’ll definitely make them again.

I kinda wish we had leftovers, actually.

If you happen to be new to vegetarian or vegan cooking, tofu might be a scary ingredient to you.  Sure, it’s shockingly white, kind of jiggly, and generally quite bland.  But don’t let these qualities deter you from  cooking with it!  The great thing about tofu is that you can make it into many different things.

For most dishes, you want to start by getting rid of the excess water it’s packed in.  Cut open the plastic film on the top of the container, and drain out the water.  Then take the block of tofu out and set it on a plate with sloping sides.  Set the tub that the tofu came in on top of the tofu block, and place a large can inside it.  Weighing down the tofu will force the extra water out, and will make the tofu more firm and less crumbly.  You can leave it for up to a couple of hours for really firm tofu, or as little as a few minutes.

You can also freeze a block of tofu, then thaw it and the texture changes dramatically.  A lot of people say it has a more meaty or chewy texture when you do that.

Since it is bland to start with, tofu is really easy to flavor, and absorbs marinades like a dream.  Think bbq sauce, italian vinaigrette, soy sauce, anything really.  Then just cook it up!  You can slice it into slabs and bake it in the oven, cut it into cubes and fry it, or even eat it raw in a salad.

Today I’ll show you a way to cook scrambled tofu.  For that, you just need to press the tofu for a few minutes, then break it up into small pieces with your hands.  Isn’t that easy?  You can change the seasonings here as you like.  You can see another combination I’ve made here.  You can also find countless recipes for it on the internet and in vegan cookbooks.

To serve 2 people as a side, you want about 1/3 of a block of tofu.  Mash it with your hands in a small bowl.  To it, add nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano.

Cook a small amount of finely minced onion for 1-2 minutes, until it’s translucent.  Then add the tofu mixture and cook for another 5 minutes and you have perfect scrambled tofu!  The whole recipe is at the bottom of this post.

Finally, a tip for storing leftover tofu.  You always want to store leftover uncooked tofu in water so it stays fresh.  Just place it in a plastic container and fill with enough water to cover.  Change the water daily and use the leftovers within a couple of days.

Basic Scrambled Tofu

Serves 2 as a side dish.  Double to serve as a main course.

• 1/3 block of firm or extra firm tofu
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp onion, minced very finely
• oil for cooking

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  Lightly coat with olive oil.  Add minced onion and stir for about 2 minutes.  You don’t want to brown the onion, just cook until it is translucent.  Then, add the tofu mixture and increase the heat to medium high.  Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes, or until the water that is release from the tofu has cooked off.  I personally don’t like to brown the tofu, but you can if you prefer.  Taste the scramble to check for seasoning, adding salt if necessary.  Then plate and serve immediately.

The title of this post is misleading.  This is my favorite *savory* breakfast. By far.  However, oatmeal is really high on the list of favorite breakfasts list too.  Anyway.

Scrambled tofu is delicious. Think of it as the vegans answer to scrambled eggs.  Only most of the time vegetables are added and it’s seasoned with more than just the salt and pepper your dad used when he made Sunday morning breakfasts*.

Also, you can save leftover scrambled tofu and warm it up in the microwave and it tastes awesome.  Perfect for busy mornings during the week!

Try doing that with scrambled eggs.

It’s as quick as you want it to be, as nutritious as you want it to be, and as cheap as you want it to be.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s versatile.

Yup.  That’s the word I was looking for.

You can make a simple scrambled tofu by crumbling some tofu (always the water packed kind, never the shelf-stable cartons, please) into a skillet with some earth balance, adding some salt and pepper, a splash of soymilk for creaminess, and maybe some nutritional yeast.

But my favorite scrambled tofu usually is seasoned well and filled with vegetables.

To make it, I usually start by heating a pan over medium heat with a bit of oil in it.  Next I add some onion, and if I’m feeling into it, some minced garlic.  Then add some diced carrots.  I saute it for just a minute or two, not long enough for it to brown.

Next, I add in any softer vegetables I’m in the mood for (read: whatever is in the fridge).  Here I used some zucchini.  Along with the soft vegetables I add firm (or extra firm) tofu, either cut into small cubes or just crumbled by hand.

Then, I crank the heat a bit, and season the whole pan.  I usually go with some oregano, basil, cayenne, and a splash of soy sauce**.  Saute for a few more minutes until everything has cooked through, then plate it up!

I love to serve my scramble topped with a deliciously buttery avocado and a soy sausage on the side.

Oh, and I cover the whole thing with hot sauce before eating.

Always.

You can squirt some ketchup over it if that’s your thing.  Just don’t tell me you did it.  My sister always ate her scrambled eggs with ketchup and it still grosses me out to this day.

But you can put ketchup on pretty much anything else and I’ll eat it.

—

Notes:

* Salt and pepper aren’t enough if you’re my dad, though.  I went to stay with him for an evening over the summer and in the morning he made me scrambled eggs with NUTMEG in them.  I was skeptical to say the least.

They were amazing.

You might want to give them a shot.

Just sayin.

** Soy sauce is often used to flavor tofu dishes.  Even non-Asian dishes.  That’s because it adds salt and depth of flavor to an otherwise bland product. Flava is goooood.

Just a few splashes won’t make your tofu scramble taste like stir-fry.

I promise.

Unless you want to go with an Asian flavor combination.  Which I think would taste awesome.