When I first went vegan, I found a recipe from the Hot For Food blog for nacho cheese sauce. The ‘cheese’ sauce helped me get through some serious cheese needs, such as nachos with cheese and chili with cheese. I also tried some of Lauren Toyota’s desserts, which came out delicious, though not as pretty as hers. So, when her new cookbook came out, I bought it as soon as I saw it in a bookstore. I haven’t cooked much from it yet, though.
Fingerprints and all: Hot For Food’s Vegan Comfort Classics
Tofu And I Haven’t Worked Well Together
I’ve always wanted to like tofu. I tried cooking with it in Indian dishes and various desserts, and I was always left with that tofu taste, no matter what I did with it.
Some people say that tofu doesn’t have a taste, but for me it does. Maybe my taste buds are more active than some people’s, but tofu doesn’t have a taste that I like. It’s a weird cardboard type taste – not that I’ve eaten cardboard, but that’s the best way I know how to describe it because I’ve never tasted another food that tastes like it.
I know that people who grew up with tofu like it, just as I enjoy foods that I grew up with that others may not like.
And, I’ve heard many people who swear that if you cook tofu right, it can take on the flavors that you want, which is what I’ve been wanting to experience.
In fact, I always have a block of tofu in the fridge just in case I find a recipe that inspires me.
On my Saturday morning walk this past weekend, I decided that I wanted to make a breakfast with tofu. I wanted that scrambled egg type dish that I used to love at family gatherings. And I hoped that Vegan Comfort Classics was going to give me the experience I was looking for.
Lucky for me, the very first recipe in the cookbook is a breakfast scramble that uses tofu.
Because I buy way too much food – always, I already had all the ingredients, minus the shallots. I figured red onion would be a good enough swap for it.
Making The Potatoes
The dish includes potatoes made with paprika. I didn’t quarter them like she said in the cookbook, I halved them. I’m a rebel like that.
Making The Tofu Scramble
I crumbled up the tofu, cut up the red pepper and onion, as well as some green onion, and threw it all into a pan.
At this point, I was suspicious. I know the picture is focused more on the peppers than the tofu, but believe me, the tofu looks very much like tofu at this point and I wasn’t betting that I was going to like it. But, I moved on with hope.
Once you add the spices, the tofu looks less like tofu and more like eggs.
And when it’s cooked, you can add some non-dairy milk to make it a little bit creamier. I had coconut milk on hand, which, by the way, has been working very well in all of our recipes calling for non-dairy milk.
Then, you assemble the dish with the potatoes, tofu scramble, some kale, and some cheese (we used Daiya cutting board shreds mozzarella for this), and you throw it in the oven for about 15 minutes.
Did We Like Our Tofu Scramble Breakfast?
I guess the title gives it away. Yes, it was really, really good. It was so good that I forgot to take a picture of it plated because I was too busy eating!
I was fully expecting to taste that tofu taste during my first bite, but instead I tasted what I remember cheesy eggs tasting like.
My eyes popped open and I told my husband that I couldn’t believe how good it tasted.
That happened over and over again.
I added some hot sauce and chives, and I devoured it with a big smile on my face.
My husband LOVED it. He put it in a wrap and, with wide eyes just like mine, he kept telling me that it reminded him of the McDonald’s wraps he used to eat pretty much daily. He put hot sauce on his and some coconut bacon.
He even had it as a snack later on that day.
It’s Going To Be A Regular For Us
I made it Sunday morning too, but I added smoked paprika to the potatoes instead of regular paprika. I also put a lot more cheese on. It was just as good as the day before.
In the cookbook, Lauren says that this is her go-to breakfast every weekend, and I can understand why.
We decided that whether we are at home cooking in the oven or outdoors cooking over a fire, this is going to be one of those breakfasts that we plan for.
So Much More To Try From Lauren Toyota…
In the cookbook, she also has a breakfast sandwich with tofu that we still have to try. So, there may be more than one tofu breakfast option that we have to consider!
It’s currently a best-seller on Amazon (click on the pic to the left to see if it still is), so you know that people love this book as much as I loved this one recipe!
