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When I used to live in the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis, my favorite Sunday morning breakfast was the tofu scramble at Three Sisters Cafe. You could pick from a number of vegetable add-ins, but I always went with spinach and avocado. In addition to my genuine love for both of them, it always gives me a happy feeling inside to eat something green. Green is good.
Don’t think of tofu scramble as a substitute for an egg dish. I promise, with the right spices, it’s actually tastier. I used Isa Moskowitz’s recipe as a point of departure but made some modifications. I actually really dig the taste of nutritional yeast, but you can try substituting cornmeal or cornstarch instead, or leave it out entirely.
Serves 2:
Ingredients:
- 7 oz. extra firm tofu (about half of a standard-sized package — no need to drain and press for this recipe)
- 2 shallots, chopped
- about 1 T olive oil or some other cooking oil
- 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
- 4-5 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 cup packed fresh spinach leaves
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (the juice of about one lemon)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp tumeric
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- pinch cayenne pepper (some red pepper flakes would also work here to add spice)
- 1/2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
- freshly ground pepper to taste
To make:
- Heat oil in a skillet on medium high heat.
- Add shallots and stir, cooking for about three minutes, or until they begin to soften and brown.
- Add red bell pepper and mushrooms; stir, cook for about 2 minutes more.
- Add the spices (cumin, thyme, tumeric, mustard powder, cayenne) and stir very briefly, then splash some water into the pan.
- Add in the tofu by crumbling it with your fingers. Stir well. Then add the spinach and stir some more.
- Cook for about 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently and adding splashes of water if the tofu starts to dry out or stick. BUT: be careful not to add TOO much water — I’ve done this and it results in soggy, soupy tofu.
- Stir in the lemon juice and and nutritional yeast.
- Serve immediately with avocado slices and freshly ground pepper.
Pad see ew is a simple Thai favorite. Literally, it means “fried with soy sauce.” I like mine extra saucy but you can tweak the sauce quantity to suit your own preferences.
Ingredients:
- About 10 oz wide brown rice noodles (if you can’t find brown, that’s ok, but they’re healthier)
- 2 T coconut oil, separated (or some other kind of cooking oil: peanut, canola, etc.)
- 7 oz extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into bite sized cubes or triangles
- 1 small yellow or white onion, chopped
- thumb-sized chunk of ginger root, peeled and minced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups chopped mixed vegetables, including some leafy greens (I used baby bok choy, mustard greens, carrots, broccoli and shitake mushrooms)
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1.5 T molasses
- 2 T of granulated sweetener such as evaporated palm nectar, sucanat or brown sugar)
- 2 T rice vinegar (white vinegar is okay too)
To make:
- Cook noodles according to directions. Rinse in cold water after cooking so they don’t mush together.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, molasses, and granulated sweetener.
- Heat 1 T of the oil in skillet over medium high heat and sauté the tofu until golden brown. Remove tofu.
- In a wok or large skillet, heat the other T of oil over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until it starts to brown, about five or six minutes.
- Add garlic and ginger and stir for about a minute.
- Reduce heat to a medium. Add vegetables and sauté for about 4 or 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften.
- Pour in the soy sauce mixture and stir, allowing the sauce to bubble and coat all the vegetables, about a minute or two.
- Add in the noodles and tofu and cook a few more minutes, stirring so that everything is evenly coated. The pad see eiw is ready to serve, but letting it stand for a few moments will allow the sauce to thicken a bit.
It’s no secret that I adore Indian food. When I sojourned in India to practice with Gurji in Mysore, a friend of mine claimed that the true motive behind my trip was to eat Indian food for three straight months. Unfortunately, eating at Indian restaurants, whether they be on the beloved sub-continent or stateside, tends to leave me feeling disgustingly full, which invariably leads to self-loathing and swearing off Indian food. Although many Indian dishes are vegetarian, they are often prepared with lots of ghee (clarified butter), heavy cream, and starchy thickening powders. The all-you-can eat buffet lunches typical of American Indian restaurants only exacerbate the problem. As I found out in Mysore, repeated exposure to Indian food has the undesirable effect of complicating certain poses … Marichyasana D, for example.
A veganizable version of vegetable korma in a recent Vegetarian Times issue caught my eye. But I found VT’s recipe to be rather bland, so I modified it substantially, adding tofu and amping up the spice factor (among other alterations). The most rewarding part of this experience was discovering that I can enjoy healthy Indian-inspired fare, minus the post-dinner sensation of a lead bowling ball residing in my stomach. This makes for much happier yoga practices.
This recipe will yield about 3 servings.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) — see notes below
- about 4 oz. extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into bite-sized chunks
- about 3 cups mixed chopped vegetables (I used cauliflower, red and green bell peppers, broccoli, and carrots, but use whatever you like or have on hand — green beans, zucchini, mushrooms and eggplant would also work beautifully)
- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
- 2 very large tomatoes, or 3-4 smaller ones
- 1 small white or yellow onion.
- 2 cloves of garlic
- a thumb sized chunk of ginger root, peeled
- 3 T raisins
- 1 T coconut oil (or some other cooking oil)
- 2 T sucanat, evaporated palm nectar, or brown sugar
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- Indian spices: 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp cardamom, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp tumeric, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp clove powder, 1/2 tsp mustard powder (see notes below)
- 1/4 -1/2 tsp salt (optional)
- rice for serving (I used brown jasmine, but basmati is more traditionally Indian)
- optional garnish: fresh cilantro and cashews
To make:
- Prepare rice according to directions.
- Puree in a blender the tomatoes, onion, garlic and ginger.
- In a medium-large stir-fry or sauce pan, heat the coconut oil on medium-high heat. Add the Indian spices and stir for about a minute, until they release their fragrances.
- Add the tomato puree, chopped jalapeno pepper, and sucanat; let the mixture reach a simmer, stirring. Add salt, if desired.
- Stir in the vegetables, chickpeas, and tofu, and raisins and stir thoroughly. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer about ten minutes, or until vegetables reach desired tenderness. Stir occasionally.
- Serve over rice, garnished with cashews and fresh chopped cilantro (or coriander leaves, as they say in India).
Notes:
- About the chickpeas . . . I’ve been trying to avoid canned foods whenever possible. I draw the line of possibility right before breaking open coconuts to extract coconut milk, so I did use canned coconut milk for in this recipe. My landlord in India showed me how to break coconuts open in the driveway, but I’m still a little intimidated by his technique. Maybe someday. However, while it’s undeniably convenient to reach for a can of chickpeas, it’s also not so hard to cook them yourself, and you’ll avoid the extra sodium and preservatives in the can. Here’s how: Cover dried (preferably organic) chickpeas over night, in water that rises about 3 inches above the beans. When ready to cook, rinse the beans and remove any of the soft shells that may have floated to the top of the water. Then put the soaked beans in a stockpot and cover with water again. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for at least an hour or until beans are tender and soft. I used the leftover beans to make a batch of hummus – always a good staple to have on hand. If you do use canned chickpeas, just makes sure to give them a solid rinse before adding them to the korma.
- About the spices . . . If your spice rack is a little sparse, don’t be intimidated by this long list of spices. You can substitute more of one spice for something you don’t have, or you can just use curry powder and cinnamon.
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