Red Pepper and Bacun Cashew Cream Cheeze

This stuff is amazing! I made this for my birthday breakfast and I was not disappointed. I chose to spread it on an everything bagel- it was so good. You will need a high speed blender or food processor. Here is what else you need:

1 1/2 cups raw, organic cashews (soaked overnight)

1-2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup pure water

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp bacon salt ( I like JD's)

1/4 cup minced red bell pepper

Drain soaking liquid off your cashews. Add the first 5 ingredients and process until smooth. Stir in the diced pepper. Refrigerate before serving. Enjoy!

Ps. I know I usually have a picture for ya, but I accidentally ate it all without photographing it. It's that good!

Bacun, Spinach and Tomato Tofu Scramble

Ok so I admit I added a few more veggies to the scramble than just spinach and tomato, but I was going for a BLT kinda scramble. Here is what you need:

a handful of spinach, chopped
2 mushrooms, sliced
1 Roma tomato, chopped
1/8 cup diced red onion
3-4 pieces of tofu bacon
a small piece of bell pepper, diced
1/2 block of tofu ( I used extra firm, refrigerated tofu)
1/2 Tbs soy milk powder  plus 4 Tbs of water (I was out of soymilk, you could just use 4Tbs of your favorite non-dairy milk)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

I placed the tofu, soymilk powder, water, and nutritional  yeast flakes in a small food chopper to blend. If you like a chunkier scramble you could just mash your tofu with a fork and leave out the milk, but please don't leave out the nutritional yeast. Mix all the rest of the ingredients together and add to the tofu mixture. Add to a heated and oiled skillet and cook until brown on one side, about 5-6 minutes, before stirring up. Continue cooking until at least half of the tofu is browned. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Bacun Tofu

This is such an easy recipe I almost feel guilty calling it a blog post/recipe.  I took a lot of pictures though, so maybe that will help make up for the fact that it is super simple and not really a recipe. I will say that having the right stuff on hand is imperative. The first thing you need is JD's Bacon Salt. It is totally veg and tastes amazing.

Ok next item is super firm tofu, the refrigerated kind.  I like to buy organic, but that is up to you. You wanna slice it as thin as you can. I usually do a half a package at a time. If you are feeding 1-3 people a half a package is plenty - but if you are cooking for more (or like leftovers- feel free to slice the whole package). I took a picture of the tofu sliced. Don't worry if it isn't perfect. It will still taste really good!

The next step should be overly obvious - You need to get the bacon salt on the tofu. I like it on both sides. So I usually lay it out and sprinkle it on (yes the container has a shaker top) and then flip over all the pieces and shake some more on. You can over do it with the bacon salt, so try not to over coat it (or else it will be really salty - it is called bacon salt after all). I included a photo so you can see how heavy I season it.

 

You guessed it the next step is to fry the tofu. I use a skillet and a little olive oil over medium high heat. Let the skillet and oil get hot, but not smoking before adding the tofu to the skillet. I usually cook it about 4-5 minutes on each side ( or until it gets a good crust).

 

I like to put the cooked tofu on a paper towel, to rest while cooking the rest. I don't have a skillet big enough to cook it all at once. You can serve right away, or continue to let it rest. It is great in a vegan quiche, tofu scramble, or even a BLT. Enjoy!

 

 

Quinoa salad

I made this salad for a branch dinner on the grounds a few months ago and didn't realize that I never posted it. I know it has been a while since I posted and honestly it didn't feel like almost a year to me. I started substitute teaching last year and while I loved it- I have never had a job without a regular schedule. I worked a lot of days (more than most I'm told). Some day's I knew in advance if I was working and where, but there were more days than I would have liked I got a call the morning of to tell me which school I would be working at. It was an interesting school year. I worked at 6 different schools in my county throughout the school year and also managed to get an afterschool job 2 days a week, where I actually got paid to teach students how to play soccer. It was a blast! Ok enough about me -  Here's the recipe:

                                                   

Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled

1/2 pound asparagus (raw)

1 ear of corn (kernels cut off, but not cooked)

1/2 onion

1/2 lb of cherry tomatoes (cut in half)

1/4 cup lime olive oil (I got mine at the Olive Oil Store)

1/4 cup grapefruit vinegar (I got mine at the Olive Oil Store)

 

Whisk oil and vinegar together to make a dressing.  Mix all the other ingredients together in a large bowl and drizzle with the dressing. Mix well and serve immediately or refrigerate overnight before serving. Enjoy!