Your Vegan Mom

Caramel Tofu

"How's the tofu?" I ask as I sit down across from the 6-year-old.

"It's...(throws his head back for emphasis, and then more breathes than says)...aaawe.some (while slowly nodding his head forward)."

With that sort of review, I thought I better get back in the saddle, and share this recipe adapted from the latest issue of Bon Appetit. 

Digging into my second bite, I hear the boy's plate scootch across the table to me.  With his mouth still full of rice, he asks for seconds.  When I bring the plate back full again with rice and tofu and simple roasted broccoli, he asks if he can have more once he finishes that.  He did too.

Caramel Tofu

makes: 4 sevings (allowing for quite a bit of self control and side dishes)
takes: 45 minutes (about 10 active)

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 19 ounces firm tofu
• 8 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled, chopped
• 1/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced (or chives if that's what you already have in your garden)

Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat.  Slice tofu about 1/4 inch thick.  Pat slices dry, swirl the hot oil around in the pan, and carefully arrange the tofu in a single layer.  You'll probably need to do this in two batches.  Fry on each side until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.  Add the garlic to the pan, and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 1 minute.  Scrape the garlic onto the tofu.

Return the pan to heat, add 1/2 cup water, scraping up browned bits.  Add brown sugar, stir to dissolve, and cook stirring often until you have a rich brown syrup, about 4 minutes.  Carefully stir in the vinegar.  If the sugar crystalizes, keep stirring over the heat to dissolve it again.

Stir in the ginger, broth, and soy sauce.  Add the tofu and garlic back to the pan.  Swirl to coat with sauce.  Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, and cook until the sauce is syrupy thick, about 20 minutes.  (Which is just about the amount of time broccoli needs to get some charred bits in a 450 degree oven, if you're looking for a tofu accompaniment.)  If you have an old stove like me, move the tofu around occasionally to evenly distribute the sauce and make up for the hot spots.

Top with scallions or chives, and serve with rice and broccoli.

Heirloom Tomato Salsa and Whole Foods Giveaway

It started with tomatoes.  Whole Foods sent me on an heirloom tomato shopping spree (the best kind of shopping spree?).  At home, standing over my yellow and red and stripey green and deep purple and blush pink bounty, I thought about beautiful tarts and sandwiches and simple salads, but what I really saw in those tomatoes was a deceptively simple bowl of pico de gallo.  

Heirloom tomatoes in salsa are a beguiling revelation because when you first dip into that seemingly mundane bowl, you know what it's going to taste like, but then it's different.  It's sweeter, and at the same time a little more tart.  It's hard to put your finger on the difference except that you didn't know salsa could be this good.  It's round with lusty tomato flavor. 

I put that heaping bowl in the middle of the table, and then nestled fresh baked chips, and slices of cucumber, and creamy warm beans, and a pitcher of margaritas all around it and called it dinner.  

Salsa this good deserves to be the main course.  

Now it's your turn.  Tell me about your favorite way to eat beautiful summer tomatoes in the comments below, and I'll enter you in a drawing to win your own tomato shopping spree with a $50 Whole Foods gift card.   Contest closes Thursday, September 5, at 12AM PST.  I'll announce the winner that morning.  

Heirloom Tomato Pico de Gallo
Choose a variety of heirlooms to make this beautiful and sweet, but if you need to stretch your tomato dollar, you could totally opt for one big gloriously fat pineapple tomato and flesh it out with some usually cheaper romas.
makes: about 4 cups salsa
takes: about 30 minutes 

• 1 white onion, finely diced
• 2 pounds heirloom tomatoes
• 1 - 2 small chiles 
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, or 1/2 cup finely chopped
• 1 - 2 tablespoons lime juice, to taste
• 1 - 2 teaspoons salt, to taste

Rinse the chopped onion, and then cover it with cool water and let it soak while you chop up the rest of the ingredients.  You can skip this step if you have a fresh sweet onion.  In the meantime, chop up the tomatoes, and mince the chiles and cilantro.  In a large mixing bowl, gently fold them together along with a squeeze of lime and a few good pinches of salt.  Drain the onion, shaking or patting it dry, and add it to the salsa.  Stir to combine the flavors.  Taste with a chip.  Adjust lime juice, salt, and chile to your liking.  

Baked Tortilla Chips
makes: 96 chips
takes: about 20 minutes, 2 active 

• 1 dozen corn tortillas
• 1 - 2 tablespoons oil
• salt

Heat the oven to 350.  Stack your tortillas on a cutting board, and then cut the stack into eighths.  In a large bowl, toss the tortilla wedges with a good drizzle of oil and a few big pinches of salt.  When they're well coated, spread them out on a baking sheet.  Or if you want more uniformally crunchy chips, arrange them in a single layer on two sheets.  I prefer both less fuss and a variety of textures in my chips - the crisp brown edges and occasional chewy bites let you know that these totally didn't come out of a bag.  Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, with a flip half-way through.  (More like 12 if you're going the single layer route.)  Keep a close eye on them towards the end of baking.  If any chips are looking really brown before the rest, pull them off and put the tray back in.    Those are taster chips for the cook.  When the rest are golden and crisp, whisk them to the table to enjoy warm with your heaping bowl of fresh salsa. 

Magic Cheese and Seared Kale

"Sometimes we call it Magic Cheese," says the six-year-old as we head to the table. 

We don't, but I love it, and silently decide that yes, we do call it that.  

The three-year-old loudly protests that it's Maxie's Cheese and he's Maxie the Strong Man, remember?

You probably know it as that old vegan stand-by: the New Farm Mac n' Cheese.  

How to Totally Abuse the Concept of a Lettuce Wrap

With our haul from the takeout fridge at Viva La Vegan, Paul and I piled barbecue seitan and potato salad onto leaves of crunchy lettuce.  I had three with a beer and was shocked at how filling lettuce wraps could be.  

For a homemade and gluten-free version, this pulled tofu recipe and this bacon and chive potato salad would make excellent Barbecue Potato Salad Lettuce Wraps. 

Mashed Potato and Kale Taquitos

 

You guys, I don't really want to talk about taquitos.