Scramble Spice

 

Homemade Tofu Scramble Spice. I know, not the most exciting first mofo post, but sometimes getting back to basics is good.

Made with my new favorite onion powder ~ Penzey's granulated toasted onion! I used to hate the smell of onion powder and would use only when absolutely necessary. But no more- thanks to this stuff!

 Measure everything into a small bowl

 Then mix it up so that this:

 becomes this:

Recipe

1/3 cup nutritional yeast 

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp mustard powder

pinch of smoked paprika

several turns of the pepper mill (1/4 tsp?) black pepper 

pinch of black salt for more eggy flavor -optional

I just funnel mine into an old spice jar that I labeled tofu spice. So much quicker when you make your scrambles! You can even double or triple the batch.

Mofo Testing

Just making sure I could get the logo on here.  Can't wait 'til tomorrow ~ I am shooting for 31 days! Let the MOFO begin!

Nobody's Perfect- but these fries are!

Sometimes you just have to have fries! And when I saw the recipe in the latest Bon Appetit for these slow cooked fries I knew I had to try 'em.  Recipe here: Slow Cooked French Fries

They took an hour and 15 minutes but were so worth the wait! 

They were crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and not greasy at all.  

 They may not be the healthiest thing to eat, but hey- they have no sugar or flour. And they are just potatoes! (and oil. And salt- of course). But mostly potatoes. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Fast Food

No, not that kind of fast food!  I'm talking about the stuff you throw together from whatever you have available because you are starving.  And then it turns out good. So good you would make again. Even plan on making it again ~ not just wait until the stars align and you happen to have the same ingredients on hand.

Like this pinto bean mash with grape tomatoes, oil cured black olives, and avocado. Oh and cilantro!

 With a little wine of course

 Or this less than photogenic eggplant sauteed with arrabiata sauce, capers and smoked paprika. This would be great served over polenta. But I was too hungry to wait any longer.

 I've never seen capers so tiny before!

Or a quick lunch wrap (or unwrap as it turned out). Messy but delish! 

 Romaine leaves, hummus, nutritional yeast, sun dried tomato, alfalfa sprouts and avocado.

 

 A quick snack- cukes with pico de gallo and hummus (just enough so the pico doesn't fall off).

 And now it's just about that time where I have to go see what's available tonight for dinner. Hmmm - I know I have an avocado, and some pinto beans.........

Food Network Montly Cookalong: Maine "Lobster" Roll

Okay, so I don't eat bread anymore- but that doesn't stop me from creating sandwiches for everyone else! Plus this "lobster" salad was delicious on it's own.

 As soon as I saw the Sandwich King's recipe list I knew what I wanted to V-create: jeff-mauro/buttery-lobster-rolls-for-your-baby

Can you tell what it's made from? 

Cauliflower. 

Yep- cauliflower.

 Mostly the stem parts. I just put them in the steamer basket with some toasted nori  and steamed until tender.  Then fished out the larger nori sheet pieces because at this point they looked green and a little slimy. (Not the look I was going for.) 

 Mixed with some vegan mayo, chopped celery, lemon juice, a drop of liquid smoke, salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne.  Threw some chopped scallions on top for color. And put it inside a lightly toasted, earth balanced hot dog bun. And there you have it! A vegan lobster roll!

 

 


 

Mexican Scramble - Hangover Food!

Or, what to eat for breakfast after a little too much wine the night before!

Scrolling thru my google reader blog list this morning I saw this corn jalapeno-red onion scramble. It wasn't exactly what I wanted but loved the jalapeno and cilantro idea.  So I used my usual scramble spice mix (nooch, garlic salt, tumeric, onion powder, mustard powder) threw in some black beans, cilantro and a few of these babies chopped up:

 

These are  peppers I made a few days ago after this popped up on my daily reader list: homemade pickled peppers. 
I used green bell peppers with one jalapeno- and they are delicious! Next time I think I will use more jalapeno though. 

And to really add something extra - I diced up half an avocado. Because avocados make everything special! See? 

 

Food Network Monthly Cookalong ~ Esquites

Yay! I finally got the chance to cookalong with everyone!

 I love the new monthly themes. Not that I didn't enjoy the old format but it seemed like the recipes were more complicated than I had time for. And since I got a new grill recently it seemed like the perfect time to jump in.

This recipe is from Mexican Made Easy with Marcela Vallodolid (recipe here).  So what the heck is esquites? Yeah, I didn't know either. But it's a warm Mexican corn salad.  Like a salad version of Mexican Street Corn where you slather the cobs with mayo and spices and cheese.

And of course I grilled my corn.

Then just mix up the "sauce" part - add the warm corn- and mix.

 I changed the recipe a bit- I mean come on, do you really need to add butter to the mayo and cheese? And I like cayenne better than chili powder. And I love garlic. So here you have it:
 

Lea’s Mexican Street Corn Salad

8 ears fresh corn, cleaned

¼ cup mayonnaise* 

¼ cup vegan Monterey jack cheese, finely shredded.

½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

½ jalepeno pepper, minced  (not ½ cup!)

1-2 cloves garlic, minced on microplane grater

1 tsp salt

Juice from ½ lime

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Grill corn on the grill until lightly charred.

Add mayo, cheese, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, salt, lime juice and cayenne pepper to large bowl.

When corn is ready, cut the kernels off the cob into the bowl. Stir to combine and adjust with salt, lime juice and cayenne to taste.

* vegan mayo - as if you didn't already know that!