Recipe: Buffalo Tempeh Dip

The NFL season is heating up in the race for playoff slots. Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Whether you eat it on a football Sunday or with your family while anxiously awaiting the holiday's main feast, the season is ripe for snack foods that warm the eater against the dropping temperatures outside. Chicken wings don't comply with our vegan diet, but this Buffalo Tempeh Dip has all the same fiery qualities that I love so dearly.

Yum!

Ingredients:

1 lb. tempeh
4 oz. Daiya Brand Sheddar Style Shreds
4 oz. Daiya Cream Cheese Style Spread
6 oz. Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
3/4 C. Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Preheat oven to 350.

Place tempeh into a pot and cover with water to cover. Over medium heat, bring the water to a simmer. Reduce heat and maintain a low simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Remove the tempeh from the pot and allow to cool enough to handle. Once cooled, dice the tempeh into small 1/4" cubes and place them into a large mixing bowl.

Crumble the Cream Cheese Style Spread into the bowl, then add all remaining ingredients. Stir the mixture until everything is thoroughly combined.

Transfer the mix into a 8" x 8" casserole dish and level with a spoon. Cover the casserole dish with foil.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, removing the foil after 30 minutes. After removing the dip from the oven, allow it to cool for 10 minutes or more.

Jess and I enjoyed this Buffalo Tempeh Dip while we watched football with Reis this past weekend. We ate it with celery sticks and water crackers, but you could use any of your favorite dippers: tortilla chips, pita chips, any variety of cracker, or most any veggie you could think of. Cauliflower strikes me as a particularly promising option! Enjoy!

Book Review: Eat To Live Cookbook

Eat To Live is a book that Jess read when she first became vegan. It also is the book that her mom read that set her on her vegan-ish journey (she is 95% vegan). So, they were both really excited about the Eat To Live Cookbook coming out. Jess grabbed it off of the shelf the first time she saw it. With a $30 price tag, she probably should have looked through the book a bit more before buying it (her own admission).

The book starts off with a brief introduction to the "nutratarian" way of eating. It's basically a summary of the original Eat To Live book without all of the scientific details. Jess really enjoyed reading this. She felt that it was easy to understand and that it paints a clearer picture to the layman than Eat to Live does. Dr. Furman suggests eating a whole foods, plant based diet with a large amount of leafy greens. He does allow small amounts of dairy and meat, but advises that they be used as condiments rather than the main dish. There is a separate and small section of recipes that include these items at the back of the book. Jess and I, of course, payed this section no mind.

When it comes to the heart of the book (the recipes), the handful that we tried were hit-and-miss. They seem to suffer from the same malady that plagues most cookbooks published by doctors and nutritionists rather than chefs and connoisseurs; the recipes place all emphasis on being healthful and occasionally forget about what qualities are required to make a delicious dish. In addition, some of the recipes are bewilderingly non-traditional. Don't get me wrong, I love to be experimental and try new things, but some of the serving suggestions in the Eat To Live Cookbook were just a bit too much. How about serving Spaghetti Squash Primavera over shredded lettuce? We tried it out of curiosity. You should not. I will say, though, that the lettuce at least added some texture to the primavera which was mushy and texture-free when cooked as the book directed.

There were recipes that we enjoyed quite a bit. "Cheesy" Kale Soup has earned a spot in our favorite recipe binder, in fact. The great recipe to lackluster recipe ratio was just too low for our liking, though, and along with the expensive nature of a lot of the recipes (cashew butter and Mediterranean pine nuts are priced at a premium!) we couldn't continue with the cookbook as long as we had planned.

We would have loved to suggest purchasing the Eat To Live Cookbook as we would love to suggest all of the vegan books and cookbooks out there, but unfortunately we cannot. There are other cookbooks available that offer more delicious food while being just as healthy. The original Eat To Live is great and one of the formative books to Jess's veganism, so if you're looking for some vegan reading and don't absolutely need the new recipes go ahead and pick that up instead.

Recipe: Tofu Scramble Mix and More

On those lazy Sunday mornings, absolutely nothing beats a plate of warm, comforting tofu scramble.

When Jess and I first started in on our veganism, we would make tofu scramble using a pre-packaged seasoning mix. They’re excellent, but after a short while I realized that these packets are priced at a premium from a mix of seasonings that I already have in the pantry. I’ve made up this recipe as a pretty close approximation of the marketed tofu scramble seasoning mixes.

Tofu Scramble Mix:

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup nutritional yeast
4 Tbsp onion powder or dried chopped onion
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1-1/2 Tbsp dried basil
1-1/2 Tbsp dried thyme
2 tsp cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp mustard powder
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper

Just combine all ingredients in a large canning jar (or comparable sealing container). Shake it up until everything has dispersed evenly within the jar.

Now, whenever you’re in the mood for some tofu scramble, it’s as easy as combining 1/4 to 1/2 cup--depending on your tastes--of the Tofu Scramble Mix with a 16 oz. package of tofu, mashing it all up together, and heating it on the stove.

Personally, though, I think it’s pretty important to doctor it up a bit with some veggies. Here’s how I like to prepare my scrambles.

Tofu Scramble:

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced small
1 red bell pepper, diced small
1 cup white mushrooms, diced small
16 oz. firm tofu
1/2 cup Tofu Scramble Mix (from above)

1. In your largest frying pan, heat olive oil over medium flame. Add the onion, pepper, and mushroom. Saute for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are all well softened.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mash together the tofu and the Tofu Scramble Mix until they resemble the consistency of scrambled eggs.

3. Add the seasoned, mashed tofu into the frying pan along with the vegetables. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.

The scramble should now be ready to serve up with some tasty whole grain toast and whatever else floats your breakfast boat.

If you’re looking for a change of pace--or just have tofu scramble leftovers--you can create another dish with your tofu scramble. Yes, tofu scramble is both delicious and healthy, but it is also incredibly versatile. How about breakfast burritos? Simple. Slap a few spoonfuls of tofu scramble onto a tortilla with some vegan “cheese”, salsa, and a dollop of vegan “sour cream.” I bet you haven’t had breakfast pizza since you’ve gone vegan, have you? Well, it can happen. I’ve the recipe to prove it.

It’s important to note, though, that this breakfast pizza takes all the healthy qualities of your tofu scramble and blots them out with plenty of high calorie carbohydrates and oils. It’s delicious and worth making from time to time, but don’t go eating it every morning. Also, is is a pretty fluid recipe. It’s your pizza. Feel more than welcome to make any additions or substitutions that you feel necessary.

Breakfast Pizza:

Ingredients*:
1 prepared pizza crust
1/4 cup veganaise
1/2 batch of Tofu Scramble
1/4 cup Bac-Os or other vegan “bacon” bits
3 to 4 oz. vegan “cheese” (we use and love Daiya brand)

*I made up the ingredients list for a medium sized pizza of 12”. Adjust quantities as needed for different sized pizzas.

Onto the pizza crust, spread each of the other ingredients evenly onto the crust in the order listed. Bake the pizza according to the instructions listed on the pizza crust packaging. Usually this should be in the ballpark of baking at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!