Mom’s Tofu Salad (B+)
This is an old farm recipe that my mom used to make all the time when I was a kid. I loved to eat it with tortilla chips. I haven’t been making it much lately because I thought it wouldn’t be as good without the tortilla chips. But I made it today and ate it with pitas that I baked until they were very crisp, and I think it was actually just as good as the chips.
This list of ingredients is long, but it’s extremely fast to make, maybe 5 minutes or so. And all the various seasonings come together to create (in my opinion) the ultimate tofu salad. I think the farm folks designed it to be sort of like an egg salad, or something you’d take to a picnic, but I don’t really see much resemblance. I prefer to eat it as a dip, and my mom uses it on sandwiches, although they can get soggy quick since it’s pretty wet.
Stir together:
* Tofu 1.5 lbs, crumbled
* yeast 1 Tbs.
* salt 1 tsp.
* pepper 1/8 tsp.
* garlic powder 1 tsp.
* paprika 1/4 tsp.
* basil 1 tsp.
* parsley 1 tsp.
* oregano 1 tsp.
* mustard powder 1/8 tsp.
* cayenne 1/8 tsp.
* soysauce 1 Tbs.
* onion powder 1 tsp.
* vinegar 1/2 Tbs.
* lemon juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1.5 Tbs.)
* mustard 1.5 Tbs.
* chopped celery, onions, scallions (optional, about 1/2 cup?)
* olive oil 2? Tbs. (optional, adds to the mouthfeel, but isn’t necessary IMHO)
This yields about 2.5 cups.
Other’s Opinions
A coworker of Derek’s really liked this–he must have eaten two cups of it in one sitting! I brought it to a picnic, and served it at lunch recently though, and no one seemed to care for it much.
Rating: B+
Tofu Balls
I really want to find some good recipes for faux meatballs, or something to serve with spaghetti and a red sauce. This one is from the farm tofu cookbook: Tofu Cookery by Louise Hagler.
Mix together:
1 lb. tofu, mashed (I used nasoya extra firm)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. nutritional yeast
1 Tbs. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
14 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Oil an 8×8 pan with 2 Tbs. olive oil.
2. Form mixture into sixteen 1.5 inch balls and arrange on the pan. Bake about 30 minutes, turning carefully about every 10 minutes, until browned and set.
My Notes
The batter for these tasted pretty boring, so I was a bit worried. But the final balls actually have a nice nutty flavor, probably from the nutritional yeast and wheat germ. I made them quite a bit smaller than called for, and used a cookie sheet and only 1 Tbs. olive oil. The balls didn’t hold together very well, and some of them broke apart when I turned them. I didn’t think they were great with pasta sauce–their flavor was too subtle and they immediately broke into pieces. Derek, however, said he liked the crumbles in his pasta.
When I heated up a second batch I just sprayed the pan with oil and set the oven to 400 degrees. The balls browned much better, and held together perfectly when I cooked them. I think these balls make pretty nice finger food. Derek thought they’d be good for a party, but they’re kind of a putrid brown, and look a bit like dog doo, so that would probably have to be addressed before serving them for company.
The first time I made these Derek gave them a B-, but the second time he changed it to a B+. The only difference was that my tofu had gone slightly sour, so they had a more sour taste. Derek said they tasted like liver (and to him that’s apparently a good thing). He ate a bunch of tofu balls the night I made them for dinner, but he didn’t eat the leftovers, however.
Rating: B
Derek: B+
Vegan Zucchini Bisque (C)
I’ve been wanting to try some recipes from the cookbook Tofu Cookery by Louise Hagler (from the Farm). It’s been sitting on my shelf forever and finally I pulled it down, and found this recipe for zucchini bisque. Well…, bisque is a bit of a stretch. It’s really just a soup.
Saute:
* 2 Tbs. olive oil
* 1 medium onion, choped
* 1.5 lbs zucchini, sliced
Add to the suateed vegetables, cover and simmer 20 minutes:
* 2.5 cups stock or water
* 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
* 1/8 tsp. black pepper
Remove from the heat and cool 5 minutes.
Blend in a blender until smooth and creamy:
* 1/2 lb. tofu
* 1 Tbs. olive oil
Stir blended tofu mixture into sauteed vegetables. Heat, but do not boil. Add salt to taste.
Makes 6 cups.
My Notes
I only made half the recipe, and I used less olive oil (1 Tbs. total). I also added more nutmeg since I couldn’t taste it.
The soup was okay, but tasted a bit too oily. I think maybe if I had blended the zucchini with the tofu the oil would have combined better and given it a better texture. Or maybe using soymilk instead of blended tofu would help. I any case, I ate it all, but I’m not sure I’d make it again.
Rating: C
Baked Tofu
This is my mom’s recipe, and it’s a crowd pleaser. Everyone always likes it, no matter how much they (say they) hate tofu. Derek and I served it at Thanksgiving this year and everyone raved about it (and these were not a bunch of tofu eaters!). Read the rest of this entry »
The captious vegetarian 