Kimchi Tofu Scramble

I've been keeping a secret this winter. I never thought I was superstitious until I considered sharing my secret and realized that I was afraid I would jinx it if I said it out loud. So I'm not going to say it out loud, I'm just going to quietly type it. The flu has been going around this winter, and from my understanding it's pretty nasty. I was fully expecting our family to get infected, but we never did. In fact, most of us have not even gotten a cold this winter. With two kids in elementary school and a toddler who puts everything in her mouth, including other people's tooth brushes, I couldn't figure out how we were avoiding getting sick. Then I realized that it's probably from eating fermented foods so much.

My husband and I eat lacto fermented sour kraut, kimchi, curtido or jalapenos several times per week. My daughters eat lacto fermented cucumber pickles almost every day. The fermentation process develops the good bacteria that help to build the bacteria colony in your gut (which I heard likened to a second brain in a TED Talk recently). If you have a well developed bacteria colony in your gut, you are able to obtain maximum nutrition from the foods you eat during the digestion process which may enable your body to fight illness because it's not lacking in nutrition. I think this is what has kept us from getting sick.

You can find lacto fermented kimchi (and other products) in the refrigerated section of most health food stores, but they are very expensive. I think they're so costly because they need to remain refrigerated and cannot sit in hot warehouses or trucks. At least that's the only reason for the high price that I can come up with because they're extremely inexpensive to make yourself. For this recipe I add the kimchi at the last moment after the greens have been wilted to just heat it through so as not to kill the good bacteria with high heat. It's best to prep everything before you start cooking because the dish goes quickly once you start adding things to the pan.

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 small onion (any color), diced
4 scallions, thinly sliced (green and white parts)
10-12 mushrooms (crimini, button or shiitake work well), diced
White or black pepper to taste
1 lb. firm or extra firm tofu, crumbled to look like scrambled eggs with your fingers
1 Tbsp. fermented Korean bean paste or chile garlic paste
2 1/2 Tbsp. shoyu or tamari 
1/2-1 c. Kimchi, home made or store bought
5-6 leaves kale (or other green), thinly chopped

1) Slice the vegetables and have them ready to add. Rinse the tofu and pat it dry. Preheat the sesame oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.

2) Add the scallions, onions and diced stalks of your greens (if you're using a hearty green like kale, collards, gai lan or broccoli) and onions and a bit of white or black pepper. Toss to combine and let the onions cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

3) Add the tofu by crumbling it with your fingers into the pan and toss to combine. let the mixture cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, then add the mushrooms, toss and cook for another 3 minutes.

4) Add the fermented Korean bean paste (or chile garlic paste) and shoyu or tamari and toss it around to dissolve the paste into the scramble and coat everything with the sauce.

5) Add the greens and cook until wilted (kale or gai lan will take longer than spinach or watercress).

6) Once the greens have just wilted add the minced kimchi and toss to combine everything well. Remove from the heat once the kimchi is warmed and serve. 

This serves 4 and looks nice garnished with black or tan sesame seeds and minced fresh chives.

Healthy Cookies

These are called "healthy cookies" because that's what my daughters call them (even though they're more like muffins). This recipe is adapted from Dreena Burton's "Banana Oat Bundles" recipe which appears in her cookbook, Vive le Vegan! If you enjoy baked goods, she is by far the best vegan baker I have found. The things I've made from her cook books are better than anything I've ever gotten at a vegan bakery. Personally, I don't like sweets or baked goods but my kids do and they love these.

Most of the time baking has to be done with exact measurements, but this recipe is very forgiving. If you have huge bananas use a heaping cup of flour, if you have small bananas use a scant cup of flower. If you like cinnamon or vanilla, put more in. You can add the vegan chocolate chips, or carob, or dried fruit, or nuts, or leave it all out and make them plain. In the original recipe you're supposed to grind quick oats in a coffee grinder. I just use oat flour and it works perfectly fine.

1 c. oat flour
1 c. rolled oats or quick oats
1/4 c. brown sugar, packed (light or dark)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 c. vegan chocolate chips (or carob, dried fruit, toasted nuts, etc.), optional
2 bananas
3 Tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract, plus an extra dash for good measure

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly oil them, and set aside.

2) Place the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl (except for the chocolate chips) and mix with a wire whisk to incorporate the baking powder well. Add the chocolate chips and mix again.

3) In a separate bowl break the bananas into pieces and puree them with an immersion blender. Or use a fork or potato masher, but make sure they are pureed.

4) Add the oil and vanilla extract to the pureed bananas and stir to mix.

5) Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to mix well (you know the drill - don't over mix it, just get the dry stuff wet).

6) Using a large soup spoon, plop blobs of the dough evenly onto the prepared baking trays. There's no need to be fancy about it, just make them all the same size.

7) Bake for 12-15 minutes until the bottoms are browned. Remove with a spatula and place on a wire rack to cool.

This makes 10-15 cookies depending on how big you make them, I almost always end up with 14. They keep in a sealed container on the counter for about 4-5 days or up to a week in the fridge. Eat them for breakfast or dessert or as a snack.

Tofu Scramble with Pesto

This is super easy to make and it's perfect for a weekend brunch. You could chop all of the vegetables the night before and then just throw it together in the morning. The recipe is easy to double and feel free to switch the vegetables according to what you like or what you have in the fridge.

Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 a red onion, diced
1 lb. extra firm tofu, rinsed & patted dry
About 10 crimini or button mushrooms, sliced
1 small zucchini, diced
Sea salt
2 Tbsp. vegan pesto (just make sure there's no cheese in it)
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4-1/2 c. vegetable broth
1-2 c. chopped greens such as kale, collards, arugula, spinach or chard

1) Heat a little olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat (more medium than high) and add the onion. Saute until softened, about 5 minutes.

2) Once the onion is softened, take the whole brick of tofu and crumble it with your fingers into the saute pan. It should look kind of like scrambled eggs. Stir to mix with the onions and then let it brown for about 5-7 minutes.

3) Once the tofu starts to brown add the mushrooms and zucchini and let it cook for another 5 minutes until the mushrooms and zucchini are softened. Then sprinkle a little sea salt over the whole dish and use your wooden spoon to make a hole in the middle of the pan and put the pesto and tomato paste into the hole. Then pour the vegetable broth over the pesto and tomato paste and stir it around to dissolve them in the broth.

4) Toss to incorporate the pesto & tomato paste throughout the dish and let the broth evaporate. Then toss in the greens and mix. Continue to saute for another couple of minutes until the greens are wilted.

This serves 2-3.

Ungreasy Spoon Spanish Style Breakfast Hash

This is my husband's favorite breakfast. It's a little spicy and full of vegetables. Melissa's brand soy chorizo (soyrizo) uses non-gmo soy and is very affordable. Trader Joe's also makes a good one.

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 package soy chorizo
2-3 c. diced potatoes, fresh or frozen
2 c. bell peppers (any color), diced
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. cilantro, minced

1) Heat the oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron. Add the soy chorizo and break it up with your spoon a little and then add the onion and saute until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, potatoes, and all of the spices. Toss to coat and continue to saute to cook the potatoes, about 5 more minutes, stirring frequently. 

2) Add the peppers and saute for an additional 5 minutes.

3) Add the tomato paste and vegetable broth. Stir the tomato paste to dissolve it and deglaze the pan. Let it cook for just a couple of minutes to thicken the sauce a bit.

4) Turn off the heat and add the cilantro and toss to incorporate.

This serves about 4 and is good garnished with avocado slices or guacamole.

Ungreasy Spoon Mexican Breakfast Hash

In college I loved to frequent greasy spoon cafes (Jim's? any Minneapolis peeps from the 1990's?) for breakfast on the weekends. I'd always get hash browns and drown them in ketchup. I know, gross. But I am still a fan of the savory breakfast featuring potatoes, just not the oily gut rot that goes with a greasy spoon breakfast.

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 onion (any kind), diced
3-4 c. diced potatoes, fresh or frozen (if you use frozen, try not to get a brand with preservatives)
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp. paprika or smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 c. diced peppers (any combination of sweet, poblano, ancho, jalapeno, etc.)
1 15 oz. can beans - black, pinto, or kidney, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. salsa (any kind)
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, minced
Avocado to garnish 

1) Heat the oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, potatoes, and all of the dried herbs and spices. Toss to coat and continue to saute to cook the potatoes, about 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently. 

2) Add the peppers and saute for an additional 5 minutes.

3) Add the beans, tomato paste, and vegetable broth. Stir the tomato paste to dissolve it and deglaze the pan.

4) Turn off the heat and add the salsa and cilantro and toss to incorporate.

This serves about 4 and is good garnished with avocado slices or guacamole.