What's Fakin Bakin's Best Friend?

TOFU SCRAMBLE!

Let's just take a moment to appreciate this vegan breakfast staple.

Endlessly versatile.

Monumentally munchable.

Quick to make and easy to church up!

Tofu scramble is so good, even before I went vegan, I preferred it to chicken eggs.

Considering I live with free-range hens, that's saying a lot!

Pro tip: Do not leave your back door open or chickens will wander into your house.

Before we go down the possible add-ins for tofu scramble rabbit hole, let's talk about a few vegan pantry staples.

Really, I should have mentioned this on day one of Veganuary, but better late than never right?

Good items to have on hand in the pantry are:

Seasonings and such:

garlic powder

nooch (nutritional yeast flakes, tastes like dried cheese powder!)

turmeric powder

onion powder

sea salt

black pepper

black salt (kala namak, tastes and smells like eggs!)

tamari or soy sauce

tahini (sesame paste, I get the kind you don't have to refrigerate)

mustard powder

paprika

old bay

chili powder

cumin

liquid smoke

quality extra virgin olive oil

a good selection of vinegars

peanut butter

Other helpful pantry items include:

a variety of dried beans & lentils

dried TVP (textured vegetable protein, great add in for chili, soups and taco filling)

a variety of rices & grains

emergency soup (for when you really just can't today)

popcorn

a variety of dried pastas

shelf stable gnocchi (sounds scary, but it's actually really good!)

an emergency jar of pasta sauce (for the just can't today thing)

canned tomatoes & tomato paste

dried fruits, nuts and seeds

dried unsalted raw cashews

With a well stocked pantry, you can pretty much take on the world!

Or at least make a nice meal.

Some staple fridge items include:

maple syrup

dates

salsa

garlic & onions (if you refrigerate yours)

citrus, all varieties

fresh parsley

celery

carrots

cauliflower

cabbage

spinach & kale

sprouts

Staples I will be posting recipes for include:

non-dairy milk

basic veggie stock (that's not bland and boring)

vegan butter or margarine

a go-to salad dressing

vegan mayo

cashew cream

Now that we've got that all sorted out, let's get ready to SCRAMBLE!!!

Look how ready I am!

I like to make my scramble seasoning in bulk and store it in a shaker (like the ones pizza joints use for chili flakes).

In a small mixing bowl combine the following:

1/2 cup nooch

1/4 cup dried mustard

2 Tablespoons garlic powder

1 Tablespoon onion powder

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 Tablespoon ground turmeric

3 teaspoons black salt

Boom, the seasoning is made.

You won't have to do that again for awhile.

Now the fun part!

I like to cook my scramble in a cast iron skillet over medium heat and I stir it with a wooden turner.

Speaking of wooden utensils, check out this cute set the Hubs came home with!

Can you even stand it?!

Local artisans, doing their thing!

So Beetlejuice, just love it!

OK, sorry, back to the task at hand.

I have seen a lot of tofu scramble recipes call for firm or extra firm tofu.

I have even seen them call for medium firm.

I actually prefer a mix of firm and silken.

Chicken eggs do not cook up to be a perfectly uniform in texture, so neither should my scramble.

Anyway, get your pan hot, hit it with some oil or veggie butter and toss in that tofu.

I generally use half a carton of silken and half a carton of drained firm tofu.

You can chop it up first, or just chop it in the pan with a spatula.

You don't need perfect cubes or anything, an irregular shape will look more like eggs.

Eggy, Right?

If you are adding veggies to your scramble, you will want to throw them in the pan first and add the tofu once the veggies are cooked.

Season your scramble liberally (start with 1 Tablespoon and give it a taste).

Allow it to cook until the turmeric in the seasoning blend has bloomed (the color will become more vibrant) and the all excess moisture has cooked away.

Enjoy it immediately or chill and store it for later.

*BONUS RECIPE*

Add a little vegan mayo and some chopped celery to leftover scramble to make a quickie egg-less salad to shmear on toast with sprouts and avocado for lunch!

The scramble will stay fresh for a week in the fridge.

The leftover seasoning will stay fresh indefinitely, though you will want to put it into something airtight if you don't use it everyday and live in a humid climate (hello Wilmington) .

Hope this recipe treats you well, let me know if you tweaked it and came up with some magic!