Not all vegans eat the same things, but just like everybody else, we’ve got our own common meat and potatoes items. One thing that eventually winds up on a vegan’s plate is tofu scramble (or scrambled tofu, depending upon your preference), and we vegans are known for making it a variety of ways. Even my husband and I make it two different ways, but I’ll share my preferred method here.

Tofu Scramble
Since I don’t follow a recipe when I make Tofu Scramble, this recipe is only an approximation, and should be used more as a rough guide (although feel free to follow exactly, too).

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 package extra firm tofu, drained
• 2 teaspoons chicken or beef style seasoning I use McKay’s
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon spice blend of your choice I use McCormick’s Smoky Sweet Pepper Blend

Chop up a medium to large onion.

After slicing off the ends of the cloves of garlic, slice down the middle and remove the center stem. This part can taste a little bitter, so it is sometimes best to remove it, although it’s no problem if you leave it in. Chop the garlic.

Heat the oil in a large skillet, and add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat.

One package of tofu should suffice for two people, but if you are feeding more people you can do more (and you may want to increase the other ingredients as well to make sure the dish is still full of flavor).

Once the onions and garlic have sauteed for a few minutes, push them to one side of the pan and then add the block of tofu to the bare side of the pan.

Grab a potato masher and begin mashing the tofu starting on one edge and working your way through the entire block.

Before you incorporate the onions and garlic with the mashed tofu, first add the spices to the tofu. I usually start off with the chicken or beef style seasoning.

Then the nutritional yeast – you can add more or less depending upon your preference; not everyone likes nutritional yeast.

Finally I just sprinkle the pepper spice until I think I’ve added enough.

Mix everything together now and let it saute without stirring for a couple of minutes.

After a couple of minutes, the tofu should start browning.

It’s up to you how long you let it brown. I usually stir, then let it sit for a couple of minutes, stir again and let it sit – I do this for probably up to six to eight minutes.

Once it’s done it will have a nice texture that reminds me a little bit of hearty scrambled eggs (sorry – not of the taste, though).

Aside for making it differently, my husband and I usually eat it two different ways, too. He normally eats his on toast with ketchup, vegenaise, and sometimes hot sauce.

I tend to have my tofu scramble on it’s own, and then a slice of toast and jam (in this case marmalade!).

Tofu scramble is such a versatile recipe. We sometimes make it with sliced mushrooms, green and/or black olives, and other spices. It’s great for breakfast burritos or pita sandwiches, too. Really, you can eat it much the same way as you would scrambled eggs. That’s kind of the point, I think, for vegans.

How do you make yours? And do you eat yours any differently than we do?

Thanksgiving can be a problematic holiday for vegans, especially when they are invited over to non-vegan or non-vegetarian homes. The hosts usually mean well, but often there’s not much to be had for vegans at a typical Thanksgiving gathering. When I was young I was lucky that my whole family, aside from a few in the minority, were vegetarian. That included grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts and cousins. The minority didn’t seem to mind because they either had also been raised vegetarian or they chose to keep silent (maybe not – I can’t remember too many early Thanksgivings that revolved around talk of missed turkey).

These days, now that vegetarianism, and to a certain extent, veganism, is more widely understood and accepted, there is more sensitivity involved. Still, it’s challenging for vegans to have a meal sans milk and cheese. This is where I am going to give a minor confession.

I am not a strict vegan. I will eat dairy and eggs if my hosts haven’t considered that I may not eat those things. The only line I refuse to cross is the meat line, mainly because I have never had meat be a part of my diet (yes, never), so to be honest – meat kind of weirds me out as a food group.

With that said, not all vegans eat the same or follow the same set of unwritten rules. Even so, I am going to share one thing with vegans and one thing with meat-lovers.

Vegans: If you’re asked to bring something to a holiday meal, consider these two recipes. They’ve got creaminess and heartiness written all over them! Impress those meat-lovers with your culinary skills, and have them begging for you to come back next year. They might even ask you where you got the recipe. (Send ‘em on over – I don’t mind!)

Meat-lovers: If you have asked a vegan or vegetarian over for a holiday meal, but have no idea what to fix, consider trying to make something that they can eat, and make these two recipes. Just because these are vegan recipes doesn’t mean they are weird or hard. It doesn’t matter if they don’t wind up being the hit of the meal – the fact that you went to any trouble at all to make your veggie guests comfortable is a wonderful gesture and one to be appreciated. They might even ask you where you got the recipe. (Send ‘em on over – I don’t mind!)

I feel like I’m repeating myself…

Vegan Sausage Stuffing

• 1 package Tofurky Kielbasa (or another vegan meat alternative), diced or ground up
• 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 – 6 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 teaspoons Italian season blend
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound of bread, cubed (I used an organic seven-grain bread, but you could use most any kind and have it turn out well)
• 16 ounces vegetable broth, or chicken broth substitute
• Cooking spray or olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dice or grind up the Tofurky, and then saute in a large non-stick frying pan for about five minutes in 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Add the chopped onion and celery, and saute for another three minutes.

Stir in parsley, Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper. Transfer the vegan sausage mixture to a large bowl. Add the cubed bread and broth and stir together well.

Spoon stuffing into a large baking dish coated with cooking spray or olive oil.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Uncover, then bake an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Creamy Mushroom Gravy
This versatile recipe is known as Cashew Gravy on VegWeb.

Two quick notes:

1. If you make this gravy to go along with the above stuffing recipe, I would recommend doubling or tripling this gravy recipe to ensure you have enough – I’d lean more toward tripling… But you may want to experiment first to see if you even like this gravy (personally, we love it in our household).
2. If you don’t want to use a creamy gravy, I’d highly recommend the gravy I made last year which I thought turned out really well.

• 1 package mushrooms, sliced (I’ve used your standard mushrooms in this recipe here, but I’d also recommend baby bellas)
• 2 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup cashews, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos (a soy sauce substitute) or low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons nutritional food yeast (can usually be found in the supplements section of your grocery store)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Set aside one cup of hot water. Put everything else except for the mushrooms in a blender and blend very well, about five minutes.

Add second cup of water. Pour into a pan, and stir constantly (preferably with a whisk) on medium to high heat until desired thickness. It may take a few minutes to get it thick, but as soon as it starts to thicken up watch it closely to make sure it doesn’t over-thicken, then turn off the stove.

Saute sliced mushrooms in a couple of tablespoons of water.

Saute the mushrooms until tender.

Stir the mushrooms into the gravy, and serve with the stuffing.

The stuffing turned out well, and it tasted really hearty. I think that part of it had to do with the seven-grain bread I used. That kind of bread always has a little extra oomph, but I’m sure you can get away with basic bread and have it turn out just as well (meat-lovers: make sure you read the label for dairy or eggs if you’re buying bread).

I really liked pairing the stuffing with a creamy gravy. I actually experimented with a non-creamy recipe a few weeks ago, but I wound up really disliking it, so I chose to share this gravy instead. I think that this gravy recipe does a good job of balancing the spices and stronger flavors in the stuffing. I’ll repeat what I said above in the recipe, but if you make the stuffing recipe exactly as it’s listed above, I’d recommend doubling or tripling the mushroom gravy recipe to ensure that there’s enough.

P.S. These recipes were requested by a reader (Hi Rachel!) a few weeks ago. If there’s anything you’re interested in seeing me try (and hopefully not fail!) send me a message and I’ll see what I can do. I would have had this one to you guys sooner, but life’s become a zoo the last few weeks! Should calm down after the New Year, though!

P.P.S. Yes, I’m still working on the redesign. Because of the zoo, though, it’s taken a back seat for the moment.

This morning I thought I’d check in on the Daring Bakers website to see how much time I still had to make this month’s challenge. I discovered that today was my deadline! I had actually hoped to get this one created earlier in the month, but we had family over, then I was sick last week – and sadly I’m still sick. I am on the verge of wellness, so I figured that I could still make and post these lavash crackers and dip today. And hooray! Here we are!

I was very pleased to see that this month’s challenge was vegan. Usually every month I wind up doing some sort of science experiment by changing this ingredient to that and trying to get the ratio of the new ingredients to make sense. I’ve had a lot of interesting results, mostly good, but I was still so glad to see that us vegans and gluten free bakers can take a break and just make a recipe without having to think too hard.

I’ve made crackers before, but not of the lavash variety. This recipe, which I am posting mostly word for word, also has a gluten-free option which is great for people who have celiac disease. Note that I did not make gluten-free crackers – next time! :)

Lavash Crackers
Thank you to this month’s hosts – Shellyfish of Musings From The Fishbowl and Natalie of Gluten A Go Go

• 1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan or guar gum to the recipe)
• 1/2 teaspoon (.13 ounces) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (.055 ounces) instant yeast (Note from Samantha – I used 1 full teaspoon because I’ve had this yeast for a while. It worked perfectly.)
• 1 tablespoon (.75 ounces) agave syrup (a.k.a. agave nectar) or sugar
• 1 tablespoon (.5 ounces) vegetable oil
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (3 to 4 ounces) water, at room temperature (Note from Samantha – I used about 1/3 cup water, and that was plenty.)
• Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.

For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter.

Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test (see WikiHow for a description of this) and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

or

For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour.

Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down.

Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes.

Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.

or

For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper. Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper. Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt – a little goes a long way.

Quick note from Samantha – I used a variety of spices to vary the flavor. On some crackers I used garlic and salt, and on others I used dill. I also used this McCormick seasoning, Smoky Sweet Pepper.

If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

Note from Samantha – I found that 10 minutes worked pretty well. My suggestion would be to check this every five minutes and rotate the cookie sheet to try for evenly distributed baking. It all depends on your oven.

When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

Final note from Samantha – I wound up dividing the dough into three sections, so I had three batches of crackers. Making the dough “paper thin” made it kind of impossible to fit on one cookie sheet, and two batches still didn’t seem quite right. It all depends on how much space you have in your oven, too. Our stove is one of those narrower ones, so we can only put our cookie sheets in the oven one way, and there’s most certainly not room for two cookie sheets on one rack.

I had hoped to create a soy-free dip for those of you who are anti-soy as well as for those of you who don’t have Tofutti where you shop, but it just didn’t happen. The nice thing about this recipe is that it is extremely flexible – so if you eat dairy, you can use regular cream cheese or if you’re vegan, you can probably create a creamy base with nuts like cashews or use tofu instead.

Artichoke and Sundried Tomato Dip

• 1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
• 4 sundried tomatoes
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 package Tofutti cream cheese, Plain

Check to see if there are any tough pieces of your artichoke hearts that need to be cut away. The tough areas will be on the outer leaves, and unless you blend the dip well then you’ll still run across tough pieces when eating it.

Put the artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, garlic cloves and salt into a food processor and pulse the ingredients until they are chopped.

Add the Tofutti cream cheese, and blend together for about 10 – 15 seconds.

Taste test at this point to see if you need to add any other ingredients or balance out the ones you have in there.

The end result will be a creamy and flavorful dip that goes well with these crackers.

These crackers turned out really well. I don’t make crackers very frequently, but it is definitely good to have another reliable recipe on hand for future use.

The dip was also a great accompaniment. Both my husband and I scarfed down a few crackers and quite a bit of dip before restraining ourselves so we’d still have some for later. That’s always a good sign. ;)

One of my absolute favorite vegetables to eat is potatoes. I love them fried, mashed, and baked. I love it when they are a little crunchy and salty, and I admit I love them when there’s enough for at least two or three servings for me. The thing about potatoes, though, is that they are filled to overflowing with calories. I have to be careful because otherwise my hips will reveal my fondness for them, so lately I’ve been trying to eat them in moderation.

Recently, however, I decided to resurrect a recipe I haven’t made for a while: scalloped potatoes. Being vegan, you’d think that a creamy recipe like this would not really be, well, creamy or good, but this recipe is both very creamy and very tasty.

Scalloped Potatoes

• 3 tablespoons vegan butter or margarine
• 1 onion, chopped
• 8 ounces fresh button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper or other spicy seasoning
• 2 1/2 cups soy milk or other vegan milk
• 6 potatoes, peeled (or not) and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter or margarine

Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a two-quart or 8″x11″ baking dish.

Next work on your sauce. If the potatoes are the body of the dish, then these are its soul.

Melt three tablespoons vegan butter in a medium to large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and mushrooms in the butter for a few minutes, until tender but still slightly firm (if that makes sense). Stir in the flour, salt and pepper or spices, and continue to stir until the mixture is smooth. This will happen very fast, so be sure to watch it closely so it does not burn to the bottom of the pan.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the vegan milk, then put it back on the heat again. Bring it to a boil, all the while stirring. After it has come to a boil, continue to stir and boil for one minute then turn the stove off.

Put your sliced potatoes into the greased baking dish.

Then pour the onion and mushroom sauce over the potatoes.

You may have to take a spatula and spread the mixture out a little bit, but once it is ready to go into the oven it looks like this.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil, then bake for 30 minutes. Take the foil off, then bake for one hour more. Let it cool for a few minutes after you take it out of the oven.

The thing that makes this dish really over the top for me is the mushrooms. They add a complementary, yet contrasting flavor and texture that can’t be beat and is reminiscent of when your mom or grandma made casseroles with a can of Campbell’s Mushroom Soup.

If you don’t like mushrooms, I’d suggest try adding wheat gluten or marinated tofu, or you could try something completely different like spinach or broccoli.

How do you like your scalloped potatoes? I’m always on the lookout for a good variation, so I’m open to new ideas!

For the last few weeks I have been really looking forward to this weekend, because it’s a long weekend (Happy President’s Day!). I joked around with one of my co-workers on Friday that I’d probably be sick since I sometimes manage to get sick when I am able to wind down from the stresses of work. I think that I cursed myself, because I started my day at 5:45 on Saturday morning (when I was supposed to be fully in the middle of sleeping, thank you very much) with the most miserable and disgusting bout of stomach flu I’ve had in a while. I’ll spare you the gory details, but let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.

And to be honest I have not been this sick in years. Husband and I kept trying to figure out how on earth I managed to get it. Did he somehow give it to me? Was it from the salad bar at work? Did I get it from that girl that I shook hands with on Friday? Alas, no matter where I got it my weekend plans were busted, and I spent the majority of it eating applesauce and these:

I did start feeling much better on Sunday, and towards the end of the day I started craving vegetable soup. I decided that if all else failed I would make vegetable soup for my return to normalcy (or thereabouts) on President’s Day.

Basic Vegetable Soup

• 2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2-3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2-3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 3-4 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 1lb. can of chopped or crushed tomatoes
• salt and seasonings to taste

While you are preparing your vegetables to cook, bring a large pot of water to boil (between 1 and 2 quarts). When your potatoes have been peeled and chopped put them into the pot of water (it doesn’t matter if it is boiling yet or not).

As your other vegetables are ready add them to the water. The water should be barely covering your vegetables.

Add the can of chopped or crushed tomatoes directly to the pot, and stir. Tip: You may want to pour the tomatoes into another container first to ensure that they are good. Sometimes the can they came from may be damaged internally (check for “rust” or bad smell), so it’s better to dirty another dish than to wind up sick (again!).

Depending on how firm you like some of your vegetables to be when your soup is done you may want to hold some of them towards the end so they don’t cook as long (the onions, for example).

Let the soup boil for a few minutes and then serve.

A quick word about the salt and seasonings – I usually do not add very much salt or seasonings to this soup. Some of these vegetables already carry a lot of natural sodium, so it just isn’t necessary. Additionally, if you use canned tomatoes from the store then it will often have sufficient salt and seasonings.

Another thing to consider is that this type of soup can really be made with any vegetables you have on hand and still turn out a winner. It might have done really well with some beans or some kale or spinach.

This soup was really good. I used a can of tomatoes that had some spice added to it which added a nice kick. It was a good soup to eat after basically fasting for the last couple of days. It’s a great and hearty soup to eat any time, though, and not just when you’re recovering.

Weekend before last we went to the year-round farmers market in Union Square. Since we are now in the winter months farmers are mainly selling root vegetables. There are other goods to be had – fresh meats and eggs, wines, cheeses, and assorted odds and ends. My mission was to obtain some fingerling potatoes, which I have never had before, and prepare them for our Christmas meal. It was a success – although I had a hard time figuring out which varieties to buy. I settled on three, but I’ll admit that I forgot which ones they were.

I wasn’t entirely sure how I would prepare the potatoes. I didn’t think that I had a sufficient amount for mashed potatoes and turnips, so I decided to figure out something else.

I finally decided on roasting them. Normally when I roast potatoes I have to leave them in the oven for much longer than the recipe usually advises. It was no different this time. Many of the recipes I found said to leave them in the oven for 45 minutes or until tender, but they were in a similar firm condition to all other types of potatoes I have roasted in the past.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

• 3 lbs. fingerling potatoes, chopped into good sized pieces
• 4-5 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• salt and other desired spices to taste (suggested spices – thyme, oregano, rosemary)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl mix together all of your ingredients, then pour them into a large baking dish. Place the dish in the oven for one hour, going back once or twice to stir. After one hour, check the potatoes to see if they are done. If they aren’t done (which is usually my plight), leave them in the oven and continue checking them every 20-30 minutes until they are at the desired tenderness.

I typically roast my potatoes with other ingredients like onions and mushrooms, but this time around I felt like these potatoes could do with just garlic and a few spices. This simplified version was delicious and satisfying. The taste of these fingerlings was probably a little nuttier and more delicate than your standard store-bought potatoes.

Now that I’ve had fingerling potatoes I am interested in possibly going back and experimenting with other ways of making them – perhaps potato salad or a potato soup. I’m sold no matter what, and nothing is more delicious to me than eating a locally grown veggie.