This family-style breakfast bowl is just what you need to coax your crew out of bed come sunrise. These flavors, aromas and colors will have everyone popping out of bed like toaster tarts. But no tarts on the table today. Golden turmeric-infused, fluffy tofu scramble, speckled with sweet onions and chopped kale fills this plant-based, protein-rich bowl. Perfect pairing: blackened, savory-sweet, maple-tamari tempeh "bacon" slices.
With this fast and easy recipe, a hot breakfast is within reach any day of the week. Make a big batch of tofu ahead of time to serve for a few days, or whip up a fresh skillet for same day serving.
Serve this bowl with a pile of crisp toast, a colorful fruit salad, hot steamy coffee, tea (or hot pumpkin mug) or maybe some hash browns or pancakes for a weekender feast. Snag my recipe plus my fave tofu scramble flavor boosters..
And as I peek over my shoulder at the kitty-bed view from the kitchen, I too feel a foreign wave of normalcy wash over me. She certainly doesn't look sick curled up in a fuzzy ball, awash in the glowy-white-curtain-filtered afternoon sunbeam light, quietly closing her feathered eyelids as her green eyes simmer and twinkle, her whiskers settling into her white-tipped paws, a low purr vibrating from her cheeks.
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Good morning sunshine.
Some mornings call for steamy, protein-rich, family-style bowls of lets-all-dive-in-together delights...
Smoky, savory-sweet tempeh bacon is a welcome breakfast accent.
I like my scramble served via toast (gluten-free shown), slathered in Earth Balance vegan butter..
Who needs a fork, when you have toast - yes? (hot pumpkin bowl optional)
Turmeric Scramble. Turmeric (and maybe some nutritional yeast) is what gives tofu scramble that perky golden color. Turmeric is one spice to keep handy in your kitchen for flavor and wellness purposes. Reading up on health, inflammation, cancer-prevention and longevity lately, I have been re-inspired to add more turmeric to my diet. I need more turmeric in my life. You probably already love tofu scramble dishes, well now you have even more incentive to bust out the tofu and skillet at mealtime - turmeric-power! (Scramble Breakfast Burritos rock too, in the AM or PM hours.)
"Curcumin, which has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, is the most active constituent of turmeric." - DrWeil - more info on turmeric's health benefits
A Few Flavor Boosters for Tofu Scramble:
* truffle salt or truffle oil (a tiny bit goes a long way!)
* peas, sweet onions, veggies or all sorts
* nutritional yeast
* vegan liquid smoke
* vegan butter, aka Earth Balance
* splash of umeboshi vinegar
* chopped tempeh-bacon or vegan sausages folded into your scramble
* squeeze of orange juice + pinch of citrus zest or dried orange peel spice
* hot sauce, vegan cheese shreds or diced avocado served over top cooked scramble
* vegan cheese shreds (like Daiya) or cashew cheese folded into scramble while cooking
* tamari and turmeric (both in this recipe already)
* details on these ingredients in a post I did on Disney's Babble a while back
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Fast and Easy Tofu Scramble
vegan, serves 4
12-16 oz. silken tofu, pressed dry + crumbled
3-5 teaspoon tamari
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon vegan butter, Earth Balance (add more for a richer scramble)
¾ - 1 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup organic kale, chopped
¼ cup nutritional yeast (optional)
pinches of black pepper to taste
salt to taste if desired
***feel free to experiment with any of the flavor boosters listed above too
Smoky Tempeh Bacon - vegan
12 oz. tempeh, sliced into thin strips
1 teaspoon sunflower/vegetable oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
2 teaspoon tamari
a few pinches fine black pepper
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (optional)
Directions:
1. Press your tofu dry and prep your veggies.
2. Warm a large skillet over high heat. Add the vegan butter followed by the onion. Saute until onion browns on edges.
3. Crumble the tofu into the pan. Add the turmeric and tamari. Saute on high until the liquid is absorbed and the tofu is at your desired cooking done-ness. This should only take 3-5 minutes of cooking. To speed things up, cover pan with lid for a minute. If the pan edges are drying out to much and burning, reduce heat to medium.
4. Finally, fold in the pepper, kale and optional nutritional yeast. Taste taste for salt/pepper adjustments. Pour into serving bowl. Set aside. The tofu will be tastier once it cools a bit. The tofu can even be made one day in advance and left to "marinate" in the fridge - then reheated ion a skillet just before serving.
5. Scrape pan dry and add your tempeh bacon oil to pan - over high heat. When the oil is sizzling, add in the tempeh, maple, tamari, pepper and optional liquid smoke. Saute for 1-2 minutes on each side. Add the optional splash of apple cider vinegar half way through the cooking process. Pull tempeh from pan and plate with tofu.
Serve steamy warm. For extra richness, you can add a pat of vegan butter over top or folded into the scramble - or serve with "buttered" toast.
Kitchen Comfort. With all that is going on with Nelly right now, and the constant pinch of stress that lurks in the pit of my stomach, I eagerly look forward to kitchen time distractions. I submerge myself in my warmly glowing kitchen and the ritual begins, chopping, simmering, baking, toasting, blending, slicing, seasoning, boiling, tossing and plating. It overtakes my entire body, mind and spirit and for those few minutes, it is like I hit the "clear the cache" button on my worries. My analytical brain hushes while my food loving soul does all the thinking, talking and walking.
At first I found it difficult to cook and work, mostly because my heart feels crushed and numb from all this and secondly because I couldn't find the time. Re: caretaking takes over.
Caretaking (for people or pets) is a 24/7, full time job: lesson learned. It is a job that runs on NOTHING more than love and commitment to the person or animal you are watching over. If you know a caretaker of any sort, be sure to reach out to them and show them some extra support. And if you are a caretaker of a parent, spouse, friend, pet or sibling - huge hugs to you.
But lately, I have made time for kitchen/work breaks - mostly when Nelly snoozes. Which is often. She is a kitty cat. And as I mentioned in previous posts, normalcy, happiness, joy and positive actions are truly the best way to travel through this journey of Nelly's cancer. So while she sleeps peacefully like a snuggly little bunny, I bust out goodies in the kitchen. I can tell it makes her feel calm and normal.
And as I peek over my shoulder at the kitty-bed view from the kitchen, I too feel a foreign wave of normalcy wash over me. She certainly doesn't look sick curled up in a fuzzy ball, awash in the glowy-white-curtain-filtered afternoon sunbeam light, quietly closing her feathered eyelids as her green eyes simmer and twinkle, her whiskers settling into her white-tipped paws, a low purr vibrating from her cheeks.
Me in the kitchen. Or behind my camera lens. Nelly, my star co-worker, passively supervising as she snoozes soundly in her bed. This has been my life for the past six years of Healthy. Happy. Life. And all I want to do is freeze this moment in time forever.
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Crazy Sexy Cancer Sidenote: I just watched Kris Carr's documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer the other day (I had only seen long clips in the past) and oh my goodness do I love Kris even more now! The documentary is only $4 to rent on itunes, and such a worthy use of a few hours. I promise you won't regret spending some time with Kris. What an inspiring story and glowing brave heart Kris has. I decided to watch it basically because I am now being "touched by cancer" for really the first time ever in my life. And Kris's cancer was in her liver and lungs which is exactly what Nelly has. (I know, I know, Nelly is a cat. And Kris is a person. And they have very different cases. But it still brings me a speckle of hope.) So yes, watch Crazy Sexy Cancer. It rocks.
And make this scramble. It rocks too. Breakfast and a movie, sounds like a good morning to me.
