Carol L. Cain
Tofu Spread (vegan or lacto)
makes 1 med-large plastic container full (enough for 1-1.5 weeks' lunches for me) Ingredients: 1-1.5 blocks firm tofu, sliced in half and pressed to remove excess water a couple stalks celery 1-2 carrots a few scallions or small onion fresh parsley and/or dill, 1 handful or more soy sauce (any variant) to taste hot sauce to taste a pinch turmeric (for color, optional) 1 tsp (or more) prepared mustard, to taste 1-2 Tbs tofu mayonnaise (if lacto, can use nonfat yogurt) optional: green or black olives, other herbs, radishes, sweet red pepper, ground black pepper, pickles, etc. Wash & dry parsley and/or dill, and chop finely in food processor. Cut veggies into chunks small enough to fit in food processor and process until well-chopped (if you want it chunkier, stop earlier). Crumble pressed tofu into processor --- as much as will fit, leaving some room at top for expansion --- and add mustard, soy sauce, and enough mayo to moisten. Pulse processor several times to mix, then process until smooth. If too dry, add more mayo or, for less fat, a liquid like orange/lemon juice. Taste and add more of whatever you think necessary (this can be really bland without amendments). Pressing tofu: try to cut slices same depth, so pressure will be distributed evenly across them. Stack (from bottom): newspapers, 1-2 layers of paper towel, tofu slices (lay slices side by side, compact as possible), another layer of paper towel, a cutting board, and weights (I use jars of beans, CAREFULLY distributed across the board). Be careful here to balance jars, etc., I broke at least one unique ceramic canister this way! Leave for a few hrs (1/2 hr. minimum). NOTE: this is NOT a precise recipe, so play with it until you like the results. Hence the vague directions! Also, if you don't have a food processor, handchopping and mashing (with potato masher) will work, but results will be less homogenized (maybe better for some). If you add the turmeric, it will look more like (dare I say it?) egg salad. ---------------------------------------------- MEATLESS LOAF (orig. posted by Jean Reese, adapted from Veg. Times) ============ makes 1 loaf, approx. 6x10" (fits comfortably into a 9x13" pan with a couple inches margin around for sauce --- see below). VEGAN/OVO. 2 tbs. sunflower or other veg. oil 2 medium onions, chopped 4.5 oz. TVP granules 1 cup hot water or vegetable stock 1.5cups breadcrumbs 0.5 Tbs. mixed herbs (such as parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) 1Tbs. freshly chopped parsley 2 cloves crushed garlic 1 egg, beaten (or egg replacer) 2 Tbs. soy sauce salt and pepper to taste Sauce: 2 16 oz. cans of chopped tomatoes 1 6 oz. can tomato paste salt and pepper to taste Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat oil and saute onions until lightly browned. Add the TVP mince, stir and cook for two minutes. Pour the hot water or stock over the saute and simmer for four minutes. In a separate bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, herbs and garlic together with one cup cold water. Stir in the egg and leave to one side for ten minutes. Combine the cooked TVP mince with the breadcrumbs mixture, then add the soy sauce. Stir well and season to taste. Using your hands, shape the mixture into an oval mound and place it in the center of a large baking dish, leaving plenty of space all around for the tomato sauce to run. Heat the tomatoes, tomato paste and seasoning in a small saucepan, and pour over the loaf, then bake for one hour. Serves 6. JTK's notes: I usually add more herbs & chopped garlic, and saute chopped vegetables like celery, carrots, and/or mushrooms after onions are done but before adding TVP. Hot sauce is a good addition, too, or other flavored sauce like veg. Worcestershire. The egg replacer works fine --- not sure if it's even necessary. Also, I make the tomato sauce differently (sometimes I use canned/jar or homemade frozen sauce, and I prefer canned whole tomatoes, pureed, to prechopped ones), but it doesn't matter much. I make breadcrumbs from whatever bread is available, preferably wholewheat (lightly toasted for dryness) --- doesn't matter much either. Cracker crumbs would probably do as well, if you don't have bread around or a food processor/blender. I've made 1.5x recipe into a single loaf OK, but larger wouldn't work (would have to make separate loaves, if larger quantities are desired) --------------------------------------------------------------------- SPICY TOFU PATE (vegan) --- from the net, don't know authorship (sorry). 1 lb. tofu (fresh) 1/4 c. whole wheat flour 1/4 c. cornmeal 1/2 c. wheat germ 1/4 c. veg. oil 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 1 tsp. molasses 1/2 tsp. ground fennel 1 clove garlic or 2 tsp. garlic powder 1/4 tsp savory 1/4 tsp powdered sage 1/2 tsp allspice 2 tsp oregano 2-3 tsp. Dijon mustard (or any prepared mustard) Mash tofu in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients, mix well with fork or by hand. Pack into small oiled casserole dish; cover with two or three paper towels. Steam 25 to 35 minutes on a rack inside a covered pot with water on stove or in a pan of water in the oven at 375 degrees. Top will brown slightly. Cool before removing from dish. Steaming blends flavors. Stores up to two weeks in fridge. Makes 2.5 cups. JTK's notes: I accidently used wheat bran instead of germ, and it still worked (kind of dry, though). I made this in a 2-qt. porcelain souffle dish, which it filled approx. 2/3. I didn't have savory so I substituted fresh thyme. As usual, I added more garlic & hot sauce. Mash tofu very well or you will have lots of tofu lumps --- I think I might try blending this in the food processor next time, to avoid this problem. This was enough for maybe 4 days of lunches for me (pate on 4-5 Wasa breads/rice cakes per day). Judy Karpen "pushing back the frontiers of science" karpen@nrlfs1.nrl.navy.mil Naval Research Lab, Washington, DC USA