Thursday, October 21, 2010

Tofu Love

So I haven't been cooking much this week as its been packed with after-work meetings, dinner outings, and other crap that keeps me out of the kitchen. But I did find time on Tuesday — in between work and a public forum on LGBT teen bullying — to whip up my legendary (at least in my mind) Tofu Deviled "Eggy" Bites:

These faux deviled eggs taste EXACTLY like the kind that comes out of a chicken's lady parts. Except there are no lady parts involved. Nothing against lady parts, but I don't want my food coming out of there! The texture of the tofu and the black salt in the recipe combine to create a very convincing veganized deviled "egg." They're an appetizer in my cookbook, but when I first developed them, I couldn't wait a year to share the recipe. So I've posted it here. Enjoy!

I've made these a few times in the past, but this time, the plain white tofu base was more egg-like in texture than ever before thanks to this crazy medieval torture device-lookin' contraption — the Tofu Xpress!

My BFF Sheridan gave it to me for my birthday and this was my first chance to put it to use. I left the block of extra firm tofu in the press overnight and it pushed so much water out that the block shrank by about half. While this did mean less tofu to work with (I got 12 "eggs" rather than my usual 24), the pieces were nearly identical to the firm texture of a boiled egg. I *heart* my Tofu Xpress!

For the tofu itself, I used Nasoya Tofu Plus Extra Firm. Nasoya sent me a few coupons to review their new line of vitamin-enriched 'fu. This stuff is supposedly designed to meet the nutritional needs of a low-meat/no-meat diet by supplying vitamins B2, B6, B12, D, and calcium.

I'm a big fan of B vitamins, especially B12. I take a B supplement and a calcium pill daily. I also get a monthly B12 shot. But getting those vitamins in my tofu is way tastier. The taste is no different from Nasoya's other firm tofu products, and although my review 'fu was free, the price tag on the shelf wasn't any higher than the regular Naosya stuff. I typically buy Whole Foods brand tofu because I'm cheap, but I do prefer the firmer texture of Nasoya's products. I might splurge on this stuff every once in awhile because I like it better.

By the way, if you go to the Nasoya website, they've added a new feature where you can play ToPlinko ... like the Plinko game on the Price Is Right but with cubes of tofu. Super fun when you're really bored. They've also added a new Tofu U section to help tofu newbies learn how to cook with tofu through videos and lots of recipes.

Question: Do you take a vitamin supplement? If so, what do you take and why?

18 comments:

The Health Sensei said...

i'm all over that Toplinko page...so bored at work today! Speaking of that, feel free to email me when your day slows down :) we gotta get us a Tofu Xpress. My buddy Alan is raving about his too.

foodfeud said...

Those eggy bites look pretty tasty..I always was a fan of deviled eggs.
I do take supplements, namely a Vegan One Multiple daily, mostly for the B Vitamins and the folate. I also try to remember to drink echinacea every once in a while. Other than that, I hope I'm eating healthily enough that the rest of my necessary vitamins are live in my food!
What brand of vitamin do you take? I had a lot of trouble a while back trying to find a vitamin that didn't taste like crap.

http://frugaliciouschick.blogspot.com said...

I do take about 13 vitamins a day.

folic acid
b-complex
a,c,d,& e
flaxseed oil
salmon oil
fish oil
magnesium
calcuim
fiber one
omega 3

I have tons of energy with them and my vegan diet.

The Kuntrageous Vegan said...

Thanks for posting about this! I keep meaning to buy a tofu express and I keep forgetting; I'm going to get one NOW.

The Kuntrageous Vegan said...

Oh yeah; and I don't take any vitamins. I have tried taking b-12 several times; and it makes me really emotionally unstable and it's just not worth it. It's like constant PMS bitch mode+crying. It's Not pretty. My friend Christy reacts the same way to b-12

Anonymous said...

I take the multivitamin vit that the Vegan Society sells, I take a vitamin B tablet every other day and a vit C every other day. I think I need calcium tablets too. I take a shot of flax seed oil everyday or I put the meal in a smoothie. I eat balanced meals but I just use the vit as a security blanket and I work out better with them.

Babette said...

Your deviled eggs look absolutely amazing. I really have to try them.

I take ultra strong Vitamin D tabs daily for health reasons (nothing to do with veganism), but other than that I don't take any vitamins. I do eat 2 tbsp of flax seeds every morning though.

Sheridan said...

Yay!!! I'm so glad it's working well for you!!! I was anxious to know how it worked. Now I know it's safe to get one for myself or maybe I'll go ahead and ask for one for Christmas!!hahah!

Eve said...

Ah I love that Sheridan got you the tofu press! Also can't wait to try your tofu bites...I love deviled eggs (especially the way my grandma makes them), so this will be a great substitute.

As for vitamins...the only thing I do is drink a GoodBelly Plus shot in the morning. Not sure how that compares to taking a pill, but they are pretty tasty...http://www.goodbelly.com/probiotic-drink/goodbelly-plus

MeloMeals said...

I take a B supplement and Vit D..

Those eggy bites look really good. I love black salt.

Jeannette said...

I am making collards and fried green tomatoes tonight with some faux beef on the side. It made me think of your blog. Oh yeah, I really enjoyed the "dickhead" video. :)

Sarah said...

I take Dr. Furman's multivitamin, as well as a b12 sublingual and 2 NuTru OmegaZen3 (omegas from algae) and one NuTru phosphatidylserine daily. I occasionally take iron but I heard that supplementing with iron if you don't need it can be bad for you. Watched the topunked video on Nasoya, I thought it would be people who say they hate tofu eating tofu without knowning it but it was just some guy replacing his coworkers office supplies with blocks of tofu.

River said...

Chicken's lady parts! You crack me up! :D

I so want a Tofu Xpress to make alternative soy-free tofu! Jealous now.

vegan.in.brighton said...

Oh awesome, I really want that tofu express now.

Julie said...

"These faux deviled eggs taste EXACTLY like the kind that comes out of a chicken's lady parts." I was so laughing when I read that :D and I totally agree! I just discovered your blog, thanks to Babette from Vegan à Montréal. I love it, I'm a fan already. I think your respect for the chicken's lady parts has a lot to do with it! :)

Eric said...

Hmm have you ever gotten your B12 levels checked before? Im curious to if supplements and fortified foods help a great deal. I don’t take any vitamin/supplements these days, but I should get my 12 levels checked just in case. I eat a shit ton of nooch if that counts tho ;)

Ricki said...

Your devilled tofu looks so good! "Lady parts"--you are too funny! ;)

Anonymous said...

That press is awesome! I usually stack about 10 cookbooks on top of my block of tofu and there's still a bunch of water left in it!