Tofu Scramble: One of Our Favorite Weekend Breakfast Options

When we lived in Brooklyn, we saved every penny. We hardly ate out and we didn’t do any extraneous shopping. I bought my clothes when they were on super sale at Target and my husband wore the same suits day after day.

We were saving so we could pay for the wedding we wanted, live in a house that we liked when we moved to Virginia, and I could quit my day job without feeling pressured to make lots of money right away.

The only time we indulged was Saturday mornings when we’d walk one block to the local bakery and purchase ham, egg and cheese sandwiches and a sweet option {usually coffee cake} to split. These sandwiches were on bagels the bakery baked themselves and they were the most delicious breakfast sandwiches of all time.

My husband and I used to love eggs–scrambled, fried, hard boiled–you name it. When we switched to a vegan lifestyle, we both missed eggs, and we hunted for a substitute. I hate to say that we never found one, but after about six months we learned about something called tofu scramble. We tested it out and fell for it hard.

Warning: If you eat meat, eggs, and cheese, you probably won’t like this. If we had tried this in the beginning of our vegan journey, we both agree that we would’ve been extremely disappointed. But after about six months of not eating any animal products, you warm up to recipes like this one. They almost seem decadent.

Ingredients:

1 package extra-firm tofu

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1-3 tablespoons of rice milk

2 tablespoons of EVOO

1 green OR yellow pepper {chopped}

5 ounces of mushrooms {chopped}

3 big handfuls of baby spinach

1/2 cup Daiya shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper for seasoning

Instructions:

1. Drain the water out of the tofu container. Then press the tofu for 15 minutes. {Pressing means that you want to get excess liquid out. We place a few paper towels on a plate, place the tofu on top of the paper towels, and then place three more paper towels on top of the tofu. Then place a pot on top of the tofu-paper towel stack and weigh it down with something heavy like two cans of beans.}

2. Heat two skillets on medium. Spray on with cooking spray and add the two tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil to the other pan.

3. After you’ve pressed the tofu, slice it length-wise three times and place each slice in the skillet you sprayed with cooking spray. Break it up with a spatula and allow the heat to evaporate more of the liquid.

4. Five to six minutes after placing the tofu in the skillet, add the nutritional yeast, stone-ground mustard, and all seasonings. Cook for another eight to ten minutes. If the tofu starts to stick to the pan, add a tablespoon of the rice milk and scrape with the spatula. Continue with the additional tablespoons if needed.

5. Take the tofu off the heat and add the shredded cheddar cheese. Mix it around and allow to melt.

6. While the cheese is melting, add the spinach to the mushrooms and pepper. Take it off the heat once the spinach has wilted and add all the veggies to the tofu and cheese.

Enjoy! We suggest eating it with a couple slices of gluten-free toast slathered in vegan butter.