The Time for Vegan Omelettes is NIGH! *jamming out on omelettey air guitar*

Let us flash back for a moment to reminisce about my vegan omelette-making attempts from about a year ago, otherwise known as The Omelette of Ugly Fat Stupidness.

If you'll remember: not once, but TWICE, I attempted to make a vegan omelette with HORRIBLY DISASTROUS RESULTS.

This disaster:



The same disaster, close-up:



Another disaster, unrelated:



(Oh, I kid, JSimps! I love ya!)


Anyways. The problem: Nothing congealed.

So I went into my third attempt, this time using the VEGAN BRUNCH omelet recipe, with some SERIOUS trepidation.

And holy-crap-with-an-8-foot-woody!

Magic:

                          from Vegan Brunch


And not only was it pretty (we all know how that goes: looks pretty on the outside, is an evil, conniving, nasty bitch on the inside) but IT TASTED SO MOTHERF-ING GOOD I CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU.

Seriously.

Omelets were always one of my comfort foods. And not only did this vegan omelet fool me into the old arms of omelet-comfort, it also tasted damn good EVEN WITHOUT CHEESE.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 garlic cloves


• 1 lb. silken tofu, lightly drained (not the vacuum-packed kind) or soft tofu; Nasoya brand is recommended


• 2 T. nutritional yeast


• 2 T. olive oil


• 1/2 t. turmeric


• 1 t. fine black salt, plus extra for sprinkling (optional)


• 1/2 c. chickpea flour


• 1 T. arrowroot or cornstarch

DIRECTIONS

Chop up the garlic, if using, in a food processor (I used a blender). Add the tofu, nutritional yeast, olive oil, turmeric, and salt. Puree until smooth. Add the chickpea flour and arrowroot and puree again for about 10 seconds, until combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides so that everything is well incorporated.

NOTE: The original recipe also has a note in case you use soft tofu (which I did), and it's essentially that you will need to add/adjust water to your mix. Start off with 1/4 cup and test it out by heating up a skillet and cooking up 1-2 T. of it according to the directions below. If it spreads and congeals as it cooks, you can move on to the big versions. If it doesn't spread at all but just sort of sits there and doesn't congeal, then add up to 1/4 cup more water. I think I used nearly 1/2 cup in total to my soft tofu.

OTHER NOTE THAT'S NOT THE NOTE THAT I NOTED IN THE ABOVE NOTE: I forgot what it was dammit. Will add if I think of it. =P Aha! Remembered! I don't know why most tofu recipes call for a stupid pound of tofu since they only ever seem to come in 14 oz or 15 oz packages, but worry not: I used a 14 oz package and kept all other measurements the same, and it still came out delish.

Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly grease the pan with cooking spray. (The less oil the better for the nice brown speckles we're going for.) ALso, make sure that you use a large skillet, as you need room to spread out the omelet and to get your spatula under there to flip.

In 1/2 cup increments, pour the omelet batter into the skillet. Use the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to spread the batter out into about 6-inch circles.

Let the batter cook for about 3 to 5 minutes before flipping. The top of the omelet should dry and become a matte yellow when it's ready to be flipped. If you try and it seems like it might fall apart, give it a little more time. The underside should be flecked light to dark brown. Flip the omelet and cook for about a minute on the other side. Keep warm on a plate covered with tinfoil as you make the remaining omelets.

Fill omelet with the filling of your choice, then fold it. Once the omelet has been filled, sprinkle with a little extra black salt, since some of its flavor disappears when cooked.

Makes 4 omelettes.

(Recipe originally from Vegan Brunch, posted at Jaclyn's Vegan Yumminess)

Bringing Vegan Brunch to You, My Bitches

Oh look at me! Blogging! Try not to wet yourself with delight!

So yes: VEGAN BRUNCH. I gots it.

If you don't, you should.

I must admit, every time Isa has a cookbook come out, I'm all: don't jump on the f-ing crazy-ass bandwagon, dude. But inevitably I end up buying it. ('Cause her cookbooks are my most used cookbooks, dammit. Not cuz it's hipster-cool!)

And here's what I've made so far. Alas: You'll have to purchase the book to get the first two recipes as they don't appear to be on-line yet. INCENTIVE.

1. Potato Spinach Squares: Super easy. And they make for a nice picnic side since they're yummiest at room temp.





2. Pesto Scrambled Tofu with Grape Tomatoes: My friend P and I cooked this on the weekend (along with the yumtastic cream cheezy mashed potatoes she concocted). And this has actually been my favorite so far, which is surprising 'cause I was supremely skeptical. I was all, "How can this be all that tasty when it's essentially just tofu and tomatoes doused in pesto??" But trust me: it is. I suggest tossing in some diced up kalamatas as well, for some extra oomph. You won't regret it.






3. Puttanesca Scramble: This one I was actually kind of meh on. Not that it was bad. But it didn't make my toes curl. Be that as it may, it IS one of the recipes that was actually posted on the PPK, so that must mean SOMETHING (namely that I probably just suck and have no taste in food).

Next in the queue: The elusive vegan omelet. After two failed tries at other vegan omelet recipes, I am DETERMINED to master this, goddammit. STAY TUNED!



PUTTANESCA SCRAMBLE

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 T. olive oil


• 6 - 8 cloves garlic thinly sliced


• 1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes


• 1 lb. extra firm tofu, diced


• 4 roma tomatoes, diced


• 2 T. fresh thyme


• 2 T. fresh oregano


• 1/2 c. mixed olives, roughly chopped


• 1 T. capers


• 1/4 t. salt, or to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat a large heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Saute the garlic in the olive oil until lightly browned, but be careful not to burn. 3 minutes ought to do it. Add the red pepper flakes and the tofu and saute for about 10 minutes, until tofu is browned. Add a little extra oil if necessary.

Mix in tomatoes, thyme, oregano and oregano and cook for about 5 minute, until tomatoes are a bit broken down but still whole. Add olives, capers and salt to taste. Cook just until heated through.

(Recipe from VEGAN BRUNCH, posted on the ppk)

I Suck

Yes, I haven't posted in a long while.

And rather than make excuses, I will just reassert that--ultimately--I've been enjoying just eating whatever. Repeats. Stuff scrounged together in five minutes. Half-assed recipes. None of which bears posting on this blog.

However, I *DID* get Vegan Brunch in the mail just the other day, and I've already made one of the recipes and plan on tackling some more this weekend, so *fingers crossed* you should hopefully be seeing some more postings.

Until then, I come to you today with my new fav food product. I don't think I've rambled on about it before, but if I have, just consider this newest ramble even MORE indication that you should go out and buy it.

Trader Joe's Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds:



Holy shit so good. Seriously. I'm gonna have to start stocking up on it in bulk like I do my TJ's chocolate chips, that way I'm not driving 30 minutes every week just to get my hands on it.

You: Go get it. Put it on things. Eat it. Love it. I command it to be so.