Blackened Tofu & Brussels Salad with Spicy Garlic Dressing

This is the kind of salad that makes a great brunch, lunch, or hearty dinner!

I love making up new salad recipes or better yet, just laying out a bed of greens and dressing it with all kinds of goodness in the form of veggies and proteins. When I don’t have a plan for dinner I often look in the fridge and list off potential options and ask my husband “do you feel like spicy? Would you rather have tofu or tempeh? Brussels or Broccoli? Do you want a salad?” and his answers help me build my recipe idea knowing we have the ingredients. This salad is easily adaptable with different proteins or dressings, leave out the avocado if you want a less filling option.

Recipe makes 2 hearty servings of salad or 4 small side salad bowls

Salad Ingredients

1 head Romaine Lettuce
2 Radishes
1/4 cup Sugar snap peas chopped
1/4 Onion thinly sliced
1 Avocado thinly sliced
2 cups Roasted Brussels Sprouts Spray oil or 1-2Tbl olive oil
1/2 cup vacum sealed extra firm tofu 6-8 Tbl Blackening Seasoning (store bought or recipe below!)
1/2 Yellow pepper sliced

Dressing Ingredients: toss all into a mason jar and shake to combine!

4tbl garlic hummus
1tbl lime juice
1tbl rice vinigar
Dash garlic salt & Fresh ground pepper to taste
1tsp chipotle sauce or 1/4 tsp chipotle powder and 1tsp water
2tbl water 
1 tbl avocado oil mayo or other vegan mayo

Blackening Seasoning

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Onion Powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

First things first! Get your Brussels Sprouts going! If you plan to roast in your oven preheat to 425. I prefer to use my air fryer for the brussels and I set it to the french fry setting. Slice the ends off each sprout and then slice in half. Add the sprouts to a sheet pan or your air fryer basket and spray with cooking oil or drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast in the oven or air fryer flipping once after 15min and let them cook until you have singed and crispy exterior layers.

While your Brussels are roasting prepare your tofu. I prefer to use extra firm and vacum sealed tofu so there is very little water to squeeze out or cook out. If you can’t find this type of tofu the water packed style works fine as long as you get extra firm and press it between some kitchen towels to extract some of the moisture before you cook it. Slice the block in half and set half of it back in the fridge for another recipe. Slice the half you’re using into 1/4 thick slabs or you can go a bit thinner if you’re using the vacum sealed style which holds together much better and won’t crumble.

While your Tofu is being pressed or after you’ve set it aside. Mix up your blackening seasoning (the recipe above makes more than you will need so you will have it on hand for a few more recipes!) Once mixed place 4-6Tbl of the spice blend into a shallow bowl and coat both sides of each slice of tofu by pressing it down until the mix sticks to the surface. In a medium skillet heat 1 Tbl oil of your choice and place all the slices down into the pan. Cook on medium heat and flip them cooking both sides until the spices begin to singe or take on a golden brown color. Set the tofu aside to cool while you prepare the salad.

Prepare two medium sized bowls with a bed of romaine topped with onion, yellow pepper and radishes and sugar snap peas. Lay your sliced avocado in one quarter of the bowl and your brussels sprouts in one half and then slice your tofu into thin strips (it’s easier to slice when it’s cooled a bit) and lay the strips in the last quarter. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!!!!

Vegan Bagels

As I've gotten older I've come to understand the saying " the weeks go by slowly and the years go by quickly." (at least it goes something like that) When I think of the scope of what I try to accomplish in a week it is often times daunting but when I look back at a year and what has already been done, I'm sometimes quite amazed. I try not to get wrapped up in making New Year's Resolutions because I'm already a recovering list maker and I don't need any more self-pressuring as a self proclaimed type A. Isn't it enough that it's a NEW year? Can't we just enjoy the 'shine' of the 'new' for a while?  I read this quote on Instagram a few days ago:

You weren't born to just pay bills and die.

I think we've all felt this at one time or another. Despite living a life I always dreamed of, doing what I love everyday, it's still easy to get wrapped up in the cycle of things sometimes. Just remembering to BE present, to breathe, to smile and to laugh can make some of the not so fun, mundane chores more bearable. The Love of My Life, Matthew Dean, is a constant reminder for me of all the sweetness that life has to offer and he has been a spotlight on the present and a beacon for the future with endless smiles, laughter and love. Just when I thought life couldn't get any sweeter with him as a partner, he surprised me on Christmas morning by asking me to marry him. It was an overwhelming moment and weeks later I'm still walking on clouds.

So, just like that, my perspective on what 2016 would bring, shifted as I enter a new cycle in my personal life. Happiness breeds inspiration for me, and I'm anxious to spend as much time working in my studio as possible with a flood of new ideas and excitement to continue to create and sell handmade functional pottery. My food obsession has not waned and while I've shifted to a 90% gluten free diet in the past year or so, my love of bread is still in there and lately it's been fun making bagels!  So I've shared the bagel recipe below and I hope you'll let me know if you make them, or let me know any other recipes you'd like to see and I'll share in future posts. I can feel winter soup is where I'll be concentrating for a while.........so stay tuned.

Vegan Bagels

Ingredients:

2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast (or one packet)

1 2/3 cups warm water

4 1/2 cups bread flour (I use Bob's Redmill Artisan Bread Flour)

1 Tbl sugar

1 Tbl barley malt syrup

2 teaspoons salt

approx 3 quarts water with 2 Tbl sugar added to it in a large pot for boiling

Toppings of choice: I used dried minced garlic and garlic powder, and a raw sugar and vietnamese cinnamon, but you can use any seeds etc as you like.

Instructions

Start by mixing the yeast and water and set aside.

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, barley malt syrup and salt and add in your yeast mixture, mix well with a spoon until a dough forms and then if the bowl is large enough knead it for up to 15min until the dough comes together in a smooth stretchy ball or turn it out onto a lightly floured board for kneading. Set dough aside and cover to rest for up to 45 min.

Preheat your oven to 425 and get the sugar water mixture to a boil then simmer. Knead dough one last time for approx 2min and then cut into approx 12 pieces. Use your hands to gently shape into round balls, use your thumb to press a hole through the center of each ball and set it carefully into the hot water for 30 seconds, flip them over and remove after another 30 seconds. Place boiled bagels on a rack to drip dry and sprinkle with toppings of choice.

Once your bagels have been boiled and topped, place them on a nonstick baking pan and bake for 15min or until golden brown. Remove and cool before serving.

and then......try not to eat them all at once!