Andrew and I have decided to go vegan for the Lenten season. Navigating through meals this first week was fun and interesting. We’ve definitely had to think more about what we’re preparing. In general, I tend to like meat substitutes but prefer to eat meals more heavy on the vegetables (rather than soy protein, wheat gluten, etc.).
Inspired by Pro Bono Baker’s post for miso coleslaw and My Vegetable Blog’s buffalo wing sushi, we put together a meal of buffalo tofu, zucchini and carrot miso salad and some mixed greens.
The recipes:
Miso Coleslaw
Grate approximately
1 cup each, zucchini and carrots
In a small bowl, combine
1 Tbl canola oil mayonnaise
1/2 Tbl rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbl yellow (or light) miso
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
Mix the dressing and the veggies. Salt and pepper to taste.
Buffalo Tofu
Preheat oven to 400˚F.
Cut into strips
1 block extra firm tofu
Dredge the tofu with
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
Lay the tofu out on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for 30 – 45 minutes, until crisp and lightly golden.
(I actually use a silicone baking mat, which I highly recommend, instead of oiling the baking sheet.)
While to tofu is baking, combine over medium low heat until melted and hot
3 Tbl margarine
1 cup Franks Red Hot sauce
a few shakes of Tabasco
When the tofu is ready, using a slotted spoon, dunk a few pieces at a time into the Buffalo sauce just enough to coat and remove to a bowl.
We didn’t end up using any dipping sauce for the tofu, which was kind of a bummer, but I have an aversion to vegan cheese. There’s really no substitute (in my opinion) for good blue cheese, so we just went without. Oh, and the greens were just a bag of frozen “Greens With Envy” from Trader Joe’s.