VeganMoFo VIII: Aw, Kale Naw!

Timeline Tuesday is here!  When I first went vegan, I knew jack about cooking.  My meals predominantly consisted of ramen, salad, fries, and this tofu scampi dish I made pretty regularly.  However, my mom hooked me up with How It All Vegan.  That was the first cookbook I ever owned and I remember making so much from it.

The one recipe I use regularly until this day is Barnard's Brown Rice Breakfast.  Truth be told, I was really hesitant to try the recipe initially.  It was this weird breakfast concoction involving toast, vegan mayo, ketchup, and a brown rice stirfry.  It made no sense to me...until I tasted it!  It's delightful really.  The key is to keep things simple.

I've been making this so long that I've made it into my own.  I upped the health factor a bit by adding tons of kale and using a good grainy toast.  This is easily made soy free (sub beans for tofu and use soy free mayo) and gluten free (use gf bread).  The recipe doesn't call for aromatics or seasonings but you can tweak it to your likes.  I like it just the way it is, though.

Word up!  Hey!

Mo's Brown Rice Breakfast

(a very loose adaptation from How It All Vegan)

Serves 4

2 Tbsp olive oil

14-16 oz extra firm tofu, squeezed of liquid and cubed

2 cups cooked brown rice

5 leaves of kale, de-stemmed and shredded

4 slices bread

4 Tbsp vegan mayo

Bragg's Liquid Aminos (to taste)

4 tsp flax oil, optional

ketchup

In a large skillet heat the olive oil on medium high heat.  Add the tofu and cook until slightly golden.  Add the brown rice and cook for about 3 minutes, until the tofu/rice mixture loses some moisture.  Stir in the kale and cook until wilted.  Remove from the heat.

Toast the bread.  Spread mayo on each slice of bread.  Load each serving with a quarter of the brown rice mixture.  Add liquid aminos to taste, 1 tsp of flax oil, and a drizzle of ketchup.  Devour.

Eureka! grainiac bread...super delicious

This meal is perfect for after an epic workout or if you need a breakfast to sustain you for hours.  Plus, the simplicity makes it super easy for variation.  Examples:

Want Mexican?  Sub chipotle mayo, black beans instead of tofu, avocado instead of flax, and salsa for ketchup.

Italian: Pesto mayo, broccoli rabe instead of kale, and arrabiata instead of ketchup.

Mediterranean: roasted garlic mayo, chickpeas instead of tofu, olives for flax, romesco.

Asian: adzuki beans for tofu, savoy cabbage, toasted sesame oil for flax, and sriracha for ketchup.