Scrambled Tofu with Mushroom, Onion and Bell Pepper

Poor tofu gets such a bad rap from its bland flavor, sometimes spongy texture and its soy origin. I say that its blandness only means that it won't compete with other strong flavors in a dish. It literally soaks up marinades, so with a wonderful mixture of spices and seasonings, you can have a dish that is every bit as flavorful as any meat-based dish.

Be sure to choose the right kind of tofu for your task: Japanese-style Silken tofu is an excellent choice in blended smoothies and desserts, while Chinese-style extra firm varieties make the best stir-fries and baked dishes. You can further affect the texture by pressing out the excess water and even freezing it.

As for the stigma of its soy roots, I have yet to see good evidence that it causes cancer or makes you gay.

This recipe gives you a double-shot of umami goodness with the wild mushrooms and nutritional yeast.

Scrambled Tofu with Mushroom, Onion and Bell Pepper

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• ¼ block of extra firm tofu (I like nasoya organic tofu best)
• ½ onion, chopped
• ½ orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (½ oz) packet dried mushrooms, rehydrated to make 2 oz. mushrooms
  
• ¾ t onion powder
• ¾ t garlic powder
• ½ t turmeric
• 2 T nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Put the olive oil in a pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the rehydrated mushrooms and cook until nicely browned and they release no more moisture. Set aside.
   


2. In another skillet, pour in about 2 T olive oil.
   


3. Drain the tofu and blot it with a paper towel. You can even squeeze it a bit to release more moisture.
   


4. Crumble the tofu into the pan and saute until it's nicely golden-brown.


5. Push the tofu to the sides of the pan and add the chopped onion and saute until translucent.


6. Add the orange bell pepper and stir the mixture together.


7. Stir in the onion powder, garlic powder and turmeric and mix well.


8. Dump in the cooked mushrooms and mix well.
   


9. Fold in the nutritional yeast, making sure that everything is well coated. Let it cook for about a minute more, then plate.


10. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

See the steam rising? Hot and tasty.

Notes:

• This dish works well with almost any combination of vegetables. I often use chopped tomato in it, added just before the nutritional yeast goes in. Sometimes I cook up a separate skillet of diced potato and fold that in once the other vegetables are done, before seasoning with the spices.
  


• I prefer to cook the mushrooms in a separate skillet because, even over high heat, they give off moisture. Dried, reconstituted mushrooms give off less moisture than fresh, but still I don't like adding any extra water to tofu when it's browning.
  

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Crab-stuffed Mushrooms

These make a nice appetizer if you use the smaller cremini/baby bella mushrooms, but I like to make these with large portobello caps and have them for dinner with a green salad.

Crab-stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 8-oz container crabmeat
• 1 package of shallot and chive flavor Boursin® cheese
• 2 T mayo (or more to achieve the desired consistency)
  
• ½ onion, finely diced
• Old Bay® seasoning
• ½ cup of soft bread crumbs or cracker crumbs (Ritz or saltines work well)
• 6 large portobello mushroom caps or 20 smaller cremini/baby bellas
  
• Panko crumbs
• freshly grated parmesan or romano
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


2. In a large bowl, mix together the crab meat, Boursin® cheese and mayo. Mix well.


3. Fold in the diced onion and cracker or bread crumbs, stirring until everything is incorporated well.


4. Clean the mushroom caps by removing the stems and gills and brushing off any accumulated dirt.


5. Place the caps on a baking sheet.


6. Put a healthy dollop of the crab mixture in the cavity of each mushroom cap and sprinkle generously with Old Bay®. Top with grated cheese and panko crumbs.
   


7. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the tops are nicely browned and the filling is slightly bubbly on the sides. The larger portobello caps take longer.
   


8. Serve hot.

Note:

• If watching carbs is a concern for you, omit the bread crumbs or cracker crumbs to the crab meat mixture in the bowl and top the mushrooms with just the freshly grated parmesan and no panko bread crumbs.
  

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