Saturday, March 22, 2008

Kale Tales: A New Obsession

I realize my last post was all about kale, but it was all about trying to hide it's taste because it scared me. Today was monumental for many reasons including, but not limited to:
  1. Sleeping until 2pm (Thank you spring break!! I needed more than 3 hours of sleep a night!)
  2. Getting a call for a job interview at the Shedd (!!! Amazinnnng)
  3. Kale becoming my all time favorite veggie in the whole. wide. world.
  4. Coming around to frozen tofu.
That's right I said it..Kale. Is. The. Best. Veggie. EVER.

Today I grew up (vegan style) and finally cooked a meal with kale as the main ingredient. And! It was so good I finished the first bowl AND made another kale dish right after--both with frozen tofu.

Here's the deal. Frozen/thawed tofu? I almost barfed the first time I had it. I think it's because I made a tofu breakfast scramble with it and it's such a staple dish in my diet that it tasted weird when it wasn't familiar.

In case you are curious frozen tofu is known to have a chewier texture and be a lot holier/fluffier. It makes for extremely easy pressing and amazing cubed tofu.



So today I took two scary ingredients and made the tastiest vegan dishes I have had yet!

Kale and Tofu #1:

This recipe was from VwaV (Vegan with a Vengeance) so I am not going to publish it, but here is the basic gist: Kale stir-fried in garlic and Olive Oil and dressed with a Tahini based dressing.

Oh lordy...the dressing was amazing--tahini, parsley, lemon, balsamic, mmm.

But the whole recipe called for a lot of Olive Oil..and I like to avoid using more than a tbsp of oil for one meal. I added in the tofu for some protein (the tiny cubes are tofu not crutons.)

Kale and Tofu #2:

This time the ratio of kale to tofu changed because it was the second time around and I realized I loved kale more than tofu. I got this recipe from VeganYumYum. I liked this recipe a lot a lot, as it was lighter and had an amazing spicy side to it because of the ginger and chili flakes.

Tofu Kale Stir-fry
Serves two one

1-2 Tbs Oil Olive Oil Pan Spray
1/4 Block Extra Firm Tofu, frozen, thawed, pressed, cubed
1/2 Bunch Kale, deveined and ripped into small pieces
1 tsp Chili Flakes
1/4+ tsp Ginger Powder (or a bit of fresh ginger, minced)
1Tbs Low Sodium Tamari Bragg's
1 tsp Sugar (for a sweeter version, optional)


Heat the oil on high in a well seasoned wok or large non-stick pan. Add tofu carefully, avoiding hot angry oil splatters. Use a wooden spoon to move the tofu around, until it begins to color.

Add kale, chili flakes, and ginger. Cook well, stirring and scraping bits off the bottom, until tofu is golden and kale is getting brown caramelized spots on it. Add tamari and optional sugar, stir well for a few moments, serve immediately with fresh ground pepper over the top.


Yumm. I am excited..tomorrow I am gonna go fresh fruit and veggie shopping--I didn't have ANY fresh fruit in the house last week because finals left me eating 3 meals of oatmeal a day and stressing till the cows came home (and escaped being slaughtered.)



Love,


Taco


2 comments:

Gibbons said...

These all look so good...I can't wait to try some of the recipes. I'll live a stones throw from a grocery store next month...I'm so excited about that!

K Taco said...

You would LOVE the second kale recipe...(as you love spicy things and chili flakes.)