My first taste of tofu scramble came one morning before a photo shoot at whole foods, and boy oh boy do they have that recipe down. I swear there are magical fairies cooking their vegan food. Since then I’ve been obsessed with perfecting the art of this. There is still some work to be done but I absolutely loved this mixture and I think it is an easy start for those who may be intimidated by tofu in general. So many people ask me how and what to eat when they become a vegan and even before I became a vegan tofu was a go to meal. I love throwing it in with a bunch of veggies so I found this to be a lot of fun. This recipe was inspired by those in Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreu. When I began cooking more frequently I realized using a knife to always chop my vegetables was going to be too time consuming. I sincerely suggest buying a vegetable chopper. Cooking will never be the same! This doesn’t always save myself from the hazards of being a chef. I certainly still cut myself, but less and less these days.
Tofu scramble (prep time 30/45 minutes)1 package of firm tofu8 baby carrots 1 onion 1 tomato 1 fresh garlic minced 1 green pepper ½ teaspoon of paprika ½ teaspoon turmeric ½ teaspoon of cumin ½ teaspoon of thyme 2 tablespoon of nutritional yeast 1 tablespoon of water 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Directions: Drain and dry the tofu, and crumble into a bowl like bread crumbs depending on how large or how small you would like it. I prefer to crumble it but not break it. Place olive oil in a medium size frying pan or wok on medium heat - let warm. Add the onions and garlic, stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add carrots, peppers, tomatoes, and stir for another 2-3 minutes. Add the tofu with your hands, dropping a handful in, and spreading around then stirring add more and stir until the bowl of tofu is empty. After all the tofu is in the pan add the paprika, turmeric, cumin, thyme, and water - stir in. Then add the nutritional yeast. The tofu will be a magical yellow color. Continue stirring every now and again for 8-10 minutes. Ready to serve, perhaps with multi-grain toast or some curly fries as seen here. I wish I had made the curly fries but I was a bit lazy and threw them in the oven (they were still delicious though). I love dipping my tofu into ketchup!
The winter leaves a rather dull sensation. My motivation to move is blackened by my desire to stay warm. This has by far been one of the worst winters in years. New York is covered in snow, barreled in corners, on sidewalks, and side streets. Piles of it line everything, and anything. I must say I often find some sort of pleasure in the first two snowfalls because there is beauty in the innocent way the flakes drop but after that it all loses its luster for me. I will be overjoyed to bid this winter adieu when the time comes. Being that I have been stuck inside on most days I have opened up my cookbooks and started stirring stews and baking bread.
I’ve always had a quiet passion for food but it wasn’t until a year or two ago that I began to read labels, pay attention to sodium intake (so many microwavable or heat in the oven meals carry so much that it is no wonder you are constantly asking yourself why you are bloated), and switched from white breads to whole wheat breads (cheating every now and again with trader joes rye bread which I think is marvelously delicious). I discovered the joy of soups when I briefly gave up carbohydrates for a rather big audition (which I may add turned into a televised disaster). I had told myself that weight shouldn’t be much of an issue when it comes to work but unfortunately it is. I have been turned down for weighing too much, or too little. Once I became a vegan I found my relationship with food became a bit healthier. I don’t mind nor feel guilty for indulging every once and while.
Most often I am asked how long I have been a vegan. My response is always the same - not very long, six months or so… but I began my adventure into vegetarianism when I was four. I love telling this story as it reminds me of how outspoken, and curious I was as a young child. After eating a hamburger I asked my mom where hamburgers came from and of course she told me to which I exclaimed “Oh mommy no!” You can imagine after learning that my body was consuming part of an animal I never did eat meat again.
I’ve always been struck by the idea of making a choice and following through on it. When I decided to become a Vegan many factors came into play. I’ve spent most of my life being sick, in and out of doctors offices and hospitals from the time I was born. I was born premature, and although I was only three pounds the nurses had to apply bandages to my knees after I decided to push myself along. Since then I’ve fought through health crisis, after health crisis. I was diagnosed with lupus when I was twenty-one after having symptoms from the time I was ten. For years I’d become accustom to being in pain, and even thought that was the norm for everyone. On top of that I also have raynauds disease, PCOS, and PMDD. It certainly isn’t a healthy regime of antidotes for a happy, and fulfilled life.
After experiencing immense, and intense pain for several nights I headed to the hospital where I was treated quite badly. What doctors, and nurses in the ER fail to understand about lupus is that I wouldn’t complain unless I felt there was something wrong. I constantly battle between levels of pain, what one may feel when they cut their finger is most likely less than what I feel internally on a daily basis. The only way I’ve ever been able to make sense of it to other people is to tell them that it feels as if someone is ripping my flesh and bones from the inside out and then compressing them. I was curled up in a hospital bed crying hysterically, trying to work in a comfortable position when I suddenly had a flash back of being sixteen in the same position. I had an ovarian cyst. I was sure this wouldn’t happen again even though I’d been to several doctors prior to this visit attesting to the fact that something was wrong with me. I even walked out on a doctor who patted his blackberry while I talked to him. The cyst popped slightly while I was getting a sonogram which I must mentioned happen as well when I was sixteen. This is by far one of the most unpleasant kind of pains to experience, and afterward with talk of having surgery to remove the rest of the cyst I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I had no idea how. I felt quite lost, and haunted by my inadequate medical care and the pain I had felt at the hospital. It wasn’t until I struck up a conversation with a lovely hair stylist at a photo shoot did an idea come to me - stop eating dairy. The hairstylist who I wish I had kept in contact with after this meeting handed me Detox for Women by Natalia Rose to read while she played with my hair. Although this book certainly isn’t strictly a book about veganism - in fact fish and dairy are featured I chose to pay attention to what she had to say about chronic disease and PCOS. It became even clearer to me that if I wanted to feel healthy I would have to give up some of those quiet comforts that I so often enjoyed but were possibly making me sicker. Since then I have found that I feel much healthier, and have more energy to live a happier existence. I would have never thought that being a vegan would bring me so much happiness but it truly has. I enjoy food more than I ever have, and in the process no longer feel guilt over eating dairy products that could be bringing animals pain or discomfort.
