Vegan MoFo: Play With Your Food

Taking Back the Plate: A Manifesto in Favor of Playing With Food

I come to you tonight, my friends, with a proposition: play with your food. There are a number of reasons why I urge you to play with your food, beyond the fact that it is really fun.

It seems as though any kind of conscientious eating — like being vegan or vegetarian, or eating locally — can seem like a heavy task. It’s easy to get caught up in what is or is not vegan/vegetarian/local/la la la, and eating becomes a drag. I know a few vegans whose relationship with food seems to be a perpetual struggle or their cross to bear — they bemoan everything they can’t eat, and their focus on what is not vegan usually plays out as them being really condescending towards others who are not as detail-oriented or who choose to eat differently. I say to you: is this enjoying your food?

Resolution: In the face of a society that spends as little time and money as possible on their food: take back your plate! rediscover the fun of eating! play with your food!

Ok, silly proclamations aside, here’s what’s up:
I’ve started trying to cultivate this playful method of interacting with my food. My experience with vegan cooking, at its best, has been all about this fun approach to food. It’s kind of like, “Wow, these beets are really pretty. How do I want to play with that?” Or something like, “Hmmm, I know I like avocado on toast, and I know I like nutritional yeast on toast. What if I did them both at the same time??!” I’d say the best thing to come out of my vegan kitchen was the advent of Yam Cornbread. More on that later…

Sadly, at its worst, it was all about not being able to make anything because I didn’t have the right ingredients, or hours of time, and oh my god what kind of sugar will not make me a bad vegan? Thinking about those times now, I feel like this: eating is nourishing. Eating should be an act of giving to your body, of taking time to make something and sit down and enjoy the act of eating. It should not be an act of penance or sacrifice or boredom. And yes, I have nights where I want the easiest thing possible. I’d argue on those nights it’s more fun to get some Amy’s Mac n Soy Cheeze, instead of laboring for something my heart isn’t really in.

Some of this is motivated by feeling weighed down by Vegan MoFo in the face of starting a new job. The truth is (don’t judge me!): I’m not vegan… I was, and I’m not anymore, but I see great merit in meals that leave out the meat and dairy. Most of my cookbooks are vegan for precisely that reason: so I can make a vegetable, and eat a vegetable, instead of a bunch of cheese with a tiny bit of crappy broccoli. But, you know, after a day of cramming lots of knowledge into every little place in my skull, the idea of coming home and trying to cook impressive vegan food seems daunting; coupling that with photographing and blogging definitely intimidates me.

And then I remember, wait, food is awesome. Food is totally fun. And hell yes I’m allowed to arrange it in pretty ways before I cook it — and make something easy (roasted vegetables), but make it work for me by eating it with a GIANT AVOCADO:

Are you getting how big this is? Now THAT is an avocado.

I guess in all of this I’m giving myself permission to have fun with the food preparation and eating process. I want to encourage you, too, towards that — especially a few days away from the end of Vegan MoFo and heading into Halloween and Thanksgiving (US)!

Go forth and play with your food. Now.

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Vegan MoFo Day 1: Tasty Vegan Tofu Sandwich

I tell you, lunch is a hard meal for me. I’m hungry, but lazy. I want something tasty but uncomplicated. What’s a girl to do?

Enter today’s tasty lunch creation: a (vegan) tofu avocado sandwich with miso-tahini dressing!

It’s got tofu! Avocado! Delicious spread! Totally filling, totally delicious, totally vegan.

“How can I make this tasty concoction?” you ask. Well. I will tell you. Here is my “recipe,” or at least how-to guide.

Start with the TOFU.
1. Get yerself some tofu. Firm or extra firm, so it’ll hold up to frying. (Silken or soft tofu is best left for smoothies and stuff.)
2. Slice the tofu into 1/2″ rectangles.
3. Mix together some (1/4 c?) soy sauce and some (1/4 c?) lemon juice. You could add minced or powdered garlic if you want. This is your marinade.
4. Let tofu marinate for, well, however long you want. I left it in for about 45 minutes and it got sufficiently tasty.
5. Coat the tofu in nutritional yeast*.
6. Fry the tofu over medium-ish heat in a hot pan with some canola or olive oil until golden brown. Flip. (Lather rinse) repeat.

While the tofu’s marinating, you can mix up your miso-tahini sauce. I got this recipe from Veganomicon, one of my favorite vegan cookbooks.

MISO-TAHINI SAUCE
1/4 c miso (I used white but I’ve used red and brown to fine results)
1/4 c tahini
Mix together with some warm water until desired consistency is reached. Note that this will thicken significantly after being refrigerated. I add olive oil and/or lemon juice to thin it down.
This sauce is good on everything: salads, sandwiches, greens, rice…

From there, put some miso-tahini sauce on your toasty bread (I like sourdough, which is also usually vegan), add some sliced avocado (I used a whole avocado because I LOVE it), and finally put in a tofu slice.

Eat! Nummers. You could also add sliced tomato (if it’s in season) and/or some lettuce for added vegetable points.

*Nutritional yeast is yellow/orange-ish flakey stuff you can get at a health food store. It has a cheesy flavor and is also really good for you. Not the same as yeast you use in bread. Bad mistake.

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