One of my absolute favorite nooch recipes is Isa and Terry's recipe in "Veganomicon" for Cheesy Sauce. Not only is this amazing drizzled on EVERYTHING, but it works perfectly for a late morning benny. This "ultimate vegan cookbook" also features a Tofu Florentine, a sudo benny that calls for sauted spinach and broiled tofu. This is a great dish that I've found really pleases both omnivores and carnivores alike, however, I've found that using fresh spinach, a big ole' slice of tomato, and blacked tofu instead of broiled really hits home when those benny cravings come crashing in.
I made this a couple of days of ago for the "christmas breakfast" with my boyfriend's family and they loved it (all being very far from veg)! The best part is that it is a snap to make, and really only takes about 20 minutes if you've got a pair of hands helping you ... and did I mention its delicious! All of us (yes, all) went in for seconds and were scraping our plates!! Next time your aiming to please with a breakfast benny give this one a go!!
Cheezy Sauce
-2 cups vegetable broth or water
-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1 tbsp. olive oil
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-Pinch of dried thyme
-1/4 tsp salt
-pepper to taste
-1/8 tsp. turmeric (i've many a time omitted this due to its non-existence in my cupboard and its completely not necessary, however, it does add a beautiful "cheesy" color to the mix when added!)
-3/4 cup nutritional yeast
-1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
-1 tsp. prepared mustard (i also omit this ... i don't know why ... its just never appealed to me)
Combine the broth and flour in a measuring cup and whisk with a fork until dissolved.
Preheat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Place the oil and garlic in the pan and gently cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often and being careful not to burn the garlic (a very easy thing to do!).
Add the thyme, salt, and pepper and cook for about 15 seconds. Add the broth, termeric, and nutrional yeast, and raise the heat to medium. Use a whisk to stir consistently. The mixture should start bubbling and thickening in about 3 minutes; if it doesn't, turn the heat up a bit higher.
Once the mixture in bubbling and thickening, stir and cook for about 2 more minutes. Add the lemon and mustard. The mixture should resemble a thick melty cheese. Taste for salt. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep it warm until ready to use. The top might thicken a bit while it sits, but you can just stir it and it will be fine - serve warm.
All right, so that's the recipe from the ultimate book.
and like I said, instead of using broiled tofu, I used blackened tofu - check this out
Blackened Tofu
-1 lb extra firm tofu, pressed
-1/2 cup earth balance melted
-1/4 cup flour
-1 1/2 tsp creole seasoning*
-1 tsp pepper
Cut the pressed tofu into long rectangular strips or triangles (cut the tofu block into four sections from bottom - up)
Mix the four and spices together in a large enough bowl to fit a tofu piece
Dip the tofu pieces into the earth balance on both sides, then repeat into the flour/spice mixture
Place the dipped floured tofu pieces on a heated skillet on high and cook for about 5 minutes on each side (until they become nice and "blackened")
*I've never used creole seasoning before, but on this particular morning found it in the cupboard. Turns out, its perfect with this combo! You don't need too much of anything else since it is booming with flavor, but if you don't have any on hand, use any type of seasoning/spice combo of your choice
Now, for a Banging Benny ...
Toast an english muffin (be careful, lots of brands contain milk ingredients)
Butter with earth balance
Layer with a nice bed of fresh spinach
Place a big round fresh tomato slice atop the spinach
Add a piece of blackened tofu to the tower
Shower with cheesy sauce!
I made this for 7 people and by doubling both recipes, it was enough for seconds, sating all appetites.
Enjoy!!!
