Tofu scrambles are my favorite easy breakfast – filling, easy, fast, and there is simply no end to ingredients you can add. Today I woke up late (thanks hangover!) and just waited until lunch time to eat. I really wanted a tofu scramble, but I didn’t want something so… breakfasty. So I added a random combination of spices and vegetables, and the result was amazing.

Sarah Kramer’s method of making a tofu scramble, from her cookbook La Dolce Vegan, is to saute the veggies in olive oil while mixing the crumbled tofu, spices, mustard, etc., in a bowl, then adding to the frying pan. I like this a lot better than my previous method of just tossing everything together in the pan. By mixing the ingredients together prior to cooking, you can make sure the tofu is coated with the flavors.

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Tofu Scramble Hodgepodge (serves 1)

1/2 block firm tofu
1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
Small handful shredded carrot
1/4 small red onion, diced
1/2 red or green bell pepper, or both, diced
Handful baby spinach, torn into small pieces
A chunk of Gimme Lean vegan sausage, rolled into small crumbles
1/2 TBS Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 TBS nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cumin
Sprinkle chili powder (or cayenne powder)
3 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 clove minced garlic
1 1/2 TBS stone-ground mustard (you can also use Dijon)
Your favorite chunky salsa

Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat, and add the shredded carrots. Do this before you prepare the other vegetables, since they take longer to cook. They’re not suppose to be soft, but you want to make sure they cook.

Add the chopped red onion, bell peppers, spinach, sausage, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes and saute for a few minutes, until onions start to turn translucent.

While the vegetables are cooking, crumble the tofu into a bowl. Add the Bragg’s, mustard, turmeric, nutritional yeast, curry, cumin, and chili powder. Mix together until tofu is coated, and then add to the frying pan.

Cook until tofu browns, which will probably only take a few minutes. Remove from heat, top with a dallop of chunky salsa, and serve.

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I was really pleased with the outcome. First, curry and sausage is my new love. The flavors go so well together! I can’t believe I never thought to add the two until now. I also liked the additional of a few sun-dried tomatoes, although it’s important not to add too many so they don’t become over-powering.

Onto other stuff – apparently I can bake now! I always tell people I’m horrible at baking unless I have someone helping me, but last week I baked the jelly donut cupcakes from Veganomicon, and they turned out great! And a tip for all you bakers – if you find yourself without muffin cups or veg shortening, all you’ve got to do is grease the pan with a mixture of flour and oil. Only a few of the muffins stuck to the pan and it wasn’t so bad we couldn’t eat them.