Comments on: Dinner With My Family #15: Egg (or Tofu) Scramble and Burritos

By: the other Tammy

the other Tammy — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:02:46 +0000

I’ve gotta agree, that second picture doesn’t look so good to me…

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:59:57 +0000

All that water is probably from dumping all the veggies in at once, esp the mushrooms. They have lots of water in them. The tofu really isn’t all that watery, esp if you give it a good press first. I would saute each veggie separately, to get them carmelized without all that water, then lightly add the tofu and spices at the end.

By: nancy

nancy — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:56:13 +0000

Can you give us an update on what it has been like eating vegan? I am 54 years old and gradually shifting my eating habit. Do you have more energy?
Thanks!

Enjoy your site- I have been living frugally for 30 years & have been able to travel extensively, no mortgage on home, cars paid in cash, helped kids with college -so no student loans, etc. It can be done but like YOU STATE…every choice you make can daily will get you there!

By: Yankeegal

Yankeegal — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 13:36:35 +0000

The water is from the tofu-if you drain it and press it(I do mine in a colander with a heavy bowl on top) before cooking it will alleviate the watery issue. Also another ingredient you could use in a tofu scramble is nutrional yeast-I use the type fortified with B12. Gives it a “cheesy” taste.

By: Malva

Malva — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 13:25:10 +0000

If you haven’t tried it yet, freeze and thaw the tofu before pressing and using it. It changes the texture and i find it’s way better that way for scrambled tofu.

Also, try using black salt in place of salt when seasoning things where you’d expect an eggy taste. Black salt can be find in Indian grocery stores and it’s actually pink, not black. It smells strongly of sulfur, so perfect reminder of eggs.

By: Riki

Riki — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 13:01:35 +0000

I’m sure it tastes good, but it doesn’t look very appetizing. What’s with all that water in the pan?

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 05:03:42 +0000

That second picture…I’m sorry, but…good lord.

@ Amanda: No, but tofu is.

By: lurker carl

lurker carl — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 03:45:13 +0000

This is a southwestern omelet wrapped in a tortilla (or not) without the cheddar cheese. You can make it fresh in less time than it takes to cook it ahead of time, freeze it and thaw/reheat it. And it tastes best cooked the first time.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 03:25:38 +0000

The point of cooking scrambled tofu with turmeric (I always thought, anyway) was to color the tofu yellow and make it look more like eggs. Pasty-looking tofu swimming in a sea of yellow liquid is not the intended result. Plus, cooking tofu in lots of liquid makes it turn to mush.

I’d cook the tofu with the turmeric in one pan, the vegetables in another pan, then mix them together. And I’d add the tomatoes (and any other watery vegetables) right at the end, cooking them only briefly or not at all.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 02:25:38 +0000

Eggs are not vegan.

I love carmelized onions and I believe they are cooked at the smoking point.

By: Priswell

Priswell — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:46:42 +0000

If you must bring an oil to rather high heat, use peanut oil. Peanut oil has a higher flash point than most other cooking oils, and it will not be necessary to “get the oil to smoke”. . .just bring it to proper temperature and it will be hot without the smoke.

By: SwingCheese

SwingCheese — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:46:24 +0000

I agree. Garlic turns bitter very easily if you’re using high heat. That being said, when my husband learned how to pan sear scallops, he was taught to heat the oil to the smoking point. And the scallops are delicious! So it is appropriate to heat oil to the smoking point for some things.

By: Sonja

Sonja — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:41:17 +0000

This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it. Thank you.

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 21:12:57 +0000

My DH used to make one dish that he thought needed smoking hot oil, until he ruined my favorite pot AND melted a nonmetal cooking spoon in it! If you’re going to cook at that heat level, be sure to use a metal, cast iron, or enamelled pan, and nothing with a nonstick surface.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:45:26 +0000

I’d never heard of heating oil until it begins to smoke until I read this post. I googled it and it seems pretty common but smoking oil ruins the flavour and slow cooking onions and garlic on a lower heat, as valleycat1 states above, makes everything taste much much better.

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:35:23 +0000

If you cook the garlic & onion at a lower heat, they’ll taste better. then you can crank up the heat (although I wouldn’t ever heat oil to its smoking point – on purpose, anyway). And if you’re going to add the other cut up veggies together, then you can store them together if you cut them up the night before.