I love to cook. I am what you might call an improvisational cook, as I rarely use planned menus and recipes, unless I am cooking for a dinner party. I cook based upon ingredients I have at hand, and I make everything up as I go along. I have been posting my various creations on Facebook for a while, mostly to answer the “but what do you eat?” question. I don’t believe in proselytizing a vegan diet; I post only for those of my friends who are genuinely interested in how to manage a healthy, nutritionally-balanced vegan diet. My friends keep asking me to provide recipes; the problem is that I rarely ever measure ingredients, but simply add them as I go along. I’ve been cooking long enough to have a feel for what will work, to eyeball quantities, and so forth. There are several vegan food blogs out there with various degrees of sophistication. My blog is multi-functional; it’s a reflection of my various interests with no one particular focus. I am very disciplined in most aspects of my life; this blog is an avenue that allows me to be unstructured. In response to my friends’ requests, I will sometimes post dishes I’ve created. No fancy photographs will be provided; in fact, the item in this blog is photographed in a very well-used glass baking dish with the ground-in stains that are the sign of frequent use.
I made this dish last night. Most of the vegetables I cook with are seasonal, as I like to buy from the local farmers’ market as much as possible. I used an 20×20 (that is 8×8 in inches) glass baking dish, so the amounts I used were sufficient to fit this dish. Again, I don’t tend to measure my ingredients; perhaps I should start doing this if I plan on posting the recipes.
This dish combines the following ingredients:
- Cauliflower
- Cremini mushrooms (any type will work)
- Cherry tomatoes
- Brussels sprouts
- Extra-firm tofu
- Daiya vegan cheese. I had Pepperjack on hand last night
Process
- Cut cauliflower into florets. I prefer to cut Brussels sprouts in half, as they cook more thoroughly. Steam the two sets of vegetables.
- Saute the diced extra-firm tofu and mushrooms.
- Remove the tofu and mushroom mixture and saute the cherry tomatoes in the same pan (saves cleaning time). I like to half the tomatoes. Regular tomatoes can work, although cherry tomatoes retain their shape better and have fewer seeds. It’s important to saute the tomatoes separately, as otherwise the tofu and mushrooms will get mushy.
- Place all ingredients in the baking dish and season to taste. I used thyme and salt, as I like this herb with cauliflower, but rosemary would work, too. Mix well.
- Sprinkle with the shredded Daiya vegan cheese.
- Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes.
- I served this on steamed rice.
Vegan Footprints 