Red Bell Pepper Tofu

This was an experiment that occurred when I was cutting up a red pepper and it was really juicy. I thought "You know what would be good? Red pepper sauce with my tofu." So this recipe was born.

Ingredients

• 6 ounces medium or firm tofu
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• olive oil for frying
• rice vermicelli

Ingredients for the sauce

• The other half of the red bell pepper (kept whole)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons ketchup

Directions

1. Put a pot of water on to boil (for the rice noodles). Cook as directed on the package.
2. Heat up a pan on high with about half an inch of oil on the bottom.
3. Drain the tofu and cut it into cubes
4. Once the oil is hot, fry the tofu until golden brown (2 to 4 minutes on each side). Let drain on a paper towel.
5. Pour the oil into a jar and set aside.
6. Saute the bell pepper, onion, and garlic in the same pan. Set aside.
7. In a small pot, boil the other half of the bell pepper. 
8. Once boiling, add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir until incorporated.
9. Turn the heat back on under the bell peppers and onions. Add the tofu to heat it up (it'll most likely be cold).
10. Once hot, add half of the sauce to the pan.
11. Pour the other half of the sauce onto the vermicelli.
12. Serve with the tofu/veggies on top of the noodles.
13. Enjoy.

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Veganized New Joe's Special (Tofu, Mushrooms, Spinach)

Have you guys ever heard of New Joe's Special? It comes from a restaurant in California called Joe's.  Joe's became New Joe's after it burned down. The special at New Joe's was a dish with lots of spinach and ground beef and egg. My mom figured out the recipe, and made it all the time. I grew up eating it. But ever since I've gone vegan I've craved it. Not in the OH I NEED MEAT kind of way but in the "this is a comforting food from my childhood" kind of way. So I decided to veganize it. Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces tofu
• 6 cups of baby spinach
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 2 cups water
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Mix the flax seed and 6 tablespoons water in a bowl. Put in the fridge to gel.
2. Drain the tofu by putting it between two paper towels and pressing out the water. 
3. Chop the tofu into cubes. 
4. Fry the tofu in the oil in a large pan on high heat.
5. Once it has browned, add the mushrooms and garlic.
6. Stir until brown. 
7. Add spinach and stir.
8. Take the bowl of flax seed water out of the fridge and add the nutritional yeast. Stir in the rest of the water slowly until the nutritional yeast/flax is dissolved. 
9. Move the spinach/tofu/mushrooms mixture to one side of the pan and add the nutritional yeast to the other side.
10. Slowly incorporate the two sides of the pan. 
11. Stir until the nutritional yeast is no longer sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper and serve!

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