tofu scramble

a southwestern flavored tofu scramble, one of my fave breakfast items that can be whipped up fairly quickly.

This recipe makes 4 large servings.

ingredients
1 carrot, finely diced
1 red or yellow bell pepper or if you can find a gypsy pepper, finely diced
cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos, seeded, chopped
1 stalk celery, finely diced
few shitake or other kind of mushroom, finely diced

2 tbsp olive oil

spice mix
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper or more to taste

1 pound firm tofu drained, pressed and then crumbled (DO NOT AVOID draining and pressing)

finishing
4 green onions, chopped
3 tbsp lemon juice (or more to taste)
chopped cilantro

In a hot skillet, add all your spices and vegetables (except green onions and cilantro!) and sautee over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add crumbled tofu and stir well and sautee for 4 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from heat, add cilantro, lemon and green onions and serve hot. Goes great with hash brown potatos (recipe for that to be posted soon)


Note: how to drain and press tofu.
Tofu comes packed in water and for most recipes, you want to remove the water from the tofu itself. Quite easy! Simply place the block of tofu on a towel or cut it in rectangles to create more service area. Place another towel on top of the tofu and place a cutting board on top of the towel. Now place a heavy object on the cutting board to press the tofu down, removing the water. If you skip this step, you will have a watery dish and most packaged tofu is somewhat rancid so you will be adding sour water to your dish which is not exactly a tasty idea.