[Food + Drink Wednesdays] Vegan Meal #1

So in this slow-going transition to veganism, I've been playing with a few new recipes. This one in particular has been successful. It is fried tofu, over a roast vegetable salad and a bed of greens. YUM. And surprisingly satisfying for my non-veg friends from what I've been told.

First part - the roast veg salad and dressing:

1. Peel and cube up whatever root veggies you like. I love sweet potatoes, yams, and beets. Place on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 425 until soft.

2. For the dressing, throw in some Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil as well as some parsley and thyme. Just play with the flavors until you like what you get. Once I made this dressing and it was waaaayyyy to vinegar-y, so be light with your ratios!

3. Take out the veggies, let cool for a bit, and toss with the dressing. Best served room temp.

Second part - bed of greens:

1. I love mixed spring greens or spinach. I also tossed in some cubed avocado and tomatos. Dress simply with either lemon/balsamic and olive oil.

Third part - the fried tofu:

1. Drain and pat dry firm tofu. Cut into slices.

2. "Marinate" with salt, pepper, olive oil and then whatever spices you like. I used turmeric, seasoning salt, lemon pepper, and cayenne. Tofu has no flavor so be really, really, really generous with your seasoning. Like make sure there is almost a crust around the tofu of spices.

3. put about 2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. heat up at to medium high. Place tofu in and fry until golden brown (usually takes about a minute). Flip and repeat. You may also want to sprinkle MORE spices/seasoning over the side.

Assembly:

1. clean plate.

2. bed of greens.

3. roast veg.

4. fried tofu.

5. Squeeze some lemon - voila!