tofu cutlets

(tofu cutlets, spuds, peas and corn and nutritional yeast gravy)
tofu cutlets

the secret is to pre-freeze your tofu. i do this with ALL of my tofu, unless I’m going to use a blender for something or other like a pie filling. when you defrost the once frozen tofu (freeze for at least a week to get a GOOD result) it changes consistency. it becomes chewy, rather like um chicken (NOT the taste of course). i even break it apart and put it in my spaghetti sauce or on pizza or just about anything.

1 block thawed tofu, extra firm
½ c (give or take) bread crumbs of your choice
3 heaping tablespoons flour of your choice (whole wheat, unbleached white, potato, rice, whatever you use is just fine)
3 to 5 heaping tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
½ cup soy or rice milk
3 tablespoons soy mayo or soy sour cream (i use vegenaise by follow your heart. It is THE best non-egg mayo out there in my humble opinion)
seasonings (salt and pepper and cayenne is always nice) to taste
olive oil or whatever your choice is
fresh lemon

cut tofu into six equal pieces and squeeze out excess water. whisk milk and mayo or sour cream together until fairly smooth. (of course if you eat eggs you can use an egg instead). in a bag (i either use a small lunch-type brown bag or one of those plastic bags you appropriate from the produce section of your grocery store) mix the flour, bread crumbs, nutritional yeast flakes and seasonings. dip the tofu cutlets (or even better, soak them for a few minutes) in the milk mixture making sure all sides are coated. put them in the bag of crumbs and shake gently so they don’t break. fry in a bit of olive oil, turning over when the first side is browned. squeeze lemon juice over the still warm cutlets and serve with yeast gravy or soy mayo or in a sandwich or break apart and put in a salad.

microwave nutritional yeast gravy

1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 ¼ cups of water or plain rice or soy milk
4 tablespoons flour of your choice
1 giant handful (i guess it’s about ¼ cup or so) of yeast flakes
seasonings of your choice (you may not want to add salt if your bouillon cube is already salted). i like to use a good commercial curry powder in my gravy. i use about a teaspoon. you can pre-cook (sauté) some onions and/or mushrooms and add them to the gravy too.

put dry ingredients into a microwave safe bowl. slowly add the water or milk whisking well the whole time. if you want the mushrooms and/or onions now is the time to add them. microwave for 2 minutes on high. stir then put back in for 1 minute. stir and put in another moment or until the flour is cooked.

*note: today i tossed in the leftover milk/mayo/sour cream mixture, to the gravy. i did it when it only had one minute more to cook. i thought it might separate if i cooked it n from the start.