Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter! Would You Like Some Green "Eggs" from Sam?

Happy Easter and happy spring! I thought I would make myself a little brunch today. I had some left over pierogi filling from last night, so I thought something egg-like with potatoes would be nice. Of course vegans do not eat eggs, but we make awesome things with tofu. Tofu scrambles are a great breakfast staple, but I wanted something a little fancier for Easter.

I found a recipe for Tofu Quiche with Spinach and Broccoli on VegWeb, and thought it would be tasty.  Instead of making a crust, I used my pierogi filling as a base and made little mini quiches. You can use just plain mashed potatoes or even instant too.

So creamy!
I used hemp milk in this recipe because it is my favorite non-dairy milk. It's creamier and a little sweeter than soy milk. I haven't been able to find it in Hilo, but to my delight I saw some in the health food store yesterday. You can use whatever milk you prefer.

I also decided to puree my tofu filling to make it all green in honor of my favorite childhood book, Green Eggs and Ham. Purees are a good way to get more vegetables into your meals, especially for picky little kids.




 
Green Mini Quiches
1 cup prepared pierogi filling or mashed potatoes
1 tub of extra firm tofu, drained
1/2 cub hemp milk
1/4 cup spinach, frozen or fresh
1 cup broccoli
1 clove garlic
1/4 of an onion
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbs turmeric
pinch of salt







Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. 

I saved my stems for a stir-fry later this week.
Chop the broccoli into smaller pieces. They are going into a blender so don't worry about size too much. Make sure to save the stem, it's really the best part. Just peel off the outer tough layer. The inside is sweet and tender.






If you use fresh spinach, just tear it up a little first. If you use frozen, thaw it first.

Chop the onion and garlic a little too.

So easy, no hard chopping or mixing.


Drain your tofu and place into a blender or food processor. Add the broccoli, spinach, onion, and garlic. Pour in the hemp milk. Blend until smooth.













Lovely green color


 Next add the nutritional yeast, turmeric, and salt. Turmeric turns whatever you cook bright yellow so it's normally used in tofu scrambles to make it look like eggs. But the pureed spinach and broccoli overpower the color, so the turmeric is more for flavor and it's amazing health benefits.

Make sure the bases are even so the filling doesn't leak.







Now spray a muffin or cupcake tin well with cooking spray. Evenly line the bottom of each cup with your potato mixture.


Fill to the top.





Pour the tofu filling on top of each potato base. Tofu does not rise like eggs, so don't be shy about filling to the top.

They smell so good.








Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until the quiches no longer jiggle in the middle.

Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving. I have to confess they can be hard to remove so just be careful.


I topped mine with fresh tomatoes and a little vegan sour cream. It went nicely with a cup a green tea.
All the taste of eggs, and no cholesterol and loads of fiber.

Even as a vegan, I am Sam, Sam I am!

No comments:

Post a Comment