silken tofu summer breakfast bowl

This is the most heavenly breakfast on a baking hot summer’s morning, particularly if you’ve just been a for a run or walk and need both protein and to cool down!

Silken tofu is the secret ingredient here, which results in a delicious and protein-rich alternative to yoghurt. You can load up your bowl with seasonal fruits and granola/muesli/seeds as you like. I tend to do a combination of both, as you can see.

The strawberries and blueberries are all homegrown, by the way!

Silken tofu summer breakfast bowls

Serves 2

1 x 300g pack of silken tofu (I tend to use Woolworths Macro brand)
150g frozen bananas
150g other frozen fruit (I most often use mango, blueberries and strawberries, but sometimes I’ve used apricots, pineapple and cherries. Alternatively just use 300g frozen bananas + handful of fresh fruit )
A handful of fresh fruit - optional - I usually put in a handful of fresh blueberries or strawberries from the garden that are fine to eat but a little wart-like in appearance
20g peanut or almond butter
Fresh seasonal fruit, to serve
Muesli, granola or nut/seed mix, to serve

It couldn’t be simpler - but you will need a powerful blender for this recipe, something that can basically crush ice. I’ve not tried it in my food processor but I can imagine it would produce similar results, you might just have to pause and scrape down the sides. My blender came with a special prodding stick, so you can “stir” the mixture as it blends, if anything gets stuck (and it usually does).

Open and carefully drain the excess liquid away from your silken tofu. Don’t worry if there’s still a little bit. Once you’ve done this you can either invert it on to a plate, or leave it in the container (which is what I do!), and use a small sharp knife to cut the tofu into rough cubes.

Place the silken tofu cubes in the blender first, and then add the rest of the ingredients. Adding the tofu first really helps the mixture blend better, as it turns to liquid that then draws all the other ingredients in!

If you have a digital scale, it’s even easier. I just place the empty blender jug on the scale, add the silken tofu, then reset the scale to zero and add the rest of the ingredients.

A note on the fruit: use whatever you’ve got and enjoy the combination of. It’s important that at least half the mixture is frozen fruit, as the more frozen fruit you use the thicker it will be (and I like it thick so I mostly use all frozen fruit with a bit of fresh as an extra). I only tend to buy frozen fruit when it’s on special, as it’s quite expensive these days. When bananas are in season and cheap, I buy several kilograms and freeze them. That way, I always have some frozen fruit on hand for a smoothie or for this breakfast bowl.

Place the lid on and blend until the ingredients become a thick smooth mixture, a bit like soft ice cream. If you have a prodding stick, like me, you can keep the blender running and prod the pesky bits from the sides (but be careful!). Otherwise, pause and scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. If it’s not blending, stop, and rearrange the ingredients, maybe add a touch of water or soy milk. As mentioned, adding the tofu first seems to avoid this.

Stop once everything is well combined and there are no remaining chunks of unblended frozen fruit. Keep an eye on it because if you like it thick, you’ll want to stop once everything is blended - the longer you blend, it will lose its thickness.

Once ready, pour (with the assistance of a spoon/spatula) into two waiting bowls (which you could also have chilling in the freezer, if it’s a particularly hot day).

Scatter the top with fresh seasonal fruit and muesli/granola/nuts/seeds. Eat!

Best enjoyed sitting in your garden in the sun, soaking up the delicious headiness of summer. Memories of winter porridge will feel very distant indeed.

And I promise you, you can’t taste the tofu!

tofu (or tempeh) banh mi

Fast, fresh, flavourful, nutritious, delicious AND vegan - how can a sandwich be all these things at once?

One of my favourite places to grab lunch in town is the Banh Mi Grill - they do their vegan one with mushrooms and it’s pretty fabulous. I decided to make it myself at home with tempeh - as Tommy, bless him, isn’t the biggest fan of mushrooms - and it was so good, and fast to put together. I’ve since made this sandwich several times, with both tofu and tempeh and they are equally delicious.

The combination of fresh baguette, a plant-based pate or cream cheese, tangy pickled vegetables, warm grilled tofu or tempeh, saltiness from soy sauce, freshness of mint and coriander and the bite of chilli make this an absolute flavour sensation. I think it’s the perfect WFH lunch.

Tofu (or tempeh) banh mi

For 2 people

1 x regular sized baguette (Hobartians, I like Imago’s wholemeal sourdough one), cut in half and then lengthways
150g firm tofu or tempeh, cut into four equal pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or black vinegar, that you dip dumplings in)
A squeeze of lime juice
A pinch of chilli flakes
Plant-based pate or cream cheese (I have used Lauds’ cashew cream cheese and aged cashew cheese and they are both sensational on this - the aged cheese is probably more pate-like)
Fresh mint and coriander, as much as you like, shredded or chopped roughly
A handful of salad leaves or lettuce - today I used baby spinach and celery leaves out of my garden - shredded
Pickled vegetables such as carrot, cucumber and chilli (see note below)
Fresh chilli, if liked
Sriracha sauce, if liked

Prepare your baguette - if it’s a day or two old, you might prefer to toast it first.

You can marinate the tofu or tempeh slices ahead of time if you wish, it would certainly add to the flavour. But if you don’t have time, it’s fine. Just place the slices in a Tupperware container, then add the soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice and chilli flakes. Feel free to add any other flavourings you want, like minced garlic and ginger. Place the lid securely on top, turn gently a few times to get the tofu/tempeh coated in the marinade and then set aside.

Heat a small non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and once hot, using tongs, place the slices of tofu or tempeh in the pan. Sear on both sides. It will take 2-3 minutes each side.

Spread each of the baguette halves with the pate or cream cheese - you can also just use mayonnaise if that’s all you’ve got in. At this point I would add some kind of chilli condiment as well! Then place your fresh herbs, salad leaves/shredded greens and pickled vegetables on top of the baguette halves, bearing in mind that you will have to eat this with your hands and over-filling it, while tempting, might lead to a big mess later! Distribute everything evenly :)

With the pickled vegetables - I have a giant jar of pickling liquid in my fridge which has flavourings such as star anise, pepper, chilli, coriander seed and the base is rice wine vinegar, so it’s perfect for making pickled vegetables that go with this dish. Sometimes I have the vegetables ready to go from the fridge. Other times, I just get out the jar of liquid, peel strips off a fresh carrot and thinly slice a cucumber, and then put the vegetables into the liquid for 10 minutes while the tofu cooks. Then take them out with tongs or a clean fork and distribute to your liking over the baguette halves. Alternatively, you can just put freshly grated carrot and sliced cucumber on your baguette and skip this pickling palaver all together! But it’s fun, I promise! And you feel like a bit of a kitchen genius whipping out your fridge pickles at times like this.

Once the tofu/tempeh slices are ready, turn up the heat to high and pour the soy/vinegar marinade into the hot pan. It will sizzle and evaporate almost immediately, but give your tofu slices a bit of extra flavour and moisture. Plus, no waste! Alternatively, you can save the marinade in a jar for a stir-fry or something else later.

Using tongs, place the tofu/tempeh slices evenly on each baguette.

Add slices of fresh chilli and a drizzle of sriracha, if liked.

Press the halves together and eat straight away - not wearing your favourite top, and with napkins close by!

tofu, broccoli, cashew and macadamia stir-fry

In an effort to demonstrate my diet is much more than soup and baked goods - though my most recent recipe posts on here would suggest otherwise - I’m sharing this amazing stir-fry that has found its way into my repertoire of late.

While London of course did have Chinatown, one thing I love about being back in Australia is the array of wonderful Asian ingredients you can get just in the local supermarket. Shao xing, for example - or Chinese cooking wine - I was never without it when I lived in Melbourne, and yet it proved elusive while I lived in London (and when I did find it, it was a lot of money!). I got a bottle for something ridiculous like $3 on my last trip to Woolworths. Not to mention the noodles! The sauces! The varieties of tofu and tempeh! Admittedly, Australia has a way to go when it comes to the availability of other vegetarian foods (I so miss Alpro single cream) but when it comes to the proliferation of delicious Asian ingredients, I can’t complain!

I had also forgotten the delight of macadamia nuts. I buy a mix from Woolworths of unsalted cashews and macadamias, which is what I use in this stir-fry. You can use any nuts you like. Always good to have nuts and tofu in a vegetarian stir-fry for extra protein!

My favourite tofu so far has to be Coles own brand Hard Tofu. It’s made in Australia, so bloody cheap and easy to cook with! It’s my tofu of choice for this stir-fry but you can of course use your favourite.

Or, if you’re my parents, use chicken. Amused face.

Tofu, broccoli, cashew and macadamia stir-fry

Makes 3 large serves

4 dried noodle nests
Rice bran oil, for frying
1 x 300g pack hard tofu, cut into cubes
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large red chilli, finely chopped
1 large head broccoli, chopped, including the stalk
3 stalks silverbeet, chopped
1/2 cup cashew and macadamia nuts (or however much you want)
Splash of shao xing (Chinese cooking wine), or cooking sherry, or vegetable stock
Vegetarian oyster sauce (made with mushrooms - although apparently oysters are vegan, that’s a post for another day)
Sesame seeds, to serve (optional)

Boil the kettle. Put your dried noodle nests in a heatproof bowl and when the kettle is ready, cover the noodle nests with boiling water. Set aside while you do the rest.

Place a generous splash of rice bran oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat. Add the tofu. Cook the tofu for a few minutes, stirring/turning occasionally until it is light brown on both sides. If you want it crispier, cook it until it is golden brown all over.

Then add the onion, garlic, chilli and broccoli/silverbeet stalks (reserve the florets and leaves until last). Cook, stirring constantly, for a few minutes until soft. Add a splash of shao xing to get all the yummy flavours talking to each other. Add the nuts, continuing to stir. You can put a lid on at this point to get the stalks of the vegetables cooked a bit more, I find it speeds things up. Otherwise keep stirring and cooking until the stalks are tender.

Add the broccoli florets, silverbeet leaves, another splash of shao xing (or soy sauce, or vegetable stock if you’d prefer) and the oyster suace (as much as you like). Stir everything to combine. Keep stirring as the broccoli cooks, or alternatively you can put a lid on the pan and leave it to cook on its own (purists will tell me technically this then makes this dish not a stir-fry, but hey!).

At this point, drain the noodles and then add to the pan.

Toss it all together until thoroughly combined. Add some more oyster sauce if you like (or any other asian sauce you might have lying around that you want to use - I have a chilli soybean one that’s very good). Toss again until everything is mixed together and piping hot.

Spoon into giant noodle bowls, sprinkle with sesame seeds, maybe add a bit more chilli if you like it hot (like I do) and then tuck in. I do enjoy the frisson of greedy pleasure that a delicious noodle dish inspires - you just want to keep shovelling it in! (or is that just me?)

I don’t know what it is but the combination of spongy tofu, crunchy nuts, wholesome broccoli, slippery noodles and spicy chilli is an absolute winner. Serves 2 for dinner and leftovers for one lucky person the next day. Be prepared to fight over who gets it!