Category: tofu florentine

Tofu Benny

Posted by miss alix – 15 Nov ’10

After seeing two awesome bloggers post scrumptious photos of the Tofu Benny from Vegan Brunch I knew I had to make it. Not to mention I’m slightly obsessed with making tofu benedict.

I was super impressed with every detail of this recipe. It was all timed out so that you could serve it up without having to wait for one of the elements to be finished. It was particularly good for me at the moment as I am working on my mise en place in the kitchen

Mostly I was surprised at how much this sauce was like hollandaise made with real eggs. It had that stretchy elasticity of raw egg that is rare in a vegan dish. Honestly it was kind of freaky, but definitely cool.

tofu benny

I just happened to wake up particularly early this past Sunday and used the opportunity to marinate the tofu needed for the recipe so that it could all be prepared by the time everyone was awake.

I opted to use some thick toast instead of the home style potato option, mainly because I love toast. I also added in a bit of steamed spinach, just for fun. Spinach is fun, right?

tofu benny

The tofu was awesome, I was able to grill it up with breaking it or getting it stuck to the bottom of the pan (for once!). I had a nice light flavor that was complimented well by the hollandaise sauce and the hint of liquid smoke on the tomato.

I would say that this is probably the most authentic vegan tofu benedicts that I’ve had. I’d be interested to try it with some sort of vegan ham. I enjoyed the tomato, but perhaps would like to grill it up a bit. In fact, I think I’d just like to try a million different versions of vegan benedict and have it for brunch every weekend.

Vegan Road Trip: Part 4

Posted by miss alix – 25 Jan ’10

Austin, Texas

Possibly my favorite stop of our road trip was Austin, Texas. I had wanted to visit for the longest time, and insisted that we go there at some point on the journey. Amazingly we were able to celebrate New Years Eve dancing in the streets of this awesome city. The next day were were able to explore and visit some of the great vegan restaurants. We started 2010 with breakfast at Snackbar. The restaurant is located in the hip SoCo district and has a really great modern yet comfortable vibe. All the waiters and waitresses were wearing handmade aprons. I love it. They have a number of vegan dishes as well as gluten free options all marked on the menu.

As soon as I heard that this restaurant had vegan biscuits and gravy, it became the only place on my list that we absolutely had to go to. It turned out to have some even more impressive items on the menu, including vegan mini waffles and vegan tofu benedict on top of these tasty waffles. The biscuits were pretty decent, with a great tempeh gravy, but they looked ridiculous so it’s best you use your imagination. The waffles were great; fluffy and perfectly moist. The tofu florentine was quite good, lightly flavored and fresh. The place was pretty hectic as people crowded in to eat off their hangovers. I wish we had been able to come at another time because they were obviously under-staffed on the holiday, but I still enjoyed going there very much. Because of the craziness, we were offered a $10 gift card which could be yours! Just head on down to the end of this post.

We spent the day walking around town and exploring. The weather was gorgeous and I pretty much totally fell in love with the place. Everything was just awesome and had a bit more of creativity. Where in Los Angeles we have food trucks, Austin has airstreams. We stopped in The Ginger Man just to peek inside, and ended up staying for some drinks, pretzels and a mean game of balderdash, aka the best game ever. They had a huge selection of beers on tap and a super comfortable sitting area that makes you feel like you’re at home or in your father’s library. We ended up spending a better part of the afternoon hanging here.

When we finally sought out dinner, it was no contest. We headed to The Parlour to devour some vegan pizza. This bar has pizza available with follow your heart cheese and a handful of vegan meats as well as veggie toppings. They even have a vegan french bread pizza which was SO GOOD. Now, I might get myself in some hot water here, I know a lot of you are big fans of Daiya, but I am not. I am saddened every time I find that a restaurant that used to carry something I liked, has switched to daiya. Having this pizza was like a breath of fresh air. I honestly almost cried after eating it, I was that happy. Luckily, I just found a new place to fill this gaping hole in my vegan pizza heart that is quite a bit closer. Possibly my new favorite pizza spot is actually in town.

Ok ok I bet you were wondering when I was going to get to that gift card…right? Well there it is! Since I don’t live in Austin, and who knows when I’ll be back, I’m going to offer this lovely $10 gift card that I received to one of you lucky readers. All you have to do is comment! Oh, and you should actually be in Austin, or nearby. I’ll choose a winner on February 1st. So you have until then…Get to it!

And the winner is….Miranda! Congratulations!

Winner selected using random.org

Madeline's Bistro

Posted by miss alix – 26 Oct ’09

Perhaps one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in as a vegan (perhaps in my life even) was at Madeline’s Bistro. Though I’d heard about this little restaurant in Tarzana as being the only real gourmet vegan restaurants in the Los Angeles area, it took me ages to finally go there. Finally, one Saturday when Shawn and I had to make a trip out to the far reaches of the west valley, we made Madeline’s our breakfast destination. The thing that enticed me the most was the promise of vegan beignets. Beignets are a rare treat on their own, but I’d never even heard of a vegan version. I had to have them. Of course I was not disappointed. The beignets were crunchy on the outside but fluffy on the inside. Instead of being covered in the standard powdered sugar, they came with a fruit compote. They were amazing. I could write this whole post just about those beignets. I wish I wasn’t writing this right now because now I want to go eat them. Ok, moving on. We also got the donut which was equally as satisfying. Without a doubt the best vegan donut I’ve ever had, soft and fluffy and delicately sweet.

Shawn ordered the chicken and waffles. Luckily I got to sample some. The chicken was a breaded seitan that was to die for. Again, quite possibly the best seitan I’ve ever had in my life. It was perfectly seasoned and well matched with the potatoes and gravy. The Belgian waffles were thick and crunchy. They definitely had a healthier taste to them with a nutty, grainy flavor.

I ordered the porcini-crusted tofu benedict since I am obsessed with vegan benedict. This was a pure delicacy. The hollandaise was lightly flavored and the whole thing was perfectly seasoned. It was an amazing combination of vegetables and tofu with just enough sauce to compliment the dish without overwhelming it. In other words, it was amazing.

I really was so impressed with everything that we had. If you’re going to try Madeline’s, you must go for brunch. It’s honestly not that far from where we live, but just far enough that we pretty much only go for special occasions, which is perfect.

Vegan Benedict – AGAIN!

Posted by miss alix – 3 Feb ’09


I just can’t help it, vegan benedict (tofu florentine, whatever you like to call it) is just one of my favorite breakfasts. It is in fact one of my favorite prepared meals altogether. If there is a vegan restaurant that serves this dish for breakfast I always order it, even if there are other delicious breakfast options. It’s just that good. Obviously, one cannot just go out to breakfast all the time, especially for such a basic dish. I’ve tried a couple different versions in the past but this is by far the closest to the real thing, not to mention it was super easy.

This attempt came out really well. Satisfying and yummy all at once. The cayenne gives it a bit of a kick and all the flavors compliment each other wonderfully. I suppose that is the nature of the dish. Definitely a perfect way to start the morning. I ended up having a bit of hollandaise leftover and just mixed it with some tofu to make a tofu salad sandwich, which was also excellent.

I really love how this recipe came out but I think I’ll continue to experiment.

Vegan Benedict

sourdough english muffins
spinach
tofu
tomato (I used roma), sliced
olive oil
hot sauce
garlic minced
onion powder
salt
pepper
vegan hollandaise (recipe follows)

To prepare the tofu, slice into 1/2 inch slabs. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into a pan and warm over medium heat. Add minced garlic and let brown a bit before adding the tofu slabs. Sprinkle the onion powder, salt and pepper onto the tofu to taste. Pour a bit of the hot sauce on the tofu as well. Let cook for about 5 minutes or until slightly browned and flip carefully onto other side. Again season the other side of the tofu with a bit of hot sauce and let cook until brown. Flip one last time and lower heat. Add the spinach, a large bunch, into the pan and stir until softened.

Vegan Hollandaise

1/2 cup vegenaise
2 tsp dijon mustard
lemon juice from 1 small lemon
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
approx 1/4 tsp turmeric (for color)

Mix all the ingredients until combined.

Toast the english muffins and spread with a bit of Earth Balance. Lay a slab of the tofu on top, then a slice of tomato, then spinach and top with the hollandaise.

Enjoy!

tofu florentine (and pretzels)

Posted by miss alix – 6 Aug ’08

I don’t know what my preoccupation with making a vegan tofu florentine/benedict is. Maybe it’s because it was one of my favorite breakfast treats when I was growing up (that and french toast, but I’ve got that covered). I’ve been to a few restaurants that have really good vegan versions but I want to make my own! This one in particular is from Veganomicon. It was definitely good but I’m gonna keep trying. The cheesy sauce is really yummy but not quite hollandaise. 

To test out the new oven I made pretzels. They were a lot of fun, even with the two hours waiting for the yeast to rise. Going to make them a little bigger next time, as the fluffier ones were the best. They were so little and cute though. Oh and the leftover cheesy sauce from the tofu florentine was a delicious topping .
Also made brownies last night (yeah can you tell I’m ecstatic about the oven).  Good thing was they were fluffy and not oily, which is a problem I’ve run into with a lot of vegan brownie recipes. On the other hand, I would have liked them to be a bit more chocolately and cakey. 

Breakfast of champions

Posted by miss alix – 26 Jan ’08

Although I’m partial to making desserts, my other specialty is breakfast. This is the a sort of benedict-like tofu dish, but mostly just in looks. English muffins topped with seasoned, grilled tofu and tomatoes. Instead of hollandaise sauce, they’re covered in a creamy polenta cooked with onions and lots of garlic. I’m still going to have to experiment with some vegan hollandaise recipes but this was delicious in a whole different way. I got the Veganomicon for Christmas and I can’t wait to break into it.