spinach and onion scramble with home fries

I love a good tofu scramble, and this was... soooo-oh-oh-oh-oh good. At least I thought so. Matt wasn't in tip-top shape when I gave him his plate on Sunday morning, but that just meant I got to eat whatever he didn't! ...And that was a majority of his half.

With the recent ambush of snow storms, It seems I've taken to making brunch a lot. That might be apparent since this is my second brunch post in a week. I promise for more variety soon. Also, I swear I've never used this much Daiya in one week in my life... I've just had it on hand.

For the scramble:
1/2 large yellow onion cut into half-moon slices
2 cloves of garlic
two heaping cups of fresh baby spinach
1 tub lite firm tofu, crumbled
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbs turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1tsp paprika
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tbs grapeseed oil
salt and pepper, to taste
Daiya cheddar to garnish

For the potatoes:
1/2 lb fingerling potatoes, cubed
1tbs old bay seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbs grapeseed oil

Boil your potatoes until soft, about 15 minutes and drain. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium to high heat. Add potatoes to skillet and toss until coated in oil. Add salt, pepper, and old bay seasoning. Stir occasionally so that the potatoes don't burn.

Once the potatoes are in the pan, heat 1 tbs oil over medium heat in a non-stick skillet and add the onions. Saute until the onions are translucent and add garlic. Cook for about a minute. Add the tofu and fold onions and garlic until combined. Add the spices and nutritional yeast and stir until the turmeric turns the tofu an egg-like yellow. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until well heated. Add the spinach at the end and stir until it's wilted into the mixture. Top with a bit of cheese once it's on the plate.

(I'm typing this and wishing I had leftovers.)

Erik-e-strata... get it?

I cannot take credit for the name of this. The lovely Kara Vicalvi was nice enough to inform me of what this dish would be considered in the culinary world, and after hearing it, Matt got the word "strata" stuck in his head. "Strata, you know, like ERIK E-STRATA!". What a gem.

The roots of this come from something that I will never eat again, but really missed. Growing up, every Christmas morning my mom would make us an egg, bread, sausage, and cheese casserole. It wasn't Christmas without it. For a while, as a vegetarian I ate eggs and cheese, so it was easy to just substitute veggie sausage. This year was our first Christmas in our new house and I felt it was necessary to make a vegan version of my mom's classic. It came out well then, but I think this one will take a few (or ten) tries to master. Here's my second:

You need to make this the night before, so plan ahead!

1 Small loaf of day-old french bread
1 cup daiya cheddar, divided
1 package vegan breakfast sausages (patties or links both work)
1 package (or 1 lb.) silken tofu
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tbs nature's seasons seasoning
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbs dried rosemary
2 tbs maple syrup
1 tbs grape seed oil

Break up bread into bite-size pieces and line them onto the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish.

Cut breakfast patties or sausages into small pieces and saute with the rosemary and oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or per instructions, if frozen. Coat with maple syrup and mix well. Saute for another minute and layer on top of bread.

Cover bread and sausage with 1/2 cup of daiya cheddar.

Whisk tofu until smooth, then add vegetable broth and whisk until it's as smooth as possible. Note: this might look curdled and slightly gross- It's not!! Add nutritional yeast and seasoning and whisk until combined. (Afterthought- I imagine a blender would work just as well)

Pour tofu mixture over bread, sausage, and cheese, and give the dish a little shake so that it seeps in everywhere.

Layer the remaining cheese on top.

Let set in your refrigerator overnight.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour- until the edges are brown- and let sit for about 10 minutes once out of the oven.