Hey everyone!  On Sunday Morning I made the best waffles I have made in my entire life.  I made the awesome Pumpkin Waffles from VwAv.  These waffles are so good, perfect for the fall time!  I made them so I can serve to my family at the same time but my waffle iron only makes 2 waffles and they took forever, so my dad and brothers couldn’t wait so they made some else.  I was a bit disappointed at my waffle iron,  but I think I want to  buy another one that makes 4 at a time and then I can make 6 waffles at a time!  That would be awesome!  The recipe makes a lot of waffles so I ended up freezing them so I can have them as breakfast before school.   

pumpkin waffles

Today for dinner, I made the most awesome Tofu I have ever made besides the Chile Cornmeal Tofu which was also awesome.  I made Pistachio Crusted Tofu which I was dying to make for so so long.  I am glad I finally got to it and created a recipe for it.  I was so happy at the result, my brother (a.k.a. my toughest food critic) liked them, he said they were really good.  The only thing I would change is add just a bit more pistachios to the breading mixture.  By the way pistachios are extremely addictive, I love them so much.  I also had some Garlicky Kale and Lemon Provicenal Rice from the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Cookbook.   I served the tofu with a Mustard Cashew Cream Sauce which complicated the tofu so well.  I finally figured out an awesome to replace heavy cream in sauces, its really simple, just combine some cashews and soy milk together and then just put it in whatever recipe you are making.  The cashews add a great richness to the soy milk.  Here’s the recipe for the Pistachio Crusted Tofu and Mustard Cashew Cream Sauce.

Pistachio Crusted Tofu With A Creamy Cashew Mustard Cream Sauce

Pistachio Crusted Tofu With A Creamy Cashew Mustard Cream Sauce

Pistachio Crusted Tofu

Ingredients:
For the Basic Tofu Marinade
2-3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
half a lemon squeezed
Splash of White Wine ( I use Ariel Non  Alcoholic Wine)
1 pound of Extra-Firm Tofu cut into 8 picuies lengthwide pressed and drained

For the Breading Mixture
1/2 cup of pistachios shelled finely chopped (This is what I put originally but I would increase by 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup Panko or Breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
A pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of pepper

4-5 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

Mix the ingredients for the marinade into a bowl. Then brush on to the tofu and marinade it for about 15-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Grind the pistachios in a food processor until crumbs form. Mix the breading ingredients together.

In a small bowl add the Dijon mustard. Brush the tofu with the Dijon mustard and then bread it in the breading mixture.

Bake it for about 15 minutes until golden, if you want put it under the broiler for 3-5 minutes for extra chewiness.

Meanwhile make the sauce (recipe follows)

Cashew Mustard Cream Sauce

Ingredients
1 cup Plain Soy milk
2/4 cups preferably raw cashews
4 Tablespoons Dijon mustard or more if you like
1 Tablespoon Whole Grain mustard
1 shallot minced
1 garlic clove minced
2 Tablespoons Chopped parsley
A Splash of White Wine (Optional)
Half a tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a food processor, blend the cashews and soy milk until very smooth.

Heat a sauce pan to medium heat, and add the garlic and shallot. Saute for 2 minutes. Then add the cashew cream and the two types of mustard and blend together. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for about 4 minutes. This thickens up fairly quick. Season with Salt and Pepper. Add the lemon and parsley and that’s it. Now you can use this to top any protein dish like tofu, seitan, tempeh, and even the great chickpea cutlets!!!