My Favourite Breakfast: Scrambled Tofu & Avocado

I’m calling this my favourite breakfast, but I could honestly eat it for every meal of the day! But I didn’t always love tofu. The first time I used it, I didn’t press, drain or marinate it. It was bland. It was watery. It was basically inedible. Now, however, tofu is one of my favourite foods… and this is my favourite way to eat it. The beauty of tofu is that it takes on the flavour of whatever you add to it. That’s why its so popular in vegan cooking. The range of spices and seasonings flavour the tofu beautifully and effortlessly.

The recipe comes together in about 10-15 minutes, and is super easy. Simply crumble the tofu, add the seasonings, and warm through! It is perfect served with a creamy avocado and a crunchy bagel, resulting in not only the perfect balance of flavours, but of textures too. I like to use Tofoo* brand tofu for this and pretty much all recipes. It has a great texture and doesn’t need pressing, so you can use it straight from the pack. Other brands may need to be pressed before use. This removes all the excess moisture from the tofu, allowing it to absorb all the lovely flavours you’re going to add to it. Click here for advice on pressing tofu and other handy tofu prep tips. And then, go cook this recipe. I promise, you won’t regret it!

*I am not affiliated in any way with the Tofoo brand, I just really like the product!

My Favourite Breakfast: Scrambled Tofu and Avocado | Serves 4 as a breakfast or 2 as a main meal

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • About 450g tofu, pressed and drained if necessary
  • 1 large avocado
  • 2 bagels
  • Dairy free butter/spread

To season the tofu:

  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp each of the following:
    • paprika (smoked is delicious in this recipe)
    • cumin
    • turmeric
    • garlic powder
    • onion powder
    • black salt (kala namak)
    • salt
  • black pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Place a large, deep frying pan or wok over a medium heat and add the oil. When hot, crumble in the tofu and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Add all the tofu seasonings and continue to cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes until warmed through.
  2. Meanwhile, toast the bagel and spread with vegan butter or spread. Slice the avocado.
  3. Serve the tofu over the bagel, topped with the sliced avocado.

Moving Mountains Sausage Burger Review + Vegan McMuffin Recipe


Over the last few years, the Moving Mountains ‘bleeding’ B12 burger has taken the world by storm, and with good reason: it is arguably the most meat-like vegan burger in texture and flavour currently on the market. It’s only recently, however, that we’ve been able to purchase Moving Mountains products in UK supermarkets. New products you might see on the shelves of Sainsbury’s include sausages, hot dogs and sausage burgers. We all have that one product that we long to find a delicious vegan version of. For me, that product is the sausage burger. It is no exaggeration (well, maybe a little) to say that my life is complete now that I’ve found the Moving Mountains sausage burger!

I’ve replaced the egg in this McVegan Muffin with a marinated eggy tofu patty

All good things come at a price, however, and the price tag for this is quite hefty at £4.50 for two burgers. When I asked members of the Vegan UK Facebook group how they felt about this product, several responded to say that although they loved the taste, the price is too expensive. Stuart Walsh described the product as “the absolute best. However, the price reflects this and then some.” Others, like Angela Varley, felt that the texture is “too fleshy”, so if you don’t want a realistic meat-like experience then steer clear. I agree that the texture is very meaty, in fact I would say it tastes more like sausage than any vegan sausage I’ve tried. For me, and I’m sure for many others, this is a plus as I did enjoy the taste of sausage when I was a meat-eater.

Apart from the sausage burger, the eggy sauce is the star of this show!

I know there is already a multitude of vegan breakfast sandwich recipes already gracing the internet, but there is nothing else I’d rather do with a sausage burger than slap it on a muffin and smother it in eggy sauce, so that’s exactly what I did. The vegan cheese slice is melted onto the burger in the pan, while the egg is replaced with a marinated eggy tofu patty. Finally, it’s topped off with runny eggy sauce, which I could honestly eat all day, every day! I served these up with shop bought hash browns, which I oven baked and then finished off in the frying pan for that uber-fatty, luxurious breakfast feel.

My final rating of this product is based entirely on the product itself, which in my opinion couldn’t be better. However, due to the hefty price tag these will only be an occasional treat in our household.

Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with this product or its manufacturers. I was not asked to review this product, and I did purchase it myself. Any views I express in this post are my own.

Moving Mountains Sausage Burger… My Verdict:

McVegan Breakfast Muffin (serves 2):

Ingredients:

For the eggy tofu patties:

  • Small block tofu (approx 280g, pressed if needed – I used Tofoo brand, which doesn’t require pressing)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 tsp black salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric

For the eggy sauce:

  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • 1/2 tsp black salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric

The rest:

  • Two Moving Mountains sausage burgers
  • Two cheese slices (I used Violife)
  • Two English breakfast muffins
  • Tomato ketchup
  • Olive oil, for frying

Method:

  1. To make the eggy tofu patties: Slice the tofu into two thick slices. Add the oil to a shallow bowl and coat the tofu with it. Mix the rest of the patty ingredients and cover the tofu slices on both sides. Leave to marinate for 15-30 minutes.
  2. To make the eggy sauce: Add all the ingredients to a blender, plus 1/4 cup water, and blend until mixed well.
  3. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and place over a medium heat. When hot, add the sausage burgers and cook according to package instructions. Place a cheese slice on top of each burger and add a splash of water to the pan. Place a lid on the pan and turn up the heat. When the cheese has melted, turn off the heat and keep the burgers warm until serving.
  4. Meanwhile, heat a little more oil in a frying pan and place over a medium heat. When hot, add the eggy tofu patties and cook for 2-3 minutes each side until golden.
  5. Just before serving, toast the muffins in a frying pan and warm the sauce in a saucepan until thickened.
  6. To serve, place the bottom half of the English muffin on a plate. Top with a dollop of tomato ketchup, then the burger, then the tofu patty. Pour on a little of the eggy sauce and add the top of the muffin. Serve immediately.

Vegan Pancakes with Three Incredible Toppings!

Tomorrow is Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday! Did you know, pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent, because they are a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent? But there are no eggs to be found in these delicious vegan pancakes! Here in the UK, you’ll most often see crepe-style pancakes being consumed on Shrove Tuesday, rather than the smaller, fluffier American-style pancake. The main difference is in the thickness of the batter, so if you want a thicker pancake add less milk to the mix!

Bakewell Pancakes

My favourite thing about pancakes is that there are limitless topping combinations to try! For this recipe I’ve chosen three awesome flavour combos: Bakewell, PB&J and banoffee. And because I know you’ll want to dig in as possible, I’ve made them all super quick and easy to do!

PB&J Pancakes

Pancakes can be tricky to make, but I have some fool-proof tips to help you make perfect pancakes every time:

  1. Make sure the pan is hot hot hot! If the pan is not hot enough, the pancakes are more likely to stick!
  2. Use a non-stick pan and a plastic spatula. A metal spatula may scratch the pan and remove the non-stick coating! For more info on how to keep your non-stick pan non-stick, click here.
  3. And finally, do not attempt to flip the pancake too soon! Wait until the pancake is completely cooked on the underside. You’ll be able to tell by looking at it: as the pancake cooks it will appear to change colour from the edges, moving gradually towards the middle. Once this has happened to the entire pancake, wait another half a minute or so, then gently loosen the edges with your plastic spatula. Start to loosen closer to the middle, until you can easily turn your pancake over! With a little practice, this will get easier every time!
Banoffee Pancakes

Vegan Pancakes with Three Incredible Toppings!

Ingredients:

For the pancakes (makes 3-4 large pancakes):

  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 tsp agave or maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • Oil, for frying

For the Bakewell topping (per person):

  • 1-2 scoops of vegan vanilla ice cream
  • A few fresh cherries (remember to take out the pips!)
  • A small handful of flaked almonds

For the PB&J topping (per person):

  • 1-2 heaped tbsp of strawberry jam
  • A dollop of peanut butter
  • A few fresh strawberries

For the banoffee topping (per person):

  • 1 small banana, sliced
  • A good squirt of vegan squirty cream
  • A drizzle of golden syrup

Method:

  1. To make the pancakes, mix all the pancake ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Place a non-stick pan over a medium heat and add a little oil. When the pan is very hot, pour in just under half a cup of pancake mix. Swirl it around the pan quickly before it starts to set. To fill in any gaps, pour on a little more pancake batter. Leave the pancake for several minutes until completely cooked on the underside (see tips above). Carefully loosen the edges with a plastic spatula and turn the pancake over. Cook for a few more minutes until golden brown.
  2. Stack your pancakes and choose your topping. Arrange the topping ingredients however you like. This part is almost as fun as the eating! Serve immediately.

Maple Mustard Cauliflower Tacos with Avocado Basil Dressing

Cauliflower might be my favourite vegetable. It’s just so versatile: blend it into a sauce, crumble it to make ‘rice’, mash it into your potatoes and, my personal favourite, make it into cauliflower wings. I was craving roasted cauli, but wanted to do something different. Enter maple mustard cauliflower…

This may look like your standard roasted cauliflower, but in fact it is oozing with flavour. The combination of maple and mustard in the marinade tastes just as I remember the honey and mustard I used to smother over chicken before going vegan. Cauliflower this good deserves to be the star of the show, so tacos seemed like the obvious choice!

And of course, perfect cauliflower needs a perfect dressing. It has to be creamy to contrast with the crunch of the al dente cauliflower. It has to have flavour but not overpower that delicious maple mustard cauliflower. So I called upon my good friends avocado and basil. They did not let me down. This dressing comes together in mere minutes and compliments the cauliflower perfectly. These tacos are easy, healthy and, best of all, delicious!

Maple Mustard Cauliflower Tacos with Avocado Basil Dressing | serves 2-3

Ingredients:

For the maple mustard cauliflower:

  • One cauliflower head, broken into florets
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup thick coconut yoghurt
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 0.5 tsp onion powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt

For the avocado basil dressing:

  • One large avocado
  • About 15g basil (a handful)
  • Juice 1/2 lime
  • 1/6 cup olive oil
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup water

To serve:

  • Salad of choice
  • Flatbreads or tortilla wraps
  • Olive oil spray

PREHEAT OVEN TO 200 DEGREES CELSIUS

Method:

  1. Combine all the maple mustard cauliflower ingredients (except the cauliflower itself) in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Add the cauliflower florets and toss to coat, making sure every floret is well covered in the marinade. Leave to marinate for 15-30 minutes.
  2. Spray a large baking tray with olive oil and arrange the marinated cauliflower florets on the tray. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the edges are golden and you can easily stick a fork through the florets. Ideally, you want to leave a little bit of crunch for texture, so don’t overcook!
  3. To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together and blend until fully combined.
  4. Serve the cauliflower in the flatbreads or wraps along with salad of your choice (I used tomato, cucumber and red onion) and add a few dollops of the dressing.

Tiffin & Chai Indian Street Food, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

Tiffin & Chai has been open for less than a year but is probably the most popular food stall in Stoke-on-Trent. The stall is located in Stoke Indoor Market and I am lucky enough to live just a few minutes drive away! The photos you see in this post are from three separate visits. The business is owned by two sisters who learned all their recipes from their mother and are now sharing their fabulous food with the world! Even in 2020, it’s still quite unusual to see British Asian women setting up a business here in Stoke, but these sisters are breaking the mould and empowering women everywhere with this highly successful venture.

Vegetable samosas and pakoras with sweet chilli sauce and salad

Tiffin & Chai is open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, serving food from 11 am… but you’ve got to be fast: by 1pm, all their food is usually sold out! Although Tiffin & Chai is not an exclusively vegan establishment, you will find at least one vegan option there every day, plus vegan accompaniments. Vegan naan is available every day, with vegan rice also available on select days. The handmade samosas are the best I’ve ever tasted, with the perfect combination of crunchy pastry, soft filling and spicy flavour. You can find pakoras there most days, with various varieties popping up including Brussels sprouts and aubergine and spinach! Another Tiffin & Chai speciality is their spicy battered wedges. These hot wedges and pakoras are not for the faint hearted, but within the heat lies a gorgeous blend of flavours any lover of Indian food will fall in love with.

Chana dal and naan bread

Vegan mains vary as Tiffin & Chai operate a rolling menu. Dishes range from tarka dal, to chana masala, to banging bombay potatoes… and they really are banging! Every dish is delicious. Every mouthful is an explosion of flavours! This is homecooked food, made with love, at restaurant quality and market stall prices. What more could you wish for?

Aubergine and spinach pakoras and spicy wedges with sweet chilli sauce

As well as all this incredible food, Tiffin & Chai boasts beautiful decor and customer service that is second to none. All this makes for a fabulous atmosphere that customers travel from far and wide to experience. Food is freshly made on the day it’s served and is available to take away until sold out! A table service is also operated whenever possible. Eating in is a joyous experience. You will be surrounded by colour from the vibrant and quirky decor, which ranges from hanging umbrellas, to colourful artificial flowers, to brightly painted tables and chairs. All of this gives the stall a cheerful and unique atmosphere that you’ll want to come back to again and again.

To find out more about Tiffin & Chai, and to see what they are serving today, follow their Facebook page and do pay them a visit if you can… you won’t regret it! Keep scrolling down to see more mouthwatering dishes…

Bombay potatoes with spring onion and pomegranate
Vegan naan is always available, with vegan rice also available on select days
Pakora wrap with salad and sweet chilli sauce
Brussels sprouts pakoras