Southwest Burger & Tofu Fries with Spicy Vegenaise

All in all, eating vegan has done amazing things for me. I feel a lot better than I normally do. Since the basis of vegan food is vegetables, you end up feeling a lot less bogged down after meals. I have also had more energy. LOTS more energy! A couple of days ago my cousin Becky (find her awesome blog HERE) told me about Martha Stewart's tofu fries. I decided that I would try them. Now just to be clear, for those of you who get thoroughly confused about vegan eating: yes, I can eat normal french fries. However tofu is good for you. So far, in the past 5 weeks I have avoided eating any plain tofu. I have eaten it in the past and have not really enjoyed it much. I do buy soy meat replacement products, and I've been pretty impressed with them. Once I bought buffalo chick'n wings, and served them to Rich. He didn't know that they weren't meat until I told him. They were delish.

I took pictures of how I made my meal. The fries were definitely an experience. I'm not sure that I would make them again since I can have the real McCoy. I don't eat french fries very often anyway (being vegan keeps me out of fast food & burger joints). However I will say they were a lot yummier than I expected. If I try them again I think I will drizzle the tofu with olive oil, minced garlic, and herbs. In fact I may have to try them again that way cause I still have a pack of tofu. :)

Started with a 14-oz pack of Nasoya extra-firm tofu plus. Tofu plus is simply vitamin fortified. 

 Here is the square of tofu. It strangely reminded me of some type of cheese. I drained off all the liquid and dried it with a paper towel.

 I sliced it into four sheets, per the Martha Stewart directions. It was still a bit wet for me so I wrapped each slice in a paper towel and plated it for a while so that more of the moisture would be absorbed.

 I bought a can of chipotle peppers. I used 2 peppers to make a spicy chipotle mayo for my fries. I figured I could use it on the burger as well.

 I minced up the peppers with a large knife.

 I added about 3-4 tablespoons of vegenaise. It tastes pretty similar to mayo (can't have real mayo cause of the egg). 

 I added only half of the peppers to start with. I wasnt' sure how hot they would be.

 Stirred it up and tasted it. The chipotle flavor was very mild. Not at all the way I like it! 

 Added the rest of the peppers and put the finished spread into a 4-oz dish.

 I sliced one sheet of tofu into 1/2" pieces like the directions said. Apparently I was supposed to slice them vertically instead of horizontally but oh well. I salted & peppered them and placed them under the broiler. Every 3 minutes I flipped them to a new side so all 4 sides got nice and crispy. (12 minutes total cook time.)

 This is my "test batch." I actually liked the test batch and ate all 8 of them. For size reference they are on a saucer in this picture. 

I tried them like regular fries with ketchup. How disgusting. I thought they were pretty great with the chipotle mayo. 

 I made an avocado spread also for the burger. I have made this before and I love it. I slice half the avocado for the burger and then mash the rest. Add 2 tbsp of your favorite salsa and a pinch of kosher salt and you are ready to go.

 My whole wheat vegan bun (from Rudi's bakery. yum.) topped with the avocado spread and chipotle mayo.

 On the bottom I put 3 slices of avocado and plenty of sliced onion.

 Then I add my Morningstar Farms spicy black bean burger, 2 slices of tomato and 4 dill hamburger chips. I sprinkled a little kosher salt over the top. For the burger I spray it with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray and broil it. It is sooooo good!

 My extremely delicious Southwest Burger. I think I am ready for a vegan burger Throwdown with Bobby Flay. haha!

The 2nd batch of tofu fries weren't as done all the way through since doing vertical slices as Martha said did not allow them to crisp like the test batch. I even put them under the broiler for a few more minutes but they just tasted a little soggy. The upside to these fries is--the whole 14-oz pack of "fries" has 315 calories and 12 grams of fat. There are 380 cals and 19g of fat in a medium McDonald's fry.

 The dog is my vegan test buddy. Since dogs are non-obligate carnivores (basically they are carnivores with opportunistic omnivorous tendencies), he isn't against sharing my vegan fare.

 Frankly he thought these fries were pretty great.

He ate four of them and stashed two in his doggie bed for later.

Basically the burger was bar none--delicious. The fries were good, but I liked the way that I slice them better than the way that Martha Stewart says, cause nobody likes soggy fries of any kind. Also I did not like them with pepper. It conflicted with my perfect chipotle mayo. And, I remain insulted that Martha's recipe says these fries taste great with ketchup. They didn't. I will help Martha rewrite this recipe and give her the recipe for my chipotle mayo when I finish my Throwdown with Bobby Flay.