Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Plum Bistro, Seattle

On our last night in Seattle, we had reservations at Plum Bistro in the Capitol Hill area. Plum Bistro consistently shows up as a restaurant in the running for the best vegan fine dining restaurant in the nationwide VegNews survey right next to Candle 79 and Millennium so I was expecting a very upscale restaurant. Boy, was I mistaken. From a distance, we noticed people dressed in shorts and t-shirts eating there and immediately realized that this was no Candle 79.  When we walked in, we were greeted by the hostess and noticed we were one of three reservations. I guess reservations are not required. She asked if we wanted to sit at a private table or the communal one. We chose the private 2-person table. The restaurant is very small and was very crowded when we got there. It also has an open facade so you feel like you are eating outside.


As I looked around, I was amazed at the casual dress of not only the patrons, but the staff. One of the waitresses was actually wearing a mini skirt and flip flops. It was then when I realized this wasn't an upscale restaurant at all.


The wine list was a complete joke. Of the ten or so wines, all of them could be ordered by the glass or by the bottle and there wasn't a bottle priced at more than approximately $30. I was so disappointed. One of them was just called, "Pinot Noir," with no indication of the region or winemaker. Really? The waitress allowed us to taste a couple and we ultimately went with a Cotes du Rhone. The funny part was that it was spelled as "Cotes du Rhode" on the menu and I was telling Zach that I'd never heard of that appellation only to find out it was just misspelled.  That's a pretty significant misspelling.

The menu is incredibly detailed as it lists each dish as well as their side dishes. It was divided into sections for burgers, salads, and entrees. They allow no substitutions on the sides that come with the entrees so you have to choose your entree with your sides in mind. That made the decision much harder. The entrees were either seitan, tofu, or tempeh based. They also offer raw entrees, mushroom-based entrees, and pizza.

We started with the Sauteed Cauliflower appetizer, which was cauliflower sauteed with garlic, chili flakes, and lemon. While it had a nice taste to it, the cauliflower was undercooked. It was way too crunchy for this dish.


For my entree, I ordered the Tempeh Vermouth, which was tempeh marinated in vermouth with an olive sauce, topped with olives and garlic. It was served over mashed potatoes and with grilled green beans. The tempeh had a light, but spicy taste to it and the sauce was a great compliment. I was pretty happy with my dish.


Zach ordered the Chipotle Glazed Peach Tofu, which was exactly as described. It had a peach sauce, a couple pieces of avocado, and grilled green beans on the side. It was one of the few entrees that didn't technically have two side dishes and Zach was disappointed with having a plate full of green beans. That said, the tofu itself was really good.


We asked for the dessert menu and was told there was only one dessert that night - a German chocolate cake so German chocolate it was. Unfortunately, it did not taste like German chocolate cake at all. It was okay, but we were so put off by the bad chocolate syrup and the random rosemary sprig that we didn't give it much of a chance. Why would you put a sprig of rosemary on a "German chocolate cake." When we inquired about the cheap chocolate sauce, we were informed that they used Hershey's brand chocolate sauce. Wow.


The entrees were priced at about $18 each and in the end the entire meal for both of us was about $77 so it was appropriately priced for the quality of the meal. In sum, we enjoyed the entrees, but were disappointed with aspects of the appetizer and dessert. The wine list is a complete joke. The ambiance leaves much to be desired and the waitstaff aren't very professional. In fact, they let a child crawl across the table next to us for most of our meal. For a place that is listed as a vegan fine dining establishment in Seattle, I would say that it is not. It is a fine casual restaurant. Just don't go with high expectations and your experience will likely be better than ours.

Plum Bistro
1429 12th Avenue E
Seattle, WA 98112
(206) 838-5333

Plum Bistro on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Go Raw - Flax Snax, Super Cookies, and Bars

My Whole Foods has a rather small raw foods section (ahem...time to step it up P Street!) so I was intrigued when I noticed the Go Raw brand taking over the shelves. The many flavors of Flax Snax and Bars now line several shelves and being a raw food enthusiast, I took that as a sign that I needed to try them.


Go Raw is made by Freeland Foods in Mountain View, CA where they've been making high-quality raw foods since 2002.  These individuals are dedicated to "revolutionizing the food industry" and seem to be very proud of their process. They find the best, local seeds, which they test, inspect, soak, rinse, clean, then sprout for up to four hours.  The sprouts are then mixed with raw, organic ingredients, then hand spread onto trays and loaded into the dehydrators where they sit for two days at an average temperature of 98 degrees.  This process ensures that the enzymes are preserved making them healthier and easier to digest. Sprouted seeds are among the most nutritionally dense foods on the planet.


But, how do they taste?  I tried one flavor of their Flax Snax first -- the pizza flavor and thought they were delicious. These bite-sized "snax" consist of flax, sunflower, and sesame seeds with tomato, lime juice, tomato powder and spices formed into little hard disks. They are super crunchy and flavored with just the right pizza seasonings. I loved them!  A 3-ounce bag sells for $5.49, which I think is a great price for a raw snack.


Next, I tried the Chocolate Super Cookies made of coconut, sesame seeds, dates, and cacao. These were exactly the same shape and texture, but the chocolate made them more like cookies. I loved these as well.


Lastly, I tried all 5 flavors of their bars. These bars are very small and thin and are a bit on the high end at $1.19 each. That said, they are pretty low in calories and fat because they are so small.  They also make a much larger size of each of these bars.


The Spirulina Energy Bar has banana in it so it has a banana taste with the nutritional benefits of spirulina. I thought it was very well balanced and suitable for those who do not like the taste of spirulina. This is a great breakfast bar!


The Live Pumpkin bar was chewy and pumpkinlicious. The Banana Bread Flax bar tasted just like banana bread.

The Real Live Flax bar was a delicious mix of flax seeds and apricots.



Lastly, the Live Granola bar was my least favorite, but that isn't saying much as I still liked it. I just thought the sesame seeds seemed odd in this mix, but I liked that it had raisins pressed into the super thin bar.

In sum, I really liked all of the Go Raw products I tried. There are eight flavors of the cookies, four of the flax snax, and five of the bars. They also make sprouted seeds, granola, and chocolate. I'm looking forward to eventually trying them all. To try them yourself, you can order them here. Highly recommended.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Millennium Restaurant, San Francisco - Thanksgiving

Two years ago, Zach and I decided that we wanted to eat at Millennium for Thanksgiving, the premier upscale vegan restaurant in San Francisco, but no dice -- we couldn't get a reservation within a few weeks of Thanksgiving. So, this year, we thought ahead and booked reservations many weeks out. Today was our first Thanksgiving at Millennium and it certainly won't be our last.

We made reservations for 2:30 p.m., which was 30 minutes after the restaurant opened. We actually arrived around 2:10 p.m. though thinking they'd be able to seat us early. When we walked into the hotel lobby where the hostess desk is, the place was packed full of people waiting to be seated. We were informed that we would have to wait to be seated until our actual reservation time at 2:30 p.m.  So to pass the time, we went to say "hi" to Ann Wheat, one of Millennium's owners, and her husband, Larry. She graciously invited us to sit down with them and told us about the Got the Facts on Milk? documentary. She said it was a great documentary that even featured her in a 1-minute interview. I can't wait to watch it!


At 2:30 p.m., we were promptly seated. The menu had not been posted beforehand so we had no idea what would be on the it and were eager to see it. It was a 5-course meal, but not completely prix fixe. We had two choices to make -- which entree we'd like and which dessert we'd like. Besides that, the other three dishes were part of the fixed menu.  We had brought our own wine -- a 2004 Williamson Wines' Cuvee, which paired well with the dishes.

The first course was a cornucopia medley with house-made walnut and corn breads along with Artisan Bakers' Sonoma Sour Country bread and carmelized onion-pumpkin butter. Oh my goodness - this pumpkin butter was to die for. The carmelized onion added this amazing flavor to the pumpkin butter that complemented all of the breads nicely. The breads were perfect both in their denseness and moistness. We were also served a plate of roasted chestnuts; French lentil-kale salad; pickled carrot, Daikon radish, and red peppers; and truffled popcorn. I couldn't say enough about how amazing each of these little tastes were! Each one was its own perfect little work of art in terms of the balance of flavor and texture.


The second course was a salad of spinach, frisee, and radicchio topped with apple, fennel, and shaved radish along with an apple cider-miso vinaigrette. I absolutely loved the vinaigrette, but thought there should have been more of it on this salad. There were a few parts of the salad that were dry and just needed a little more dressing.


The third course was the Three Sisters Soup, which was actually a pozole, a Mexican stew. The stew had maize, a type of corn; butternut squash; and heirloom beans all in a an oregano and cumin-scented broth with pumpkin seed relish. And it was magnificent.


The best course though was by far the fourth course. This was one that we had a choice of and Zach and I chose the same one -- the Wild Mushroom Torte. Unlike a traditional torte, this one had a base of yuba skins, which is made by boiling soymilk and skimming the the film that develops on the top of it, then drying it into yellowish sheets known as tofu skin. This yuba skin tasted like it had been braised to make it a tough foundation, then topped with marinated seitan; Portabello, crimini, and chanterelle mushrooms; and an olive oil-Yukon gold potato custard. The gravy was made of red wine, carmelized onions, and porcini mushrooms. The combination was spectacular!  On the side, we were served maple-pecan sweet potato pie, roasted Brussels sprouts and brassicas with carmelized shallots, and cardamom scented cranberry-Satsuma mandarin relish. It was a flavor explosion.



Lastly, were the desserts. We got one of each. First, I tried the pecan-chocolate pie. This rich tasty pecan-chocolate mixture was on top of an orange shortbread and served with ginger-rum ice cream. Oh so good!


The other dessert, however, was even better. I rarely get excited about pumpkin pie, but this one was like the ultimate perfectly perfected pumpkin pie. It was perfectly spiced and served with a mulled wine reduction and Chantilly cream, which is whipped cream sweetened with sugar and flavored with vanilla.  Wow! Eric Tucker, the executive chef, has done it again!


This was definitely one of the best Thanksgiving meals I've ever had! And...no leftovers and no cooking!  The food was incredible, the service was great, and the ambiance was perfect. I would highly recommend a dinner at Millennium as an alternative to a traditional Thanksgiving. Just be sure to make your reservations at least a month in advance! Bon appetit!

Millennium Restaurant
580 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 345-3900

Millennium on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Earnest Eats - Baked Whole Food Bars

When I was looking around Whole Foods in Seattle for a new bar, I came across these beautifully packaged bars from Earnest Eats.  The packaging is what first caught my eye as they are packaged in clear wrappers so you can see the beauty of the bars inside.  


But, not only do they look good, they are good for you too.  All of the flavors have the same base ingredients of organic whole oats, almond butter, cane syrup, brown rice syrup, and oat bran. Almond butter is a superfood ingredient that imparts rich flavor while also being a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Each bar is 100% natural, vegan, wheat-free, whole grain and provides at least five grams of protein, four grams of fiber and 190mg of omega-3s in each serving.  Oh, and did I mention, they taste great too?!  They are soft and chewy yet oh so succulent.
 
There are four flavors of the whole food bars: chocolate peanut butter, almond trail mix, cran lemon zest, and apple ginger. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the cran lemon zest. There is something truly amazing about a lemon-flavored whole food bar with cranberries and nuts sprinkled throughout. 



But, the other bars are good too! The choco peanut butter bar has chunks of peanuts and chocolate chips. The almond trail mix is dense, but chewy. And the apple ginger bar has chunks of apple with ginger spice. 

I recommend giving these a try. These bars would be a great, filling snack for a hiking trip or any kind of road trip where good, healthy snacks are not abundantly available.  And for about $1.50 each, they are reasonably priced. If you can't find them at your local grocery store, you can also order them online by clicking here.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Chaco Canyon, Seattle

On our last day in Seattle, we headed over to U-Disrict, that is University District for you non-Seattle people, to eat at Chaco Canyon. Chaco Canyon is an organic vegan cafe that offers an amazing raw and cooked food menu.  They say they are 100% vegan, but they offer cow's milk for coffee so they are really about 98% vegan -- they get a thumbs down for that one.  But, other than that, I have no other beef with them.  :)


Upon walking in, we were impressed with the unique Southwestern decor and impressively high ceilings. It gave the somewhat small cafe a feeling of grandeur!  We walked up to the counter and spent some time perusing the menu before actually placing our orders. It appeared that they had nearly as much raw food as cooked food making it so hard to choose! From lentil burgers and pesto melts to raw green coconut curry and raw cilantro pesto pizza, their menu was extensive.  When we finally decided, I went the raw route and ordered the Enchilada Plate while Zach went the cooked route with the Mighty Mofo.


We took a number and had a seat at our choice of tables. I had also ordered a Starving Student juice, which was fresh carrot, celery, parsley and ginger for $3.15.  The juice had way too much celery though leaving a harsh aftertaste and making it too watery.


About 10 minutes later, our meals were served and they tasted as scrumptious as they looked. My raw enchilada plate had spiced zucchini with avocado and other veggies along with fresh herbs and cashew cheese in a raw tomato tortilla. The tortilla was topped with mango pico de gallo and fresh cilantro. It was a great mix of flavors. Everything was so fresh -- from the cashew cheese to the salsa -- it all tasted like it had just been made. The fresh salad it was paired with was great as well. It was delicious.


Zach was also very happy with his Mighty Mofo. This was a reuben sandwich made of housemade seitan, sauerkraut, grain mustard, cucumbers, and sprouts. It wasn't your typical reuben, but it sure was delicious. Zach said it was the best vegan reuben he'd ever had. I must say that I liked it too.


As we were walking out, we also bought a raw espresso truffle and a couple pieces of banana bread. They were yummy as well.


This cafe served some of the best food we had in Seattle during our short stay. At $11 - $13 per plate, the entrees and sandwiches weren't cheap, but they were appropriately priced given the quality of the food. By the time we left, there was a long line almost to the door so this place must be a local favorite. I would highly recommend going here for lunch the next time you are in Seattle. I know I will definitely be back.

Chaco Canyon
4757 12th Avenue NE
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 522-6966

Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe on Urbanspoon

Monday, November 21, 2011

Follow Your Heart Giveaway Winners

I'm so excited to announce the winners of the Follow Your Heart "Vegan Made Easy" kits!

Congratulations to Junghwa C. of Berkeley, CA who won the US prize including:
  • Soy-Free Vegenaise®
  • Vegan Gourmet® Mozzarella 
  • Vegan Gourmet® Cream Cheese 
  • High Omega Vegan Ranch 
  • Follow Your Heart® spatula
Junghwa is going to make a crumbled tofu avocado cream sandwich. Yum!



Congratulations to Sandy M. of Windsor, Ontario who won the Canadian prize including:
  • Soy-Free Vegenaise®
  • Vegan Gourmet® Mozzarella
  • Vegan Gourmet® Monterey Jack
  • Follow Your Heart® Spatula
Sandy said she is going to make mozzarella sticks and a green goddess dressing using the Vegenaise. Then she is going to make another meal consisting of grilled cheez & soup and a delicious tofu scramble with cheez. Sounds great!



Thank you to everyone who entered. I really enjoyed reading about all of the dishes you are planning to make with Follow Your Heart products. Although they all sounded great, here are some of my favorites:
  • "Garlicky white pizza using Vegenaise, cream cheese, and mozzarella for the topping and a "steak" salad with ranch dressing using gardein beefless tips, homemade croutons, tomato, corn, and avocado." (Katie from Silver Spring, MD)
  • "First, I've recently been obsessed w vegan sausage and peppers and would love to melt a little mozzarella on it. I would use the Vegenaise to make mock chicken salad. And the ranch on salads, veggies, etc. IF I could get the ranch away from my daughter. :)" (Kiki in Atlanta, GA)
  • "I would make a sandwich. I would use a multigrain bread, toasted, Vegenaise, German mustard, ranch spread on one side with mustard, red onions, mushrooms, and sliced mozzarella. I would toast this in the panini press so the cheese can melt a bit. Once the cheese is melted how I like, I would add some kind of green (spinach or arugula), sliced tomato with a dash of salt and pepper, slices of avocado, and some fake bacon bits if I have them. So yummy." (Lisa from Chatsworth, CA)
Thanks again to everyone who entered. Stay tuned for my next giveaway coming soon!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Tillen Farms - Pickled Vegetables and Cherries

There amongst the vegan cheese and faux meat vendors at the Natural Products Expo East was a more traditional food -- pickled vegetables and cherries. Having been raised by a native German mother, I grew up eating pickled everything--from garlic and gherkins to sauerkraut--these foods were a staple of my diet. So, I stopped by the Tillen Farms booth to see what they were offering and met Tim Metzger himself.

Tim and Helen Metzger created Tillen Farms to continue a delicious tradition first begun by the Hogue family over forty years ago in the fertile, volcanic soil of the Yakima Valley of Washington State, which, by the way, I just visited. Careful tending, pampering, and patience, combined with unique all-natural processing has resulted in a delectable line of premium pickled items. Each vegetable is picked at the peak of its maturity, inspected, blanched, and packed to ensure freshness. The name "Tillen" comes from taking the first two letters from (Ti)m, two letters from daughter Ji(ll)'s name, and two letters from Hel(en). As you can see, this is a family affair.

Tim sent me this wonderful sampler package that included his Crispy Asparagus--regular and spicy, Crispy Carrots, Crispy Beans (spicy), Merry Marschino Cherries, and Bada Bing Cherries.


When I saw the box, the first thing I thought is what a great gift these would make. Rather than send everyone chocolate and fattening cookies, why not send low-fat pickled veggies?!  I cracked open the jar of pickled Crispy Beans and absolutely loved them from the first bite. I mean, I've never had pickled green beans before so I have no point of comparison, but these beans were good. They were crisp and the seasonings including the garlic, chili pepper, and dill were just right. I loved how spicy they were.


I felt similarly about all the veggies. They are all very crisp and seasoned just right. And, there are only 60 calories in each jar! These veggies are great for parties, as mixers in drinks, or just straight out of the jar.


I also tried the Bada Bing (love that name!) and Merry Maraschino cherries. The Bada Bing cherries are extra large Bordeaux cherries with a richer, stronger taste than the maraschino cherries. The maraschino cherries were the size of your typical cocktail cherry, but without the typical chemicals, preservatives, or artificial colors (including red dye #40) that most maraschino cherries are made with. You can see how different they are below.

Maraschino cherries on left and Bada Bing on right

These cherries are colored only with vegetable and fruit concentrates so they are a real treat for those looking to exclude artificial colors and flavors from their diet!

Ice Cream Sundae with Bada Bing cherries
 
Tillen Farms has even been kind enough to offer my readers a special discount of 25% off online orders. One per customer, please. If you are interested in trying them for yourself or sending them as a gift, just click here and enter the code of TILV25 when you checkout. Hurry - this code expires on December 31, 2011! Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Sticky Fingers, DC

For my birthday, Zach surprised me with a box of four assorted cakes from Sticky Fingers Bakery. I couldn't ask for anything more! Sticky Fingers is a vegan bakery located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of DC that serves exquisite vegan baked goods. Doron Petersan started this little bakery in 1999 in a little basement shop in Adams Morgan. It has since moved to Columbia Heights and expanded into a cafe that not only serves the best baked goods in DC, but great vegan comfort food as well.

The four assorted cakes in this particular box were the chocolate mousse cake, raspberry cheesecake, tiramisu cupcake, and peanut butter cupcake.


We both went for the chocolate mousse cake first, which turned out to be as amazing as it looked. The rich layers of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse were particularly satisfying after the light dinner we had had. Next, we tried the cheesecake, which was surprisingly disappointing. We enjoyed the graham cracker crust and raspberry topping, but the "cheesecake" itself was spongy and not creamy enough. 

Next, we tried the peanut butter cupcake. I loved that it had chocolate chips, but didn't particularly care for the banana cake. The peanut butter frosting, however, was delicious. Lastly, we had the Tiramisu cupcake, which was absolutely delicious!


So, although, I didn't love all of these selections, they are generally consistently good. They have been voted the Best Bakery and Best Vegan Restaurant by Washington City Paper readers and the owner even won the Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. If you are looking for great cupcakes, cakes, and food, definitely stop by Sticky Fingers.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Brendan Brazier's Presentation at Whole Foods

I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by Brendan Brazier, pro ironman vegan triathlete and two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion.  He was invited to talk about his plant-based nutrition program at Whole Foods in Washington, DC. I was skeptical as to whether I'd enjoy this talk and was pleasantly surprised to find that he is extremely knowledgeable about vegan nutrition as it relates to athletic performance.  I even learned a thing or two.

Despite his accomplishments, I found Brendan to be a pretty humble guy as I spoke to him before he began his presentation. He was a bit stressed because there was some confusion about the starting time of his talk, but handled it well and once he began speaking, he completely relaxed. He talked about his journey to discover the optimal diet for himself, which eventually led him to a fully vegan and mostly raw diet. He said he found that focusing on five key dietary components allowed him to extend his career as an endurance athlete while on a vegan diet. Those five components were complete protein, calcium, iron, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids.


He found that he could gain energy through calorie conservation instead of consumption. He also discovered the relationship between stress and hormones in that stress drives cortisol up lessening your ability to achieve a deep satisfying sleep cycle.  In fact, he said that 40% of stress is attributable to poor nutrition.  While most people combat fatigue with refined carbohydrates, sugar, and caffeine, he believes that by eating a well-balanced plant-based diet, you will achieve a strong nutritional balance and will naturally sleep better.

He also focuses on maintaining a neutral ph by consuming raw, alkaline-forming foods instead of acid-forming foods.  The main cause of all illness and disease stems from the disruption of pH balance in the body. Raw, alkaline foods help neutralize acid in our diet to promote healthy pH balance. The Vega food products that he developed are slightly alkaline (pH of 7.2), which is similar to human blood (pH 7.4).

After his presentation, Brendan went downstairs to do a book signing. He has authored several books including his newest, Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life. There were also samples of his Vega bars and shakes.


I must say that I was really inspired by his talk and am now planning to buy his book. I feel that I can always learn more about nutrition and am excited to see what he recommends to achieve an optimal performance level. 

Monday, November 14, 2011

Follow Your Heart Vegenaise - Tofu Filet w/Tartar Sauce

Follow Your Heart's Vegenaise ® is a product that really changed the vegan world. It is one of the best vegan mayonnaises out there with an incredibly rich taste. They now make many types of Vegenaise ® including the Original, Organic, Grapeseed Oil, Reduced Fat, and Soy-Free.  All of the flavors use expeller pressed oils, which are extracted without the use of any of the solvents typically used in the production of most edible oils. I, personally, prefer the Grapeseed Vegenaise ® as I really enjoy its flavor. Grapeseed oil is one of the few natural foods known to raise HDL, aka the "good" cholesterol.

I was looking for an easy dinner to make tonight so I decided to make the Tofu Filet with Vegan Tartar Sauce recipe I found in the Follow Your Heart recipe handout.  This sandwich turned out to be pretty good. Unfortunately, the tofu filet never really browned as it should have because I opted to bake it on a non-stick pan not using oil. I would recommend that you use oil if you want it to brown. So, it wasn't as tasty as it should have been. The tartar sauce, however, was delicous! And, you could use this on any "fish" filet-type sandwich.



Ingredients
Tofu Filet
  • 1 pound extra firm tofu
  • 2/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
  • 2 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
  • 3/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp kelp granules (found with other sea veggies)
  • Safflower oil
Tartar Sauce
  • 1/3 cup Vegenaise ® (I used Grapeseed flavor)
  • 4 tsp sweet pickle relish
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Sandwich
  • 4-8 whole wheat burger buns
  • 4-8 red leaf lettuce leaves
  • lemon wedges
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Rinse tofu, then slice lengthwise into 4 slices for the widest, longest pieces possible. Press the tofu slices thoroughly dry on paper towels. In a wide, flat bottomed glass casserole dish, mix together the bread crumbs, flour, onion powder, salt, and kelp. Pour a little oil into a separate bowl and, using a pastry brush, coat the tofu slices with oil, then dip into the breading mix, coating the tofu thoroughly.


Transfer to an oiled baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes on first side; turn over and bake an additional 7-10 minutes until nicely browned.

For the tartar sauce, mix the Vegenaise ®, relish, lemon juice, and cream of tartar together.



Once the tofu is done, cut the filets in half. To assemble each sandwich, put the tartar sauce on the bottom bun, place the tofu filet on top, then top with a lettuce leaf, and a squeeze of lemon juice, and more tartar sauce, if desired.

Cover with the top bun. Serve right away. And there you have it - tofu filet!

If you'd like a free jar of Vegenaise ® along with other great food products made by Follow Your Heart, you can enter for a chance to win a Vegan Made Easy kit by clicking here.