Save the Kales! is a vegan lifestyle blog based in the Lehigh Valley, PA. If you haven’t spied it yet, the site is a wonderful place to visit for recipes, videos, and beauty in everything. The writer, Jamie Karpovich, has been cooking vegan and vegetarian food for over eleven years, and now focuses on a vegan, plant-based diet. She knows all there is to know about the lifestyle and is heavily involved with the Bethlehem Food Co-op and Bethlehem Vegfest as well.

As if that isn’t enough for this vegan powerhouse of a woman to do, she now hosts a half-hour TV/internet show, where you can tune in to catch all her healthy updates and more!

Recently on the show’s first episode, Jamie journeyed to the Fresh Tofu, Inc. factory to meet with President of the company, Gary. He provided the scoop on how Fresh Tofu, Inc. got started (a vegan food truck in the 1970′s) and where you can buy their products in and around Pennsylvania. They apparently supply to some “high profile” NYC restaurants and businesses, too.

Once Jamie was back in the kitchen after her factory visit, she got to work with the Fresh Tofu, Inc. products, whipping up Tofu Garlic and Basil “Ricotta” Pizza with Fresh Arugula and Lemon and Sunday Morning Tofu Scramble. We have the recipes for your here but reading won’t give you the full experience; tune into the show! A friendly guest joined her on the Tofu episode to talk about the benefits of a plant based diet, and many more special guests will be featured on future shows!

Make sure you check out Jamie’s blog for the full episode and more vegan deliciousness to come in the future!

RECIPES

BASIL “RICOTTA” PIZZA

• pizza crust of choice, cooked
• 1 block firm tofu, pressed
• 1 bunch basil leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• salt to taste
• fresh arugula
• fresh lemon wedges to squeeze on pizza
• fresh cracked black pepper

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Have a pizza crust already cooked and ready to go!
2. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch thick slices, lay on a clean towel, and press with your hands to get the water out.
3. Put tofu in a food processor. Take all the leaves of a bunch of basil and add to the food processor, along with garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, and olive oil. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if needed.
4. Spread the mixture on top of the pizza dough. (Mixture and any leftovers can be put in the fridge for a few days.)
5. Drizzle olive oil on the pizza, then top with fresh arugula. Serve with a wedge of fresh lemon and guests can use it to add fresh lemon jucie to their own pizzas (or do this yourself ahead of time). Fresh cracked black pepper and some salt finish the dish.

SUNDAY MORNING TOFU SCRAMBLE

• 1 block extra firm tofu, pressed
• 2 small yellow or white onions, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper and 1/2 green pepper
• 
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 2-3 Tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos(or tamari or soy sauce)
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp turmeric
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• garnish with fresh herbs or avocado slices

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Press the water out of the tofu and set aside.
2. Cut up the onion, mushrooms and peppers and set aside.
3. In a large pan or skillet, heat up the onion and olive oil until onion is translucent, about three minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for about three more minutes. Then add the peppers and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Once veggies are cooked, use your hands to crumble the tofu into the pan. Add Bragg’s (or soy or tamari sauce), garlic powder, turmeric, and dried basil. Mix everything. Add nutritional yeast and mix again. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Top with avocado or fresh herbs, and this can be stored in the fridge for several days and eaten as-is or as part of a sandwich, salad or burrito.

Photos credited to ADG Photography.