Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Now i don't know how healthy this recipe is, but it's vegan and tasty... it's my own recipe and I usually cook by "feel," so sorry if some of the measurements aren't super exact! Oh and I use the "cheese" sauce from the "New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook," so props to them...

enchilada filling:
1 block extra firm tofu
soy sauce
Adobo seasoning (try the "hispanic foods" or "international foods" aisle. if you cant find it, use a mix of garlic powder, cumin and a dash of salt.)
1 medium onion
1 poblano pepper (if they don't have these in your area, use green bell pepper)
1 can black beans
handful of mushrooms
a little canola oil

press the tofu (I cut it into strips, layer some paper towels on a cutting board, then the tofu, then another layer of towels, then another cutting board, press it down, then repeat once or twice with fresh towels. The goal is to get some of the excess moisture out of the tofu so it will have more texture, there are loads of other methods I'm sure...)

toss the tofu in a bowl with some soy sauce and adobo. let it sit there during the next steps to let it soak up some flavor.

dice up the tofu, onion, pepper and mushrooms. In a skillet with a little oil over medium heat, begin cooking up the onions till they start to get translucent. Then add the tofu and let it brown a little. Add the mushrooms and pepper last, so they don't turn to mush. Once they're in simmer it all for another five minutes or so.

(if I want the end result to have more kick, I'll put a couple diced jalapenos or some hot sauce in with the tofu. But if you're not from Texas, you might want to try it this way first.. )

the New Farm recipe for the sauce:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup earth balance (or other veg. margarine)
3 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
pinch of turmeric
1 cup of nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup oil

start the water boiling. melt the earth balance in a skillet, medium heat. whisk in the flour a little bit at a time. (Careful - if you add it too quickly, then it gets clumpy, if you have the heat too high then it scorches. either one messes with the texture in the end.) Whip it up 'till it's creamy, then let this "roux" thicken and bubble. Add your now-boiling water, stir it up and stir in the salt, turmeric, soy sauce and garlic powder. (I also add a 'lil squirt of yellow mustard here but it's not in the original recipe.) Let it thicken and bubble again. Stir in the nutritional yeast and oil. (You can use less oil here if you want, or leave it out. It mostly makes the sauce less "sticky" and easier to pour in the next steps...)

final touches:
1 can salsa verde (or red enchilada sauce, depending which mood i'm in.. you have to read the ingredients closer on the red sauce though, sometimes it has animal stock or other nastiness)
a dozen or so corn tortillas

preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Warm up your tortillas. I usually microwave them for about a minute with a shallow dish of water in the microwave for moisture. The old school method is to use a lightly oiled skillet. You have to warm them somehow though, because corn tortillas will crack really easily otherwise.

get out a casserole dish. Start rolling up the stuffing inside the tortillas, and laying them in the bottom of the dish, closely packed. Then pour your cheese sauce on top. Spread it out with a spoon so that none of the enchiladas' ends are poking out. Pour the salsa over the top of it all. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

I like to serve it with rice on the side, and garnish 'em up with sliced avocados and Tofutti sour cream. I gravitate towards being a skinny bastard though, so I can get away with it...

Put raw cashews in a food processor and turn them in to cashew butter, it takes some time but when it starts looking like feta crumbles you're almost there. Then add nutritional yeast (about 1 cup) and lemon juice (1-2 tablespoon(s)) and then 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste), 1/4-1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard, blend again, add 1/8 of a cup of water or more or less to thin it out. Add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt (or to taste). Then you have a very high protein cheese sauce for your goodies. The other has too much flour in it, IMO. This is all approximate, start with less spices and taste until it's up the the level you like. I prefer to add salt after, while it's on the plate, that way you get less and more taste (when it's on top). To make it snappier, add a little more lemon juice or vinegar, rather than salt. It rocks! I used to live on the Farm in the late 70s, my cookbook is 30+ years old now, so that ages me I'm sure.

Veganly,
Christina

Hot water, to break down the nut butter you just made. Use less water to start and check consistency, remember this is thinner but high taste and it has way less flour.