VeganMoFo: Homemade Tofu

Tofu! is for sale here

Medium: Watercolor on heavy Arches paper
Size: Approximately 8"x8" (image size is 7"x7")
Will fit in 8"x8" frame! Signed on back.

Note: I am doing a painting-a-day challenge for VeganMoFo, and will be creating a new painting of rescue animals or vegan food throughout the month of October, and placing them for sale. All proceeds (minus shipping) will be donated to For the Animals Sanctuary, because they are a pretty super-great non-profit animal rescue and sanctuary, in Blairstown NJ, and are vegan owned and operated. Feeding, housing, and taking care of these animals costs a lot of money, and as a non-profit organization, they rely entirely on donations. Hopefully (with your help!), I'll be able to make a size-able donation at the end of the month!

Soak your beans overnight!

I may have mentioned that I bought a soy milk maker and tofu box awhile back, and I have been happily making my own almond and soy milk and tofu ever since.  Both are such staples in my diet, that it was a no-brainer for me to invest in both, for environmental reasons and saving money reasons.  As long as you remember to soak your beans or nuts the night before, it is pretty minimal effort that you have to put in.  I thought I would give a basic tutorial of the steps that go into making tofu.  This is the Soy/Nut/Rice milk maker that I bought and the tofu box also. 

Add soybeans and fill with water to line inside.  Plug in and push button. Ta-da!

Machine beeps when soymilk is ready.  Pour into strainer into pitcher (both came with machine).   You are left with the okara (which is super-nutritious!  There are lots of recipes around that use this up)  I will usually make two batches of soymilk to put into the tofu box at once. 

Add a tsp. of Nigari (magnesium chloride) to 1 cup hot water and slowly pour into soymilk.  The tofu box that I bought came with Nigari crystals, but I just recently ran out (they lasted a LONG time).  I found this weird liquid version at a local Asian store. 

Weird separation occurs as the curd/whey do their thing.

Pour into cheesecloth lined tofu box and let slowly drain.  Once most of the liquid is gone, wrap up cheesecloth and put a heavy weight on lid and let sit for 10 minutes or so.   I'm aware that this photo looks totally gross.  

Magic tofu! Yum! 

Homemade Almond-Oat Milk and Tofu

Ooo-la-la!

I've been all about hot cocoa and tofu scrambles lately.  I recently purchased a soymilk maker and tofu box, so there has been an abundance of different nut and bean milks and tofu in my fridge.  My favorite milk I have made so far has been an almond-oat mix. So creamy and yummy! I don't like any flavoring in my milks, so I don't add anything into it except the almonds and whole wheat oats.   And um, making hot cocoa with this is amaaaaazing.  I like to throw some cashews, almond milk, a chunk of this awesome 100% cocoa chocolate I got in Peru,  a couple teaspoons of sugar, and maybe a swirl of agave into the blender and then heat it up on the stovetop for some yummy homemade cocoa. Forget the powder stuff!  The cashews give the cocoa a really nice creaminess.  Now if only I had some Sweet and Sara's to go with...

Tofu scramble wrap, with tofu, mushrooms, red peppers, nooch, salt, pepper, garlic, and some Daiya mozzarella mixed in.

And the homemade tofu, omg!  I have kept it straight, using just soy beans so far, but plan to experiment with some other beans or maybe some seasoning right from the start of the tofu-making process.  It's really easy to make and comes out nice and firm and tasty.  It's quite the experience to eat the tofu while still warm, right after it has been pressed.  I haven't bought the packaged tofu in years, but have usually bought the little squares of tofu from the cooler in my local Asian market.  It had started to taste a little funny recently, like chemicals or cleaning products or something, so that prompted me to start making my own.  

So glad I invested! No more packaging and it will pay for itself eventually because nuts and beans are so much cheaper in bulk.   It does take some planning ahead to make the milk and tofu, as you need to soak the beans or nuts overnight.  And it takes a couple batches of soymilk to make a decent amount of tofu, although it is mostly waiting-time, not active prep.  I've gotten into a rhythm though, and have it down so it doesn't take up so much time to make it a couple times a week.   So far, I love the machine I got.  It takes about 20 minutes for a batch of the milk to finish and it makes approx. 2-2.5 cups at a time.  I'll usually make a few batches at a time.  I can't wait to make some seasonal or special drinks, like pumpkin spice, chocolate, and chai with them!  

Superhero Shop update!

Originals have sold, so I put up the prints from my Superhero series in my shop!

New Paintings!

I have some new paintings here. I've been in a superhero kick lately. Supposedly there is a Superhero Supply Store in Park Slope, that I MUST go to one of these days. Invisibility spray! Anti-Matter!

I am making a resolution to put more original paintings in my shop, not just prints, from now on. I usually find something wrong with the original and can't seem to put it out there for someone to buy. Prints are safer, in that regard, I guess. Silly, I know, but it's my own anal-retentiveness about my work showing through. Oi. I'm going to list them tomorrow, after I take some pictures of them hanging on an actual wall.

Super-tofu:


CarrotMan:


AsparagusMan:


Ms. AppleLady:


All are watercolor on a gessoed pine board.

I'm so happy it's friday!!! And I have monday off for Prez day too. Woo!