Friday, August 25, 2006

Shake & Bake Tofu / lunchbox

This one is for Kleo who recently mentioned that she misses this.
Kraft Shake and Bake original mix taken from the "Top Secret" recipe archives.
1/2 C plus 1 Tbsp corn flake crumbs
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon each paprika, sugar, garlic powder, and onion powder
Combine and use.

Here's a link to Bryanna's "Cheap" Homemade Shake and Bake

My personal favorite seasoned coating mix...
2 C dry bread crumbs
1 1 /2 tsp sea salt
1 1 /2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp granuated onion
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp poultry style seasoning
2 Tbsp olive oil
Blend with a pastry cutter until well mixed. Freeze in between uses.

PREHEAT OVEN to 400 degrees. Spray a blackened oven sheet with a little non stick spray and place coated slices onto this. I marinate my firm tofu slices in Bryanna's Brest of Tofu Marinade one or two days and dip them into the mix of choice. Press it into the mix to make sure the coating sticks to it, do both sides. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

LUNCH BOX TODAY
Large square container:
1 tofu scramblers wrap with chedda sauce
Carrots and celery with vegan ranch dressing
One cherry almond muffins (put into the box straight from the freezer)
French Style Candied Peanuts
Bottle of water(frozen ahead to dual purpose)
See yesterday's post for links to the vegan ranch dressing and the chedda sauce.
Have a great weekend!

18 comments:

Jennifer C. said...

Dori,

I have a couple of questions about pressure canning:

1) Can I use my regular pressure cooker to do it, if I don't fill it too full? I don't want to invest in a large canner until I have tried it out on small scale and make sure it is something I would actually do.

2) Can things get "overcooked" during the canning process if you cook them too much before putting them into the jars? How do you know how much something needs to cook before canning? I have heard that when canning beans they soften inside the jars. I'd like to try it, but hesitate because I am scared of poisoning myself and my family.

I've only ever done the hot water bath canning but would like to do more. I usually freeze things, but sometimes it would be more convenient to have things canned.

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting those recipes. It's greating making breadings at home not just from a vegan standpoint but because you can control the quality of the ingredients too. Definitely will add it to my "to-make" list :)

Tanya Kristine said...

That looks really good Dori. you should post pixs of your house. i have a feeling its' warm & cozy.

KleoPatra said...

Dori! I LOVE YOU! Thanks soooooo much! YAY! You just got my weekend off to a fantastic start. I am going to try to make this!

urban vegan said...

An' I helped!

I didn't help, actually. I just always wanted to say that. [Those of you over 35 will remember the Shake N Bake TV commercials and will know what the hell I am talking about.]

Dori, they look so good. I have to try this one.

Dori said...

Urban V - I just barely remember that commercial. Dave and Melissa can say that today cause they ate the tofu... both said it was good. They has it on a sandwich, Dave with BBQ sauce and Melissa with Veggienaise (dijon vegan mayo).

Jennifer, I tried to e this response back to you and it came back to me. I guess I'll post it here now . . .

1) Can I use my regular pressure cooker to do it, if I don't fill it too full? I don't want to invest in a large canner until I have tried it out on small scale and make sure it is something I would actually do.


I recently watched a pressure canner demonstration at the state fair. The man had canners of various sizes and told how many pints/ quarts could fit in each one if it was to be used as a canner. If you have the instruction manual on your canner it would tell how to pressure can goods... like in my 23 quart Presto I have to add 3 quarts of water and place all the jars in - the jars are not submerged in the water with this method. I actually went to a friends house to have her help me can my green beans and watched the whole process as she showed me all she has done with hers over the years before I bought mine.


2) Can things get "overcooked" during the canning process if you cook them too much before putting them into the jars? How do you know how much something needs to cook before canning? I have heard that when canning beans they soften inside the jars. I'd like to try it, but hesitate because I am scared of poisoning myself and my family.

I consulted the BALL BLUE BOOK for pressure canning low acid foods. It is the guide I go by. I also had my canner checked by the state extension office to encure that my pressure guages were correct (impotant step so your food gets to the right temperature). I have been using my personal favorite soup recipes and canning them going by the rule of thumb that the canning guide says to go by. I checked with my state extension office and they agreed with the ball canning guide.

I have food science minor and have ran a state certified kitchen selling food to the general public, but please don't use me as the canning authority definitely check out the ball canning book, your state extension office, and I also had my favorite canning website linked on a previous post.

Here it is:
http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Canning/index.html

About food texture...
Some foods may get mushy. If you deviate form the ball canning guide recipes (like I have) you just have to experiment with how you like the texture best.... for example, I like the texture of my legumes best if I place them in the jar after soaking and boiling for 10 minutes... add beans to the jar, fill with water and process for 1 hr and 15 minutes per pint (time given in the Ball Blue Book). I did one batch it which the legumes were mostly cooked before i put them in the jar... they were mushy, made a nice "gravy" though when I added a few other foods.

Hope this info helps, I'm sure most of your question will be answered with the canning guide though. :)
Have a great weekend and I'm glad you figured out your comments.

Dori

Candi said...

"An' I helped!" Lol!! I remember that! I also remember when shake&bake'd anything was our favorite dinner growing up.

I can't wait to try this recipe! The coating choices are tough, but I'm going with your personal favorite, Dori! Britty will love this too!

laura k said...

Hey Urban Vegan--wow, that is a blast from the past!

Dori, I'm going to try your coating blend. It looks great! I haven't had anything like that in a looong time...

Catherine said...

Love the shake and bake tofu - looks scrummy!

MeloMeals said...

My kids will love this.. I'll bet it would work well with seitan too.

Anonymous said...

Your shake and bake sounds waaaaaaaaay better than the original idea. Yummm...

Anonymous said...

I love any shake and bake type tofu! good stuff

Catherine Weber said...

I haven't tried breaded tofu in a while . . . like the idea of first marinading it and then breading it! I'll have to experiment and get back to ya!

Carrie™ said...

Aahhh yes. Shake 'n Bake. When I was a kid, we used to have that a lot. My mom would also get the one for pork chops and the one for fish. The fish one I remember was pretty good. I've used it on tofu and it turns out all right, but homemade is always better!
Dori, you should start up a vegan lunchbox since Jennifer Shmoo might not continue on a regular basis. I take my lunch to work almost everyday and would love some innovative ideas.

Kuntal Joisher said...

As usual your tofu stuff totally rawks!!! Go Dori!! :-D

funwithyourfood said...

Sounds like a great lunch!

Anonymous said...

That all sounds delicious!!! I am definitely in need of some tofu ideas!!

UV, I'm 31 and I remember that commercial!!! ;)

Great blog!

Mikaela said...

This looks great Dori :) I bet it would be great with a side of steamed fresh green garden veggies.

Have a good week, lady!
Mikaela