Vegan with a Vengeance

every time I bake are my sifter (which is actually a stainless steel strainer) and my wooden spoon.
    âœ— You don’t want to do without a blender. It’s great for whizzing tofu into a puree, or making pesto and other sauces. I use my blender almost daily.
    Things That I Have but That Aren’t Totally Necessary
    âœ— A handheld mixer for mixing batter.
    âœ— A handheld blender for pureeing soups.
    âœ— A small coffee grinder for grinding spices.
    âœ— A food processor for chopping, mixing dough, pureeing sauces, and making hummus. It may be too expensive to be essential, but if you get married or can finagle another way to register for gifts, someone might buy you one.
    âœ— A hammer or mallet for crushing seeds.
    The Post Punk Pantry
    NOTHING MAKES ME happier than a well-stocked pantry. But of course I always find myself running out of cumin in the middle of cooking up a batch of scrambled tofu, or, halfway through mixing a cake batter I discover that I’m out of vanilla extract. So a well-stocked pantry is more of an ideal than a practical reality. Still, I’ve compiled this list of what my mythical well-stocked pantry would contain, as a guide for you.
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    Herbs, Spices, and Seasonings
    Preground Spices: allspice, anise, black pepper in a pepper mill, cardamom, cayenne, chile powder, Chinese five-spice, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry powder, ginger, nutmeg, paprika, turmeric Whole Spices: cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, nutmeg.
    Dried Herbs: bay leaves, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, tarragon, thyme.
    Grains and Rice
    Arborio rice, basmati rice, brown rice, couscous (not technically a grain but still), millet, quinoa.
    Dried Beans
    Black-eyed peas, black beans, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), French lentils, navy beans, pinto beans, red lentils, split peas.
    Nuts (stored in the freezer)
    Almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, walnuts.
    Canned Goods
    Black beans, chickpeas, coconut milk, pineapple juice, tomato paste, whole tomatoes in juice.
    Noodles
    Linguine, macaroni, rice noodles, soba noodles.

    Baking Stuff
    Almond extract, arrowroot, all-purpose flour, baking chocolate (semisweet), baking powder, baking soda, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, cornmeal, cornstarch, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, flax seeds (whole or ground), lemon extract, maple extract, pure vanilla extract, raisins, rolled oats, shredded coconut, tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour), whole-wheat pastry flour.
    Frozen Fruits and Veggies
    Artichoke hearts, corn, edamame, peas, spinach, various berries and fruit.
    In the Fridge
    Capers, Dijon mustard, extra-firm tofu, peanut butter, rice milk, soy milk, tahini, tempeh, Vegannaise (vegan mayonnaise).
    Vinegars, Oils, and Liquid Things
    apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, Bragg Liquid Aminos, brown rice syrup, canola oil, olive oil, peanut oil, pure maple syrup, red wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, white cooking wine.
    Other Vegan Must-Haves:
    nutritional yeast, textured vegetable protein, vital wheat gluten, extra-firm silken tofu (vacuum-packed).

BRUNCH
    Brunch is probably my favorite meal in the world. I love waking up to the smell of onions and coffee and pancakes. In reality it’s usually me doing the cooking and others waking up to it because I’m generous like that. But for whoever is doing the cooking, try to prep as much as you can the night before so that you can roll out of bed and get things going.

Scrambled Tofu
    SERVES 4
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    I eat scrambled tofu at least three times a week. This is my basic recipe but feel free to add any finely chopped vegetables that you want to use up; add them when you add the mushrooms. Broccoli, zucchini, and cauliflower are all great contenders. The most important thing is that you get the texture right; you want it to be chunky. As you cook the tofu it will crumble more, so just break it into big chunks through your fingers right into the pan. This is a great tasting way to introduce a tofuphobe to the heavenly bean curd we all know and love.
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped into ½-inch chunks
    2 cups thinly sliced cremini mushrooms
    2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained
    Â¼ cup nutritional yeast
    Juice of ½ lemon
    1 carrot, peeled (optional, I grate it in at the end, mostly for color)
    FOR SPICE BLEND:
    2 teaspoons ground cumin
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