Well, hello there! Does life ever get so crazy and chaotic that you just totally forget to blog for, oh like, 9 months? Yeaaaahhh... It's been a weird year.

With 2018 came LOTS of live performances with my band, releasing our first two studio recordings, which were nominated for a NIMA award (yay!), continuing to work full-time while touring and doing the single mom thing when I'm home, caring for two pups, taking care of my home, attempting to maintain a social life, etc. To say I've been busy is an understatement. With this new level of chaos, some big decisions had to be made. August 29th, I walked away from my employer of 12 years to pursue music, as well as other interests including this blog. As I've grown into myself over these past few years, I've realized what my passions are, and I owe it to myself to go after those while I'm still young enough to do so. It took me months and lots of heart-to-heart discussions with my closest friends and family to make this choice, but I'm so excited that I did it. I'm very fortunate to be at a place in life where I have this opportunity, and I'm extremely grateful for it.

“The only impossible journey is the one not taken.”

— Unknown

One of the promises I've made to myself is to devote an allotted amount of time each week to this website and to you guys who come here for my musings. I thank you all for supporting me here, and I hope to keep growing our little family over the coming weeks and months as we explore this new phase of my life together. I’d love to hear from you, too. What would you like to see here?

So... With all of that said, I figured I'd return with a recipe. I've spent tons of time this year in south Florida thanks to some amazing venues in that area who keep asking us to return. One of the great things about spending time in that part of the country is that there are tons of great vegan restaurants. In March, I was fortunate enough to celebrate my birthday at the incredibly classy Plant Miami with two of my closest girlfriends and my mom & stepdad who happened to fly down from Jersey to surprise me. BEST GIFT EVER! To top it off, one of my other besties (who's a professional photographer) came from the Gulf coast to hang and gifted me the photos he took. It was an amazing day. I plan to do a review of Plant very soon.

Thank you so much to Sway for capturing these special moments and for being an awesome friend in general. If you're on Instagram, please go give him a follow.

When I'm feeling something more low-key and casual, though, I head to Hallandale Beach and stuff my face at Screaming Carrots. This small cafe has such a calming energy, and the food is insanely delectable. They have massive portions, which is great for someone who loves leftovers, like me. Most of the menu is composed of traditional Thai dishes made vegan, with a few other types of fare tossed into the mix. The pad thai is to die for, but my absolute favorite thing, and what they're known for in my circle, is the tofu scramble. It's hands-down the BEST scramble that I have ever experienced. They serve it in a small iron skillet that's still sizzling when it arrives at the table and makes crispy edges that are my favorite part of the entire dish. On the side, you receive a beautiful salad with seasonal greens and a light vinaigrette, as well as their hearty multi-grain bread and house-made jam. Ya really can't go wrong.

Since the first time I tasted this scramble, I've wanted to figure out how to make it at home. And after numerous tries, I've gotten pretty damned close. The key seems to lie in using lots of nutritional yeast to get a rich, cheesy flavor. What's nutritional yeast, you ask? Well, according to the interwebs: "Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast, often a strain of saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is sold commercially as a food product. It is sold in the form of flakes or as a yellow powder and can be found in the bulk aisle of most natural food stores. It is popular with vegans and vegetarians and may be used as an ingredient in recipes or as a condiment. It is a significant source of some B-complex vitamins and contains trace amounts of several other vitamins and minerals. Sometimes nutritional yeast is fortified with vitamin B12." But really, all you need to know is that it's deliciously cheesy and makes everything better. ;-) The brand I've been using lately is Anthony's. I like the richness of the flavor of this brand more than most I've tried. It's made my home version of tofu scramble even better.

You are probably asking yourself, "Geez. Is she ever gonna share the recipe?" Yes. Yes, I am. But first, let's discuss tofu. If you've never used it before, it can be intimidating. But once you understand how to properly prepare it for a recipe, it'll be much less scary. Tofu comes packed in water to keep it fresh on the grocery shelf. The first step to preparing your tofu is to drain the package. Then, you'll want to use a dish towel folded over a couple of times to put your drained tofu on to absorb excess moisture. Next, fold the towel around your block of tofu and use a couple of heavy books to rest on top and gently squeeze or press the tofu. I use 3 of my biggest cook books, and they work perfectly. Let the tofu press for 30 minutes or more, and you'll find that it has a more firm and dry texture. Here's a visual aid:

Once your tofu is pressed, you're ready to make a scramble.

TOFU VEGGIE SCRAMBLE

Makes 2-4 servings depending on appetite

1 block firm or extra firm tofu

1/2 medium onion, diced

4 oz mushrooms, diced

2-3 large leaves kale, chopped finely

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

10 or so cherry tomatoes, quartered

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 - 1/2 cup nutritional yeast

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp powdered turmeric

sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions: In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Add onion, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and garlic and saute until golden brown., then add the chopped kale and stir in. Cook the veggies until the kale is bright green, then season with salt and pepper, and remove from the skillet and set aside. Turn the heat up to medium high and add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Allow the oil to get hot, then crumble the tofu into the pan with your fingers. I like to let the tofu cook for about 4-5 minutes, then stir and chop it more finely with my spatula. At this point, I add all of my seasonings and stir them in well. The tofu will turn a lovely shade of yellow from the turmeric, making it resemble scrambled eggs. Continue to cook the tofu for a few minutes, allowing it to brown slightly. Once it's cooked to your desired amount of brownness, add the veggies and stir them in well. Screaming Carrots makes theirs with toasted pine nuts, which are a lovely addition, but I'm not currently pine nut rich. I aspire to be someone who makes enough money to have pine nuts on hand, but I'm not quite there yet. If you ARE that rich, congrats and add some to your scramble cuz it's frickin' amazing. Otherwise, serve this shit with a side of whole grain toast and organic jam from Aldi, like me. You won't be disappointed.