tofu dearest: mexican sweet potatoes for poor taste magazine

Batata! Sweet potatoes, spiced up Mexican-style
“Only a vegan!” my coworker chirped cheerfully when I told her what I was warming up for lunch: the spicy sweet potato taquitos I had made at home the night before. I instinctively thought, “you should be so lucky” as it is my first reaction whenever someone questions something so delectable on my plate. Really, what could be better than a spicy Mexican meal that incorporates such a distinctive flavor as sweet potato [...]

tofu dearest: vegan brunch for poor taste magazine

Seven Vegan Brunch Dishes You Must Try Before You Die

In honor of Poor Taste’s gargantuan gathering of the best brunch spots in the U.S., I decided to focalize the task even more, to highlight the dishes themselves and pay respect to the vegan options, wherever the restaurant.

I’ve eaten at or been regaled with stories of a great many vegan brunch across the land, from decadent waffles soaked in syrup and Earth Balance pillows to healthy homemade oatmeal with soy milk and fresh strawberries. I wanted to celebrate my favorite of these options, but also open it up to you, fellow vegans of the planet, to share your own favorites [...]

tofu dearest: vegan filipino for poor taste mag

No Worries, Vegans Eat Filipino Food Too
Chef Jay-Ar Isagani Pugao is out to change the public perception about Filipino food. The executive chef-restaurateur owns Oakland’s No Worries, an entirely animal-free vegan Filipino spot, and he wants the food world to know there’s a healthy side to the fare. It’s believed to be heavy and fatty, he said during a Dishcrawl cooking demonstration and dinner last month, but it doesn’t have to be [...]

tofu dearest: beet burgers for poor taste magazine

Just Beet It: Vegan Burgers Get Street Cred
You know that old adage — when your CSA gives you beets, make beet burgers? Or something along those lines, correct?

Last week our community-supported agriculture network, Farm Fresh To You, delivered a cardboard box that included three giant, hearty beets with long, red-veined leaves sprouting off the bulbs like plumage, among other less-tantalizing fruits and vegetables. When choosing what to do with those magnificent purple root vegetables, the answer seemed obvious: veggie burgers [...]

tofu dearest: vegan love for poor taste magazine

How to Make Culinary Love to a Vegan
Confession time: I live with an adorable meat-eater. I throw in the adorable because he really is, despite our surface-level divergent eating habits. He may devour roast chicken or fried calamari when we hit local food establishments, but at home he mostly keeps it vegan with me — another reason to throw in the complimentary descriptor [...]

tofu dearest: vegan myths for poor taste magazine

We’ve all heard it a thousand times before, from the nosy friend of a friend, the second cousin, the ex-co-worker, what have you. They’ve read some unfounded study somewhere in the wilds of the Internet and henceforth decided that vegans can’t possibly get all those juicy meat-based nutrients, or they lack protein, or vegans are at elevated risk for heart disease. Untrue, untrue, and double untrue.[...]

tofu dearest: hangover scramble for poor taste magazine

There’s nothing greater after a night of heavy drinking than a steaming plate of scrambled tofu. This may be the first meal — the hangover breakfast — that worries new vegans. Fear not, tofu scramble is delicious and probably the easiest dish you’ll ever make. The main part to get right is the breaking up of the tofu itself, after that you can add any number of fun and exotic ingredients to the oil-sizzling mix [...]

tofu dearest: valentine's for poor taste magazine

A few years back the live-in boyfriend surprised me on Valentine’s Day with a small, white take-out box full of cocoa-dusted vegan truffles [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

Hello, Meat and Cheese: Veganize This!
I’m not a person who typically enjoys mock duck. I don’t often try to imitate meaty taste and texture when home cooking like many vegans do, and when faced with faux meat versus gold standard-but-simple tofu dishes at restaurants; I’ll always choose the latter [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

Vegan Pizza Day Is Coming: Time for Doughy Boot Camp
The vegan pizza slice is elusive. It’s a rare, yet progressively more visible gem, in a world traditionally made up of shredded cheeses and rounds of meat. Walk in to any standard pizza joint in the country and ask for a piping hot slice of dairy-free, meat-free pie. Chances are, the confused chef will either laugh or offer to simply pull the cheese off a slice (um, no thanks)[...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

New Year’s Eve: Cheap, Vegan, and Out of Control
It’s time to get decadent — on a budget. New Year’s Eve is upon us and whether you’re throwing a massive NYE soiree or just hosting a few select guests, planning a vegan appetizer, dessert, and cocktail menu can be a headache. Especially if your crowd is weary of all meat-free, dairy-free treats [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

De La Soul Food: Vegan Collards, Okra, Barbecue, and Fried “Chicken”
Okra, mustard collard greens, creamy mashed potatoes with savory gravy, and two pieces of crispy Southern fried tofu “chicken.” I ate it all, in one grand sitting, a few weeks back and was incredibly full, a tad over-salted, and deeply satisfied [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

Love and Sambal: A Vegan Goes Indonesian


I’ll be the first to admit it; I knew little of Indonesia before I met the live-in boyfriend. Now that I’ve tasted the region’s style of food many times over, I’ve become completely fascinated with it [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

Vegan Halloween: My Bloody Punchbowl (and Other Ghoulish Treats)
Growing up, Halloween was always my favorite holiday — and it remains at the top today. Oh those evenings I spent dressed as a pink-cheeked cheerleader, glittery mermaid, French painter, and “weirdo” (I went through phases, okay?), hoarding treats earned through rigorous doorbell ringing and appreciative smiles [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

Dreaming In Swirls of Cinnamon
Are you aware that if you live anywhere in the U.S., you can now have a box of four gooey vegan cinnamon rolls delivered to your door? Not only that, but the cinnamon rolls come with a variety of delicious flavor options. It’s a mind-blowing concept, I know. I’ll let you sit and salivate with that knowledge for a moment [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

The Art of the Vegan Lunch
The after-summer dregs can get anyone down. Classes have begun; vacations from the office are just a memory. There is one thing, however, that can pump a vegan’s mood once he or she is back to a day-to-day routine — a tasty lunch to look forward to [...]

tofu dearest column for poor taste magazine

The Taco Chronicles
Name any kind of meatless, non-dairy ingredient and I’ll find a way to taco it up [...]

tofu dearest column for poor taste magazine

Meatless grilling on a summer’s day
Lately, all I can think about are three syllables: bar-be-cue. Maybe it’s the hazy, pleasant vibe of the summer months in general [...]