Sesame and Shiitake No-Egg Fritatta

Unfortunately, there are some realities which are just plain horrible, some truths terribly inconvenient. However, would you rather remain oblivious to what is really going on OR do you want to know the truth so that you can empower yourself and make informed choices? I choose empowerment.

It’s time you found out where eggs really come from. Yes, chickens lay eggs, but do you know how chickens are treated in this industry? It’s actually worse than your worst nightmare!

Some people appease their discomfort by saying they buy “cage-free” “organic” or “free-range” eggs. Those words really don’t mean much in the egg industry, unless you have personally seen the farm and chickens yourself. Whether a chicken is given the liberty to move around in its feces and urine in a huge, windowless warehouse with thousands of other distressed birds or whether it is forced to sit on it in a tiny cage, what’s the difference really?

From the day they are born, until the moment of their terrifying death, these birds know nothing but pain and suffering. Chicks’ beaks are sawed or burned off, of course without painkillers, and those are just the females, which suffer chronic pain for the rest of their miserable lives. The males are useless to the industry, considered a mere worthless by-product, so they grind them alive, gas them or throw them into bins to suffocate slowly.

The female chickens are confined to cages so small they cannot move, the wiring cripples their feet and rips off their feathers. They live in their own excrement for the rest of their sorry lives, in the damp darkness, breathing in toxic fumes, only to be cruelly mishandled by detached, frustrated and desperate employees. This is the sad truth. Let’s not be any part of it! We don’t need eggs, nor do we need chicken meat for any recipes! There are many alternatives!

“Frittata” is the Italian word for “omelette”, and yes, Italians do typically use eggs for this dish! However, I’m here to inform you that eggs are completely unnecessary, even for a dish like this! We will use tofu instead, and no, the taste and texture will not be compromised in the least! Eggs are optional in all dishes, so let’s choose something kinder, instead of mindlessly reaching for an egg.

Also, I have included the recipe for a tasty creamy sauce I invented, which of course, contains no dairy at all. I use soaked cashews to create the cream. You can pour some mushroom sauce over this omelette, or you can use it to top your tempeh burger, veggies or favorite pasta dish. Yes, it’s that versatile!

Follow me … ! Enjoy, in joy and in health!

Sesame and Shiitake No-Egg Fritatta

Ingredients:
1 package organic firm tofu
3 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms or any mushroom of your choice, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into matchstick-size strips
6 green onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 ¼ cups plain, unsweetened soy milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons tamari
½ cup chickpea flour
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon black pepper

Asparagus topping:
12 fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed off
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon tamari

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of sesame oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, green onion, carrots, half of the minced garlic, sesame seeds. Sauté until carrots and mushrooms are tender – about 5 minutes. Stir in tamari and set aside in a small bowl.
3. Blend tofu, flour, nutritional yeast, salt, turmeric, pepper and remaining minced garlic in a food processor until mixture is smooth. Slowly add in soy milk and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Process until mixture is smooth and thick, like yogurt.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Spoon in half of the mushroom and carrot mixture. Pour tofu mixture and sprinkle remaining mushroom and carrot mixture over top.
5. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until tofu appears firm, about 10 minutes.
6. Transfer pan to the oven and bake uncovered for 30- 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out dry. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
7. Sprinkle olive oil and tamari over asparagus and roast them over medium heat until crisp and tender, about 6-7 minutes.
8. Top frittata with roasted asparagus and serve.
9. If desired, serve with Cashew-Creamy Mushroom Sauce (recipe follows).

*Recipe for frittata adapted from Ann Gentry’s Vegan Family Meals*

Cashew-Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients:

Mushroom mixture:
3 cups mushrooms of your choice, chopped
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon unsalted steak spice
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1/3 teaspoon chili flakes
3 tablespoons grapeseed or coconut oil

Cashew sauce mixture:
½ cup raw cashews, pre-soaked for 2 hours and drained
1 cup water
1 tablespoon miso, yellow or white
1 garlic, minced
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup nutritional yeast
¼ cup hemp seeds
½ teaspoon black pepper

Method:
1. Heat grapeseed or coconut oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté mushrooms, oregano, steak spice, pepper, sea salt and chili flakes. Cook until mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set saucepan aside.
2. In a blender, blend all ingredients for cashew sauce until light and creamy. Sauce may appear runny at this point.
3. Add cashew mixture to mushroom mixture in saucepan and simmer for 6-7 minutes. Sauce will thicken over heat. Remove from heat once desired thickness is achieved.
4. Serve over frittata, favorite pasta, veggie burgers or vegetables.

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” –Paul McCartney