Cheap Eats: Easy Baked Tofu

The Topic: Making the yummiest, easiest, cheapest tofu you'll ever eat with Assistant Editor Anna Peraino

The Dish: Savvy Vegan is almost two years old, and between posts about cheap and easy biscuits, soup, more soup, and peach pie, we've posted some really delicious, inexpensive recipes. While combing through our Cheap Eats one day looking for Abby's tortilla recipe (so good, y'all), I realized something quite disturbing: We don't have a recipe for baked tofu on here! Baked tofu! It's the vegan everyman's meal. The recipe you can whip up in three seconds. The vegan's infinitely more awesome baked chicken.

In order to right this wrong, I offer to you this incredibly simple and delicious baked tofu recipe. You'd think that working at a food-obsessed establishment such as VegNews would mean that I spend my evenings whipping up seitan Wellingtons and homemade ice cream with some two-cheese lasagna for dessert (what? I'm Italian), but alas, that's not my thing—we have Associate Editor Jennifer Chen and Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig for that. Most of my meals consist of the very baked tofu I am about to share with you. So, without further ado…

The Easiest Baked Tofu Ever

Serves 5

What You Need:
1 package extra-firm tofu
2-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 packet or 1 teaspoon stevia
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

What You Do:
   1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drain tofu and place on 2 paper towels
   folded in half. Cover with another 2 paper towels folded in half and
   gently press to remove excess moisture. Cut tofu into 1/2- to 1-inch
   cubes.
   2. In a glass baking dish, combine tofu with all other ingredients.
   Gently toss to combine.
   3. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until tofu seems firm to the touch and
   marinade has dried in pan.

The Final Word: As I mentioned before, baked tofu is a vegan's bread and butter. The best thing about it is its versatility, and it will only get better as you hone your flavor profile (fancy culinary phrase: $0) and figure out what you like best. And we want to hear about it! Please post your favorite everyday baked tofu recipe in the comments below!

Cheap Eats: Tortillas!

The Topic: Flat-Out Fab Food

The Dish: Besides biscuits, there's one other recipe I rely on regularly when I'm in need of cheap food and/or the illusion of a fancy (read: homemade) meal: motherflippin' tortillas. And by that, I mean my Mother taught me how to flip them—her recipe and tortilla expertise has guided me to where I am today.

Using dirt-cheap ingredients, similar to their quick-bread counterpart, these tortillas are easy peasy and turn taco night into a high-class affair. If you're not in the mood for a rice-and-beans burrito, that's okay—Mom has a ton of delicious suggestions for this flat-bread base, including cheesy garlic, sweet saffron, and even chocolate dessert variations. For now, I'll share two secret recipes with you: The Original, and Classic PB&J.

"The Original" Tortilla

What You Need:

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/4 cup water, plus 1 tablespoon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

What You Do:

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and let stand for 20 minutes.

2. Form dough into a ball, then place onto lightly floured countertop. Divide into 1-inch balls. Flatten each ball into a round, and, with a rolling pin, roll out lightly on one side.

3. Over high heat, place cast-iron skillet. Cook tortillas in ungreased skillet for 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and cook other side until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Serve warm.

Classic PB&J

What You Need:

1 cup flour

Dash sea salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup water

1 tablespoon agave syrup

What You Do:

Same as The Original! Except when these are finished, smother with your favorite jam, maybe some more peanut butter, and devour the best PB&J ever.

A few tips from Mom aka the Tortilla Queen:

• When rolling out tortillas, only roll on one side—no flipping!
• Don't be afraid to sprinkle the PB 'tillas with a little more flour when rolling. These will have a slightly different texture than The Original.
• You'll probably just want to make a double batch, because these will be gone in no time.

The Final Word: Sure, you could just buy a pack of tortillas at the store, but that isn't fun, and it's more expensive (unless you're buying those mega-packs of corn tortillas for like 50 cents or something insane, but do those have peanut butter in them?). Don't be afraid to experiment with add-ins—these are really hard to screw up. And if you try out a really awesome (or awful, god forbid) let me know!