Spork Fed Cookbook Review, a Recipe & a Giveaway!

I am very excited to announce my second giveaway & share a delicious new recipe! Nasoya, the leading brand of tofu in the US, has teamed up with the Spork Foods sisters to “make gourmet, organic vegan meals accessible to vegans, vegetarians, & healthy eaters alike.” Recently I was given the opportunity to review the sisters’ new cookbook, “Spork Fed,” try out some of Nasoya’s new products, & offer a giveaway to my readers. I’ll provide the details at the end of this post! I had originally planned to make a tofu based dish from the cookbook, but then was inspired to make my own creation using Nasoya Tofu & Nayonaise. My current favorite tofu just happens to be Nasoya’s Organic TofuPlus. Why I love it? It is designed to meet the nutritional needs for those of us on a no meat diet & is fortified with B2, B6, B12, D & Calcium. This was the perfect tofu to feautre in my recipe.

White Truffle Tofu “Egg” Salad

I can’t wait to share this elegant twist on one of my favorite ways to enjoy tofu, but first, let’s talk Spork! Gourmet vegan chefs Jenny Engel & Heather Goldberg, of Spork Foods, provide vegan cooking classes in Los Angeles & online creating easy, innovative vegan recipes. I’m an active member of their online community, & absolutely love cooking along with these sassy sisters & their energetic videos. This year, they came out with their first cookbook, “Spork Fed,” featuring over 75 delicious vegan recipes, & I was eager to get my hands on it. This book is very bit as charming as they are. The cookbook highlights their fresh & playful approach to vegan cooking, & covers everything from appetizers, soups & salads, sides, to main dishes, desserts, & brunch. Some of their recipes I am dying to try:

• Pear, Fig, & Sage Tarts with Roasted Garlic Aioli
• Spicy Seitan Buffalo Wings
• Nicoise Salad
• Velvety Carrot Soup with Mint Oil
• Southwest Black Bean & Corn Mini Burgers with Smoky Paprika Cashew Cheese
• Cashew Cream Fettuccine Alfredo with Sauteed Spinach & Cheese Crisps
• Seitan Scalloipini with Sauteed Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce (there is even a DIY sietan recipe)
• Apple & Pear Tarte Tatin
• Crunchy Peanut Butter Bon Bons
• Smoky Tempeh Bacon, Broccoli & Cheese Quiche
• Strawberry & Cream Cheese French Toast

Don’t all of these look delish? And there are pages more! In addition to these scrumptious recipes, they provide “Suggested Menus,” which is the perfect feature for me, as I love to host complete “start to finish dinner parties.” These menus will help take the guess work out of the “what pairs well with what” planning piece that often gets me in a pickle! I just might have to have a dinner party &  serve their “Fancy Pants” menu & lots of champagne cocktails, or a relaxing Sunday Brunch with their “Brunch o’ Clock” menu. Probably one of my favorite features of the book, & you will get this from their classes as well, is that every recipe is accompanied by “Sporkie Scoop” where they cleverly give you tips on how the ingredients in the recipe are good “For Your Smarts” & “For Your Parts.” I have learned so much. Eating onions can help prevent bone loss? Eggplant is a berry, who knew? One thing you’ll notice right away is their secret sister language, or what they call their “Sporkie Terminology.” Not to worry, there is even a ”Talkin’ Sporkie Glossary” to help guide you through, & trust me, you too will be talkin’ sporkie soon enough! There is clearly so much to love about the darling Sisters Sporkie, & this super fun & friendly cookbook. Wanna win a copy? Don’t worry you’ll have a chance! But now I must share this elegant ode to Tofu “Egg” Salad that I created using Nasoya products, which you could soon be able to replicate, as the winner of the giveaway will receive goodies from Nasoya too. It’s funny, I never was a fan of stinky egg salad, but I’ve always loved an eggless version. My first introduction was a tasty version that Trader Joe’s used to sell in their refrigerator section. I bought it weekly, it became a staple sandwich filling for quite a long time. Until they discontinued it. Darn you Trader Joe’s. At that point I started making it from scratch using different recipes from cookbooks & around the web. I soon found a curried version that became my new staple, until I exhausted it. Then it was time to dream up a new flavor combination. While browsing through Sunset magazine during a very relaxing girls’ weekend getaway a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a recipe for “White Truffle Egg Salad Sandwiches”. Color me inspired! White truffles are a true decadent treat,  & fragrant truffle oil is no exception. Truffles & eggs are a classic pairing, but would it work with tofu? Most certainly. It adds a rich depth of flavor that the tofu soaks up like a sponge. The only drawback, it’s costly, so it’s a good thing its used sparingly here! All I knew was that it sounded amazing…there is was, my next tofu egg salad adventure. I just needed to veganize it. And so, I did, & it was marvelous.

Or I’ll pack it for lunch true sammie style. I imagine this salad would be a wonderful addition to a brunch spread atop flaky vegan croissants. So many ways to serve it. I cannot wait for you to try it & tell me how you enjoyed it! And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for (drumroll) THE GIVEAWAY!!!! One lucky winner will receive:

• One copy of “Spork Fed” by Jenny Engel & Heather Goldberg
• (5) Coupons for one free Nasoya tofu product, including the brand new Black Soybean TofuPlus
• A pair of “Tofu U” gym shorts; Tofu U is Nasoya’s online tofu college teaching users how to press, prep & cook tofu!