Idaho Mess!!

In Cincinnati there's a place called Melt. It's amazing-- it has a bunch of vegan and vegetarian options, and even a vegan cheese option. It's pretty frickin' delicious. Unfortunately, we live in Columbus and cannot frequent such an establishment, so one Saturday I decided to make my own version of their Vegan Redskin Mess. I call it "Idaho Mess". Well, at first I thought Russet Mess, but that didn't sound right-- and Andy made the money decision to call it Idaho Mess. Either way, it's awesome.

I pretty much just turned Isa's cheezy sauce into a smokey cheddar like I did for the Jack Fruit Enchiladas [[recipe here]]. I made some rosemary potatoes and some tofu scramble, then baked it all into a delicious concoction.

[[Rosemary Potatoes]]

* 3-4 Idaho potatoes
* some olive oil
* 3-5 teaspoons of dried rosemary, this is a rough guess-- do it to taste
* a few shakes of parsley
* salt and pepper to taste

-Chop potatoes into three sections and add to boiling water with a little salt for about 15 minutes-- or until a fork inserts easily. When done, drain, and cut into wedges. Heat a a little olive oil, and fry the potatoes with all seasonings until golden brown. Make sure the potatoes are coated well!



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[[Tofu Scramble]]

* 3/4 container of extra firm tofu [[or just firm. Whatever.]]
* 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 to 2 cups of spinach, depending on how much greens you want
* 1/2 of a red onion, chopped
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice [[optional, I guess- I hate buying just one lemon]]
* 2 teaspoons turmeric
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon thyme
* some fine sea salt, black pepper, and red pepper
* 1/4 cup of water

- Heat oil, saute onions, garlic, and spinach for 1-2 minutes, until spinach is wilted. Add turmeric, cayenne pepper, paprika, chili powder, and thyme-- saute for anther 30 seconds to a minute. Add 1/2 cup of water and crumble tofu with your hands into the pan, like scrambled eggs! Cook until water is gone and the tofu looks coated-- the turmeric should make it kind of orange. You can add more spices, I usually do to make it spicier. Add nutritional yeast and lemon. Cook for a minute more. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste.

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[[Assembling the Mess]]

- put potatoes in casserole dish, add tofu scramble, and pour smoky cheddar cheezy sauce over it all. Bake at 350 degrees [[F]] for 10-15 minutes.
-Remove and enjoy the mess. If you're Andrew, you'll drizzle sriracha hot sauce all over it.



Props to Andrew for the sweet pictures, too. :)