Tofu Patties with Savory Mushroom Gravy and Mashed Potatoes

This one is a shout out to Mom for sure!  Growing up, meals in my house were mainly vegetarian because of Dad.  Some had cravings for chicken tenders, lasagna, or Mom's beef stew:  I had cravings for this dish. For those of you tofu-haters out there, give this recipe a try, you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised.  I will note, however, that the frying of the patties is not that healthy, but does make them oh-so-deliciously-crunchy!

I definitely used Mom's scanned recipe for this one, but of course with a few modifications.  I pan fried them to get the crunch factor, and I used sesame seeds, wheat germ, and cornmeal in the coating.  My tofu was previously frozen because I tend to buy it in bulk (extra-firm of course) and keep it in the freezer for a last minute protein-packed meal.  Also, when you freeze tofu, all of the water in it makes the little cellular pockets in the tofu expand as the water trapped inside freezes.  Then, when you defrost the tofu, you can squeeze out all of the excess water the tofu is really substantial and quite literally like a sponge.  This give the tofu a definitive texture and allows it to absorb more of the marinate and flavor you introduce it to, which makes it more enjoyable to eat than the regular old squishy stuff.  As such, I had to us more whole wheat flour in my mix because of the wetness of the patty mixture.  Just like you would make any patty, you add flour until the mix holds together.

My mom said that using mushroom bouillon is not necessary, but I did it anyway because I like to try and make things how Mom says to, you know?  I used Better than Bouillon brand mushroom bouillon, but apparently this can also be found in the Kosher aisle of the grocery store as a 3-pack of cubes made by Telma.  I also used about 3 C of sliced mushrooms and doubled the liquid: (1) because mushroom gravy is delicious, (2) because mushrooms shrink a lot, (3) because I like a lot of mushrooms in my gravy.

Of course, the key is to serve with a nice portion of homemade freshly mashed potatoes.  This was essentially my childhood version of "meat"loaf, and I still crave it today!  I hope it makes a tofu-appreciator out of you too!