In celebration of Vegan MoFo, I’m doing a month of themed dinner party ideas! The theme for the second week is a pajama party!
Now that we’ve watched countless fluffy movies, had our fortunes told with a game of MASH, made some unusual prank calls, and have sprayed and teased our hair to impossible heights, it’s time for the spoooooky portion of the evening. Get out your trusty 8 ball to help with the following questions…
Are you ready to be amazed?
Will the results be terrifying?
Harumph. Will the results be terrifying?
Will a person named Mary be involved, who is by all accounts pretty, but still somewhat bloody?
Oh, it’s on. With our breath held in frightened anticipation, we’ll head to the bathroom, close the door, and stare into the mirror to chant, “Pretty bloody Mary. Pretty bloody Mary. Pretty bloody Mary.” In all of my years of trying this experiment, no one from the other side has ever scratched me on the face as was promised, but perhaps Mary was detained at another overnighter. That girl was in demand.
With unscathed faces, we move to the living room for a bit of levitation. First, using two fingers, we try to lift someone in the group who is sitting on a chair. With fingers under their armpits and knees, we’re unable to lift them. Then after chanting and putting all of our hands over their heads, one by one, being careful not to touch, and then removing them in order, in silence we go back to our positions, and in unison lift the person into the sky.
After taking turns being the person who gets lifted, surely we’ve worked up hunger for a proper breakfast. Just put your hands over your Southwestern Tofu Tostada, and then lift it with two fingers. (I recommend the forefinger and thumb.) Be amazed at how the sturdy, baked corn tortilla is light as a feather, but stiff as a board. Topped with a tofu scramble, avocado, salsa, and spices, could this mouthwatering breakfast be the answer to putting consistently-cranky Mary in a good mood?
Southwestern Tofu Tostada
Serves 4
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil + extra for brushing on tortillas
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup red onion, chopped small
- ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped small
- ½ cup yellow bell pepper, chopped small
- 2 leaves dinosaur (lacinato) kale, removed from rib & chopped small
- 1 14-ounce block firm or extra firm water-packed tofu, drained and quickly squeezed to remove excess water (No need for a full pressing, though)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1-2 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes (depending on preferences)
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce (or more if preferred)
- 4 soft corn tortillas
- Toppings: (Any or all of the following) Raw red onions, salsa, guacamole, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, vegetarian refried beans, Daiya cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large skillet, bring to a medium heat and add extra virgin olive oil. Sauté garlic, red onion, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper until softened and fragrant, a few minutes. Add the kale and sauté for another minute or two. Crumble the tofu into the pan, completely combining it with the vegetables. Add the coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric, nutritional yeast flakes, and hot sauce. Cook until warmed through, about 5-7 minutes. (If the tofu begins to stick, add a tablespoon or two of water to the pan.)
Lightly brush extra virgin olive oil on both sides of the four corn tortillas. Put the tortillas on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for five minutes on one side. Flip the tortillas and continue baking for another 5-8 minutes, until crisp but not burnt.
If using vegetarian refried beans, smear warmed beans onto each tortilla. Top with tofu scramble and your favorite toppings.
Note: As a time saver, feel free to use packaged tostadas instead of baking the corn tortillas. Simply warm them in the oven briefly before topping with the tofu scramble and other toppings.
Oooooh…the Magic 8-Ball! I loved those, but mine must have been broken – it always told me that I could rely on the fact that I would end up with my grade school crush…but I didn’t…sigh
I’ve never heard of the Bloody Mary game…but we would cue up “Three Men and a Baby” to that scene where you see the ghost of the dead boy hiding behind the curtains. Creepy.
You should contact the Magic 8 ball corporation about a refund. Yours must have been defective!
I’m surprised you never played Bloody Mary. I thought it was everywhere! Don’t worry, though. You didn’t miss much.
That’s funny about 3 Men and a Baby! Were you disappointed when you found out it was just a cardboard standee of Ted Danson?
you are taking me back so far!!!!!!!! you know, i STILL can’t look in the bathroom mirror in the middle of the night when the lights are out. i’m afraid to see…HER. also, light as a feather, stiff as a board always seemed to work for us! love the tostada breakfast idea. i think every sleepover i went to, we just ate cereal in the morning :/
Those childhood fears have a way of lingering on! That’s funny you still worry when it comes to mirrors in the middle of the night. I remember as a kid it took a long time before I felt comfortable with fuzz on the TV screen because of an early viewing of Poltergeist.
Yes, light as a feather, stiff as a board always worked for us too! While I was writing this, I looked up why that works, and the theory is that when people try to lift someone the second time, they are more focused and in unison than the first attempt.
Yes, tostadas are delicious! It used to be one of my favorite brunch meals at restaurants in my vegetarian days. So I really enjoy making them at home now.
I love your mofo theme, and I’m just making it here so I am going to go check out the rest of your posts next. This meal looks perfect to me. And oh, man, the things we used to do at slumber parties.
Thanks for dropping by, Jenny! Yes, slumber parties were such fun silliness. I half thought about having the drink for the meal just be a glass of warm water.
I used to HATE that Bloody mary game. These days I am much more fond of the drink. Also some tofu on the side to soak it up! Looks gorgeous.
Yes, for just staring in the mirror with the lights off, it was creepy, wasn’t it? After I was done writing this post I thought a Bloody Mary would have been a good adult PJ party theme drink!
That tostada looks delish and I absolutely love this post – so cute!
Thanks so much, Ashley!
I remember the two-finger lifting exercise and the magic ball, but you forgot to bring out the Ouija Board! I’ve had lots of fun at the party and am really enjoying the tostada — thanks for the entertainment this week.
Ouija boards were a big PJ party favorite, weren’t they? Kids just like scaring themselves!
Oh my gosh, this is a brilliant blog post. I love other blogs that are funny, as well as delicious. And you take really great pictures. Vegan Mofo causes me to find yet another blog I add to my blogroll!
Yay! Thanks so much! I checked out your blog too, and it was a great find! Lots of funny stuff. MoFo FTW!
Luckily we never played other worldly games:) i was probably too scared to try any in the first place.. i love that load of flavorful tofu !
I definitely had my limits when it came to the creepy stuff. For example, I was never the one who wanted to go to haunted houses. My friends had to drag me there. Even now, if my husband wants to go to a haunted house or scary movie, he has to go with friends. I’ll be at home!
It’s funny how no matter where we all are in the world, we all did the exact same weird things at sleepovers, lol. I only wish that I had heard of that tostada back then because it looks amazing!
It is funny how these silly traditions take on a life of their own!
Love this post, I never had a magic 8-ball but always wanted one
I love the look of that tostada, yum!
Thanks, Mandee!
I went to a very religious, Christian school (even though my family was not really religious), so my girlfriends and I never played those games because all of the girls (very religious) thought it would conjur up the devil. About 5 years ago, I was telling this to my best friend and she suggested that we have a slumber party and play those game. A fun idea until we realized there was just 2 of us, so we couldn’t really lift each other up. After watching a scary movie, we were too scared to do the whole Bloody Mary thing. We did break out the ouija board (and played with it with the lights on) and I’m not sure how well it worked because it indicated I would marry a man named Charles Grover…
Any who, This tostada looks amazing- I just recently, in the last couple years, got into tostadas. I haven’t had one with a tofu scramble yet so it looks like I need to give it a try!
That’s too bad that you missed out as a kid, but I think it’s so fun that you and your best friend tried to recreate the experience as adults. It’s funny that even as adults, you were too afraid to do the Bloody Mary thing! Sorry things didn’t work out with Chuck!