Sequestration Meal #321

 

I was in the mood for ham, but although I have a Tofurky roast in my freezer, that is decidedly not summer-appropriate because of it's need for having the oven on for ages. So I decided to make some tofu ham, and found this recipe for pineapple glazed tofu ham at Vegan Travel Eats. I had everything on hand for except the pineapple slices. (I did have pineapple juice left from a can of pineapple I used up. Clearing the pantry doesn't mean throwing stuff out, and I have made a point of using things like the liquids in canned goods when possible.) It did have to bake for a while, but would fit in the toaster oven with room for a tiny casserole. The tiny casserole was a cheesy peas-and-mushroom one with cracker crumb topping. Peppered mashed potatoes rounded it out.

My tiny casserole was inspired by this omnivore recipe, scaled way down and veganized. I used the homemade mushroom soup I'd made a little while ago for my squash casserole and added some sliced mushrooms I cooked before mixing it with the peas, mushroom soup, and Daiya chedder shreds. It was really good, and since I already had the soup made, it was very easy. I already had the cracker crumbs from dropping a box of Town House crackers on the floor when I tried to get it down from a high shelf and breaking most of the crackers; you will see cracker crumbs in things for a little while, I assume.

One word of warning for toaster oven cookery: Don't get a cracker crumb topping too close to the heating element or it will burn. I'm glad I noticed to adjust things in time! Though there was room for both the tofu and the casserole, in the end I waited until the tofu was done to put the casserole back in the toaster oven on its own for about 15 minutes, which gave the tofu a chance to rest (something needed in the recipe anyway) and let me put the casserole in a spot that made the topping less inclined to burn.

The ham is still tofu, obviously, but it's also delicious. The hash marks aren't just cute; they allow the tofu to absorb more of the marinade and give the glaze somewhere to settle instead of just running off. The recipe makes far too much marinade and far too much glaze, though, so unless you're going to make this for a crowd and triple the amount of tofu you use (totally a reasonable idea for feeding a crowd) I would suggest cutting down on the marinade and the glaze.

If you're following the pantry-clearing part of my experience, this meal used:

• The last bit of some pineapple juice I had leftover from a can of pineapple chunks
• The very end of a bottle of liquid smoke (although I still have a rather enormous one waiting in the wings, there is one less bottle of stuff, which always feels like a victory--more space on the shelf!)
• Cracker crumbs
• Several other things in small amounts

All in all, a good meal with classic American food; this feels 1950s-inspired. I failed to fully plan ahead for how long the tofu took (a total of 4 hours), so start early if you make this--though most of this is just going every hour to move the tofu from one location to another, so it's not so bad. Plus, unlike Tofurky ham, this is gluten free ham. I could easily see serving this for a Christmas dinner. If I do that, I will get some pineapple to put on top, which I think would take this all the way to the next level.

I did not mark this meal as gluten free because of the crackers and flour in my casserole, but if you are looking for gluten free ideas, you could easily have a different veggie with this. Happy cooking!