Buffalo Tofu Wrap

Happy Friday, everyone! Very few people may remember this one, but "it's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!"

If you don't know what this is, go and look it up. Now.

Better yet, imagine me singing this song after waking up the Friday I got my wisdom teeth out. Good times.

I hope you all enjoyed the Light Southwestern Salad, and potentially the leftovers it gave you. I love leftovers, so many of my recipes should be enough for two, and a packed lunch for the next day!

Today, we have a Buffalo Tofu Wrap.

It is spicy, flavorful, crunchy, and just all-around amazing.

If you've read any of my early posts, you know that I love buffalo. I previously thought buffalo chicken would be the thing that kept me from vegetarian/ veganism. But I have already found that buffalo seasoning with tempeh or tofu perfectly satisfies my need for fresh & buffalo flavors!

But before I go on forever about buffalo, I want to take brief couple paragraphs today to talk about a recent issue in the world of animal agriculture. Earlier this week, undercover footage from Fair Oaks Farm in Northern Indiana broke revealing horrendous animal abuse:

• Calves being kicked, shoved, slammed, or thrown into trucks
• Calves dying in scorching hot temperatures, or from malnutrition
• Branding newborn baby calves
• Stomping on calves heads 
• Taking calves to veal slaughterhouses, even though they claimed not to do this
• The list could go on

To see the footage yourself, though I warn, it is nauseating, you can follow this link. 

After seeing this footage, I was surprised to see some social media posts in defense of Fair Oaks (overall defending the dairy industry). Their claims were that not all dairy farms treat their calves the way Fair Oaks did. Nor should farmers be demonized.

I agree that not all farmers are capable of what is in that video. I have more faith in humanity than that!

However, the thing about the video that struck me as most sad isn't unique to Fair Oaks Farms, but is done widespread throughout the dairy industry. 

Many mother cows at Fair Oaks lost their voices calling for their baby calves, who they'd been separated from.

Cows, like any species on the planet, are very maternal. But in order to get the most milk from them, the cow and calf are separated, usually within a couple of days. This distresses any mother cow, regardless of if her calf is being abused or not. 

In fact, I recently visited a nearby sanctuary, and learned that one of the resident cows was reunited with her grown-up calf and immediately started calling out to her baby and recognized her as soon as she pulled in. 

So, I personally feel that the way we attain dairy is mistreatment of animals, regardless of how the calf is treated. 

There are many more details about the dairy industry that bother me, but I think it's good to take in information, especially when it's emotional like the Fair Oaks incident, bit-by-bit. 

Last I knew, all of the employees in the videos have been fired. Many companies and groceries have pulled Fair Oaks products from their shelves, but Coca-Cola will keep in partnership, entrusting hat changes will be made. The news on this particular incident is still developing.

While it does, we can enjoy a Buffalo Tofu Wrap flavored with some Daiya, dairy-free cheese! 

If you still eat cheese, you can of course use that. Lately, though, I've been experimenting with non-dairy cheeses, and this week is the perfect one to try it out on!

Buffalo Tofu Wrap

Time: 45 minutes (take at least 1 hour prior to drain tofu)

Serves: 2 (you’ll have some leftover nuggets)

What you’ll need:

2 large tortillas

1, 14 oz packet of tofu

½ red onion

½ tomato

½ avocado

2 handfuls of spinach

Daiya dairy-free cheese, you choose how much!

¾ cup plain plank milk

1 tbsp olive oil

¾ cup Panko bread crumbs

Hot sauce (you choose how much; you can make your own with hot sauce and vegan butter, or find a store bought one)

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp- tbsp paprika (depending on your spicy preference)

Salt & pepper to taste

What you’ll do:

1. (Recommended but optional) open tofu and drain. Place between two plates with three cans on top and press in the fridge for 1-4 hours. Drain excess liquid.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
3. Tear tofu into nugget-sized pieces
4. In one bowl, combined olive oil and plant milk; in another, the bread crumbs, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
5. Evenly coat each nugget in milk and oil, then bread and place on a grease baking pan.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes to your desired crisp; flip halfway through
7. Meanwhile, you can dice the onion, tomato, and avocado, and set aside
8. When the timer goes off, take the tofu out, and coat in buffalo sauce; place back in oven for 5-10 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, steam the flour tortillas by placing one between 2 wet paper towels and microwaving for 10 seconds.
10. Eventually, take out tofu and add tofu, avocado, onion, tomato, spinach, and cheese.
11. Wrap, cut down the middle, and enjoy.
12. Have a great weekend, and check back Monday for a delicious Pad See Ew (spicy noodles) recipe :)