Crunchy Tofu with Mango Jalapeno Aoili

It's been a drizzly, dreary (but not cold!) weekend, so I took lots of time reading through my gazillion cookbooks to come up with a Sunday dinner worthy of my son's visit. He loves tofu, and he suggested a breaded and pan fried version. I am AWFUL at frying, probably because I just don't do it that much. My son said he loves to fry stuff, so I came up with a veganized version of a Hot 'n Crunchy Chicken we ate years ago. The recipe is from a local 5-star restaurant (famous for cooking up elk, rattlesnake, and even kangaroo!). Crunchy needs mushy to go with it, so I also made smashed sweet potatoes and a roasted vegetable medley. My son likes unadulterated mashed potatoes, so that's why these are literally smashed with a little salt and pepper only.
Isn't that breading beautiful?!! I can say that because I take no credit for the recipe. We put 8 slices of tofu into a marinade of mostly fat free garlic vinaigrette and teriyaki sauce, and then some other stuff we found in the refrigerator. I made twice as much breading as I needed, but here's the recipe:

Crunchy Tofu Coating:
1/4 cup toasted almonds
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1 cup cornflakes
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon salt

Mango Jalapeno Aoili:
In a small bowl, mix together:
1 fresh mango, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 red onion, diced
1 large jalapeno, seeded and diced
dash of salt

In a food processor or blender, mix together:
1 box firm silken tofu
juice of one large lemon
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon mango jelly
salt and pepper to taste

When combined, add to mango jalapeno mixture. Add in a 1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro and chill until ready to serve.

We began our meal with Millet-Spinach Soup from Nava Atlas' new soup cookbook http://blog.vegkitchen.com/wp-content/Soups%20front%20cover.jpg. It was wonderful and made a huge pot. It is very flavorful with a hint of curry powder and so filling.
I made an Oatmeal Whole Wheat quick bread to go with it. I haven't had a lot of luck with vegan breads besides cornbread, but this one turned out pretty good.

I think I may have stumbled onto a new kitchen tip. The millet soup called for fresh grated ginger. Since I had already pressed some garlic into the soup, I cut off a piece of ginger and pushed it through the garlic press, skin side up, and that worked better than any fancy ginger grater I've ever bought.

For our dessert I decided we should have something light. I rolled out some phyllo dough, cut it into six pieces, and put the pieces into my giant muffin pan. I cut up some fresh peaches, quince, and kiwi and put those into the shells. Then I made a pastry cream of silken tofu, brown rice syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla. I had enough leftover to make some mini tarts too, but apparently Blogger is limiting my photo uploads tonight.

The lighting for the pics is not so good today with such overcast skies.

I'm still cooking. We're having an office potluck breakfast tomorrow. I took a hint from Vicki at Vegetarian Family and am roasting potatoes so I'll have something to eat. I can see it now - my potatoes, along with six boxes of doughnuts and a sausage, egg, and cheese casserole.