Tofu Crumbles Tacos

It was new meat-alternative product night at our house tonight!  I was on the hunt for some taco type items as I had some left over corn tortillas from Bean & Cheese Enchiladas that I previously made that I wanted to use up, so decided on a less formal taco night for this week.  I saw the Marjon Original Tofu Crumbles at the grocer the other day and figured, what the heck, might as well give it a try.  I knew that I had already purchased a can of Vegetarian Refried Beans so if this product failed, I still had some girth to put into the tortillas.

First impression was the same as when I introduced us to Gimme Lean Ground 'Sausage' in that it sort of looked like cat food in the vacuum sealed package (We actually fed our cats some wet cat food just before this and I will have to say the cat food looked a little more appetizing).  I immediately regreted my decision to spend the $3.99 or whatever it cost.  Again, I forged ahead.  Can't learn unless we make mistakes right?  I think I just gave away that this didn't go over to well.... read on....

So I looked over the packing for the instructions and surprise, surprise, none were available.  I don't understand why these meat alternative products don't include any type of instructions.  The product did contain some simple recipes on the side and back.

After review, I came to the conclusion that I just needed to heat it up. So I moved forward with handling the same way I would for ground beef and slapped in a skillet. I was pretty impressed that once I got it in the pan, it was pretty darn close to looking like ground beef.

The best way for me to explain the results is that this product was unnecessary.  It wasn't bad.  It wasn't good.  It was nothing; just kind of there.  I think that if I was a person that heavily relied on or expected texture to certain foods, then maybe this product would help me with meeting my need for a meat-type feel.  But really, I would have been happy with just the beans that I had for my tacos.  I believe Dan felt the same way.  We tried to spice it up with some chili powder, cumin and other spices and, while it added a little flavor, it didn't do much at all.  I would like to give it another try in maybe a simple spaghetti night and through it in with a jar of sauce.  I could see the texture doing a little good in that type of situation.  Conclusively, I won't count it out as an option; I would like to try it again in a different medium (as mentioned); I wouldn't rush out to buy it again.