Thursday, August 14, 2008

Tofu Anyone?

I was cooking like crazy yesterday. It was my first day off from work in 6 days, and I was just happy to be away from that retched place. I needed some time to breathe and experiment in the kitchen. I really just wanted to wear my kick ass apron all day long. I love that thing. It says "Domestic Diva" across the front, and I got it as a Valentine's Day present last year. I rarely wash it, so it's bound to have something growing on it by now. But anyway, I had to use up this broken package of tofu I had. Somehow, it got a slit in the plastic and was leaking in the fridge. I didn't want to use it on all one recipe, so I used half of the block for each recipe; however, I converted the measurements as if you were using a full block of tofu.

I found my first tofu recipe inspiration in one of Dreena Burton's cookbooks. I changed it a lot and renamed it because I didn't have some of the ingredients she used. I really enjoyed it, especially the sun-dried tomatoes, and I just finished it for breakfast... along with the rest of my sweet potato casserole muffins. SOOO GOOD!

Here's the recipe:

Crispy Tofu Bites
2- 2 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
couple pinches of freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 pkg extra firm tofu, squeezed dry and cubed

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together all ingredients except for tofu. Add tofu to mixture, cover, and marinate for 20 minutes. In a skillet sprayed with PAM, add the tofu and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until tofu is crispy and brown. You are ready to eat!

My next recipe is from a food blog, but I can't remember what blog I found it on. I also changed the recipe a bit because I wanted to use some different ingredients. It came out nice and smoky, but I think I would've cooked it about 5 minutes longer to add some extra crispiness. It's very flavorful and the marinade is sweet from the agave nectar.

Here's the recipe:

Smokey Miso Tofu

2 tbsp brown rice miso
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1 pkg extra firm tofu, squeezed dry and sliced

Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray baking sheet with PAM. Mix the marinade together in a large bowl and then add the tofu to the marinade, making sure all sides get covered. Let the tofu soak for about 20 minutes. Lay the tofu slices on the baking sheet and pour excess marinade on top of tofu. Bake for 20-25, depending on how crispy you want the tofu. I would do 25 for extra crispiness. The edges should be darker so you know that it's done. Now go ahead and eat up!

No comments: