Apple-Miso Tofu

Apple-Miso Tofu (page 151) on a bed of baby spinach
served with Orange-Scented Broccoli (page 100) and sticky brown rice

I wasn't sure about this recipe - it sounded a little strange, but maybe good. It WAS good! Delicious, in fact!

I usually prefer a firm, chewy texture in my tofu, and this turns out more soft instead (even though I started with the extra-firm variety), since it is baked with juicy apples in a covered pan. I really didn't mind the softer texture. The flavor was so satisfying. I left the skins on my apples, 'cause they're prettier that way, and served the tofu over a generous bed of baby spinach.

One note about the recipe: the ingredient list calls for one teaspoon of sesame oil. Normally, I try to leave out any added oils in my cooking, but, well, I'm a sucker for sesame oil. It's tasty. So every once in a while, I splurge. You get five grams of fat per serving with this recipe, which isn't so bad, so I figure if I'm extra good for the rest of the day, it shouldn't be a big deal, right? The problem here is that while the sesame oil is listed in the ingredient list, it is not mentioned any where else in the recipe instructions. It's not included in the marinade ingredient list, but the "everything else" category, instead. I decided to drizzle the one teaspoon of sesame oil over the tofu after marinating and before adding the sliced apples.

This is something I would definitely make again. (I might consider cutting the amount of sesame oil in half, to cut out some of those fat grams.) I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. How about you - has anyone else tried this?

Tofu Chimichurri

Tofu Chimichurri (page 150)
served with sauteed zucchini and yellow squash and brown rice

I've had my eye on this recipe for a while. I remember the first time I ever heard of chimichurri: in our pre-child and pre-vegan days, El Hombre and I attended a potluck barbecue at the home of some Argentinian friends, and I saw this guy slathering his cooked steak with a thick green sludge like it was salsa. Curious, we gave it a try, too, and it was amazing! Bright, tangy, and flavorful. Perfect on grilled foods.

Isa says that chimichurri is a marinade, but in my experience, it is also a thick condiment, like salsa. This recipe calls for marinating the tofu in a thin chimichurri sauce. I prepared the tofu and marinade early in the day, and left in the refrigerator for El Hombre to cook up later in the evening.

The girls and I arrived home after ballet folklorico class to find El Hombre standing over the stove, flipping the tofu around in a pan. It was a little messy, and some of the tofu broke apart, but the end result was quite delicious. I liked it, and I think it's safe to say El Hombre loved it, as he devoured quite a lot.

This recipe was good, but I would do it differently next time. Cooking the chimichurri sauce results in a loss of the bright green color and taste, which is what makes chimichurri so beautiful and fresh tasting. I think grilled tofu served with a more traditional chimichurri sauce as the condiment would be great. I'm inspired and will probably do it soon!

Red Thai Tofu

Red Thai Tofu, page 149

I've been enjoying the texture of broiled tofu lately, so instead of sauteeing these cubes of tofu as the recipe instructed, I went the broiling route instead. I like broiled tofu because the texture kind of reminds me of fried tofu, without all the grease - crispy corners, chewy on the inside.

The original recipe directions are to saute the tofu, then remove it from the pan while you saute the veggies, then add the tofu back to the pan when you add the sauce, and cook for a few more minutes. So while my tofu was in the oven, I sauteed up the rest of the vegetables for this dish, as well as a big pan of broccoli to go with our dinner. Then it was a snap to mix up the sauce and add it to the veggies, along with the broiled tofu.

This dish came together quickly, and it was tasty. However, I thought the sauce was too thin and wished it had clung more to the tofu and vegetables. From the recipe description in the book, I was expecting more of a glaze, but it was more broth-y instead. Otherwise, this was an acceptable dish that is nice and easy enough to keep in a regular rotation.

I've heard others rave about this recipe, so I'm wondering what I'm missing to make me rave, too. It was good, but not necessarily one of my favorite AFR recipes. Have you tried this tofu? What do you love, or not, about it?

Broiled Blackened Tofu and Pineapple Collards

Broiled Blackened Tofu, page 147, and Pineapple Collards, page 93

This tofu was coated in a Cajun spice mixture and then broiled at high heat. The collards were sauteed with a combination of sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and pineapple. Both dishes turned out tasty and complemented each other nicely.

The tofu recipe made only enough spice mixture to coat about half of my tofu; I had to mix up another batch to finish the remaining slices. I also regularly have to cook my tofu longer than Isa's recipes call for to achieve the desired result when using the oven, and tonight was no exception.

El Hombre and I both really enjoyed the greens with pineapple. It was a nice flavor profile, and I can see us making this recipe again. The kids also seemed to approve of these greens.

Sanctuary Chef Salad

Sanctuary Chef Salad, page 28

I have been simultaneously looking forward to and avoiding making this salad. It sounded so good, but the prospect of preparing all the individual components seemed like a lot of hassle. I wondered, would it be worth it?

I'm happy to report: it is SO worth it. By the time we sat down to dinner, I was kind of tired and irritable about all the dirty dishes, and skeptical about the pay out for all the hassle. But with the very first bite, my taste buds said, "Oh, yeah!" and each bite after that got even better.

So let me break it down for you here. First, I whipped up the Sanctuary Dressing (you know, because "ranches are not nice places for cows"):

Sanctuary Dressing, page 29

Very tasty. The kids liked it, too, even though they never really liked regular ranch dressing. El Hombre asked, "How did you do that?" I only had soft silken tofu on hand in the pantry, so I used that instead of the extra-firm. It was fine.

Then we have the Eggplant Bacon:

Eggplant Bacon, page 42

You can see that a few pieces got a little burnt, but it was all good. Man, I love that stuff.

Here we have the Basic Baked Tofu...

Basic Baked Tofu, page 144

... which is perfect for a salad like this. Then there is the Herb-Roasted Cauliflower:

Herb-Roasted Cauliflower, page 108

The cauliflower was really, really tasty. SweetPotato especially enjoyed it. I did notice an error in the recipe, however... the instructions said to "drizzle in the oil" and mix it into the breadcrumb and herb mixture, but there is no oil listed in the ingredients. I went ahead and made it without any oil, which is what I would have done anyway, and it turned out great.

And finally, all the other salad veggies:

Chopped Romaine, tomatoes, red onions, carrots, radishes, and bean sprouts

I couldn't find sunflower sprouts at my grocery store, and alfalfa sprouts didn't strike my fancy this week, so I went with bean sprouts. They were nice and crunchy.

Delicious. And filling. And definitely worth the hassle. Bless El Hombre... he did all the dishes.

Potato-Spinach Curry

Potato-Spinach Curry, page 232
with brown basmati rice and Masala Baked Tofu, page 146

Tonight's dinner was a lovely affair of saag aloo, masala tofu, and basmati rice, enjoyed outside in the fresh air of the evening.

While I loved the feature AFR recipe, I must say that the most exciting part of making tonight's dinner was digging up my own potatoes from my own garden. They were so beautiful! Look:

Freshly dug and scrubbed potatoes from my backyard garden

And, they were delicious, too!

But anyway, back to the recipe. SweetPea helped me make the potato-spinach curry; she helped chop up those beautiful potatoes, as well as stir and taste along the way. We added more salt because of the low sodium veggie broth that I've been using (more on that below). We also left out the red pepper flakes to make it kid-friendly, and instead had some available on the table to sprinkle on as desired for the adults.

Also, I decided to revisit the Masala Baked Tofu, because I think I've figured out what went wrong last time. Not that it was bad last time. It's just that I've heard so many people rave about it, and yet it didn't get me all excited like it seems to do for others. The missing factor for my first attempt seems to be salt. Yes, salt. So simple, right? I've been using a no-salt-added vegetable broth in an attempt to be more sodium conscious, and I think the masala marinade suffered as a result. So this time, I added a bit more soy sauce, and it made a big difference. I will also confess that I was feeling lazy and used granulated garlic and powdered ginger in the marinade, instead of the fresh versions, and both seemed to work great here. El Hombre confirmed that this attempt was much better than the first, so whether that was due to the extra soy sauce, or the dried spices, or a combination.... who knows?

Again, everyone enjoyed tonight's dinner. Both kids liked the potato-spinach curry, and my Dad went back for second helpings of everything. As El Hombre and I were cleaning up the kitchen, I saw a lime left on the counter and realized I forgot to add the freshly squeezed juice as the final step in the making of the curry. But oh well - it was still delicious! Nothing seemed amiss. Getting the kids to eat their cooked spinach and my Dad to enjoy tofu so much that he goes for another serving... a win!

Buffalo Wrap (more like soft tacos, actually)

El Hombre's plate of "Buffalo Baja Tacos," based on the Buffalo Wrap, page 271
Taco filling: Buffalo Tempeh (page 161), Cool Slaw (page 38), and diced tomatoes

This was an excellent dinner tonight.

The Buffalo Tempeh rocked. After the last tempeh fiasco (thanks, y'all, for the insight!), I decided to play it safe by simmering the tempeh wedges in a little water for about 10 minutes before marinating; this method seems to not only "open up" the tempeh to soak in the marinade, but I think it draws out most of the bitterness as well. Also, my tempeh sat in the marinade all afternoon, not just for one hour.

I couldn't find the large whole-wheat wraps in my grocery store, only soft taco-size tortillas, so I'm calling these Buffalo Tacos instead of Wraps. Topped off with the Cool Slaw and some diced tomatoes, El Hombre and I were in taco heaven. Because of the coleslaw, they were reminiscent of baja fish tacos... so let's just call them Buffalo Baja Tacos, shall we? Next time, I'll even include some lime wedges for squeezing fresh juice over them just before devouring. Ooh, and some avocado, too. And cilantro.

And the Cool Slaw: this recipe is pure genius. Those raw cashews are amazing tricksters, turning this slaw dressing into a cool, creamy, dreamy concoction. Even the kids were crazy about this one.

So, all-in-all, a very good dinner. And a pretty good day. I got a run in, I ate well and within my personal eating plan, and the scale told me this morning that there is no real lasting damage from my indulgences in wine and desserts over the last week. No losses, but no gains, either. Whew! Moving onward and up!

Masala Baked Tofu

Masala Baked Tofu, page 146
with saag and gobi aloo

This was... okay. Not bad, certainly, but not terribly exciting, either. We ate it tonight as a main dish, along with some saag (spinach) and gobi aloo (potatoes and cauliflower).

The seasonings were fine; El Hombre remarked that he would have preferred it to be more "saucy." The girls, however, loved it, so I suppose that means it is probably kid-friendly, depending on the kid. The seasonings were mild enough to not scare them off. I think I would have like a more bold flavor, but then, the kids might not like it.

Again, like the Basic Baked Tofu, this would be a fine choice for a sandwich, or wrap, or to top a salad. But as a star attraction on the dinner plate, it just didn't have enough ooomph on its own.

However, having said all that: I am totally stuffed after tonight's dinner, but I think it's because I ate too much saag. "Too much" surely doesn't apply to spinach, does it?

Breakfast (for Dinner) Sandwich

Breakfast Sandwich, pg. 269
Whole -wheat English muffin, tofu scramble with wilted spinach, Eggplant Bacon, and Caesar Chavez Dressing

El Hombre started his weekly golf league playing tonight, so the girls and I are on our own for Tuesday night dinner now, for several weeks. The plan tonight was to try Isa's suggestion for a breakfast-type sandwich, something we could take with us as we headed out for the evening for SweetPotato's ballet folklorico class and a few errands. I'm talking about a whole-wheat English muffin stuffed with scrambled tofu, wilted spinach, eggplant bacon (!) from the chapter "Full-On Salads," and that ahhhh-mazing Caesar Chavez Dressing.

This was really good. Tasty, easy, and convenient. I did not do the Curry Scrambled Tofu with Wilted Arugula suggested in AFR; instead, I just whipped up a simple tofu scramble with our family's favorite scramble seasonings, something I knew the girls would like - nutritional yeast, garlic and onion granules, and salt, with a couple handfuls of spinach wilted into the mix.

Basic Baked Tofu

Basic Baked Tofu, page 144
and El Hombre's "Tater-Broc"

Indeed, the Basic Baked Tofu is basic. Which is a good thing. As the recipe indicates, this is the perfect tofu to have on hand for sandwiches, salads, and the like. I began marinating the tofu several hours ahead of time, and while it was good, I did find myself wishing the flavors of the marinade had permeated the tofu a bit more.

But I have to give props to El Hombre. Again, he was in charge of getting dinner on the table tonight, and I left him with minimal instructions - bake the tofu as directed in the cookbook, and fix up some potatoes and broccoli however he liked. Apparently, he had one of those mad-kitchen-genius moments, and created something wonderful. He sauteed up some chopped onions along with the broccoli and potatoes, and then decided to throw the rest of the tofu marinade into the mix. It turned out to be this super yummy, comforting chunky-mashed-potato-and-broccoli-with-onions dish, seasoned to perfection with the marinade. Really! Combined with the baked tofu, it was a perfect, simple yet comforting dinner to come home to after a long day. He called it "tater-broc." Baked tofu and tater-broc... yummy!