Baked Tofu Dinner

Tonight was a "creative adventure" in the world of tofu. I found that frozen silken tofu gets a really fun texture to it, so I got on some kind of vegan "shake and bake" kick. I made a coating with whole wheat flour, chicky baby seasoning (from the test kitchen), and some other spices I had around. I then coated the sliced, pressed tofu and baked it. For the sides, I made mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy and steamed fresh broccoli (DR was quite pleased!). Bad for me, I forgot about the tofu for a bit and it got a little over crispy (and by crispy I mean rock hard!). In the end, everything tasted good soaked in gravy.

Drunken Thai Rice

This recipe is a hybrid disaster from the Test Kitchen. I made the shitake mushroom sauce (now removed from the book) and was going to make the dish that used it, drunken thai noodles, but the store didn't have rice noodles! So I mixed it up using some long grain brown rice. It was pretty good! It has tofu, cilantro, basil, and green onions. There was something magical going on in that dish, because it really made me feel good eating it. I think it was the basil-cilantro mix.

To-fish with Tartar Sauce

(Yet) another Test Kitchen recipe, this time for a tofu-fish. I wasn't looking forward to the to-fish as much as I was the tartar sauce--yum! One thing I liked in my prevegan days was french fries with tartar sauce. I wasn't a big fan of the tofu (too greasy and savory for me!) but the tartar sauce was good with my potato wedges!

Apricot Pecan Tempeh Wrap

I came up with this in response to trying to use up some parsley I had left over from other dish. These turned out really good. The fruit and nuts compliment the tempeh.

Apricot Pecan Tempeh Wrap

1 package tempeh
1 splash soy sauce

handful of dried apricots, chopped
handful of pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 c fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
Vegan mayo (as needed)
squirt mustard

Cut the tempeh up and add to a small frypan. Cover with water and add soy sauce. Boil for about ten minutes. Drain, and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Crumble up the tempeh and add to the mix. Stir in the vegan mayo until the mix is coated to your satisfaction (I know I like less mayo, I know others who like more!). Taste and add salt/pepper or whatever else seems good.

I rolled this up in some tortillas I had for a quick lunch.

Crouching Garlic, Hidden Peanut

Here is a recipe that you can make if you're not a Test Kitchen member! This lovely Crouching Garlic, Hidden Peanut is from vegweb.com. Some of my favorite midweek dinners involve a bag of broccoli, a box of tofu, and some sauce tossed in there for good measure. The peanuts in this dish really set it over the top!

Green Thai Curry

Another test kitchen recipe. Green Thai Curry!

Tempura Asparagus Nori Rolls

If you were looking for something very special and very good, look no further than these tempura asparagus nori rolls. They are like sushi, but the asparagus is battered, fried, rolled up, and served with a salty-sweet sesame sauce. I just about burned the house down (again--I need to reinvest in a deep fryer) trying to fry these on the stove but the danger and efforts were well worth it.