Recipe: Teriyaki Tofu Salad

I recently discovered a packet of simply asia teriyaki marinade in the back of my pantry. Naturally, I felt an urge to put it to good use! I've been feeling the urge to make more tofu-based dishes lately, so I marinated some extra-firm tofu in the marinade, then lightly pan-fried. I then combined the tofu with some baby spinach, chopped carrots, red bell pepper, and cucumber to create an asian-esque salad. I topped the salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

Recipe: Yellow Curried Tofu with Veggies

This was more of an experiment than anything else. I bought a relatively large container of yellow curry paste during my trip to Jungle Jim's and decided it was time to put it to use. There were directions on the back for a typical curry dish, but I altered it to make it vegetarian friendly and cut it down so it only made two servings instead of five. Below is the ingredients and directions for my version of the recipe.

ingredients:
4 tsp yellow curry paste
1/2 tbsp peanut oil
9 tbsp coconut milk, divided
3 tbsp water
2/5 block extra-firm tofu, drained
2 cups broccoli florets
1.5 cups sugar snap peas

directions:
in a wok or large frying pan, stir-fry yellow curry paste, peanut oil, and 6 tbsp coconut milk. add tofu, water, and remaining 3 tbsp coconut milk and bring to a low boil. add broccoli and sugar snap peas, continuing to stir-fry until the vegetables have softened.

I ate this over brown rice, though in hindsight I should have considered using my soba noodles, instead.

Spicy Tofu Veggie Wrap

In my continued effort to use the food I already have in my kitchen, I came up with this wrap for lunch. If you choose to make this on your own and follow my exact recipe, be sure to keep a glass of water nearby as you eat this, because calling it spicy is an understatement.

ingredients:
1 8-inch wrap
1 tbsp black bean hummus (recipe featured in an earlier post)
1/2 cup baby spinach
2 baby carrots, sliced thinly
1/2 serving baked tofu
1/2 tsp hot sauce

directions:
spread the hummus evenly on the wrap. top with baby spinach and sliced carrots.
cut baked tofu into strips, then place in wrap. top with hot sauce, then fold and enjoy!

my brands of choice for this recipe:
wrap-tumaro's low in carb reduced fat multi grain tortilla
baked tofu-Soy Deli's baked tofu. This comes in several flavors, and I chose the savory flavor for this. The 5-spiced flavor would work, too.
hot sauce- I bought a bottle of Original Juan's Pain is Good Louisiana Style Hot Sauce at Jungle Jim's, which is what I used. Really, any hot sauce with some flavor would work, though.

Making Use of Leftovers, Round Two

I'm working from home today, which means I have a little more leeway in what I want to make for lunch. In preparation for this, I raided my fridge last night to see what I had. It hit me as soon as I saw the leftover baked tofu: marinated tofu! I cubed the brick and marinated it in a mixture of teriyaki sauce and tamari (turns out I had very little teriyaki sauce left, so I made this combination) overnight, along with some sliced baby bella mushrooms. It was so good! Definitely plan on making this one again next time I buy baked tofu, especially the five-spice variety.



Ingredients:
1 serving five-spice baked tofu
1/4 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce/tamari/soy sauce

Directions:
cube tofu and place in container with mushrooms. Pour sauce over tofu and mushrooms, stir until evenly coated. Marinate overnight.
place tofu, mushrooms, and sauce in greased frying pan. cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until heated through. serve warm.

Vegetarian Tailgating

I went to my first Brewer's game yesterday (side note: they actually won a home game! it's about time!) with several VISTAs and city year folks. We met up an hour before the game started to do some tailgating. Most of my previous tailgating experiences has been with my family, which involves nothing but tossing a football and eating sandwiches from a local deli in the parking lot of Giant's stadium.

Our style for this tailgate was pretty simple: bring whatever you want to grill and don't feel obliged to bring a dish to share. I was tempted to make guacamole to share with everyone, but decided against it since we weren't doing this potluck-style. I did, however, bring several cans of beer to share with everyone in an attempt to make some space in my teeny-tiny fridge.

I took this opportunity to finally try some of the soy deli baked tofu I've seen at whole foods. I bought a package of their five-spice baked tofu, which i threw on the grill and ate on a bun. It was absolutely delicious. I do wish that i brought the whole package and not half of it, because several people were curious about it and im not sure when i'll get around to eating the other half of it. I also brought some grape tomatoes in fat-free ranch dressing and a pear.

The entire package of the soy deli baked tofu totaled at just under $4, which equals roughly $2 per serving.

Recipe: Sesame Maple Roasted Tofu

This was my first time making this recipe, which I found on the Kashi website (go figure!). It turned out pretty good, but I think in the future I'd like to give the tofu time to marinate in the sauce.

ingredients:
1 14-ounce block extra-firm water-packed tofu, rinsed, patted dry and cut into 1-inch
cubes
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 tsp canola oil
2 tsps toasted sesame oil
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp tahini
1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp cider vinegar
3 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Toss tofu, onion, canola oil, sesame oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread on a large baking sheet and roast until the tofu is lightly golden on top and the onions are browning in spots, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Whisk tahini, soy sauce or tamari, maple syrup and vinegar in a small dish until combined. Remove the tofu from the oven, add snap peas and drizzle with the maple sauce; stir to combine. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Return to the oven and continue roasting until the peas are crisp-tender, 8 to 12 minutes more.

serves 4

I ate this with japanese noodles, but it would probably be good with rice, too.