Orange Glazed Tofu

Tonight we had Orange Glazed Tofu. I've made the Orange Sesame Tofu from Eat Drink and Be Vegan before, and we thought it needed another layer of flavor. My plan was to add some crushed chili pepper or some chili paste. However, I wanted to have something the kids could eat, and adding heat would definitely rule that out. So, I decided to add some sweetness instead. I also topped it with cilantro this time, which just adds so much freshness. To accompany the tofu we had ED&BV's Coconut Lime Rice (also infused with cilantro), and some sauteed baby spinach with ginger. I think I've mentioned before how much I like tofu, and I think this may be my favorite way to eat it. It was so delicious!

Orange Glazed Tofu

1 block of extra firm tofu

zest of one large orange

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

3 Tbs Tamari soy sauce

2 Tbs Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tbs Toasted Sesame Oil

1 Tbs Brown Sugar

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 scallions sliced

chopped cilantro

Press tofu wrapped in absorbent towel for about an hour to remove excess moisture. Slice tofu into 3 slices horizontally, then cut each slice into triangles (you will have 6 triangles). In a large baking dish combine ingredients, except scallions and cilantro. Lay tofu in marinade turning to coat both sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, preferably more. Turn tofu once during marinading time. Heat oven to 400 and place baking dish uncovered in oven. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes, turn tofu, spoon marinade over top, and cook uncovered 15 more minutes or until marinade starts to glaze tofu. Serve garnished with scallion slices and cilantro.

Thai Green Curry

Thai green curry is a dish I used to make all of the time, and I can't believe that since I started this blog in October I haven't made it once. Seriously, we used to eat this about once a week, and I haven't made it in over 4 months. I guess this blog is serving it's purpose of helping me become more creative in my menu planning.

Way back when, I used to make this with chicken. Once we became veg I started subbing the chicken with tofu. Unfortunately, I haven't found a suitable substitute for the fish sauce, so while chicken has been replaced by tofu, my Thai curry still isn't quite vegetarian. I almost didn't even blog about it, but I figured, what's the harm, this blog is about my adventures in vegetarianism, and using fish sauce is just a little bump along the way.

Tonight I served the curry over cilantro lime rice, which you will find the recipe for on my post from Friday night. The recipe for the curry follows:

Almost Vegetarian Thai Green Curry

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 package extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into cubes

1/2 medium onion, sliced

1 Tbs Thai Green Curry Paste

1 can coconut milk

1 Tbs Thai Fish Sauce

2 Tbs Brown sugar

juice of 1/2 a lime

1 cup frozen peas

chopped cilantro to garnish

In a deep skillet, heat EVOO over medium high heat. Cook tofu until browned on all sides. Add in onion and saute until soft. Add curry paste and smash around bottom of skillet, allowing to heat and release flavor. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, and brown sugar, and lime juice, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for about 5 minutes. Add in frozen peas and heat through. Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.

South of the Border

It seems that all of my posts recently have been a day behind. I can't seem to find the time to do everything in the evening before I'm ready to crash (although last night I didn't really do much of anything unless you count laying on the couch watching Gray's Anatomy as doing something!!). Maybe I'll get better about posting about my food on the day we actually ate it, maybe I won't, who knows.

Last night we had a little south of the border inspired dinner; black bean quesadillas, cilantro lime rice, home made guacamole, and store bought tortilla chips.

Quesadillas are always my go-to dinner when I'm pressed for time, and well, because of my aforementioned date with my couch for some Gray's, I was pressed for time last night!! For the rice, I used white jasmine rice because it was what I had in the pantry. I cooked it in the rice cooker, and when it was finished, squeezed in the juice of 2 limes, the zest of one lime, about 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro, and some salt to taste. I also went ahead and threw in the squeezed limes, put the lid back on the rice cooker and let the rice continue to steam with the limes in there. This rice is out of this world!! We decided last night that it would also be good as the base for a Thai curry (note to self, Thai curry on the menu for next week). The quesadillas were just store bought tortillas, some smashed black beans, a little diced onion, a little diced tomato and a sprinkle of cilantro. The guac I've blogged about before, and you can find my recipe on that post.

While it wasn't much, it was an extremely satisfying meal that we all enjoyed.