This week we had mixed greens with snap peas, red onion, red bell pepper and grated raw beets (and of course, our choice of salad dressings prepared earlier in the week). I think it was either Mark Bittman or Martha Rose Schulman who first introduced me to grating raw beets into a salad and I have been doing it ever since. Beautiful and tasty!
We also had crispy tofu cubes in this salad. Easy to make and I love having them on hand, though we like them so much they are hard to keep around. I buy extra firm tofu (not silken), cut it into chunks and freeze the pieces on a cookie sheet. When they are thoroughly frozen, I pop them into a freezer container and they are ready to pull out whenever I need them.
Don't be alarmed when your frozen tofu cubes look yellow -- it's not harmful, and the color returns to normal when the tofu thaws. I thaw the cubes in the microwave on high. It takes a couple minutes or so, depending on how big the pieces are and how many you have. Then squeeze (gently) the water out. Freezing releases the water and makes the tofu chewy and absorbent. It will quickly absorb whatever marinade you put it into. There's no need to let it sit in the marinade for a long time, I cook it immediately.
The marinade is your choice. My default is 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce per pound of tofu, with a little Chinese sesame oil added for good measure. If you use more soy sauce than that, it will be ultra salty. You can always add a little water (remember that you lost a lot of water when you squeezed the tofu) to make the marinade go further. I add the tofu to the marinade all at once and toss quickly so it absorbs evenly. Spread on a foil lined cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake, turning once part way through. You can use most any temp from 350 to 425 degrees, and the time varies accordingly. I cooked mine at 425 for 20 minutes, turning at 10 minutes. So good!
You can also cut the tofu into slabs (I do about 10 per pound) and cook those the same way. Great for sandwiches.
We also had crispy tofu cubes in this salad. Easy to make and I love having them on hand, though we like them so much they are hard to keep around. I buy extra firm tofu (not silken), cut it into chunks and freeze the pieces on a cookie sheet. When they are thoroughly frozen, I pop them into a freezer container and they are ready to pull out whenever I need them.
Don't be alarmed when your frozen tofu cubes look yellow -- it's not harmful, and the color returns to normal when the tofu thaws. I thaw the cubes in the microwave on high. It takes a couple minutes or so, depending on how big the pieces are and how many you have. Then squeeze (gently) the water out. Freezing releases the water and makes the tofu chewy and absorbent. It will quickly absorb whatever marinade you put it into. There's no need to let it sit in the marinade for a long time, I cook it immediately.
The marinade is your choice. My default is 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce per pound of tofu, with a little Chinese sesame oil added for good measure. If you use more soy sauce than that, it will be ultra salty. You can always add a little water (remember that you lost a lot of water when you squeezed the tofu) to make the marinade go further. I add the tofu to the marinade all at once and toss quickly so it absorbs evenly. Spread on a foil lined cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake, turning once part way through. You can use most any temp from 350 to 425 degrees, and the time varies accordingly. I cooked mine at 425 for 20 minutes, turning at 10 minutes. So good!
You can also cut the tofu into slabs (I do about 10 per pound) and cook those the same way. Great for sandwiches.
