Inspired by my blogging buddy, Susmitha at Veganosaurus, I signed up for a How Do account about a year or so ago. Susmitha has a great voice and her How Dos are cute, concise, and helpful. So, I made one (Hot Chocolate Mocha),” back in 2012, and while the process was fun, a negative review I got took the wind out of my sails and it was a long time before I tried again. But every time I watched one of Susmitha’s it nagged at me: I wanted to try again.
Lemony Baked Tofu (in turn inspired by Oh Mai in Salt Lake City – but that’s another blog post) seemed like a good candidate for the How Do treatment. It’s a simple recipe that can easily be broken down into short steps. I’m still working out the How Do kinks (Martin Scorcese, your job is safe), but I think these little “videos” are a great idea and add a nice dimension to a blog post. Incidentally, my freebie WP site won’t allow for me to embed the video, which would be super-nifty, but clicking on the image will get you to the same place. (I shared this recipe on Healthy Vegan Friday at The Veggie Nook.)
Watch my How Do video by clicking the image, or you can follow the recipe below.
LEMONY BAKED TOFU a micro guide by Annie on HowDo
Lemony Baked Tofu
Makes ~20 slices
1 14 oz. block extra firm tofu
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. lemon oil
1 garlic clove, minced
Make the marinade:
Whisk together all of the ingredients and store in the refrigerator until needed.
Prepare the tofu:
Press tofu for several hours or overnight. I splurged for a TofuXPress and I’m so glad I did. It does a fantastic job of squeezing out all of that water – but use your own tried-and-true method.
Layer a baking sheet (I used a quarter sheet) with paper towels. Set aside. Cut the tofu into very thin slices. You should get about 20 per block of tofu. Place the slices of tofu onto the paper towels; stacking layers is fine. Cover slices with more paper towels, top with another baking sheet and place in the freezer overnight.
When you’re ready to bake the tofu, remove the pan from the freezer and let the slices thaw. At first the slices will be dark yellow, but they’ll return to their regular white color once thawed.
Preheat the oven to 425F. Place the slices into a baking pan (I used Pyrex) and pour the marinade over top. Again, don’t worry about having the slices in one layer. Bake the tofu for about 20-25 minutes or until the marinade is nearly gone. The edges of the slices should be brown and the tofu should be fairly dry. Let the slices cool; they’ll firm up even more. They are now ready to use in sandwiches (like the Lemony Baked Tofu Sandwiches I’ll be featuring here soon), salads, and in Asian-inspired soups.
I was a vegetarian for a few years before going full-on vegan. I ate great quantities of eggs and cheese – even though neither one of those things consists of vegetables. So how did that make me a vegetarian? Because (as I understood it) I wasn’t eating the flesh of an animal. (Eggs do move into that territory though, don’t they?) Now that I no longer consume animal products of any kind, I look at vegetarianism as a gray zone in a field of black and white. Hey, each to his own, but for me, I get into this kind of circular conversation with myself about whether or not there should even be a mode of eating labeled vegetarianism. (With love and respect to my vegetarian friends and their choices) I believe that veganism and vegetarianism should be one and the same. The word vegetarian sounds pretty specific: either one eats animal products or one doesn’t.
I’m feeling pretty good about the fact that I haven’t consumed a bag of salty snacks in months thanks to my dehydrator (the various tiny bags of chips that come in my Vegan Cuts Snack Box DO NOT count!), but despite the warm fuzzies I’m experiencing, there was still something missing. Something starchy. And spudly. And toasty. Where does the potato fit into the raw world?? To answer this need, I went Frankenraw and created a chip that was part potato, part sweet potato, part raw and part roasted.
Kel and I average 5 salads per week which means about 20 salads each month – hey, that’s a lot of greens, sure – but it also means preparing and consuming a lot of salad dressing. Which means that I’m constantly thinking up new combinations of acids and bases. This one contains no nuts and gets its sweetness from a small amount of fruit preserves.
For the past two Potlucks, I went fairly elaborate. For Potluck numero uno I made 
Preheat oven to 425F and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
Kel and I got into a habit during the long hours in the car on a recent road trip. As mealtimes approached, I’d use my phone to begin the hunt for vegan-friendly restaurants in whatever large city was coming up along the highway. On the second day of our drive back through Florida on our way back to Oklahoma, Kel and I hit the lunchtime jackpot and were treated to the best meal of our trip. Once inside the doors of End of the Line Cafe in Pensacola, there was no need to explain veganism, no asking for the mayo/cheese/sour cream to be removed from a dish – it was straight-up, 100% plant-based manna.
Divide the soup between bowls and top with gremolata.
I’ve got a thing for tofu snuggled between two pieces of bread and have offered a few variations (
Lunch can present problems. I’m usually starving by noontime, but I don’t want to spend a lot of time preparing anything – and unless there are leftovers waiting in the refrigerator – a meal from scratch is the only option. That’s why a spread like this is worth its weight in gold. It’s quick and easy to prepare, is mighty tasty and very satisfying.
