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.
When my favorite breakfast and my beloved flavor combination come together it’s a heavenly collision of warm, creamy, nutty, jammy breakfast-goodness. Making its way onto Buzzfeed’s 29 Ways to Honor the Glory of Peanut Butter & Jelly at Number 16, this recipe from The Roasted Root got my mouth watering in a big way. I made it my own by adding some dried fruit, orange zest, and topping the oatmeal with jam instead of swirling it into the mix, but of course, that’s a swell idea, too.
Sometimes I still find it a little hard to believe that a crusty, hearty, whole grain loaf of bread can be made at home – without an overnight soaker or pre-ferment or spending 15 minutes kneading a very dense dough – at the expense of the health of my rotator cuffs and biceps. It takes only a few minutes and a few ingredients to put this 100% whole wheat dough together and you could even bake up a loaf after only three hours of rising if you wanted to – though the texture and flavor will be better if you let the dough hang out in the refrigerator overnight or even up to five days. You get kind of a sourdough thing happening the longer it ferments. This loaf works well right on a baking stone or you could use a loaf pan and have wonderful, healthy bread that’s just right for sandwiches.
This post is a bit of a cheat. A variation of this morning cereal recipe already exists on my other blog, Dough, Dirt & Dye, but it’s worth sharing again – and this recipe is even easier. Since our mornings start out in overdrive, I like to have everything as prepped as possible the evening before – I mean down to having the silverware out and the tea pot filled with water with two mugs sitting next to it (with the teabags already in them). Every afternoon right around dinner time I mix together: