FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Patience Pants Pizza

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Pictured above is the magical tofu press I’ve spoken so highly about over the past few weeks.  It’s convenient, compact, and saves a boat load of wasted paper towels.  No more water soaked cookbooks, spills in the fridge, or partially pressed tofu.

I. Am. In. Love.

The only downside of pressed tofu is the foresight required as it takes a few hours to get it right.  It’s easiest for me to stick it in the fridge overnight.

I sliced the pressed block in half, rubbed with olive oil, and then sprinkled with garlic salt.

Then I put it in a 450 degree oven for 45ish minutes.

After it was crispy on the outside, I topped with chopped spinach, marinara, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and mozzarella Daiya.  I baked for another 10 minutes, until the Daiya was melted.

This dish reminded me of a cross between pizza and eggplant parmesan, a combination that I eagerly embraced.

 

Nerdalicious, In Pictures

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Breakfast: Whole Wheat Bagel Thin & Fried Egg

Lunch: Tofu Pizza & Watermelon


Snack: Broiled Tofu with Liquid Aminos/Vinegar Sauce

Dinner: Leftover Chili (the last of it!)

I am admittedly addicted to my tofu press.  It’s magic.  It’s even more magic when you use the right type of tofu.  I’ve always used extra firm, but I learned tonight that all extra firm tofu brands are not created equal.  I typically buy Mori-Nu because it’s cheaper and has a longer shelf life (I’m notorious for letting perishables go to waste – eek!).  And although I still plan on keeping a few boxes of Mori-Nu in my pantry for emergencies, Nasoya Extra Firm is where it’s at!  The Nasoya tofu has a texture more comparable to that of the restaurant tofu.  And when pressed, I think the marinating possibilities will be endless.  This excites me, I’m a nerd.

Check back tomorrow for the tofu pizza recipe!

Im-Pressed

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Clearly, I didn’t win the tofu press.  But I have fallen in loves with pressing tofu, so heavy cookbooks and sopping paper towels will have to do for now.

I left the tofu under the massive stack of books for a little over four hours and then sliced it into crouton-esque squares.

I adapted my croutons from this recipe.  I didn’t have corn meal or Italian seasoning on hand so I blended together a few things from my herb shelf.

FoodFash’s Modified Tofu Croutons

1 TSP Basil Leaves

1 TSP Rosemary

1 TSP Garlic Salt

1 TSP Oregano

2 TSP Olive Oil

12ish Ounces of Extra Firm Tofu, Pressed

Put all of the ingredients into a container with a lid and shake until all sides of the tofu are evenly coated.  Some of the tofu squares may stick together, so you may have to manually separate to coat all sides of the tofu.  Place on a greased cookie sheet and set on the top rack of a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 40 minutes.

You could hear the tofu “screaming” in the oven as the moisture was escaping.  They also popped around the cookie sheet like little jumping beans and shriveled up quite a bit.  I would have never guessed tofu to be so crispy.  Random details aside, they were awesome.    And if you read yesterday’s post, you know these croutons were so awesome that I ate every last square and they never made it atop a salad!