tomato + tofu scramble

Fast and easy and tastes like summer.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups chopped tomatoes
1 pound firm tofu, drained
3/4 cup corn (frozen is fine)
fresh chopped basil
salt

Put the oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until their juices release and they begin to dry out slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.

Crumble the tofu with your fingers and add it to the pan along with the corn. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is heated through and dried out a bit, 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in some chopped fresh basil before serving and drizzle with a little more olive oil at the table if you like. Sprinkle with a finishing salt.

shiny asian veggies over crispy tofu

I think the delicious flavors in this come from the combo of the shiitake mushrooms, ginger, soy sauce and sesame seed oil.

5 turnips
1 eggplant
1 container of shiitake mushrooms
5 scallions
1 extra firm tofu
1 inch of ginger
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic chili paste
1 glug sesame seed oil
olive oil
cornstarch

Chop turnips into small pieces, and toss in sesame seed oil. Heat pan on high with olive oil and begin sauteing until brown. Roughly chop ginger into smallish pieces. Chop eggplant and mushrooms and coat in sesame seed oil. Chop scallions into small pieces.

Add ginger to the pan, then the mushrooms and eggplant. And cook until the eggplant is cooked.

Combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili paste, and a tablespoon of cornstarch, and stir into the vegetables.

Drain and squeeze out extra water from tofu. Slice along the short side for 6 half inch thick slices. Pat cornstarch onto both sides of each slice. Heat a non-stick pan with olive oil and sesame seed oil and fry the tofu slices until lightly browned and crispy on each side.

Serve the vegetables over the tofu slices.

the best kind of iced

...besides coffee that is.

We love Japanese hot pot, and each time we go I try to try a new ingredient. Recently my favorite addition has been iced tofu - a spongy version that soaks up the broth and has a texture very much like matzo balls. And after a little research I found out it couldn't be easier to make.

Ingredient:
1 pkg soft tofu

Remove the tofu from the package and drain. Wrap tofu in cling wrap and place in a zip-lock freezer bag. Freeze overnight. Thaw in the fridge or on the counter to use the same day. Drain the rest of the liquid - you may need to press the tofu a bit to get all of the liquid out.

You can then slice the tofu on the short end, or as the hot pot place does, make tofu triangles. To make triangles: cut the tofu in half from the top so that you have 2 rectangles. Cut each rectangle from the top in half again and then cut each of those rectangles on the angle to create two triangles. Lastly, cut from the side to cut each triangle in half.

The iced tofu can be used in soups or in other dishes with a sauce - anything delicious that can be soaked up by the tofu. I can't wait to try it with chicken soup and see if it really can be a substitute for matzo balls.

Recipe courtesy of Little Corner of Mine