Rainy Days and Sundays Always Make Me Hungry!

They say too much of anything isn't healthy – and for the most part I agree. Too much red meat, too much fat, too many eggs, and too much tofu sometimes it's hard to know what to eat and not eat. I like to take things in moderation – balance things out, I actually think I got that from my mom, she was a big believer in vegetables, protein, and desert – especially pies. She made the best lemon meringue pie; the meringue was at least 5 inches high and the lemon filling creamy and tart – ah the delicious memories.

It's been a rainy day in MN and for me that means hanging out indoors, watching movies and at some point cooking. I did manage to get my 13,000+ fitbit steps in between the raindrops and a quick trip to the grocery store for some staples.

We had some tofu in the fridge and I'd seen a recipe on the Inspiralized site for a marinated baked tofu which sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a try. The recipe is here but as you'll see I deviated from it to incorporate some of my favorite veggies and spices into the mix.

I asked Dan to cube and drain the tofu – three paper towels later it was pretty dry. To a large bowl I added 3 Tbsp. of soy sauce, 1Tbls. Maple syrup, 1Tbsp. grated ginger and some salt and pepper. I added the cubed tofu and let it marinade for about an hour, spooning the sauce over the tofu from time to time.

I then spiralized 2 large carrots and chopped the spirals into small pieces. I also took 3 large cauliflower florets and chopped them fairly small and defrosted ½ bag of Trader Joe's frozen kale.

I preheated the oven to 450 and then put the tofu in for 10 minutes, turned it over and then cooked for an additional ten minutes. While the tofu was baking, I melted 1Tbsp of coconut oil in a pan and added 3 cloves of garlic and 2 tsp. of grated fresh ginger. To the oil, ginger and garlic mixture, I added the cauliflower and sautéed it for 3 minutes, then added the carrot pieces and sautéed for another 2 – 4 minutes. When it was crisp tender I added the thawed kale, some additional garlic powder sea salt and fresh ground pepper and a couple shakes of pepper flakes. 

When the tofu was crisp/tender I removed the veggies from the stove, added the tofu to the pan and served it with a side of mashed avocado for a bit of creaminess. We both named this a keeper and to be honest, you can make it with what ever veggies you have on hand or like – you could substitute spinach or bok choy for the kale and add broccoli and/or sweet potato the sky's the limit. Personally I liked the kale, carrot and cauliflower combo.

There was also banana cream pie for dessert – with a graham cracker crust – which as I recently found out is Dan's favorite.

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