Welcome to the Roaring 20's

Happy New Year and welcome to the Roaring Twenties, I’m hoping they are as amazing as the last ones. This new decade has the promise of change; retirement, travel, volunteering and enjoying life.  

Last year I cut my hours back to 25 a week and I am loving my afternoons off, it allows me to volunteer at the school, exercise at the local health club and spend time with friends and family when I’m not so tired.

I have goals for 2020 - blog more often (which means cooking blog-worthy food more often), read 52 books (1 a week), volunteer at the Arboretum’s new Red Barn and workout 5 days a week. It might be an ambitious list but I think I can do it. 

I got the recipe for the BBQ tofu bowls from Dan’s cousin Elwood McCreary. We were at a birthday party for his lovely wife Marie and he made this - one taste and I was hooked. The original recipe is from The Kitchen - it is delicious, and honestly, I wanted to lick the bowl clean it is that good. 

The recipe calls for a yogurt-based sauce but since I don’t do dairy I eliminated it - next time maybe an avocado sauce would be good. This will definitely be in the regular rotation. 

Ingredients:

14 to 16 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for the baking sheet

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds total), cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons

3 cups broccoli florets (about 1 medium head)

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro - optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°F and lightly coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with olive oil.

Wrap the block of tofu in a few layers of paper towels, then set on a dinner plate or cutting board. Weigh it down with a heavy object and drain. Tear the tofu into bite-sized pieces.

Place the sweet paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and smoked paprika in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Pour in 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil and stir to combine. Add the tofu and gently stir to evenly coat. 

Place the tofu in a single layer on one of the prepared baking sheets. Place the sweet potato and broccoli on the other baking sheet. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with salt and toss to coat. Spread into an even layer.

Roast the tofu and vegetables for 15 minutes. Flip the tofu and sweet potatoes, and toss the broccoli. Rotate the baking sheets between racks and from front to back. Roast until the tofu and vegetables are lightly browned, about 15 minutes more.

Drizzle the tofu with the barbecue sauce and toss to combine. Divide the rice and black beans between 4 serving bowls. Top with the tofu, sweet potato, and broccoli. Drizzle with the dressing and garnish with the cilantro. Serve warm.