In the Kitchen

Learning to like tofu.

I am not a vegetarian but I do try to eat more vegetables than meat. We cut back on a lot while getting out of debt and in return our eating habits changed (for the better). Those habits have carried on and have inspired me to learn to like things I would have never even tried before, tofu being one of them.

This past week I had fun experimenting with some new recipes. Here is one that I made using some firm tofu and zucchini. 

Crispy Italian Tofu with Zucchini Pasta.   

Serves 4

1 tray of firm or extra firm tofu
1 cup of cooked quinoa
1 large zucchini (washed and cut with a spiralizer or into thin strips)
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 handful of baby spinach
1 can of organic Italian stewed tomatoes 
1 Tp olive oil
Italian seasoning
Salt/pepper

Cook quinoa and let sit covered.

Cooking tofu: drain tofu and squeeze out excess water using paper towels. After tofu is dry, cut into bite sized cubes. Heat 1 Tp of olive oil in a skillet. When oil in simmering add tofu cubes. Stir cubes gently and cook until then are lightly golden and crispy. Remove from heat and let cool on a paper towel covered plate, absorbing excess oil. 

Chop onion, red pepper and sauté in skillet until onion is translucent. Add spinach. Stir until spinach has wilted. Add can of organic tomatoes. Add garlic and Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.

Gently add tofu pieces to sauté. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. 

In a medium pot boil water and add cut zucchini "pasta" for about three minutes or until it starts to soften.  Be careful not to over cook zucchini or it will become mushy.  Drain zucchini. 

At this point you should have already cooked quinoa and allowed it to absorb removed from heat.

To serve: Spoon cooked quinoa onto plate, then top with zucchini pasta followed by tofu veggie mixture. 
I added a spoonful of fresh pesto to the top of mine. You could also sprinkle with fresh Parmesan cheese. 

Enjoy!