Tofu? Or not tofu?

With a fresh hissy fit behind me, I'm ready to face the last full week of Meatless October with a better attitude. I've given up on tempeh (that stuff is still in my refrigerator, believe it or not) and feel no guilt about it because both my brother and his girlfriend told me they don't like it and don't eat it. My new meatless obsession? Tofu. I've been a friend of tofu for many years, actually. It's been an ingredient in my daily breakfast smoothies for a long time. In my Vitamix, the tofu is liquified so there is no texture to worry about. On my plate? There is a texture issue. It's mushy.

During my first vegetarian month, I decided to try cooking with tofu by using it in a lasagna type dish and was sadly disappointed. Despite instructions to "press" the liquid out of the tofu brick, the stuff was still mushy and the texture really kind of ruined the dish for me. I can't even remember what it tasted like; all I remember is the mushiness. And not like "cooked mushroom" mushy, but more like the kind of soggy mushy that will make you wrinkle your nose instinctively when you bite into it, while you try to act like you're not actually making a nasty face. I hadn't used tofu in my cooking since. Well, other than my breakfast smoothies of course, but that's not really cooking. Sure, I've ORDERED tofu in restaurants (tofu teriyaki burritos and tofu mango curry have made recent appearances in my belly) but I haven't tried my hand at preparing it. This is all changing, my friends. It's all changing.

Sometime early last week, I was at Whole Foods and a magazine called "Clean Eating" caught my eye. My curiosity led me to thumb through it and most of what I saw looked like what I would normally cook; the recipes looked like those I would be drawn to. I bought the magazine out of part curiosity (as to the exact meaning of "clean" eating - maybe I'm "clean" and don't know it), and part because there were some recipes in it I wanted to try. Pineapple Curry Tofu was one such recipe. I will admit I had some real reservations, but I was willing to give it a go. After all, it was selected as a "best of the best" during the Clean Eating Chef Showdown and came from the kitchen of Pura Vida in Las Vegas, one of the 10 Hot New Vegan Restaurants according to VegNews.

This? Will have a permanent spot in my recipe collection. I was somewhat disappointed that the seasoned coating on the tofu kept coming off while it was pan frying so it wasn't as firm as I had hoped, but I think this is just a cooking technique I need to work on. The flavor rated a 10 and got rave reviews from all carnivores at the table, even with the slight mushiness. Soft enough to notice, but not enough to complain about. I was actually so encouraged that tonight I tried another fried tofu experiment: Tofu Parmigiana.

I sliced the tofu into little "steaks" which were then pressed (not part of the recipe, but my own experimentation), lightly breaded and pan fried, then topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms, low-fat mozzerella, marinara sauce, and fresh basil from my garden. Eureka! I am getting the hang of it! This was so good. So very, very good. I need to get out there and find a bunch more tofu recipes. And tofu recipes, I have discovered, are much easier to find than recipes that use Garden Vegetable tempeh. That stuff is going in the trash, I'm serious.

A Bad Attitude Day

I am dying for a big hamburger. With cheddar cheese and carmelized onions. Either that or a pulled pork sandwhich. Or Chick Fil A. I have actually been craving meat for about 2 weeks now, which sucks because I'm only 20 some days into my 2nd vegetarian month of the year. Do the math and you'll see I've got just about a week left before I can sink my teeth into the aforementioned burger.

I really don't know why this month has been so much more difficult than previous meatless months, but it has been. I guess maybe the novelty has worn off and now it's just about deprivation. Further, I haven't really been planning well so mealtime has been something of a mental chore.

However, I did have some fun with "Smart Chick'N" earlier this month which is worth mentioning. During my first meatless week, I prepared a delicious (scrumptious, actually) stir fry which included fake chicken strips (called "Smart" Chick'N for reasons unknown). During the meal, my 17-year old son picked out all the veggies and just ate the "chicken." I decided not to tell him it wasn't really chicken because I'm going to keep this in my arsenal for future ambush meals.

This "Smart Chick'N" stuff is really quite amazing, truly. In fact, I prepared this same stir fry last night for my neighbors and they all commented that they would not have known it wasn't real chicken had I not told them. Well, to be fair, one of them DID say that it had a "funny shape" but who is really looking that closely at their stir-fry? His assessment was in accurate anyways but whatever.

But seriously, I need a new attitude if I'm going to make it to the end of the month. Regardless, I can tell EXACTLY where you will find me at dinner time on November 1, 2011. I'll be sitting at Brazenhead Irish Pub chomping on a big honking cheeseburger with carmelized onions. Can't wait.