Well well well, what do we have here?
Lettuce filled with tofu, that’s what. Can you get more vegan?
Well, maybe if I had also incorporated kale and quinoa. Then these could be eeeven more granola.
As it is, I feel like just the idea of tofu turns some people off. But no longer, because just LOOK at this tofu:
No matter your general feelings on tofu, come on. This stuff looks good.
This is definitely a tofu recipe for tofu haters.
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The wedding gifts we registered for are bordering on what my dad likes to call a “life upgrade.”
Do you know what he’s talking about? When you make one change that snowballs, leading to bigger and bigger changes to accommodate the first. My favorite example of this is when a friend of mine brought home a Great Dane puppy… and then had to buy an SUV because she couldn’t fit in his car. And then a new house because his townhouse was also too small.
Life. Upgrade.
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Hello hello – it’s been a while!
I hope you’ll excuse my absence. {Insert sheepish face here.} Sometimes the summer weather just ruins all your cookin’ plans, ya know? Like, you really wanted to roast pans upon pans of veggies, then you realized that you could probably roast them on the sidewalk because it is SO HOT OUT and you have no business adding to that heat by turning on the oven. So instead you order a glass of sauvignon blanc on a restaurant patio and leave all those veggies hangin.
I hope I’m not the only one who has been slacking on the cooking front to enjoy the summer weather. It is so worth it! Those roasted veggies can SO wait til fall… and in the meantime, that bottle of white wine is calling your name. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I’m encouraging it with quick and easy meals like this!
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I am just bursting with excitement to share today’s recipe with you. Because: ORZO RISOTTO <– Did you know that this could happen?!?
I certainly didn’t until the topic came up at work the other day.
It’s probably no big surprise that food is a frequent topic of conversation at work. A lot of my work friends love to cook, too, so we’re constantly peering into each other’s Tupperwares, asking what’s for lunch and how it’s prepared. What might be a surprise is that they are mostly single guys! I never thought I’d be sitting around with a bunch of bachelors talking about homemade naan recipes… or that one of them would turn me on to a new kind of risotto.
I guess that begs the question why they’re single. Well, due to a whole host of commitment issues, bad habits, and other personal flaws, no doubt.
Eh, you win some, you lose some. And I obviously win, because I got this risotto recipe.
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You may have noticed that I like to eat tofu with various sauces. Um, this one and this one, for example? But in truth, there is no better match for tofu, in my opinion, than teriyaki sauce.
Could anything really be better than peanut sauce?! Well, that is a pretty bold claim. I’m not sure I’m prepared to make it. I could drink peanut sauce with a straw any day of the week. And teriyaki sauce? Well, I didn’t really think I was a fan until recently. But it turns out I am – and especially on tofu!
Like so many of the recipes on this blog, these tofu teriyaki bowls are based on one of my favorite Whole Foods finds. They have a brown rice tofu teriyaki bowl that I’ve picked up several times when I don’t have leftovers to bring to work.
The meal is pretty straightforward – brown rice, baked tofu and roasted bok choy, topped with a teriyaki sauce – but the flavors are meant to be together! Something about the sweet and salty sauce, the neutral tofu, and the almost bitter bok choy. Once you try it, you won’t be able to fathom subbing a different vegetable or protein. It is just SO meant to be! Throw some green onions on there and I’m in HEAVEN.
I think of this as comfort food to begin with, because I usually get it from Whole Foods when I’m tired after traveling (hence the no leftovers to bring for lunch). There’s really no better pick-me-up in my freezing cold office than a piping hot lunch! And this week, I don’t know about the rest of the country, but it is coooold in Utah. 47 and raining on my drive home from work today, when it was high 80s last week! Nothing like six inches of snow in the mountains to let you know it’s SUMMER. It’s not too bad, though, really – the valley will stay green a bit longer with the rain and extra snowfall, and it’s a good excuse to turn the oven on for meals like this. And then curl up in sweatpants on the couch… not that I’m in that very position right now.
Wait, speaking of curling up in sweatpants and needing an office pick-me-up, here’s what you need to do if you work in an office: watch this video from The Onion immediately. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m that annoying girl with a standing desk at work? Needless to say, multiple people shared this link with me last week :)
OK, back to the food. I’ve been searching for my ideal tofu preparation for bowls like this, and I think I’ve found it in Kate’s method, which I used here. Previously I’ve pan-fried the tofu, which is great for getting it extra crispy, but terrible for having your house smell like a burning wok for the next 72 hours. I’ve also baked it without corn starch, which is healthy, but not as crispy. This way, where you bake the tofu after tossing it with cornstarch, soy sauce, and oil, is the best of both worlds. Let me know if you have a different favorite way to make your tofu! I’m all ears… but until then, I’m sticking to this method for the foreseeable future!
