The Art of Living Apie-ly : 2 recipes in 1! Pan-seared Garlic tofu and Avocado Caprese Pasta Salad

I'm feeling better! And thus I cooked. :)

I combined two recipes to make one meal...or several meals, cause I made enough for a few days.

I've made the salad before, while staying at my parents during the holidays. Mom and Dad eat very differently than I do. But for some reason, whenever I cook, they want what I am having.

So, I had to fight my mom for my salad. Not so for the tofu. Mom hates tofu.

So let's start with the tofu! From the "Oh She Glows" cookbook.

Pan-seared Garlic Tofu

Ingredients

one pound block firm or extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp of melted coconut oil or grapeseed oil

Directions

1) Press the tofu in a tofu press. Or use the DIY method given in the book. I will describe the DIY method cause I don't have a press.

Rinse the tofu. Cover a cutting board in kitchen towels. Wrap the tofu in paper towels and then in more kitchen towels. Put the wrapped up tofu on the cutting board and stack some heavy books on top. Do this for 30 minutes at least, up to overnight.

2) Slice the tofu into squares About 1cm thick and 1/2 inch long

3) preheat a skillet (cast-iron if you got one) over medium heat for a few minutes

4) combined seasoning ingredients in a large bowl, throw in the tofu and toss it around until it is nicely coated

5) When a drop of water sizzles on the skillet, it's ready. Add the oil and coat the skillet with it. Add the tofu in a single layer on the skillet. You want each tofu piece flat on the skillet. Careful about the oil splattering or touching the skillet.

6) cook the tofu for 3-5 minutes, until a golden crust forms. Flip the tofu and cook for 3-5 minutes on the other side. Now it's ready to eat!

Note 1: The book says to keep an eye on your homemade press because the books will topple over. I ignored this and went for a shower. Sure enough, as I was attending to my hygiene, I heard a big ol' crash in my kitchen. Trust your cookbook. It does not lie.

Note 2: This recipe reminds me of paneer. Paneer is fresh cheese in India. It served in channa's and in other thick sauces served with naan, roti or japati. It got me thinking I could swap out the paneer in a recipe for this.

The seasoning

Wrapped up tofu

Tofu press! This also gives you a chance to see my other cookbooks. Caribbean vegan has a great potato salad recipes that goes over very well at work-potlucks. The cans I added for extra-weight. They will also be featured in an upcoming recipe.

Tofu Overboard!!!

seasoned tofu

I used a grill skillet. So my cooking tofu now has some grill marks on it.

Pan-seared Garlic tofu

Second recipe! From "Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen"

Avocado Caprese Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1 pound of whole wheat fusilli
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper
2 tsp of sea salt
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup of basil, cut into chiffonade
2 ripe avocados, cut into small cubes
black pepper to taste

Directions

1) boil water in a large pot, add pasta and cook to desired tenderness. Drain, rinse with cold water and return to the pot. Toss noodles with oil and set aside

2) To the pot, add the lemon juice, garlic, salt, crushed red pepper, tomatoes, basil and avocado. Season with black pepper

3) Wearing gloves, toss noodles with your hands, mashing the avocado slight with your fingers. Drizzle with more oil if needed. Season to taste.

Note 1: Chloe uses this flavour combination a lot. Lemon, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. It's delicious. You can feel the acid working in your mouth. Mmmmm. Probably would make a good salad dressing...

Note 2: Mashing avocados is messy fun!!!

Note 3: I used whole wheat macaroni cause I had it on hand. I also threw in some raw baby spinach and red onion for extra veggie content and flavour.

Note 4: After a few days, the pasta will dis-colour somewhat. It'll stay taste good though.