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I made a variation on my favorite tofu marinade. This one comes from Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point, and she’s not kidding when she calls it her Perfect Baked Tofu. In our house, we call it candy tofu, because it’s surprisingly sweet from the honey, but spicy enough for dinner.
I started with honey and olive oil.
Then added peanut butter and Cajun seasoning.
I microwaved that mixture for about 30 seconds, and then added a few shakes of low sodium soy sauce.
Sorry for the blurry photo 
Then all I had to do was mix in my tofu and some toasted sesame seeds,
let that marinate for about 15 minutes, and then toss onto a lined cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
I always broil my tofu because I’m impatient, but I accidentally left it in the oven a few minutes too long. The peanut butter really changes the cooking time. I think that Caitlin’s method of slow baking would work better for this marinade, but I’ve had success both ways.
It still tasted amazing though! I was seriously craving peanut butter, and this really hit the spot. I wanted to throw in some wilted spinach, but we were fresh out. Ah well! Served over top of seasoned quinoa, it made a really filling meal.
Give it a go, and let me know what you think!
Mmmmm. Remember when I used my bread machine to make bagels? That was an awesome day. Well, I did it again, and this time I added a half cup of frozen blueberries. Perfect! Seriously, these are some of the best bagels I’ve ever had. I give my bread machine total credit. I know I said I was going to try and make them without my bread machine, but I was dragged outside (in winter! the nerve) for a beautiful photo walk through Greenough Park. I’ll put up photos later, but I took so many that it’s hard to pick!
PS–anyone have any thoughts on what to name the bread machine? I love naming inanimate objects 
Sweet and Spicy Tofu
Serves 3-4
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Mix olive oil, honey, peanut butter and Cajun seasoning together in a microwave safe bowl. Nuke for about 30 seconds, mix again. Add soy sauce and combine, then stir in pressed tofu and sesame seeds. Let the tofu marinate in the refrigerator 15-30 minutes, stirring every so often to keep the tofu covered.
Broil tofu on a lined and sprayed cookie sheet for about 15-20 minutes, watching carefully so the marinade doesn’t burn.
Serve over rice, quinoa, or salad.
Complete recipe written up neatly at the bottom
I had some time yesterday morning. Because my alarm went off at 5:30 in the morning, and even the thought of going to the gym couldn’t get me out of bed. I was tiiiiiiiirrrrrred.
But then, at exactly 6:15, I decided I was awake and had better get out of bed. My workout was scrubbed for an extra 45 minutes of sleep. Sometimes you just have to give yourself those little indulgences.
So, with all my free time in the morning, I decided to marinate tofu.
This tofu was pressed to remove the extra moisture for about 10 minutes.
Then cubed.
Stuff was thrown in a bag.
And then smooshed to combine.
Tofu was added, and then shaken. Not stirred.
And then I threw the bag in the refrigerator and went to work.
When I came home, I turned the broiler on, covered a cookie sheet in foil, and used my new Misto to spray some olive oil on the foil. (Heehee, I rhymed!)
The tofu had sucked up almost all of the marinade, but I tossed it out onto the cookie sheet and poured the last drops of marinade on top.
Once that was in the oven for a few minutes, I started some quinoa.
About ten minutes later, in between stirring the quinoa, I stirred the tofu around a bit,
It smelled so delicious!
Chopped some vegetables for a salad,
And then all that was left was assembly.
This was so fast and easy. From turning the broiler on to sitting down at the table was about 30 minutes.
Although this tofu wasn’t knock your socks off and “call yo’ mama” good, it was delicious and far moister than my typical (10 minutes) marinated tofu.
So if you have some time tomorrow morning, give it a shot.
Easy tofu marinade:
1 block of extra firm tofu
1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp minced garlic (or one whole clove, pressed)
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp five spice powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
Wrap tofu in a towel or paper towel and press under a few plates or cook books for about 10 minutes. Dice into desired shape (cubes or slices) and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in a ziplock bag or bowl, whisk or shake to combine. Add tofu, then refrigerate for half an hour or up to 8 hours.
Preheat broiler and cover a cookie sheet with foil. Spray the foil with olive oil or cooking spray, and then spread tofu into a single layer on the cookie sheet.
Remove tofu from the oven when the corners are crispy and the tofu is a nice dark color. Serve over quinoa, rice, couscous, or whatever floats your tofu boat!
Hey Missoulians, do you remember Tipu’s? I do. I haven’t had samosas like that before or since. Sure, the Good Food Store comes very close, but it’s just not the same. And the date raisin chutney? Forget about it!
Unfortunately, when Tipu’s was still around, I wasn’t brave enough to venture farther than the samosas. I had very limited tastes, and, everything else kind of looked weird. I’m sorry! I didn’t know any better! Now that I’ve seen the light, there’s few places in Missoula for a girl to get decent Indian food. Internet to the rescue!
I liked this recipe because it had, of all things, yogurt. I had mustard powder, not mustard seed, and when I started dicing my brand new, perfectly good looking onion, it was moldy! Sad day. However, I’d had a little wedge of onion leftover, and some green onions that were needing to be used up, and it turned out totally fine.
I started with sesame oil, because I thought it would give the tofu more flavor than just regular oil.
When the oil was warm, I threw the pressed and drained tofu into the pan.
Meanwhile, I chopped the onions I had.
The tofu browned nicely. It’s hard to remember not to rush the browning process. The longer it cooks, the firmer the outer edge will be, and the nicer the texture.
This doesn’t look like something that humans should eat, but the flavor and aroma ginger produces is incredible!
After the tofu was browned on all sides, I set it aside and started heating the onions, garlic, ginger, and about 1/2 teaspoon of mustard powder.
While the vegetables sauteed, I mixed the yogurt with curry powder, cumin and salt.
Here is where a little speed of hand is helpful. Spinach wilts very quickly, but it starts out quite large. You have to add one batch at a time, stir, and then add the next before the previous batch becomes too wilted. You’ll start out with so much spinach, but by the end you’ll wonder where it all went.
As the last of the spinach goes in, throw the cooked tofu back in the pan to start heating up.
When the tofu is warm, add the yogurt and heat through. Something odd happens to the yogurt a few seconds after it hits the warm pan. It starts to get quite watery and runny. The trick is to keep stirring and only keep it on the heat until it’s warm. You don’t want to lose all the liquid.
The recipe suggests serving this over Basmati rice, which would be lovely. I used quinoa, and it was the perfect vessel to add bulk without detracting from the flavors.
My only problem with this method is that while the spinach/onion mixture is the perfect balance of exotic flavors and textures, the tofu leaves a little to be desired. It was very bland, and by the end, I found myself picking through and leaving out the tofu. I don’t see why you couldn’t marinate it in the yogurt for awhile. I would cook the tofu, mix the yogurt, and then put the tofu in the yogurt after it had cooled off. Then, only after the tofu is sitting in the yogurt, would I start to prepare everything else.
This is the type of dish to serve someone who thinks they don’t like Indian food. It has familiar ingredients for more Western tastes, and it’s not spicy for those who think that Indian food will burn your taste buds off. I’m not sure how it survives through the next few days, because we didn’t have any leftovers. It was waaay too good to leave sitting around.
