Baked Lemon Tofu

Well....this isn't what I was initially going for - this baked lemon tofu - but look how extremely yummy it looks! My initial intentions were to make a mock version of lemon chicken...but I was too busy to make sieten (and this time I mean busy, not lazy) and I really wanted to try the red potatoes I bought at the farmer's market last weekend and I just didn't think lemony sauce would go with potatoes- you need more of a grain dish for that so I created a LEMON TOFU BAKE - Easy Peasy- Here is the recipe.....

1 block fir or extra firm tofu - pressed well and slice in 8 pieces
Mix together marinate:
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 Tbs. Dijon Mustard
2 Tbs. Tamari
3 Tbs. Lemon Juice - fresh
1 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Lemon Zest
1 tsp dried Basil (I used home-dried Thia)
1 tsp dried Thyme
2 minced Cloves of Garlic
Fresh ground Pepper to taste

Pour marinate over tofu - in shallow baking dish. Marinate for AT LEAST an hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees -
You can use the same baking dish if you chose, or transfer in lightly sprayed baking dish and
bake tofu for 25-30 minutes until brownish...flip halfway thru

Served with some smashed potatoes - GET THIS- I gave Goods the option of "mashed potatoes" or "smashed potatoes" - and he said..."hummm... I'll go with mashed because they are chunkier" - dahhhhhhh - I have so much to teach him...I corrected him, on this common knowledge tidbit and told him "smashed potatoes" are chunkier. So we had Smashed potatoes (w/ roasted garlic, green onion and nooch), broccoli and Goods had leftover grilled mushrooms....ewwwhhh. All the flavors blended perfectly too!

I just ate some of the leftover tofu for breakfast (cold too) and it was even better today! The lemon isn't overwhelming either - it would be perfect in a sandwich wrap.

Enjoy!

Quick-A-Dee-Quick

It was like a eating at fast food restaurant (gag) last night. We whipped up this meal in no time (excluding the sweet potato that was baked in the oven)

Along with the Sweet Potato we had~

**Vegan Dad's Maple BBQ Tofu**

&

**Dijon-Dill Brussel Sprouts**

The Maple BBQ Tofu~ Awesome. Recipe here - directing you to his site. My changes: I only had garlic chili sauce, so that is what we used. Used the brown sugar (dark) as he suggested. Also added some chopped green onion with the tofu as it was cooking.

The Brussel Sprouts~ I was skeptical - DILL & BRUSSEL SPOUTS?? Well the reviews were good from the Allrecipe website so I went for it, and I'm I glad I did!! Outstanding! Here's a closer look.....

The original recipe is here, but I made enough changes that I think I'm allowed to share it with you.

Dee's Nutty Dilly Dijon Brussel Sprouts

What you need:
Brussel Sprouts - 1 pkg
6-8 Cloves of Garlic (keep nice size pieces)
Vegan Butter
1/2 c TOASTED Walnut pieces

3 Tbs. Melted Vegan Butter
2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 - 1 tsp. Dried Dill Weed
Pepper to taste

Brussel Sprouts cleaned and halved. I'm sorry I don't have an amount, at my store they sell them in prepackage containers - like they do mushrooms. Steam Brussel Spouts (w/ garlic gloves) until desired tenderness. Drain water off. Add approx 1 Tbs. of vegan butter, and brown those puppies up. After browned, put into serving dish. Now, melt 3 Tbs. vegan butter to pour on the brussel sprouts, and toss with the mustard, lemon juice, dill weed, pepper and toasted walnuts. Now now you are ready for your tastebuds to explode!

Quick, Easy and Delish! (oh and GOODS HELPED!!!)

This dinner was definitely 5 out of 5 forks
(I'm brining back my old ranking system)

Dee F. Changs

I heart, PF Changs. Loads of VEGAN options for me and the food is great....and they make great cocktails to boot!

I normally get their Coconut Curry Vegetables, because it's so yummy, and also because Goods isn't gaagaa over curry so I don't use it much at home. But....I was perusing some blogs, one of which was "Yeah, that Vegan Shit" because she's so funny (I think she's a she)...and there was a new link to her new site "Vegan in Cleveland" - I know where Cleveland is so I followed the link. She mentioned that at PF Changs you can get ORANGE PEEL TOFU.

When went to PF Changs a few days later, I looked for it. Well I saw it in the "dead chicken section" of menu, so I asked them to sub tofu. I WAS IN HEAVEN- it was the yummiest! Here is a pix of some left overs.....
No veggies with it, but that was okay, the dish wasn't really saucy, but yet so flavorful...brown rice was perfect with it.

So this past weekend I wanted it again. One problem, I wasn't at PF Changs, I was only in my kitchen. On line I found the copycat recipe - Looky here: ORANGE PEEL CHICKEN MINUS THE CHICKEN RECIPE.

I, of course, used tofu...and mine turned out saucy!
I served it with some veggies from leftover kabobs I made a few days before. Here is the sauce recipe I used from the link above; with the exception of the water, I substitute orange juice for it.

Sauce:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

4 green onions, sliced

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup water (OJ for me)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Prepare sauce by heating 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sliced green onions. Add tomato sauce and water quickly before the garlic burns. Add sugar, chili garlic sauce and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 to 6 minutes or until sauce thickens, then turn off the heat.

Last night for dinner, was fridge cleanout night, and I scored the rest of the orange peel tofu. I added a chunk of leftover bbq tempeh, and ate it over some tofu noodles. It was a lovely dish of protein! I think next time I will make the orange peel tofu with tempeh instead, it was totally yummy in it.

So after dinner it was time to go to my weekly ceramic class. I was excited to go since this was the day I got to take home the finish product of my hard work (BTW 3 coats EACH COLOR!!!!!) from the last few weeks.....TAH DAHHHHHH...

I designed, drew, and painted a "DAY OF THE DEAD" plate. Goods and I collect Day of the Dead art, so I was excited to bring it home to our collection. If I choose, I can even serve vegan food on it!

The weekend is almost here - ENJOY!