My experiences with the foodstuff tofu can be summarized like this:
Okay, that is only mostly true. Tofu has been around a long, long time, and for the duration my life, tofu has been the "weird hippie food" that everyone thinks a lot about, but nobody really actually eats.
But, you know, I'm all about expanding horizons, so when we went to HuHot last month, I tried some with my stir-fry. It looked like this:
In addition to the off-putting taste that I can't even describe here, the texture was unusual...and not unusual in that weird-but-I-can-get-past-it way. Unusual in that Oh-God-I-may-die-this-is-so-gross-way.
But then, I rediscovered a long-lost gem of a cookbook on my shelves (12 Best Foods Cookbook by Dana Jacobi), and therein was a recipe for Pepper-Ranch dressing. It occurs to me that the time is very ripe for me to try my hand at homemade Ranch dressing...and a simple recipe sits right in front of me.
The key ingredient? Tofu. My culinary nemesis. Well, sort of. Can you really refer to it as a nemesis if you've had one icky passing experience with it in a Mongolian grill restaurant? I dunno, either.
Anyway, I buy the tofu (Lite, silken). Come home and do the following:
Chop one green onion.
Process onion, two teaspoons garlic, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar in food processor. (Yes, I did just have rice vinegar sitting around in my pantry...doesn't everybody?)
Scrape down sides and add 9 ounces of the tofu, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon of garlic-infused oil (in lieu of canola). Salt to taste.
Pulse until super-smooth.
The result is something that does not heinously offend. The dressing is good, it is peppery, it is not tofu! This is excellent news!
I have just noticed on the next page of the cookbook a recipe for blue cheese dressing - I suppose that will be my next tofu try...in honor of my husband.
Okay, that is only mostly true. Tofu has been around a long, long time, and for the duration my life, tofu has been the "weird hippie food" that everyone thinks a lot about, but nobody really actually eats.
But, you know, I'm all about expanding horizons, so when we went to HuHot last month, I tried some with my stir-fry. It looked like this:
In addition to the off-putting taste that I can't even describe here, the texture was unusual...and not unusual in that weird-but-I-can-get-past-it way. Unusual in that Oh-God-I-may-die-this-is-so-gross-way.
But then, I rediscovered a long-lost gem of a cookbook on my shelves (12 Best Foods Cookbook by Dana Jacobi), and therein was a recipe for Pepper-Ranch dressing. It occurs to me that the time is very ripe for me to try my hand at homemade Ranch dressing...and a simple recipe sits right in front of me.
The key ingredient? Tofu. My culinary nemesis. Well, sort of. Can you really refer to it as a nemesis if you've had one icky passing experience with it in a Mongolian grill restaurant? I dunno, either.
Anyway, I buy the tofu (Lite, silken). Come home and do the following:
Chop one green onion.
Process onion, two teaspoons garlic, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar in food processor. (Yes, I did just have rice vinegar sitting around in my pantry...doesn't everybody?)
Scrape down sides and add 9 ounces of the tofu, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon of garlic-infused oil (in lieu of canola). Salt to taste.
Pulse until super-smooth.
The result is something that does not heinously offend. The dressing is good, it is peppery, it is not tofu! This is excellent news!
I have just noticed on the next page of the cookbook a recipe for blue cheese dressing - I suppose that will be my next tofu try...in honor of my husband.
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