Level 1 Cooking: Tofu

Since becoming (mostly) vegetarian, a few of my friends have asked about my recent relationship with tofu. Funnily enough, they all asked the same two questions:

1. Is it good?
2. How do you cook it?

Well, I'm a big fan of tofu, and even managed to make Logan, a self-proclaimed carnivore, a fan. So, yes, it's good.

As for cooking it? That's a whole lot easier than a lot of people seem to think. I just fry mine, and I'm sure there are lots of other ways to go about cooking tofu, but so far Logan and I have been really satisfied with our simple fried version.

First of all, you need to buy some tofu. We get the Kroger kind in extra firm. You can find it in the organic/health food section, usually next to the produce section. There's a spot full of fake meat and vegan cheese. The package looks like this:

If you want a meat-like consistency, make sure you're getting extra firm. Tofu comes in all kinds of textures for all kinds of recipes.

Once you've gotten your tofu and you're ready to start cooking, you need to open your package carefully. Tofu is packed in water to keep it fresh, and that water can get everywhere if you aren't expecting it. Poke a hole in the film with a knife, and drain the water out. Then, you lift out the very unappetizing looking block.

I know. But I promise it's not as nasty as it looks. And feels. You're going to get well acquainted with that feeling as you press some of the water out of your wiggly-jiggly block. Just get a folded paper towel and gently press on the block to get some of the excess moisture out.

Heat up some oil in a pan -- we like olive oil -- and cut your block into chunks. It'll still look gross, but I promise it gets better.

Fry your tofu on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

And that's all you have to do! Tofu doesn't have much of a taste on its own though, so you'll probably want to season it or mix it in with something. Logan and I have fallen in love with this recipe for tofu lo mein. It's good just as the recipe says, but we prefer ours with added bean sprouts.

Enjoy!

Level 1 Cooking: Quesadillas

If you're like me, it's overwhelming to sort through recipes in an attempt to find something easy. Then, you finally find something that says it's easy, it isn't.

Well, here's a delicious, and truly simple, recipe: Farmer's Market Quesadillas. I won't re-post the recipe here, because I don't want to step on any toes, but I will show you some pictures of the process.

Once the veggies are done, they should look something like this:

(Except you'll have a lot more there. I made a small batch.)

Then, to fill the quesadillas, you'll want to keep the veggies and cheese in the middle, because the tortillas will shrink!

And finally, the finished "golden-brown" product looks like this:

Don't be afraid to really give your pan a good coat of spray, because that's what gives the tortillas their color and crunch.

Enjoy! And try them reheated, they make really good leftovers.

Sunday Salivation: Tofu Lo Mein

Logan and I decided that we would turn our apartment into a healthy eating zone, so we've been trying a lot of new recipes lately. Our favorite so far is "Fast and Easy Tofu Lo Mein" from allrecipes.com. (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fast-and-easy-tofu-lo-mein/detail.aspx)

We like it because it really is fast and easy. The whole process takes about 20 minutes, and it's the best kind of cooking -- just dump already cooked ingredients together and mix. The first time I made it, the whole thing seemed a little too good to be true. All I had to do was make some ramen and fry some tofu?

The end result was beautiful.

And it tasted just as good as it looked. What's even better? The reheated leftovers.