Ultimate BBQ Tofu

If you follow this blog you know that I have made BBQ tofu before. So, what makes this "ultimate?" Good question! It's all about the method. I noticed that freezing tofu makes it rather like a sponge; much more able to soak up sauces. So, I thought I would try freezing the tofu in BBQ sauce, thawing it, then throwing it on the grill. The experiment was a success--full of flavour and with a great texture. It does takes some planning to make this dish, so consider throwing a few batches in the freezer at the beginning of the week.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 pkg firm or extra firm tofu, sliced into 8

- 1 recipe Sweet and Sticky BBQ sauce (but finely dice the onions)

METHOD

1. Bring ingredients for BBQ sauce to bubbling in a saucepan. Add tofu, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins.

2. Remove tofu and place in a Pyrex dish (or whatever you use to freeze stuff). Cover with sauce, cover, and place in the freezer. Let freeze completely.

3. The day before you want to eat said tofu, place in the fridge to thaw. Or, just thaw in the microwave before grilling.
4. Grill tofu on a hot grill 3-4 mins per side, then rotating 90 degrees and repeating. Baste regulalry with the BBQ sauce. If you like, set aside some sauce and thicken in a saucepan on the stove, then slather over the grilled tofu.

PETA's Vegan College Cookbook: A Review

I wasn't a vegan as an undergrad, a fact I am sometimes grateful for when I see the food offerings on campus these days (and when I think of how hard it was even to get a decent vegetarian option back then). While things are getting better these days, vegan options are still few and far between. To make matters worse, dorms have pretty much restricted cooking appliances to a microwave and a kettle (unless you want to use the communal kitchen at the end of the hall, which no one ever does). So, until you can get an off campus house with your own stove, what's a college vegan to do?

One answer is PETA's new Vegan College Cookbook--275 recipes all made (well, almost all) in the microwave. Written with wit and flair, the book makes no apologies for what it is: a collection of recipes that make liberal use of fake meat, dairy, eggs, and cheese (there is even a comprehensive mini encyclopedia of all the vegan alternatives available). The recipes are comprehensive, including the expected lunch, breakfast, and dinner; but also with sections devoted to salads, soups and stews, drinks, dips, snacks, and desserts. If you've ever been a student you will appreciate the special spotlight on ramen noodles.

For those of us with access to a stove, this book is probably of limited use (though there are some good ideas for quick and easy snacks and drinks), but I think the book is perfect for college students (and I should know--I teach them!). While I would like to see more focus on fresh veggies and perhaps some raw dishes, let's not kid ourselves: cleaning out the crisper is not high on the "to do" list for freshmen. The great thing about the book is that you don't have to be a culinary wizard to execute these recipes. So, kids, if you are college-bound (and if your parents are wondering what you will eat whilst at school), consider PETA's Vegan College Cookbook.

Fire Roasted Pepper and Mushroom Salad

This is a pretty easy dish to make if you already have the BBQ on. Fresh thyme really is a must here so you get those wonderful bursts of flavour when you bite down. I didn't even try to get the kids to eat this one, what with Son #1's professed hatred of both peppers and mushrooms.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

- 1 red pepper

- 1 yellow pepper

- 1 orange pepper

- 10 large white or cremini mushrooms

- juice of 1/2 lemon

- olive oil

- salt and pepper to taste

- fresh thyme sprigs

METHOD

1. Roast peppers on the BBQ over med-hi heat for 12-15 mins, turning regularly, until skin is blistered and wrinkled. Place in a large bowl, cover with a plate, and steam for 10 mins.

2. While peppers are roasting, toss whole mushrooms in a bit of olive oil and place cap side down on the grill. Roast for about 10 mins, until mushrooms release most of their water.

3. Skin and seed peppers when they have cooled enough to touch. Dab off excess water and cut into chunks. Thickly slice mushrooms. Place peppers and mushrooms in a bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil, add lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Place in serving bowl and top with fresh thyme. Serve.

Rice Vegan Cheese: A Product Review

I was contacted by the folks at Galaxy Foods to see if I would like to sample some of their new rice cheese. I'm really not one to turn down free food, but I will admit that I am skeptical of vegan cheese. The kids like it, but I would rather just do without for the most part. Despite these caveats, they still sent me the cheese. There are three flavours: Pepper Jack, Cheddar, and American. So, I put the cheese to the test. First up, classic grilled cheese with the cheddar. The flavour was good (for fake cheese), and it melted quickly and easily (which is a big plus).
Next up, potato quesedillas with the pepper jack. I did sample some of the cheese before cooking and, quite frankly, the texture was terrible: grainy, yet pasty. But, when melted in the quesedilla, it was much better.

Lastly, Tofu English Muffin Sandwiches for brunch with the American flavour. This one actually does not taste too bad uncooked and it was a nice addition to the sandwich.

So, in the final analysis the cheese was better than I expected. On the plus side, it melts well, is soy free (if that matters to you), and tastes better than most vegan cheeses. On the downside, it has a lot of packaging since each individual slice is wrapped in plastic inside a plastic package. It would be nice to see this as a block to cut down on the plastic.

Easy Cheezy Garlic Bread Sticks

We make pizzas every week for the boys' lunches (Thursday is pizza day at school and they don't like feeling left out). I had some extra dough this week, so I made these bread sticks to go with our pasta dinner. So, I guess this recipe is really only easy if you already have some dough on hand (I just couldn't pass up the rhyming title). I used Isa's recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance, but any pizza dough recipe will suffice since they are all pretty much the same. Try this one, if you like. The nutritional yeast develops a nice flavour after being baked in the oven, giving these sticks a cheesy taste. Perfect for mopping up extra sauce!

INGREDIENTS

- pizza dough

- olive oil

- garlic powder

- nutritional yeast

METHOD

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. Divide dough into equal pieces (I weighed out 100 gram pieces). Roll into sticks about 10" long (or whatever will fit your baking sheet).

2. Place on prepared baking sheet 1" apart, brush with olive oil, then sprinkle with garlic powder and a healthy dose of nutritional yeast.

3. Bake for 12-15 mins, or until nicely golden.