Tofu
A 12-16 oz block of extra firm tofu
Chop into a small dice. The smaller the better, so go less than half an inch square, closer to a quarter inch.
Put a few cups of water into a saucepan on the stove. Bring to a full boil. Pour in the tofu cube. Return to a boil, adjust heat to it’s not boiling over and let it cook for 10 minutes. Pour into a strainer and let it drain while you do the rest.
Marinade
1/4 cup reduced sodium tamari
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup vegan Worcestershire sauce
A pinch of ginger
A squirt of lime juice
A splash of liquid smoke
Combine in a wide, shallow container.
Pour in the cooked and drained tofu pieces.
Soak for one hour, then remove the tofu from the marinade.
Pre-heat oven to 400ºF.
Seasoning Mix
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
First put the fennel seeds into the bottom of a glass or metal bowl and, using a mortar or the base of a knife handle, crush the seeds lightly. You’re not grinding them, just gently breaking them open. You’ll hear them cracking as you work. Just a little is fine. This releases more of their flavor.
Add the other seasonings and stir well.
Now pour the drained tofu into this bowl of seasonings and using your clean hands, toss it gently until the seasonings are well dispersed.
Bake it
Pour the marinated and seasoned tofu bites onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Get them into a single layer. Cover with tin foil. Bake for 10 minutes. This steams the spices into the tofu better. Then remove the tin foil and bake for another 5 minutes. (Mine didn’t get crispy, though, so next time I might try the air-fry setting for 3 minutes or so instead of baking uncovered for 5. Less is more.)
Serve it
First time I used it, I scattered it on homemade pizzas and it was very pepperoni-like, though a little mild. So the second time, I upped the seasoning mix to the above recipe, and it was way better. I added it to a pasta dish that time, and my hubs raved.
I need a lot of flavor or I can’t taste it. You might need less. Experiment to find your own perfect balance.
This is probably going to be our new favorite way to eat tofu.
A personal note
It’s been quiet here for a few weeks, and that’s because I’m a novelist by day, and I fell into a book that wouldn’t let me out until it was done. 3 drafts in 9 weeks. A new record! It simply possessed me. It’s with the editor now. My publisher got so excited about the high concept storyline that we got the cover art right away.
It will release September 22nd and will be the first of a trilogy. It’s set in my own beloved Cortland N.Y.
Back cover:
In this wickedly dark comedy, retirement has never been so lethal.
When soft-spoken retired teacher Bonnie Tucker accidentally kills a local pedophile, she knows the truth is a hard sell.
Fortunately, she has friends like Diane, Christine, and Rosie. To save her, they employ a signature “double-decker” burial method, hiding the evidence beneath the town’s own dead.
The ladies think they’re in the clear—until a second predator who live-streamed the crime demands silence, and by silence, he means death. The girls have stumbled onto a ring know too much. They have no choice but to silence him first. Fortunately, they have a knack for “community pruning.”
The stakes turn deadly when Bonnie’s son, Sam, moves back home to join the Sheriff’s Department, detective division. His first assignment? Investigating the very disappearance his mother caused.
As Sam closes in on a “vigilante killer,” the girls must balance Sunday dinners with tactical strikes against a powerful man who wants them dead.
A man who’s about to learn that the most dangerous thing in town isn’t him…
It’s the matriarchs who know where the bodies are buried.
There’s no pre-order link or anything yet, I just had to tell you about it. It’ll be in eBook on Kindle, and in paperback everywhere, and I hope to have signed copies available locally.