Saturday, December 1, 2007

Saturday

Grandma's savory tofu casserole AKA tofu loaf (recipe in the comments)
Ketchup and mustard for drizzling on the casserole (Trust me)
Mashed potatoes
Butter lettuce salad with garlic vinaigrette

Mint M & Ms (Habit solidly forming)
Gingerbread spice tea
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This was our conversion to tofu recipe. We had this as a birthday celebration dinner at our friend F's house. It was for her birthday, but we got the best present - this recipe and the beginning of our quest for more tofu in our lives. The only downside was the name: tofu loaf, which is neither the most appetizing, nor, honestly, the most accurate name. This does resemble your typical meatloaf, but it's so much more (and we make a VERY good meatloaf). Especially as we like to make it in a square baking dish, I like to think of this as Grandma's Savory Tofu Casserole. No, there's no actual Grandma involved, but putting one in the title evokes that homey quality this recipe embodies. It will convert even the biggest tofu-phobe. We like this best with baked potatoes (bake right along with the casserole), but had to have mashed potatoes this time as we went without on Thanksgiving. The casserole is dense, so a light salad is an excellent side.

We got our Christmas tree today and so I had no compunction about breaking out my holiday herbal tea. Gingerbread spice with sugar and milk is a good thing.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Moderate to prepare and long to cook, but totally worth it
Chopping: Onion, carrot, pepper, garlic
Time: 25 minutes to prep + 1 hour to bake
Make ahead: No problem.

Reaction
J: "A conversion experience all over again."
M: "Just like Mom used to make. If Mom was a vegetarian who liked ketchup."

2 comments:

J said...

Grandma’s Savory Tofu Casserole AKA Tofu Loaf – M. B. and F. B. (with M & J additions)
Serves 4

1 container extra firm tofu, rinsed and patted dry
1 large onion, cut into 8 pieces
1 large carrot, cut into 6 chunks
1 large green pepper, cut into 8 pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg
½ cup textured vegetable protein (in the bulk section or dry goods)
⅓ cup ketchup
⅓ cup soy sauce
2 T yellow mustard
¼ t black pepper
2-3 T canola oil


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place tofu in a large bowl and mash the tofu well, using your hands.

Process onion, carrot, green pepper, and garlic SEPARATELY in a food processor, dumping product into the tofu bowl after each vegetable is minced. Add remaining ingredients except oil to tofu and vegetable mixture. Combine thoroughly.

Add oil a loaf or square baking dish (I prefer square) and spread evenly on bottom and sides. Spread tofu mixture into pan. Bake for 1 – 1 ¼ hours or until well browned on top.

Unknown said...

I feel famous :)