Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The Magic of Tofu


I am constantly amazed at how versatile tofu is. Today I made a quick tofu sour cream to go with my lunch of black bean dip ( a can refried black beans, canned fire-roasted tomatoes, fresh onion and lots of cilantro and a squeeze of lime) and organic corn chips. Does that sound skimpy ? Not if you make it your meal ! I ended up using a half a can of the refrieds, half a can of the tomatoes, and about 1/3 of a carton of the tofu. Loads of protein, taste and fun to eat !
The picture shows Mori-Nu tofu...in an aseptic, or Tetra-pak package. This kind does not need to be refrigerated before it is opened, but is sometimes found in the chilled veggie section in grocery stores. The other kind of tofu usually found in grocery stores is the kind packed in water. But this Tetra-pak type is really great when you want a very smooth creamy texture. The tofu is draining in an old yogurt screen...meant to reduce dairy yogurt by removing the excess moisture. Worked fantastically for the tofu ! One whole carton fit into the cone, and was weighted down with a can of beans for an hour. Almost a 1/2cup of liquid drained off of it. I tossed the drained tofu into the container that came with one of those electric blender sticks ( way better than hauling out a food processor or blender )that my Mom left with us during her last visit ( thanks, Mom! )along with the juice of one lemon, a spoonful of nutritional yeast, several spoonfuls of olive oil, some salt and pepper, blended it up, and, wow...something way better than dairy sour cream and far cheaper and healthier than the commercial non-dairy version. A handful of cilantro tossed into it at the end of blending would be a nice touch !