What your crumbled tofu should look like....

Here is a photo of some basil 'ricotta' tofu (recipe from Vegan with a Vengence cookbook) that I made for pizza, it's a good example of what your crumbled tofu should look like for the lasagna recipe.

Vegan Lasagna......at last

Here is my lasagna recipe, at last. The best bit about this recipe is the awesome white sauce! It has the feel and taste of really naughty white sauce but is very low in fat for such a thing, and it can also be used on potato bake, macaroni, or cauliflower!

I will add recipes for alternative fillings (as I make them!) in future, such as bean and tofu filling and TVP and lentil filling, which are more "mince" like for traditional lasagna lovers.

Ingredients

1 family size packet lasagna pasta sheets (6 serves)
1 medium eggplant - sliced thinly, 3-5mm thin.
1 large red onion - sliced
1 red capsicum - sliced
1 zucchini (or 2 small) - sliced
300 grams plain firm tofu - crumbled well to resemble ricotta cheese
1 jar plain tomato pasta sauce (or your favourite recipe)
2 tins crushed tomatoes (or 4 cups fresh diced roma tomatoes)
1-2 teaspoons minced garlic

(White sauce ingredients)
1 cup nutritional (savoury) yeast flakes
2 cups soy or rice milk
1/4 cup Tahini
1 tablespoon (approx) cornflour

Herbs: fresh or dry basil, oregano, black cracked pepper and sea salt, to taste, be generous with the oregano.
Balsamic vinegar
Spray olive oil

Equipment

1 family size lasagna dish (or will fit into two small pyrex dishes)
1 small saucepan
1 large saucepan
trays for grilling/roasting veggies
mixing bowl

Preparation

Slice eggplant very thinly, lay on paper towel or a tea towel and lightly salt for 10 minutes (lots of water will come out of them, but so will any bitterness, if your eggplant is very fresh this isn't needed)

While eggplant is salted, crumble tofu well between your fingers in a mixing bowl until it looks like ricotta cheese.

Instructions

Heat oven to 180 degrees C.

Grill or roast lightly, eggplant, capsicum and zucchini slices, with a spray of olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar over slices. Put aside when cooked, for when ready to build lasagna.

In a large saucepan cook onion and garlic until onion softens.

Add crumbled tofu and mix well with onion.

Continue to cook tofu mixture for 5 minutes, then add pasta sauce and tinned/fresh tomatoes, and mix well, stirring through herbs, salt and pepper. Turn off heat.

Make white sauce (recipe below).

Build lasagna - starting with a layer of pasta sheets, top with a small amount of tofu and sauce mix and grilled veges, then repeat layers of pasta, tofu mix and vege mix until a final layer of pasta.

Pour white sauce mixture over lasagna and smooth across top, then sprinkle 1/4 cup savoury yeast flakes across the top to give a cheesy appearance.

Bake for 45 minutes.

White Sauce Recipe

Slowly heat 2 cups soy or rice milk until lightly steaming, do not overheat!
Stir in 3/4 cup of nutritional yeast flakes
Stir in 1/4 cup tahini, mixing well.
Slowly add cornflour and mix continually so clumps don't form.

Continue to mix until sauce thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Add more soy milk or cornflour if needed to adjust thickness.

Publication, Whoo!

Great new Australian Website from Action for Animals - TryVeg

http://www.tryveg.net/

And they have kindly published my recipes!

Recipe: Asian-style Soup with Tofu and Udon Noodles

Recipe: Pasta Bake with Cashew Cheez Sauce

On the "to make" list.....

Indonesian Coconut Rice (Vegan.com Top 10 Recipe, 2008)

Don't be deterred by long lists of spices in recipes, it's all about having a well-stocked pantry, and getting the hang of what works well together, making recipes like this is really good practice on how to use spices. Then most recipes become quick and easy when you get the hang of it and have everything on hand.

Yet another stir-fry sauce!

Oooo I have a great addition to my never ending obsession with stir-fry sauces!

This is for one to two serves:

1 TBSP Wasabi paste
(you will hardly notice it, it just gives a lovely flavour, I promise!)
2 TBSP Tahini
3 TBSP Light soy sauce
1 TBSP Mirin
1/4 cup boiling water.

Dissolve wasabi paste and tahini in boiling water in small bowl, add soy sauce and mirin and mix well, then pour over stir-fry veggies and tempeh a few minutes before serving, mix well and serve over basmati, or brown rice or Soba noodles.

Super Easy Recipe, with greens.

Lately I have been eating a lot of variations on 4-5 ingredients because I have been very busy with work and have been cooking for myself only for the past 10 days. Plus I have a thing about greens, and this recipe has 3 green ingredients, which is probably why my iron is so good for a female running vegan!

Here is an easy one that I had for lunch today (about for dinner about 5 nights out of the last 10).......

Ingredients

1. plain tofu, cubed
2. baby spinach
3. 2x shallots, diced
4. 1/2 avocado (or some small broccoli florets if you prefer)
Plus chilli powder/chilli sauce and sesame oil (I know, that's technically 6 ingredients!)

Instructions

1. place big pile of baby spinach in bowl
2. cook up cubed plain tofu with a little bit of sesame oil and a generous dusting of chilli powder (in the absence of my beloved chilli sauce)
3. toss 2 diced shallots to cook in the with tofu
4. add 1/2 small avocado sliced in on top of the baby spinach leaves, then add cooked ingredients when you are happy with how cooked you like your tofu.

When you put the cooked tofu and shallots in on top of the baby spinach the heat wilts it nicely without actually loosing any of the raw green goodness :)

If you don't love chilli (sacrilege!) you can place 1 tablespoon tahini with 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a jar and give it a good shake to combine, and pour that over the tofu.

Baby spinach goes especially well with chilli and tahini flavours I think :)

Stay tuned - Vegan Lasagna Recipe coming up!

My Mum's friend can't eat cheese and whilst staying with us for a week, and eating my vegan food, she told me that she would like a vegan lasagna recipe. So rather than just google a recipe for her, I told her I would come up with one of my own especially for her. I have my shopping list ready, and tomorrow is Sunday, a good day for cooking, so stay tuned for the out-come........

Cake! Vegan Mud Cake

Unable to go to my little brother's 30th birthday party, I sent a cake along in my absence. It was apparently a hit. The recipe is from Vegan World Fusion Cuisine, and it's a super moist and very chocolaty mud cake style cake, and especially because for the topping I used proper dairy free bittersweet dark chocolate, as opposed to compound cooking chocolate. I really wanted to decorate it, but freaked out that I might just end up ruining it completely. I think some roasted nuts on top will definitely be my plan for next time.

Thai-style Curried Tofu

I had some red curry paste to use up, and my family like satay-style tofu stir fry, so today I came up with the following marinade.....

Ingredients:
1 TBS Red curry paste (fish sauce/shrimp paste free!)
1/4 Cup light soy sauce
1 Small tin of low fat coconut milk (165ml)
equal parts water (165ml)
4x shredded Kaffir lime leaves
1 TBS peanut butter
3 TBS satay powder

1 250g block plain firm tofu - cubed

Mix all ingredients well in shallow container and place tofu cubes into marinade. Refrigerate for as long as possible, best if made at lunch or the night before.

To cook:
Heat a mild oil such as Rice Bran Oil in wok. Scoop tofu cubes out of marinade (set aside) and brown well in wok, add veggies such as spring onions, broccoli, wombok or other Asian veggies, mushrooms and zucchini, stir fry for 3-4 minutes, add remaining marinade, heat well then serve over basmati or brown rice.

Plant Powered Cool Runners - The Gathering '09

So, this September I am going to be 'catering' for a few like minded runners, vegan food only, for 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners, in a fairly remote location with only a gas stove and no electricity, at "The Gathering '09", the inaugural Plant Powered Cool Runners weekend get-together. So I better get my thinking cap on!

For any Cool Running people who might read my blog, and may be interested in a weekend of vegan food, trail running and fun with the PPCR's here are the details:

PLANT POWERED COOL RUNNERS - THE GATHERING '09

A weekend away for any and every CoolRunner who is interested in eating yummy vegan food, and any and every combination your heart desires of trail running, relaxing, swimming, bush walking and general fun stuff with other like-minded CoolRunners.

Dates: Friday 25th September - Sunday 27th September
Location: Garie Beach YHA in the beautiful RNP South of Sydney.

Cost: $55 per person (includes food and some alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages for the non-drinkers)

Starting on Friday afternoon, through to after lunch Sunday, however there is the option of just one day or night for anyone who needs this.

Location info: http://www.cronullabeachyha.com/garie-beach-yha/index.html

To secure your place please email bjm29377@gmail.com for the account details to pay into.

What you will need: Linen, pillow or sleeping bag, toilet paper, and personal toiletries, torch, insect repellent, bath towel.
Optional: swimmers, running gear, board games/playing cards, musical instruments, etc.

Shopping List - Walnut and Beetroot Quinoa

Quinoa
Fresh Beetroot
Raw Walnuts
Garlic
Lemon (or 100% lemon juice)
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Mustard (smooth)
Coriander
Spring Onions
Red Capsicum
Carrot
200gm Packet plain firm tofu

(Quinoa is pronounced Keen-wa and is a South American grain that is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet, high in amino acids (protein) and calcium. I usually buy it at Coles, or at Healthy Life health food stores).

Walnut and Beetroot Quinoa - Recipe

Today I had some quinoa that I wanted to cook, and some beetroot I needed to use up, so a quick google of beetroot and quinoa uncovered a few salad recipes, and I came up with the following after a look at the ingredient suggestions for a few of the salads. But it's not a salad, it's more of a stir-fry, or pilaf style dish.

I also have an alternative idea for this recipe, to roast the vegetables, as opposed to cooking then in the cast iron fry pan as I did this first time, so I will update with further details once I've roasted if it turns out better.

My Mum and Dad were my guinea pigs, and I had to squeeze it out of them a little, they're not huge foodies, and are not vegan, but they said they think they'd prefer the beetroot roasted. They are not use to eating raw beetroot like I am, so they thought the pieces were too big and a little bitter (?) via the following method.

Another alternative I am going to try at my Mum's suggestion is replacing the beetroot with roasted pumpkin cubes.

But for starters, if you don't want to cook all the goodness out of your veggies, I highly recommend the following cooking method.

Ingredients:
1 Large, or 2 small fresh beetroots, peeled and cubed (or 2 cups of cubed roasted pumpkin?)
1 cup fresh raw walnuts
2-3 spring onions, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 x 200gm packet plain firm tofu
1 cup Quinoa
3 cups vegetable stock or water
2 tablespoons olive oil for the pan
2 tablespoons dried (or 1/4 cup fresh chopped leaves) corriander

Sauce/Marinade:
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons mustard (smooth variety)
1/4 cup veg stock or water

Method:
1. Prepare at least an hour or more ahead of cooking time, firstly combine all marinade ingredients in a container for marinating the tofu in and mix well. Place cubes tofu in marinade, coat well and store in fridge.

2. Bring veg stock to boil and cook quinoa, stirring 2-3 times, for 15 minutes, until liquid absorbed.

3. While quinoa is cooking heat a cast iron pan (or any fry pan) and add walnuts to lightly toast, set aside in a bowl.

4. Heat olive oil in pan and cook tofu until browned and a little crispy with a small amount of the marinade.

5. Add vegetables to pan and cook until beetroot is just tender and quinoa is ready.

6. Stir tofu vegetable mix, and the remainder of the marinade, into the quinoa and combine well, stirring through coriander and walnuts. Serve and enjoy!

(Serves 3)

Walnut and Beetroot Quinoa - Photos

The final photo wasn't great sorry, as I lost my nice natural light coming in the window.

Step 1: Marinate the Tofu in the sauce
Yummy raw walnuts
Chopped fresh veggie ingredients

Tahini-Miso Tofu

This goes well in stir-fry with some veggies, chick peas and Soba noodles, or on a burger or toast with avocado for lunch, it tastes quite satay-ish, especially if you use the un-hulled variety of tahini. It also goes really well on a bed of Chinese cabbage (Wombok) with fresh bean sprouts and crispy fried noodles.

Ingredients

Sauce ingredients:
1/4 cup hot water
2 heaped tablespoons Tahini
1 heaped tablespoon of soy bean paste (Miso without the bonito)
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon low salt light soy sauce

Other ingredients:
1 teaspoon (or clove) minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2-3 tablespoons rice bran oil (or sesame/peanut oil for the pan)
2 spring onions, chopped roughly
1 zucchini, chopped into 1 cm long, thin slices
200gm block of plain firm tofu, cubed

Instructions:

Whisk sauce ingredients together in bowl and set aside
Prepare tofu, spring onions and zucchini and set aside
Mince garlic and ginger
Heat pan and oil (preferably cast iron pan)
When oil is hot fry garlic and ginger for a 20 seconds before adding tofu, fry tofu until nicely browned, then add spring onions and zucchini
Cook for 2 minutes then add sauce and stir well for a few minutes to coat and heat until sauce has thickened.

Seitan O'Greatness continued...

Uses for seitan:

1. Sweet and Sour Chinese-style stir-fry, with plenty of red and green capsicum
2. Sliced on sandwiches with avocado and hummus
3. As part of a vegan anti-pasto platter
4. In pasta or rissotto in place of prosciutto

Seitan O'Greatness

From The Post Punk Kitchen

Seitan O'Greatness

Ingredients
DRY:
1.5 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin
1-2 tsp pepper (I use 2 tsp)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (you can use 1/8 tsp if you like it less spicy)
1/8 tsp allspice
2 tsp garlic powder

WET:
3/4 cups water
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. (325 degrees F)

In a large mixing bowl mix dry ingredients. Mix the rest of the ingredients (liquid ingredients) in a smaller mixing bowl. Whisk well until mixed.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well, then knead for a minute or two.. it doesn't need long.

Form into a log (6-8" long), wrap tightly in foil, twisting ends. Bake for 90 minutes. When done baking, unwrap and leave out to cool all the way. Then wrap it foil or plastic and refrigerate. Slice to use as desired.

Easy Yummy Pasta

Tonight I made some Pasta for my Mum and Dad, which they really liked, so I thought I'd put down what I did.

Ingredients:
1x Packet of your favorite pasta, I like Vegeroni Spirals or Al' Fungi Pasta from the Deli if I'm feeling fancy.
1x Jar of plain tomato pasta sauce
3 Cups chopped mushrooms
Olive Oil for the pan
1 tin Butter Beans
2 Cloves crushed garlic
2 large Spring Onions, chopped finely
1 large carrot, julienned
3 Tablespoons Hommus
Balsamic Vinegar (a good splosh)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
Optional: 1 tablespoon of fresh minced chili

Instructions:
Chop all ingredients and have everything at hand
Boil water and heat pan (I love a big cast iron pan for this)
Cook pasta as per packet instructions
While pasta is cooking, cook garlic, spring onions, carrot and mushroons for 5 minutes, then add butter beans and pasta sauce and heat through.
Stir in about 2-3 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar, then stir through hommus.
Drain Pasta and return to pot.
Add veggie, bean and sauce mix from fry pan and stir through.
Stir through chili if using.

Enjoy! (with Verdelho)

Vegan Laksa Recipe

I am on a spicy food kick again now that the weather has cooled down, the last 2 nights have been vindaloo! But it got me thinking about Laksa again. So in Googling 'Vegan Laksa' I found this recipe on delaksa.com to make it vegan you only need to omit the shrimp paste from the paste recipe.

http://www.delaksa.com/vegetarian_laksa.php

I would modify it with the tofu fried in a little sesame oil and would use maybe 2 fresh chilies, and only de-seeded one of them. I like my Laksa spicy!

I will make it ASAP and report back....

***LAKSA PASTE ***
Makes: 320g (1 ½) cups
Prep: 10mins (+20mins standing time)

6-8 long dried red chilies
8 purple (Asian) shallots, coarsely chopped
5 candlenuts
3cm-piece fresh galangal, peeled coarsely chopped
2 stems lemon grass, pale selection only, coarsely chopped
2 tbs peanut oil
1 ½ tsp finely grated fresh turmeric
Or ½ tsp ground turmeric
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped

To make the paste, place the dried chilies in a heatproof bowl, Cover with boiling water and set aside for 20mins to soften,

Drain and chop them coarsely. Place chilli, escaholt, candlenuts, galangal, lemon grass, oil, turmeric, and garlic into a food processor and process until finely chopped…

Ingredients 1/2 Cup of Laksa paste from above 2 Tbsp oil (I think rice bran oil) 1 large onion cut into wedges 1 large carrot sliced thinly 1 ear corn - remove corn from husk 1 fresh chili 2 cloves garlic sliced 1 piece raw ginger sliced 1/2 cup Mirin 900 ml stock 1 can coconut milk 1 cup snowpeas cut into 2cm pieces 1 pack rice noodles 2 bunches bok choy washed and roughly sliced 200 gms firm tofu in 1 cm cubes

Instructions Place the onion in a large cooking pot and fry lightly in olive oil with garlic, ginger and chilli (about 2 mins over medium heat). Add the stock, the Mirin (available from an Asian deli) and the coconut milk. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 mins. Add the carrot and corn and cook for another 5 minutes. Then add the rice noodles and snow peas and cook for another couple of minutes. Finally add the tofu and bok choy and cook for a final 2 or 3 minutes. Serve hot or cold. It's delicious both ways.

Essential Ingredients - a post in progress.....

There are quite a few essential ingredients that I make sure I have on hand, so that every week night it is easy to make fresh and simple dinners, and have left-overs for lunches as well if that's your thing.

I try not to purchase pre-made jars of stir fry sauces and pasta sauces, as I find this can be expensive, excessive, and they mostly include added sugar and or salt as feature ingredients.

Once you stop adding sugar and salt to things you will get use to it, it just takes a few weeks. It is worth it in the long run, and you'll find plenty of different herbs and spices to make things tasty instead.

ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS

Condiment type things, for stir fry sauces and marinades:

Tahini
Miso Paste (White or red, and the Bonito (fish) free one, often called Soybean Paste)
Light Soy Sauce (I like salt reduced)
Sweet Chili Sauce
Lemon Juice
Lime Juice
Rice Wine Vinegar
Mirin (yes it's sugar, but used sparingly!)
Hummus (freshly made or pre-made ok)
Olive Oil
Sesame Oil
Peanut or Rice Bran Oil
Canola Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

Wasabi paste (tube)

Spices and Herbs:
(Ground or powder unless otherwise stated)

Curry
Cumin
Turmeric
Cardamon
Cinnamon
Mustard
Nutmeg
All Spice
Cloves
Chili (fresh)
Curry leaves (dried)
Kaffir Limes Leaves (fresh)
Lemongrass (fresh)
Garlic (fresh)

Optional:
Star Anise
Chinese Five Spice
Garam Marsala

Tinned, and long-life ingredients:

Coconut milk (I used the low fat variety but sometimes keep a samll tin of the real stuff on hand for special occasions)
Tinned tomatoes, whole and crushed
100% tomato paste (salt reduced)
Chick peas
Lentils
Frozen or tinned green peas
Corn (frozen or tinned)
Butter beans
Borlotti beans and/or Canellini beans
Red kidney beans
Curry pastes (for when you don't have time to fiddle with spices)
Rices - Basmati, Brown and Aborio are my 3 must haves.
Pasta (wholemeal is my fave, or the al'fungi fancy sort from the deli!)
Cous Cous
Polenta
Quinoa
Noodles (hokien, sorba or rice)
Savoury Yeast Flakes (otherwise called Nutrional Yeast Flakes, not the same as baking yeast!)

Fresh:

Tofu
Tempeh
all your favourite seasonal vegetables and fruit.

Shopping list for Curried Rice Salad

Brown rice
Raisins
Almond pieces / slivered almonds
Celery
Brown onion
Olive oil
White vinegar
Fresh garlic
Curry powder
Ground cumin
Ground cinnamon
Ground fresh black pepper

Curried Rice Salad

My Mum started making this recipe a few years ago now, and it's naturally vegan, and very yummy for summer lunches and BBQ dinners. I don't claim it as my own although I have fiddled with it a lot over the years. So my apologies for not being able to cite the original creator!

Curried Rice Salad

Ingredients:
2/3 cup brown rice (cooked as per packet instructions)
1/2 to 1 cup of raisins (or blend or currents and raisins)
1/2 cup almond pieces (can be lightly toasted if desired)
4 - 5 stalks of chopped celery
1 brown onion (finely chopped)


Dressing:
3 Table spoons olive oil
2 Table spoons white vinegar
1 - 2 gloves crushed garlic
1 Table spoon curry powder
1 tea spoon cumin
1/2 tea spoon ground cinnamon
1/4 tea spoon ground black pepper

Instructions:
In large bowl combine raisins, almonds, chopped celery and chopped onion
In small bowel mix dressing ingredients
When rice cooled mix all into large bowl and sit overnight in fridge.

It can be kept for 2-3 days and like any good curry it gets better as it goes!

Veggie Patties

Ingredients:

1x tin chick peas
2 large carrots, grated in food processor
1 large zucchini, grated in food processor
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 cup bread crumbs (probably optional)
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon Satay Spice Powder
Peanut oil for pan cooking onion, mushroom and garlic
Flour for forming patties.

Method:

Cook onion, mushrooms and garlic in frypan.

In food processor, grate carrot and zucchini, put in large mixing bowl, then pulse chickpeas, breadcrumbs, peanut butter and Satay Powder together and put in bowl with all other ingredients.

Mix together well, trying to get grated veggies as uniformly mixed through out chickpeas as possible.

Put a small amount of flour in a small bowl, and dust hands also. Form mixture into patties lightly coating with flour to make them not so sticky. Store in Tupperware container in fridge until time for BBQ.

Serve on crusty rolls with sweet chili sauce!

Shopping List - Satay Tofu

Fresh pineapple juice
Garlic
Soy sauce (I prefer salt reduced)
Satay powder (from an Asian grocery if your supermarket doesn't stock any)
Plain firm tofu
Peanut oil, or rice bran oil.
Peanut butter, preferably 100% peanut.
Onion
Vegetable stock cubes, powder or liquid.
Cumin powder
Curry powder
Soy milk
Lemon juice or fresh lemon
Carrots
Snow peas
Red capsicum
Broccoli
Basmati Rice or brown rice

Satay Tofu

MARINADE:

1 cup Pineapple juice (unsweetened)

2 Cloves Crushed Garlic

3 Tablespoons salt reduced light soy sauce

2 Tablespoons satay powder

Stir marinade ingredients together and coat tofu cubes well, store in fridge overnight or as long as possible.

INGREDIENTS:

Marinade and Tofu from above.

Peanut or rice bran oil

½ cup crunchy peanut butter

1 small onion

1 cup vegetable stock

1 tsp ground cumin

½ cup soy milk or coconut milk

1tsp mild curry powder

½ cup of the tofu marinade

1½ tbs lemon juice

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

1 red capsicum, roughly chopped

1 cup snow peas, trimmed

½ cup broccoli florets

Steamed rice, to serve

METHOD:

Pre-marinate tofu

Heat the oil in a fry pan. Add tofu, reserving half a cup of the marinade, cook until golden brown on both sides. Set aside and cover to keep warm.

Combine peanut butter, onion, stock, cumin, soy milk, curry powder, marinade and lemon juice in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring mixture to the boil; reduce heat and simmer, (5-6 minutes).

Whilst sauce is simmering, heat remaining oil in the fry pan. Add carrot, capsicum, snow peas and broccoli, stir-fry (2-3 minutes) until tender.

Return tofu to the fry pan add satay sauce, toss to combine and warm through. Serve immediately over steamed rice.

Tofu 101 - Preparation

Many people have a severe misunderstanding of tofu. No tofu doesn't taste good, out of the packet (unless you buy the Malaysian Satay pre-marinated variety or are my dogs who have a tofu-thing) it's all about what you do with it.

Marinating tofu is a really good place to start, once you've got a marinade you like, you can experiment with different ways of cooking it.

The longer you marinate it for the more flavour it will absorb. So a little pre-planning helps.

In Australian supermarkets it is easy to buy fresh packed plan firm tofu in the refrigeration section, next to those nasty margarine's, cheeses, dips and slimy packets of pig slices.

I like to squeeze my tofu in a few layers of paper towel to get excess water out of it to allow maximum absorption of marinade. Or if you want it extra dry, wrap it in a clean tea towel, then place between 2 plates and plonk a cask of wine (for cooking purposes obviously) on top to squeeze it while you prepare the marinade.

Chop the block into bite size cubes, slices, cutlets or triangles. Then place in a container deep enough or shallow enough depending on the volume of marinade, to have all the tofu covered. Keep it in the fridge until needed.