Penne with Heirloom Tomato Sauce and Roasted Tofu

I'm pretty proud of myself.  This was a dinner that's original destiny was to become a quick and healthy dinner to use up my heirloom tomatoes.  Yet as soon as I tasted the sauce, I knew I would have to snap a picture and blog about it (hence the poor light/photo quality).  I used three different varieties of heirlooms (don't you dare ask me what kind, I forgot) and their flavors exploded into a magical concoction right on my stove top!  The sauce had a strong rich flavor with a slight acidity that hit the tip of the tongue.  With the addition of a little sprinkling of sugar the flavor also took on a bright quality.

I was still settling into Seattle when I made this and was itching to cook in my kitchen.  Alas, I didn't have too many groceries and I was exhausted.  I did have about $20 worth of heirloom tomatoes that I had bought a few days earlier at Pike Place.  Sadly they began to go bad a lot sooner than I had hoped and I'm shockingly not a fan of plain tomatoes.  So when life gives you good quality, but a little bit old, tomatoes... make some pasta sauce!

But pasta sauce and noodles is both boring and soo college.  Solution? Roasted tofu!  It is healthy, delicious, easy and eco friendly.  Not to mention easy of the pocket book; I bought a twin pack of tofu for $2 or $3 at Trader Joe's.  While my combination of flavors suited my taste, use any combination you're comfortable with.

For this recipe, you may use any type of whole wheat pasta cooked to the manufactures directions.


Heirloom Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:

• 4 large heirloom tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 3 medium cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 (approx) cup basil, chiffonade

Directions:

1. Heat chopped tomatoes in a medium sauce pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
2. Once the tomatoes have reduced (or achieved a more liquid consistency), stir in garlic, salt, sugar and pepper.  Simmer over low heat until tomatoes break down further, approximately 20 minutes
3. When the sauce has reached desired  consistency, remove from heat.  I prefer to have a chunkier sauce, but you may either puree to have a smooth sauce.  Stir in basil and serve.

Roasted Tofu
Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Dash of Paprika
• Dash of Crushed Red Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
2. Toss tofu in a small bowl with remaining ingredients.  Arrange tofu on baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and flip tofu with tongs to the other side.  Bake for another ten minutes.  Tofu is down when the outsides are crispy but the inside remains soft.
3. For this recipe, combine with tomato sauce and spoon onto pasta and toss before serving.

Stir-Fried Vegetables in a Peanut Butter Sauce with Curried Tofu

I am poor college student who has a gourmet palate that primarily cooks for one (sometimes four when I cook for my housemates or 20 when I go to potlucks).  As a result, I have a fridge full of half cut up veggies and a very full spice rack.  This past sunday I noticed that in my fridge I had the following ingredients that needed to be used up ASAP: Half a white onion, some spinach, some baby carrots, some extra firm tofu that was teetering on its expiration date, a huge bag of limes, and the last bit of a jar or natural peanut butter.  And, of course, over the weekend I picked up a fresh jar of hot curry powder.  What's a girl to do?  Pseudo stir fry of course!  This meal is incredibly filling and easy to make for one (and easy to double or triple).  Sadly, I did have some tofu left over that I just had to throw out (a cardinal sin for college students, I know) because I knew I would never eat it.  And again, please excuse me for the poor photography.  I have florescent lights in my kitchen and i was eating at about 8 at night… not really the best time to capture an award winning image.  Hopefully my light box will be up and running soon and I won't have to worry about my shady florescent lights anymore!

(PS - proud to say this recipe is 100% my own)

Ingredients:

• Extra Firm Tofu, cut into half-inch cubes
• A few shakes of Hot Curry Powder (I'll estimate a tablespoon or so)
• 1 tsp Yellow Mustard Seed
• Canola Oil
• Fresh (or frozen is fine) spinach
• Baby carrots, cut into long strips
• White onion, cut into rings, then cut in half

For the Sauce:

• 1/2 cup of soy sauce
• 2 TBSP Brown Sugar
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter (leaving it out on the counter it warm up real helps)
• The juice and zest from one lime
• Yellow Mustard Seed (a pinch or two)
• Red Chile Pepper Flakes
• A few dashes of the hot curry powder
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. For the Sauce, mash all the ingredients together with a fork and set aside.
2. Heat up a wok (or a large skillet) with some canola oil and sprinkle with a little salt.  Once the wok is hot, slowly add in the tofu, sprinkle on the mustard seed and curry powder, combine well, and stir-fry until the outside of the tofu has formed a crispy shell.  Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat up a small amount it canola oil and saute the onions until partially cooked, then add in the baby carrots.  Once the onions and carrots are soft, add in the spinach.  Once the spinach has cooked down, add in the pre-cooked tofu and combine with the stir-fried veggies.
4. Invigorate the sauce with the fork and pour over veggie/tofu mixture on the pan.  Cook for another minute or two.  Remove from heat, transfer to your favorite plate, crack a beer, sit down, and enjoy!