January is flying by! And posting anything in a timely manner seems nearly impossible, but a couple weeks ago I perfectly my grilled tofu and made some quinoa salad to go along with it. Sundays have turned in to my cooking day for the week, making a schedule of my meals for the week: breakfast, lunch, and dinner - since I hardly have time to think during the week this has been a really big help.
I have long been an advocate of meal planning but it seemed I didn't take my own advice most of the time... until now. And goodness was it great advice! Saving me time, money, and probably some snacking calories because I know what's coming for the next meal and it's usually something pretty fantastic.
Two weeks ago the big news was grilled tofu and quinoa salad. First off why I like both... protein. Tofu is a great source for soy protein and very versatile, I found the original recipe from ohsheglows. Quinoa is one of the grains/seeds that contains complete protein, which means it doesn't need to be paired with anything like beans and rice.
Enough blabbering and on to the good stuff.
 |
| Grill marks make it so much better! |
Grilled tofu:
Ingredients
1 pkg extra firm tofu (I used the 16oz pkg)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 bottle dark flavorful beer (I used an oatmeal stout)
1/2 Smoked BBQ sauce (or your favorite plus some liquid smoke or smoked salt)
2 T soy sauce
3 cloves garlic
Directions
Cut tofu in to 8 slices width-wise. Lay down on kitchen towel covered with paper towels or another cheese type cloth and cover the top with more paper towels or cloth. Lay a cutting board over the whole top. Stack books or anything heavy on top of the cutting board and press the tofu to remove some liquid for 30-45 minutes.
In the mean while, mix the beer, BBQ, ginger, soy sauce, and garlic together in a flat glass baking dish.
Once tofu is pressed, set in baking dish to allow to marinate 1.5-2 hours. Next, either set out on the grill or frying pan to toast both sides. I used a grill pan on top of the stove to get my grill marks, but didn't need to turn on the grill outside in the cold. :)
These can be put on sandwiches, cut up in dishes, or eaten plain and keep for at least 4 days.
My take on quinoa salad
I will admit that I am a dumper... yep, as a cook I rarely use a recipe for things like soup or salad. And since quinoa is one of my favorite salad backbones, you can bet I like to experiment.
This time I used:
~2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 c chopped dried dates
1/4 c golden raisins
1/4 c chopped onion
3/4 c feta cheese
1 diced apple
And dressed it with some red wine vinegar to taste.
The quinoa is packed with protein and the combination of onion for crunch, feta for salt and savory, and dried fruit and apple for sweetness makes a great lunch accompaniment.