Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Roasted Tofu (and Midnight Marathon Bike Ride)

Tofu is a hit-or-miss ingredient. Some people love it and others hate. I find that everyone is on either extreme, but it is rare to meet someone who likes tofu only in certain ways (I might be mistaken, but this is from my experience).

I was a tofu hater once. But now I am a tofu addict. Yes, my name is Estefania Souza and I am a tofu addict. I love it on grilled, roasted, marinated; on salads, pastas and even on its own.

So before I go on to posting the recipe I need to tell you about my Sunday/Monday. It all started Sunday evening when my friends and I went to pick up our rented bikes in the North End. We got our bikes fitted, collected helmets (that we didn't actually use on the adventure) and flat-tire kits, and rode off into Boston. South Station was our next stop. We figured if we bought the tickets for the commuter rail then, we wouldn't be able to arrive later that night without being worried about not getting on the train (you'll understand all of this if you keep reading).

After that, we proceeded to bike home and get a quick dinner. At around 9:30 p.m., four of us left Boston University on our bikes. Destination: South Station. Final destination: Southborough.

10:45 p.m. hit and we were on the train sitting next to our bikes waiting for the 11 o'clock departure time. Anxiety was taking over my mind and I wasn't sure how and why I had actually decided to bike the marathon route at midnight. But then we arrived at Southborough Station and we walked our bikes to a parking lot close by. Anxiety got replaced by adrenaline as all 230 bikers cheered and began the ride towards the Boston Marathon route.

The starting line of the Marathon was in Hopkington, and we got there around 12:50 p.m. I will not bore you with the it-was-so-amazing-I-want-to-do-it-over-and-over-again details of my (awesome) midnight bike ride; but I will say one thing. YOU SHOULD DO IT. Its one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. Needless to say, it still--after 2 days of its occurrence--feels like a dream.

Anyways, we finished the whole 26 miles around 3:15 a.m. Monday morning and--stupidly--decided to stay awake. I say stupidly because that action made me fall asleep at seven yesterday and I'm not so sure I enjoyed that. But that doesn't mean the bike ride wasn't the best!

Ok, after my personal details, I will now provide you with the easiest tofu recipe ever: Roasted Tofu. I made it yesterday in my tired state and it might be that I was running on no sleep, but I think it tasted amazing! Its perfect for snacking or salad topping.

Roasted Tofu (adapted from Gluten Free Girl and the Chef)

  • 16 oz. extra firm tofu, diced into 1-inch squares
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • S & P
  1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Season tofu with S & P in a bowl. Pour olive oil over tofu and carefully toss to coat. Make sure not to crumble the tofu.
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and tumble tofu over it. Roast in oven for 15 minutes. Flip tofu cubes and roast for 15 more minutes.
  3. Let cool and serve


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