Soy-Glazed Tofu

Guess who's sick and tired and plans on crawling in bed and staying there forever and ever (or until tomorrow morning)?

Me!

Yes, now that all the stress is gone, and I've had time to relax, it seems my antibodies have also decided to relax. But hey, it's almost the weekend and, most importantly, this didn't happen last week. Now that would've been a drag.

Unfortunately there isn't much left in my fridge these days since I haven't yet gotten a hang of this whole buy groceries for one person only thing--during my LSAT nerd period I lived off steamed veggies, fruit, cereal and lots and lots of takeout. Anyways, here's something I had for dinner on Tuesday and lunch on Wednesday. Hooray for leftovers! It's an easy prep dish that taste delicious and can probably be adapted to include any and all of your favorite veggies. The original recipe called for carrots only, but I added some mushrooms, because I just couldn't stop myself. I'd love to try this with broccoli or cauliflower, since I'm sure they would soak up the marinade very well.

Soy Glazed Tofu & Veggies (adapted from Martha Stewart)
Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 40-45 minutes.
Makes 4 servings.

For marinade

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 1 teaspoon salt

• 8-9 medium carrots, sliced into 2-inch thick pieces; cut thick pieces in half lengthwise)
• 1 package extra firm tofu, drained and squeezed dry
• 4 scallions thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

**If adding more vegetables just make more marinade as necessary.

1. Heat broiler and set rack about 4 inches from heat--unless you're using a broiler pan, then set rack so that the top of the pan is 4 inches from heat. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, soy sauce and salt. Add carrots and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer carrots onto baking sheet, reserving marinade, and push them to one side. Make sure carrots fit arranged in a single layer.
3. Slic tofu into 16 equal blocks and add a few pieces at a time to reserved marinade; toss gently to coat and transfer to sheet. Arrange tofu on a single layer. Reserve remaining marinade.
4. Broil until carrots are tender and tops are browned and tofu is golden, turning tofu half way and tossing carrots 3-4 times; about 30-35 minutes total.
5. Transfer tofu and carrots to bowl with marinade; add scallions and vinegar and toss gently. Serve tofu and carrots topped with sesame seeds.

The calm after the storm

Picture this: I'm run-walking down the Commons juggling a DSW bag and my umbrella in one hand and my favorite silver bag (yes I have to mention it's color because then I'm allowed to have multiple favorites in the different colors) in the other. I'm rushing to make my 1:00 p.m. appointment on Newbury Street; it's 12:59 and I'm not even past the Boylston T-Stop. Oh and did I mention it's drizzling and cold? ... Then all of a sudden my pants are soaked near my hip. I look down and my handbag is soaking wet. I look inside and notice my water bottle cap is loose and everything inside my bag is casually floating around. Yes, my handbag is a pool and I'm still running late.

Despite all that, I still have a large smile on my face. Nothing can ruin my good mood. Not the weather, not the water whirling around in my handbag, not the frizz plaguing my hair. I'm done with LSAT studying and that trumps any and all annoying things happening this weekend. It's the calm after the storm and I'm enjoying it until October 30th (scores release date).

Now let's backtrack to the end of my last post published almost three months ago--insert frown-face here. As you may have noticed from above, I was studying for the Law School Admission Test. Add work and exercise to that and you get long days with limited, if any, free time. Consequently I had no time for cooking, baking or blogging (I still ate, but nothing worthy of a post).

But now here I am, post anti-social-LSAT-studying-hermit-crab phase and I'm ready for a new batch of recipes.

So here's a little something I cooked to break the take out/frozen dinner rut. I found the rice and spinach salad in a Martha Stewart book--insert smiley face here--and I decided to pair it with grilled fish. Try adding chopped scallions to one tablespoon each of balsamic vinegar and soy sauce; then add two tablespoons olive oil and mix well. Drizzle on top of your grilled fish and enjoy! Easy and quick, but still delicious.

Wild-Rice Salad with Spinach and Tomatoes (adapted from Everyday Food Light)
Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 50 minutes.
Makes 4 servings.

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup wild rice (or brown)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar (or honey)
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes

1. In a medium saucepan, boil the water and stir in rice. Season generously with salt. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until fluffy and tender. Remove from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes. Fluff with fork.
2. Slice cucumbers crosswise into 1/4-inch wide half-moons. Halve cherry tomatoes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, dill and sweetener; season with salt and pepper. Add cucumbers, tomatoes and spinach and mix well. Add rice and toss until well mixed.