How to: press & drain tofu

Okay, I have never written this down before because it always sounds dumb. But it is the best technique I’ve found for pressing and draining a package of tofu.

Usually I’ll do this in the morning before I go to work on the day I am going to cook a tofu dish, so it sits at least 10 hours. Even a few hours of sitting in the fridge should make your tofu easier to fry or bake.

Tofu with braised carrots

Fancy tofu

Some foods come with baggage. I’ll never be able to eat fava beans (even if they are growing like weeds in my garden) because of THIS.

Although not associated with a psychopathic murderer, tofu comes with its own baggage. If I were to anthropomorphize tofu, the words “self-righteous,” “earnest,” and “bland” come to mind. Tofu tries hard but always comes off a bit judge-y.

Here are things that tofu is not (usually): edgy, sophisticated, flavorful. It’s not a show-off dish, it’s a trusty sidekick that can’t help but being the straight guy.

Then Vegetarian Times goes and proves me wrong! This tofu dish, with braised carrots and tomatoes, is tasty and, dare I say, quite refined. Serve it to impress and do away with all those nasty tofu misconceptions.

Tofu with braised carrots

Spaghetti sauce with meat

Spaghetti sauce with meat

I went on vacation recently! It was absolutely splendid – Greece and Turkey (well, Istanbul) for a little over 2 weeks. The food was pretty good – while I can certainly wait to have another Greek salad, I did eat some excellent Cretan snails, fish, and a zucchini pie that I will dream about for the rest of my life.

When I came back, I definitely had a hankering to cook again (hurray! said my roommates). And what I had been craving most was some sort of Americanized Italian food, something that comes in big servings with easy, tasty flavors.

So I made spaghetti sauce.

NOTE. This recipe CANNOT be made vegetarian. The meat fat was an essential part of the sauce, and, while you could forego and just do onions and tomatoes, I can’t speak to the richness and equivalent deliciousness.

Those who enjoy dead animal flesh (like me!), ENJOY. Invite friends, it makes a lot (or freezes well!)

Spaghetti sauce with meat