Witam Nowy Rok!

Happy New Year!

4 stycznia 2012 January 4, 2012

Every year many Americans find themselves making a New Year's Resolution, and promising to stick by it. No matter what it is, be it weight loss, going vegan, or learning a new language, most people don't come close to success.

I have decided that my New Year's Resolution (and yours too!) will be to try new vegetarian or vegan dishes in the coming year.

Mostly this Resolution stems from curiosity and recent good experiences with what's available at the self-serve buffet at our local Whole Foods Market.

I find myself eating yummy tofu or seitan

(yep, pronounced just as folks do in Lower Alabama , when referring to the Devil: SAY-TAN, LOL) from the Whole Foods buffet and thinking, "Man, I can make this at home!"

Trying something new is fun, can be inexpensive, and hey, it's so easy, you can't make excuses for not fulfilling your New Year's Resolution.

For those of you brave enough for my challenge, here is an easy step-by-step photograph series on how to make Baked Asian-style tofu and veggie stir-fry.

First: Buy a block of firm or extra firm tofu. Drain off water. Then wrap it in 2-4 paper towels, then wrap in a clean kitchen towel, and weigh it down for 30 minutes to get rid of excess moisture.

Step 2: Now that some moisture is gone, cut into 1" cubes as seen below.

Step 3: Dice a medium onion, cut 2 peeled large carrots into match-sticks, and cut up some broccoli florets into bite-sized pieces. As you can see in the photos, I decided to use brussels sprouts, cut into quarters. Somehow brussels sprouts are good in a stir-fry.

Step 4: Now for the flavor. Whisk together: 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic minced, a 1-2" piece of ginger grated, pinch or two of red chili flake, 1 tablespoon of Mirin, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, and 1 tablespoon honey*.

Also, don't start your marinade at the same time you're cooking the veggies. Marinade first!

* To make this dish vegan, omit honey and just use agave nectar instead.

If you don't have mirin, just use apple cider vinegar and a little more honey.

Toss in your tofu cubes and let marinate at least 30 minutes.

Step 5: Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Remove tofu from marinade, save the excess marinade. Evenly spread out your tofu cubes on parchment paper and bake for 30-40 minutes, stir them about halfway through.

Step 6: While tofu cubes are baking, stir-fry in a wok or large skillet all of your veggies. You can use a tablespoon of sesame oil or olive oil for this. Put onions and carrots in first, then your greenery.

*If you want to bump up the flavor and are not vegan/vegetarian, add a tablespoon of fish sauce to the pan during this step.

Step 7: Remove tofu cubes from oven when they have browned edges. Allow to cool slightly.

Add the remainder of the marinade to the pan when the veggies are mostly cooked. Toss to combine. Add a little water if too dry. While veggies are hot, toss in the baked tofu cubes.

The purpose of baking the tofu is to keep it from getting mushy in the pan. I have tried many different methods of cooking tofu in a stir-fry, but I lack essential wok-skills and this is a good way to have non-mushy, flavorful tofu.

Makes 4 hearty servings. Serve with brown rice, white rice or quinoa.

Step 8: Eat and enjoy! Let me know what you think about this one! It is a favorite of ours. We make it weekly with whatever is at the farmer's market (hence the brussels sprouts).

This is a perfect way to try something new, it's easy and healthy!