Friday, February 24: Marinated tofu, pan roasted brussels sprouts, rice

David and I decided we would dedicate as much of today as we could to working on our taxes.  On some Fridays, I cook something more involved, just because I can.  Today, taxes got our attention, so I made a simple supper.  Tonight's dishes came (mostly) out of my own head.  I would, however, be remiss not to thank my friend Lynne, who first introduced me to the idea of pressing and marinating tofu.

Lynne's tofu - adapted
roughly 7oz tofu, pressed to remove most of the liquid, cut into thin slices
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 cooking sherry
about 1/8 cup olive oil
1 T ginger, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
about 1 t red pepper flakes
1. Mix together the marinade ingredients.
2. Marinate the tofu.  I kept mine in a tupperware on the counter all day and periodically turned it over, so that both sides of the tofu were soaked in the marinade.
3. Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray (or you could use olive oil).  Cook the tofu over medium high heat, flipping it once.  You want it to brown and develop a light crust.
4. I turned the marinade into a sauce - you couldn't get away with doing this if you marinated meat but you can with tofu.  Add a bit more soy and sherry to the marinade.  Place in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat.  Add 1t cornstarch, dissolved in some cool water.  Stir until thick.  Use to top the tofu and the rice.

Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped or sliced
8 brussels sprouts, washed, ends trimmed off, and loose leaves removed
1/8 cup olive oil
1. Slice the brussels sprouts in half (top to bottom).
2. Heat the oil in a pan, over medium heat.  Add garlic.
3. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan, cut side down.  Cover the pan with a lid.  Roast until the cut sides are dark brown and the sprouts are cooked through.  Probably about 12 minutes.

We served the tofu and brussels sprouts with a side of white rice topped with the soy-sherry sauce.