Thank you CSA, or, Baked Tofu Makes My Night

Today was the CSA pickup. We get ours through the local university agriculture program, so not only is it local, organic, in season produce, but it directly supports our local university and helps students get hands on experience. This is literally only *one fourth* of the rainbow swiss chard we got, in addition to all sorts of other goodies. All of the colors against the green make me happy- and hungry :)



Dinner was themed around the leftover Israeli couscous with pistachios from "Veganomicon". The tofu recipe is from the same cookbook, "Tangerine Baked Tofu", but I subbed orange for the tangerine as suggested and made several other changes to the marinade. It soaked all day, and then I baked it until it got really chewy and meaty. It's spiced with orange zest and juice, lime juice, maple syrup, soy sauce, cumin and allspice, and some other random things I added and can't remember. Bobby and I both declared it to be our favorite, most flavorful tofu ever. Even if you eat meat like a champ, I really suggest getting "Veganomicon", because since veggies are the star, there are tons of really unique and very tasty ways of making them.



On the side in a lil' blue teacup is a half lazy/half wingin' it soup. I got a creamy acorn squash and mango soup- Imagine brand- from Sprouts to use as a base. I added more spices and a bit of coconut milk to the base and let it simmer while I sauteed red onions and CSA swiss chard, turnips, and radishes in a bit of garlic, spiced with cumin, ginger, and black pepper. All of this sauteed mix was dumped into the soup base, making a very thick, stew like greens soup. I added a handful of chopped walnuts just because, well, walnuts taste good and they're good for you, so why not? I liked the convenience of the soup base, but I'd definitely recommend using it as you would Campbell's Cream of Fill in the Blank- it's a great, creamy base, but needs to be gussied up.

Incidentally, I *hated* tofu, no really, that isn't too strong of a word, until I baked it at home myself. A lot of restaurants leave it very soft, spongy, and "cubey", whereas I prefer mine very thin, chewy, and almost kind of dry unless it's in miso soup. So, if you think you hate tofu, give a try cooking it at home, after it soaks in a complex marinade overnight. It really makes a huge difference.