Vegan Balsamic Herb-Roasted Tofu

I'm sorry I've been so awful about updating. Life has been mean to me lately. Well, not really, I should say that my brain has been mean to me lately. Lots of stuff on my mind that make it hard to actually want to do healthy and productive things, like cooking. Anyway, I'm here now, and I am forcing myself to work on this again.

Seriously though, this recipe is probably my new fav. SO delish!

Vegan Balsamic Herb-Roasted Tofu

Takes about 30 minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to marinate, and 1 hour to bake. Serves about 4 people.

Ingredients:

2 (14-ounce) packages firm tofu

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme, oregano or parsley (I used thyme)

Directions:

1. Drain tofu and place on a plate. Cover tofu with another plate and weight the top with a food can or other object of about 1 pound.




2. Let stand 20 to 30 minutes to extract excess liquid.

3. While waiting for the tofu to drain, in a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard and herbs. Set aside until the tofu has fully drained.





4. Drain excess liquid and cut the tofu into 3/4 inch slices. The thinner the better.




5. Place the slices single layer in a shallow dish and pour mixture over the tofu and let marinate 30 minutes.



6. Preheat oven to 350. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove tofu from the marinade and place on the baking sheet. Bake until firm and lightly browned, about 1 hour.

The First Post

What do people do when a new year approaches and last year's grease and grime needs to be polished and shined?  They create new year's resolutions.  (Yes, I rhymed to mimic the cliché concept of a new year's resolution.)  Not to be one of those people, but I simply thought starting something new, fresh, healthy, whatever you want to call would be good for me.  2011 was a rough year and I'd like to be more active in the world around me.  In other words, I feel like I need to experience things more thoroughly.  Therefore, I've taken it upon myself to document one of my goals in hopes of staying more in touch with it.  This goal, er new year's resolution, is to make a unique vegan meal at least once a week, every week for the entire year.

Yeah, this seems small to some, but to those who know me, this will be a project.  Although I maintain a pretty much vegan diet (I eliminate dairy and eggs from my vegetarian diet, but I do still eat honey), most days of the week I eat cereal or pb&j for dinner.  I knoooowwwww, it's terrible and I knnoooowww, I'm completely unhealthy, but fooock, I'm tired when I get home from my one hour, three bus transfers, commute home from Washington, DC.  And yeah, I realize some have it way worse, but that's why I'm trying to change!  I want to eat healthy and I think by preparing a well-balanced vegan meal at least once a week, I will have left-overs and possibly gain more experience in cooking, which could lead to more willingness to cook food that doesn't come out of a box several times a week.

I bought a couple vegan cook books and consolidated my vegan recipes from the past.  The goal is to make something unique every week.  I do not want to make the same thing twice!!  If I do make a repeat, that meal will not count as a my one meal for the week.

So here it goes.