VeganMoFo 2017 #4: That's not how you cook tofu.

4th: Catering – Improve on the worst catered meal (wedding, party, conference, etc) you’ve been served.

The year is 1999, the place is Wagga Wagga, the occasion is the South Campus residence dinner (not held on South Campus at all, which was old and terrifying, but held on the main campus of the university). I was a vegetarian at the time (vegans are so extreme... can't live without cheese... etc, etc etc), but I did try to only eat the animal rennet free cheese and only free range eggs, so when I went to events I requested vegan to avoid any suspect eggs or cheese. This was back in the day of old school film containing cameras, so there is no photos of the food (it was expensive to get photos printed back then, you had to think about it!), but it is just as well.

I was served vegetables and tofu... doesn't sound too bad right? Oh, did I mention it was over-steamed vegetables with over-steamed firm tofu and no sauce of any description? The tofu just absorbed all of that flavourless steam, it was not good. When one is a vegetarian flirting with the idea of veganism, but is not sure about tofu, this is a sure fire way to turn them off off off. I was convinced after this that tofu was terrible, and this was one of the reasons that I could never go vegan (I know the logic in that is extremely faulty... you can be a vegan and not eat tofu).

Thankfully, I got over it and discovered that tofu is good, you just need to know what to do with it. Of course now I LOVE tofu, it is one of my favourite things, and I would probably eat it steamed no issues. In fact, when I am out at Asian-style restaurants, I normally will pick the tofu and veggie dish over the other mock-meaty dishes. Because I love it.

If you are thinking about serving tofu and vegetables to a vegan in your life, it is not hard to improve on the meal described above. Might I suggest a nice saute or stir-fry rather than steaming? And, you know, adding some SAUCE! Flavour is good. I personally will give my tofu a quick sautee or bake in the oven with some peanut oil and salt to get it nice and crunchy before adding it into a stir-fry. You can also marinate and bake tofu, and then cube that to add in. Or, if that is all too much effort, buy some marinated tofu. My favourite is Soyco Japanese Marinated Tofu, it is great! You can eat it straight from the packet!

Anyway, in honour of how far I've come, here are a couple of photos food I have eaten that revolves around tofu and vegetables!









Tofu is your friend, but know how to treat it!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post - Month of Sahara



It's Sahara in her basket again! But in a different location, and an older Sahara. Sahara continued to love this basket her entire life, and when she got sick this is where she wanted to spend her time.