So it's been almost 2 months since I've posted, and it was for a silly reason. I was trying to hang onto my day job. It was such an exhausting struggle, pretty much everything else in my life was put aside (although I managed to stay on my vegan path).
Last week, everything changed, as I lost my job. I wasn't alone, which makes me feel better and worse, but it was still weird. I've really never been unemployed before. And that's pretty scary. Anyway, I luckily have quite a support system, and I've been a local photographer for awhile, so I'm going to take a bit of time and try to make that my full-time job. That and taking care of my 3 year-old, who is the most energy-filled little boy I've ever seen.
Anyway, this is my return to blogging about my vegan adventures.
Hey! Know what I did last week? I made tofu for the first time! I've had it in restaurants before, and I always thought it was okay, never spectacular, but I finally bought a pack of the little watery substance and decided to try it for myself. I went with extra firm, and I had read a LOT about how to make it, how to press it, etc. It was exhausting just figuring out how to make it. In the end, I pressed it for awhile on a plate, between some napkins, with a heavy cookie sheet on top (and a jar filled with beans on top of THAT). It was kinda gross.
But I'm finding that I don't mind touching things that gross me out if they're vegan. Touching raw meat always gave me the heebie-jeebies. But touching raw tofu, while weird, didn't make me want to gag, so there's something.
I marinated the tofu in tamari and garlic, and, once that was absorbed, I dusted it with cornstarch and fajita seasoning and sauteed it in some canola oil. I read a lot of horror stories about how it would crust up and then the crust would stick to the pan and it would be awful. This is where I think my experience cooking chicken and fish came into play, as I already knew that trick of letting it sit until the crust forms and THEN turning it (insert fancy cooking term here).
So it was pretty good, and it actually ended up tasting kinda like chicken nuggets, which I know sounds weird. I ended up adding some bbq sauce to it and baking it for a bit anyway, and we had some tater tots with it. My son was over the moon about it, which was awesome, and I thought it was pretty good. I did buy another container of the weird stuff this week at the store, and I haven't decided exactly what to do with it.
If you're reading this, what is YOUR favorite way to eat tofu?
And, if you're in the market for a photographer... www.greentoesphotography.com (shameless plug, but forgive me, as I AM unemployed for the moment...)
