Mish Mosh Squash.

In case you haven't noticed yet, Katie is my other half when it comes to eating.  We love to cook together, and we have such similar tastes that we can always agree on something to make.  Plus we never get sick of each other!  Ever.  And now that she has a limited capacity kitchen, she comes over all the time to cook with me!  It's great.

Last week we did a Mexican burrito dinner similar to what I made in my last post, and we also roasted an acorn squash.  Which we ate all of.  Eek.  Fiberfest.

I think I still prefer delicata, but this was very tasty and nicely browned.  Just salt and pepper for seasoning.

Dessert was the real highlight for me.  Banana soft serve!  This post DID change my life.  I now keep a container of frozen bananas in the freezer for when I want to make this.  Which is often.

Served with my favorite topping: almond butter and dark chocolate chips melted in the microwave together.  A-MAZ-ING.  Mine is the one on the right with 5 times as much topping as Katie's.  So, yeah, when I said we have very similar tastes, I also should have mentioned that she generally finishes off the veggies and I generally finish off the dessert.  Not that I don't love my veggies (goodness, have you been reading this blog at ALL?), but Katie puts even me to shame.  Bless her little tummy, she does.

Ehhhh, so I think I'm just going to make the rest of this post a mish-mosh of good things I've made in the last week.  Mostly because I'm trying to catch up to myself so I can post about my BIRTHDAY!

Nava Atlas wins me over once again with her Tofu Teriyaki Triangles.  I really love making my own sauces these days, and this teriyaki sauce is such a winner.  I think that what makes her cookbook so accessible is that it's intended to be kid-friendly.  Yeah, yeah, hold your horses: I happen to have a very sophisticated palate, if I do say so myself, but I can't honestly say that I love whipping up culinary masterpieces on whatever Wednesday night it happens to be.  Nava's ingredients are usually things I have stocked already, or she makes suggestions as to what can be omitted/substituted.  Have I not plugged enough?  Go buy it.

Teriyaki Tofu Triangles

adapted from Nava Atlas's The Vegetarian Family Cookbook

For 1 block of tofu:

2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp light olive oil

1 tsp dark sesame oil

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced/grated or a good pinch of ground ginger

2 tsp hoisin sauce, optional

2 tsp grainy spicy mustard (my own addition as an experiment)

1 or scallions, thinly sliced, optional (or parsley)

Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl and stir together.

Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Blot well between clean tea towels (huh?) or several layers of paper towels, then cut each slice through the thickness again to make 1/4 inch thick slices.  Blot briefly again.  (That's how you get it to CRISP!)

Cut each slice into 2 squares, then cut each square on the diagonal  into 2 triangles.  Place in a shallow pan and drizzle with the marinade.  Gently turn the tofu pieces over so that both sides are coated with marinade.
Let stand for 10 minutes or so.

Heat a wide nonstick skillet.  Transfer the tofu and marinade into the skillet.  Cook over medium high heat, stirring gently and frequently, until the tofu is nicely browned on most sides.  Scatter scallions over the tofu if desired, and serve at once.

I wilted some red chard in a separate pot.  Once the tofu was nice and crisp I put it aside on a plate and cooked the chard in the same pan with a drop more oil and some garlic.  And salt!  I don't know what my deal is these days, but I looove salt on everything.

The coloring isn't great here (WHAT do food bloggers do after dark?!), but it's one of my favorite things about red chard.  Beautiful!

Next up: 25th!!