Soy What? My First Attempt Preparing Tofu

We had tofu for dinner last night. It was a momentous occasion; not only was it the first time I ever prepared it at home, but it was also the first time I didn't try to dress up a healthy alternative as something else (aka trick Brent). In my mind, I'm not ever trying to "trick Brent" about the food I make. If I sub wheat pasta or bulk up the meatloaf with carrots, I tend to leave that out when Brent asks what's for dinner. But then he sees the orange specks in the meatloaf and is all, "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!!"

90% of our dinners are meals every 5-year-old dreams of. Hot dogs. Chicken patties. Frozen pizza. Pancakes. They're quick and easy at the end of the workday and at least we're not spending money eating out, right? The other 10% of our dinners are the odd veggie curry and Caesar salad that make their way into the rotation when I feel like we should be eating healthier.

We typically eat in Monday-Friday and then go out all weekend. Lately, the weekend has been creeping up to include Thursday happy hour, Friday nights out with friends, and I expect even more of that with summer just around the corner. As long as our weeknight dinners are (mostly) spent at home, this works for us. Especially with all the money we've been saving on groceries.

A few months ago, I was talking to someone at work who was raving about a discount food market not far from work. I knew what she was talking about, since I passed it on days I rode my bike in. The first time I shopped for groceries my world was rocked; I spent less that $60 for our food. Imagine my delight when another location opened, even more convenient for us.

The Daily Table isn't a supermarket; it's actually pretty small. You're likely not going to be able to go with your itemized list and check everything off. But they have fresh produce and the bulk of what's on my list, and our grocery bill hasn't been more than $60. Ever. It's usually between $45-$55.

Since they don't have the options I'm used to at Stop and Shop or Wegman's, I've been getting creative in the kitchen. Enter our tofu adventure last night. We're trying to eat more plant-based and I was excited for a tofu recipe referral from a friend who swore her meat-loving family had no complaints about. I don't have a tofu press, so I did the next best thing: wrapped my tofu in a kitchen towel and stacked canned beans on top. Brent works from home and was very confused when he opened the refrigerator he was greeted with canned beans. I called Brent at one point to shoot the shit and he mentioned that after hearing the beans fall a few times, he just put them on the fridge shelves. "NO!" I barked into the phone. "They're part of my meticulous tofu pressing process." (Also, should I have asked Brent why he wouldn't have put them back in the pantry? Are we becoming a couple that just ignores the weird shit the other one does w/o calling it out?)

Brent obliges me and I get home to pressed tofu and a preheated oven. I'm ready to go with my soy sauce, oil and cornstarch coating. To my delight, I found a sweet chili sauce rattling around in the fridge so I didn't have to make the sauce to finish the tofu with. The rice and frozen veggies were a cinch to pull together and dinner was coming along.

But the tofu wasn't crisping up, even after I dumped it in the air fryer since the broiler did nothing but make a sizzling mess of the sheet pan. The few crispy pieces that stuck to the sheet pan were absolutely delicious. The majority of it wasn't crispy, but the sweet chili sauce made it palatable. It ended up being a good meal, and I'm already troubleshooting for next time. Let me know your tofu go-to recipes and tricks in the comments. I'm thinking I need stock in cornstarch.