Tofu Press

Do you remember when Whole Foods came to my church to teach a cooking class? One of the things we made was a delicious tofu lasagna (I know, I know, you're thinking, "Really? That can't taste good." But you know what? It was awesome!)

One of the tools they had on hand for draining the tofu (which is stored in water and very absorbent), was this tofu press. Definitely one of those products I tried and immediately thought, "Why didn't I think of that?"

I'm sure there are different versions of this sort of thing, but I see no reason to buy one that wasn't this one made by NASOYA.

How it works is you place a block of tofu under the press and then push down the lid until you can lock it into place. Then the tofu drains quickly and well. Unlike my current (annoying) method of placing it on papertowels and weighing it down with a heavy plate. Just not very effective!

I'm not exactly sure, but I think this press costs around $30.00. Is it necessary? No, but it sure makes dealing with tofu a lot easier!

What I Ate Wednesday

Welcome back to What I Ate Wednesday, everyone's favorite peak into what I'm up to in the kitchen. Noticing any patterns?  I like my meals quick, well-rounded and filling.

Breakfast was the usual, Rip's Big Bowl with grapes. As for the addition of grapes to cereal, don't knock it until you've tried it! I love red grapes, but they need to be really fresh and snappy. These did the trick!
I also tossed in some banana for good measure.

Lunch was typical me: an assortment of leftovers in the fridge!

Simple plain chopped kale/romaine salad, lentil sweet potato stew and wheatberry salad. All filling and really full of flavor.


Tied me over until smoothie hour:

I realize the smoothie looks a little odd, but it rocked. Frozen banana, about 5 ice cubes, 1/4 cup almond milk (unsweetened) and a whole bunch of fresh spinach, blended into a thick frappe. Topped with crushed walnuts and raisins. I'm a sucker for anything with walnuts and raisins!

Dinner was a peanuty-Asian noodle dish.

I started with some brown rice pasta (my new favorite!)

Some of the ingredients I typically use to make Asian sauce:

Add some fresh and some frozen vegetables

And the finished meal was just right on a cold (!?!?) June night!