The Oscars are happening as we speak (I type this?) and I find myself caring less and less with each passing year.
Blame it on being in my twenties, but has the allure and glamour of Hollywood made anyone else kinda… mad?
The Oscars will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Again.
After whatever-that-guys-name-was who hosted the Golden Globes completely butchered/missed the moment/”we don’t do that any more” -’d, by degrading Barbie and Taylor Swift, I have little faith Kimmel will do better.
A way too long movie, that cost way too much to make, about men making weapons of mass destruction, destroying our planet, murdering civilians currently holds the most nominations. Meanwhile, a genocide is happening. Weapons are being used, the planet is being destroyed, and thousands of Palestinians are being murdered.
I remember watching Tenet in the basement of my now husband’s parents house during the pandemic, thinking someone spent $200 million dollars on men running around, so people could be entertained for 2 hours and 30 minutes???
Sidebar A: Please stop making movies longer than 90-minutes.
I’m not an expert on, like, anything, but I can think of 5 NGOs more productive to give that money to, right now.
Y’all, the cognitive dissonance simple can’t keep dissonancing!
THIS is what I’m thinking about as I sit down to write what is usually a fun, light-hearted riff on whatever the heck. Blame it on the time change, blame it on the fact this 29-year-old body was out until 12:30 AM (!) last night, blame it on the fact it’s been 155 days, but I’m TIRED.
I say this all with the caveat of yes, movies are art, and art changes people — for the better, too! I mean, I genuinely believe that. But, like, can we as a collective promise to never fund another marvel movie again? Is there a petition for that? We as a society need that.
Sidebar B: While I don’t necessarily have the capacity to decide if I’m of the anti- or pro- daylight saving camp (farmers? Sun in morning or sun for dinner?!??) I do know that sun in my eyeballs feels good and the vitamin D pills from Costco aren’t cutting it.
Any-WHO! On to the food! At this point, all I need to say is don’t sleep on this week’s fave flav’ of the week. She’s a gorgeous, gorgeous girl and it’s truly life changing.
Hugs!
Xo, Tay & Meeks
Monday: like a Waldorf from salad freak
Tuesday: mediteranean bowl from minimalist baker
Wednesday: tacos (freestyle with cabbage, beans, shredded tofu)
Thursday: tie the knot tofu with side salad, for this weeks fave flav’
Friday: date night!
Saturday: dilly bean burrata from week #20’s fave flav!
Sunday: vegan dan dan noods from Omnivore's Cookbook (online!)
Hot tip: don’t have one of the above cookbooks? Give the goog’ old good a spin, you might be surprised by what you can find!
Fruit & Veg 🍓🥬
Garlics
Basil
Celery
Mixed greens
Lemons
Asian pears
Grapes
Zucchini
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumber
Green pepper
Parsley
Olives
Cabbage
Radishes
Shallots
Scallion
Red onion
Dill
Mushrooms
Baby bok choi
Dairy 🥛🧀
Cream or your fav mylk
Parm
Butter
Camembert, brie, or similar cheese
Sour cream
Oaxaca cheese
Burrata
Pantry 🥫
AP flour
Tomato paste
Veggie stock
Sun-dried tomatoes
Golden raisins
Walnuts and/or pecans
Grainy mustard
Chickpeas
Rice
Black beans
Refried beans
Salsa
Tortillas
Black-eyed peas
Chili crisp
Maple syrup
Ramen noodles
Peanuts
Protein 💪
Firm or extra firm tofu
OSS (Oils, Spices, & Sauces) 🍯
EVOO
Oregano
Red pepper flakes
White wine vinegar
Tahini
Za’atar
Soy sauce
Shaoxing wine
Black bean sauce
Chinkiang vinegar
Tie the Knot Tofu 💍
In the live photo you could literally see her bubbling. BUBBLING! This dish feels like fresh Italian pasta (that’s pah-stah to you, buddy) but more of a protein vibe. No shade to carbs intended. The sauce, you’ll honestly want to drink. And you should. We’re serving with a side salad, but this served over rice of buckwheat noodles would also slay.
Ingredients
Fruit & Veg 🍓🥬
3 garlic cloves, chopped or sliced
Basil leaves as desired
Dairy 🥛🧀
100 - 150ml cream or mylk
100g parm
Pantry 🥫
75g AP flour
1/2 small can of tomato paste
1C veggie stock
100g sun-dried tomatoes, with oil, sliced (if not already sliced)
Protein 💪
2 blocks of firm or extra firm tofu, cut in half to make 4 blocky servings
OSS (Oils, Spices, & Sauces) 🍯
3 glugs EVOO
1 tsp oregano
Red pepper flakes as desired
Approach
Coatin’ Tofus
In a shallow bowl or plate, mix up the flour with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
Coat each side of the tofu in the mix, and set aside.
Shkillet cookin’
Heat a skillet over med to med-hi heat and add in a few healthy glugs of oil when it’s ready.
When the oil is hot, add in the tofus. Cook each side until golden, which will be 3-5 mins. Flip as necessary - add some more oil if needed after a few flips.
After you flip for the last time, shift the tofu to the side of the pan to create space for the next step. Turn the burner to low.
Add in your garlic and stir for a couple of minutes. Follow this up with tomato paste for another few minutes, stirring, and then add in the oregano and chili flakes.
Increase heat to medium, add in your veggie stock and simmer until the stock volume is about half of where it started.
Add in the cream or mylk until it reaches the colouring you like, and maintain a little simmer. Next add in the parm and the sun-dried tomatoes - stir it up and let this cook for a few mins. Make sure to scoop the sauce over the tofus and baste in that flavour!
Plate it up!
Transfer the tofus, with sauce, to your plates and top it with big basil leaves!
Munch!
Post-meal thoughts
We LOVED this one. It feels like a really straightforward recipe, with a big flavour payout at the end. The basil is a great addition to these flavours.
Next time I make this, I would increase the sauce side of things by a quarter or half, and reduce to the same volume as before. some extra sauce for dipping bites. I found that although the tofu had a crispy outer layer, the sauce wasn’t sticking onto it as much as I would have liked. I’m thinking that a thicker sauce would be the fix here! Perhaps a roux or some starch is needed, but that is a later issue.
The left overs from this were great!
How’d that recipe go? Share with others what the flip happens when you replace olive oil for ranch — we love to hear it! 🙃