tofu tuesday

I like to think that I am a healthy eater. True, I eat a lot of ice cream, indulge in cheese plates pretty regularly, and sample everything I bake, but in general, I'm pretty healthy. I'm a bit of a grazer these days, especially since living on my own. I go through bags of carrots and tubs of mixed greens like crazy and I'm constantly having to run out to the store to pick up more hummus and salsa and avocados. Lately, I've jumped on the Meatless Monday bandwagon. Actually, I've cut quite a bit of meat out of my diet - rarely for lunch since I usually stick to soup and salad in the cafeteria, almost never at home since I'm cooking for one, and since I haven't gone out much lately, when I almost always order meat (especially if a pork chop is on the menu) I haven't had much. The first meat I cooked in what feels like forever was this Sunday's corned beef in honor of St Patrick. Unfortunately, because of that incredibly delicious, boiled Irish feast, I couldn't stick to my meat-free menu last night because the leftovers were just too tempting to resist. How could you say no to day old corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots dripping with butter, salt and pepper?

In spite of my carnivorous setback, I decided that I wanted to stick to my strict meatless day and whip up a little something for what I decided to dub Tofu Tuesday. So, a day late and zero dollars short since all of the ingredients were already in my fridge and pantry, I created a super yummy veggie meal for myself and even had enough left over that my Wednesday night supper is ready to go! What did I do exactly? Let me tell you -

In a super hot skillet I sauteed some fresh garlic and onions in sweet virgin coconut oil tossing in a spoon full of peanut butter once the onions started getting soft. Then I added some sliced carrots and water chestnuts along with heaps of Madras curry, some Sriracha, cumin, ginger, tumeric and a splash of coconut milk and let the flavors simmer into saucy goodness. Then I tossed in some shredded cabbage (leftover from St Patty's) and a handful of edamame. Finally, I added sliced mushrooms and cubed tofu until everything was simmered to spicy, curried perfection and served it over jasmine rice cooked with coconut oil, saffron and pink Himalayan salt. It was so wonderful that I almost couldn't wait to finish the rest but I want to make sure I have supper ready for tomorrow rather than get stuffed tonight. I'm so happy to be back in the kitchen, getting creative with what I've got and mastering new recipes of my very own making. Even if they are meatless!