Pantry Cleanout, Day 3: Baked Tofu With Green Beans and Mac and Cheese.

All right, tonight put us over the hump on this week’s pantry cleanout.  And we’re really hitting our stride now!

This morning, I opened a package of tofu that had been hanging out in the fridge for a while and sliced it into about eight rectangles, each about half an inch thick.  I placed each of the rectangles in a big zip-top bag – which was then placed into another zip-top bag, because I’ve had these bags go south on me and leak marinade all over my fridge in the past – and then concocted a new sauce for them to marinate in.  First, I added several tablespoons of olive oil and then a generous (a teaspoon or so?) helping of Cajun seasoning.  Then I sprinkled in some parsley and, finally, about half a teaspoon of cumin seed.  I sealed both bags and flipped the tofu back and forth for a couple of minutes, letting the oil and spices evenly coat each of the slices.  After that, it was to the fridge, where it would rest while I was at work.

After work, I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper – a new trick that I hadn’t tried before with tofu – and laid out each of the tofu rectangles.  I put the sheet in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes, then flipped the tofu; another 20 minutes, then flipped again; and finally one last 20-minute interval.

During that last interval, I got to work (hurriedly, I must say, since I spent the middle 20 minutes chatting on the telephone with my mother about the presence of two snowy owls at Washington National Airport – a rarity in this area, for sure!) putting together the macaroni and cheese and green beans.  I set the mac and cheese to boil and opened a can of green beans, mixed them with a jar of drained pimientos, and put the two veggies in a pot together to heat up.  By that point, the macaroni was cooking nicely, so I let it cook for the last 12 minutes of the tofu’s bake time.

By the time the tofu was ready, so was everything else, and we piled our plates high.  As I mentioned, this tofu was a new recipe for me, and as a result I was excited and a little nervous to find out how it worked out.  The result: Glorious!  The Cajun seasoning really gave it a kick and the cumin seeds were flavorful but not overpowering.  And the lengthy cook time, paired with the use of the parchment paper, gave the tofu a meaty texture that I just love.  I’ll definitely give this another try with barbecue sauce, a balsamic marinade, an Italian blend … the options are endless!

The best part of the meal, to me, is that I never would’ve given this a try without our pantry challenge this week.  Maybe I would’ve gone with an old standby, or maybe I would’ve tried something new, but it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t have concocted this particular meal without a little push in that direction.  Our pantry cleanout is that push, and I’m so glad for it.  We’ll definitely be trying this again – both the meal and the cleanout!

On to tomorrow!

:)