Sunday, January 20 Vietnamese Style Tofu Heroes with Asian Slaw (The Conscious Cook) Rating: 3.5

Yeah, I’m not really sure about this one. I’m skeptical of tofu recipes that don’t marinate or have really flavorful sauces that will bake in. So, I let this one marinate for a little while before I baked it. It soaked up all of the tamari, so I splashed it with a little more before I baked it. The marinade/baking sauce calls for a few different kinds of pepper (black, white, cayenne) and I was a little worried it might be a bit much. I also substituted a shallot for the chives since I forgot to get chives at the store and almost always have shallots on hand. The tofu was good, a little heavy on the pepper flavor, but good. Also, very spicy. I even cut back a little on the cayenne since white pepper is pretty spicy in its own right. The one thing I think I would have done differently with the tofu would be to broil it for a bit. It was just too soft, especially given that baguettes are sort of chewy, so you have to bite sort of hard on them and then the tofu smooshes a bit. Anyway. I also, um, forgot to get a cucumber, so I was lacking that cooling element to the sandwiches. Not being keen on eating a tablespoon of chili oil on my sandwich as the recipe calls for (ouch! way too hot! plus, a tablespoon of oil per sandwich?! ) we put a little sriracha on ours instead – still hot, but not the surface of the sun hot. Or as Seth calls it, burn your face off hot. The slaw that goes on the sandwiches is good and pretty easy to make. So overall, it was a good sandwich, but not a great one – and we probably won’t have them again. The leftover slaw & tofu will go in salads with a light Asian dressing for lunches. OK, now I just have to comment on The Conscious Cook itself. I asked for it for Christmas after hearing a lot of good things about it. I’m a bit disappointed in it. I had no idea it used so much processed vegan meat in the recipes. While these products are good from time to time and are great for transitioning from eating animals to a cruelty-free diet, I just don’t think they should be used all that often. And I certainly don’t think they belong in what I thought was a higher end type cookbook. But that’s just me.  And yes, Harry Potter fans, that is what you think it is in the background. It hangs above the stove.