Roasted Vegetables and Tofu

Visitors this weekend! Vegetarian visitors! This gives me the opportunity to share some little known information regarding tofu. Today I will be preparing roasted vegetables and tofu for dinner, with a nice green salad, and a light dessert. Tofu is a soy product that is now available in most grocery stores and it comes in many different forms. The least favorite of mine is silken or soft tofu. It tends to put people off because of its texture, but is actually useful when producing fillings for quiche, lasagna, and some desserts. My very favorite tofu is baked tofu from Soy Boy. They call it Tofu Lin. It is available in a few flavors. This tofu has been baked, thereby reducing the liquid content and the resulting product can be cubed, slivered, or sliced, and added to casseroles or main dishes. So, on with the dish.

As usual, I consult my refrigerator to see what I have on hand and also check my supply of onions, garlic, and potatos. Today I have potatos, onions, garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers,carrots, and brussel sprouts. Using a large shallow roasting pan, I begin by lightly coating the pan with olive oil. Then, after all of the vegetables have been cleaned, I chop them into pieces, maybe 2 inches square {I do NOT measure}. Use your imagination combined with your knowledge of your likes and dislikes, and start putting the vegetables into the prepared pan, lightly salting as you go along.

Now, unwrap the tofu, cut it into cubes and add it to the pan. Drizzle some olive oil over the top, add some minced garlic, and cracked black pepper. At this point you can decide if you want to add herbs, remembering that using less is best, until you have some experience with the use of herbs. You can always add more, but you cannot remove an excess of, say--rosemary! A nice sprinkling of paprika adds some color, and now you are ready to cover the pan with aluminum foil and put it in a hot oven--400 degrees, for about one half hour.

At this point, carefully remove the foil {steam will be released, and it is easy to burn yourself}, and toss everything well so that all the flavors have a chance to mingle. Place the pan back in the hot oven for about another 15 minutes, stir again, and lower the temperature to 350 degrees. At this point you must check the vegetables to see if they are tender. Serve this to a delighted bunch of friends and family, with a nice crispy salad, and they will love you for it!