Mexican/Jerk Tofu mixture

Ingredients:

1 block extra firm tofu pressed for one hour

White rice

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

1/2 tsp salt

1 can (14.5 oz) okra

1 can (10 oz) green chile enchilada sauce

1 tbsp red pepper crushed

2 jalapeños seeded and chopped

2 scallions chopped

yellow onion as desired

Dry Rub: tofu

Cut the block of tofu in half, thin-wise, then in thirds horizontally and vertically. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the cayenne pepper, allspice, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, and salt in a bowl. cover all sides of each piece of tofu with the rub.

Grab out a smaller baking pan, I covered it with aluminum foil, place the tofu with dry rub semi-equally apart to cover the sheet. Place the sheet in the center most position of the oven. Flip each piece after about 20 minutes and cook for 20 more minutes, totaling an approximate 40 minutes. The tofu will start to swell and round out a little bit. When the tofu is done, it will be fairly firm and stiff.

Sauce portion:

Combine, in a decently large bowl, the left over dry rub, okra, green chile sauce, red pepper, jalapeños, scallions, and yellow onion.

Simmer or begin to cook on the 2nd lowest setting for about a half an hour then increase heat to medium. Stirring occasionally.

Add the tofu to the mixture making sure to get it stirred in well and cook on medium for about ten more minutes.

White Rice

Cook it. Keep in mind the time where it will be ready with the rest of the food.

Serve the delicious mixture on the rice.

for vegetarian sushi

Sesame tofu: It is quite good by itself so I figured that I would give it a shot in some sushi rolls, turns out that it is quite good in the rolls too!

Green Onion, Carrots, Cucumber, Avacado.

SUSHI !!!!!!!!!

Sushi Rice
2c Sushi grade, short grain rice

2 1/2c Water

1/4c Rice Vinegar

1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

something to fan the rice

Put rice into a fine wire mesh strainer and rinse well in cold water for a minute or so and let dry for about 30 more minutes.

Cook rice.

Mix the Rice Vinegar, Sugar, and Salt together in a bowl until the grains are dissolved.

Spread the cooked rice out onto a flat surface and slowly drizzle rice vinegar mixture over the rice. Use a spoon or something small, not simply dumping the contents out onto the rice. Take a fork and fluff the rice while fanning it. When finished, the rice should stick together and be easily formed, but still be separate.

Maki-zushi 巻き寿司 (SUSHI)

Nori 海苔(Seaweed)

Rice (above)

Fillings: Fish, cucumber, carrots, eggs, tofu, avacado, green onion...

Gari がり(pickled ginger)

Wasabi 山葵

bowl of water

Bamboo mat (not completely needed)

Place the smoother, shiny side facing down. Dip your fingers into the water dish and flick off the excess water. Grab a bit of rice and flatten it out onto the 海苔 (nori) leaving some space to put your fish or what-nots and about 1/2" to an inch on the other side for a good connection when rolled. Take the nearest to you portion with the what-nots and roll it towards the other side applying some, but not too much, pressure so that you get a nice and tight but not ripped 巻き (maki) roll.

To cut delicious roll, grab the sharpest knife that you can get your hands on, by the handle. Decide how many pieces you are interested in having per roll, 6 or 8, start by cutting the roll in half. Now, take the two halves and put them side by side so that you cut two at once and go from there by the number you would like to have.

I've found that when cutting, the roll will stay together better if you first start by pushing lightly down and sliding forward to get the cut started, next by pushing a bit harder and sliding in the opposite direction (towards you), finishing the cut.

Sesame Tofu and mashed potatoes

Sesame Tofu

1 block (14 oz.) firm tofu or extra firm
3 T Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. Sesame oil
olive oil, light layer rubbed onto the baking sheet
Sesame seeds and Green onions placed on top in the oven

Stand the tofu block on end and cut tofu in half, making two thinner pieces, then cut in half again across the horizontal and vertical axis' making a total of 8 pieces. Blot each piece on both sides with papers towels, pressing down to remove as much liquid as you can. Not too hard, that will make the insides squeeze out. The wetter the tofu, the longer it will take to cook.

Turn oven on and set to 350 F. Whisk together the sesame oil and Soy Sauce in a small bowl, then set the tofu in the mixture to wet both sides of each cube. After briefly dredging the cubes in the sauce set onto the prepared baking sheet. Allow 5 to 10 minutes for the sauce to really seep into the delicious tofu cube.

Lay a sheet of foil on the baking sheet for easy clean up (optional). Brush the Olive Oil onto the sheet. Bake about one hour, not turning, but brushing with the soy-sesame mixture several times, until the glaze is all gone. It's done when the tofu feels firm to the touch, and looks glazed and nicely browned.

Mashed Potatoes

Put potatoes into a saucepan. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt (Optional). Add water until potatoes are covered. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 15-20 minutes, or until done - a fork can easily be poked through them.

Drain water from potatoes. Put hot potatoes into a bowl. Use potato masher to mash potatoes until well mashed. Use a strong spoon to beat further, adding milk to achieve the consistency you desire. (Do not over-beat or your potatoes will get gluey.) Add a ton of Garlic Salt in order to make the tatoes taste super great! (Not Optional)