Sunday, February 6, 2011

Do not try this at home...

Ladies and Gentlemen, do not try this at home! 


I'm not sure if it's the residual hormones, lack of sleep or just plain craziness but I have been experimenting in the kitchen these days. Well that's to say when I have time to cook. Last week I went home early from work to rest (I've had a horrible cold for 2 weeks now) and when I awoke, Oprah was on. The show was on vegan-ism. Now we in Chateaux Schrall will never be vegans but I do think cutting down on meat is a good idea. Plus I'm not a huge meat eater to begin with. The next day I went to the store and had a craving for fajitas. Then I thought, why not try them with tofu? It has no taste except for the spices, right?


I sat in the tofu section for 20 minutes (thankfully Charlie was sleeping) trying to figure out which brand and what firmness to buy. Does it make a difference? No one came to my aide, in fact people just looked at me like I was crazy to even consider it. Why couldn't a meat hating hippie walk by and tell me what to get? So I chose my mostly-firm or semi-firm tofu block and went on my way. 


The next night Daniel goes for his customary workout when I got home. I decide it's the perfect time to try the fajitas. I put Charlie in his seat in the kitchen with me and set to cooking. Of course Daniel calls shortly after and asks if he can bring a friend home to eat with us. So the pressure is on! 


I saute the veggies and at the last minute add the tofu and the seasoning. I'm not sure the texture will hold up but am optimistic. Less than five minutes later I have a wok full of mush. I tempted a taste and it was disgusting. No flavor, not even with a whole packet of taco seasoning. 


Daniel calls just 15 minutes later ready to eat. They get home and I told them they were welcome to try it but I think we'd best get takeout. Thirty minutes and $45 later, we were eating yummy San Jose take out fajitas WITH MEAT. 


So I'm open to suggestions, my friends. If you've ever successfully cooked with tofu - please share! Otherwise, it's meat for us.