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.
