Culinary Success

Sunday evening after my venture to the local indie movie theater, I popped over to the Safeway (i know what you're thinking, but this is a fancy pants Safeway - in no way ghetto!) to pick up all the ingredients for Katie's Pesto tofu italian goodness.

Now, I've never cooked tofu before, nor have I ever really used pesto and so far, all of my culinary adventures in Denver have pretty much been utter failures. But nonetheless, I excitedly drove home after the gym on Monday, eager to see how badly I could screw up this recipe.

Having no idea how long it takes to cook tofu, I was unsure whether to start sauteing it or get my water boiling for my pasta. I opted to do both at once. It is my pet peeve when I don't finish cooking everything at once, and inevitably something gets cold while waiting for other parts to the meal to finish up.

I dumped the pre-cubed extra firm tofu into the pan only to realize my first error: I had used too much olive oil. Instead of a light saute, I was pretty much deep frying these suckers. And burning myself with popping oil to boot. I grabbed a pot lid and covered the pan while I planned my next move. I opted for pouring some hot oil from the pan down the garbage disposal and, for now, disaster seemed to be averted.

I then took to pulling random spices out of the cabinet, sprinkling on some of the Penzees spices that dad got me for christmas. I went heavy on the garlic (mmm, garlic, can you smell it from there? Its probably still on my breath this morning...), knowing that tofu pretty much adapts to whatever you flavor it with.

15 minutes later, I was draining the pasta, swirling in a scoop of pesto and mixing in the tofu. This meal was actually looking pretty tasty! So tasty that I even took a picture. It was delicious! I probably overcooked the tofu a bit, but it was crispy and delicious regardless. And at only 80 calories, it was an excellent way to add protein to my "I heart carbs' life.

Overall, I definitely look forward to making this meal again. Now I just have to find at least two more suitable tofu recipes to use up what's left in the fridge. Nom!