Whim #3: Continued.

Hello!

Reporting from my first ever tofu cooking experience! (Yes, each ! equals one bit of happiness :D ) The thing you're seeing is a modified recipe I found at a Bulgarian forum. I've changed quantity and bits of the ingredients, but the base is the same - mushrooms, red onion, tofu.

Ingredients:
~400gr tofu
1 red onion
~ 150 - 200gr mushrooms
3 soup spoons oil
1 soup spoon oregano
Heinz' Barbeque  Sauce
Red, black pepper and salt

How to make the most awesome first tofu dish ever:

Drain the tofu as much as you can. I couldn't really drain mine, I bought Cauldron's but I think it might've been less than firm, so I just dried it as much as I could without breaking the thing into mouse bites. Slice and dress it in BBQ sauce and leave it for later.

Pour the oil and a spoon of red pepper into a pan. Chop the onion and the mushrooms and then throw them in the pan as well. Heat the pan at 5 (out of 6, I wanted the mushrooms juicy, adjust according to your stove) and stir with a wooden spoon. Then add the oregano and black pepper, I'd be generous with the oregano and moderate with the black pepper. When you're almost happy with the mushrooms (didn't take long, 4-5 mins) add the coated tofu. Stir for ~3-4 minutes. Add salt.

Goes mighty well with pita bread and I'd imagine with some lemon which I forgot to buy today. The whole thing is delicious and resembles stirred eggs in texture but doesn't have the heavy stirred-egg taste I'm particularly not fond of. Takes ~20 minutes for the slow ones like me and serves two (killer for all the student couples out there).

I'll be cooking some Bean burgers with steamed broccoli and carrots later on, lets hope it's as good as this one!

Your happy future-to-be vegetarian,

Bill

Whim #3: Going veggie.

Well, I hope this one sticks with me!

I've been thinking of it for a long time now - just a quick flashy thought every now and then, so it wasn't really unexpected. I become attached to food too easily (tell that to the two carrots, two garlics and the (sadly already dead) basil plant I treated like a dog). So, given that Bulgaria lacks the Free-range meat segment, I am gradually quitting meat and starting to eat.. soy.

I have a history of quitting things - I haven't had a soft drink for a year and a half and didn't eat McDonald's for a year until I started working there and even then I've gradually minimized the meat I eat when going out (mmm, tasty meat-less Quarter cheese!). So, I'm only a bit intimidated by this whole thing and the fact that I'll probably have to cook most of it myself. I've planned a month-long transition starting from tomorrow as my first truly veggie day - for breakfast the usual porridge, lunch would be tofu with mushrooms and onion and for dinner we'll have veggie burgers with broccoli, carrots and tomatoes.

Luckily, my boyfriend's willing to try this out with me, so I can stay focused and not have to cook two things at a time. I don't ever cook, so that by itself will still be a challenge :D I'm sticking to eggs and milk though, but will try soy milk eventually. I'm not quite sure how to bring this to my parents, we still have an unresolved argument about my stubborn denial of leather shoes and meat-less me will probably be a baby-Armageddon in their world. But I'll procrastinate for as long as I can before telling them.

Well, I'll try and write more regularly and share how all goes! Wish me luck!

Bill