Tofu? Calling all Vegans, Vegetarians, and tofu lovers :)

I get a lot of my recipes from http://www.chezbettay.com/

The most important thing to remember is to fully drain tofu so it can absorb marinades properly and not have such a squishy texture.

Another tip is to freeze extra firm tofu a day or 2 before grilling (drain beforehand as well) and it will give the tofu an even firmer texture (it turns yellow, that's normal).

I used to BBQ mine on a foreman grill with onions and some Brown Sugar Bourbon BBQ sauce.

I love me some tofu pad thai or some pieces in miso soup ^^

i like to eat my tofu in a lot of asian cold preparations, basically marinated tofu with some green onions and sesame seeds. i don't eat much tofu though! first time i went vegan i ate TONS of soy, and all the extra estrogen messed with my body.

I love to stir-fry tofu in sesame oil and soy sauce with broccoli and garlic. It turns out absolutely delicious every time.

i use it a slow cooker soup - half a block of tufu diced into squares, a can of diced tomatoes with the use, half a head of cabbage choppes, 4 potatoes diced, half a package of sliced mushrooms, half an eggplant diced, a bell pepper or two diced, baby carrots, red onion cut into larger pieces(or any veggies you love) - toss it in the slow cooker, add some vegetable broth and water and spices (i use oregano, garlic, onion powder, black pepper and a little salt) and cook on high for about 4-5 hours or low 8ish hours.

tofu curry - green curry sauce with half a block of tofu diced, red and green peppers, onion and mushrooms. cook with the curry sauce and serve over rice, couscous or quinoa.

slices of tofu (about an inch) marinated with bbq sauce, cook in a skillet serve on a roll with red onion, peppers and spinach.

a stir fry with shirataki noodles or asian noodles or even rice with broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, peppers, onions with either teryiaki sauce or soy sauce or sweet n sour sauce

can crumble up tofu and use it in place of ricotta for stuffed shells or baked ziti - mix in some nutritional yeast and season with garlic and oregano

can also use tofu in a smoothie

Laksa is my favourite! And so easy/quick and foolproof. Highly adaptable. You can use any of your fave veggies cut into small bite-sized pieces (like you do for an Asian stir fry). Cauliflower, broccoli, broccolini, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, green beans are also good. The veggies below are the usual ones I use.

Pack of firm tofu (soft is nice too but be careful - it smooches).
Laksa paste
4 button mushrooms - sliced
1 pepper - cut in small pieces
1 brown onion - cut in wedges
3 small bokchoy plants (Asian greens) - roughly cut
1 carrot - sliced thin
1 pack of fresh Hokkien noodles
1 tin coconut milk
2 veggie stock cubes
Bean sprouts
4-6 cups boiling water (I never measure I just go by eye and taste)

Soak the noodles in extra boiling water as per pack.

Cook this all in the one large pan on high heat ... Heat two dessert spoons of Laksa paste in a large saucepan with two vegetable stock cubes. Mush stock cubes down with back of spoon. Stir in a little boiling water and bit of coconut milk to thin it a bit. Throw in tofu and mushrooms and mix around for about a minute to coat. Throw in your veggies, bit more boiling water and coconut milk. Keep adding coconut milk and boiling water bit by bit. The objective is to keep the whole dish very hot but not boiling until all coconut milk has been added (about 6-7 minutes). Add leafy greens and bean shoots last (they only need 1 minute).

Drain noodles and put in bottom of big soup/pasta bowls*. Ladle in veggies and soupy mix on top. Garnish with coriander/cilantro or fresh mint. Enjoy,

*if your saucepan is big enough, throw noodles in the pot and mix through to absorb more taste

I try to avoid it when I can due to the controversy regarding the impact of unfermented soy on the thyroid gland but when I do I like it grilled with olive oil and dipped in BBQ.

I was vegan last year (I stumbled and keep meaning to return to it, I'm currently vegetarian) and my favourite way to prepare it was to drain it, press it for about half an hour. Then I marinaded it. Marks and Spencer do a really nice vegan bbq marinade but you can get them anywhere. After that I would toss it through warm salad.

Another thing I liked to do was use it as ricotta cheese on pizza. Id add mixed herbs and blend it until it was the consistency of ricotta. The mixed herbs (just dried stuff from a pot in Sainsbury's) really makes it taste like ricotta.

If you toss it around in breadcrumbs, oil, flour and the mixed herbs and spice you get what tastes like southern fried chicken.

And of course nothing beats scrambled tofu on toast with lots of ketchup.