My youngest son loves tofu. He has a favorite marinated style that he frequently brings as a snack to school, which drew questioning glances from his preschool classmates, but now elicits some satisfied smiles from his fellow first-graders who became accustomed to his tastes in kindergarten.
And I adore tofu. I am not a vegan nor a vegetarian, but I'll frequently order a vegetarian dish during conferences or at restaurants, primarily because they end up tasting great, and I've lacked confidence in making my own - so prefer to order from "real chefs." I recall one amazing roasted red pepper risotto that I wish I could replicate. And one of my favorite restaurants when we lived in New York served a fabulous peanut tofu stir fry. More than once a month, you can find me at the burrito place ordering a thai-world-burrito, always with marinated tofu. And my favorite sandwich at our local grocery store is... yes, marinated tofu.
It was therefore with tremendous pleasure that I accepted an invitation to learn more about Nasoya Tofu's "Tofu U" at San Francisco's amazing Plant Cafe Organic. I was particularly intrigued to go to this event because "Skinny Bitch / Healthy Bitch" (who is nowhere near a "bitch") Kim Barnouin would provide instruction on how to cook with tofu firsthand. (I was thrilled that we received a copy of Kim's new book Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook.)
First of all, Kim Barnouin is a pure doll, as are the representatives from Nasoya Tofu that I met during the luncheon. I was thrilled to share the story about how my elder son's behavioral challenges were definitely mediated by changing his diet. As I always say, not all kids on the autistic spectrum will benefit from elimination diets or other dietary modifications, but most kids in general (neurotypical and special-needs alike) will benefit from avoiding artificial flavors, artificial colors, and preservatives, especially petroleum-based. Kim's own story is definitely inspiring: by adopting a vegan lifestyle she dramatically improved her health and mood. Other people at the luncheon had similar stories. You are what you eat.
Well, most people have an impression of veganism as being highly restrictive. ("Here is a leaf and a carrot.") And a lot of people think tofu is "flavorless" as though that would be a bad thing. (Indeed, tofu can be mild, but this just means the flavor of other ingredients can shine through while the tofu provides an excellent source of protein.) Well, does the below look unappetizing?
The entire meal we had was vegan. And most components were made of Nasoya Tofu. But I am willing to bet that unless informed of such - as those of us at the luncheon were - nobody would even guess that the meal was vegan.
I was so fired up with enthusiasm after the luncheon that I browsed Tofu U immediately. I've been in search of a good peanut sauce lately, so was particularly interested in the Peanut Tofu Stir-Fry recipe. I made it right away, and was excited that it turned out beautifully. I later tried the peanut sauce in my slow cooker along with some fingerling potatoes, red peppers, and leeks from my CSA box and couldn't have been happier with the results. I'm already plotting other ways that I can use the peanut sauce (just tofu with noodles or with various veggies added in.) My youngest son loved the Peanut Tofu Stir-Fry, whereas he had totally rejected my attempt at peanut sauce a few weeks ago.
Given what a success we had with the Peanut Tofu Stir-Fry, I expected that other Tofu U recipes would be similarly delicious. I had never attempted anything with "silken tofu" so decided to give the Silken-style Tofu Chocolate Brownie recipe a try. Of course my kids were very interested in helping out in the kitchen.
[It was easy for my kids to measure out the ingredients - very simple recipe to do!]
As it turns out, the silken-creations tofu is fabulous just on its own. It reminds me of chocolate pudding. Mmmm!
Not surprisingly, my boys declared the results of our brownie trial "delicious!" Even before they lifted a fork to their lips, they commented on the yummy smell wafting through the house. Plus, they enjoyed tasting the remnants on the toothpick I used to test the "doneness" of the brownies. I love undercooked brownies, and with a no-egg recipe such as this, there is no reason to worry about erring on the side of "tasty batter." Even so, I baked the brownies enough so they could retain their shape... well, sort-of. I'm sure another 5 minutes could have produced super-strong brownies, but I prefer 'em a little runny!
[The brownies were gobbled up before I could take any meaningful photos.]
I noticed that the brownies filled up the pan more readily than my usual egg-based recipe. These are thick, light, and chocolatey. Unlike most desserts, I didn't become super-hungry right afterward. This is great, because I'd hate to eat the whole pan at once.
I was so enthusiastic about Tofu U and Kim's book after the luncheon that a friend of mine asked with care if I was "getting into the soy thing." I understood what she meant. After all, we've heard things in the news about too much soy, particularly surrounding the psuedo-estrogens in food triggering early puberty. My friend certainly didn't want me joining a soy-cult.
I definitely appreciate her concern. After all, if we all eat a single food item exclusively, regardless of how healthful, it will eventually be harmful. Lots of the soy products that have made the news are the processed soy things, such as the soy lecithin that serves as a preservative in such things like crackers, or involve large amounts of soybean oil. I definitely don't advocate adding soy to everything, and certainly don't want to encourage eating processed foods with all kinds of additives inside, regardless of how those additives are derived.
Along the same lines, I confess that in the past my older son has had a reaction to soy. Although the Feingold Diet doesn't eliminate soy, it does mention that some kids can be less tolerant of it. (Similarly, some kids do better with a gluten-free/casien-free diet in conjunction with Feingold.) I avoid things like soy lecithin or any sort of product that has "added soy" in it for my older son. But, he had never tried tofu. With that in mind, I let him participate in the consumption of the delicious brownies. (And I let him taste-test the silken creations straight out of the carton.) He has been fine. And I imagine that in moderation, he'll remain fine.
But am I going to give my kids soy for every meal? No, probably not. But when I do, it will be the real thing, not soy derivatives with multi-syllabic names!
I'm very grateful to Nasoya Tofu for introducing me to both Tofu U and Kim Barnouin's fabulous book. Both are excellent resources for learning how to cook tofu at home. Perhaps I won't have to rack up the restaurant bills every time I crave tofu!
--
Disclaimer: Nasoya Tofu provided me lunch, a tofu press, excellent "extra firm" boxer shorts, coupons for Nasoya Tofu, and a copy of Kim Barnouin's book. The amazon link to her book I provided includes an affiliate code such that if you purchase something on amazon.com, I'll receive a few cents. The words above are my own. I will receive no further compensation or commission for posting a review.
