I wanted to let you know that there's a new recipe & video up on Everyday Dish, for Blue Willow pasta. The recipe is from the chef at Jam On Hawthorne (in Portland, Oregon), and is really good! It includes a yummy recipe for a tofu marinade, that would work well for a variety of tofu dishes. This reminds me that I should marinate some tofu for quick weeknight meals.

Also, there was a really good question about the cracker recipe and I thought I would answer it here. The question was about baking crackers on a Silpat. I tried baking the crackers on both parchment and Silpat mats. I prefered the Silpat mat. The crackers came out crispier (and thus better) on the Silpat. This is not always the case for every recipe, but the mat won out here.

I'm hooked on the homemade crackers! I plan to do lots more experimenting with other flavor combos. I love the idea of using different flours, seeds and spices. Homemade snacks are the best! Thanks for all the awesome comments on the recipe.

One Amazing Dish

Let me start off by saying, this is not your 70's-style tofu. This is tofu prepared in an elegant and upscale way. This is fine dining tofu.

Imagine Marsala-marinated tofu, coated with herbed panko crumbs and pan-seared until it's got a gorgeous crispy golden crust. Close your eyes and imagine this ethereal tofu perched on a mound of rosemary garlic mashed potatoes, and topped with an earthy mushroom Marsala sauce. Now this is tofu.

I first tasted this tofu dish at The Farm Cafe in Portland Oregon. I was having dinner with my good buddy Joanna, and she highly recommended the tofu. After careful scanning of the menu, chock-full of local, fresh, organic produce, this was definitely the dish that caught my eye. Herbed Crusted Tofu With A Mushroom Marsala Sauce. OMG! It had my name written all over it! The dish was divine. So much so that I started holding it up as my standard of what a good tofu dish should be. No problem preparing this at home, right? Wrong, actually. This was a tougher nut to crack than I imagined.

So, fast forward to last month, when the owner of The Farm Cafe accepted my offer to come prepare her amazing herbed-crusted tofu on Everyday Dish. Now everyone can learn their secret to a fabulously prepared tofu dish. And, we all have a delicious new tofu recipe to serve at our next dinner party, or try out on our tofu-phobic husbands/children/friends.

The recipe and video are up now on Everyday Dish. Thank you Fearn and Russel and The Farm Cafe, for sharing your delicious recipe with us. Now, what are you waiting for? You've got to try this dish!

Ginger Peanut Tofu Salad

If you're looking for a delicious lunch idea... this recipe's for you! The recipe and video can be found on the Everyday Dish website.

This salad has quickly become a family favorite. I'm always looking for healthy, protein-packed salad ideas, and this one fits the bill. I started by using peanut butter instead of mayo. Then I added ginger, garlic, Siracha sauce and, well, the rest is history. So good! It's great on a sandwich, with whole grain crackers, or even as a filling for sushi.

We went to the coast last weekend for my birthday, and knowing that there are usually few vegan options in restaurants, I brought a double batch of this salad. I'm really glad that I did. It hit the spot, and was fun to serve with Lebanese cucumbers and slices of baguette. And, I was happy that I didn't have to live on hummus all weekend.