I get a lot (a lot!) of questions about how we eat; on my facebook status it should read, “it’s complicated”.

ALIE:  vegetarian, but mostly vegan. I don’t like meat, and my tastebuds reject even “fake” meat nowadays. I don’t usually bring any cheese or dairy home from the store (once a month? that fancy brie at tj’s got to me last week) but I do eat it on occasion when we go out. If there’s a vegan option on the menu that doesn’t involve mushrooms, I’ll usually be really happy with that. I have a dairy intolerance so I can only handle it in small amounts.

TYLER: eats meat occasionally, but only when we’re out & about because I won’t cook it at home. He is totally cool with our vegan food at home, and I love that I don’t have to buy milk, yogurt, string cheese or cheez-its for his lunches anymore. :) He even drinks almond milk with his breakfast cereal and likes it. He loves that the treats I make are vegan too, because he often brings them to work where there are vegans. It’s nice to help them feel included.

JACK: eats meat when Tyler gives it to him at restaurants, but at home he is vegan because he’s got a dairy intolerance like me. We occasionally give him dairy when we forget, and always regret it later when his tummy hurts all night! I am so happy to say he eats so many more fruits and vegetables for snacks, now that he knows goldfish and crackers aren’t much of an option anymore. He drinks rice milk (twice as many calories as almond milk) and eats lots of peanut butter.

And with that, I’ve got a tofu recipe for you all. I never thought I’d rely so heavily on something that just a year ago I detested. But somehow a package or two of tofu sneaks its way into our grocery cart every week.

The more I cook it, the more familiar I become with how to cook it. It’s cheap ($1 a package at Sprouts & can usually be made into two meals for our little family) and so incredibly nutritious. I love tossing it in stir frys, using the silken kind to make sauces, and generally experimenting with it. It tends to take on the flavor of whatever is around it, so it’s an easy way to get extra protein in your diet.

If you’re ever in a pinch, I’ve got a quick recipe for dinner for you. I probably make stir fry once or twice a month – it’s great for nights when I get home late. It’s quick because of my little secret: because our family is small, I usually only need half of a block of extra-firm tofu. I always cube up the other half and marinate it in the fridge for a day or two to be used in stir frys. In the recipe below, I used our “leftover” tofu, which had been marinating in whatever Asian sauce I had in the fridge.

Quick Tofu Stir Fry

1/2 block “leftover” tofu, cut into 1″ cubes (see above, this particular time I marinated it in a premade Asian sauce from Trader Joes)
edamame beans (shelled, found in the freezer section)
fajita mix (usually contains a variety of bell peppers + onions, found in the freezer section – or dice your own)
leftover (or freshly made if you’re on top of things!) brown rice

Toss the tofu (along with the marinade) in a hot, nonstick pan and grill until golden brown on all sides. Add edamame, bell peppers, and onions and saute until soft. Serve with brown rice.

Jeez, it looks like I’ve been cooking up a storm! I swear, I haven’t. Not really.

I kind of just made this one up last night, and didn’t plan on posting it here. But a lot of you who follow me on instagram (@aliejonesy) were intrigued, so here’s the recipe! Feel free to substitute veggies – if you don’t have celery, use bell pepper! If you’re fond of carrots, use more. It’s really quite flexible, but do be sure to go easy on the curry powder if you have little ones.

Coconut Curry with Grilled Tofu (served over rice)

2 T. olive oil, divided
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 medium red potatoes, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3/4 c. frozen peas
1 15oz.  can coconut milk
1/2 package (6oz?) of extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed, and marinated*
curry powder
s&p
rice (and/or crispy, day-old baguette)

THE RICE: Before I start the curry, I start the rice. Yesterday Jack decided not to nap – what?! – and so it was a “white rice” kind of day, meaning I wasn’t on the ball enough to get the rice going by 4:30pm for a 5:30pm dinner. Brown rice tends to take forever to cook sometimes! The ratio for rice is 2:1, meaning 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice. Once this boils, turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes (longer for brown rice).

THE CURRY: Heat 1 T. olive oil over medium heat in a skillet with taller sides (or a medium pot). Cook onion until it’s soft, then add carrot, potatoes, and celery, cooking 5-10 minutes until they are soft as well, stirring frequently. Add frozen peas and coconut milk. Add some curry powder (I just guessed, and it was a little on the spicy side, so taste as you go!) and season liberally with salt and pepper. Let simmer for a few minutes until the rice is done.

THE TOFU: First, press your tofu and marinate if you have time (see below; otherwise, in a pinch I just drizzle some soy sauce on my tofu and go with it!) Slice your tofu into thin strips. Heat 1 T. of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Grill your marinated tofu in the pan until golden on both sides. Add to curry mixture.

Serve over rice in bowls. Makes about 6 cups.

Tofu isn’t a scary ingredient, I promise! It gets a bad rap because it’s often cooked wrong, resulting in a spongy, tasteless meat substitute. Pressing and marinating your tofu beforehand will help immensely flavor-wise, as it tends to soak up the flavors around it.

If you have time beforehand, press your block of tofu, as it will marinate better. It’s easy: drain the water from the package and place your tofu on a plate lined with a paper towel. Set paper towels on top of the tofu, and then heavy books (or I use a skillet with a couple of cans of beans!). Let this sit for 20 minutes or so, until a lot of the water has drained out.

To marinate tofu, I like to use a mixture of soy sauce, plum sauce (or hoisin, whatever I have on hand), and some sort of sweetener like honey. Yesterday I used mango chutney! You can either leave it in a tupperware overnight in the fridge, or use it after 20-30 minutes.