Veggies, Tofu and Rice – Ari’s take on comfort food

So I (Ari) grew up in a house with limited exposure to junk food. We didn’t have cereals with sugar, any ice cream, candy, etc…there were no frozen pizzas in my freezer or after school trips to McDonalds. We had salad with every meal, rarely ate meat, and dessert was something my siblings and I only expected on birthdays and holidays. Now, I should probably clarify that this is not something I’m complaining about. It taught me to not only eat, but enjoy healthy food. It also greatly influenced how I cook (and eat) today.

The other night, as Anita and I were eating the dinner I’m about to describe to you, we started talking about what we consider to be “comfort food”. We mentioned the biggies like mashed potatoes and stews, but not long into the conversation we realized that my definition of comfort food would not exactly fit with a “normal” person’s definition. For me, comfort food is something that tastes good when I’m eating it, and after I’m finished, I feel good about what I ate because I know my mother would probably approve of how healthy it was… Yes, I am an adult, and am more or less able to make my own decisions about what is good for me, but that little voice in the back of my head telling me to eat salads instead of french fries still sounds strangely like my mother’s. So I’m gonna dedicate this entry to my mom – the honey farming, house building, maple tree tapping woman that I love.

So there you go, today’s intro for one of my favorite dishes which I will call – Veggies, Tofu and Rice (creative, I know).

What you need (please note that the images posted below include green beans and zucchini rather than mushrooms and sprouted mung beans, but the recipe described below is a little tastier) :

• 1 brick of extra firm tofu
• 1 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms
• 1 thinly sliced vidalia onion
• 1/2 a head of cabbage (shredded)
• 2 cups of sprouted mung beans (buy these at the asian market cause they’ll be wayyy cheaper)
• sesame oil
• sesame teriyaki merinade
• sesame seeds (optional)
• 2 1/2 cups brown rice (or white rice if you prefer)

What you need to do:

1. Cook the brown rice according to instructions on box or rice cooker and set aside for later.
2. Cut tofu into small cubes and fry in about 3-4 tbs of sesame oil (enough to coat the bottom of the frying pan). You don’t need to fry it all the way through – only enough so that they don’t fall apart when they’re added to the vegetables.
3. Saute the veggies in about 1 tbs of butter (it’s fine if you skip the butter) in a different pan than the tofu. I like to add the vegetables in the order of toughest to softest. Start with the cabbage and onions…wait for a few minutes…then add the mushrooms and sprouts.
4. Once the cabbage has reached a good consistency (that one takes the longest), add the tofu to the pan and add 3-4 tbs of the sesame teriyaki marinade. Cook for a few more minutes and stir so the merinade coats everything.
5. Serve the rice with the tofu/veggie mixture and top with some additional sesame seeds.

There you have it! A dish that satisfies my definition of “comfort food”.

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