Grilled Jerk Tofu and Too Much More

Sunday was a beautiful day, perfect for testing out the new grill. I know we’re all disappointed in John Mackey at the moment, but I selected three recipes from the Whole Foods Market cookbook. First, Jamaican Jerk Sauce for marinating 2 pounds of tofu. The sauce has hot peppers and pineapple juice in it and it is wonderful. It is rather thick, but the tofu soaked up almost all of it. I’m so excited about my new grill, so there are several pictures to endure of what a great job Chase and the new grill did.

Here’s the tofu on the grill. See how shiny the new grill is? And see how sunny it is? (I don’t know if you’ve heard about all the rain we’ve had, but we’ve already hit our annual total.)

On the table.

Also from the Whole Foods cookbook, I made Havana Black Beans. This recipe was quick to make using canned beans and was so flavorful with chipotles, cumin, and lime juice. I should have doubled this because we couldn’t get enough.

So this totally doesn’t go with the meal, but Monica K made such great looking summer rolls, I had to make some too. Mine were filled with broccoli slaw, carrots, red bell pepper, mango, leaf lettuce, cilantro, scallions, and peanuts. I made the Creamy Peanut Sauce from the Whole Foods cookbook. I don’t know exactly why, but these were super fab delicious even plain. They are just so fresh tasting and fun to eat.

I've got a new rollup technique to try out on the next batch.

Anticipating a need to soak up the yummy jerk sauce, I decided to bake bread. Chase gets leftovers, so I needed a loaf that would work for tofu or peanut butter sandwiches. I love my Bread Machine Magic cookbook and found a recipe for Crunchy Carrot Bread. It’s mostly whole wheat with finely chopped carrots and poppy seeds, but I subbed hemp seeds. It is de-vine!

One more shot of the dinner plate, aglow with sunshine.

I went overboard on dessert, but I couldn’t bear to cook or mash my fresh fruit anymore. I fixed a big bowl of organic strawberries, farmers market peaches, and leftover mango from the summer rolls and put it in the fridge. I haven’t made a single thing from Damn Tasty and feeling left out, but not wanting to be too decadent, made the Banana Bread.

Bazu made it and raved. Well, we raved too! It’s a simple, nothing unusual recipe, but man, it’s damn tasty! Chase said he was dreaming of peanut butter and banana bread sandwiches.

I really did go overboard because I made ice cream too. Coconut Pistachio Ice Cream. I made up my own recipe, and it turned out creamy and coconutty, but I wavered on whether I liked grated coconut in it. The kids liked it; I thought it almost interfered with the creamy goodness. But it was great with the banana bread and fresh fruit, and it’s really pretty with pistachios in it.

And finally, have any of you seen the article in Food & Wine “Why Vegetarians Are Eating Meat”? Molly Katzen now eats meat?!! Help me out. I can see how it might make meat eaters feel better, but I’ve read the article twice and I still don’t get it. My first reaction was that vegetarians were represented as unhealthy eaters, and admittedly, some are. And secondly, I read about how great the animals were treated during their lives, but nothing about their slaughter. If you want to read the article, it’s online here.