Mustard-Marinated Tofu w/Quinoa

Michael and I recently discovered a store nearby that sells their store-made tofu for $0.98. We, of course, stocked up on this cheap and delicious tofu! I decided to use a block of it to marinate, bread, and bake. It was all very easy to make and super yummy.

Marinade Ingredients:

- 1/2 c. white vinegar

- 3 tbsp. lemon juice

- t tbsp. yellow mustard

- 2 tsp. maple syrup

- 2 cloves garlic, chopped

- 3 tsp. dried basil

- 2 tsp. dried thyme

- 2 tsp. garlic powder

- 2 tsp. paprika

- 1 tsp. black pepper

Instructions:

- Mix together all marinade ingredients, tasting every so often to make sure the flavor is to your liking.

- Pat down your block of tofu until you can get as much excess water out as you can. This is crucial so that the tofu will absorb your marinade.

- Slice tofu however you desire. I like thin tofu slices, so I cut them about 1/4" thick.

- Place tofu in a large baggie and pour the marinade into the bag. Make sure to squeeze air out of bag before you seal. Place bag in refrigerator until it's time to bake (I let mine sit for 24 hours, flipping over half way through).

- When your tofu is all done marinating, get your breadcrumbs ready. I made mine from bread that I made myself, so I just threw everything into a food processor. I used a chunk of homemade bread, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, basil, sage, and pepper. Feel free to use whatever you like!

- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

- Dip tofu slices into your breadcrumbs until fully coated. My breadcrumbs had a hard time sticking to the tofu because I used bread that was still fresh. I just had to pretty much pat the breadcrumbs onto the tofu.

- Place tofu onto a greased cookie sheet and bake until breadcrumbs are golden in color. I think I left mine in for 20 minutes or so.

- While tofu is cooking, prepare a delicious side dish! I just whipped up some quinoa and added to it peas, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper. I didn't want my quinoa having too strong of a flavor since the tofu was the stand-out piece here.

- When the tofu and quinoa are done, serve and enjoy!

Wow! The tofu was nice and crispy and full of mustardy flavor. I think next time I might add more maple syrup to calm down the acidity, though. In any case, the tofu was nicely seasoned and the quinoa was a nice and simple addition to this dish. I love playing with different flavors in marinades and mustard was a new one for me. I'm not a big fan of condiments but we've had a small container leftover from a local vegan restaurant for a while. I'm glad I was able to use it and enjoy it! I can't wait to think of something else to make with our abundance of tofu...