Vegan by Valerie

Tofu Caprese Salad, Val Day, and more!

Yep, it was that kind of weekend!

One of the highlights of the weekend: Tofu Caprese Salad!

I’ve always LOVED traditional Caprese salad….. tomatoes and basil are two foods that I could eat every day and never get sick of them.  I find the smell of basil absolutely intoxicating and I love how it jazzes up any dish!

I’ve made a simple Caprese salad with Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese before, but this weekend I tried to put a new spin on it and it turned out great.  The balsamic dressing I used is my absolute favorite dressing recipe, loosely based off what my mom has been making for years.

Balsamic Dressing (enough for the tofu Caprese salad…. this stores well in the fridge so feel free to double or triple this to store more in the fridge for use on salads, roasted veggies, etc.)

Ingredients:

1/2 c. EVOO

1/4 c. balsamic dressing

2 T. dijon mustard

3 T. lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. salt

garlic powder and powder to taste, if desired

Instructions:

Whisk all ingredients until combined.

Tofu Caprese Salad

Ingredients:

1 pkg. tofu

3 Roma tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

1 c. loosely chopped basil leaves

1 batch of Balsamic Dressing (see above)

Instructions:

1. Press and drain tofu.  I used my TofuXpress food press that was sent to me to review.  I just loved it!  Pressing my tofu is one thing that I’m always lazy about and I often skip this step, to my later chagrin when my tofu is too wet and falls apart.  I was very happy with how easy this product was to use!

2. After pressing the tofu (I left mine in the TofuXpress food press for a few hours), slice the tofu into bite sized pieces.  In your food press or in a separate bowl, marinade the tofu pieces in your balsamic dressing for at least 30 minutes, preferably a couple hours.

3.  Bake the tofu at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.  After 40 minutes, broil for one minute if your oven has a broiler feature.  If not, continue to bake until the tofu is slightly brown and crispy on the outside.

4. Once the tofu is cooked, toss with the tomatoes and basil.  I like to sprinkle it with a pinch of salt to further bring out the flavors.  I thought that I would end up wanting to add some Daiya mozzarella at the end, but I didn’t need to – this dish is stellar on it’s own!

***

Thankfully I enjoyed my Tofu Caprese salad since I had a less-than-stellar meal at Carnivale. Mike and I went to Carnivale back in January and I loved it!  Even though nothing on the menu was vegan, the chef modified a menu item for me and I loved it.

However, this time, when dining out with friends, I was told that none of the entrees could be made vegan.  That left the guac, a beet salad, a soup, or fried plantains.

Ok…. no big deal, I love guacamole! I was ok with this.  I ordered the soup which the waitress assured me was delicious, and a large order of the guac which she told me was huge and was two avocados worth.  I asked for the guac to be made very mild with no spices, like the last time when I ordered it and loved it.

I was not a fan of this meal.  I hated the soup – and it was very tiny for $7 – and the guac was not only spicier than I asked for but it just wasn’t very flavorful and was too tiny (considering it was the large portion!) for $13. Overall, my meal ended up being more expensive than my meat-eating dining companions, which I think is ridiculous.

I guess I won’t be dining at Carnivale again…. note to so-called “nice” restaurants in Chicago:  get with the program and offer at least one vegan dish! Or at the very least, learn how to make modifications…. sheesh.

At least I had fun hanging out with my friends!

I also picked up some pretty quartz coasters from Anthopologie that night…..

Which leads us to Saturday…. long run day!

To make a long story short, it was a hot 10 miles, but I survived!  I chugged a coconut water when I got home which hit the spot.

And then Val Day 2010 could officially kick off! (Read more about the inaugural Val Day from last summer in this post!)  I made a green smoothie (which matched my top) and then we went to Borders for a few hours to hang out and read books and magazines.  My kind of day!

After Borders, we relaxed on the balcony with some white wine.

And for dinner, I asked to get Whole Foods pizza for take out… I’m obsessed with their pizza and LOVE that it can be modified to fit both Mike and my taste buds.  Half dairy cheese and mushroom for him, and half Daiya cheese, tomato, and basil for me! I also made a salad on the side with my balsamic dressing.

We had planned to take the pizza to eat along the lakefront, but it rained so we hit up the lakefront on Sunday afternoon, instead.

All in all, a great weekend!

What was the highlight of your weekend?

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