Simple spring salad: lemony baked tofu, veggies and herbs

In an effort to eat more green things and fewer doughnuts, I wrote this salad recipe with springy herbs, vegetables and tofu (and fungus).  But like a lot of dessert recipes I test, this one uses coconut milk, so it’s filling and not boring.  It’s also citrusy with lemon, awesome with shiitake mushrooms and hydrating/cool looking with cucumber noodles.  All you need is a spiralizer (small, hand held thing from Bed Bath and Beyond), some plants and some luv.

Lemony baked tofu (serves 3)

1 10-oz pack of tofu

1 T coconut aminos, or Tamari

3 T coconut milk from a can

1 1/2 lemons, juiced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 420 F.  Drain and rinse your tofu, then wrap it in a paper towel and place a cutting board on top of it to press out excess liquid for about 10 minutes
2. Slice your tofu into 1/2 inch cubes and add all ingredients except the tofu to a sauté pan, stirring with a spatula or wooden spoon. Bring the marinade to a low simmer, then add the tofu, toss evenly to coat and cover the pan
3. Depending on your stove, either turn the heat on the lowest setting or turn it off, but keep the pan over the burner and let the tofu soak in the flavors for 15-20 min.  Once most of the marinade is absorbed/ the tofu is coated nicely, spread evenly onto a parchment lined baking pan and bake for 15 minutes.  Save the rest of the marinade for the cucumber noodles
4. While the tofu is marinating/baking, you can prepare other salad ingredients

Sautéed shiitake mushrooms

~15 shiitake mushrooms

2 T coconut milk from a can

1 tsp granulated garlic (or 1 T minced fresh)

3 pinches sea salt

Method:

1. Place ‘shrooms in a bowl and fill the bowl with water.  Toss them around with your hands to clean, then drain the water and pat dry with a paper towel
2. Chop off the stems (you can save them in a container to make a vegetable stock, or compost) and thinly slice the mushrooms.  To work quickly, it helps to slightly overlap the mushrooms in a line and slice away
3. Rinse and clean the bowl, add the mushrooms back in and carefully toss/ coat the mushrooms with the remaining ingredients
4. Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and oil if desired, or add water to the pan as needed.  Add your mushrooms once hot, or the oil is shimmering and slides around the pan easily.  Only turn the mushrooms with a spatula once they look like they’re about to burn, or the water has evaporated.  Deglaze with water and take off the heat once slightly caramelized

Cucumber noodles

1 1/2 – 2 cucumbers, spiralized

1/2 lemon, juiced

rest of tofu marinade

Method:

1. Simply rinse and spiralize your cucumbers into noodles lol
2. Snip with kitchen scissors if you like them shorter and toss with remaining ingredients
3. This is not a recipe, so I’m just gonna write this here… add about 2 cups (or as many as you’ve got) of cilantro, mint and micro greens to a bowl and chop/toss to combine.  Bright and leafy goodness yay 🙂 Compose everything together as you like! Lemon wedge on the side is kind of like the dressing here.  Looks great with dog