My favortie salad

When I was a junior in college I lived in a small apartment with a vegetarian. She was a wonderful, vibrant friend who showed me so many new and exciting things, one of them being tofu. Although I wasn't a vegetarian at the time, I grew to love tofu. It was that year that I invented my favorite salad. Here's my recipe for Asian Tofu Tomato Salad:


Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 block of extra firm tofu
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 fresh tomato, or 1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic (optional)
oil and soy sauce to taste

Its so simple to make. Here's what you do - Put the olive oil in a skillet or wok on med-high heat. Slice up your tofu into bite sized cubes. (A note about tofu - if you drain as much water out as possible before cooking, the tofu will brown better. Wrap the tofu in a clean dish towel and place something heavy on top, like a cook book. Leave it like this for a good 5 minutes or so. This step isn't necessary, but it makes the tofu brown up nicely.) Saute the tofu in the oil until its nice and golden brown.

When your tofu is sufficiently browned, cut up the tomato into whatever shape or size you like. Add the soy sauce and tomato and cook it just until the tomato is limp and warm. If you want, you can add a clove of minced garlic, too.

Spread this tofu over a bed of romaine lettuce. Add extra oil and soy sauce to taste. I love this salad because its nutritious, low calorie, full of vegetarian protein, and best of all its quick and easy to make! As always, you can add your own twist to this delicious salad and ENJOY!