California and Grandma's Birthday and Grilled Tofu

Just some random posts of family and food at Grandma's 90th Birthday Party.

We had such a wonderful time, can you tell?! The first thing we did was toast Grandma and her 90 well-lived years.

I added random pictures of me with my Grandma, my crazy and hilariously fun cousins, my darling little niece with the dog, and my wonderful Auntie J.

Of course the spread was far from vegan but my family watched out for me, (I have an awesome family!) and I made a side trip to Trader Joe's for veggie burgers, tofu, hummus and such.

Not to fear, I had plenty to eat right along with everyone else...









I'll leave you with my newest Tofu creation.

Grilled Tofu Kabobs

• 1 package EXTRA FIRM tofu
• 4 cups random veggies
• (tiny baby eggplants, cherry tomatoes, pre-boiled new potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, red bell peppers, pre-boiled baby carrot chunks, paper thin ginger slices)
• 2 cups marinade of your choice:
• I used:
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp. Tabasco

I learned something recently. I really didn't think you could actually marinate tofu and have the marinade soak in.
But, the secret to actually getting marinade to soak IN to tofu is to press the tofu a LONG time until it's squeezed practically dry and THEN marinate. It soaks up the marinade just fine!

So, here's what you do, it takes some advance prep but it's SOOOO worth it:
Slice block of tofu into thick slices. (About 4 in a block.) Wrap in
6 layers of paper towel. (I know, sounds wasteful, but this is what works - if you have a lot of cheesecloth, use that.)

Lay in a shallow baking pan or similar
and weight down with another pan of the same size. Put several heavy books or cans on top the covered tofu.
Put in the fridge 4 hours or overnight. Unwrap the soggy towels and wrap in dry paper towels. Do the process all over again for at least 4 more hours.

Unwrap tofu. It should have shrunk and become dense and dry and firm. Cut into cubes.
Put into a bowl or bag with marinade. Marinate overnight.

Thread onto skewers with the above listed veggies and several slices of ginger.
Grill over med-high heat for about 15 - 20 min., turning several times until veggies are very done. Baste with marinade several times while grilling.

Gently remove from grill. Serve hot. (If you grill extra, throw 'em together for an awesome Grilled-Veggie and Tofu salad the next day.)

Surround yourself with family and enjoy!