Chimichurri-ish Tofu + Zucchini

with quinoa and salad from a bag

Last night’s dinner was chunks of tofu and zucchini tossed in a sauce kind of like chimichurri, served over quinoa and an “avocado caesar” salad kit. I’ll never be able to express to you how much I liked it.

Because the pace of my life in Florida is now much different than that of my past life in New York, fun activities for me include browsing buy one get one free deals at Publix. One such deal was those bagged salad kits that I always find to be way too expensive and pretty depressing - the toppings are always crumbled to a powder, the dressings are primarily corn syrup, and the lettuce “blend” is just like, iceberg + a few shreds of carrot. But whatever, it was B1G1. Sometimes you just have to let go and let god.

“Avocado Caesar” came with a dressing that looked like pea soup but tasted like tortilla soup (and nothing like Caesar), some tortilla strips, dehydrated corn kernels and black beans, and a packet of “parmesan cheese”. Okay, I probably won’t buy these again regardless of the deal. But I still have pear gorgonzola and a bacon caesar in my fridge. So you may have to hear me complain about them one more time. Thank you to my paid subscribers for keeping this important work alive.

I made some kind of herb sauce in my new obsession NutriBullet - call it a chimichurri if you want, idc. It had parsley, mint, cilantro, basil, chives, marjoram, a clove of garlic, red chili flakes, white vinegar, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil, and some lemon juice. I’m convinced you can put any combination of things in this machine and it would taste good no matter what.

I’ve previously disparaged quinoa, but it’s possible that my opinion is changing. Stay tuned. I added a shake of cumin to the cooking water just for fun.

I seared the zucchini for a few minutes before adding cubes of extra firm tofu that I had lightly pressed - keeping the heat pretty high and not moving things around too much so neither would break apart. I seasoned them with some salt toward the end - seasoning them at the beginning would make them release moisture, preventing a nice sear. Every once in a while I’m capable of dishing out actual tips. But I have a sneaking suspicion that no one cares?

After everything was cooked through, I poured some of the herb sauce and immediately took it off the heat. I didn’t want it to cook too much and get brown and potentially bitter. I also wanted it to retain sauciness and not let too much water evaporate.

Between the alchemy of the cold salad with the warm everything else, combined with the textures of squishy tofu, crunchy lettuce, creamy dressing, bright herb sauce, the chew of quinoa, the crispy fried onions… it was a shockingly good dinner considering it was comprised mainly of things I thought I didn’t like? I’ll have to revisit and unpack that after I listen to more self help podcasts.

John wasn’t feeling well last night, so he slept through dinner while I ate alone while watching The Squid and The Whale. He’s feeling better today, for those few people who concern themselves with John for some reason.

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Recently, my mom has been clearing through boxes in storage, and found this bracelet that apparently was given to me when I was a baby. We don’t remember from whom. My mom says a lot of different people gave me gifts, I guess. Which leaves me wondering why I don’t currently have any of them?????

Anyway, I bought a bracelet extender since my wrist is slightly bigger now (but still dainty), and the bracelet hasn’t come off since.