Before I gave birth, I stocked my deep freezer with tins and tins full of dinner. I made enchiladas, lasagnas, casseroles, mechshes, muffins, stocks, and more. One thing I did not have, though, was fresh veggies and salads. And after a few weeks of eating comfort food, well, I really just wanted a salad. Good thing we have friends and family who, despite seeing the contents of my freezer, rang my doorbell with freshly cooked dinners and tins of ready-to-bake ones, as well as side salads and some fruit for dessert. They must know how much food a nursing mother can actually consume, because I ate it all up.
And now that my freezer emptied (don’t worry, I refilled it), and the visitors stopped coming over with food (though they still love to coo at the baby, because let’s face it, she’s cute), I am trying to recreate some of my favorite “other people” recipes. Because sometimes you get bored of the things you think of, and you admit that that person just had an amazing dinner idea!
Zeke’s cousin came over with a huge tub of what she called tofu greek salad, which was basically a salad with a greek salad type dressing, chopped veggies, and instead of feta cheese (which I don’t like!), she had cubes of tofu! Genius!
I loved this salad, even though I picked out the tomatoes, because it could be a main dish. It’s filling for lunch and can be served with something very simple, like this tart for dinner. It could also be served as a salad with a meat meal, a big plus.
When I recreated this dish, I made sure to make the tofu very tasty (because really, some people say they don’t like tofu, but they just don’t do it right) by draining it overnight and marinating it ALL day. I chopped the veggies to be about the same size as the tofu, and made sure my lettuce was made into neat little ribbons. My salad turned out beautifully! Even the tofu haters like it.
Note: I left out the red onions because Zeke doesn’t like raw onions. If you add them, slice about 1/4 of a red onion into thin strips and soak in ice cold water for about 10 minutes. Drain, then add to the salad.
Tofu Greek Salad, inspired by Margie:
Ingredients:
- 1 block tofu, cut into 4 slices and drained overnight
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- Black pepper
For the salad:
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 1 English seedless cucumber, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 head romaine lettuce, sliced into thin ribbons
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
- 1/2 red onion, sliced super thin and soaked in ice cold water for 10 minutes
Directions:
1. After draining the tofu, cut into small cubes, about 1/2 inch each. Add to small bowl.
2. Make the dressing: combine all ingredients and whisk.
3. Pour half the dressing over the tofu and place in fridge. Reserve the rest of the dressing.
4. Combine tofu and salad ingredients.
5. Right before serving, dressing, pour dressing over the top, a little at a time. You might have extra. Save that for another day.
6. Eat and enjoy!
