Clean Slate 2008, I say, and to that end, I’m going 95% pescetarian (and of that, vegetarian 75% of the time), with the remaining 5% percent being devoted to the times when I simply, well, want some goddamn meat in me—chicken (3%), pork (1.5%) and beef (.5%).

It won’t be easy (Goodbye, 212 Bistro’s Cuban sandwich—though their veggie sandwich is just as delicious!) but it will be cheaper ($.99 for tofu versus $5 for meat?) and I’m looking forward to posting more recipes here, for you .227% of District readers who care about such things.

First up: An adaptation of Maryana Vollstedt’s Curried Chicken, Artichoke and Rice Salad, from her Big Book of Easy Suppers (a gift to me from The District’s Kevin Ferguson and Miles Clements, awww). I subbed blackened tofu for the chicken and used brown basmati rice (and a dash of cock sauce—that’s rooster sauce—and LOTS more fresh ground pepper in the dressing). A note about blackened tofu, for the unfamiliar: Make sure to press/drain your tofu first by placing a sheet or two of paper towels on a plate, dropping the tofu block on top, and putting another sheet or two on top of that with something heavy (I use a bowl) on top for weight. Keep it like this for at least (but best more than) an hour. It makes the blackening process possible.

Curried Tofu, Artichoke and Rice Salad
1/2 cup rice, cooked
4 green onions, including some of the green, sliced
1 block tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 inch squares, blackened
1/4 cup diced bell pepper (original recipe calls for red, I used green, and a whole one)
1/4 cup diced celery (a stalk or two)
1 jar (about 6oz) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (reserve 2 tablespoons of marinade for dressing—though you’d be good with just 1, I think. I found it a tad overwhelming against the curry)

Dressing
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used Reduced fat)
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt (I used Greek)
2 tablespoons reserved artichoke marinade (see note above)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoons freshly ground pepper (I used much more of this, but I’d marry ground pepper if Huckabee would let me)

Combine all ingredients with dressing in a bowl and store it in the fridge for a few hours. Serve with beverage of your choice!

Apologies for Blackberry images. Working on this. : [

Tags: FIXER-SUPPER, maryana vollstedt, recipes, tofu, vegetarian