There are countless ways to prepare tofu; Grilled, broiled, baked, sautéed, stir-fried, braised or simmered in soup.  You can simply treat it in the same manor as you would meat.  One big difference between preparing meat and tofu is that tofu definitely needs to be marinated or basted with a sauce to give it flavor.  To help the tofu soak up the marinade or sauce, you need to press the tofu.  Simply slice a block of tofu into about six  ½ inch slices.  Place the slices on a stack of paper towels and then cover with a few more paper towels.  Place a piece of plastic wrap or a baking sheet on top and pile on a couple of books for weight.  This will result in the liquid being pressed out of the tofu.  After 30 minutes to 1 hour place the pressed tofu in a marinade, which it can now soak up.  Pressing tofu gives it a more firm, dense consistency which can be desirable in various recipes.  

I am not including the recipe for my Margarita Tofu at this time since it was an experiment I was not totally happy with but I’ll keep working on it!

My side dish of basmati rice with coconut, carrot and mint was quite tasty and I am happy to pass on the recipe.

Basmati Rice, Coconut, Carrot and Mint

1 cup basmati rice
2 cups water, salted
grape-seed oil
½ cup carrots, julienne
¼ cup coconut (unsweetened)
1 bunch mint leaves, chopped

There are two ways to prepare this recipe;

1) Cook the rice until just under done, remove from heat, keep covered and let sit 10 - 15 minutes. Heat a saute pan and add about 1 T. grape-seed oil. Saute the basmati rice for a minute then add the carrots and coconut and saute until heated through.  Season for taste with salt, stir in the mint and serve.

2) Cook the rice until tender.  Remove from heat and stir in the carrots and coconut, season for taste with salt, cover and let steam for a couple of minutes until the carrots are heated through.  Stir in the mint and serve.

Note: You can used diced, blanched carrots in place of the julienne.