I’m not vegan or a vegetarian.

I don’t follow a raw food diet.

I was raised on a farm, I know what happens to animals when they are killed for meat. I’m okay with it. And while I usually tend to lean towards chicken for meat, I do love me a steak or cheeseburger. And I mean love. Love.

But I like to dabble. I wander around the grocery store (shopping takes me hours, literally) and am drawn to items that I want to try out and that are healthy. I am always willing to try something new if it’s going to help me make a meal that is good for me.

Enter tofu.

I bought some a couple of months ago, but a series of unfortunate events (I ended up not being home/I forgot about it in the back of the fridge) resulted in me throwing it out. So, I decided to pick up some more the last time I went grocery shopping. And I added it to my meal last night.

On the menu? Tofu fried rice with butternut squash and edamame (on my awful ’80s plate).

I pressed the tofu (which was medium firmness) for about 20 minutes, using everything from my fruit bowl to a can of frozen orange juice and my toaster as weight.

Then I sliced about a third of it up, and fried it in some extra virgin olive oil until crispy. Once it was kind of brown and crunchy looking, I added brown long grain rice (which, alone, reminds me of something you’d eat if you were stranded on the island on Survivor). I needed to constantly stir the dish in the frying pan to avoid sticking, but it smelled amazing. 

Once the rice was crispy and close to being done, I added some butternut squash that I had microwaved and some wonderfully green shelled edamame. So much color!

And there you have it. My first experiment with tofu, and I liked it! There were so many textures rolling around in my mouth … the soft squash … the crispy rice and tofu … and I always like how edamame *pops* when you bite into it! And it hardly took any time at all – I will make this again

Do you ever eat tofu? What else should I make with the leftovers?!