Believe it or not, despite my absence from Busy As a Brie for three whole days, I have been cooking up a storm. The truth of the matter is, nothing has been worthy of a post. It irritates me to no end when I get giddy about something like Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bread and then it just turns out to be the weirdest and least satisfying baked bummer. Don’t get me wrong, I will still eat it… just slathered with cream cheese or butter… As if it needed anything else added to it.

Or, I made what I imagined would be epically delicious cornmeal crusted grouper, and I will not lie to you, it should have just stayed a whimsical thought in my food obsessed head. I managed to butcher some perfectly innocent fish.

I’m sharing this because it makes me feel very guilty when someone says “you must never make anything short of delicious.” It’s like I’m lying to them by serving something yummy. Should I confess that for every success there are three disasters? This is what happens when you make up your own baking recipes. You definitely learn that science cannot be screwed with… or at least, not that much.

But THIS is good. It is. I promise.

For the Recipe, click here:

Wild Rice with Parmesan “Croutons” and Stir Fried Veggies

I know, I know. More tofu. But what can I say, I’m on a kick. I’m loving that you can whip up a simple marinade, drop in the tofu, pop it in the refrigerator and forget about it until you are ready to grill. Simple, simple, simple. Paired with crispy rice with spring sweet peas, this little take on Risi e Bisi is a perfectly satisfying lunch.

I also will make you a promise. If you make this recipe, I will share the most perfectly buttery, deliciously gooey chocolate chip cookies with you. They will most likely cancel out any health benefits from this tofu dish, but then again, I am a believer in balance. Nobody wants too much of anything. Right?

For the Recipe, click here:

Balsamic Marinated Tofu with Crispy Risi e Bisi

I had a shocker moment at the grocery store today. I was walking by the vegetarian food section when suddenly, the tofu caught my eye. Let me tell you, normally, I look at things like Tofurkey and snicker. I mean seriously, I think it’s a bit insulting to be a vegetarian and have companies trying to make you feel like you’re eating turkey when your intent is to have nothing to do with turkey in the first place!

However, since I started this blog, I vowed I wouldn’t write anything off. Even things that I have always tip-toed around. For example, I never ate that much Mexican food growing up, so therefore, I don’t normally cook with jalapenos and salsas and Chile rubs, but I have discovered that as long as the cilantro stays happily in the garden, I actually really enjoy fresh Mexican inspired cuisine.

I think tofu is difficult because of the texture. It can feel very weird to eat. But since Ivan surprised me with an amazing new grill pan, I thought an extra firm tofu would benefit from some sexy, seared grill marks. My goal was to treat tofu as tofu, not as some sad second rate “meat.” And I am glad I tried it. With these roasted vegetables, it’s the perfect light lunch. Any doubters will be intrigued enough by the pretty presentation to give it a shot.

For the Recipe, click here:

Grilled, Marinated Tofu with Roasted Vegetables