Sesame Baked tofu with garden peas

The second-best thing about pea time is the eating. That says more about me than it does about the peas. For their own part, they are freaking delicious. Fresh off the vine or after a quick steam or saute, they are the best green candy you'll ever taste. But the best part, for me, is the picking. It feels the way I imagine communion must feel to happy Catholics-- whole and splendid. It routinely fills me with the sort of gratitude that makes my eyes well up, for no apparent cause other than these plants, these pea plants of mine are just giving giving giving. The selflessness of plants makes me tear up. Okay, but you already knew I was crazy, didn't you?

Anyhow, I'm actually not here to wax poetic about my magnaminous pea plants. I'm here to wax poetic about how good they tasted later, drizzled with sesame oil and tossed with baked tofu and brown rice. This dish I stole from The Moosewood Kitchen Garden, a wonderful cookbook no home gardener or avid farmers-market shopper should be without.

And for the tofu-phobes, I'm sure this would work splendidly with chicken. Maybe try drumsticks? Just a thought.

Sesame Baked Tofu with Garden Peas

Tofu:
1 cake extra firm tofu
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil

1/3 cup whole almonds

Dressing:
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp freshly grated ginger

2 cups (or more) fresh snap peas, steamed until crisp-tender
2 scallions, sliced thinly (for garnish)

2 cups cooked brown rice

Place the tofu between two plates. Weight the top plate with something heavy, and let it press for half an hour. Come back, drain off the expressed liquid, and cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the tofu in a 9 x 13 baking dish with the oils and soy sauce. Bake for half an hour, turning once every ten minutes, until the tofu is beginning to brown at the edges.

Meanwhile, steam the peas, cook the rice, and combine the dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar. Spread the almonds on their own separate baking sheet, and slide them into the oven for five minutes, while you're cooking the tofu.

When the tofu and the rice are done, throw everything in with the tofu (see above), and mix well. Makes four servings.