Pineapple Rice

Either you like or dislike using pineapple in your savory dishes. Wouldn't you agree? I used to LOVE ham and pineapple pizza, but I'm not eating ham these days. Other than that, I rarely use pineapple in anything other than a smoothie or a fruit salad. Recently, though, I saw a recipe for a pineapple rice and I decided to give it a try, with a few changes and additions. Much to my surprise, everyone at the dinner table ate it heartily! Especially me! My guys drizzled hot sauce over it. We decided it was good cold, room temperature, or heated up -- that's versatile! And see how pretty it turned out with all the yellow colors. I served mine with a simple baked tofu. You can find that recipe here on the blog.

:)

Here's what you need:
4 C cooked rice
1 fresh pineapple, cut in big chunks
1 small orange pepper, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 small red pepper, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 C red onion, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
6 green onions, white and green parts, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 C frozen corn
1 t salt, or to taste
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t dried coriander
1/4 - 1/2 t cayenne pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T tomato paste
1/2 C water for sauteing
1 C roasted, salted whole cashews

Here's what you do:
Saute the peppers, onions, corn, seasonings, tomato paste, garlic in the water until soft. Add sauteed veg to pineapple and rice. Mix well. Garnish with cashews. It's as easy as that!

Basic Baked Tofu

Super easy and nutritious and perfect for a quick weeknight meal. There is no long marinating time needed for this method. This tofu is great served as is, or chilled and tossed in a salad the next day. It would be great in a sandwich also.

It's more about the method than the ingredients. Of course you can cut the recipe in half or double it for a larger crowd. 2 pounds works well for 4 servings.

2 pounds firm tofu, cut into quarters the long way.
1/2 C soy sauce
zest and juice from one big lemon
1/4 corn oil

Make the slash marks on the tofu, cutting rather deep so the juice gets down in there.
Mix the marinade and spoon over the tofu, allowing it to drip down in the slices.

Bake in a shallow baking dish at 400 degrees for at least 45 minutes, checking every so often and spooning more marinade in the cracks. I actually transferred the tofu onto a parchment lined baking sheet when the soy mixture started to evaporate - I did not want my tofu to burn.

It's nice and chewy - and surprisingly not too lemony!