tofu

This mock eel is perfect for Meatless Monday. To impart a delicate, sealike flavor, the chefs mixed dried seaweed into the tofu mixture that formed the eel "flesh." That brininess is reinforced by the trip of nori that serves as the eel "skin." The sweet soy sauce glaze further echoes the real deal. Serve this as a snack or present it atop a big, deep bowl of hot rice for a vegan unagi donburi. 

I skipped Meatless Monday yesterday. There, I said it. There was a lot of sausage and steak on that grill and it was a holiday and I could provide more excuses but I'd just like to dive right into how I'm making up for it. Thankfully, today's sushi craving translates seamlessly into inari-zushi, my favorite new rice-stuffed vegetarian dish. Sorry, grape leaves.

Ok, so it's not bacon-bacon, per se. But if you're of the school of thought that all these smoked, cured, generally processed nitrate-tastic meats are probably not the greatest for you, try swapping in smoked tofu now and then. You've heard that tofu, while relatively flavorless on its own, is great at absorbing other flavors. Smoke permeates pretty deeply into tough, dense meats, making them succulent and tender. Just imagine what it could do to tofu.