So I finally got that chance tonight! Wild Garden makes three marinades (Persian, Shawara, and Turkish) and three prepared, heat-and-serve pilafs (Bulgur, Couscous, and Rice & Lentil). But the Rice & Lentil flavor isn't vegan, so steer clear of that one. Both the marinades and pilafs come in shelf-staple pouches.
The marinades are great for tofu, tempeh, and seitan, so I used the Turkish one last night to marinate some firm tofu. I staked it onto kabob sticks this morning before work and baked for 40 minutes on 350 degrees while I was getting ready for work. Then I stuck it in the fridge so I'd have a quick dinner ready when I got home from work! The marinade combines tomatoes, cumin, and garlic and is loaded with flavor. The resulting Turkish Tofu Kabobs were the right level of spicy, tangy, and salty.
These marinades would be ideal for anyone who just doesn't know what to do with tofu. The tofu takes on so much flavor, and it literally takes two seconds to dump a bag of marinade over the cubes and stick them in the fridge to let them soak up all the flavor. These kabobs would also be excellent on the grill, but baking is an easy way to fix it and forget it (except don't forget to take them out of the oven so they don't burn!).
As a side dish, I used the Bulgar Pilaf to make a Bulgur Salad using one of the recipes Wild Garden included in the care package.
These pilafs are already cooked. All you do is dump them in a bowl and microwave if you want them hot. For this salad, I didn't even need to heat! I just dumped out the contents of the package, fluffed it with a fork, and then added chopped red and green bell pepper (half of each), parsley, the juice of one lemon, and a couple tablespoons of chopped red onion.
The pilaf is already seasoned with sundried tomatoes and Mediterranean herbs, so no additional spice is necessary. The recipe called for 1/4th cup of olive oil, but I left all of the oil out because there is already a little oil in the pilaf, so that seemed excessive to me. Also, I love how the grains are perfectly cooked to retain the right level of tenderness and chewiness.
I served this meal with some Roasted Cauliflower made in my new air fryer, but I'll post more on that in a future air fryer post!
That bulgur salad looks delicious! I love grain and veggie salads so much, I might have to make one this weekend!!
ReplyDeleteI'm anxiously awaiting your Air fryer post. I just got mine recently and have had so much fun trying it out.
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