Ingredients:
Firm tofu, cubed
Indian curry sauce
marinated garlic cloves
Tomatoes
3 Eggs

Cut the tofu into cubes and dice five garlic cloves. Fry in a pan in olive oil over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Add chopped grape or cherry tomatoes. Stir in half a jar of curry sauce and simmer. Lower the heat and create spaces in the sauce mixture for the eggs. Crack three raw eggs into the spaces. Cover with a lid so the steam cooks the eggs. Once the egg whites are fully cooked, sprinkle with pepper or spices and serve. Serves three.

Thanks to our readers for recommending tofu produced by The Bridge of Middletown, CT. I've tried it twice now and am pleased to report it is delicious and as satisfying to me as the Ithaca Soy tofu I wrote about a couple weeks ago. And best of all, it's readily available at Edge of the Woods in New Haven, and Mrs. Green's market near where I live in Fairfield.

I also found a new and exciting way to enjoy tofu: grilled. On Friday evening, my (one and only) vegan friend came over for dinner and we decided to enjoy the nice weather and grill on our patio. I brought out the usual veggie burgers and corn, but also decided to try grilling up some tofu. I cut the Bridge tofu into thick slices, and pressed it under a heavy pot to drain out some of the water. Then I simply coated the grill top with cooking spray and put the tofu on.

It was delicious! I served it with a peanut dipping sauce, which was nice, but the texture of the tofu--crispy on the outside, soft on the inside--and the smoky flavor was perfect on its own. Next time I'll try marinating the tofu in a sauce before I grill it. Got any suggestions? This is one food I plan to enjoy all summer long.

While visiting family in Ithaca, NY over the weekend, I was introduced to handcrafted tofu made by Ithaca Soy. And now, I'm in love.

Before this weekend, I thought tofu was tofu. It's pretty bland, got a decent texture, and mostly useful for adding protein to whatever you're cooking. But this stuff is so good that when I was preparing a stir fry with it last night, I kept popping it into my mouth uncooked and unadorned.

It's much denser and chewier than other tofu I've had. It reminds me a lot of paneer cheese used in Indian cooking.

The only problem is, it doesn't seem to be available anywhere around here. And given the 6 hours it took us to drive home from Ithaca yesterday, I don't plan to make regular trips there to buy this product. But I'm craving it.

Does anyone have a favorite handcrafted tofu that's locally available and can fill the void that, before this weekend, I didn't know existed in my life?

On a side note, Ithaca is something of a vegan's paradise. We visited the most expansive farmer's market I've ever seen and ate brunch at Macro Mama's, a delicious all-vegan food stand. We had dinner at the famous Moosewood Restaurant (it did not disappoint). Even the local bagel store had several vegan sandwiches to choose from. And the well-known grocery store Wegman's had a large prepared food section complete with a vegetarian bar, as well as a huge selection of weird produce and the aforementioned Ithaca soy tofu.

Happy snowy Friday everyone!

I'm pleased to report that I've made it through the first week (well, the first work week) of the Great Vegan Experiment, and am feeling really good about my decision to do this! For the most part, I've been satisfied with what I've been eating, and I'm excited to go grocery shopping again this weekend and try some new dishes. My sister-in-law gave me this cookbook, Vegan Fire & Spice, which has lots of tasty looking recipes. I'm feeling more and more like I'm going to stick with this after the three-week trial period is up.

There were only a couple hiccups during the week. Of the two big dishes I made Sunday night to last me all week, one of them I couldn't stomach. Turns out I'd eaten one too many lentils in the past few weeks, and need a break from them. Helen was kind enough to take the lentils off my hands so they didn't go to waste. That meant I had to find something else to eat for the rest of the week. Luckily, I found a wonderful recipe for spicy marinated tofu, for which I already had all the ingredients in the house. The experience reinforced for me the need to plan ahead and have plenty of vegan food options.

My resolve was tested early in the week when I attended an evening event for work, and was pretty hungry after not eating most of my dinner (the aforementioned lentils). Two types of homemade cake were being served, which some kind folks repeatedly offered to me. It was probably the most difficult thing I did this week to say, "No thank you." (As I'm writing this, someone just brought a box of Dunkin Donuts munchkins to the office. Alas, I'm tested again.)

I also learned this week that I like soy milk--something I've never cared for in the past--at least in the form of iced lattes from Starbucks. That was reassuring, as lattes were one of the things I was most sad to leave behind.

I shied away from things like vegan cheese, yogurt, mayo and other "mock" foods this week, but I think I may try some next week. Any favorites?

My favorite thing about this week is that I've felt good about everything I put in my mouth. It's all pretty much real, healthy food (except maybe the Oreos). I'm not sure I'm ready to declare that I have more energy, but I'm feeling good. I've also really enjoyed having Helen around to talk to about all this. Being a vegan can be very isolating, and Helen has been enormously supportive and helpful. Congratulations to her on completing week 2 as a vegan!

Something that I initially didn't think would be a concern, but now I'm starting to worry about a little, is how much soy I'm consuming. Three soy milk lattes and two servings of tofu so far this week. I've realized that I really like tofu and would like to rely on it more as a protein source, but I've seen warnings that it can increase the risk of certain cancers. Does anyone know about the health benefits/dangers of soy, or is the jury still out?

If anyone is interesting in joining Helen and me in our journey, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program officially starts March 1. I rediscovered their Web site a few days ago, forgetting that Helen had previously blogged about it, and it has a lot of good resources.

To our readers: are there any questions you have for us, or a subject you'd like us to write about?

Happy weekend!