Baked Tofu & Cumin Tahini Dressing

Happy Thursday, or Friday for me! And after this week, I need a weekend of fun and a change of scenery. Today at work was nonstop handling a huge workload and trying to tie up loose ends to take tomorrow off. I didn’t even get time to flip through my race pictures from Sunday’s mud run, not a great way to start relaxing time off! After such a day of chaos, spending time in the kitchen creating is therapy for me and tonight my cravings were all over the place. I was thinking hummus, maybe baked tofu (a la Averie) and a huge salad – but hummus is too heavy with tofu. So I compromised creating a hummus-like dressing on the lighter side to coat my salad.

I used to be a dressing dipper with neat little bowls of dressing on the side of my salad for light dabbing. Not anymore! Especially since most raw dressings are vegetable-based and so much better tasting, there’s no guilt in creating a gooey mess of a salad. And this one was very hummus like with the tangy tahini flavors and mellow creaminess from the zucchini and carrots.

For the tofu, I threw together a quick sauce of rice vinegar, soy sauce, a splash of agave nectar and toasted sesame oil to dredge the tofu slices in.

I then baked the slices on a greased baking sheet at 400 degrees for 25 minutes to add a crispy plank path of tofu next to my salad.

I really liked the texture and flavor of baked tofu, the outer layer almost had the flavor and texture of being deep fried. And the insides like firm chicken strips perhaps. I can see where this would be a great recipe for kids, they made a fun finger food. And during dinner, we were treated to this amazing sunset.

I’m glad to put this insanely busy day behind and move into a super fun long weekend!