As an experiment of sorts, one of my 101 things to do in 1001 days (goals I set and began to work on this year instead of a resolution – with a due date of September 2011) was, in one year, to celebrate the major religious holidays of the world’s three main religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. First up was Lent, and the tradition of giving up something you really like for 40 days (46, technically –- the Catholics who’ve counted the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday realize there are more than 40 days in lent and believe Sundays do not count. Others haven’t counted.) There was even a terrible movie that many people may or may not remember, 40 Days and 40 Nights, starring Josh Hartnet about a guy who gives up sex for that period of time.

What did I give up for Lent?

Meat.

Mostly as an excuse to plow through the recipes in Vegan with a Vengeance, but also because I thought that perhaps giving up meat would help with my weight loss. Because honestly, between you and me, I’m a kinda chubby girl, mostly due to eating a lot of crap — especially sweets. Writing this blog is half to keep up with recipes so I don’t lose them, but half is also to force me to give up the student’s diet of pizza, ramen, pizza, microwave meals that I’ve been following. If I have to blog my cooking, then I have to actually cook, and if I actually have to cook — and show a large audience what I’m cooking — I’m less likely to just throw a frozen bag meal in a pan for 30 minutes.

I mean, I COULD do that, but who’d want to read a blog about that. So I cook, but usually it’s still semi-homemade using recipes out of the Wegman’s quarterly magazine. Something had to give–and since food-based resolutions the hallmark of my family’s annual lent celebration, it made the most sense to try to give up something that’d force me to cook more complex and healthier dishes.

So, from now until 4/12/09 — it’s all vegetarian, all the time.

I’ve always been intimidated by tofu. Even after the success of the Brooklyn Pad Thai (which I remade recently just to verify its awesomeness) I’m still a bit leery of the spongey white stuff. I’ve wanted to do something with tofu that didn’t involve frying it — you know, that whole healthier thing — but was so scared of what would happen when I tried just broiling or grilling.  I mean, look at the photo on the cover of the book. Do those triangles of criss-crossed grill marks make you go “Oooh! NOM!” Because that’s tofu.

I was so wrong about not frying it first and will never make that mistake again. Even after two hours of pressing, that extra-spongy texture, like you’re eating cubes of mozzarella cheese? Yup, baked tofu has that; fried tofu does not. It was like eating the cheese cubes in palak panir or panir masala — and without appropriate curry, that’s not so good. So, going forward, it’s always thin slices fried to a crispy finish.

But was the sauce good? Oh YES! And the coconut rice? Delish! And it was just as good when microwaved for lunch the next day.

BBQ Pomegranate Tofu

FOR THE TOFU

• 1 lb tofu, drained, pressed, and sliced into eigths
• 2 tbsps peanut oil
• 1 tbsp tamari

FOR THE BBQ SAUCE

• 1 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 cup shallots, minced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. Chinese fice-spice powder
• 2 c. vegetable broth
• A few dashes of black pepper
• 1 6-oz can of tomato paste
• 2 tbsp all-natural peanut butter (creamy)
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 1/2 c. pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 c. pomegranate seeds

Preheat oven to 350. In a 9×13″ baking pan, turn the gofu in the peanut oil and tamari to coat on both sides. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the slices and bake for 15 minutes more. Meanwhile, prepare for the sauce.

In a saucepan over medium heat, saute the shallots in the peanut oil for about 5 minutes, add the garlic and five-spice powder, and saute 1 minute more. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the pomegranate seeds) and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

At this point, your tofu should be done baking. Smother the tofu with the BBQ sauce, return to the oven, and bake 15 minutes more. Remove from oven. Serve with Coconut Rice and garnish with the pomegranate seeds

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