Adventures in Vegetarian Cooking: Crispy Blackened Tofu

Kevin is not a fan of tofu.  At all.  I have tried it several times and each time he has remained firm in his dislike.  I decided to give it one more try and followed this recipe because her intro states "[o]ne of the questions I hear most often from readers is wondering how to get their “meat and potatoes” boyfriend/husband/dad/whoever to start eating a more plant-based diet. This, my friends, is your answer."

I started by draining a block of tofu (wrapped it in a clean dishtowel and put it under some heavy books.  The plastic protected the books).

Then I made the spice rub.  I used a fresh garlic clove instead of garlic powder and flour instead of corn starch.  I don't like to buy things I don't regularly use for just one recipe so I always look for substitutes.  I also subbed rosemary for oregano (didn't have any oregano). 

Not pictured is soaking the tofu slices quickly in soy sauce.  Then I fried them in sesame oil.

Served over buttery asparagus and cheesy risotto, I thought it was great.  What did the skeptic think?

Okay! Since he had such a negative association with tofu to start I am going to call that a win.  The spice rub was great.  We'll definitely be using it again. The sausage I made for him on the side...

that got a thumbs up (of course).