Pictured are the results from the first time we cooked up Bryant Terry’s Roasted Tofu with Rosemary, last summer. It was very tasty, but the marshmallowy look of the roasted tofu blocks made the meal possibly more visually entertaining than it really needed to be. The paprika, fresh rosemary, olive oil and sea salt gave a great flavor, but the roasting gave the tofu a sort of seared plasticky-feeling coating. Ironically, I needed my pointy made-for-eating-flesh incisor teeth, to tear into that coating.

This weekend, we tried it with a different brand of tofu – Edensoy extra firm, I think, which is sold refrigerated – and the results were better  (so much better that we ate them all before I could get a picture of them, to share here). The blocks really crisped up, almost getting the texture of the fried tofu we like at Thai restaurants, and biting into them was far more pleasant. We served this up with another Terry recipe, the Citrus Collards with Raisins. Fantastic meal! This may have been the first time I’ve had collard greens. It’s certainly one of the rare times that I’ve really liked cooked dark thick leafy greens. We both ate a very large serving.

That was meal two, of our two weeks of plant-based cooking at home. Husband and I are unlikely to go completely vegan, but we’re trying it for a couple weeks, with the notable exception of the absolutely delicious brisket at Bill & Michele’s last Saturday, and similar opportunities that are less under our control than our home cooking and dining-out choices.

Why try a plant-based diet? I’ve been reading The China Study, which makes a fairly convincing argument for moving to a more plant-based diet than we currently follow. Not completely convincing, as the author seems to be a victim of the reductionism that he lambasts in the book, and he uses exclamation points far too often. However, Steve and I decided that reducing our animal protein & fat intake, and putting even more plant variety into our diets was worth a try. It could likely improve our nutrition, help him lose a little weight, and improve our chances of fighting off future troubles with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Plus, we love Bryant Terry’s cookbook, and have only made it about halfway through it. Summer and more local vegetables are right around the corner!