Orzo Curry with Baked Tofu

Ingredients

2 cups orzo pasta

6 cups water

1/2 pkg of firm tofu

2 cups sugar snap peas

1 cup green beans

1/2 cup corn

1 leek-sliced

2 cloves garlic-finely minced

1 inch piece of ginger-finely minced

2 Tbs sesame oil

2 tsp shoyu

3 Tbs red curry paste

2 cups coconut milk

1/2 tsp cardamon

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 cup dried coconut flakes

1/2 cup cilantro-chopped

Marinade

1 inch piece of ginger-finely minced

1 Tbs sesame oil

2 tsp shoyu

1/2 tsp cardamon

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp brown sugar

Directions

1. Press tofu for 15-30 minutes by wrapping it in a towel, placing it in a bowl, and putting a can of beans/veggies on top to weigh it down slightly

2. Bring water to boil for orzo and cook for 8 minutes

3. Cut pressed tofu into 4 slabs

4. Mix marinade together and coat tofu

5. Bake tofu on baking sheet at 350 degrees for 30 minutes-flipping halfway

6. During the last minute the orzo is cooking, add the sugar snap peas and green beans

7. After they have cooked for a minute drain, pour a little sesame oil on pasta and set aside

8. Meanwhile, cook leeks in sesame oil for 2 minutes, then add garlic and ginger and cook for another minute

9. Add the red curry paste and remaining spices-cook and stir for 1 minute

10. Whisk in coconut milk and shoyu-cook for 5 minutes

11. Add coconut flakes, corn and orzo mixture to the curry sauce

12. Mix thoroughly and top with cilantro

13. Assemble the baked tofu on plate with the orzo curry

I know this may look like a lot of ingredients, but it is completely worth it! Once you start cooking more you will start building up your spice cupboard and then it won't seem so overwhelming. I often just look in my cupboard for what seems to go with the dish and I start adding spices. It's fun to play around with spices because you can come up with some exciting new inventions. This was the first time I baked tofu and it is now my favorite way to eat tofu! With the marinade the tofu had great flavor and by pressing and baking the tofu it also had a great texture. I just got the sugar snap peas and the green beans at the farmer's market so they were exceptionally good! I only cooked them for a minute because I didn't want to ruin their fresh flavor. I also thought it would be fun to make orzo instead of rice. I thought it was a good switch because the orzo was much lighter, which was also great because then I could eat more:)