RECIPES - delicious grilled tofu dinner

grilled tofu with its typical marks

At our organic vegetarian (and most of the time vegan) dinner table or table d'hôtes" we serve seasonal regional dishes with local produce and products, something we are very proud of and enjoy offering to our guests from allover the world.

Because exploring the many facets of vegetarianism (and more and more veganism) is so important to us we like preparing meals either with a twist and/or with ingredients most people have heard of but either never tried or never managed to create in their own kitchen. Enter tofu!

How many times we have heard that our guests had either tried making tofu themselves at home but didn't like it or had not tried it before for fear of its possible bland taste. And how many times did we hear, during or after the dinner, that they had never thought tofu could taste this good!

grilled tofu with couscous and seasonal vegetables

It all starts with the best ingredients, and in this case with the best tofu. Fresh is best. And because we are located away from shops and conurbation we prefer to source regionally as well. We found organic tofu at our favorite organic store in Manosque, La Nature et Vous, a truly local store run by Agnes and her very friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable staff of 5, from the local producer Tossolia in upper Provence, near Sault, about 1 hour from Manosque. This is the only kind - fresh tofu from the cooler section - which tastes nice, absorbs the flavors of a marinade, and can pass as tofu.

Here is the recipe for grilled tofu as served under the mulberry tree at La Vudèle or in our cozy farmhouse kitchen, always prepared on our rustic gas stove using a Le Creusset cast-iron grill pan:

1. drain the tofu thoroughly for at least half an hour
2. cut the tofu in even slices, to ensure even cooking
3. blend a marinade with organic toasted sesame oil, organic grapeseed oil and some organic soy sauce
4. coat tofu with the marinade and allow to infuse for at least 4 hours
5. frequently reapply marinade to ensure even coating
6. heat the grill pan and apply an even layer of organic grapeseed oil
7. once oil is hot place your tofu slices on the pan and cook on each side for at least 5 minutes 

The slices will come out with the typical grill marks sans the toxic aspects of a charcoal BBQ
Serve with freshly steamed couscous infused with fennel seeds, garnished with fresh mint

Sautée sliced onions and garlic, add fresh spinach or Swiss chard
Sprinkle freshly ground linseed for Omega-3 over the couscous

Prepare a sauce of homemade organic peanut butter, organic oat milk, organic sesame oil, a splash of your favorite red wine, rice vinegar, agave syrup and freshly sliced ginger

One of our guests wrote in our guest book: "thanks for the best tofu ever". Thank you Michal from Gdansk!

And please, you all, let us know how you go on with your own tofu cooking experience back home!

Wishing you bon appetit!

 

 

life on a farm - WWOFing in the Drome Provencal

How to spend a week in the hot Provence summer

or
WWOOFing on a goats farm

The second week of August - a very hot time of year in the Var - we set off to the Drome Provencal, somewhere one hour's drive from the nearest exit of the autoroute (Loriol), in search for cooler temperatures and an interesting experience of helping out at a farm. Through WWOOF (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) we had come across a small biological farm which produces its own vegetables and goats cheese! La Ferme du Pescher is nestled in the middle of a long valley, a 5 km drive on a forest road.

We were welcomed by Florence, who along with her husband Olivier (Olaf), are the founders of this assocation, which includes Florence as the cheese maker, Olaf the goat farmer, Olivier and Dany, the vegetable farmers and Nicolas, the future chicken farmer.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jim.stalknecht/FermeDuPescher?authkey=Gv1sRgCNqGzuSN76fBdA&feat=directlink

So we spent a week helping the different agriculteurs with their daily chores: gathering tomatoes, courgettes, green peppers, cantaloupes (yummy!), carrots and whatever was in season, to be sold at markets or at a small co-op store near Montelimar.



Jim helped out at the fromagerie and after 3 days was given the full responsibility, to make the cheeses in the morning and turn in the evening, so that they would be ready the following day.








Claudia worked every morning with one of the two vegetable farmers in gathering food for the various outlets, like farmer's market or shop.

The way it works is that we got free lodging in a big caravan, away from the other guests who pay to stay in yurtes, tipis or chalets; we also got free food which meant that we would go off with our little basket and search the fields for ingredients for delicious meals, fresh from the garden! What a delight, to be able to make ratatouille the way it was intended to be. A green salad with tomatoes, garlic and onions, straight from Mother Earth. To eat goats cheese fresh from the fromagerie.


It was a wonderful experience, to be able to help on such a small farm, to be included in the daily life and find out about people's motivation to live such a life style: away from the stress of most people's everyday lifes, to live by the moon calendar as much as possible and treat the world kindly, to learn from the experiences of others and to meet people who are willing to share them with you.

Back in the Provence we look back onto this week with a smile on our face!

Claudia & Jim