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Project Pantry Purpose

Marinated Tofu, Rice Pudding, Samin

By April 21, 202013 Comments

I told Andy that yesterday in the kitchen felt like the fabled story of painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Every time I cooked something and cleaned it up, someone was right behind me dirtying up another one hundred dishes. It was mostly my fault, though. I had a bunch of things to test and retest for my book — a batch of veggie Okonomiyaki, a shredded carrot and chickpea salad, a blender sauce, another vegan Caesar dressing that Abby used in her new favorite lunch, i.e. crispy chickpeas + Caesar dressing + anything else. (Above.) In between I had some work calls and listened to that new podcast from the Times, Rabbit Hole. Phoebe and I are both already addicted. Here are some pantry and project ideas for your Tuesday…

Pantry: Marinated Tofu

I think maybe 90% of the texts I get from my friend Robin have something to do with tofu. (Doesn’t everyone have a friend like that?) Well, a few weeks ago, she texted me some tofu marinade ideas and mentioned she had luck with a coconut-curry number. So on Sunday morning, in a measuring cup, I whisked together about 1/2 cup coconut milk, a little olive oil (a neutral oil would be better), 1 tablespoon curry powder, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, a squeeze of lime, and a few drops of sambal oelek (you can us Sriracha) then poured the whole thing into a ziploc and added my extra firm tofu slices. Later that night, I baked the pieces in a 425°F degree oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then, when it was time to eat, drizzled a little chili oil on top and served with rice and sautéed bok choy. And there you have it, my friends: Sunday dinner, which I’d argue would be just as welcome on a weeknight when you just can’t do chicken.

Project: Coconut Rice Pudding

This is an old recipe, and I want to say it originated with Mark Bittman but I can’t remember. We used top our bowls with butter-fried pineapple chunks, but any fruit — blueberries, strawberries — will do. (And yes, if you don’t want to do the coconut version, replace with the same amount of whole milk.)

2 cups whole milk
2 cups light coconut milk
1/4 cup long-grain rice
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped pineapple
heavy cream for drizzling (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the milk, coconut milk, rice, sugar and salt in a medium-large buttered casserole or baking dish. Bake uncovered two hours, stirring the mixture every half hour. Add the vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and lemon zest and mix. Bake the pudding without stirring a half hour longer or until the rice is very tender.

When ready to serve, heat butter in a cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Fry pineapple until golden brown, stirring every few minutes.

Serve rice pudding in bowls topped with pineapple and a drizzle of cream if desired.

Purpose: Samin’s Podcast

How lovable is Samin Nosrat? I haven’t listened to her new podcast yet, but if it’s anything like her hour on The Splendid Table (“Samin Answers Your Cooking Questions“) it is extremely promising. And probably just the thing when you don’t think you’re strong enough for The Daily. Now excuse me while I go make her tahdig.

Stay safe, stay home.

The goal of the Project, Pantry, Purpose series to keep us sane, distracted, and connected. Please continue to comment below with suggestions for recipes, projects (for kids and adults), good deeds, donation ideas, stories, movies, games, puzzles. Or just tell me how you’re doing, what your daily routine is, and especially how DALS can help you or people in your community. You can also email me directly at jenny@dinneralovestory.com.

13 Comments

  • Avatar Megan says:

    Thank you for all these suggestions – I have been following throughout the weeks. One questions I do have is what are your favorite snacks during quarantine? I would like to keep more healthy foods around, but it’s hard when you have kids and they love the crackers in all shapes and sizes. Any snack ideas – ones to buy and ones to make and all that are simple – would be awesome!

    • Avatar Mom of Boys says:

      I’ve discovered that if I cut up the fruit in the house and leave it on a table, it disappears. No one will actively eat an apple, but if it is cut up and left out, everyone eats it. If the blueberries are washed and left out in a small bowl, everyone eats that too!

      Our other snack is popcorn–done the old fashioned way. Olive oil, lots of salt heated. Add corn and that is it!

  • Avatar Kaleigh says:

    Hi Jenny!

    The recipe for rice pudding looks great! If I wanted to make it without whole milk (we have a lactose sensitivity) could I use 4 cups of coconut milk instead?

  • Alyssa says:

    Hey Jenny- love the PPP posts! Please keep them coming 🙂
    I was wondering what app you use to listen to podcasts? I just default to the Apple Podcasts one, but have heard some others might be better. Somehow I feel the layout could be more organized!
    Thanks and love the blog!
    Alyssa

  • Alix says:

    Love the sound of that tofu. Quick question on the rice pudding – is it really 1/4cup of rice to 4 cups of milk? That seems like not very much rice at all to me. My husband loves rice pudding and I’d love to give this a go. Thanks.

    • Jenny Jenny says:

      I meant to write in the recipe note that it sounds like too little rice — and it trips us up every time — but it’s actually the correct amount.

  • Avatar Rachel says:

    Samin’s new podcast is SUPER entertaining. Highly recommend!

  • Avatar Maclean Nash says:

    Thank you for sharing the marinated tofu recipe! I happened to have all the ingredients and I loved how quickly it came together and how different the flavours were compared to my other tofu recipes! This is going in the rolodex!

    Stay safe and thanks for putting a smile on my face every.day. !

  • Avatar kath says:

    only a 1/4 cup of rice for 4 cups of both milks?

  • Avatar Robin says:

    Just catching up on a week’s worth of posts and wanted to say thank you for all you’ve done to highlight the good being done in the world and inspiring all of us who stand blindly in front of the pantry/frig asking ourselves “what could I possibly make?!” Tonight I’m going to try the coconut curry tofu- one daughter is bound to love it… the other will likely resort to making a bowl of oatmeal for herself the second night in a row….

  • Avatar Helen says:

    Hello, how long do I bake the Tofu for? Thanks!

  • Avatar Helen says:

    Hello. First time cooking tofu. How long do I bake it for? Thank you

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