Beer, beer, beer!

sing the title, as you would the song girls, girls, girls by Motley Crue,

beer, beer, beer, sound a lot more fun!

So, I am not a fan of beer, never have been, and can assume I probably will not be one in the near future (note, I didn't say never I just probably will not be soon).  Friday night however, before I even started drinking I had a headache (great way to start a drink fest... not), however, my friend's husband had Tylenol in his pocket at the bar (yes I'm serious and oh so thankful)!  Seeing as we were at the bar, and it was far too for people to be drinking water to try and sober up the only beverages near me were alcohol.  It was either I take the Tylenol's with my shot of Grasshopper or I slug it back with some beer.  Well, the closest thing to me was beer, so I grabbed the beer and took the Tylenol.  To my surprise I didn't make a waaaaahhhh disgusted face, I actually sort of licked my lips and savoured the flavour.



The next day as I was sitting on the couch trying to recover from the previous nights endeavors I found myself, big surprise here, looking at blogs.  One of the blogs I was perusing was of course one of my favourites The Edible Perspective.

There it was.  My dinner for the next night!  Yes it contained beer, and no, there wasn't any way on this planet that I was cooking with any form of alcohol on Saturday, regardless of the fact that the alcohol gets cooked out, I could not bare smelling alcohol in the state I was in.  Heck, I feel like an alcoholic and I never even drink, imagine how I'd feel if I did this more often, eek.  I am not a fan of wine, but I absolutely love to cook with wine (not that I've done it much ever since I've started cooking vegan, but I still remember the joy it brought to my lips and body when I would bite into something marinated with alcohol).  When I saw a recipe for grilled beer tofu and then beer soaked fries I knew I had to try it as soon as possible.


The next day I was super excited, as all of us foodies know, once we get our eyes on a recipe, our lips immediately start to get licked and our saliva quickly gets released starting the process of digestion, which then brings us to the question of: when am I going to make this?!  Thankfully my answer was the next day or I'd be dreaming of this dish for days to come...


I had never had grilled tofu before... well, I'd "grilled" tofu on my panini maker before, but this, oh this was something else; it was amazing.  I often get asked, "don't you miss meat?", or when I smell a good barbecue (I'm not going to lie, I love the smell of a nice barbecue, but I wouldn't have mine with meat on the grill), "don't you feel like you denying yourself pleasure?"  To that my answer is a quick, no need to reflect on my answer "no".  There are so many foods that replace my desire for even wanting to consider eating meat.  Once you know how to cook certain foods properly, especially meat replacements, why would I crave meat?  If I want chicken wings I marinate my tofu the way I would chicken wings back in the day.  If I want turkey, I'll marinate it the way my mom would marinate our turkey.  Veal or chicken parmigiana, same thing.  I really don't feel as though I'm missing out, or denying myself these foods because I have some wonderful substitutes.  This tofu is a perfect example of that.

When I first bit into this tofu, I thought it was a little eh, unsatisfactory.  However, the more and more I kept eating it, especially the super-well-grilled-crispy tofu pieces I was in heaven.  It was as if I was eating Thanksgiving turkey with a beer can.  It was wonderful, and truthfully I couldn't stop eating it.  I loved this tofu, and it was perfect for a Sunday afternoon summer barbecue, especially when you topped it with beer fries!  Come on people, come on!  I did mine as sweet potatoes, because well... nutrients that are in sweet potatoes yell out to me far more than regular ol' taters, plus the colour makes your place not look so processed... even when your food is being cooked properly.  Those fries, oohh mama they were good!  It'd been a long time since I'd had "fries", whenever I make my sweet potatoes they are usually cubed, and cooked in the oven alongside of some tofu (which as you can see this was) or chickpeas.  I then made another batch of my "hangover salad" and enjoyed my meal.  I was seriously in heaven, it was fantastic, and would definitely encourage you to try this as soon as you can.

Beer Grilled Tofu


Recipe slightly adapted from here


Ingredients:

• 1/2 can of beer
• 1 tbspminced ginger
• 1/3 cup + 2 tsp ginger terriyaki sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 block, extra firm tofu

Directions:

Mix your ingredients for the sauce together, then add your tofu.  Allow to marinate for 1 1/2 hours. 

Heat your grill to med-high, ~400*. 

Grease your grill with oil.  Place your sliced tofu [~1/4-1/2” thick slices] on the grill and close the lid.  

Now, try your best NOT to touch the tofu for 6-9 minutes.  Knowing when to flip the tofu, really depends on your grill.  You can check on the tofu at 6 minutes, with a large metal spatula.  If it seems like it’s easily lifting, and it’s nice and charred, you’re good to flip.  If it’s sticking, you either didn’t put enough oil on, or you need to let it cook longer.  *When the pieces are nice + charred, they will be easier to flip. 

Carefully scrape under the tofu, and flip over to cook for another 6-9min.  Before closing the lid, pour/brush the leftover marinade onto each slice.  *If they seem to be sticking a bit, before you flip over onto the grate, spray or brush with more oil. 

The longer you cook, the less moisture it will have.  

Beer Soaked Fries

Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients:

• 1 can of beer
• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 - 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425

Scrub potatoes, and cut into wedges, leave the skins on (this makes them crispy, plus this is where a ton of nutrients are hidden).

In a large bowl, soak the cut fries, in 1 can of beer.  Let soak for 15 minutes, tossing 1-2 times.

Drain beer and toss with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper, until well coated.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment [optional, but nice for quick clean up!] and spread the fries, in a single layer on the pan.  Use two pans, if needed as you don’t want them stacked.

Bake for 40-60 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them, tossing 3-4 times.

Add more salt, and pepper to your liking.

What type of foods did you enjoy this weekend?