Asian Tofu, Baby Bok Choy, and Mashed Potatoes

I'm proud of being able to make good tofu. It's simple, really, but there's a pretty steep learning curve and a lot of people - even a lot of restaurants - never really figure it out. I feel really confident about this, confident enough to serve tofu to omnivores who have their doubts. (I know you can't wait to visit me, Hillary.) Would you like some tips? WELL, HERE YOU GO.

• Use the firmest tofu you can find. Trader Joe's extra-firm (in the white container with the red letters) is the best I've found. If you can't get that kind, be sure to press it for a good half hour. If you use Trader Joe's, there's no need for pressing.
• Slice the tofu into 8 equal pieces and marinate, marinate, marinate. It doesn't really matter what the marinade is - just something tasty. I like to marinate it for most of the day but probably even an hour would be okay, as long as you're also planning to use the marinade in the cooking process.
• Put the marinated slices in a hot, nonstick pan coated with oil. Pour over some of the marinade. And then LET IT SIT THERE AND DO NOT TOUCH IT. This is so key. For at least 5 minutes and probably longer, but it depends on how hot your pan is and how confident you are that you aren't going to burn it. But seriously, I have never burned tofu and I've let it sit there a long long time before. Sometimes I like to let it fry for a while before adding any marinade at all. If you do that, you can let it cook longer because the marinade makes it more likely to burn. At least, that's my instinctive feeling.
• After a while flip it over. (Don't flip if the bottom side isn't starting to get nice and browned.) Pour in some more marinade. Then let it sit there again so the other side starts to cook.
• After each side is to the partially cooked stage, you can start flipping more often and pouring more marinade over if you want, to ensure even cooking and nice flavor. I usually cook it down so that the marinade is a sticky glaze, almost.
• Then you take it out of the pan and serve it with (or over) some kind of carb that will absorb some of the flavors.

So tonight I made some sweetish Asian tofu with a side of sauteed baby bok choy (topped with shallots and black sesame seed) and mashed potatoes. Totally delicious.

And then we ate this monstrosity for dessert. I made basic brownies yesterday but added 1 tsp of mint extract. They are insanely good. So we've been making sundaes with them - adding vanilla coconut milk ice cream, banana, and chocolate sauce.

Yeah. So now I'm going for a run.