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In true scatterbrained style, I'd like to talk about lettuce, butter and tofu today. Oh my!

First up, would you just look at that beautiful pot of lettuce? I bought that on the Roanoke Farmer's Market today from farmer Mark Woods. It contains some Red Sails, some Black Seeded Simpson and some Grand Rapids lettuce. All for $6. And it's already in need of some good thinning, so I'll probably be having a lovely salad sometime this weekend.

I opted for the lettuce pot to save space in my tiny garden patch. It's supposed to last all summer long if I take good care of it. We'll see...

Next up, we've been talking tofu for a couple of days now, and that's why I received a nice e-mail from Roanoker Hope Trachtenberg-Fifer. As Hope puts it, "in our family of six, 50% are vegetarians...  so we operate a pretty diversified kitchen!" Hope is also the mother of my co-worker, Jordan Fifer, who works in Roanoke.com.

Hope was kind enough to send along a few of her favorite recipes involving tofu. Below the jump, you'll find an Indian-style recipe for tofu with spinach sauce (very much like the Indian dish palak paneer) as well as THREE different recipes for vegan cheesecake. If you try them out, let me know what you think!

And finally, on to butter. This is just the tiniest of items, but I thought it was such a useful tip that I had to pass it along. How many of us have been about to bake something when we realize the butter, which is supposed to be softened, is hard as a rock? Usually, I try to put it on the warmest place on top of the oven while the oven preheats, but I generally end up melting it some. The microwave is no better.

Over at Simply Recipes, they offer this awesome tip: Place the butter between two large sheets of wax paper and roll it out to about 1/8-inch thickness with a rolling pin, just as you would do a pie crust. Then quickly use it, because once it gets mashed out thinly like that, it can get melty and too soft.

Whether you're eating lettuce, tofu OR butter, have a great weekend!

“Indian” Tofu Cubes with Spinach Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds spinach
12 oz. firm or extra-firm tofu
2 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 dried chilies
2 Tbsp. garam masala
Salt to taste
1/2 cup Tofutti Sour Supreme
1 1/2 cups plain almond milk

Method:

1. Trim and wash spinach; do not dry. Chop leaves into very small pieces.
2. Cut tofu in half horizontally, and wrap in paper towels. Press under a couple of heavy plates.
3. Put oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. A minute later, add ginger, garlic and chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic begins to color. Stir in garam masala and a large pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.
4. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until it wilts. Add Tofutti Sour Supreme and a cup of almond milk. Pick out chilies and discard.
Cook mixture over medium-high heat; liquid in spinach will boil off.
5. When mixture is nearly dry, cut tofu into half-inch pieces and incorporate. When tofu is hot, add remaining almond milk and cook for another minute or two, stirring.
6. Adjust seasoning and serve.

Variation:
Creamy spinach sauce: Purée cooked mixture with 1/2 cup remaining almond milk. Add squeeze of lime juice. Serve over grilled vegetables, lentils, rice, etc.

- Adapted from Mark Bittman, The New York Times

Vegan Tofu Cheesecake Recipe

You won’t believe that this easy (and yummy!) blender tofu cheesecake recipe is cholesterol-free and packed full of healthy soy protein. You could serve with fresh fruit or a fruit sauce. Another idea is to use a pre-made chocolate crust and drizzle the top with chocolate syrup or fudge. This recipe is a tasty way to add more soy to your diet.

Ingredients:

1 container Tofutti brand cream cheese alternative
12 oz. or one package silken tofu
1/3 cup soy milk
1/3 cup corn starch
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. maple syrup (optional)
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 tsp. egg replacer
2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 pre-made pie crust

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix the egg replacer with the water in a small bowl until smooth and add to blender. Blend together all ingredients, except for oil and crust at medium speed until smooth.

Vegan Cheesecake

3 tubs Tofutti "Better than cream cheese," plain
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup flour
1 ready-made pie crust

Mix the "cream cheese," lemon juice, vanilla, and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Once smooth, fold in the flour, mixing well. Pour into pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top just starts to turn brown. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with desired topping and serve.

Amazing Vegan Cheesecake

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

Crust:
16 vegan graham crackers
1/4 cup margarine
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon flour

Filling:
16 oz. (2 tubs) Tofutti cream cheese
1/3 cup raw sugar or fructose
4 EnerG egg substitute eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Juice from one lemon (optional)

Directions:

Crust:  Crush crackers and press into spring form pan

Filling:  Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy.  Pour on top of crust.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until set.

Serves: about 8

Preparation time: about 15 min.