I’ve been in town for the past few weeks setting up our new place, so I haven’t had much of a chance to cook. In fact, the only real cooking I’ve been able to do over the past three months was the couple of weeks Mike-the-Septic-Guy was here working on our new septic field. He lives off island and getting lunch was a bit of a challenge for him, so I’d make him a little lunch every day while he was working on our property. During one of our first lunches, I found out that he had been a chef for twenty years in Deep Cove, which both delighted me and inspired me to make some of my favourite vegan creations for him. He even ate my Vegan Guinness Stew with great relish, so I felt meself chuffed as my mum would say.
Anyway, I’m back at Sideways Cottage after my excursion into town, where I mostly ate just tomato and hummus sandwiches and nibbled on tamari almonds from Costco. I had a few lovely meals out though–including an amazing meal at The Red Accordian with Bid and Dana (to celebrate her new job!). We shared a delicious edamame-white-bean hummus and a flatbread with date-onion jam, both of which I want to try to reproduce in the coming weeks.
Today, however, I am attempting to replicate a tofu dip from Chau Veggie Express that Em was raving about, but that I have never actually tasted. As she was telling me the ingredients, she said, “Maybe you should try tasting the dip before you attempt a dupe.” “Pffft,” I said, “…when have I ever let not tasting something get in the way of my making it?!” I still have never tasted Virtuous Pie’s Stranger Wings Pizza, but I make it all the time!
She sent me the list of ingredients and a picture of the dip. She also described the taste as similar to a lemony aioli, so I thought I’d give it a try.
Here’s all you’ll need!
One of the ingredients is shallot oil, which I don’t have and don’t really know where to get, so I decided to saute a shallot in safflower oil (though the original calls for canola) and then blend the whole lot into the dip. It turned out very well–very rich and creamy. The Chau version is called “Tofu Dip,” but I couldn’t bring myself to call mine that because I thought no one would taste it!
Creamy Lemon-Garlic Dip
First, blanch…
- 1 block firm silken tofu
Next, saute…
- 1 shallot, sliced thin
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
in…
- 2 TBS safflower or canola oil
Next, pop into Vitamix or other high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy…
- the blanched tofu
- the sauteed shallots and garlic (along with any residual oil)
- the zest of one lemon
- 2 cloves raw, peeled garlic
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 to 1 tsp sea salt (start with 1/2 tsp and add to taste)
And here’s my mid-afternoon snack! YUM!!
And the song of the day is The Pogues’ “A Rainy Night in Soho” because James has been playing it for the past several days. He especially likes the last two lines….
“You’re the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams”
Sideways Cottage... 