I have been a vegetarian, who on slim occasions ate fish, for almost 4 years.  I recently made the switch to becoming completely Vegan.  No fish, no dairy, no eggs or animal products of any kind.  I made this switch for a number of reasons, which I can discuss in a later post if anyone is really interested in knowing why.

So upon my new journey I have been trying all these great new recipes and I feel like this is the best place to share them! I love cooking.  I grew up in a big Italian family and learning how to cook was something that came so naturally to me.  I loved learning all these great recipes that were passed down for generations and always loved cooking with my Madre.  I hope that I can continue to pass down the traditions and love for cooking.  It is something more then just making the food but also the time spent with your loved ones while cooking or even just while you sit down to enjoy a home cooked meal together.

Making dinner mid week for me usually consists of me throwing together something based off of what we already have.  I think it can be an unnecessary expense to go to the store every night to pick up things to make for dinner.  Plus I am usually so exhausted come mid week that the last thing I care to do is go to the grocery store.  I rarely plan dinner ahead of time, although sometimes I feel like it would make my life a whole lot easier.  When I made this Tofu and Farro dish last night I literally just went into the cupboards to get inspired.  I usually always have canned beans on hand as well as other canned veggies.  I usually get fresh produce on Sundays or Mondays and incorporate that into each meal every week as well.

This Tofu farro dish was so delicious and super easy to make.  I will give you the basis of what I used in the recipe but I never measure anything so I cannot give you exact amounts.  I also tend to throw a little of this and that in spice wise and taste test to see what else it needs.  That is one thing I really do love about cooking.  I know some people were not given the gift of cooking or being creative when it comes to mixing in new flavors so they follow recipes step by step instead.  Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that, but I always find the best dishes end up being my experiments!

Tofu and Farro..work in progress

Finished product!

Here are the main ingredients:

• Extra firm tofu
• pearled farro
• can of diced tomatoes and the juice
• small pinto beans (I think black beans would be awesome too!)
• fresh chives to garnish

As for the spices and flavor, I cooked the farro in water (as per the cooking directions) but mixed in a bunch of dry herbs as well as balsamic vinegar to give it a little something extra.  I also added garlic to the farro while it was cooking.  I then drained the farro slightly after it was al dente.

For the tofu I cut it up into bite sized pieces (this is of course after draining it and letting it sit on a paper town for about 20 minutes to get out most of the moisture).  I then sauteed the tofu in a little bit of olive oil until browned. Once browned I added the beans and tomatoes and cooked it until it was heated up again and simmering.

After that I added the farro to the pan and added any other herbs or spices I felt it needed.

Overall it took me about 30 minutes to make and it is a meal that will last us a couple of nights!

Do you plan out your meals in advance? Have any fun recipes I can try?!

I hope you enjoy 🙂

xoL