I am so done with Easter.
And we had such a nice day on Sunday too. As predicted, we had brunch at my mom's, followed by an egg hunt in the backyard. And then a long walk for most and a long nap for some. We played on the beach and then had dinner at my dad's. There was an egg hunt at his house too. With lots more candy.
There were actually four egg hunts with loads of candy over the course of the week. And it should have been five - we missed one.
Did you read that article on sugar in the New York Times magazine a couple weeks ago? I may have mentioned it at the park surrounded by Desmond's classmates who were happily scarfing down the spilled contents of plastic eggs scattered across picnic blankets at the park. Every single mom and dad for blankets around may have gone quiet at the mention of the word toxin. I may not be particularly socially savvy. Also, the (toxic) jelly beans may have been from me.
We had enough. Way too much actually. And I am now ready to banish all leftover Easter candy from our house, and get back to our normal way of eating. I am going to have to work hard though to entice these boys away from their memories of intense sugar. (On Sunday night, sleeping over at my mom's house, Felix woke up in the middle of the night to demand more cake - did I mention there was also a birthday celebration in the middle of all those jelly bean-filled plastic eggs?)
So, here's a pretty healthy recipe that I know they love. I do up a whole block of tofu in this fashion and the leftovers keep well in the fridge. Re-crisped in the oven, they're maybe even better the next day. They travel well for dinner on the go if necessary and they meet the super important dippable requirement for a successful kid dinner. If you serve them with your house's favorite roasted vegetable (asparagus here at the moment) and oven fries, then the whole dinner cooks itself in the oven while you do the dishes or coax your kids down from their sugar high.
Making cornflake crumbs.
Crunchy Baked Tofu Sticks
- 1 pound super firm tofu, marinated overnight or at least 4 hours
- 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup flax meal
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups corn flakes, smashed to crumbs
- 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- pinch of black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Get out 3 medium bowls for dipping tofu. In one, whisk together the flour and seasonings. In the second whisk together the flax meal and water. And in the third, mix together the rest of the ingredients with a fork.
If you haven't already,cut the marinated tofu into sticks. Then dip each stick in the seasoned flour, tossing around to coat. From there, dunk it in the goopy flax (give that flax another stir just before your first dunk). And finally press the tofu into the crumbs.
Place all your coated tofu sticks on a cookie sheet. Heat the oven to 375, while you let your tofu just hang out for a bit to get everything nice and stuck together. When the oven is hot, bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and crunchy.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
