The last day I was in the office doing my job-job in-person was March 17th — St. Patrick’s Day. After closing down the office indefinitely, I went straight to the grocery store to stock up on a few things and to get food for a St. Patrick’s Day meal. Of course, that included cabbage.
Half a cabbage head remained in my fridge for a few days and I then ran across this recipe. I’ll circle back to this recipe in juuuuusst a moment.
I’m heading back into work-work (as in, physically in the office) tomorrow. It feels weird. I have worn make-up once in the past week and my eye literally rejected it, both burning and turning red. This COVID life has me in my daily uniform: black leggings and an over-sized shirt of some kind. Undoubtedly, without a bra on. Make-up has been reserved for as-needed times, such as telehealth visits with patients and any important audio + visual meetings.
It has been GLORIOUS, honestly. I’ve gained some serious hours back in my life and I’ve used those to exercise and read. A few TV binges, but nothing major. I certainly haven’t run out of want-to-watch shows and series.
The one thing I haven’t gotten a chance to complete, is a scrapbook. My pictures are en route from Amazon and I’ll spend some weekend and evening time capturing some memories of the past few weeks. For me it has gone really fast and while I know life isn’t back to normal-normal, going back into work is certainly a step in the direction of life as I knew it. Of course, it isn’t without some reservations and uncertainty, as well as some fear that I return to work in the physical sense.
So nearly 6 weeks later, and how many times have I cooked cabbage? SIX. That’s more in the past few weeks than previously in all my years combined. I fell in love with cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day this year and this “stir fry” has been my favorite recipe with cabbage to date. It’s way more versatile than I thought and this vegan gem is so, so good with that peanut sauce to bring it all together!
- 1 (14 oz) block extra firm tofu
- olive oil cooking spray
- ¾ tsp salt, divided
- black pepper, to taste
- ½ hed cabbage, cored and roughly chopped
- 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 6 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced or grated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Sambal oelek or Sriracha
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- Drain water from the tofu. Cut tofu width-wise to create 2 thinner slabs of tofu. Gently layer between layered paper towels or a clean kitchen towel, gently pressing out excess water. Cut into ¾-inch cubes and arrange in a single layer on one of the prepared baking sheets. Mist with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Meawhile, place cabbage and broccoli on the second baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper, to taste. Gently toss and arrange in a single layer.
- Once the tofu has baked for 15 minutes, add the sheet pan of vegetables, baking for 15 minutes while tofu bakes an additional 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the peanut sauce by mixing together all ingredients in a bowl or small mason jar.
- Combine the tofu and vegetables in a large bowl; drizze with peanut sauce and gently toss to coat. Sprinkle with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Serve over steamed brown rice or noodles, if desired.*
Weekly Menu: April 26th – May 1st
- Sunday: wraps – BBQ chicken, buffalo, TBD + homemade sweet potato fries
- Monday: bugers + corn on-the-cob
- Tuesday: Teriyaki Salmon Sushi Bowls with potstickers (kids are very into potstickers!)
- Wednesday: Papa Dels or pizza from the freezer + salad OR carry-out
- Thursday: Fish Tacos with Creamy Avocado Dressing
- Friday: Honey Garlic Tofu + broccoli
Be well,
Good luck as head back into your work space. I’m at least a month out from that. But no doubt we’ll fall into our old routines quickly.