I’ve been enjoying the grilled tofu lately. It’s such an awesome and easy way to prepare tofu, so much less complicated than pan-fried tofu, which I find takes a certain amount of finesse (and oil) to make the tofu crispy and delicious. But this grilled tofu thing is a no brainer – why did it take me so long to figure this out?

Vegetarians might scoff at my use of “weird” and “tasteless” to describe tofu but come on veggies, admit it – tofu took some getting used to. And you don’t see vegetarians hunkering into a block of tofu like you would an apple. Why? Because it tastes worse than air on its own.

The key to tasty grilled tofu is the marinade. Today, I made my tofu marinade at lunchtime, then grilled the tofu for dinner. I used Heidi’s recipe for Cumin-Spiked Tofu, whose marinade called for yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, garam masala, lemon juice and lots of garlic. The recipe produced a TON of marinade, so I used the extra on some skewered bell pepper, onion and lemon. The combination of the grilled veggies and the tofu was superb. The tofu was actually very mild in flavor on its own, but the grilled red onion really took it to a new level.

Tim pointed out that the yogurt marinade is similar to what Turkish restaurants use on their lamb. For this reason, meat-eaters might find this dish to be “faking it” a bit. But there are other ways to grill tofu. I recently had great success with Book of Yum’s grilled tofu recipe which uses a maple syrup, soy, sesame oil, ginger and garlic recipe.

I’ve also made some delicious kebabs using a chipotle marinade from Vegetarian Times.

Here are a few other untested recipes that might inspire you:

• Grilled Tofu Sandwich with Cherry Tomatoes and Fresh Basil – I love grilled tofu in sandwiches, and this sounds heavenly.
• Grilled Tofu with Mango and Chilli-Crushed Potatoes – a simple 3-ingredient marinade and a sweet and sour lime marinade.
• Soba Noodles with Fresh Vegetables and Grilled Tofu – I love Japanese food! She uses a grill-pan to grill the tofu, but you could also do it on a normal grill or broiler.
• Cumin-Grilled Tofu with Papaya Salsa – Cumin again, this time with a fruity salsa.
• Grilled Marinated Tofu – Marinated in tamari, mirin, cloves, oregano, marjoram and garlic, she swears its “the best grilled tofu I’ve ever had.”

Finally, before you proceed, check out About.com’s Tofu Grilling Tips for some more advice.

Of course, there was more to my day than simply grilled tofu and recipe surfing. I had a job interview, worked, cycled, swam and had a fabulous lunch with Tim at home. Just to show you what you can do with simple ingredients and less than twenty minutes of time, check out Tim’s fabulous lunch:

Now, on to my less visually appealing but equally delicious day of food and cycling! This is where I really like including my exercise with the food diary, just to demonstrate why cycle commuting is so bad-ass for fitness. I clocked 20-miles yesterday just dealing with the day’s activities (plus a fraction of a mile to the curb and back when a big stupid van knocked me off my bike on Kingsland Road – I’m fine!). And guess what, it took less time than public transport or driving would and it was way more enjoyable. The only downside I see is looking like a phosphorescent dork-wad:

• Morning Tea: Lemon and Honey
• Yoga: Another short session just to warm the boy up for a plunge in the pool.
• Swim: I’m amazed by how sore my shoulders are from doing yoga again. It’s rad. I had a short swim, again, taking all this exercise stuff real easy while I recover from my various injuries. Did about twenty minutes of freestyle and backstroke. Felt great to be back in the water.
• Breakfast: Bircher Muesli with Rooibos Tea. Enjoyed a bit of Probability and Statistics with my breakfast (Open University interview prep)
• Cycle: ~8.8 miles to Camden and back for Open University interview – I may be an associate lecturer in stats next year, fingers crossed!
• Lunch: Leftover indian and a random raita. Dal, rice, sauteed kale with paprika, and raita. While lunch heated up I prepped a cumin-spiked tofu marinade. Using greek yogurt, cumin and lemon, I thought it’d make a nice raita. I was right – a few cilantro leaves, some diced cucumber and raita was born! It was so good with the dal, which was spicier than usual.
• Cycle: ~12 miles roundtrip to South London for client meeting and social media measurement brainstorming. Got knocked o
  ff my bike by a reversing van on the way in. All’s well ‘cept a pedal graze on my left shin. Seems dressing like a total dork does not ensure visibility!
• Dinner: Cumin-spiked grilled tofu with grilled veggies, crunchy salad and brown rice. The combo of the tofu and grilled veggies was superb. The salad was simple: cucumber, tomato, carrot and cilantro, finely diced, with lemon and olive oil.