Summer Eats

Summer's freshest veggies stacked together in between two slices of homemade Rye bread from Little Kelly Cakes, glued together with Crack Sauce...yum!  Can there be anything better in life?  I dare say not!

...Except maybe this creative use of Farmer's Market veggies!

Tofu Peach Kabobs with Rosemary Grits
serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
2 tbsp Shoyu Sauce (soy sauce)
1 tbsp Agave
1 tbsp Peri-peri sauce (or favorite hot sauce)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 peaches
2 small zucchini
2 jalopeno peppers (optional)
~12-24 cherry tomatoes
12 wooden skewers

For the Cheezy Rosemary Grits
1 cup quick cook grits
4 cups water
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Drain tofu and slice in half length-wise creating two skinny squares and lay flat on clean tea towel.  Wrap towel around the two blocks and lay books or heavy plates on top of tofu.  Press tofu for 15-30 minutes. 

In small bowl whisk together Shoyu sauce, olive oil, agave and hot sauce.  Place tofu into plastic storage bag and pour in Shoyu mixture.  Seal bag and place in fridge to marinate for 1 hour or overnight.

While tofu marinates, soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes.

Slice zucchini and peaches into large chunks.  Slice jalopeno peppers if using.  Remove the seeds for less heat.  When tofu is ready, slice each block into 12 pieces (24, 1x1" pieces total)

Assemble kabobs by alternating between zucchini, peaches, peppers, tomato and tofu.  Each skewer will hold up to 2 pieces of each ingredient.  Heat a grill to medium and cook for 5 minutes on each side.  Allow tofu to become brown before turning.

While kabobs are on the grill prepare your Rosemary Grits.  Heat 4 cups water to a rapid boil on stovetop.  Slowly stir in 1 cup grits and whisk together for about a minute.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.  Stir in salt, rosemary and nutritional yeast.  Remove pot from heat and sit for an additional 5 minutes to thicken.

Scoop 1/2 cup Rosemary Grits on center of each plate and top with 2-3 Tofu Peach Kabobs.

Last night Forbes and I enjoyed this refreshing meal with a glass of red wine.  And then we enjoyed the finale of the Bachelorette with another glass.  I was busy Monday night with meetings, so I patiently anxiously waited to watch the finale.  I avoided all forms of social media yesterday to prevent any spoilers!  Unfortunately as Forbes pulled up ABC on the computer the winner was plastered all over the homepage.  Boo!  I didn't see it, but he was forced to watch the finale already knowing who received the final rose. 

Now that my guilty pleasure has finally ended I am hoping to cut my television viewing a bit to focus on new things.  We already canceled our Netflix subscription and without cable you may be wondering how we plan to keep our sanity!  We recently discovered the public library's library of videos!  Already I have the first season to Gossip Girl in cue.  Let the guilty pleasures continue!  But in all truth, it is our goal to cut back on mindless TV and begin spending our time with more wholesome activities. 

My first challenge is to discover what plants are indigenous to North Carolina.  Forbes and I are excited to do some planting this fall and I want to be very mindful about what goes into the ground around our home.  I have assigned myself homework and a time line to keep myself on task!  If you have any expertise in this area I would love to use you as a resource!