Caesar Pesto Tofu

I was talking the other day to someone about how appliances just don’t seem to last as long as they used to.

Since we moved into our house a little over ten years ago, I’ve had to replace the AC unit, hot water heater, washer and dryer, have the refrigerator repaired three times, the oven once, and  don’t get me started on silly things like hair dryers and coffee machine.

Meanwhile, my parents had appliances that belonged to my father’s mother.  Which were still perfectly fine when they eventually sold the house after they retired.  I would have loved to take some of them, but the problem was that they were in the basement and I would rather walk through a graveyard, at midnight, on Halloween, breaking a mirror while walking under a ladder to avoid a black cat.

Seriously, our basement was scarier than anything Stephen King, M. Night Shyamalan and Edgar Allen Poe could ever had come up with on their best days.

For starters, our basement hadn’t been updated since the house was built sometime in the 1800’s. Curiously, it wasn’t in the design plan in those days to have a home gym, media room, play room , yoga studio, home office, or spare guest room in the basement.  I have no idea what those long ago people were thinking. A big, empty space with a dirt/concrete floor and no forced air heating?   No shiplap? No built-ins?  It was definitely a cry for help. Even the Property Brothers would have thrown their hands up in the air in total and utter defeat.

Instead, they seem to have used it for  storing gardening tools, preserves, coal and based on too many times watching Arsenic and Old Lace as a youth, probably the bodies of several older gentlemen looking to rent a room.

My father was really the only one who ventured down there on a semi-regular basis since the rest of us were afraid of spiders, rodents and zombies.  And even he only went down to dig something out of the permafrost that lined his mother’s freezer or fix a blown fuse.  In fact, I’m pretty sure I only  ever made it as far as the top step before I chickened out and bolted back upstairs to dive under my bed while casting a salt circle and clutching my crucifix.

But those old appliances were impervious to ghosts, demons and swamp creatures that I am still certain lurked down there.  They are probably still there and still working,  but I’m not sure if the new owner has ever been brave enough to venture down and find out.  At least not without a string of garlic, bucket of holy water and at minimum, one of the ghostbusters.

Ingredients for dressing:

• 1 cup parmesan (vegan) cheese.
• 1 cup almond milk
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tablespoon capers
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small blender and puree till smooth and creamy.  Refrigerate till ready to use.

Ingredients for salad:

• 2-3 heads of romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 2 cups corn
• 1/2 lb. extra firm tofu marinated in pesto
• hemp seeds

Directions:

1. Toss the tofu in a few spoonfuls of arrowroot or tapioca starch and cook in air fryer for 10 minutes at 400. (Alternatively, you can cook in a 400 oven for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through).
2. While the tofu is cooking, saute the corn and tomato in a large frying pan (the oil from the tomatoes should be enough to keep it from sticking, but add a tiny bit more if you need to),   Remove from pan and keep warm.
3. Cut the heads of romaine lengthwise and place cut side down in a hot pan (you may need to add a spray of oil here to keep them from sticking and burning) until they are golden.  Remove and place cut side up on a plate.
4. Top the lettuce with the corn and tomato mixture, then add the tofu.  Pour the dressing over and sprinkle with the hemp seeds.  Serve the avocado on top or on the side.

Enjoy!