Tofu Steaks Smothered in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Our house is starting to show signs of age.  Door squeak, floors creak, thinks break down.

A few weeks ago, it was an outlet with a GFI that kept popping for no reason and a toilet that stopped working.

The outlet was easy.  Guy came, replaced the outlet and I could dry my hair once again without having to worry about the house burning down or electrocuting myself.  Either way, it was not a good time for my hair till I got it fixed.

The toilet was, however, another matter.

“I had the same kind of toilets at home and decided they weren’t so great, so I replaced them,” the guy informed us after looking at the offending  appliance.

“So, you are saying we need to replace the toilet?” I asked. “But it’s barely been used since it’s for the guest room.”

“Doesn’t matter.” he said. “I don’t like this brand, and I think you should replace it.”

Oh, well, if you don’t like it, then we should totally just trash a perfectly good toilet and spend the money to buy a new one.  When did you say you were moving in again?  Because we want to make sure you have a toilet you like when you are living here. Anything else we can do to make your stay more comfortable?  Perhaps we should replace our TV with an 86″, smart TV and get you one of those recliners with the cooler built in so you don’t have to get up to get a drink.  Seriously????

“Can’t you fix it?” I prompted.

“Well, I can, but I don’t have the part and I’d have to order it.”

And you wouldn’t have to order the toilet?  You maybe have an extra in your back pocket?

“I’m okay with that,” I told him, “because I really don’t want to have to replace a barely used toilet if it can be fixed.”

“Oh.  Well.  Okay. If that’s what you want to do……”he trailed off hopefully. “But I replaced all of mine since I just found this brand to be over-rated.”

You do know that we are talking about a toilet? I mean, it’s a pretty basic device.  We are not talking about a Sub-zero refrigerator or a Wolf oven or a home theater system.  There are no buttons or settings and the object of most people who will use this is to get in and out of the room fairly quickly, not experience a carnival ride.

“Good for you; I’m sure you are happy with your new choice, but I’m still going to go with the replacement part and not the whole thing.” I could see Tim out of the corner of my eye trying to warn the guy that he was treading on dangerous ground.

“I’m just saying, ” he gave it one last feeble try before finally bowing to the inevitable and accepting defeat.

I think he had the last laugh though because as it turns out, we probably could have had the toilet faster since the part is apparently floating somewhere off the coast of California for the foreseeable future.  Maybe we should have just gone with an outhouse.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into 8 slices
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup broth (either vegetable or mushroom)
• dried parsley
• 4 cups sliced white button mushrooms
• 1 cup diced sweet onion
• 1/2 cup white wine (or broth)
• 6 cloves roasted garlic
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1-2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)–optional.  This will make the sauce very, very thick.

Directions:

1. Combine the lemon juice, garlic powder olive oil and 1/2 cup broth.  Pour over tofu and marinate at least a few hours, but overnight is better, turning occasionally.
2. Preheat the oven to 400.  Remove the tofu from the broth and sprinkle with a little dried parsley.  Bake for 40 -50 minutes, (depending on how firm and chewy you like it)  turning over halfway through and sprinkling it with more parsley on the second side.
3. While the tofu is baking, Saute the mushrooms and onion in a splash of olive oil till the onions are soft and the mushrooms have released their juices.
4. Add the 1/2 cup of wine or broth to the mixture and bring to a boil, stirring frequently until the liquid is reduced by at least 1/2.  Turn the mixture down to low heats so that it doesn’t continue to cook.  You only want to keep it warm.
5. Remove half off the mixture from the pan and add the roasted garlic to it.  Puree till smooth and creamy.  Add this back to the pan and stir to combine.
6. Stir the sour cream (let it come to room temperature while you are cooking the mushroom and onions) with the arrowroot and add it to the mushroom/onion mixture, stirring to combine.  Gently continue to heat it.
7. When the tofu is done, plate it and spoon the creamy mushroom sauce over it.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!