Small Bowl #1

Using what I have has taken me into some intriguing new directions. This time, I have chopped cherry tomatoes and cucumber, tofu meatballs in gochujang sauce, okra sauteed with garlic, and some rice.

(I bought Calrose rice. I know what my staples are.)

The tofu meatballs are from this recipe at The Simple Sprinkle. I cut it in half so I could bake the meatballs in my toaster oven, which worked out fine. I then sauced them up with a simple sauce made of gochujang, agave, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Though tofu meatballs won't fool anybody into thinking they're anything but tofu, to me, they were delicious and brought a delightful new texture to the tofu universe.

I had just a tiny bit of okra, so I had to do something with it. I found a recipe at How to Feed a Loon that worked out pretty well as a rough guide. I used a mixture of seasonings rather than adobo, because I don't have adobo. (My spice rack is ridiculous--I tend to buy spices as I use them up, but there are some in there that probably don't need to be kept. This does mean, however, that I can make my own spice blends when needed.) I really liked this, but I think if you weren't an okra person, the slight sliminess might put you off the dish. I've always appreciated okra's bit of gelatinousness, though.

I didn't have a big appetite on this day, nor much energy--heat is cruel--so I put a bit of everything into a little bowl and I was satisfied. That's all I can ask for, really, until we get a break from this nonsense.