Sequestration Meal #507

 

I saw some bulgur in my pantry that needed using, so I set out to find a new-to-me way to prepare it, rather than my default bulgur and mushroom casserole. I learned that in Lebanon, bulgur is often served as a pilaf, with the grains cooked in a tomato paste-infused liquid, so I decided to make that along with some garlic lemon tofu and a favorite zucchini recipe, Zucchini Italiano from Barbara Swain's Cookery for 1 or 2 (1978).

The zucchini was wonderful as always; Barbara directs us to cook a garlic clove in olive oil, then add zucchini, salt, and oregano. When the zucchini is to your desired doneness, one adds Parmesan (here, Violife's version of it) and covers it to steam for a bit to melt the cheese. I've made this both with and without cheese, and it's a pretty great, simple recipe. Plus, it being late fall, we really won't be having much zucchini around here soon, as it will need to give way to winter squashes.

The tofu is from Veggies Save the Day. I have made it before, and it was a good, easy recipe, plus it lends itself to being made ahead, so when I needed to prep something the night before, it was a clear choice. I liked just pulling my baking dish out of the fridge and putting it into a preheated oven to do its thing while I prepped the other stuff.

I used a recipe from Live Eat Learn for the bulgur. I should have trusted my instincts and cooked the grains in broth rather than water; the tomato paste didn't do enough to carry it, and it turned out a bit bland. But I was able to fix that by adding a bit of a leftover ramen seasoning packet (imitation chicken flavor) and garnishing it with some Spanish olives. (The original recipe suggested black olives, which I love, but I'm out of them.)

This was a pretty good, light meal. I am still working on reducing the effort I expend on food, but as far as that goes, this was an improvement over what I do sometimes! Preparing the tofu ahead of time is part of my new experiment with "meal prep," which is not something I've really done before aside from just making enough of things to have leftovers. But I'm trying it out to see if it helps me distribute my work load better. I'll keep you posted.