Lemony Rice and Tofu

It's Monday! Time for another Meatless Mondays from A to Z recipe.  It's the third week, so letter C is for Capers!

I have used capers in cooking before, but I wanted to try a new recipe.  Something that would be good for dinner.  I googled some ideas online and came across a recipe that called for capers, tofu, and asparagus.  Yum!  I made quite a few changes (like omitting the hot spices and peppers and adding brown rice and extra tofu) to make this more of a hearty main meal.

This recipe is adapted from Vegetarian Times:

Ingredients:

• 1 package extra firm tofu
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 1b. asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• juice from one lemon
• 2 tbsp capers
• salt and pepper to taste
• brown rice

Directions:

1. Cook brown rice according to directions on package. (I made a large batch so I would have leftovers.)  Alternatively, you can heat pre-cooked brown rice in the microwave.
2. Prepare tofu by cutting into bite sized cubes and marinating for a few hours (I used the same ingredients as I did for this Baked Tempeh). 
3. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Bake for 20 minutes, then flip the cubes as best as you can with a spatula.  Continue to bake for 10 more minutes.
4. While the tofu is baking, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Saute the onion for 3 to 4 minutes, or until soft.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
5. Increase heat to medium-high.  Add asparagus, and cook for 3 to four minutes, or until the asparagus is bright green and crispy, stirring constantly.
6. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, capers, salt, and pepper.
7. Gently toss in tofu cubes and stir until everything is well mixed.
8. Grab a bowl of brown rice, add some of the tofu mixture, and serve warm. 

For easier serving, combine your rice with the tofu mixture before serving.  Or if you want, you could omit the rice and just eat the tofu mixture.  Enjoy!

Before adding brown rice!

And after mixing with brown rice!