Balsamic Asparagus Quinoa Salad with Baked Tofu

This is totally the Vegan Green Power Bowl.  Let us count the green ingredients: spinach, cucumber, asparagus and avocado. Balsamic baked tofu and cooked quinoa round this out as a hearty salad. I drizzled some mosto cotto overtop as a quasi-dressing. With its sweetness, it balanced the rest of the bowl perfectly.

Posts will be a bit sporadic over the next few weeks. Rob and I are moving across town and work has been keeping me hopping, so I have barely had enough time to squeeze in cooking, let alone blogging.

While I realize it is likely too late to grow anything at our new place (heck, we don’t even have a garden dug out yet), I am still dreaming of what to plant. I am going to try to my hardest to get an asparagus plant going. They are perennials and can live for over 50 years. It takes a few years until they are productive, so we will be patient. We plan to settle for down for many years. For the last five years, Rob and I have moved every.single.year. It will be nice to unpack our boxes for the last time.

Which vegetable do you like the most in your garden? Do you have any asparagus?

 

I am sharing this with Meat Free Mondays.

Vegan Protein Bomb Salad (aka Balsamic Asparagus Quinoa Salad with Baked Tofu)

1 lb asparagus, washed, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed well
1.75 cups water
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp TJ’s no salt seasoning
4-6 cups baby spinach
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 avocado, sliced
mosto cotto, to drizzle, if desired

1. Begin by making your baked tofu (see below). It can be made in advance.

2. Next, prepare your asparagus for roasting. Preheat the oven to 400F. Arrange the asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with the oil. Stir to coat the asparagus with the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes. Shake the pan to turn the asparagus and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender and roasted.

3. Meanwhile, prepare your quinoa: Bring water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add quinoa and nutritional yeast and no-salt seasoning. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Keep covered for an additional 5 minutes to steam. Set aside.

4. Plate spinach, then top with the cooked quinoa, roasted asparagus, cucumber, avocado and balsamic baked tofu. Drizzle with mosto cotto, if desired.

Balsamic Baked Tofu
Adapted from Plant-Powered Families

12 oz extra-firm tofu, patted dry and cut into small cubes
2.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. In a 9 x 13″ baking dish lined with a silpat, stir together the vinegar, tamari and maple syrup. Add the tofu and stir to combine.

3. Bake, uncovered, for 20-23 minutes, stirring once. Remove from the oven to allow to cool.

Serves 4.