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Tofu In A SoyNutshell:
Banana-Tofu Abundance … A Celebration of Life
by Rachel Clark Caudill, from the May 2006 newsletter
It’s halfway through April and I am yearning to celebrate life, mourn death, and to somehow honor the cycles of life and death. I am aching to remind myself of beauty, delight, joy, and abundance.
Last night at the Co-op, the exuberant sounds of marimba poured into my body and my heart began to smile. My kids watched, wide-eyed, as the soulful, joyful pounding rang clear through their little bodies. A woman who looked familiar—as everyone in the Co-op does—turned to me and said, “That’s happy music.” An apt description! And looking around me at the gathering of my dear friends and community, I could see that the happy music was working its magic, healing sadness, opening hearts back up again, and reminding us all of the thumping, insistent pulse of life!!
Inspired, I resolved to ritualize my own small celebration of life through the execution of my monthly tofu offering. I found exactly the kind of meal that symbolized this for me. It is an abundant, almost raucous, symphony of foods and flavors. It was enough to remind me that life truly is abundant. That life is even in the face of death. That its cycles, rhythms and pace continue, always.
Best of all, in a ritualized salute to life spawned from the sorrow of death, the meal is an honest and pleasant surprise … and relief. This seemingly simple repast reminded me that nourishment is out there—yes, I just had to look. Now, of course, I am deeply yearning to find ways to help those who cannot look for the nourishment they need for themselves. But that’s another topic, for another day.
With thanks to the “Death by Curry” Web site (http://rubymurray.com), and the posted recipe I found called “Banana-Tofu Curry, Deluxe Edition,” I offer you this potent little breath of life.
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 3/4" cubes
1 can coconut milk
3 large or 4 medium bananas, split and cut into chunks
1/4 cup dried shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins
2 Tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 20-oz. can pineapple chunks in their own juice
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 14-oz. can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
(optional) 1 14-oz. can straw mushrooms, drained.
(optional) 1/4 cup cashews
First, make whatever you want to serve with the curry: brown rice, basmati, couscous, or some other creative grain. One of the beauties of this little number is the sheer speed with which it unfolds! When you start the curry, you’ll be done and eating in sheer delight less than 15 minutes later.
Plunk all of the above in a medium sauce pan except the tofu and bananas. Heat to simmer. When you are ready to eat, add the tofu and bananas. Let these simmer for only 5 minutes, unless you love mush (granted, it’s good mush).
Then serve it up, sit back, and feel the pleasant heat and unifying themes of this meal radiate through your body, healing whatever parts of you that may need nourishment.
And, for those of you under 5, you might want to add ketchup.
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