Symon Sundays: Braised Tofu and Pickled Green Tomatoes

When I made the decision to cook my way through Live to Cook, it was with the hopes that I would become more confident in cooking and trying meat and seafood. I had honestly, wholeheartedly planned on making short ribs and pork belly, clams and red snapper... but eventually I just couldn't do it. I'm sure Chef Symon wouldn't appreciate my braised tofu in place of his beefy short ribs, but that's what cooking it all about, taking recipes and changing them to suit your personal tastes. I'm sorry, Chef Symon, but I'm not. 

I'm not sorry because this dish was delicious! I had no idea what I was going to do for this week's selection by Joanne because obviously short ribs were out. I was going to just make the pickled green tomatoes, but then I read her description of the delicious sauce and I knew I couldn't skip it. I have to say that while this book hasn't expanded my meat horizons, it has definitely taught me how to pickle just about anything, and for that I'm grateful! I just wish I had known about this recipe earlier in the summer when my dogs knocked millions of green tomatoes off the vines. I just threw them in the compost pile! 

Lucky for me, the temperatures in Florida are still supporting garden growth, and I have 3 tomato plants growing strong! I picked a few green tomatoes off the vines, and got to work on the pickle recipe. Instead of the short ribs, I used savory baked tofu, which is injected with a bit of flavor, and has a much firmer texture. I served this over parmesan polenta and with roasted root vegetables, two ideas I borrow from Joanne! Polenta is like the quick, easy version of mashed potatoes, great as a base for stew-y like dishes.

Thank you so much to my fellow Symon Sunday girls for keeping up with the group while I've been on a blogging hiatus! Please visit Joanne's blog for the recipes, and check out Natashya and Kim's for their take on this dish!