RECIPE! Almond-Crusted Tofu with Mixed Greens

MINT SIGNED UP for a handful of free magazine subscriptions almost a year ago. When the "free" period ran out, she cancelled them. The magazines, however, continued to show up at her dad's doorstep. Upon investigating, Mint found no unusual deductions on her credit card, but she also couldn't find any reason she should be still receiving the magazines. And so we've shrugged and put up with random copies of Self and Glamor popping up from time to time.

(Note: this is an entirely different set of confusing circumstances from the ones that have conspired to deliver Sports Illustrated Latino and fliers for Playboy TV en Espanol on my own doorstep.)

The magazines, or at least one of them, were finally put to use this evening. Mint chanced across a recipe that sounded good, and so I was exiled to the living room while she went about creating it. Now, Mint's preference for cooking solo is the result of both a) wanting the meal to be a surprise, and b) due to the fact that I'm a total jerk in the kitchen if I'm not the one cooking, but it ultimately means that I have no pictures of the how-to, which reads something as follows.:

1/4 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade
& Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp freshly-grated orange peel

1 package tofu
1 egg
1 tbsp Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup Kikkoman Panko Bread Crumbs
1/2 almonds, chopped
2-3 tbsp veggie oil
6 cups mixed salad greens
2 oranges, peeled and separated

To make dressing, whisk together teriyaki sauce, olive oil, honey, vinegar, and orange peel. Reserve in bowl. Slice tofu into 1/2-inch cutlets; season with pepper. In shallow bowl, beat egg with teriyaki sauce until well blended. Place flour in a shallow dish; combine bread crumbs in another shallow dish. Dust both sides of tofu with flour, then dip into egg mixture, and finally coat with almond mixture. In 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tbsp veggie oil over medium-high heat. Add tofu and cook 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown, adding oil as needed. Arrange tofu cutlets on mixed greens with orange slices. Serve with orange-teriyaki-honey dressing.

A faithful reinvention!

Examining the magazine photos, you might notice this recipe has been adapted to use tofu instead of chicken. Examine a little bit closer (or, hell, just read the above list of ingredients), and you'll notice this recipe was actually an advertisement for Kikkoman. I'd say they did a pretty good job, since Mint purchased not only the Teriyaki Marinade but also the recommended Kikkoman-brand bread crumbs. Well done, marketing department. Well done. Only, Mint foiled your evil plot with the chicken farmers by switching to tofu! Ha! How does bitter defeat taste, chicken farmers? From over here, I'd say it tastes pretty good.

Mint also purchased one pint of Tofutti vanilla ice cream, which is not an ingredient in almond-crusted tofu, but is most certainly an ingredient in root beer floats. Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention that making said root beer floats was inspired by an A&W commercial. Children of the marketing age, unite! Your root beer floats await! And they're delicious.