Okay so my brain has been devoured by facebook.. I keep looking for the 'like' button.

If you've ever eaten in a chinese restaurant you've probably eaten tofu. It's a base ingredient taking the flavor of other ingredients.
Actually I truly like tofu - so I eat it fairly simply - cold with ginger, garlic and soy sauce, in soups and stir fries. I have little experience blending it into baked goods though.

You might try looking for a recipe for a vegetarian Tom Yum Soup. - nice with whatever spring greens you have. I find it very easy to substitute the ingredients and still come up with something delicious. For example lemon or lime can be used instead of lemon grass. BTW I sometimes make a version of this soup with noodles and a poached egg - full circle. :+)

Soft tofu will disintegrate if you so much as look at it hard. I'd probably put it in a baked good or blend it into sauce.

I use a firmer tofu for these and don't really use a recipe so found this one online to post. If you are careful, you might be able to use your soft tofu for these, they are yummy! Since you might not want to use whole eggs, you could just substitute a couple of egg whites or eggbeaters. I don't always have panko, so have used whole grain cereal flakes (something that is not sweet - I use Weetabix), crushed, or bread crumbs, but panko is best.

Crispy Baked Tofu Fries with Sriracha Ketchup (makes 2-3 servings; total cost per serving: $1.25)

To ensure you have the crispiest fries possible, be sure to blot out as much moisture from the tofu as you possibly can. Too much moisture = soggy fries, and we don’t want that!

Ingredients
1 8 oz. block of extra firm tofu
1 c panko crumbs
1/4 t sea salt
1/4 t granulated garlic
1/8 t ground cayenne pepper (optional, for your super spicy food lovers)
1 egg, lightly beaten

For the Sriracha Ketchup
1/2 c ketchup
2 T Sriracha sauce (give or take a few drops)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Prepare the Sriracha ketchup by mixing the ingredients together until completely combined. Check for flavoring and adjust according to taste. Set aside.

2. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or cooking spray and set aside. Cut the tofu into “fries” of about 1/2″ thick (unless you want them thicker, which is just fine). Carefully wrap the tofu fries in a couple of paper towels, then set a plate, pan or cutting board on top to weigh them down. Allow the tofu to sit like that for about 10-15 minutes, until most of the moisture is absorbed into the paper towels. Unwrap and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the panko crumbs, salt and garlic until well combined. Set up your “assembly line” with the egg mixture at the beginning, followed by the panko mixture. Dip the tofu sticks in the egg mixture then transfer to the panko crumbs, coating the fries on all sides until completely covered. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the tofu.

4. Bake the fries for about 10 minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy. Allow to cool for a few minutes before handling. Serve with sriracha ketchup and enjoy!

Here is a link that might be useful: Baked tofu fries...from Poor Girl Eats Well blog

If I were to use it in a baked good or a sauce, what am I replacing? Do I use it to replace fats? Sour cream? I am totally clueless about how it behaves.

Lpink on the other thread (vegan mayonnaise), said she uses soft tofu for dips and spreads. How? Anyone have recipes to share?

Here is a link that might be useful: Serious Eats vegan mayonnaise thread

Hmmm, I have read in the past that it's best in cream pies, like pumpkin or chocolate pie. I might search out those recipes.
I probably just throw it out though. Or try a little bit in a smoothie.

Soft tofu goes okay in soups and stir fries. Needs to be handled carefully and added near the end.

Someone brought some kind of chocolate mousse pie made with tofu to a party recently. It got rave reviews.

As far as dips - I would use it as the thickener - add whatever you like. I've made a dip with tahini/peanut butter and lemon, garlic, cumin, olive oil....

Here's an actual recipe.
Make a Tofu spread.
Sautee some garlic in olive oil, and mix into some mayo with spices (cumin, coriander, garam masala, salt, pepper, etc.), minced celery, onion, and the tofu. Also add some powdered seaweed (dulce) and yeast. Works with medium tofu, too.
This spread is great on a toasted bagel with a slice of tomato.

I add soft tofu into quiches. It is hardly noticeable. I beat it with the eggs (in an almost about equal to the eggs) and milk and pour it in. I usually make crustless quiches.

Eileen

Not tonight, BF and I are having a campfire. We are saying a sad farewell to my beloved Japanese Maple that went from healthy and beautiful to dead as a doornob in less than six months. It got some kind of fungus. But tomorrow if I have time I will post a couple of recipes. I have one for that chocolate cream pie with tofu that I brought once to a work picnic and everyone liked it, even the tofu-adverse. Also a lowfat quiche that uses tofu.

I use soft tofu to replace half of the mayo in spinach dip. Just use your regular recipe, use half tofu and half mayo and sour cream, for the flavor. You'll never miss the extra fat!
Could also probably mix half and half with ricotta for lasagne.
Honestly I'd try the vegan mayo, you might like it! Unless you are a die hard regular mayo fan, in which case you might like the chocolate "cream" pie better!

You should be able to sub 1/4 cup pureed tofu for 1 egg. Or just google for whatever you want to make. I'm linking a recipe for banana bread. You could scale it up and make it as muffins if you want to use the whole package of tofu.

Here is a link that might be useful: Banana bread

OK, here's the deal with soft tofu, (if your inspiration for using it is to cut down on saturated fat in recipes). You can use it to create any creamy type application, but bear in mind that tofu will not carry and enhance the flavor components the way cream will. So to compensate, tofu dips, desserts and sauces have to be "spiced up" more than maybe you would do usually. Frankly, this is not a problem for me, I usually love the "spicier" versions of things anyway. Besides being lower in saturated fat than animal based products, whole soy products have a lot of phytoestrogens in them, which have many health benefits in addition to being lower in fat. Also bear in mind that although it is lower in saturated fat, tofu is not extra low in overall fat, or low calorie, so use in moderation like all things. And of course some folks are allergic to soy so can't get any benefits. Some of the allergies can be attributed to the genetic modification (to include herbicide resistence), that is becomeing ubiquitous with soy, so seek out organic, non-gmo soy sources.

I couldn't find my tofu chocolate pie recipe. I eat desserts so sparingly that this would not be the kind of thing I would make very often, unless I was going to some kind of party. Otherwise it would languish and get soggy in my fridge, and hog scarce space. However, while trying to find the recipe, I Googled soft tofu and got gazillions of great sounding recipes. Once of my easy peasy favorite things to do with soft tofu is to make tofu pudding tarts. Mori Nu makes various pudding mixes you can combine with soft tofu--like lemon, vanilla and chocolate. If you can't get Mori Nu mixes in your local health food grocery, you could order them online, or just Google for a recipe, there are gads of them out there. In fact, I am linking to one particularly interesting site I found while searching for the pie recipe. I buy those little phyllo cups, fill them with a dollop of the pudding, a dollop of my homeade preserves, and a sprinkling of sliced almonds. Very cute and very easy. But they don't keep, the phyllo gets soggy if you let them sit around too long, so I only make these for parties. Also tons easier than making a custard pudding tart.

OK, so with a little Internet sleuthing, I found the recipe I made. But I also found out that unlike back in the 90's when I subscribed to "Vegetarian Times" where the recipe came from, gads more folks are cooking with tofu so there are so many more options!

Note: I got this from a blog called "Dewey's Treehouse." I cannot find the real name of the blog's author, but she gives credit for the recipe to Jennifer McLain, from the January 1994 issue of Vegetarian Times. They have a feature called "Recipe Redux" where they pare down someone's favorite high fat recipe. I got a lot of great recipes from that column! The notes are from the blog author, not me. If the recipe ends up with weird symbols, that's from my cutting and pasting.

Chocolate Pie After Redux

(It can be made up to three days in advance.)

Ingredients

Crust:
*7 oz. chocolate wafer cookies or graham crackers
and
*2 tbsp. canola oil or melted margarine.
(My note: I just make a graham cracker crust following the directions in the Betty Crocker Cookbook. You can use any crumb crust recipe you like.)

Filling:
* 8 oz. unsweetened chocolate (a box of the supermarket kind is fine)

* 2 10-oz. packages silken tofu
(The first time I made this, I bought a 19-oz. box of aseptically-packaged silken tofu, because Jennifer insisted that the tofu be the silken type. The second time, I had to use what the supermarket offered, which was soft (but not silken) tofu in 300 g (about 10 � oz.) water-pack tubs. I used two tubs, and it worked fine.)

*10-oz. jar blackberry preserves
(Jennifer says that preserves made from any red berry (strawberry, raspberry or cherry) will work. You don't taste the particular fruit, it just adds sweetness and texture. The first time, I used a jar of black cherry preserves. The second time, I was again limited to what the discount supermarket had, and I had trouble finding anything in the jam aisle marked "preserves." I settled for a cupful of E.D. Smith Triple Fruit Wildberry spread, which is thinner than normal jam and seemed to work well.)

*1 tsp. vanilla extract

*1 cup liquid honey
(You may think you need to cut back on the honey after putting in a cupful of preserves or jam. However, we tried cutting back, tasted it after blending, and agreed that it did need pretty much close to the whole cupful. Remember, you�re adding a lot of unsweetened chocolate.)

Directions

Crust (if you�re following the recipe here): Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In blender or food processor, combine cookies and oil or margarine and pulse to make fine crumbs. Press into bottom of springform pan or pie plate. Bake 10 minutes and cool.

Filling: Melt chocolate in double boiler or over very low heat. Put remaining ingredients in bowl of food processor or blender and add melted chocolate. Process until very smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.

Pour filling into crust, smooth top, and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight. Serves 12. Per serving: 409 calories, 17 g fat, 57 mg carb.

Lpink's notes: Put some berries around the top for some extra style points! Also note, although it may be low fat, this is NOT a low calorie dessert!! But it's very rich so you won't be tempted to eat more than one tiny sliver!

This post is getting to be long, I'll post some more recipes later.

Here is a link that might be useful: Food Ferret soft tofu recipes

We occasionally use soft tofu in place of ricotta for lasagna. Mash tofu with fork, add 1 egg, some grated Parmesan, and a little black pepper, oregano, & basil.

We usually use it when making a vegetarian spinach lasagna - layers of sauce, lasagna noodles, tofu, and mozzarella. Even the kids will eat it.

Wow! That was eye-opening! I was out of ricotta and cottage cheese. Wanted to make pasta shells for supper. Riffing off oasisowner's lasagna, I mixed up soft tofu, a handful of mozzarella, a tiny bit of parm, spinach, basil, garlic, and some dried herbs and stuffed the shells with it. Bearing in mind lpink's comment about blandness, I was a little heavy handed with the seasonings, but it worked out well. Very tasty, and I don't think DH was any the wiser.

Tofu may become a staple for me!

Low Calorie Quiche (also taken from Vegetarian Times "Recipe Redux." No way is this as rich as regular quiche, so you might be less disappointed if you thought of it as "Silky Tofu Vegetable Pie" I like it a lot though, I just made it last weekend.)

Low Calorie Crust (you can use whatever quiche crust you like for this, but some of the calorie savings in the original recipe come from a lighter crust. I am "crust challenged" so usually use a store bought crust which doesn't have the low fat benefits).

Crust:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp,. baking powder
1/4 - 1/3 cup canola oil
2 TBLSP lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. honey
2-3 TBLSP cold water
1-2 tsp. toasted ground sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 375. Grind oats to coarse flour in blender or food processor. Mix dry ingredients. Drizzle in oil til misture looks like coarse sand. Add lemon, honey and 2-3 TBLSP water til dough forms a ball. Roll between two sheets of waxed paper. Sprinkle sesame seeds into the pie pan first to coat it (You could probably leave that out if you don't have sesame seeds on hand, but you have to grind them to get any nutritional benefits from them).
Shape flattened dough into pie pan. Prick crus on sides and bottom. Bake 10 min. then remove from the oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees. (This is to prepare for the quiche baking).

Quiche filling:
1 tsp. water or olive oil (for sauteeing onion)
1 cup diced onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
3 cups small broccoli florets
1-2 TBLSP water (I leave this out)
2 large egg whites
10 oz. package soft silken tofu
1 TBLSP prepared mustard (I use the brown kind)
1 tsp. dried basil or rosemary
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 TBLSP grated parmesean
(Lpink's note: and a sprinkle of Mrs. Dash "Garlic and Herb" seasoning).

Heat oil (or the water) in a non-stick skillet over med. heat. Add onion and saute 3-5 min. (Lpink's note: you can also add mushrooms to this.) Add garlic, broccoli and 1-2 TBLSP water. Steam until broccoli is bright green ~ 2 min. (Lipink's note: The reason I leave out the water is I'm lazy and almost always use frozen chopped broccoli for this dish! You could use spinach too I guess.)

Drain veggies if necessary. Place into pie crust. (Lpink's note: I like this better when I combine the veggies and the egg/tofu mix together and then pour into the pan, although it is OK the other way). Whip egg whites until frothy. Add tofu, spices and cheese. Blend until smooth. Pour into pie crust. Garnish with roasted red pepper strips if desired.
(Lpink's dirty little secret: I usually sprinkle the bottom of the crust with about 2 TBLSP shredded lowfat cheddar or lowfat swiss, the Jarlsburg kind, for extra flavor)

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. You'll probably have to put something around the edges of the quiche crust towards the end to prevent over browning.

Mediterranean Feta Dip
1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Vegetable Recipe Soup Mix
(Lpink's note: that stuff is so salty! And has MSG in it to boot, which I am allergic to. I sub 1/4 cup of dried vegetables. I found some in a local produce market. I rehydrate them slightly. You could also just finely chop up some veggies like peppers, carrots, celery and radishes and add some garlic to that.)
1 16 oz container of light sour cream (Original recipe. Lpink's "Recipe Redux" is 1 10 oz. container of soft tofu and 3 oz. mayo and 3 oz. lofat sour cream)
1/2 cup seeded cucumber (I salt for 15 min. and drain before adding, keeps dip from becoming watery).
10 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and WELL DRAINED. Press the water out of it.
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
2 TBLSP chopped green onion
1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Mix all this stuff except the scallions and cucumber together in a food processor. Then stir in the chopped veggies. Chill and serve with toasted pita chips.
Yummo!
Note: you could also use this sans cucumbers as a filling for stuffed shells.

Decadent dip
1 package silken tofu
6 TBLSP of Nutella
(Serve with fruit)

Orange You Glad Smoothie
1 cup ice
2 cups vanilla soy milk
2 TBLSP protein powder (or wheat germ)
1/4 cup soft tofu
1 cup fresh orange juice
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 very ripe banana
1/2 tsp. cinnamon or nutmeg

Blend ingredients on high and serve over ice. (Lpink's note: I haven't made this exact recpe but something similar. I don't think I would add the ice. And I would sub some nonfat yogurt for some of the soy milk, for the acidophilous benefits.)

And then there's soft tofu cheesecake (made with ricotta too) and the classic soft tofu pumpkin pie. And tofu spinach artichoke dip. And salad dressings. And tofu tiramisou. The list goes on, but I'll stop for now.

I forgot to note that the smoothie and decadent dip recipes were taken from the book "Soy Smart Health" by Neil Solomon, MD, PhD. Excellent read!

I'd probably use it to patch holes in the wall.

Posted by cynic "I'd probably use it to patch holes in the wall. "

In fact, soy has many building/construction applications.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: Soy plywood