Day 184: Tofu Delight

I didn't start out as an advocate of that wobbly block of soy protein we have come to know and love as tofu. Actually, I detested the concept of soy protein, and saw it as a miserable substitution for meat. Well, fast forward several years, add a vegetarian wife, and a maturation of taste buds and Voila!...a tolerance, actually, a sincere desire for tofu!!

On Guam, tofu was prevalent and I enjoyed a variety of tasty preparations from Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and even Chamorro cuisine. At home, Gemma was a virtuoso at preparing tantalizing dishes with tofu as the star attraction.

Unfortunately, the military won't touch meat substitutes, such as tofu, with a ten-foot pole. Apparently, it's a morale thing or so I've been told...happy soldiers eat real steak and real beef cheeseburgers. Without meat, the battle is lost...or at least the illusion exists that meat is the key to happy healthy soldiers.


Well, to throw a monkey wrench into the daily routine of hot dogs, ribs, burgers, and steak, I opened a care package from Gemma which had 2 boxes of extra firm tofu, the only problem was convincing the contract chefs to put a dish together for me.


Fortunately, the head chef, Chef Greg Jones, was a Seventh-Day Adventist who enjoys cooking vegetarian meals and has a lot of experience with tofu. So we put our heads together to come up with a tasty dish, actually I just said "as long as there's lots of garlic in it I'm good". He ended up making a Spicy Garlic Tofu and Mixed Vegetables dish that was tastier than most Chinese restaurants I've been to. I couldn't believe it, a tofu dish in an United States Army dining facility in Afghanistan!!

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
I Corinthians 10:31 NASB