Ok, some basic ideas with tofu. It absorbs flavors, so marinate it with just about anything, oriental, Thai sauces, barbecue sauce, salad dressings for starters. It is very low in salt, so using salt greatly benefits it's taste. I advise avoiding Tofu made with calcium salts. Some folks don't notice, but it is horribly bitter tasting to me.  I use ones with Nigiri or magnesium chloride. We are blessed here in Denver with a oriental company that makes it right.

Add tofu to salad, marinated and cubed, or try this. Marinate with raspberry or similar dressing. Heat a skillet on medium, add a little olive oil, and then the tofu. Mash the tofu and cook a bit. If you like chewey stuff, leave it on low until it dries up a bit. Brown it you like first also. Then keep in frig to put on salads. I discovered this by needing to get rid of a bottle of raspberry dressing I did not like.

Scramble tofu. Marinate or not first. Not marinated for breakfast in general, depending on your taste buds. Then heat olive oil, margarine, or coconut oil (all of which will flavor the tofu differently). Add diced veggies of choice (onions, red pepper, zucchini, brocolli, and especially tomatoes, or salsa are all good), and sautee a few minutes. Add tofu slices and mash with a fork. Please use salt and pepper. I often like to turn it yellow like eggs, by adding a small touch of tumeric, which gives a nice flavor also. Not to much. Curry powder if you like it would be good also, for a different taste. Experiment with different seasoning and veggies. I add a bit of water, especially if adding a spice to distribute the spice nicely, and then let the water cook off.

Tofu works instead of meat in most stir frys quite nicely. Marinate to match or contrast the stir fry sauce. You can add the tofu cold to it and warm. Or you can brown the tofu cubes in oil (a little sesame is nice). You can make them chewier for a different texture, by leaving in a skillet on low for up to 1/2 hour until moisture is removed, they will get very chewey, the taste changes a bit.

You can use the scramble technique above, but instead of veggies, and brown the tofu, marinated or not, cook until dried a bit or not, and add to a variety of dishes, such as casseroles. Can take the place of hamburger in chili, and similar dishes.

In stir fries add nuts too, if you like them, for a change of taste and texture. Nuts and tofu do well together. Nuts provide some more protein.

You can blend a little tofu into a smoothie for a bit of protein. Soy milk works better though, is smoother.

In baking quick breads, use tofu piece about the size of eggs to replace the eggs, if you vegan.

I'm working on a lasagna vegan recipe. When I have it perfected,I will post it. The ricotta part I use crumbled tofu with a bit of lemon on it, (and salt). I am experimenting with nut cheeses for the cheese part of lasagna.

OK Adding this now about the above lasagna. Continue with the crumbled tofu and lemon above for the ricotta cheese.  For the Monzarella cheese, in your blender, grind up some celery, pour out, then blend some raw cashews to a powder, add the celery back in, and blend into a paste. This is excellent in the lasagna and also on pizza.  Very good on pizza also blended with a little yellow or orange peppers. Ok with red peppers, but I prefer the milder peppers.  Nut pastes in general are very good, can be used as dips also and in pita sandwiches.  I also like it with some diced sauteed veggies in tortilla wraps.

You do not have to eat tons of Tofu. The advantages, are it can be stir fried etc, and it has all 8 amino acids that the body can't make, and you have to take in, in food. You do not need all 8 at every meal. These are plentiful in plant foods. Combining almost any grain and legume together, will also get them into a meal together. i.e. Bean burritos. Chili with corn bread, bean and rice dishes for example.

Marinate tofu or not and add to soups, in small cubes. Good in homemade veggie soup. Learn some Thai cooking, tofu works very well in these dishes. Tofu goes really good with any sort of curry, the yellow variety, or the red and green varieties the Thai use.

Marinated and browned tofu cubes can be served as party food with toothpicks. Make sure to add the salt to it.

Barbecue it, this is really good. Marinate thick slices any way that sounds good, the only time I did this, it was in peanut sauce and soy sauce (add some salt). Brown over a low fire or on the top rack of the barbecue, and let it sit until it dries a bit, and takes on the smoke. This is actually really yummy, the one time I tried it.

One can purchase smoked tofu, expensive! Make it at home. It might be good in a salad too. You can keep cooked tofu in the frig for several days. It can be frozen, but this dramatically changes it, and in my opinion, not for the better. But many recipes call for it. Freezing was used by Japanese and Chinese to store tofu over the winter, in the snow. If you do freeze it, squeeze out the water and marinate well. Used as hamburger substitute by some in this manner.

Slice Tofu fairly thin, marinate in anything that you like, brown in any oil that you like (I like both coconut and olives oils), , let dry a bit on low heat, and use hot or cold in sandwiches instead of lunch meat.  I will give more specific vegan recipes over time, that I have personally tested.  Take care, Candace

Added today:  "Egg Salad" Tofu.  Mash extra firm tofu.  Add mayo and anything else you normally like in Egg Salad. Use a bit of turmeric  to make it yellow.  I personally like a little white miso in it, adds a bit of sulfur taste that is part of the flavor of the egg.  I once had some really good store bought with nutritional yeast in it, and this is excellent, so I add that now too.

A little soy sauce in mashed  tofu with some herbs (and salt as needed) will give sort of a cottage cheese taste.

Also I just found this post in my vegan thread on the old forum. All about tofu, in a general way. Tofu is bland, salt it, and the flavor improves. It is naturally low in sodium. Read the label about the ingredients that curdle it. Tofu is simply the soy bean version of pressed cottage cheese. (I have a friend that thought it was raw fish). The natural ingredients that Japanese use is Nigiri (mostly magnesium chloride), which is just ocean water. Nigiri can be purchased in the dried form. This makes the best tofu.

The others than are curdled with Calcium products taste horridly bitter to me, all of them. But people buy them, so I assume it tastes OK to many. Homemade tofu curdled with lemon is good, kind of ricotta tasting, and I would love to see this manufactured by a budding tofu messiah.

The firmer the tofu, the more water has been pressed from it. So it is higher in protein. So now, I will continue this thread with simple ways to cook and eat the stuff. Take care, Candace

Also, if you like feta type cheese, which is simply a brined fresh cheese, drain some extra firm tofu, slice, let sit out on paper towels or cloth towel to dry a little, then immerse for several days or a week or more in heavily salted water to brine it.  Tasty eaten any way you use feta cheese.