Dinner Two - Still Not a Fan of Tofu

One of the reasons I started this culinary experiment was to challenge my notions of what I liked and didn't like. Before this, it wouldn't have occurred to me to make this meal of Broiled Black Pepper Tofu, Soy-Lemon Dipping Sauce, Soba Noodle Salad with a dessert of Baked Apricots with Almond Topping. That being said, I liked the recipes and thought that everything turned out really well. It's just that no matter how well it's cooked, I'm still not a fan of tofu. It's a texture thing.

Searching for Soba

As a result of reading too many cookbooks and watching too many cooking shows I happen to know that soba noodles are an Asian noodle made from buckwheat flour. I wasn't able to find the soba noodles at my Publix or my mom's Winn Dixie. Two very friendly and helpful employees, one named Hasaam, helped me search high and low for the noodles. One of the guys asked why I needed soba noodles and I told him "because Martha said so". I ended up finding the noodles at World Market a hand-lettered Asian and Latin market on Beach Boulevard. Funny thing was that there were three different size packages of noodles - and all of them were $3.99. So naturally, I bought the biggest package, which was 300 grams of noodles. Let me know if you need any, I have extra.

Sunny Soy-Lemon Goodness

This dipping sauce was certainly the highlight of the meal. Full of zest (lemon) and ginger this flavorful sauce is a new favorite. I'm thinking that I'll use it for marinating chicken wings...

Fruit-Tastic Finish

I shouldn't admit this, but I didn't fully realize that apricots came fresh because I only had ever seen them dried. But duh, if it's dried it has to be fresh at some point. But fresh apricots are smaller than I thought and located near the peaches and nectarines. Once topped with a mix of unsalted butter, brown sugar and almonds then baked in the oven these made for a surprisingly rich dessert with enough tartness to add interest.