Tofu-Lovin' Dog

[Gazelle]

Sometimes I’m working in the kitchen and will begin handling a food my short ‘n’ furry girl likes.

Crease is a pretty noisy dog. She’s always running around the house or barking at us to throw her toy or growling out the window at passersby or barking at a cat on TV.

But when a recipe calls for cheese, green peppers, cucumbers, or tomatoes… I’ll be chopping along, getting ready to add the ingredient to the skillet when the world suddenly becomes quiet.

It will take me a few seconds to realize that I don’t hear anything. When I finally do and look around, I will see my smallie sitting behind me, very quietly, and smiling up at me like a good girl.

This week, I’ve been bringing the ingredients for one of my favorite sandwiches to work. This fantabulous sandwich is made with wheat bread, avocado, sprouts, tomatoes and tofu. El Yummo. Early on Wednesday morning – while I was slicing, salting and peppering my sliced tofu – the world got quiet. I looked around and sure enough, Princess FuzzyButt was sitting there, right behind me, and looking up at me like the canine ambassador of goodwill.

Look at me. I’m such a good dog! Don’t you believe – like I believe – that I deserve TOFU!?!

I frowned, dubiously. She must have mistaken the opening of the tofu container with the opening of a bag of shredded cheddar cheese.

Nevertheless, I cut her a small piece and leaned over to give it to her. She grabbed it, wolfed it down, and immediately returned to her demure sitting position.

In other words, Give me more!

She repeated her performance yesterday and today. I have a tofu-lovin’ dog!

[auntie_em]

Heh. There’s no accounting for taste . . .

I tried a fried tofu recipe I found on the web a couple of weeks ago (I love the fried tofu I get in restaurants, and it sounded great–marinated in a blend of soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, garlic, and onion powder . . .), and it SUCKED ASS.

UGH. Worst thing I’ve ever tasted. My boyfriend gagged when he tried it. My dog Ezra spit it out and looked at me as if her ONE reason for wanting opposable thumbs was to call the ASPCA on my ass.

But my other dog, CornPone (bless her heart) was kind enough to eat the offensive chunks all up and smile at me with love.

So I might have a tofu-lovin’ dog, too.

Or maybe just one who didn’t want to hurt my feelings.

[CalMeacham]

As I’ve noted before on the Board, our cat Midnight once went nuts over a marshmallow. And if you’re ever shucking corn and she’s around, she wants some of the fresj kernels, and some of the husks.

[Siemsi]

Tofu, eh?

Strange animals we all have.

I’m constantly reminding my cats that they are carnivores, not herbivores who eat houseplants.

[cuauhtemoc]

GfH that is awesome! Cute pictures too! But I’ll be really impressed if she likes tempeh.:eek: Talk about a shitty ass-tasting substance.

Or maybe I just cooked it wrong.

[Ferret_Herder]

One major difference in tofu is the type you buy - unless you’re making some kind of tofu pumpkin pie or custard, or ma po tofu, then buy the tofu that’s in water in a plastic tub, and not the stuff in the juice box-type packaging. The texture is so much better with the firmer, water-packed tofu.

My ferrets want to drink coffee, beer, wine, soda, and juice; I previously owned ferrets that like chips and salsa, red licorice, and spaghetti sauce. They aren’t that fond of meat, either.

[Skelji]

[Ed Sullivan]
“And now ladies and gentleman…Tofu Woofu”
[/Ed Sullivan]

[auntie_em]

*Originally posted by Ferret Herder *
**One major difference in tofu is the type you buy - unless you’re making some kind of tofu pumpkin pie or custard, or ma po tofu, then buy the tofu that’s in water in a plastic tub, and not the stuff in the juice box-type packaging. The texture is so much better with the firmer, water-packed tofu.
**

Huh. Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. Thing is, I’m not sure where to get the water-packed kind around here. Sounds ridiculous, but where I live, ya can’t even find shallots sometimes, and I had to do a little bit of hunting for the juice-box tofu.

In the meantime, I’m looking for another recipe that BOTH of the dogs will like!

[Ferret_Herder]

*Originally posted by auntie em *
Huh. Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. Thing is, I’m not sure where to get the water-packed kind around here. Sounds ridiculous, but where I live, ya can’t even find shallots sometimes, and I had to do a little bit of hunting for the juice-box tofu.

I figured that was the problem - I ran into that the first time I tried to make a tofu stir fry. I bought the “firm” or “extra-firm” aseptic-packaged (juice box) tofu, but it came out mushy and very unpalatable. Dunno if any of this will help, but Asian food stores or natural food stores are more likely to have it.

Before marinating, wrap the tofu in a clean towel and press it gently under a somewhat heavy book - not so heavy that the block breaks. This gets excess moisture out and lets it absorb a marinade better.

On the topic of dogs eating odd food - when I was growing up I had a wire-haired fox terrier that liked to eat any leftover food. However, she would leave all raisins (licked clean) in the bottom of the bowl if she was eating raisin bran, and she wouldn’t touch pancakes if they didn’t have syrup. She also didn’t like jello, since it moved.

[auntie_em]

*Originally posted by Ferret Herder *
**I figured that was the problem - I ran into that the first time I tried to make a tofu stir fry. I bought the “firm” or “extra-firm” aseptic-packaged (juice box) tofu, but it came out mushy and very unpalatable. Dunno if any of this will help, but Asian food stores or natural food stores are more likely to have it.

Before marinating, wrap the tofu in a clean towel and press it gently under a somewhat heavy book - not so heavy that the block breaks. This gets excess moisture out and lets it absorb a marinade better.
**

I don’t know of any Asian food stores around here (I’m a nut for wasabi peas, so I order them online . . . How I miss living in California, where you can get 'em in Walgreen’s!), but I’ll give the natural food store a try, when I find a better recipe.

My mom had a dog who wouldn’t eat pancakes without butter & syrup, nor would she eat bagels without cream cheese.

Yet my mother thinks I’m “bad” for using peanut butter to give my dogs pills.