Vegetarian Times Recipe Fantastic With Chicken! Likely Good on Pork, Salmon

This month's Vegetarian Times magazine has about a dozen recipes that I've flagged to try.

Honest, I bought firm tofu for this one, but drained tofu can't withstand long-term marinating and with our crazy schedules and the risk of not cooking it when expected, chicken was a safer bet. When life and dinner are a little more predictable I will absolutely give this a try on the ol' bean curd.

While I'm at it, I'd like to try this out on pork and salmon as well. The chicken was really good. I sauteed some yellow squash and carrots with a little coriander, salt, and fresh black pepper as a side dish. Corn on the cob would also be really good and easy. Most importantly, I made most of the week's dinners on Sunday - so I can attest to the keepability of the sauce.

ORANGE-CHIPOTLE GLAZED TOFU (Or Whatever)
1 cup fresh orange juice - I actually did juice 3 oranges, but bottled OJ with no added sugar would work just as well
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 TBSP rice vinegar or cider vinegar
2 tsp minced seeded chipotle chile in adobo sauce* and **, plus
2 tsp adobo sauce
2 14-oz. packages extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry
1 TBSP vegetable oil

1. Whisk together orange juice, maple syrup, vinegar, chipotle chile, adobo sauce, and salt in small bowl. Cover, and chill.

2. [TOFU PREP ONLY - if using something else, skip to #3] Cut each piece of tofu crosswise into 8 slices, each about 1/2-inch thick. Place tofu in large shallow glass dish. Press with paper towels to drain.

3. Add 1/2 cup orange juice mixture and oil to [tofu, chicken, fish, pork] and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours, turning from time to time. I use a Ziploc bag for marinating - easy cleanup, no spills.

Reserve remaining orange juice mixture covered, in refrigerator.

4. Preheat broiler. Line large baking sheet with foil, and coat with cooking spray. Place [whatever] on prepared baking sheet. [Note: I just cooked the chicken in a skillet since I already had two dishes in the oven]

Combine marinade and reserved orange juice mixture in small saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Cook over medium heat 12 - 15 minutes, or until syrupy. Keep warm.

5. Broil tofu 6 - 8 minutes per side, or until golden, basting occasionally with orange juice mixture. Adjust cooking time according to your entree.

*Chipotle chiles last FOREVER in the refrigerator. Just pop the leftovers into Tupperware and it'll be fine. The adobo sauce is a robust, smoky addition to burgers, salmon, enchiladas and tacos, and anything done on the grill - and a little goes a long way. It also mixes up well with butter for corn on the cob.

** To get the flavor of the chiles without the heat scrape out the seeds and throw them away. Dice the remaining pepper and add to your recipe.