Baked Barbecue Tofu with Pac Choi Slaw and Sweet Corn

We have a CSA now. This was our first delivery, as we chose the late Summer option and -- sads! -- it's already late Summer now.

When I put this meal together, I kept in mind some advice from my father-in-law who suggested to me once that when you want to use a new ingredient, or use an old ingredient in a new way, you should think about the kinds of flavors that ingredient is traditionally featured with, and then move forward. For example, cabbage is often paired with smoky, sweet flavors (ham, barbecue, etc). And not for naught!

My box contained pac choi (a Chinese cabbage), sweet corn, and anise (along with some other things). I had some tofu, fennel, and carrots in the fridge. I really love corn with barbecue, so I set on the idea of making a barbecue sandwich of some kind. Enter the tofu. But that sandwich needed some crunch. So I thought I would try to make a slaw. The pac choi was much tangier than red cabbage, for example, so I thought to add the sweet anise to it. Anise reminded me of fennel, so I chopped some of that up, along with some carrots, and made a pac choi slaw that echoed the Asian origins of the tofu.

This challenge turned out to be a three-recipe meal. End of Summer feast! Here we go...

Corn

4 ears of corn
4 tb butter
juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes

Boil or grill 4 ears of corn until the little kernels appear darker and less opaque. Grilling is really superior here, but I left my charcoal, and my heart, in Michigan. So I boiled.

Melt the butter and stir it together with the remaining ingredients. Brush it onto the cooked corn.

Tofu

1, 16 ounce block of extra firm tofu, cut into four pieces
barbecue sauce
olive oil for the baking sheet

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush a little oil onto a nonstick baking sheet. Pat the tofu dry. Salt and pepper both sides. Brush both sides liberally with barbecue sauce and bake for about an hour, or until the sides of the tofu are crispy.

Pac Choi Slaw

2 heads pac choi, chopped
1 fennel bulb and its fronds, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
a few leaves of fresh anise
1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mayo

Mix the ingredients together.