Recipe for Fried Tofu
Buy extra firm and check the expiration date
Cut into one-inch cubes and set upon a plate
Dusted with baking soda, sprinkle more on top
Heat oil in a frying pan until you hear it pop.
I use sesame and olive oil, not too much
When adding the tofu cubes don’t let them touch
Wait until each side turns a crisp golden brown
Patiently, before flipping sideways and down.
Once complete, place on paper towels to drain
Diagonally slice vegetables to make this your main
Meal of the day, remember Chinese favorite dishes
Breaking open fortune cookies, reading wishes
Soy sauce, oyster sauce, hot mustard, all comfort food
Sweet and sour tang puts you in a better mood.
Add scallions, mushrooms, carrots, snow peas,
Whatever you find in the crisper drawer will please
But do not forget the garlic, plus ginger is good
Zucchini, string beans, asparagus, if a vegetable could
Sauté well, use it, then mix in your favorite sauce
To this, you’ll one by one, add fried tofu and gently toss.
Serve with noodles, lettuce, or rice
A side of sliced tomatoes or avocado is nice.
Crown with fresh herbs: cilantro, basil, parsley, mint
Compliments will follow. No need to hint.
Red Tomato Harvest
I search for shiny red amongst the chaos of green
Leaves and vines tangled within our once tidy garden
Miraculously produce fruit not seen last night.
As if by instantaneous regeneration,
Tomatoes: scarlet, orange, crimson
Beauteous red orbs, full and ripe, again fill my baskets.
Hidden when green, now visible when red.
A reverse game of red light, green light.
I kneel in the earth looking upwards.
Pluck and pull, tug and twist to the right
Gathering my bounty for a stew.
My hands stinging from their acid
I remove seeds and skins to reveal
Pink juices. Carmine flesh. Colors bright inside
My reward: white soup bowls filled with Gazpacho
Tomato soup, red sauce
Salsa, tomato pie.
Comfort food, the red joy of tomatoes
Resides in my belly and I am satisfied.
Want to read more of Nadja’s poetry? Keep an eye out for her chapbook, Recipes From My Garden, coming this October.
Nadja Maril’s poems, essays, short stories, and novel excerpts appear in publications that include The Lumiere Review, Lunch Ticket, Spry Literary Journal, Change Seven, Litro Magazine, Zin Daily, BarBar, and The Sunlight Press. Nadja earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the Stonecoast Program at the University of Southern Maine and is a Contributing Editor to Old Scratch Press. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland. Her chapbook, Recipes From My Garden; Herb and Memoir Short Prose and Poetry, is scheduled for publication release in October. You can read more of her work and follow her weekly postings at Nadjamaril.com.
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