I put garlic in everything. One of my favorite things about cooking is that smell that stays on your fingertips after you’ve chopped garlic. So it was natural for me to want to try this dish…it’s a garlic-butter sauce! It has to be good!

The original recipe was for chicken, but since I hate cooking meat, I decided to try it with tofu. Tofu, hot off the pan, sprinkled with a little kosher salt and pepper…what could be better than that? Drizzling it with butter and garlic, that’s what.

I also whipped up some black beans as a side dish. Although I love the taste of made-from-scratch beans, sometimes I opt for the convenience of canned. I like to jazz them up a bit, though, adding herbs or chiles, and always a squeeze of lime.

Tofu con Mojo de Ajo

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (12 ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained, blotted dry, and cut into four slabs (cut in half like a layer cake, then in half again)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• Juice of 1 1/2 limes
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sprinkle tofu with salt and pepper, and place in the pan. Cook until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes, then flip and cook until browned on the other side, about 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove tofu from pan; keep warm.

Melt butter in pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute (do not brown). Add broth; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until mixture is reduced to about 1/2 cup (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in lime juice and cilantro. Serve sauce over tofu.

Makes 2 servings.

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine.

Weeknight Black Beans

1 can black beans, undrained
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime

Heat beans with their liquid, garlic, and jalapeno in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes; stir in cilantro and lime.

Makes 2 servings.

Source: poco-cocoa.