Summer [soup] is open for business!
Hello, fresh produce, I've missed you so! 🌽🍅🥒🫑
Good morning!
We’re unofficially officially into summer now, and not a moment too soon. My vegetables and herbs are in the ground, and I’m already feeling greedy about the first tomato — and the first homegrown Caprese salad — of the season.
I hope I’m not the only person who marks the passage of time with food.
The first cucumber: June.
The first batch of smoky grilled corn on the cob: July 4th.
The first Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew with extra foam: August.
The first baked sweet potato: September.
The first bowl of chilly-weather soup [not cooked for the blog]: October.
And so on. Is it just me? Probably.
It’s the end of May, which means that we’re about a month away from the first sweet corn harvest of the season. Ohio has its flaws, but one of them is not sweet corn. Although nearby Indiana and Illinois would argue with gusto, I’ll boldly state that Ohio grows the best supersweet corn in the nation. (But shoutout to Florida for providing the sweet corn for today’s chowder.)
Farmers’ markets are a difficult trek for me these days, but one thing that makes it worthwhile are the bins of freshly picked local corn. I can’t wait!
And now that it really is summer, I’m more than happy to exchange weirdo spring asparagus for cheek-pinching blueberries and roly-poly strawberries. Hello, summer produce!
This beautiful corn chowder is a light and lovely summer soup that can be enjoyed hot or chilled. Packed with fresh, sweet corn, plump shrimp, and colorful veggies, it's a bowl of sunshine that celebrates the best of summer produce. A taste of summer in every spoonful!
Crispy, Crackly Air Fryer Tofu
I was a vegetarian for a long time and had a difficult relationship with tofu. It’s a texture thing. I love how tofu takes on flavors like a sponge. But it’s also … spongy {shivers}.
The journey was long, but once local stores started carrying extra firm tofu and I learned there was such a thing as crispy tofu, the search for tofu joy ended happily ever after.
Since then, it’s just been tweaking and refining. Learning things like, tofu doesn’t have to be squeezed dry to within an inch of its life to get crispy. Frozen-then-thawed tofu is a whole different, wonderful beast. Cornstarch is the reliable route to crispy goodness. And hand-torn tofu is somehow way better than cubed.
So, with summer’s lighter eating, I thought I’d share my current go-to method for creating crispy tofu nuggets, which I add to my green salads, or eat as a side with a dipping sauce. Although I do love a good pan-fried batch, the air fryer creates a texture that’s closer to fried chicken nuggets.
It’s protein-packed, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and so tasty that it’s easy to devour an entire batch in one sitting (I usually make just a single serving at a time to keep myself in check!)
The technique for a single serving:
Tofu is usually packed in 14 to 16-ounce blocks. I’m lucky that my local Meijer store carries super firm tofu, which barely needs draining or pressing.
I first divide the tofu block into 4 equal pieces, and add 3 of the pieces to a zipper bag to store in the freezer for future use. I give the block I’m using a quick squeeze over the kitchen sink to remove the surface liquids, and then blot dry.
In a mixing bowl, add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (or arrowroot starch), 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, 1 tablespoon of tamari (or soy sauce), and 1 teaspoon of your favorite seasoning, such as taco, poultry, Sazonador Total (my fave, from Goya), or even Montreal steak seasoning. Drizzle some olive oil over the bowl.
Why nutritional yeast? It not only adds fabulous umami to the seasoning but also works right alongside the cornstarch to create that glorious extra-crispy coating.
Start whisking everything together. It’s likely to become very stiff and pasty quickly. Add tiny dribbles of water and continue whisking until the mixture is still thick but will slowly drip off the whisk.
Preheat your air fryer.
Tear the block of tofu into bite-sized pieces and drop them into the bowl. The messy-edged crags and tears create more places for the spices to cling. And for reasons that I don’t know but probably have science 🔬 behind them, it’s a far more satisfying crunchy bite than a prim-and-proper cube.
Gently toss the tofu pieces in the marinade, either with a silicone spatula or your hands, until all of the pieces are thoroughly coated. When the air fryer is ready to go, spread the tofu around the basket and cook them at 400ºF for 11-14 minutes. Stop and give the basket a shake at 7 or 8 minutes.
Depending on the power of your air fryer and the size of your tofu pieces, they’ll be browned and crispy somewhere in that time range. I usually go for about 13 minutes.
My favorite way to enjoy these little treats is with a quick, no-measure creamy BBQ dipping sauce: Add equalish amounts of your favorite BBQ sauce and mayo to a bowl, along with a little squeeze of honey dijon. Whisk, and enjoy!
Until next time, friends, stay kind 🫶🏻, wear sunscreen 🧴, and remember that soup is nature’s perfect food 🍲