We think mom has cancer. She needs to have a biopsy, but the "spot" on her lung has grown and she coughed up blood yesterday. I'm encouraging her to change her already healthy diet by completely eliminating meat and dairy and incorporating more beans, whole grains and tofu into her meal plans. I'm a big fan of the "Mediterranean Diet" and Annemarie Colbin's take on natural cooking, which is a less restrictive version of Macrobiotic Diet and focuses on whole foods.

Mom knows how to cook vegetables, fish and legumes, but is unfamiliar with using tofu. My long term cooking, teaching and eating experience is continentally omnivorous, with all kinds of meat and fish, but very little tofu. So, today, I invited mom and my brother Richard (who lives with and often cooks for mom) and went out and bought a few different varieties of tofu to experiment with: smoked, curried, silken, and extra firm.

After a quick soak, I started simmering a pot of black-eyed peas with a mirepoix (and garlic, of course). Then I added the smoked tofu for a vegan version of the flavor of ham. I added a tad of tamari, a dash of ume plum vinegar and some fresh chopped parsley. Voila! Not too bad!

I've got a couple of very ripe plums that I am cooking with some fresh ginger. I'll serve that with the silken tofu. I love the creamy custardy texture of silken tofu...it is certainly an under appreciated ingredient!