Thanksgiving Day Tofu

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Thanksgiving Day Tofu

This is a superb substitute for the traditional Thanksgiving turkey. It's also good for other times of the year! It's really the dressing that carries this dish. The corn oil gives it that wonderful buttery taste that poultry dressing usually has. Wash the tofu, pat it dry, and cut it into small pieces. Put the tofu, arrowroot, soup base, salt, pepper, and agar flakes in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste. Oil and flour the loaf pan (or line it with baking liner paper after oiling). Spread a layer of tofu paste inside the pan, lining the bottom and all four sides. (Spread only a thin layer on the ends.) Use all but about 1 cup of the paste. Firmly but gently press the dressing into the pan, on top of the tofu paste "liner". Try to avoid displacing the tofu. Cover the dressing with the remaining tofu, carefully sealing the edges. Cover the pan with foil, making certain the foil doesn't come in contact with the tofu. (The tofu will eat into the foil.) Bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC for 30 to 40 minutes. Then remove the foil cover, glaze the top of the loaf with the dissolved barley malt syrup, turn the oven up to 230ºC , and continue baking for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow the loaf to cool for about 10 minutes. Unmold, slice, and serve hot with a sauce of your choice. SAGE DRESSING: Saute onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in oil for 5 minutes. Add the sage, basil, soup base, salt and pepper, and continue cooking 5 minutes longer. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Stir in the bread crumbs and cook for a few minutes. Then remove from heat.