Cold Tofu Salad With Tomatoes and Peaches

Earth's two hottest days in recorded history happened recently. Phew. Wipe the sweat from your brow and plan meals that won't make your kitchen hotter. 

But better yet, plan meals that won't especially make the whole planet hotter. Compared to growing plants for food, animal agriculture contributes disproportionately to global warming, so why not try out a vegan dish that requires no heat to prepare?

At my local farmer's market last week, I loaded up on basil and field tomatoes, and I made NYT Cooking's "Cold Tofu Salad With Tomatoes and Peaches." I used nectarines rather than peaches, because putting a furry peach skin in my mouth has always seemed weird to me. 

I thought this dish was fantastic. It's an elevated, vegan version of a caprese salad. I love mozzarella, but tofu is a planet-friendly alternative, and it soaks up the juices, which are both acidic and sweet. I had two servings of the salad for dinner, and then pounced on the leftovers for lunch the next day, too.

Speaking of salads, last week my small backup dancer continued her string of themed meals with a movie-themed dinner. Check out these "Mike and Ike" lookalikes, which were actually chopped-up peppers in a light-colored vinaigrette!

This weekend's dinner revolved around the online game "Among Us." In addition to planning and preparing the meal, my backup dancer and her co-chef designed their own elaborate, IRL version of the game, with task stations scattered around our spaceship, er, I mean house. 

Was this the imposter, checking her task list in Electrical?

Or maybe it was one of these two crewmates, scurrying between the Reactor and the MedBay? 

There was nothing sus about the vegetarian meal the two co-chefs prepared, including guacamole; sandwiches with scrambled egg and vegan cheese; berries shaped like a character from the game; and vegan cupcakes ("Very Vanilla Birthday Cake" recipe from Baking Class cookbook, made with cashew-based butter).