Pomegranate Quinoa Delight

To me this is total comfort food. The hard pomegranate seeds nicely contrast the soft tofu and quinoa and provide a sweet, tangy note to offset the nuttiness of the rest of the dish. I served it room temperature but it would also be good hot or cold. You could play around with adding in different vegetables or using a different fruit, such as a tart apple.

Ingredients:

• block of extra firm tofu
• 1 c. quinoa
• 2 whole pomegranates
• 4 green onions
• hummus
• cumin
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• red wine vinegar

Directions:

1.  Cook the quinoa on the stove. I prefer to saute it in oil for several minutes before adding water (1:2 ratio, like white rice). After the water comes to a boil, add the lid and turn the heat down as low as it goes. Let the quinoa steam for 20 minutes without lifting the lid.
2. While the quinoa cooks, prepare the tofu to bake. I like to flip the tofu loap on its side and cut down the middle, like slicing a bread roll. Then I lay each half out flat, cut the halves into strips, and cut the strips into triangles (I wish I'd taken a photo of this -- you can see the tofu in the final photo below). I covered a cookie tray in tinfoil, coated the tofu in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and put them in the oven at 350 degrees. I baked them for roughly 30 minutes, turning them every so often.
3. Next I removed the seeds from the pomegranates. In order to do this I filled a bowl with water and submerged 1/2 the pomegranate at a time while pulling out seeds. I find that this minimizes the issue of juice squirting everywhere. Also the fruit membranes tend to float to the top of the water, making them easier to remove. Afterwards I drained the seeds through a colander. 
4. In a small bowl I combined several large spoonfuls of hummus and added olive oil to thin it out. I splashed in red wine vinegar as well. I seasoned with salt, pepper, and cumin. 
5. In a large bowl I assembled the quinoa, pomegranate seeds, the green onions (sliced), and the baked tofu. I drizzed the hummus sauce on top and mixed thoroughly.