BBQ Veggie Salad & BBQ Tofus

Twenty years ago, I set off for a semester in Florence, Italy. While there, I met my art teachers, who have been an important part of my life ever since. One very special part of studying with them is the community of students we have built over all these years. Back in the day, we were all surly, highly emotive art students. Today, we are all grown-up, a bit more emotionally balanced, and still sharing this special connection of continuing to study and grow and learn together... In fact, in July I'll be heading back to Italy to study with my teachers again.

Our community of students is spread out around the world - mostly Europe and the USA, but also beyond. So, any opportunity that we have to be in the same place at one time is special! 

Recently one of our pals who lives in the midwest was coming out to San Francisco with her husband and their new baby. We all gathered together at a friend's house and had a wonderful afternoon together. I got to meet everyone's little kiddos, and catch up on their lives, and enjoy the conversation and connection together. It was especially sweet, since of the four of us who got together, only two of us will be able to go to Italy this summer.

I brought one of my favorite tofu dishes of all time: Grilled Herb Tofu, from the Real Food Daily Cookbook. I just love this tofu so much. The marinade is savory, without being too dominant in any one direction, and it's also packed with fresh herbs: basil, dill and parsley. The resulting tofus are so good! Of course my awesome friends made lots of other dishes that were also vegan (I wasn't even the only vegan there!), so I ended up with a heaping plate full of goodness. 

I also made the Long Weekend Grilled Salad from Oh She Glows, which I absolutely love! Chock full of veggies and avocados and topped with a cilantro-y dressing... this salad is pretty much pure summer in a bowl for me. I haven't had this book for long, but I've already made this salad a handful of times!

Our lovely friend who hosted us lives a good distance away, and at first I was reluctant to go because I don't really like driving long distances, especially by myself. But, I'm SO glad I went, and the drive home went so quickly because I was still buzzing with all the happy friend love from our afternoon together!