Tofu Stew

It was a cold day in New York. The wind whistled around corners and down alleys, chilling everything to the bone. After hours of frozen fingers and florescent lighting, there was only one hope:

Tofu Stew. Something so hearty, so full of stuff, so hot - it works miracles.

Yesterday we left our heroine with a big pot of chicken stock. What that really amounted to was 3 servings of pure chicken stock (as in clear, and with no stuff, about 1.5 cups each) and 3 servings of "stuff." In my opinion, the "stuff" is the best. Its all the leftover meat from the bones, the veggies, and the junk at the bottom of my hard work in a pot. The stock went in the freezer, the "stuff" to the fridge (if you freeze it, the veggies will only get mushier). Today's tofu stew uses 1.5 cups of "stuff."

Tofu Stew - 1 serving, 1.5 bowls

1.5 cups of "stuff" which is mostly the soup veggies and chicken meat, with just enough broth to cover it.
1/3 block of silken tofu (I'm a big fan of silken. I told my boyfriend if he didn't like silken, we can't get married, that's how much I love it)
2 leaves napa cabbage
3 button mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon of salt
dash of pepper

1. Heat up your "stuff" in a soup pot.
2. Slice open the tofu package. There will be a lot of water in the package, so do this by the sink. Pour some of the water out and spoon out the tofu into the soup. (Doesn't need to look pretty). Leave the rest of the water, so the remaining tofu stays moist. If you don't, you get firm tofu :(
3. Cut the cabbage into inch long slices horizontally. Slice the mushrooms.
4. When the tofu and stuff is simmering happily, toss in the sliced veggies - these only need about 3-5 minutes to cook. Add more water if it isn't enough to cover everything in the pot.
5. Taste test! Add salt and pepper as needed. Tofu and veggies do exude a lot of water as well as absorb all the seasonings in the "stuff" so you will need more!
6. Enjoy!