Definitely better than Trader Joe's. It consisted of pan-fried tofu, with water chestnuts, mushrooms, and red onions, in a mirin and soy sauce. The overall effect was one of heavenly glutamate deliciousness.
To go with it, I made some basil ice cream with leftover basil from Sunday's panzanella.
The flavor is not at all like the amazing basil ice cream I had years ago at some posh restaurant in Santa Fe, the name of which escapes me. It's actually rather bitter. Which I attribute to my sad basil leaves, and not the recipe I used. The upside is that I never before realized how awesome my ice cream maker can be when I use eggs- lots of eggs- in my ice cream. The consistency is gorgeous, and exactly like commercial ice cream, but better because it's fresh.
To drink, I had a glass of red wine from La Granja. The tempranillo is my favorite go-to cheap Spanish wine from TJ's. Under $4 a bottle, and a decent, nicely tannic red. Pretty shocking for cheap wine with a cute label. (Dear flickr users: why do you take unoriginal photos of wine labels and reserve all rights? I already threw away my bottle.)
