Tuscan Faux Feta

This turned out pretty yummy! 

 I started with this recipe I found for Fake Feta from VegNews, but I thought it needed more flavor, as it didn't really taste like feta.  So here is how I adapted it, and then took it to a barbecue where it was polished off by meat eaters! I saw some using it as a dip, some plain, and some on salads. Some asked what it was, some not - and they still ate it!

When a block of tofu is crumbled this way, it makes a LOT of faux feta. It can serve a lot of people, depending on how you use it.

 TUSCAN FAUX FETA

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil (less works well, too - adjust to your preference)
4 Tbsp. lime juice, or to taste - I think more lime made it taste closer to cheese
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt

1 Tbsp. Penzey's dried basil

1 Tbsp. Penzey's Tuscan Sunset Italian herb blend (dried)

1 package (3.5 oz.) sun-dried tomatoes, halves or julienne (not in liquid)
8 ounces extra firm tofu, drained

Instructions:

1. Place the drained tofu on a plate lined with a double thickness of paper towels to absorb as much liquid from the tofu as possible while you complete the next few steps. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, salt and seasonings; mix well until blended. Allow mixture to sit while completing the next step.
3. Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a small glass microwavable bowl or Pyrex measuring cup; cover the tomatoes with water, and then heat in the microwave on full power for 30 seconds. Drain the tomatoes and allow them to cool to touch. If using halves, slice them into thin strips, and then chop the strips or julienne pieces into small bits. Add the bits to the mixing bowl with the seasoned liquid and mix well.
4. Now it's time to dice the tofu! Cut the block of tofu into long, thin strips in one direction. Lay the strips down so that you can cut the widths of them again into long strips. Then cut all the strips cross-wise into small cubes. Add the cubes to the large mixing bowl with the seasoned liquid. Mix very well, smashing some of the cubes as you mix it to make very small crumbles so that it almost resembles feta cheese.
5. Chill for several hours, overnight, or even for a couple of days for the best flavor. If the oil coagulates after chilling it, you can microwave the faux feta for about 30 seconds in the microwave without making it too warm.

When I make this again, I think I will try using a potato masher to get the tofu going toward crumbles. Seems like it just might be easier to do that than having to actually cut it into cubes that don't come close to resembling feta cheese. But dicing did work well in the end for this recipe with all the mixing going on with it.