Every vegan has been in the situation before: Going out to eat and no vegan options so you settle for the burrito joint. You’ll be able to get a black bean and rice burrito with a spoon of guacamole if you’re lucky. Now nothing is wrong with black beans and I’m never one to shun some guacamole but sometimes you need a little extra on your burrito and I don’t mean lettuce and cucumbers.

Chipotle has been rolling out their Sofritas, a spicy seasoned tofu, for a while now. Presently, it is available in 24 states. On October 13th, that will expand to the south and southeast US. That means you’ll be able to get a little extra protein on your vegan or vegetarian burrito in Nashville.

I was invited to try Sofritas last week and even though I have traveled out west a couple times this year where Sofritas is now served at all Chipotle restaurants this was my first time trying it.

As you go down the line and and get you rice and beans the Sofritas is right there next to the chicken and beef. I know what you’re thinking – CROSS CONTAMINATION! – because, let’s be honest, vegans think about those things. If you’re vegan don’t lie, you think about it every single time someone touches cheese and then asks if you want it on your burrito making an assumption. Well, this is a fast casual eatery so things happen but it has it’s own spoon and at the restaurant I was at the Sofritas was behind all other animal products so no dripping would occur as other items were served. Set you mind at ease or don’t eat out, right?

Chipotle is a restaurant that is big on local and fresh ingredients. Of course sourcing local tofu all over the country is not an easy task so they have chosen one supplier, Hodo Soy of San Francisco, as their tofu supplier. Chipotle goes as local as possible with their other ingredients. They source from a 350 mile radius of the restaurant’s market for ingredients such as tomatoes, which are hand chopped each day in the restaurant, and lettuce. The rice used in the Nashville restaurants is grown in Arkansas. Bet you didn’t know there were rice patties in The Natural State!

When I tried the Sofritas I was expecting a bit of heat, just a mild bite, since it is seasoned with roasted poblano and chipotle chilis but it was a very mild, sweet flavor. The tofu is a super firm tofu and it is in tiny bits. It is very chewy and holds the flavor of the sauce very well.

A Sofritas burrito is $6.50. While you may be accustomed to getting your vegetarian burrito at Chipotle with a heaping scoop of guacamole included that is not the case with a Sofritas burrito, guacamole is extra. I opted for guacamole on my Sofritas but in the future may leave it off as I thought it didn’t blend well with the spices of the Sofritas and it made the burrito too heavy flavored. I would rather have the guacamole on the side with chips.

Now is your chance to try Sofritas courtesy of Chipotle and Nashveggie.com. I will be giving away cards for a free burrito. Leave a comment below tell me, and Chipotle, your favorite thing to order at Chipotle.  I will also choose another winner on Twitter. To enter there just retweet this tweet and be sure you follow @nashveggie:

Sofritas from @ChipotleTweets coming to Southeast US including Nashville October 13. Win free food! http://t.co/Umi6S1NCyB

— NashVeggie (@nashveggie) October 10, 2014

All winners will be chosen at random on Friday, October 24.

Some like to use books. The heavy cookbooks are best. The larger the better and don’t stack them too high because they will topple. Some like large cans of various vegetable from the kitchen cabinets. Those fat 28 ounce cans of tomatoes are great but I don’t recommend stacking those over two high. The cans will crash to the kitchen floor or roll off onto the counter and knock over your spice rack leaving a mess to clean up.  My mother used two 10 pound hex-shaped dumbbells. This worked well and they would not roll off or topple but, like the books and cans, they still left you with a lopsided block of tofu a few minutes later.

I’ve tried all of those methods to press a block of tofu. I’ve tried others that I would rather not mention. I’ve just recently been able to try the EZ Tofu Press after being sent one to test drive. I’ve seen other presses available and considered purchasing but never thought those to be worth the price. After all, I’m simply pressing a block of tofu. I’m not doing such a task everyday, maybe once a week. Some of those presses just look complicated. Parts to lose. Springs to break or wear out. I just don’t see the need for the extra hassle. It should be a simple tool and not one that looks to be a piece of over-thought MIT engineering. The EZ Tofu Press is the simple tool.

The EZ Tofu Press i a vice. Two plastic boards with two screws on each end press your tofu somewhat evenly (more on that later) and leave it ready to marinade. One of the best things is it can be done in as little as 10 minutes if you are in a hurry.

All it takes to press is to place the block of tofu between the two plastic boards and screw each plastic nut down evenly until the tofu block is lightly pressed. After a couple minutes tighten each nut evenly to press more liquid and repeat until you have pressed the block to about half its starting thickness.

If tofu is in your kitchen there’s no reason you shouldn’t have the EZ Tofu Press. You can have one in your kitchen thanks to Ben, the inventor of EZ Tofu Press. To win an EZ Tofu Press all you need to do is leave a comment below and tell me your favorite way to enjoy tofu.  For an extra entry, follow me on Twitter and tweet a link to this post. Be sure to mention me (@nashveggie) so I can count your second entry. I’ll pick a random winner on October 11.

EZ Tofu Press at Amazon.com