RECIPE: Jambalaya (a Quick Fix)

[Guest guest]

This used to be a standby with us for those days when we seemed to have a bit of

this and

a bit of that needing to be used before we pressed on to new dishes. A friend

reminded

me of it recently, so here I was at lunchtime today making my low-fat version of

-

 

JAMBALAYA

 

serves 2 generously (ie.we had a serving left over)

 

1/3 lb extra-firm low-fat tofu, frozen, thawed, squeezed & cut in 1/2-in cubes.*

Do the

squeezing and cubing first, then set tofu aside.

1/2 large red onion, chopped

1 large rib/stalk celery, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper/capsicum, chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 small zucchini, chopped

6 white mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 Thai red chiles, finely chopped (you may want more)

1/2 large (28-oz) can tomatoes, chopped, with juice

healthy shake or two of oregano

1 tsp cummin

1/4 tsp cayenne - or more

1/4 tsp Ôliquid smokeÕ (you can leave this out, but it is nicer in)

1 cup cooked brown rice

salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish? - I used some green onions

 

* THE TOFU: If you freeze it, it gets a wonderful texture. You will need to

squeeze out

excess water after it defrosts. Be kind to it.

 

Put the onions, garlic, chiles in a large skillet over medium-high heat with a

little liquid

(water or stock) until the mushrooms are translucent. Add all the other

vegetables and

seasonings and stir well. Stir in the rice then carefully stir in tofu without

breaking it up.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook covered for around 15 minutes or until the

liquid is

absorbed and the vegetables are just cooked. NOTE: you should check about half

way

through the cooking - you may need to remove the lid to finish the evaporation

of the

liquid. Garnish and serve.

 

Love, Pat