another Sunday, another day in the kitchen

June 15, 2009

Well, day might not be accurate, I didn't start cooking until six pm LOL. But

still, spend some time in the kitchen yesterday making meals. I learned

something new about tofu recently--if you freeze your extra firm tofu first, it

is MUCH easier to squeeze all the water out of it. In fact, I was squeezing it

out with just my hands instead of weighing it down and changing paper towels

every so often.. I found this out by accident cooking tofu for a bbq a few

weeks ago and thought I'd try it again to see if it was a consistent thing.

Sure enough, froze the tofu, defrosted it, and then squeezed the water out with

my hands. This made frying it much easier because I didn't have the water

seeping out as it cooked. A word of warning, however, if you defrost the tofu

in the fridge it takes a few days LOL.

As for what I did with the tofu, well I was inspired by a recipe for kung pao

tofu I stumbled upon on one of the vegetarian cooking blogs out there. I

modified it to suit my likes and the program and here is what I came up with:

1 container frozen, defrosted and then squeezed tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red bell pepper cut into small strips

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon red curry paste

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 tablespoon low sodium tamari sauce

1 tablespoon apple juice concentrate

1/4 cup or so peanuts

1) In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the oil, add the tofu, tossing and

turning until it is adequately browned

2) remove from pan and add bell pepper strips cooking for just a few minutes.

3) combine remaining olive oil with other ingredients to make a sauce (save

peanuts for later)

4) add tofu and sauce back into the pan and toss to coat all ingredients. Add

the peanuts and toss again. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat.

I also made a cream of spinach soup to have along side it. I will admit the

flavors are not exactly complementary, but they don't clash either . This was

also adapted from a vegetarian blog, and this recipe is vegan.

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup apple juice (to be honest I'm not sure the point of this, I added it but

not sure it added to the dish)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 bunch spinach, risned and coursley chopped

1/2 bunch parsley, rinsed and coursley chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 quart vegetable broth

2 cups water

2/3 cup quinoa flakes (could easily use oats)

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp white pepper

salt to taste

1) in a large soup pot over medium heat saute the onions and scallions in the

olive oil and apple juice for 5 minutes. Add the spinach parsley and celery,

cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.

2) add the broth, water, quinoa and spices. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to

medium, cover and simmer for 20 minutes

3) allow soup to cool for 10 minutes or so and then use an immersion blender to

blend soup into a creamy consistency.

Heather

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The

other is as though everything is a miracle.

--Albert Einstein

June 15, 2009

Oh, freezing tofu is great! It changes the texture - much firmer. It's

actually a traditional technique in Japanese cooking. (They've been

freeze drying tofu for centuries, too - really...)

Traditionally, you freeze it, then pour boiling water on it to thaw.

Let it cool enough to handle, and squeeze the water out.

I microwave...

It's almost like a sponge. It's wonderful if you then want to marinate

it, as it really absorbs the marinade.

Anne

On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 6:54 AM, Heather Butler<hawaiihmb wrote:

> Well, day might not be accurate, I didn't start cooking until six pm LOL. But