Our Cooking Class Vegetarian Stock-Janis + recipe

[Guest guest]

Dear Nancy,

 

Unfortunately, yeah... my big boy is a BIG BOY. Even at 4'9 " , 130 lbs is

obese (not morbidly obese, but obese all the same). I don't weigh much

more than that and I could use to loose 15 lbs. and I'm 5'5 " tall. He is

involved with sports. He's a high brown belt in taekwondo, taking two classes

per day, six days per week! In fact, this weekend, he and his little

brother are going to be in a tournament. He won't be able to spar because his

broken ankle just recently healed and is still delicate, but he'll do his

forms and break wood (using the other foot, of course).

 

The funny thing is that you know how a " six-pack " has one vertical line and

two horizontal? Well, my big guy has the vertical line splitting his big

belly. He essentially has a " two-pack. " He's so strong that he can lift

me easily. I think his involvement with taekwondo and his relationship wit

h his master is the fine line that saves him from being morbidly obese. My

fear is that if he weighs 130 lbs. when he's 8-years-old, what will he

weigh at 15, or worse, at 25 when he'll no longer be getting taller?

 

When feasible, I do let him help me cook. Alas, most of the time I'm

cooking while he's doing his homework, but on Fridays, weekends, and holidays I

let him give me a hand... his little brother, too. Actually, although my

big guy is a meat lover, he's not at all adverse to vegetarian cuisine, as

long as there are no cooked carrots or peppers in it. He'll eat raw

carrots, but ordinarily won't touch cooked ones. That's why, when I saw the

orange bits in the morningstar burger, I thought he wouldn't eat it. He did...

two of them! He also adores tofu. I almost always buy firm tofu because

it's the only style I've found that comes in a low fat version. I have to

buy twice the amount I would otherwise need for a meal because, while I'm

cutting it up, my weird children are grabbing the pieces and eating it raw,

like cheese. They both love it... plain and raw! Go figure!

 

This is a tofu dish my boy enjoys...

General Tao's Tofu

 

Ingredients (you can use vegan versions):

1 box of low fat firm tofu

egg substitute for 1 egg

3/4 cup cornstarch

vegetable oil for frying

3 chopped green onions

1 box sliced white mushrooms or 1 can Chinese straw mushrooms, drained

1 Tablespoon minced ginger

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

2/3 cup vegetable stock

2 Tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

4 Tablespoons sugar or splenda

red pepper to taste (I leave this out; my boys don't do spicy)

1 Tablespoon sherry, saki, or mirin beer (I use saki)

1 Tablespoon white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, which allows you to

cut back on the sugar by 1 tablespoon)

lightly steamed broccoli

cooked brown rice

 

Directions:

Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks.

Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3

tablespoons water.

Dip tofu in egg replacer/water mixture and coat completely.

Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely.

Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl.

 

Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil.

 

Heat 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat.

Add green onions, ginger, mushrooms, and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes.

Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper, and vinegar.

Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture

stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.

 

Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over brown rice. Serves: 4

Note: This can be made with twice the sauce and 2 cups veggies plus extra

straw mushrooms.

 

Thanks again. I remain...

 

In Vino Veritas,

*´¨) Janis Abbe

.. ·´ ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨ )

(¸.·´ (¸.*´ ¸.·´ `·-* *

Oenaphile, Logophile, Ailurophile, Bibliophile

" Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre

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