baked tofu part 2

Ah, what a July 4th weekend. Rockies games, BBQs, surprise birthday parties, and lunches with good friends kept me outrageously busy! When Tuesday rolled around, and I was feeling like a big, fat, slob, I knew it was time to get my exercise and eating habits back on track. After a big produce shop on Tuesday night, and a couple of healthy, home-cooked meals, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting back to normal :)

Tonight I made a second attempt at baked tofu, except this time I called the expert- my mom! She has this amazing recipe that I had to get my hands on, and I must say, it turned out exactly like I remember it. The inspiration comes from a PETA cookbook, with a little help from my mom, and a dash or two of my cooking recklessness.

Stuff you need: 1. block firm or extra firm tofu 2. soy sauce 3. lemon juice 4. garlic powder

Start by pressing the liquid out of your tofu, while you prepare your marinade. For the marinade, combine 3 tablespoons soy sauce with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and a shake or two of garlic powder. Hint: it helps to prepare the sauce in a large bowl to make tossing the tofu easier- definitely should've thought of that before I used the cereal bowl. Ha!

Take the tofu, chop it into bite-sized cubes, and toss it in the marinade until all the pieces are thoroughly coated. Let the tofu soak for as long as you can. During this time, preheat your oven to 375 F, prepare anything else you need for your meal, and take a second to change out of your work clothes and relax.

When the oven is preheated, oil a baking sheet, and place the tofu on top. Pop it in the oven for 10 minutes, flip the tofu over, and then cook it for another 10. DONE! Omg look at that golden baked deliciousness.

I used half of the tofu in an asparagus and mushroom stir fry, and I saved the other half for a future meal.
Damn, this recipe is great. The tofu is tender in the middle, with a slightly crispy, perfectly baked outside that's just a little salty. It's great in stir fries, it's good in hearty soups, and it might be a fun addition to a fully loaded salad. Let's be honest, this baked tofu is good in everything. I'm feeling healthy, and very, very full. I'm definitely writing this one down for next time. Thanks Mom!

ass kickin tofu

I am definitely a spicy food connoisseur. Ever since I was a kid, my dad and I have have been pushing the heat boundaries with copious amounts of Sriracha and hot peppers, much to my mom's dismay. Tonight for dinner, I thought I'd try my hand at baked tofu with a little kick.

Stuff you need: 1. A block of firm (or extra firm) tofu 2. Chili garlic sauce 3. Soy sauce 4.Hoisin sauce 5. Olive oil

Start off by squeezing all the liquid out of the tofu- I like to wrap it in a paper towel and place a heavy object on top while I prepare everything else. While the tofu is indisposed, prepare your marinade. Combine approximately 2 tablespoons olive oil and soy sauce with 1 tablespoon hoisin. Give it a good stir and a taste, and adjust the flavors to your liking- some ginger, sesame oil, or lemon juice would all be nice additions.

When your marinade is ready, grab the tofu, slice it into slabs, and arrange it in a glass baking dish. Lightly coat each piece of tofu with the chili garlic sauce, and then pour the marinade on top. Now pop the dish into the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350 F. About 5-10 minutes in, flip the tofu over so both sides soak up all those great flavors. At this point, I lightly coated the other side of the tofu with more chili garlic sauce. Please feel free to skip this step, unless you like your food with some serious burn.

When the oven is ready to go, pop that spicy tofu in for 15 minutes, flip the slabs over, and cook for an additional 20. When it's looking golden all over, gather some kleenex, a glass of milk, and dig in!

Now that is some tofu that will kick your ass. I mean, real coughing-fit-makes-your-nose-run kind of spice! Yeow! Some steamed broccoli and orange cauliflower were a really nice compliment to this dish- the hot, heat of the tofu, and the mild, subtle veggies were a great combo. I ate half of the slabs tonight, and popped the rest in the fridge for some stir fry tomorrow.

I must say, that for completely making this up on the fly, I'm pretty pumped with the results. Next time, I'll definitely increase the oven temp so it's a little less soft, and a little more crunchy- I think 375 or 400 degrees would work great. Also, I think a longer marinading time would help enhance flavors, but let's be honest, I'm usually hungry and impatient after a long day at the office.

A hot, fiery meal, for a hot, summer day. It needs a little tweaking, but not bad for my first attempt at baked tofu :)

basic miso soup

I think miso must be one of my favorite soups of all times. I love the unique, fresh, flavors, and it makes a perfect appetizer or light meal. I bought a tub of miso a while back, but kept forgetting it at my friend's house, so when I finally reacquired my miso paste, I was excited to make a big batch tonight. I mostly followed the recipe from The 30 Minute Vegan's Taste of the East, but tweaked it to my own liking a little bit too.

I won't give away all their published secrets, but I will tell you what I did differently. The book and most other recipes I found online call for dashi stock, but I'm poor and lazy, so I used vegetable broth, and I think it turned out just fine. I also used more tofu than it called for, and added strips of nori as well- hint: use scissors instead of a knife on nori sheets. It's way easier!

Maybe a little sodium-heavy, but honesty, I was craving it, and it was so worth it! In the book, the nori sheets were an optional addition, but it wouldn't have been as good without it. It was also nice that the recipe made a ton of soup, so I froze a little, and packed a portion or two for lunch this week. If I can figure out how to cut back on the salt a little, I will happily made this soup on a weekly basis. Not quite as good as the restaurants, but still tasty and satisfying! :)

almost instant faux pho

The first time I had pho, it totally knocked my socks off. The flavors are so rich and fresh, it's seriously healthy, and I love adding sauces to make the dish taste just how you like. Unfortunately after becoming vegetarian, I quickly found out that the flavorful pho broth is made with a crap ton of animal parts. Boo. I hear that there are a few places that do veggie pho, but I have yet to hunt those locations down. So craving pho, and being short on time, I threw together my first attempt at homemade faux pho.

Stuff you need: 1. Veggie broth 2. Rice noodles of some kind- I used stick noodles 3. Various sauces- hoisin, soy, and chili garlic were perfect for this dish 4. Veggies- I used bean sprouts, bell pepper, cucumber & green onion 5. 1/2 lime

Start by bringing your vegetable broth to boil in a pot- just enough to cook the noodles in- kind of like pasta. When the broth is boiling, remove the pot from the heat, and throw your noodles in for 8-10 minutes, or until al dente.

While you're waiting for your noodles to get tender, chop up all the rest of your ingredients. I cut the bell pepper into julienne strips, the cucumber into sliced quarters, and the green onion into little chunks- just bite sized pieces that you can easily slurp up.

When the noodles are ready and the veggies are prepped, take a bowl and fill it with noodles and a big ladle full of the broth. On top of this, toss all your chopped vegetables and bean sprouts, and then season with the sauces of your choice- hoisin is especially great, and the chili garlic gives it a nice kick. Finally, squeeze the lime half on top of everything, and devour. Really, that's it!

For being such an impromptu meal, I was really surprised that the flavors were so great. If you don't like how it's tasting, it's so easy to add a little more of this and that until it's just right. The only thing I think my faux pho lacked was basil- which it's traditionally served with. Next time, I will make sure to use basil as well, but honestly, I think it was pretty damn delicious as is. Quick, filling, healthy, and spectacular. I will definitely be making this one more often :)

sesame asparagus & mushrooms

When I say sesame tonight, I don't mean the usual sesame sauce you find in restaurants- I mean sesame oil. This is one of my parents' favorite recipes, and a wonderful, simple dish that I've grown up eating, and loving. If asparagus is in season, definitely use it, cause it makes the flavor so much better!

Stuff you need: 1. a bunch of asparagus 2. a bunch of mushrooms 3. sesame oil 4. soy sauce 5. rice and/or sesame seeds (both optional)

Start by chopping up your mushrooms and asparagus- making sure to snap off the nasty ends of the asparagus before you start. Stir fry tip: prep all your ingredients before you start cooking- veggies chopped, spices measured, etc. Stir frying is such a quick method, so having everything ready to go will help make the meal faster and easier.

When your prep work is done, heat a little sesame oil in the wok over medium heat. When the wok is warmed, throw in the asparagus and cook for a few minutes. Next, add in your mushrooms and cook for a few minutes longer. When your vegetables are to your preferred tenderness, add more sesame oil and a little soy sauce, and call it a night. Feel free to add more spices to your liking, but the simple flavors of this dish are what make it so great.

When your veggies are ready, toss some sesame seeds on top, and serve the concoction over rice, or noodles, or just by itself since it tastes so good!

It's a quick meal with fantastic flavors. When it's asparagus season, nothing beats this recipe. It's been a staple at my parents' home, and now it's becoming a staple at mine :)

stir fry & simply asia sauce

Stir fry is one of those go-to , meals that I know I can always fall back on for a quick, healthy, and always delicious dinner. Tonight was that night, however, instead of throwing a little of this and that into the wok, I decided to try one of the stir fry sauces from Simply Asia, and I must say, it turned out pretty good.

Stuff you need: 1. Vegetables 2. Simply Asia stir fry sauce- or your own homemade sauce 3.Rice or noodles- totally optional 4. A splash of canola oil 5. Anything else you'd like to throw in- garlic, ginger, spices, etc.

Start by chopping up all your vegetables. After a quick trip to the store, I found myself with onion, carrots, broccoli, red cabbage, red bell pepper, and some left over mushrooms from the other night. Stir fry tip #1: chop all the ingredients to around the same size so everything cooks evenly. Aren't the colors beautiful?

When all your veggies are prepped, throw a splash of canola oil into your wok and heat it up on high (you can also use a skillet with some olive oil, if you'd rather). If you're adding garlic, ginger, or hot peppers, I would start by throwing those in the wok. If not, then just start cooking up your vegetables! Stir fry tip #2: put the ingredients into the wok from hardest to softest, once again, to help everything cook evenly. I started out with the carrots and worked my way up to the cabbage. When everything is cooked to your preferred tenderness, squeeze in that sauce packet, or start adding various sauces and spices until it tastes just the way you like it.

I used Simply Asia's General Tsao's sauce, and it was pretty good. It had nice flavor, and it made this speedy meal even faster to prepare. Unfortunately, the sodium content is pretty high, so I think that next time I'll stick to making my own concotion. If you're tight on time, these stir fry sauces are a great option, but I definitely wouldn't make a habit out of it.

I heated up a little rice from the weekend, spooned my colorful mixture on top, and dug in! Seriously, I love stir fry. It always makes me feel healthy, and it's a great kitchen sink recipe cause you can throw pretty much anything in it- fresh vegetables, tofu, nuts, pineapple, mango, seitan, frozen vegetables, rice, noodles, you name it. Not only was this a delicious dinner, but the leftovers will be just as good tomorrow for lunch :)

lettuce wraps

Driving home tonight, I had a mad craving for Morningstar Farms' sausage patties. Omg if you've never tried them, stop everything you're doing and go buy a box right now. The taste is phenomenal, the texture is dead on,and they're good in everything- quiche, burritos, scrambles, breakfast sandwiches, and now apparently lettuce wraps. I definitely wanted some veggie sausage tonight, but I was in the mood for something light. Enter, lettuce wraps! Kind of like the ones you find at PF Chang's, but way better :)

Stuff you need: 1. Onion 2. Bell Pepper 3. 2 Veggie sausage patties 4. Lettuce- iceberg or romaine, either will do

First and foremost, gently defrost the sausage patties in the microwave, just enough so you can cut them up into bite-sized pieces. Meanwhile, dice the bell pepper and onion, and throw them into a skillet for a minute or two. When the sausage is ready, add it to the skillet as well, with some garlic salt and any other spice of your choosing.

When the veggies and sausage are warmed through, and spiced to your liking, take a piece of lettuce and spoon some of the mixture into the middle. Continue filling lettuce leaves until you're out of the veggie/sausage mix. Grab. Wrap. Consume.

Voila! That's all there is to it. The entire process took me less than 20 minutes, and the outcome was spectacular. It was exactly what I was craving, but better! Not only does this make a nice light meal, but I'm positive it'll be an awesome appetizer or snack too. Vegetarian lettuce wraps- total success.

quick & simple spring rolls

Ever since I went to Uoki last week with my friend Jenna, all I want to do is eat Asian food. I had the stone bi-bim-bob, and I'm totally hooked. All I can think about is reproducing that recipe and eating it every night! Instead of acting on my new obsession, purely because I'm too lazy to walk one block to the store, I dug in the pantry and made something that would satisfy my cravings for now.

Stuff you need: 1. Spring Roll Skins 2. Veggies for the inside 3. Your favorite Asian-themed sauce

Start by cutting all your vegetables into matchsticks- aka julienning. I used carrots and spinach since that's what I found in the fridge, but you can use anything you'd like. When all your vegetable filling is cut, fill a pie pan, or any large flat receptacle with warm water.

Take one of your spring roll skins- it'll be hard and brittle- and soak it in the warm water. When it's nice and soft, pull it out of the water bath, place your vegetables in the middle of the wrapper, and roll it up like a burrito. Don't forget to tuck in the ends!

Keep rolling until you're out of vegetables and your plate is full. I put my sauce directly into the rolls, but if you prefer, you can have it on the side for dipping- dealers choice. Soy sauce is great, hoisin is my favorite, but tonight I discovered this peanut sauce hiding behind the mustard.

They look all fancy and stuff at the restaurants, but seriously, these are so simple to make. Cutting included, this took me maybe 10 minutes. It's a great snack or appetizer, and it's ridiculously healthy to boot!

broccoli almond sweet & sour tofu

I am a total sucker for cookbooks. I love buying new books with recipes I've never dreamed about, and going over the pages a hundred times before I settle on the first tasty treat I'd like to try. Recently, I've received a plethora of wonderful vegetarian and vegan cookbooks from Christmas and my birthday, and I'm just starting to dive into some fun new recipes. This time, my parents chose the first one from Vegan Yum Yum, by Lauren Ulm (via Christmas from my cousin Mal).

The recipe is broccoli almond sweet and sour tofu, and let me tell you, it was delicious. While the deep fried tofu and sweet, sticky sauce were both slightly sinful, it's super filling (so you won't eat a ton of it), and the sauce tastes great on the almonds, broccoli, and red bell pepper (that was our own addition).

I won't give away all the trade secrets, but here is a link to the sweet and sour sauce, which was quite delicious. My dad thinks that it would be far less hassle to just buy pre-fried tofu, and then add the homemade sauce, but really, there's nothing like hot, crispy, deep fried tofu right out of the wok :)

So far, 1 recipe in from Vegan Yum Yum, and I'm excited for more. I definitely won't make this all the time (just cause of the fried food thing), but I'll definitely hold on to this one for the future.