Tofu. You're Doing it Wrong.

Let me start by saying that most people and maybe even some chefs don't know what they're supposed to do with tofu.  

I mean, it's not natural to look at a block of what-the-hell-is-that and salivate.  

I have taken note of the bowl of white cubes at HuHot and of course I take it every time (I do!) but I'm completely saddened at the lack of any preparation.  

Maybe you've heard the idea that it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook with, 

so if it's bad you must not be a very good cook.  

Just kidding.  Really though, I've never had tofu in any restaurant ever that is prepared the way I do - trust me, it's really good!

Here goes:  FIRST make sure you have EXTRA-FIRM tofu.  Not "soft", "silken", or even "firm" is anywhere close to what you want. 

 

None of those are useful in anything that isn't blended 

(like a smoothie, or a soup).  

Basically, worthless.  (I said that.)

Honestly, I believe the silken version of tofu has given it a bad reputation overall.  

People get this home, open it up and try to fry it or whatever, and it falls apart.  

It's horrid, so I completely understand when they say 

"We tried tofu once.  We didn't like it."

So, extra firm tofu has a much more "spongy" texture.  

That is good. It stands up to frying. 

You can freeze it to change it's texture slightly 

(good for grilling) but that's another day.  

Tofu is stored in water, so open the package and use paper towels to 

squeeze out the excess fluids from the tofu cake.  

Go ahead and slice the tofu into cubes or other dimension of your liking.  

 

Marinate the tofu in Tamari.  

I use a plastic container with a lid 

and turn it over to coat all sides 

of the cubes with the Tamari.  

Shake it gently.  

Oh yeah.

Ok, so while the tofu is marinating I make a dry mixture of 

spicy fish-type seasoning 

(like Cajun, or what-have-you) and flour.

You can use equal amounts or just enough 

flour to cut the spiciness of the other stuff.  

mixture of flour and seasoned blend

Dredge the tofu pieces in the flour/seasoning mixture and fry in whatever oil you like.  I usually use a mixture of olive oil and butter.  It makes it nice and brown and crispy on the outside.

  

coat all sides of tofu cubes with the flour mixture

fry until nice and crispy golden brown before turning.

Am I crazy?  I don't think you have to be a vegetarian to like this preparation.   Have you ever seen tofu like this?

Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.  Hashtag tasteslikechicken and such.

Dinner is Gorgeous

I say Try it before you knock it.  

If you still don't like it, come over and I'll make it for you because you probably did it wrong.  If you STILL don't like it, well, then feel free to continue making fun of it .  But, you're wrong.

Spring Fever...or is it Cabin Fever?

I've gone a little off the deep end trying to bring a little bit of springtime (aka UN-winter) into the house.  

It's ridiculously, bitterly cold right now.  

The following represents what I've been messing around with for the last couple of weeks.  

It started like this:  I made a couple of these "Prosperity Hens" for Xmas presents...

...And they were so cute!  They were these little stuffed fabric birdies hung with beads and a little bell at the bottom.   That got me thinking about mobiles.  

Why not use these little bird shapes with real pieces of wood from my yard?  

I dug some sticks out of the snow, scraped the bark off and gave them a little sanding.  The picture doesn't really do it justice though, there are 4 tiers and 20 birds.  I am in love with it.  It has very subtle movement--very sweet to look at.

MOBILE #1  BIRDS ON BRANCHES

Then I went to the Hobby Shop and bought some piano wire and "forced" my husband to fold some origami cranes.  Yep, I had to twist his arm really hard to get him to do that.  I made these next two mobiles using his fancy shiny cranes.  I spent about $1.40 on piano wire and $5.00 on shiny paper.

MOBILE #2  SHINY ASS CRANES

MOBILE #3  CROOKED CRANES

On mobile #3 there are a few more levels and about nine more cranes that aren't showing.  It's the principle of the thing.  These things make me feel like winter is going to be over soon.  They make me smile.  A lot.

The last thing I did which I am also IN LOVE with is to plant some wheatgrass.  I actually don't have a juicer, so the wheatgrass is of little nutritional use for me, but we always have wheatberries on hand (for bread making) so I thought why not sprout some and just have a beautiful patch of GREEN in the kitchen?  I used my Aerogarden (which wasn't currently in use to grow one of their kits) and a simple tray.  The grow lamp on the Aerogarden is also something that definitely helps my mood--it's bright and always sun-shiny bright when I get up in the morning.  

Necessary.  

Winter Indoor "Lawn"

So, despite the frigid temps, there are touches of warmth.  Springtime is just around the corner.  

I have hope. 

HOW to COOK--ALL the TIME

Let me tell you the truth.  I fantasize about my own book, cooking show, and so forth especially on these days when my dinner is so pretty I have to take a picture of it and post it on Facebook.

Listen, unfriend me if you don't want to see what I'm eating.   That's how it has to be. 

What I cook is gorgeous...and delicious.  Deal with it.

I cook every single day.  Because I eat every single day.  More than once.  I always pack the next day's lunches pretty much while I'm making our dinner, but it's not always leftovers.  I probably spend at least an hour cooking every night.  I don't know if that's excessive or not, but my multitasking is epic.  It can take less time, but usually it's not more, even if I'm making spaghetti from scratch and homemade marinara.

Why cook so much when food is so convenient?  It started as an effort to be more healthy, we realized we could save some money, and partly because my husband and I LOVE GOOD FOOD.  One night we realized that we hadn't bought any bread (because Billy makes it every weekend) for months(!) and started a list of "things we no longer buy" and it was quite long including things like tortilla shells, fettuccini, ice cream, spaghetti sauce along with bread (which, by the way he makes by grinding the wheat berries into flour and I'm not even kidding about that.  Follow his blog if you want to know more.)

The other day I got this crazy idea to have a business where I'd go to people's houses cook them dinner from the things they have on hand.  I know how "normal" people cook and deal with food.  I used to be one.  To me, it was normal to buy a sleeve of celery and throw it out when it turned brown and liquid-y.  Sure, I used some of it, but never all.  On the next shopping trip, I'd buy more and end up throwing some of that one away and so it continued.  

In those days, those carefree days, I didn't really know how to cook.  I knew how to make some fancy things if I wanted to impress someone, but I didn't really know how to be creative and spontaneous in the kitchen.  So, over the years, here's what I realized...

...in other words:  How to cook all the time.

• Have staples on hand.  You know what you like.  Keep those things handy.  For example, I can say I almost always have mushrooms, onions, celery, carrots, and garlic on hand.  This means you buy ingredients, not pre-packaged "meals".  Everything goes together because it's stuff you like, obviously.

• Buy Real ingredients.  Real fruits, vegetables, whole grains.  Avoid as many processed items as you can.  Make your own whatever-it-is whenever possible.  Pasta requires some special kitchen tools, but homemade tortillas are easy.  Homemade cookies are way better than store-bought ones.  Try new things.  A golden beet (which was a NEW thing for me to try) pretty much inspired this blog.  (Pictured below--so pretty!)

• Prep ingredients beforehand.  I might only need a little bit of onion, but I go ahead and chop the whole thing and put away the extra in the fridge.  Then the next time you're cooking with onion (which of course should be the next time you cook) you just shake some into the pan.  I also peel a whole bag of carrots at a time.  It's not crazy because I know that I will use them all up within a week or so.  It's not really all that time consuming either.  How many times have you glanced at the carrots and decided it wasn't worth the effort because you're in a hurry?  Too hungry to peel.  That old story.  Then, two weeks later, you thrown them away, pale and wiggly.  Just give it a couple of minutes once.  You'll see.  Once you get into the habit, it comes naturally.  

• Use most perishable items first.  This is how I can get away with peeling a whole bag of carrots.  They don't have time to dry out or get wiggly because they are utilized in almost every meal.  Have big salads if your lettuce is iffy--USE IT UP (see next point).

• Try to find a way to use everything up.  It's so easy when you've got little bits of  prepped ingredients.  I start many meals with onion, garlic, celery, and carrot (mirepoix).  It's such a basic, classic start for so many dishes, so those items are killer to have on hand at all times.  As far as not throwing away celery that's gone bad (well it shouldn't go bad because you're going to mirepoix the hell out of that shit), you don't even have to throw out the leaves.  Celery leaves are great flavorings in soups and salads.   Along with this notion is the idea that for the most nutrition, one should Eat a Rainbow.  Think about colors like red and green rather than tan or brown in your cooking forays.

• The freezer is your friend.  I keep bags of cooked brown rice, barley, and quinoa in the freezer.  I store them in freezer bags in portions suitable for 2 people because there are just two of us.  If you have 4 people in your family, get bigger bags.  Since brown rice takes about an hour to cook, it's unrealistic to think that most people have that kind of time.  I will cook a batch of rice or whatever I'm low on on the weekend and freeze the batches.  Then all I have to do is heat them up.  Sometimes, I'll make a batch of veggie burgers and freeze the extras.  I make lots of homemade soups and freeze perfect portions for us.  (That's another staple--there's always a lentil soup in the freezer.)  I make sure we have plenty of options available for times when we don't have time to cook.

• Be organized.  Keep cheeses in one place.  Veggies in another.  I have a Greens drawer in our fridge.  I know that if we have spinach, kale, or lettuce, it's going to be in there.  I don't have to look all over for something.  

There are my top tips of this day.  I hope it makes you want to cook something delicious.   Below, the meal and subsequent lunch that inspired this blog.  It was put together in less than an hour and that includes harvesting the squash, kale and pepper from the garden.

Tilapia, just sauteed in a pan with some tiny chopped onions on a bed of quinoa (from the freezer.  It was the last package, so I know I need to make another large batch and freeze soon.)

On the side, a roasted golden organic beet (roasted last night in our outdoor earth oven--lol another blog altogether), a chopped yellow squash, a jalapeno, kale, and some onion sauteed in olive oil.    Salt and pepper, yo.

Below, tomorrow's lunch.  This is the veggie mixture and the quinoa mixed.  It wasn't quite enough to make another 2 meals out of, so I added chopped tomato (from the garden), torn basil leaves, a drizzle of balsamic reduction, some orange and yellow pepper strips and a little shredded Parmesan.  To be fair, we just hosted a pizza party for some friends using our outdoor oven and there were a few leftover toppings such as the yellow pepper strips and the basil leaves.

In the side pocket, a dollop of Greek yogurt with a sprinkling of chia seeds and some ordinary frozen bagged fruit.

When I make a lunch like that I actually get excited to go to work the next day.   

That's not even the whole lunch.  I also get to enjoy a smoothie.  

(Gawd I love my Vita-Mix)  

This one I made yesterday.  It contains a raw golden beet, an apple, an orange, and two bananas.  It ended up as four portions, so I had some today for lunch and I'll have some tomorrow as well.  

See?--Rainbow!

"Hostess-y Cupcakes!"

Seriously, shut the front door.  

I just purchased what has fast become my second favorite cookbook of all time and I've only made three of the recipes so far.  (My first favorite will always and forever be the Moosewood cookbook.  It is my vegetarian bible.  It is literally in shreds.  I really need a new one, but I digress.)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1612431216/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's called 'Classic Snacks Made from Scratch' and I'm kind of giddy about it.  Homemade oreos, Nutter Butters, Doritos, Goldfish Crackers, the list goes on.  Now I know that usually (in my experience anyway) that when someone says "the list goes on" usually it pretty much ends there.  Not in this case.  There are 70 recipes and they all use normal, wholesome ingredients.  

So far I've made the Oreos and Nutter Butters--Nailed it!  

Lol--the filling looked messy in the Oreos.  I decided to use a piping bag to put the creamy middles in the Nutter Butters and the end result did look neater, therefore it tasted better too.  I don't have a picture, you'll just have to trust me.  They were adorbs.

This third recipe attempt involved a trip to the Hobby Lobby to get brown/black cupcake liners.  Very, very important.  Although the cupcakes were a mulit-step endeavor, I really think the end result was worth it.  Only a small issue with the doodle icing on the tops becauseI added a dab more milk when I thought it was too thick.  I think that caused it to run instead of staying firm.  A very minor detail.  OMG these are incredible.  Mind you, I never buy this stuff premade.  I probably haven't bought a package of snack cake food since I was 18 or 19.  These taste like good times.  Wow.  

Seriously.  Amazing.  Ridiculous.

Too bad the recipe only makes a batch of 12.  I am torn between sharing them with my friends, hoarding them in the freezer for late night snacks, or the best solution--getting started on another batch right now.

"STARBERRY"-Rhubarb Soda

My strawberry bed is ridiculous this year!  For a couple of weeks already I have gotten a huge bowlful every day.  Mostly I've been using them in our daily smoothies, but today I picked a few really weird looking ones and thought I'd make something special.  Strawberry pop!

So many gorgeous berries!

Check out these weird mutants--I call them STARBERRIES.  lol.

I picked several stalks of rhubarb and cut them into chunks as you can see below.  They were pretty green I realized, but the ultimate sweetness of the syrup should make it work.  I threw in the STARBERRIES(!) along with about 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 cups of water and brought it to a boil.

Usually when I make a simple syrup I use 1 part sugar to 1 part water.  Sometimes it seems too sweet, so I am using less sugar to water today (of course I could just use less of the syrup, but whatever.)  

I'm not an expert, just an enthusiast.  

I simmered everything on low heat for about 1/2 hour or until all of the fruit had broken down.  Then strained it into a jar.  It turned out a really pretty color too!

I have a soda stream, so in that size bottle I used a shot glass (what is that, like 1 oz.?).  Hmm...I should know that since I used to be a bartender.  But you don't need a soda stream, you can use the syrup to flavor a bottle of plain club soda for the same effect or add it to individual glasses.  And obviously, use more or less syrup depending on your taste.  Happy Summer!

Backyard Fun!

Today I picked another buttload (that is the technical term I like to use) of strawberries, and, as I washed and hulled them, I set the oogie ones aside.  By "oogie"  I mean, they had bruises or had been nibbled on by some critter.  I'm not going to eat those.  

The chickens don't mind a bit.  So, I gave them a tasty treat of a few berries.  Score one for chickens.

Then I thought they might like to get out and enjoy the buggy, sunny day.  So I opened the gate to let them explore...

Here they come!

And there they go.

They immediately went to a dirt mound in the back of the yard...

I started taking a couple of pictures of my other baby rolling around in the grass...

...and the girls came running back to me (probably thinking that I had more good stuff to share)

Since I didn't, they went and hung out in the driveway to wait for my husband to get home.  Really.  They will probably also visit the neighbors for a little bit since that guy likes to throw bread in his yard.  For the birds, one might assume--no it's for his dog.  

OK then.  Of course it is.  

Garden Strawberry Smoothie

I got home from work today and was able to pick a whole bowlful of berries.

How exciting is that??

Into the vitamix with one banana and one orange.  

These are for tomorrow's lunch!  

pretty in pink!