Tofu Lo Mein

I adapted this recipe from the Chicken Lo Mein recipe in the Joy of Cooking cookbook. It was so tasty there were no leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 6-8 oz of tofu, pressed and cut into small cubes (probably 1/2 inch cubes)
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 Tb. oyster sauce
• 1 Tb. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 6 oz angel hair pasta (I prefer wheat), or Chinese egg noodles
• 3 Tb. olive oil
• 4 oz. (or 2 1/2 c.) bok choy, cut into 3-inch pieces, (see here for info on how to work with bok choy)
  
• 1/4 c. (or 8 oz can) canned bamboo shoots, rinsed, drained, and sliced (I like to buy them already sliced.)
• 1/4 c. sliced mushrooms
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• Optional add ins: scallions, bean sprouts

Directions:

1. Stir cornstarch, salt and 1 tsp of sesame oil together in a medium bowl. Add the tofu and stir to coat. Let sit for 10-20 min.
2. Put pasta water on the stove to boil. In the meantime, stir together the water, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Set aside. Add noodles to boiling water and cook according to directions on packaging.
   
3. While the noodles cook, chop up your veggies and set aside.
   
4. When the noodles finish, drain and rinse with cold water, and then drain again. Toss the noodles with 1 tsp of sesame oil.
5. Heat a wok or large skillet over medium high heat with 2 Tb. of the olive oil in it. When it is hot add the tofu and stir-fry, cook until the outsides start to get crispy looking.
   
6. Then add last Tb. of oil, along with all the veggies. Stir so all the veggies get coated with the oil (about 45 sec). Then add the water/oyster/soy sauce mix. Stir again and cover to steam the vegetables, about 2-3 minutes. Uncover and add the noodles. Stir, so it all gets mixed together and covered with sauce. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Then serve!
   

Notes about the recipe:

1. Make sure you don't overcook your noodles. And serving right away is best. We had a little diaper rash emergency right as I was in the last few stages of this recipe, so my noodles were in the pan for a while, which made them start to fall apart. It was still tasty, but probably could have been better if we had gotten to eat it right away.

Peanut Sauce Baked Tofu

(Image from Love Veggies and Yoga)

This recipe was sent in by Liz D. She found it at the blog Love Veggies and Yoga. Both she and her husband gave the recipe a thumbs up. If you like picture steps for your recipes, check out the link because she has a pictoral guide for her recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 package tofu, pressed (select firm or extra firm)
• 1/3 c orange juice
• 3 tbsp peanut butter
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp agave (or honey/maple syrup or combo)
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• Pinch of cayenne (more to taste, if desired)
• Pinch of chili powder (more to taste, if desired)
• Optional: 1 Tbsp EVOO or use more sesame oil

Directions:

Press your tofu (use a tofu press or press between heavy plates/objects and get the paper towels handy), and slice pressed tofu into 1/4 inch strips.

Whisk all marinade ingredients together in a bowl (it will not be pretty) and allow tofu to marinate for at least 20 minutes but a few hours or overnight is ideal. The longer the better. Reserve a couple tablespoons of the marinade that’s likely at the bottom of the bowl.

Line a cookie sheet with foil to save on cleanup time and spray with cooking spray.

Broil the marinated tofu for 5-6 minutes on the first side.

Flip, and broil for another 3 to 5 minutes on the second side. Apply what’s remaining of the reserved marinade to the top side of the flipped tofu.

The author of the blog recommends NOT leaving the kitchen during the broiling process, because of how quickly peanut butter can be burnt in the broiler.

Yield: About 19 strips out of 1 block of pressed tofu.

Posting Lull

So I haven't made anything super blog worthy in the last week. Anybody have any recipes they want to send in?

Quinoa Taco Salad

I made this a few weeks back and it was a hit. Replace ground beef with yummy-taco seasoned quinoa and you've got yourself one delish meal.

Ingredients:

-1 cup quinoa, uncooked
-2 1/2-3 1/2 Tb of a packet of taco seasoning (FYI, most packets have about 4 Tb in them)
-2 cups of water
-romaine lettuce, washed and cut for the salad
-2-3 tomatoes, diced
-1 can of black olives, sliced if you want to
-1-2 avocados, sliced
-salsa
-tortilla chips
-other optional toppings include cilantro, sour cream, cheese, hot sauce, etc.

Directions:

1. Put the quinoa, taco seasoning, and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low, cover, and let cook for about 15 minutes (or until it's looking cooked and fluffy). Remove from heat when done.
2. Meanwhile, cut up all the fresh vegetables for the salad.
3. THAT'S IT! Let everyone dish up how they like (some prefer to do lettuce first, then other toppings....others don't like to mix it all together).

Variations on the recipe:
-Try adding black beans or kidney beans to the quinoa after you've cooked it (or serve on the side).
-Try adding 1 cup of frozen corn to the quinoa right as it's finished cooking, mix well, and put the lid on to help warm the corn.
-Cook 1-2 tsp of minced garlic with the quinoa.

Crustless Spinach Quiche

(Picture from Allrecipe.com)

This recipe was submitted by Liz D. She says she was "surprised at how fast and easy (and yummy) it was." She found it at Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups shredded Muenster cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft. Stir in spinach and continue cooking until excess moisture has evaporated.
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. Add spinach mixture and stir to blend. Scoop into prepared pie pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven until eggs have set, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.