Writing and eating tofu burritos

I have really been enjoying writing from home. I've been working at a great pace. Everyone's been teling me that a dissertation progress averages about a page per day. I've been at two/day, so maybe I'll be done twice as fast! And my second manuscript is going through final edits so hopefully I can resubmit soon and get that taken care of also. Yay graduation!


One thing I enjoy about being at home during the day besides being with my puppies....


is cooking breakfast and lunch! Yesterday I made these muy delicioso tofu burritos with a tofu cake that crumbled when I went to slice it. It expired yesterday so I guess thats what happens!

Tofu Burritos (makes 4 burritos)
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 cake tofu
2 cups spinach
1 tsp curry powder
shake or two of Mrs. Dash or similar salt-free seasoning
Oregano
4 tortillas

Saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add tofu and stir until moisture evaporates, maybe 3-4 minutes. Add curry to turn egg-like color to fool yourself and the rest of the spices. Add spinach and let wilt. Serve on tortillas with salsa and sriracha added to the top! Yum

Orange Glazed tofu and Broccoli

I always spell broccoli wrong. I'm not sure why. I guess if I took my time and though about it maybe I'd spell it right. Anyway- today was crappy and uneventful (except for my lunchtime power yoga class- that was nice) so here's the dinner I made! It's a favorite from the Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas.


Orange Glazed Tofu
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup H20
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp grated ginger

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp H20
2 large broccoli crowns - chopped into trees
2 garlic cloves minced --- I am fresh out of elephant garlic :-(
1 red pepper sliced into thin, thin, matchstick strips
1 block firm tofu (the recipe calls for 2 blocks baked tofu, but I like mine squishy)

Mix cornstarch with water until dissolved. Add the rest of ingredients (concentrate, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger) to the mixture - and you have your sauce. Congrats.

Now, mix oil and water in a wok and heat the garlic and broccoli in it for a second, then cover and cook for 2-4 minutes. Add peppers and cook until a little soft, then add the tofu trying not to break it. Add the sauce and stir until thickened - maybe 5 minutes.

Done!

I served this with a favorite beet, goat cheese, orange and pecan salad.

Buffalo Tempeh and "Cool Slaw"

Today I was completely exhausted. We had guests in town this weekend, so I was waking up earlier than normal, and doing a whole lot more stuff in general. It was a great time and we drank a lot of great wine and watched some good hockey! I had a presentation to give to my department yesterday- so Sunday night I barely slept, as I kept waking up practicing my talk in my head.

Today I popped into work after working from home all morning, and my advisor popped his head in. My first though is always "what did I do now?" But he handed me a gift certificate for a local restaurant that he said was "on behalf of the department." He said they have some stuff to thank people, and my talk yesterday was definitely worthy of thanks. Wow - just when I thought I had seen everything. Thanks advisor!


I came home late and threw together the simple marinade for the Buffalo Tempeh, which took exactly one hour to marinate... or the length of one nap. These recipes are both from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Buffalo Tempeh
8 oz. tempeh
1/2 cup veggie broth
1/2 cup hot sauce (Frank's is preferable - obviously)
1 giant clove elephant garlic (or 6 regular cloves)
2 tsp oregano

Cut tempeh into triangles and steam in a basket for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together marinade ingredients and add tempeh when it's done steaming. let marinate as long as you want to nap (or be productive).

Heat pan and spray with cooking spray. Scoop the tempeh into the pan and saute until brown-ish. Add the rest of the marinade and serve!

Cool Slaw
1 bag cole slaw mix
1/4 cup cashews
2 Tbsp chopped onion
1/2 cup water
5 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp mustard (weber's if you have it!)
1 tsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp salt
ground pepper
***I also added 1 Tbsp of nutritional yeast because it felt like the right thing to do

Place all ingredients besides cole slaw mix (obviously) in a food processor and process for a good while - 5 minutes or so. Add to the cole slaw mix and let sit for a bit so it gets nice and saturated. That's it.

Enjoy your Buffalo-style veggie meal.

Red Thai Tofu

Well, husband and I just went mattress shopping and I am so happy that we will have a real mattress! Ours is like sleeping in a valley right now. Life is about to improve for me drastically. We were starving, even though it was only 5 when we got home.

This dish was awesome. It came out looking like the tofu I ate every day in China, but the Thai flavors are out of this world. It was 30 minutes start to finish, and only 110 calories per serving!!! Win and win!

The recipe is another one from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra. I served this with some roasted asparagus and wine (obviously).

Red Thai Tofu
1 block firm tofu, cubed up
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup sliced shallots
1 giant clove elephant garlic, or 4 cloves standard garlic
1 Tbsp fresh ginger
1 Tbsp red curry paste (hence the red thai tofu)
1/2 cup H2O
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp light agave nectar
15 leaves Thai basil (even Whole Foods didn't have it, regular basil worked just dandy)

Heat up your skillet and saute tofu in a little bit of oil or cooking spray. Just shake the pan around rather than stirring the tofu and breaking it all up. It takes about 10 minutes to brown. Add a tad of soy sauce (not all of it) and brown for a minute or two longer. While it's cooking, chop up the veggies so you are ready to chuck them in the pan while it's good, oily and hot. Set tofu aside.

Add the veggies to the pan, and cook for five or so minutes. Mine browned up a lot, so I added a Tbsp of red wine to loosen up all the good bits from my skillet.

While all that's going on, make up the sauce by mixing together the water through the agave. Add the sauce back to the pan with the tofu. Cook for 5 minutes just to heat through. Add the basil and serve. DONE.





The wine:

Dave and I went to a "blending party" at a local winery recently. Our red blend won 2nd place in a blind taste test of all the other attendees. However, the winery owners liked our blend so much, they decided to bottle it! How fun. Not like we get royalties or anything, just a fun story. It's called "dedication" by Round Peak's Skull Camp line of semi-dry wines.



You're jealous. Admit it.

Zucchini Raisin Muffins

When I was a kid, my grandmother always had zucchini growing in her garden. Every summer she would make endless loaves of zucchini bread, that I would slather in butter and devour in two seconds. I love her zucchini bread so much, and she would always make sure she had a loaf ready when she babysat my brother and myself.

After she passed away I don't think I've had zucchini bread once, nor have I tried to make it. I've made these zucchini raisin muffins a few times before, though they taste nothing at all like the loaf I loved so much - they are still really good and surprisingly healthy. They come from my favorite cookbook, The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas.

I love to have them with some soup or salad for lunch - or with an apple as a snack.

Zucchini Raisin Muffins
13/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup natural granulated sugar
1 cup vanilla yogurt (soy or dairy) or applesauce (I have used both and the results are similar)
2 Tbsp safflower oil
1/3 cup soy milk
1 cup firmly packed grated zucchini (I put mine right in the food processor)
3/4 cup chopped raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (I used mine already in the Walnut Cheeze)


Preheat oven to 350, oil a muffin pan. Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients, then the zucchini and raisins. Divide into 12 muffins and bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Done and done! So simple!

Vegetable Korma

Tonight I made another recipe from Appetite for Reduction - although I took away the low calorie appeal of this meal since I didn't have any low fat coconut milk... which is fine with me - the full fat is so much better.

Today I worked all day - and having the house alone to himself today, the husband decided to go play hockey. I mean, what else would you do Sunday morning? Luckily, he came home and cleaned the entire house. Brownie points! While I was making dinner and baking some goodies, he announced he was going to play another hockey game, and would be missing dinner. So I enjoyed this one myself.

There is an amazing Indian place by us, and I cannot help always ordering the veggie korma - which is made with cream. This recipe replaces the dairy with delicious coconut milk, and what it lacks in spice it makes up with awesome flavor. I heaped sriracha on, so if you like spice be prepared.

2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma
1 tsp olive oil
1 small red onion
3 cloves garlic (I used one giant clove of elephant garlic)
2 Tbsp minced ginger
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp Na++
2 cups vegetable broth
1.5 pounds cauliflower
1 pound zucchini
1/2 pound carrots
3/4 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup light coconut milk (I used one can full fat)
1 tsp agave nectar
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Heat oil in pan, saute onion until translucent. Add ginger and garlic and and saute for a bit longer. Add broth with spices and Na++. Add all of the veggies, cover the pot and crank up the heat for 7-9 minutes, letting the curry boil. Add in the peas, coconut milk and cilantro.



Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with cilantro. Don't forget the sriracha.



Now it's time for the Californication season finale! :-)

Butternut Squash Enchiladas

I have made these before- but haven't gotten a photo of them yet! Oh it was worth it making these again! I had half of a butternut squash left over from the Mac and Cheeze earlier in the week. I was wondering what I could possibly use it for, when I remembered that this was one of the best recipes I have ever eaten in my life EVER... so why waste precious squash on some inadequate dish.

I looked up the recipe and had EVERY SINGLE ingredient - serendipity! So I roasted some squash and made these glorious, glorious enchiladas. Ah yes, can't you just taste the goodness?


Along with the enchiladas, I threw together some little taco salads (chopped spinach, cilantro, black beans, sweet corn, crumbled tortilla chips and avocado). Check it out.


The dressing was simple, I threw together some salsa, Vegenaise, chili powder, cayenne pepper and hot sauce)

The wine... of the wine. We rarely (and by rarely I mean NEVER) by reserve ANYTHING... but we tasted this Pinot Noir at our grocery store of all places, and knew that it was a worthy splurge. I'm going to keep enjoying it for the rest of the night.


All anyone needs, wine, hot sauce.. dressing (?) Okay I could live without dressing. And hot sauce.

Butternut Squash Enchiladas (adapted from Vegetarian Times)
1/2 large butternut Squash, cubed
1 tsp olive oil
3 oz. cream cheese
1 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 chiles in adobo, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Na++ and pepper
6 small flour tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce (hot works best!)
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Toss butternut squash cubes in olive oil, bake for 40 minutes at 450 - flipping once halfway (doing the squash this way gives it an awesome smokey flavor from the nicely browned edges). When done, mash in the cream cheese.

While the squash is baking - saute red onion and garlic about 7 minutes, until translucent. Add in spices and stir for a second or two. Add the mashed squash and cream cheese mixture. Oh yeah. Mmmm. Then add the chopped cilantro.

Assemble the enchiladas - I hope I don't have to explain this further. Pour on the sauce, sprinkle on the cheese - and bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Eat and be in awe of the glory of butternut squash enchiladas.

Drink wine. The end.