TOFU: THE OTHER WHITE “MEAT”

My sister says that our cooking blog has too much “weird food.” I guess she’s right that some people have a hard enough time boiling Kraft macaroni and baking pre-cut cookies, so quinoa and vegan brownies are a bit daunting. Sadly for her, my next recipe isn’t going to prove her wrong as again I have chosen what some circles would classify as more alternative food.

So let’s talk TOFU. Here’s the thing about tofu. If you’ve tried it and hated it, then you just didn’t like the way it was cooked. Trust me. When I spent a semester living in the North Carolina woods, our program had vegetarian cook who introduced me to tofu for the first time. His secret to cooking it, which isn’t much of a secret, is that tofu is all about what you cook it with, otherwise it’s essentially flavorless.
So why use tofu anyway you ask? Well, I personally enjoy the variety from other meats. Additionally, it’s packed with protein (like meat) but has almost no saturated fats (unlike meat). Not that I’m anti-meat (though my co-blogger, will probably give you her thoughts on animals eventually), and not that I promise this will replace your hankering for a medium rare steak… but I promise if you learn to cook it, tofu can be delicious.

So this recipe I made up this evening (so please excuse the lame title), but was inspired by this delicious peanut sauce that I bought at a local farmer’s market this weekend. I had peanut chicken last night, and with a small tub remaining decided to try it with tofu this evening. Now since you all cant go get this peanut sauce I am also including a mini-recipe for a peanut sauce I typically make for all of my other Asian inspired endeavors. Let me know what you think. I think you’ll be surprised how easy and quick this is to prepare.

Peanut Veggie Tofu
Musical Accompaniment: I Like It by Enrique and Pitbull
Ingredients:
½ sliced cucumber
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 handful of bean sprouts
1 package of extra firm tofu (cut up if not done already)
2 ‘twigs’ of cilantro (chopped)
4 scallions (chopped)
soy sauce
olive oil

Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or habanero pepper (optional if you like things spicy)

Instructions:
So I forgot I was going to cook tofu until I arrived home from work late so it slipped my mind to marinade. However, if I could do it again I would have put a bit of soy sauce/ or a teriyaki sauce and some olive oil in with the tofu to sit for a few hours before cooking.
I started cooking the sliced pepper, cilantro and scallions in some olive oil before adding the tofu. Since I hadn’t prepared a marinade before hand, I improvised and put some soy sauce and a bit of teriyaki sauce in the pan as it was cooking. It doesn’t take long for tofu to “cook” I just like to keep it in the pan long enough to absorb the flavors of the veggies. After maybe 10 minutes of cooking I added the sprouts and sliced cucumbers. After another minute on the stove I poured the peanut sauce (literally take the ingredients above and blend well) over everything and left it on the stove only long enough to heat.

MY NEW FRIEND: QUINOA

I know that now quinoa is all the rage, but I actually first experienced the grain in college. It was served cold in a vinegar-based sauce with soy beans and peppers.
While I like quinoa, I have discovered that I’m very particular about what’s it's prepared with. It makes all the difference – in a similar way that tofu is all about the preparation. I discovered that quinoa goes nicely with two of my favorite foods: spinach and cheese. The other great thing about this dish is that I enjoy it warm as well as cold, so it makes excellent leftovers.

Spinach and Feta Quinoa
Musical accompaniment: Bob Marley, Redemption Song


Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa
1.5 cups Spinach
Feta
Salt/Pepper
Instructions:
You need to rinse the quinoa first to take away the bitterness. After a good rinse, bring 1 cup quinoa to boil, then let simmer until the water is absorbed. While a little water is left, and its still on the stove, add the raw spinach so that it cooks as well. Turn off the heat and add the feta. I don’t give measurements for cheese cause I’m a huge cheese fan, but not everyone consumes the quantity that I like to, so put in as much or as little as you prefer. Then add salt and pepper to taste.

INSTANT SWEETS

I am on a big granola bar kick. I’ve never been a pure chocolate kind of girl and thus granola bars seem to satisfy my sweet tooth without making my tummy sick from sugar overload. I’m also all about instant gratification, so when I want granola bars, I want them now—not tomorrow, not after 40 minutes in the oven. Which is why I love this no-bake recipe. I can get this done in 15 minutes. After months of making this I’ve gotten creative and made several substitutes so I’ll put down a few different things to add.

I Want Granola Bars And I Want Them Now… Recipe!
Musical Accompaniment: Passion Pit


Ingredients: (I usually split this in half unless I’m making for a group)

* 4 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/4 cup honey (I prefer to use Agave. The consistency changes but the taste stays the same)
* 2 cups granola (I like to pick ones with nuts and fruit already added)
* 1 cup rice cereal, (I go with safeway brand Rice Krispies)
* Optional add-ons: semisweet chocolate chips, craisins, nuts, pretzels.




Instructions:

In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar with the honey and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Take the pan off the heat and add the granola and rice cereal. If you are adding extra fruit, pretzels, or nuts, you should add them here too. Be sure to coat everything in the sugary liquid. Take the mixture a press into an ungreased baking pan. Now it’s time to press the chocolate chips on top. (If you add them in earlier the chocolate will melt and you’ll have very chocolatey tasting granola bars.) Finally, set the pan in the refrigerator to set until firm. I leave 10-15 minutes, then pull them out cut into bars. After this DO NOT put them back into the fridge or they will get hard. Store in a cabinet. If you find that they are too chewy, put them in the fridge for less the next time.

BUYER'S REMORSE

I kind of went nuts shopping at the farmer's market last week. Somehow, magically, I ended up with massive amounts ginger in my bag.Good for digestion and circulation, I've been finding all sorts of creative ways of incorporating this little root in my diet. When I stumbled on a recipe that incorporated ginger with three of my favorite foods (pasta, lemon and garlic) I was thrilled.

Traditionally, this recipe is made with linguine but I wanted to make it with some type of pasta that would better hold the sauce. Make slightly more sauce if you're using whole wheat pasta, as I find it takes more potency to flavor that style of pasta.

If you're feeling a little ginger-phobic, don't worry. The lemon-garlic is the dominant flavor in this dish, with the ginger making a nice appearance as an aftertaste:

Rotini al Limone e Zenzero
Musical Accompaniment: Filligar, The Nerve (http://www.filligar.com)


About 3 handfulls of rotini (you want ~ a cup of pasta per person)
1 lemon
1 slice of ginger, grated (about the size of a nickel)
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/4 cup of dry white wine
pinch of parsley
pinch of salt
black pepper

Zest the lemon (just peel the yellow in long strips, instead of using a grater. you'll thank me later)
Pour the 1/4 cup of white wine into a sauce pan and add lemon zest. simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the lemon juice with 4 tablespoons of olive oil with the garlic, parsley, and black pepper in a separate bowl.
Strain the lemon zest from the wine, and pour the wine into the lemon-oil-garlic mixture. set aside.
Cook pasta until it's al dente (not floppy !!!). Drain pasta, reserving about half a cup of water in the saucepan.
Put pasta and sauce in saucepan, grate the fresh ginger over the pasta and stir. cook on low heat for about 3 minutes.
Serves 2.

IT BEGINS WITH FRIENDSHIP

Last week at work I was given a pungent ziplock bag containing brown mush and a piece of paper with instructions for Amish Friendship Bread. I'd never heard of anything like this but apparently this is more common than I was aware. The idea behind the recipe is that it involves cultivating and adding to this ziplock bag for a few days and eventually re-dividing up the "starter" to give out to your friends before baking the bread yourself. "Legend" has it that you can't make the bread without the starter so you rely on others to keep it going.

It's a cute idea, and another way to illustrate just how effectively food brings people together --- which is how this blog started. My roommate Jess and I LOVE to cook. In some ways we are picky about foods, and Jess has plenty of food allergies, but for the most part I think we're just open-minded to being experimental. For the last eleven months that we've lived together we've been creating messes in the kitchen, trading our own reciepes and just sharing the experience of food. Creating this blog is our hope to share this energy with others.

Food blog is cliche you say? Yes, I agree. Especially after Julie and Julia everyone and their mother has a food blog. Realistically we are bound by limited options. We half seriously discussed opening our own "The Only Cafe" (Continentials know what we mean) but inviting strangers up to our apartment to dine on the latest feast is probably not the best plan.

Anyway, we will try to just stick with the food. So many of our friends are learning to cook for the first time and we're all trying to get by on small paychecks, limited time, and perhaps sketchy cookware. So without further ado, we invite you to try our recipes, comment, and share with us your food tales and ideas as well. Back to Amish Friendship Bread...



Amish Friendship Bread:
Musical Accompaniment: Glee Soundtrack (if you are judging, just stop)

(Things to keep in mind)
1) DO NOT USE METAL SPOON OR BOWL FOR MIXING
2) DO NOT REFRIGERATE
3) IF AIR GETS IN BAG, LET IT OUT
4) IT IS NORMAL FOR THE BATTER TO THICKEN, BUBBLE AND FERMENT

Day 1 This is the day you receive the batter; do nothing
Day 2 Mush the bag
Day 3 Mush the bag
Day 4 Mush the bag
Day 5 Mush the bag
Day 6 Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Put in larger ziplock bag and mush until mixed
Day 7 Mush the bag
Day 8 Mush the bag
Day 9 Mush the bag
Day 10 Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk to the batter in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula. Pour four 1 cup starters into ziplock bags. Keep one starter for yourself and give the other three to your friends along with the instructions. To the remaining batter add:

remaining starter
1 c. oil
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 c. flour
1/2 c. milk
1/2 t. baking soda
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
2 t. cinnamon

Pour into large, greased and sugared (with cinnamon and sugar mixed) loaf pan. You can sprinkle some extra cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake 325 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Opt.: add 1c. chopped pecans and/or 1/2 c. raisins, if desired.

Now of course in order to get started, you'll need the "starter". Right now in our kitchen we have 8 starter bags so I expect people to make their way back to our apartment post work to pick up their own.