Spicy Tofu Stir-fry

It makes me happy when I'm craving something and I just so happen to have the ingredients to throw it together and satisfy my taste buds. Tonight--I wanted stir-fry. When the craving hit, I immediately mentally sorted through the contents of my fridge. Tofu, red bell pepper, onions, garlic; I knew my pantry housed some rice and some soy sauce and figured that those things tossed together would be sufficient for my recipe.

Then I thought of my roommate and fellow blogger (Follow her blog, A Fine Gourmance!). We had already made plans to stay in for the evening so inviting her to enjoy some of my stir-fry seemed like the appropriate thing to do. She was all for the idea and offered to supply the recipe with asparagus, sriracha, and stir-fry sauce. As soon as I got home from work, we got to cooking. Our collaboration in the kitchen resulted in the best possible outcome for the stir-fry I had been dreaming about all afternoon! It was delicious.

What I'm most proud of is how the tofu turned out. This was my first time cooking tofu for the sake of having tofu. All the other times that I've used it, I've hidden it--in cheesecake, in lasagna--it always ended up mushed in with other ingredients so you didn't even know it was there. Tonight, I wanted it to shine. I was surprised by how well it held up through the whole cooking process; and I'm happy to report that my first attempt at cooking tofu was a success. My roommate said, "I'm just so surprised by how delicious this tofu is; it's perfectly juicy, it's not dried out--it doesn't taste like rubber, which I've experienced before." That my friends is a high praise from a non-vegetarian.
Anyway, enough about me, here's the recipe!

Spicy Tofu Stir-fry

Ingredients:
1 package of firm tofu

1/2 of an onion
1/2 of a red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups of chopped asparagus
1 carrot
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons Worchestire sauce
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
dash of ground mustard
dash of thyme
dash of black pepper
dash of crushed red pepper flakes
dash of basil
2 tablespoons stir-fry sauce
Olive oil (for frying)
Sriracha (to taste)
1 cup of rice

Directions:
1. Drain the tofu of as much water as possible; marinate in the Worchestire sauce and a bit of sriracha--set aside while you cut onion, bell pepper, asparagus, carrot, and garlic. Set vegetables aside.
2. Start cooking your rice. (We used white rice, because my roommate has a ton she's trying to get rid of, but I'm sure it would be great over brown rice or--oh!--quinoa.)
3. Slice the tofu into strips for frying, fry in the olive oil until both sides are browned; set aside. (If you would like to have smaller chunks in your stir-fry, you can either cut them smaller before frying or after frying. I waited until after so that it would be easier to flip them their first time in the pan.)
4. Pour the soy sauce over the vegetables and then add the spices; mix well.
5. When the rice is just about done, sauté the vegetables and the tofu; add the stir-fry sauce. Cover the mixture for a few minutes in order to let the vegetables get soft.
6. When the carrots have softened to your liking, you're done! Spoon the vegetables over the rice, add a bit of sriracha for a little spice, and enjoy.

That's all for now!
Maybe tomorrow I'll blog about my french bread and cracker making adventures--we'll see...
Have a good night :)

Cinnamon Applesauce

Three words: De-Lic-Ious.

Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce:

Ingredients:

7 apples (I used 4 Gala and 3 Golden Delicious, because I like sweet apples!)
1 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1. Cut and peel your apples of choice.
2. Combine apples with the rest of the ingredients in a pot, and cook over medium heat until the apples are soft; about 20 minutes.
3. Mash! I put mine in a blender, because I don't like chunky applesauce--but you could use a potato masher, too.
4. Enjoy! I tried it when it was warm--it smelled so good I couldn't wait. It was delicious. I'm sure it'll be just as tasty cold, too.

I'm on a roll today. Stay tuned! French onion soup in a made-from-scratch bread bowl, coming soon!
Rosalyn

Homemade Frozen Yogurt

In just a couple of days, I'm getting my wisdom teeth taken out. Most of my friends have horror stories associated with their experience of the extraction of their third molars--but I'm hoping I won't have any to report. And while I'm hoping and praying that everything goes smoothly, I'm well aware that my eating habits are going to have to be tweaked, just a little bit, while my mouth heals.

My friend, and author of Just Nourishment, has been looking forward to my surgery--not for any malicious reason having to do with the pain, or anything, but because she's gone through the experience and has volunteered to be my caretaker the day of. Her favorite part about getting her teeth removed was all the frozen yogurt she got to consume while she was healing; getting to hang out with me as I recover has given her the excuse to indulge a little more!

Now, you know me. I'm a very intentional eater. (I actually realized the other day that I'm kind of a food snob; I never meant to become that way--but now that I make pretty much everything I eat with my own hands, I'm reluctant to eat a lot of things...anyway!) While I know that most people eat lots of mashed potatoes and frozen yogurt and--well, that's all--for the first few days after surgery, I can't do that. I require a well-rounded diet, to satisfy me both mentally and physically. So, over the next couple of weeks, I plan on trying a few new soup recipes, I'm going to make applesauce for the first time, I'm pretty stocked up on ingredients to make smoothies, and I'm good on soft fruit--like bananas and pears. Of course, I will be sharing with you my cooking experiences as I try out new recipes that hopefully yield some delicious light meals. But for now, I'd like to tell you about the frozen yogurt I just made.

It should come as no surprise that I've opted to make my own frozen yogurt instead of going to the store and picking up a carton or two. Homemade frozen yogurt is doable--so I couldn't help myself. For the past couple of days I've been doing a little research. I found a couple of recipes, read a couple blogs, went to the grocery store, bought some ingredients--and this morning, I just winged it. There were a couple things I had mentally jotted down as I started throwing things into my blender. I remember I read somewhere that the yogurt mixture should be sweeter than you'd usually like, because when it's frozen it'll be less sweet; I remember reading someplace else that I had to make sure I had good chocolate if I planned on making chocolate frozen yogurt; and I remembered that--since I don't have an ice cream maker--that I was going to have to be patient and persistent for a few hours, in order for me to end up with my desired sweet treat.

I made two different kinds. And, while they are in the process of freezing and I haven't had the chance to try the finished product, the mixes tasted pretty good. I'm hoping they are just as delicious when they're frozen. Here are my recipes:

Homemade Vanilla Frozen Yogurt:

32 oz plain, low-fat, Greek yogurt
5 tablespoons agave nectar (which probably equals an easier measurement, like a forth of a cup, but I was winging it, remember? So I just kept adding until it was as sweet as I liked. You can do the same!)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients together (I used my blender, but I'm sure you could just do it in a bowl). Then, stick it in the freezer.

Like I mentioned before, I don't have an ice cream maker. So, for the next couple hours, I have to keep an eye on my dessert; every hour I will take it out, scrape the frozen mixture from the sides with a fork, and then stir it vigorously. I think in 2-3 hours it'll be set. If you do have an ice cream maker, I'm guessing you can just put the mixture in there and you'll have yourself some frozen yogurt in no time.

Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt:
(because I'm a sucker for chocolate/peanut butter ice cream...)

32 oz vanilla, non-fat, Greek yogurt
1 bag of good semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons agave nectar
5 tablespoons peanut butter (I use the creamy Earth Balance brand)

Melt 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips; take the melted chocolate and mix it with the remaining ingredients. (Again, I used a blender--and for this one, it'd probably be easier than mixing by hand.) Take the left over chocolate chips and mix it with the yogurt mixture, then freeze!

Now, I did a little math and got a calorie count for you. For the vanilla frozen yogurt, if you break it down into about 8 servings, it's about 130 calories. For the chocolate peanut butter, if you break it down into about 10 servings (because it yields more), it's about 290 calories. Not bad, eh?

Well, I'm off to go stir my freezing yogurt. I'll be back to let you know how it turns out!

Update: So, the chocolate peanut butter frozen yogurt turned out to be oh-my-goodness tasty! The vanilla turned out...well, like vanilla; next to the chocolate peanut butter, it didn't compare--so I tossed in a cup of milk chocolate chips to give it the necessary chocolate kick. And then I thought, Well...I could have done the healthy thing and thrown in some fruit, instead. That's when it hit me--You still can! So, I took a cup of frozen raspberries, tossed them in the microwave for a couple minutes, mashed them up really well, added a little agave nectar, and mixed it into the frozen yogurt. BAM! Raspberry, vanilla frozen yogurt with chocolate chips, for the win! 

 Rosalyn

Winter Squash

I've dedicated the next couple weeks to squash.

Well--that was my original plan. Now that I've delved into the world of winter squash, I may be dedicating the next few months to squash.

My last grocery trip left me with a couple acorn squash, a couple butternut squash, and spaghetti squash. I had every intention of making soup, stuffed squash, and--well--spaghetti. Now, only a couple days into it, I find myself scouring the internet for new and appealing ways to use the lovely winter vegetable! I can't wait to have the chance to try out as many squash recipes as possible.

I've heard people rave over squash for a while now, especially after I became a vegetarian; but, having never really cooked with it before, I avoided it. My last post? Stuffed butternut squash? That was the first time I had ever made any sort of squash. I decided that things needed to change. I needed to branch out and continue trying new and delicious recipes. Boy, am I glad I decided to explore the various types of squash right smack-dab in the middle of their favorite season.

Squash is good. Really good. You should definitely be eating some, this winter.

Now, before I drive myself crazy from using the word squash too many times, I'll tell you about tonight's dinner.

Last night I made spaghetti squash. I didn't do much to it, besides add some sauteed onions, peppers, and garlic, but I enjoyed the spaghetti so much, I could have done without the added veggies. Tonight, however, I wanted to liven it up a little--add some protein or some bulk. So, I made some quinoa. Best idea I've had all day.

I won't post a recipe, because it was really just thrown together, but I'll tell you what I used! Spaghetti squash, of course, quinoa, onions, peppers, garlic, Italian seasoning, a little salt, and olive oil. Now that I'm thinking about it, I bet it would have been even better with tomatoes and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese! Next time...

That's all for now,
Rosalyn

P.S: Rumor has it, butternut squash can be substituted for pumpkin or sweet potato in certain bread or dessert recipes. The internet really shouldn't have told me that....more experiments coming soon!!!

Quick & Easy Veggie Soup

We are to that point in the month where we are waiting on payday to go buy groceries and we are trying to eat up what we have left over from the past few days meals. What I had lying around was: a few celery stalks, half a bag of baby carrots, half a cucumber, half a package of udon noodles (I know, not from scratch!) and some vegetable stock.

I have started a pretty rigorous work out regiment and after a hard workout all I can think about are veggies!

So... I threw what I had together and made a crunchy, slurpy, hearty, spicy soup that filled me up and made me feel great too.

This is by far the easiest recipe I have ever made. 

1. Chop the veggies you have on hand. Like I mentioned before, I had carrots, celery and cucumber. I roughly sliced and chopped my celery and cucumber and tossed the carrots into my food processor for a few pulses.

2. Boil your pasta. When its nice and tender, drain it and place heaping spoonfuls into serving bowls.

3. While your pasta is boiling heat your vegetable stock. Set it aside.

4. Add your chopped veggies to your bowls of noodles and then pour the steaming hot broth over it. Fill it to your preference. I personally prefer less broth.

5. Garnish with a sprinkle of parsley and a little red pepper (if you need some spice... I do!)

6. Eat it and enjoy how healthy you are! Yay!

Happy Sunday!

Megan