Consume!

I was perfectly happy to spend Black Friday at home, doing laundry and cleaning the kitchen, but curiosity got the best of me and I looked at the Target ad. The $140 camera I wanted was $79! I was downtown within a half hour.



I obviously need to play around with it more. Some things look way better, but some things still look like shit. I took a bunch of pictures of this salad, and realized they were not great after I transferred them to the computer. At this point, half the salad was in my mouth. Oofps.

I know I promised two salads today, but that was more for me, and I think I can forgive myself. I would also have to head out for more ingredients, and my fridge is already packed. Well, it wouldn't be if the Cherberple was gone. I need to pack that up and start giving it away before it fossilizes.

Greek Dressing

Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp capers
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dried oregano
pinch salt
olive oil

Blend the first five ingredients, then add oil in a thin stream until dressing becomes somewhat creamy.

I tossed some red onions, cucumbers, artichoke hearts, red and green peppers in the dressing. Then soaked a few cubes of tofu in a red wine vinegar/oregano marinade. It didn't taste like feta, but it was good in the salad.

Veggies I used: Romaine lettuce, cucumber, red onion, artichoke hearts, green pepper, roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, peperoncini rings, and a load of oregano. Once the whole salad was combined, I didn't worry about the absence of cheese flavor. Next time, I'll just leave out the tofu.

Now...off to play with my new toy.

Curry Laksa

A delicious little Malaysian-inspired noodle soup full of bok choy, red peppers, and tofu. Very light and fresh, and incredibly easy to make (if you microplane your ginger, which is the only way to mince it without wanting to kill it).

How I scram.

I woke up this morning and upon entering the bathroom, I noticed that the waterline was a wee higher than usual. I flushed, and that's when I quickly realized that there was a problem. After calling the property manager's emergency pager, bailing out the water and um...stuff...I spent the morning keeping the cats out of the bathroom, checking to make sure the water was shut off, and fighting the urge to purge. Once the guy came to fix it (and he was happy to, as he gets time and a half today)and I finished bleaching and sandblasting the toilet area with Comet, I looked at the clock. Less than one hour until game time.

A while back (during MoFo, I believe), some bloggers were sharing their tofu scramble secrets. I never got around to it, since I was trying NEW things. You know, like taking pictures of my refrigerator.

Anyhoo, here's how I do it. Sauté some chopped mushrooms and a little onion in olive oil. Crumble in some extra firm tofu. Add minced garlic, dried thyme, a little Kala Namak (if you're into an eggy taste), whatever other seasonings you like (the Southwest Seasoning from Penzey's is awesome), and some nooch.* Add a little water and cook for a few minutes. Stir in some fresh chard. I like the Chard of Many Colors from Trader Joe's, because it's so pretty. Add the juice of half a lemon (or one small one), and stir until the scramble is cooked and the chard is wilted. Sprinkle with toasted sunflower seeds.

You are now ready for kickoff.



* I don't measure this stuff. Just use as much as you deem necessary. Just remember to add a little water if you like a lotta nooch in your scram.

Tofu 1...2...Done.

I thought I'd round out my Tofu 1-2-3 week with a dessert recipe. Since I'm near death, going to the store wasn't an option, so I made something with ingredients I had available. I went with the Fudge Brownies.



This turned out to be a very pudding-like brownie. Definitely not finger food. The gooey fudge was intensely rich and velvety. The recipe called for one cup maple syrup, and I used half maple syrup and half agave nectar. I also swirled a couple blops of blackberry jam into the pan, because I have yet to make a recipe in this book 100% true to the page. At least I wasn't a tester for this one. I have to say, while everything in the book is edible and tasty, I would like to see what Ms. Abrams can do outside of quick-and-easy vegan cooking. I would certainly recommend this for people who are new to vegan cooking, because the ingredients are all easy to come by, however; it's not very adventurous. It's definitely a good one to own if you have kids, since nothing is very spicy or weird. I'll give it three stars.

Miso sickly. (Part One)

I plan to do two posts today, because I know I still have to finish my third item from Tofu 1-2-3, but I woke up feeling like 100% shit, so I set out to make a big pot of "Pull it Together and Get Your Ass to Work." I called in, but promised to come in later and close, and I'm not about to make everyone's day suck worse than it already does (they love me, you know. I am so missed).

I started with my antique cast iron soup pot. Added to it some olive oil, onion, carrot, garlic, ginger, cubed tofu, white miso, a bay leaf, and a big handful of my buddy, kale. I'd read up this morning that kale was chock full of vitamin C, so in it went.



Now, as I wait for the health to flow over me like a warm mountain rain, here are some cute pictures from earlier.

My new friend, kale.

I have not forgotten my vow to make three things from a previously untapped cookbook each week, and am aware that I have one more day. I would have made this last night, but I ended up putting away a lot of beer and a pineapple upside down cake shot, and I could barely stand up, let alone deal with the stove.

Before I get into my latest excursion into Tofu 1-2-3, I want to share my kale story. I have never tried kale until tonight. I know, right? I should have my vegan card taken away. Anyway, I picked some up at the Wedge so I could see what all the fuss is about, and cooked some up tonight. I don't have to tell you, I was scared. I'm afraid of vegetables of the Brassica genus, but I am trying to be a little bit more varied with my diet, and I learned to get over my beet hate (sorry broccoli, you still suck), so maybe I should give things a try and not be such a child about eating my friggin' vegetables.

The verdict? I loved it. I gently sautéed it in a little olive oil and vegetable broth with some chopped garlic and sea salt. After I plated it, I splash a little cabernet vinegar on it. Awesome. Add kale to my list of favorites.

Back to the book. Tonight I made Cannellini Beans and Roasted Potatoes in Cashew Cream Sauce. The potatoes actually took 35 minutes to achieve "golden brown on the outside," instead of the 25 in the book. Also the "cashew cream" is actually noochy sauce. But, it hit the spot on a night when my sick, tired body wanted something warm and starchy. Mmmm, carbs.



What I changed/would change: I added rosemary to the potatoes before roasting, which was also an option in the book. I think this would be good in a glass dish with some bread crumbs and another 10 in a 425° oven. I also think some mushrooms would rule in here, but I like mushrooms in everything. Maybe some red bell pepper, too.

Kentucky Fried Tofu

While the Colonel has taken up the space on every vegan's dartboard, I have to admit: I miss the shit. Well, except for the occasional HAIR or BIG BLOODY VEIN. Gross.

A long time ago, I mixed up some gamasio and nooch and I'll be damned if it didn't taste just like the Original Recipe. So, since I had some potatoes and a bag of shredded cabbage, I figured tonight was the night to end the craving. I messed around with the ingredients and made it even better. I like to use White Wave extra firm tofu because it's already pressed perfectly and ready to slice.



Close up:




Kentucky Fried Tofu
Makes 4-6 servings

1 lb extra firm tofu, pressed and sliced in thirds, widthwise. Then made into triangles.
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
3 heaping tbsp nutritional yeast
pinch rubbed sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp paprika
couple dashes garlic powder
couple dashes onion powder
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

Grind up the almonds with the sea salt in a spice grinder (if you're a fancypants), or a coffee grinder (like me), or blender. You want it to be flour-like.
Throw the almond mixture in a bowl. Mix in the remaining ingredients.

Heat a deepish frying pan, and add about 1/4 inch of peanut oil. Reduce heat to medium.

Dredge the tofu triangles in the mixture. Make sure to fully coat each piece. Lay them gently, just a few at a time, in the pan. Fry, turning frequently, three to five minutes or until they are golden brown on both sides. Keep the pieces that are done in a warm oven (200° or less), until you're ready to serve.

Serve with mashed potatoes, cole slaw, corn on the cob, etc.