Crispy (And Spicy!) Baked Tofu

Here's yet another delicious way to prepare tofu! My goal for this one was to duplicate the spicy tofu I  buy at Food Front Co-op in Portland. My absolute favorite tofu, I've never been able to find this tasty, charred, and spicy version anywhere else. I'll be the first one to say that my tofu isn't the same as the goal, but I did achieve a spicy and flavorful version with a crispy skin. This tofu is great on it's own as well as chopped up in a salad or stir fry.

My New Tofu Press!

Crispy and Spicy Baked Tofu
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 16 oz package extra firm tofu (I like Trader Joe's high protein tofu)
Sauce:
2 T sesame oil
1t rice vinegar
1/4 t soy sauce
1/2 t sweet chili sauce
1/2 t red chili pepper
1/4 t garlic powder

Step 1: Rinse block of tofu and press it in a tofu press or under weight for 30 minutes. Remove and cut into slices no more than 1/2 inch thick. Set aside.


Step 2: Whisk together all sauce ingredients until thoroughly blended. Brush sauce onto both sides of each slice of tofu. Place slices in a dish and refrigerate for two or more hours.









Step 3: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place tofu slices on a non-stick cookie sheet and brush any remaining sauce over slices.

Step 4: Bake tofu for one hour, flipping the tofu every 20 minutes (a total of three times). Tofu should be brown/ golden and crispy on all sides. Remove from oven and serve!

Enjoy!

Southwestern Black Bean Hummus

Here's a southwestern twist on a mediterranean classic! I had some spread on a rice cake topped with sun dried tomatoes. You could also serve it with veggies, crackers, or even in a mexican-inspired wrap!

Southwestern Black Bean Hummus

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained, no salt added

1/4 c tahini

3 T fire roasted green chilis

2T Southwest style seasoning

11/4 t cumin

2 pinches salt

1t lime juice

6-10 drops Cholula hot sauce

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until creamy! 

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Special: Apple Chestnut Stuffing

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I know I haven't posted in ages, but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking! Brace yourselves for an onslaught of recipes.

First off, I'll share a couple of the dishes I made for Thanksgiving. Since some of us couldn't go home for Thanksgiving, we all got together for a potluck! Here's my first pick:

Apple Chestnut Stuffing
Adapted from Vegetarian Times
Ingredients:
20 slices of hearty, crusty bread, cubed (I used a Multi-seed whole wheat and a Cranberry walnut from whole foods)
Olive oil to saute veggies
1 sweet white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 ribs celery, chopped
2 tart apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup peeled roasted chestnuts, halved
1/4 cup chopped sage
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325 degrees f. Spread bread on a 9x13 baking pan and toast in oven for about 15 minutes.

Step 2: Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes. reduce heat to low, cover, and let cook for 7 minutes. Add  apples, chestnuts, and sage and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.

Step 3: Add salt, pepper, bread and broth to mixture and stir until evenly incorporated. Transfer mixture to a greased baking pan.

Step 4: Increase heat to 350 degrees. Cover pan and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15- 20 minutes, or until top is crispy and browned.

Serve Warm!

Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Here's another hummus recipe in case you're tired of the simple recipe!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans, 2 T of liquid reserved
1/2 c tahini
3 T Lemon juice
1/2 cup fire roasted peppers


Step 1: Blend tahini, liquid and chickpeas in a food processor. Add lemon juice and peppers and blend until creamy and smooth.

Serve with your favorite veggies, chips, crackers, or bread!

Enjoy!


                

Simple Hummus

I've made a rule for myself regarding buying food: If I can make it easily, I don't buy it. My first product I've decided to make myself is hummus! What could be easier to make than hummus??? So I made a basic recipe without extra seasoning, so I can build on it in the future.

Simple Hummus
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, liquid reserved
1/2 cup Tahini
3 T lemon juice

Step 1: Combine chickpeas, tahini, and lemon in food processor and blend until smooth. Add reserved chickpea liquid until you've reached your desired consistency. I like it to be thick, but creamy and spreadable.

Add ins- Feel free to add some flavorful mix-ins, including sun dried tomatoes, garlic, olives, basil, and anything else you see fit. Don't be afraid to be creative!

Enjoy!

Garlic Green Beans with Lemon

I have a feeling this recipe is going to become one of my all time favorites. Tonight was my second time making these delicious green beans and I'm positive it won't be my last. This recipe requires quite a bit of prep, but it may seem like that simply because I tripled it today for a potluck. Thus, I had to zest and juice three lemons, peel and slice nine cloves of garlic, and chop the ends off of more green beans than I can count. I think it was worth it, though. This dish works great as a side or as a salad. You could also make only the dressing and use it on a regular basis for roasting veggies or as a salad dressing. This dish can be served hot, cold, or any temperature in between.

Garlic Green Beans with Lemon
Adapted from Vegalicious Recipes
Ingredients:
3 cups fresh green beans
1 lemon, zest and juice (separate some zest for garnish)
2 T olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sliced almonds, or to taste

Step 1: Cut the tips off of the green beans and steam until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Step 2: Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan. Once heated, add the garlic and saute until golden.

Step 3: Add the lemon juice to the pan, followed by the zest, salt, and pepper. Stir until thouroughly mixed and heated.

Step 4: Transfer the green beans to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over them and mix until evenly coated. Add the almonds and mix well. Garnish with extra lemon zest.

Enjoy!

Pesto Coated Beans and Cous Cous

Tonight's dinner was one of my first completely original recipes, and I really enjoyed the final outcome. I'm a huge pesto fan and I could eat it on everything. Combined with the chewy Israeli cous cous, sauteed fresh veggies, and beans, the dish makes for a healthy and hearty dish. I was very happy with the pesto, as I didn't use completely conventional ingredients (though it was pretty close to the classic recipe). Despite the tasty pesto and wonderful cous cous texture, my favorite part had to be the tomatoes. After they were sauteed, the tomatoes took on a juicy and extremely sweet quality. They practically burst in your mouth as you bite them, and add great contrast to the texture of the beans and cous cous. This dish could also be served chilled as a summer salad.

Pesto Coated Beans and Cous Cous
Ingredients:
Dressing:
2 1/2 cups fresh basil
2 T avocado
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 t whole grain mustard
Flower pepper to taste

1 1/3 cups uncooked Israeli cous cous
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 T shallots, chopped and separated
1 1/4 cups chopped carrots
1 cup golden cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped basil
Whole basil leaves for garnish
2 T olive oil

Step 1: To make dressing, process all dressing ingredients in a food processor until completely blended.

Step 2: Prepare cous cous according to directions on the package, adding 1 tablespoon of shallots to the pot. Once finished, set aside.

Step 3: Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add carrots and other tablespoon of shallots and sautee until carrots begin to soften. Add tomatoes and saute until they become soft and juicy, stirring the whole time. The tomatoes took me about 5-7 minutes.

Step 4: Add the beans and chopped basil to the vegetable mixture and stir until completely heated through. Reduce heat to medium-low. Once heated, add the cous cous and stir until thoroughly mixed. Finally, stir the pesto in with the cous cous mixture until everything is evenly coated.


Step 5: Serve warm, topped with fresh basil leaves.

Enjoy!

Simple Cold Quinoa Salad

In my opinion, lunch is the most easily monotonous meal. At lunchtime, I almost always seem to be in a hurry, out and about, or don't feel like making something super complicated and gourmet. I tend to find myself consistently eating veggies and hummus, some kind of whole grain, and some kind of fruit. Consistently, meaning it's what I had for lunch nearly every school day this past year. That's a lot of veggies with hummus. Don't get me wrong, I still love that combination and am not opposed to having it, but there must be more options to make lunch a little more interesting, right?

The answer is yes. Last night, I decided I no longer wanted to have the same-old same-old for lunch. I'm in the middle of a ballet intensive at my studio, which means packing a lunch every day or buying it from the food co-op near my studio. Even though I could easily get something new and exciting for lunch there each day of the week, I don't see the point in buying more food when there's plenty in my own kitchen to work with! So, I threw together a quick little cold quinoa salad for my lunch today. It was incredibly refreshing to have after class and was packed with protein to last me through a few hours of rehearsal.

I wasn't planning on posting this recipe at all, since it's so simple, but one of my friends tried a bite, liked it, and asked for the recipe. This one's for you, Lucas!

Cold Quinoa Salad
Ingredients: You can mess around with quantities until you find a balance you like. You can't really go wrong here!
1-1.5 cups cold, cooked quinoa
1-2 T sun dried tomatoes

1/4- 1/3 cup edamame (fresh or frozen and thawed)
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil to taste (About 1 T each)

Step 1 (the only step!): Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix until evenly coated with olive oil and vinegar.

Enjoy!

Simple Salads

Salads are my main go-to food when I don't want to make anything complicated but want something healthy and flavorful. A major complaint I hear about salads is that they are boring. My response to this is that you simply haven't found the right ingredients! The possibilities for salad are endless. I love throwing together fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts to make interesting flavor combinations. I don't have one standard salad recipe, though I plan to write up a few as time goes on. Until then, I've made a list of some of my favorite bases, toppings, and dressings so you can start to make your own!

Favorite Salad Bases
Spinach
Romaine Lettuce
Mixed baby greens
Kale

Favorite Fresh Fruit and Veggie Toppings
Tomatoes
Celery
Carrots
Edamame
Beets
Broccoli
Radishes
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Apple
Strawberries
Blueberries
Grapes
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Corn
Onion
Mango
Avocado

Favorite Dried Fruit and Nut Toppings
Cranberries
Raisins
Figs
Almonds
Walnuts
Pecans
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Sun dried tomato

Favorite Cheeses
Blue Cheese
Feta Cheese
Goat Cheese

Favorite Dressings (My favorite brand is Annies, but other brands make these flavors as well)
Lite honey mustard
Lite raspberry vinaigrette
Goddess
Green garlic
Balsamic vinaigrette
Red wine and olive oil
Blue Cheese

I hope this helps make your salad experience more enjoyable!

Garlic Green Beans with Lemon

This was one of my first legitimate cooking attempts and this recipe remains one of my favorites. I'm a fan of lemon and garlic. Combined, they are delectable. I will warn you: once you start eating these green beans, you cannot stop. This dish is great as a side, or you could even saute a wider variety of veggies, double the sauce, and make a warm salad!

Garlic Green Beans with Lemon
Adapted from Vegalicious
Ingredients:
1lb fresh green beans
1 lemon, juiced and zested
2T olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Steam the green beans until they are tender, but make sure not to overcook.

Step 2: Heat the oil in a sauce pan. Add the garlic and stir until it becomes golden (about 2-3 minutes).

Step 3: Mix the lemon juice in with the olive oil and garlic. Add salt, pepper, and zest (save a little lemon zest for garnish)

Step 4: Mix sauce with the green beans. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Curry Baked Tofu

One of my favorite things to make is baked tofu. I love the variety of flavor options, as well as the great source of protein. I bake mine for a relatively long time at a higher temperature to form a crust on the outside of the tofu.

I had made baked tofu before, but this was my first curry recipe that I've tried. I also baked my tofu when the recipe said to grill it. Because of this, I had no idea how this would turn out. I was pleasantly surprised and consider this tofu quite a success. There is some spice to this recipe, but I love my food to have a little kick to it.

Enjoy!

Curry Baked Tofu
Adapted from Edible Perspectives
Ingredients:
1 block extra firm tofu
1T brown rice flour
1T ginger
1T lemon juice
1T olive oil
1t garam masala
3/4t cumin
1/4t coriander
1/2t salt
1t chili powder
1/8t cayenne pepper
1/2t turmeric
1 1/2t paprika
1T curry powder
1 T minced garlic
1 C plain, nonfat greek yogurt

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Drain the tofu and place the block on a plate. Cover it with another plate and add weight to the top. Allow the tofu to press and release excess fluid while you make the coating. You can also use a tofu press.

Step 2: Combine all ingredients and whisk together until smooth and completely blended.

Step 3: Slice the tofu into 10 even strips, about 1/2 inch thick.

Step 4: Dip each slice into the curry- yogurt mixture until evenly coated and place on a greased baking sheet.

Step 5: Bake tofu for 7-10 minutes on each side, or until a crust has formed. Tofu will stick to pan when flipping, so make sure you don't separate too much of the coating from the tofu when flipping.

Serve over noodles, veggies, or on it's own as a snack or appetizer!

                             Curry Baked Tofu Served Over Thai Curry Noodles and Veggies