Category Archives: Fridge Finds

Posted in Dinner, Fall Food, Leftovers, Make Ahead, Meat Substitutes, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged carnivores, chili, tailgating, TVP, veg, vegan

Simple Solution – Veg Broth

Posted on October 3, 2011 | 3 comments

It has been a busy few weeks at the nonprofit I work for, so mostly dinner has been take out or warming up stuff out of the freezer, and plenty of veggie burgers (on buns, on tortillas, on naan), not a ton of creativity going on in the kitchen. With that in mind, my CSA share and Doorganics delivery look limp and sad, but not rotting in my fridge, I decided to get ahead of the game and make veg broth to store in my freezer for the upcoming soup season. Making your own veg broth is cheap, and a good way to use up items that are unsavory for cooking at face value but are still wonderful for a broth base. During the summer, I keep a freezer bag full of items that would make good broth like the stems of mushrooms, the tops of radishes, celery greens, washed carrot peels, the ends of onions, parsley and the like then when I get a few extra seconds, I dump it in a soup pot cover it with water, add whatever fresh herbs I have in the fridge if any, and let it boil away. I store it in 2-cup measures in freezer bags marked with the date and freeze flat, that way whenever I need a quick base for soup, I have a lightly flavored, sodium free, cheap alternative to store-bought broth. Since the consistency of the veggies doesn’t make a difference in the taste of the broth, the freezer step doesn’t hurt, I promise.

My current batch of broth has in it:

celery greens
celery
portobella mushroom stems (trimmed and washed)
red bell pepper (seeds and all)
carrot shavings (cleaned)
turnips, quartered
onion ends & parts
garlic cloves
peppercorns
rosemary
thyme

Put all the items into a soup pot, cover with water and let it simmer away for an hour or so. Remove from heat, let cool for hours and hours, then pour into labeled freezer bags (label them before you pour into them) and freeze flat. Remember this will not have salt added as is, so when you add to soups be sure to season well.

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3 Comments

Posted in Fall Food, Fridge Finds, Gluten Free, Leftovers, Make Ahead, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged CSA, Doorganics, soup time, veg broth, Vegan MoFo

A win for used cookbooks and TVP

Posted on September 15, 2011 | 3 comments

I’ve had this bag of Bob’s Red Mill TVP (textured veg protein) in my freezer for about 4 months. Sometimes things seem like a good idea when you purchase them only to get a product home and be at a total loss for usage. I had this relationship with TVP until I stumbled upon a used cookbook that sparked my interest at Schuler’s Books: Vegetarian Sandwiches from Chronical Books. In it a recipe for Vegetarian Sloppy Joes. I basically bought the book because 1) it has really great pictures in it and 2) it has 3 recipes for TVP inside, also with pictures. Turns out, I had all of the other necessary ingredients at home in my pantry and from my most recent Doorganics delivery to make this magic happen. I was both shocked and delighted by the authenticity of the texture that this recipe recreated. It tastes very, very similar to sloppy joes with ground beef, but doesn’t have that super dense and filling aftermarket feeling. The recipe as it was written was a little too sweet for my sloppy joe needs so I spiced it up a little, the adjustments are worked into the recipe below. I’m so glad I made a double batch with the intent of taking some along to the next GVSU tailgate to share. I’m anxious to see meat-eaters try ’em.

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Vegan Sloppy Joes

Filling:

1 C Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP)
3/4 C boiling water
1 T olive oil
1/2 C coarsely chopped onion
1/2 C coarsely chopped bell pepper (your choice of color)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 4-oz can tomato sauce
1/4 C water
2 T tomato paste
1 T packed light brown sugar
2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Sriracha
2 whole chipotle en adobo, chopped finely
salt & pepper to taste
4-6 large hamburger buns or rolls or 10-12 slider buns

Directions: To make the filling, stir the TVP and boiling water together in a medium bowl, let this stand for 5 or more minutes until the water is absorbed and the TVP is softened.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet (I used a wok) over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, bell pepper and garlic through until the bell pepper is tender (8-10 minutes).

Stir the remaining sandwich filling ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add this mix and the soft TVP to the skillet; stir until the mixture is bubbly. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring for about 5 additional minutes.

To serve, spread filling onto a bun and enjoy.

3 Comments

Posted in BBQ, Dinner, Fall Food, Fridge Finds, Make Ahead, Meat Substitutes, Quick Cooking, Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged chipotle en adobo, Doorganics, Fall Food, football, GVSU, meat substitute, Schuler's Books, sriracha, tailgating food, Texturized Vegetable Protein, TVP, Vegan Sloppy Joes, vegetarian sandwiches

Not Labor Intensive, Labor Day Chickpea Burgers

Posted on September 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

I get sick of always eating frozen veg burgers, while they are convenient, sometimes you just need something fresh. This recipe gives you all the satisfaction of prepping burgers for the grill without the icky hamburger stuck under your nails at the end of the day. I baked mine in the oven but you could just as easily grill these on a very hot grill…don’t mess with them too much or they will crumble apart. Served on slider rolls, the kids didn’t miss the moo. These would freeze nicely as well.

Chickpea Burgs

2 1/2 cups canned garbanzos, drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 onion, chopped
Grated zest of one large lemon
1 cup micro sprouts, chopped (try broccoli, onion, or alfalfa sprouts – optional)
1 cup toasted (whole-grain) bread crumbs
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or clarified butter)

Combine the garbanzos, eggs, and salt in a food processor. Puree until the mixture is the consistency of a very thick, slightly chunky hummus. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the cilantro, onion, zest, and sprouts. Add the breadcrumbs, stir, and let sit for a couple of minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture (this part is CRITICAL to your success). At this point, you should have a wet mixture that you can easily form into twelve 1 1/2-inch-thick patties. Err on the side of moist here, you can always add more bread crumbs a bit at a time to firm up the dough if need be. Conversely, a bit of water or more egg can be used to moisten the batter.

What Adrienne did: preheat oven to 375, put burgers onto a lightly greased, foil lined baking sheet, bake until firm turning once during cooking time so as to brown both sides of the burger. Top with your fave burger accessories. I ate mine with a squeeze of lemon, sprouts, tomato, and a dollop of ranch dressing.

Heidi Swanson’s directions: heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium low, add 4 patties, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes. Flip the patties and cook the second side for 7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the skillet and cool on a wire rack while you cook the remaining patties. Carefully cut each patty in half, insert your favorite fillings, and enjoy immediately.

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Makes 12 mini burgers.

Inspired by 101cookbooks Heidi Swanson

Posted in BBQ, Dinner, Fall Food, Fridge Finds, Less is more, Make Ahead, Meat Substitutes, Recipes, Vegetarian

Tagged chickpeas, cilantro, Eggs, EVOO, garbanzo beans, lemon, micro sprouts, onion, toasted bread crumbs

Cheater’s Buffalo Chicken Salad

Posted on September 5, 2011 | 1 comment

Sometimes I just don’t have time for extensive dinner prep and if I make one more decision in a day my head will explode; enter, Cheater Buffalo Chicken Salad.

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2 Boca Spicy Chicken Patties
1/2 pound mixed greens
1 red bell pepper, diced
5 green onions, greens only diced
1 medium cucumber, seeds removed, peeled and diced
1/4 C ranch or green goddess dressing, diluted with 3 T cold water or milk
3 T Frank’s Red Hot sauce
2 T shredded cheese

Super simple plan: bake chicken patties according to package instructions, cut into bite-sized pieces. Assemble veggies into 2 medium bowls, top with baked chicken pieces, top with dressing made from ranch, water and Frank’s Red Hot; plus shredded cheese.

The beauty of this salad as you can use whatever you have on hand in the fridge. Heck you can even mix up the chicken patty for a black bean burger or any other faux veg protein for that matter.

Posted in Dinner, Fridge Finds, Leftovers, Make Ahead, Meat Substitutes, Quick Cooking, Recipes, Salad, Vegetarian

Tagged bell pepper, boca chicken patty, cucumber, Frank's Red Hot, green goddess, Green Onions, mixed greens, quick cooking, ranch, salad, veggies

Soggy Baby Cukes Remade Into Crisp Quick Pickles

Posted on September 1, 2011 | 1 comment

I’m a pickled veggie snob. I will spend $12.00 on a jar of pickles. I will eat one a week so as not to get rid of them too soon, savoring every bite, then I will keep the jar of juice and dump baby carrots into the remaining sea of spices until I drain the jar dry.

Today I noticed some very much neglected pickling cukes in the back of my crisper, not looking so much crisp as sad. Here is my science experiment and foray into quick pickles. I hope you like it spicy.

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Pickles:

6 baby cucumbers washed and cut into rings
1 habanero pepper cut into 4ths
2 jalapeno peppers cut in half
2 whole cloves garlic smashed
Handful kosher salt

Brine:

1 1/2 C white vinegar, cause I’m old school
1 C water
1 1/2 T garlic chopped
5 bay leaves, whole
2 T dried dill, or 4 T fresh dill
1 T black peppercorns
1 T agave nectar
1 T cumin seeds, whole

First, prep the cukes. Cut into rounds, place in colander, salt generously, let sit for 15-30 minutes. This should perk up your cukes if they were a little sad like mine. Place cukes, peppers, and garlic cloves in a couple of jars you have lids for, it could be a jam jar for all I care, just make sure it’s clean. Since we are not “canning” here, it doesn’t make a difference.

To make the brine, boil for 15 minutes the ingredients listed in brine list. Remove from heat, pour over veggies in the jars. Let cool on counter, then pop in the fridge.

Eat these little guys within the week.

Posted in Fridge Finds, Less is more, Make Ahead, Quick Cooking, Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged agave nectar, baby cucumbers, bay leaves, cumin seeds, dill, garlic, habanero, jalapeno pepper, McClures Pickles, peppercorns, pickles, quick pickles, white vinegar

The Kohlrabi Has Landed…

Posted on August 11, 2011 | 2 comments

…in my CSA bag for 3 weeks in a row. I admit, even though I’m a well-seasoned vegetarian, this odd vegetable stumped me for uses and it was necessary to run to Google and figure out finally, after 3 weeks, what in the hell to do with multiple kohlrabi (is that the plural? So confusing.).

While strange looking, sorta like a hot air balloon while it grows, kohlrabi possesses many attributes worth notice:

Low in calories, only 19 for a half cup raw, sliced
High in dietary fiber, 2.5 grams for one-half cup
Potassium content peaks at 245 grams for one-half cup
Vitamin content for that same one-half cup includes 25 I.U. vitamin A, 43.4 mg. vitamin C, 11.3 mcg folic acid, and 16.8 mg. calcium.

Turns out, this little guy is also known as a German Turnip and is the bee’s knees in Kashmir where it is the most consumed vegetable (food must really suck in Kashmir). Everywhere I searched, the claim is that kohlrabi is delish both raw and cooked. Well, I’m here to tell you people, while there are several varieties of this alien veggie, I apparently got the two that suck raw. Both white and purple variety of kohlrabi, are dare I say it, horrible raw…so off to the interwebs I went in search of a way to browbeat this veg into submission. I found the perfect solution: empanadas! Pie crust can make ANYTHING taste better. I present to you: Kohlrabi and Sweet Potato Empanadas.

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 inch of ginger, peeled and grated
2 tsp coriander, ground
2-3 medium kohlrabi, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 large sweet potato, cooked and smashed
2 large scallions, both white and green parts, finely cut
1 radish, minced (optional)
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T butter
salt and pepper to taste
dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 box of pre-made pie crust or one batch homemade*
1 egg

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In a medium skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger to brown. Add kohlrabi cubes, a pinch of salt and some pepper. Toss well and cook 3 or 4 minutes until kohlrabi are softening a bit. Add potato mash and continue to cook for 4 more minutes. Add scallions, radish, nutmeg, coriander and another pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for one minute before removing from heat. Set mixture to this side to cool. It should be a very, very dry, looking mixture. Moisture equals disaster for empanadas.

Roll out dough to be a little thinner than pie crust typically is. If you are using pre-made crust from the store, run your rolling pin over it once or twice. Using a cereal bowl or large circular cookie cutter, cut out 6 inch-ish circles from the dough. It should yield about 15, give or take depending on your cutter and dough thickness.

Pre-heat oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Prepare egg wash by beating egg with a teaspoon of water and set to the side along with a small bowl of water.

To make the empanadas, spoon one teaspoon of kohlrabi mixture into the center of a circle of dough (it’s better to have less filling than too much or the empanadas won’t hold together. Feel out the right ratio that allows you to close off the dough without any filling popping out.). Dip your finger in the bowl of water and run it around the outside edge of the dough. Fold dough over the filling to create a half circle. Press down edges. Carefully pick up the dough pocket and pinch edges or use a fork, then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with the egg wash. The video below shows how to appropriately fill and thus seal an empanada. Caution: it only LOOKS easy. By the time you have made all of your precious empanadas your last one will look like this person’s first one; it is however, well worth the effort.

After you assemble the dough pockets, pop them into the preheated oven, cooking for 8 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly on a rack so they don’t get soggy. I served mine warm with what else, Frank’s Red Hot.

**My next kohlrabi experiment is going to be this: Kohlrabi Curry.

Posted in Dinner, Fridge Finds, Make Ahead, Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients, Vegetarian

Tagged alien vegetable, assembly, community supported agriculture, community sustainable agriculture, cooked, coriander, crust, CSA, egg wash, empanada, folding, german turnip, ginger, Google, Kashnir, kohlrabi, Michigan, Nutmeg, odd veggie, pie, pie crust, radish, raw, scallions, sweet potato

Radish Sammich

Posted on July 21, 2011 | 2 comments

My previous post discussed the ever important Village of Manchester Chicken Broil in all of its glory. Something I remember more than the chicken dinner, were the leftovers from the dinners and what my Grandma Helen used to make from them (we always ate Chicken Broil at Grandma’s house). In case you neglected to read the links provided in that post, let me briefly recap: the dinner is comprised of a half chicken, roll with butter, fresh made cole slaw with secret local recipe, radishes, chips and beverage. What was always leftover besides chicken (which was made into chicken salad)? Rolls and radishes. No one EVER ate the radishes until my Grandma made them into ‘sammiches’ with the neglected butter pat.

So just what in the hell am I getting at here, talking about chicken for the last 2 posts? Well my point is….in my CSA share bag for the last few weeks, I’ve had radish overload, so I grabbed some slider buns and made a delish lunch of radish sammich and Parmesan cheese, pictured below. Don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it. Besides, what the heck else are you going to do with those radishes? You can thank me later.

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Posted in BBQ, Bread, Fridge Finds, Leftovers, Less is more, Lunch, Michigan, Seasonal Ingredients, Vegetarian

Tagged butter, cheese, CSA, grandma helen, Kitchen Window, Leftovers, Lunch, Manchester Chicken Broil, NPR, quick meal, radish sammich, red radish, Sandwich, Trillium Haven Farm, Village of Manchester

Secret Slaw Dressing Recipe

Posted on July 18, 2011 | 17 comments

I grew up in the Village of Manchester, just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. We take great honor in being the home of the FAMOUS (yes, really) Chicken Broil, a 600+ volunteer driven event that raises funds for community projects and organizations from band uniforms to Boy Scout equipment and just about anything in between. Chances are if you were a kid and grew up in Manchester, or have kids and currently live in Manchester, you have received some benefit from the cash raised by this mostly-male driven event which serves this amount of food in 4 hours:

19,000 lbs chicken
9,600 lbs charcoal
256 lbs butter plus 14,000 butter pats
48 22-oz containers of salt for chicken and dressing
1,100 lbs radishes
14,000 dinner rolls
40 gallons of vegetable oil for dressing
84 crates of cabbage
14,000 1-oz. potato chip bags
500 aprons and gloves

In honor of the 58th Manchester Chicken Broil serving over 12,000 meals this Thursday, I give you…. the secret recipe for the only vegetarian component of the meal, besides the roll. Which, let’s be honest, that’s not really part of the meal, it’s the afterthought/filler.

MANCHESTER CHICKEN BROIL FAMOUS COLE SLAW DRESSING

10 T sugar (or sugar substitute, I’ve used as little as 3 T sugar with great results)
1/2 C vinegar (white preferred, but I usually use rice vinegar)
1 C canola or veg oil
1 1/2 tsp Coleman’s dry mustard (no subs here)
1 T dried minced onions (I’ve used onion powder before, no probs)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 T celery seeds

Add ingredients to a glass canning jar, shake well until all sweetener dissolves and serve over shredded cabbage.

17 Comments

Posted in BBQ, Fridge Finds, Make Ahead, Recipes, Salad, Vegetarian

Tagged cabbage, Carol LaRock, celery seeds, coleman's dry mustard, coleslaw, community, Helen Hosmer, Helen Kensler, June Jenter, Manchester, Manchester Chicken Broil, MI, minced onions, oil, salt, sugar, summer, Village of Manchester, vinegar, World Famous Chicken Broil

Independence Day Holiday Weekend = Food Coma

Posted on July 7, 2011 | 2 comments

Hello summer! Nothing screams 4th of July holiday like making a ton of high-calorie food and carting it all over the city visiting friends, drinking adult beverages, and watching small children play with matches.

Mr. Wonderful and I started off the July 4th Holiday weekend relatively healthy with Yin and Yang Salad with Peanut Dressing from The Real Food Daily Cookbook as and it sorta went downhill from there.

I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but it’s really just some ingredients used many times…tricky. Replication of flavors from ginger, garlic and sesame make this dish seem complex and rich, you don’t need to tell anyone you basically had to shop in two aisles, the “ethnic” and produce aisles.

4 cups shredded napa cabbage

1 sleeve soba noodles, cooked al dente, drained and cooled

2 carrots, peeled and julienned

1 (2 1/2-inch) piece daikon radish, peeled and julienned (I used red radish)

10 green onions (white and green parts), julienned

1 cup Peanut-Sesame Dressing (recipe follows)

4 cups 1/2-inch cubes chilled ginger tofu (recipe follows)

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Toss the cabbage, carrots, radish, and green onions in a large bowl with enough dressing to coat. Mound the salad into 4 wide, shallow bowls or onto plates. Arrange the tofu around the salad. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve.

Serves 4.

Dressing:

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup brown rice vinegar

1/4 cup maple syrup

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons tamari

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves

Ann’s header notes: If you’d like a spicier dressing, just add more crushed red pepper flakes. This thickens up once it’s refrigerated, so you can either add a little water to thin it or leave it thick to use as a sauce on grains and other cooked dishes.

Blend the peanut butter, vinegar, maple syrup, water, tamari, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and crushed red pepper in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add the cilantro and blend just until it’s finely chopped The dressing will keep for 2 days, covered and refrigerated.

Makes abaut 1 1/4 cups.

Gingered Tofu

2 (12-ounce) containers water-packed extra-flrm tofu

2/3 cup tamari

1/4 cup brown rice vinegar

1/4 cup toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

I tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

I tablespoon canola oil

Drain the tofu and save the containers. Cut into 1-inch wide strips, and pat dry with paper towels. Cover a large baking sheet with more dry paper towels. Place the tofu in a single layer over the towels on the baking sheet and let drain for 2 hours, changing the paper towels after 1 hour.

Whisk the tamari, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger in a bowl to blend. Pour half of the marinade into the reserved tofu containers. Return the tofu slices to the containers, and pour the remaining marinade over. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat the oven to 400’F. Oil a heavy, rimmcd baking sheet with the canola oil. Drain the tofu and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes on each side until golden brown and heated through. Serve warm or cold, or at room temperature. The tofu will keep for 1 day, covered and refrigerated.

Serves 4 to 6.

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Posted in Fridge Finds, Make Ahead, Meat Substitutes, Recipes, Salad, Vegetarian

Tagged 4th of July, bbq, brown-rice vinegar, carrots, chilled ginger tofu, cilantro, daikon, farmers market, friends, garlic, ginger, Green Onions, holiday, Independence Day, kid-friendly, Maple Syrup, napa cabbage, peanut butter, peanut-sesame dressing, potluck, red pepper flakes, red radish, sesame oil, soba noodles, summer, tahini, tofu, veg, vegetarian, Yin Yang Salad

If you plant a herb garden, you better damn well like pesto.

Posted on June 16, 2011 | 2 comments

My herbs are staging a coup d’état in the backyard.

I’m striking back with pesto.

One of my fave 101cookbooks.com blog posts is entitled “How to Make Pesto Like an Italian Grandmother”. She’s right. It’s a brilliant recipe; however, sometimes I do not have 1) pine nut cash allowance (so expensive!), 2) oh, I don’t know 1000 extra calories to inhale a 2 tablespoon mouthful of wonderfulness or 3) time to chop BY HAND (wtf?!) a zillion leaves into a paste-like substance-I guess that’s where the grandmother part comes in for Heidi Swanson’s recipe; grandmothers have lots of extra time for this stuff.

Tonight when I realized my parsley was about to FLOWER for goodness sake, I took it upon myself to hack it all down, grab some garlic and headed to the food processor to make, “Certainly not an Italian Grandmother’s Pesto” while muttering to myself, “it’s a damn good thing I like pesto.”

Pesto from the Fridge

2 lemons zested and juiced
2 large handfuls of something delish and green from your herb garden (could really be anything)
4 cloves of garlic, 2 if you are not interested in vampire protection (TrueBlood starts at the end of the month)
1/4 C good EVOO

**To make this real pesto, add 1/2 C toasted walnuts or pine nuts, sometimes called Pinons and 1/2 C grated parm cheese to the mix then increase your EVOO as needed to get a nice puree.

Hack down a bunch of your herbs you have been neglecting, use the tender leaf part for the pesto (wash and dry it) and the stems to clean out your garbage disposal, it will make it smell better after you grind them up in there and send them to their new water home.

In a food processor, take the peeled garlic cloves, lemon juice, lemon zest and all of that beautiful greenery and blend while slowly adding the EVOO. You might need less than 1/4 C depending on how liquidy you want the pesto. I like mine a little bit on the dry side.

To store, I take an old ice cube container, spray a little oil in the bottom and on the sides then portion out my pesto in the little wells which happens to make a nice amount of sauce for 2 people when I decide I need a pasta fix; freeze and then pop out and store in a freezer bag.

I have also used this concoction as:

Tofu marinade
Combined with greek yogurt to make dip, or thinned with water to make salad dressing.
Mixed with more EVOO and a dash of balsamic vinegar to create a quick and flavorful vinaigrette.
Tossed with pasta and raw veggies for a quick lunch or dinner.
Tossed with pasta, a little pasta water, goat cheese and toasted walnuts for a yummy dinner.
On top of crusty bread for the base for bruschetta or plain as garlic bread.
Tossed with saute’d mushrooms.
Base for marinated olives and bocconcini (baby mozzarella balls) skewers.
Base for tortillini soup.

Technically this recipe might be considered a Coulis due to lack of cheese; but whatever the case, it’s a flexible, cheap, quick and yummy way to put that herb garden to use and just about any herb or green will due. I’ve even used spinach with fantastic results. Pulling one of these little cubes out of the freezer in February makes my heart remember spring.

Posted in Fridge Finds, Make Ahead, Noodles, Quick Cooking, Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged 101cookbooks.com, Basil, coulis, dip, dressing, EVOO, freezer, garlic, green, heidi swanson, herb garden, herbs, ice cube trays, parsley, pasta, pesto, spring, tofu marinade, vegan, vegetarian, Yummy

Rummaged Flatbread

Posted on May 26, 2011 | 1 comment

Some nights I just don’t feel like cooking. Really. Yes, even me. Which is why I’m thankful that I am competitive enough to make a game out of what I can scavenge from the fridge to pull dinner off. Mr. Wonderful loves anything in the family of pizza. So naan is a great quick pizza crust and Costco has the best deal on naan in the free world. Enter naan from freezer and let the creative juices flow. The most difficult part about this recipe is the patience it takes to caramelize the onions…chop them up and toss into a fry pan over very, very low, for a very long time. You can vacuum, do dishes, watch some YouTube videos in the mean time. Hell, get crazy and read a real book.

Here’s a quick flatbread recipe as rummaged from the fridge/freezer/pantry:

Grilled Asparagus, White Bean and Caramelized Onion Flatbread

1 very large onion, any type, chopped finely into half circles (approx 2 C raw)
1 bunch asparagus trimmed and washed
1 C Provolone cheese, grated (goat or gorgonzola cheese would be better here, but none in the fridge, alas)
4 C white beans, cooked or 2 cans, drained-reserve this liquid in case your hummus is too thick and you can drizzle some in (I pulled these from my freezer-reserve 3/4 C to sprinkle on TOP of flatbread, the rest will be used for “hummus” for the sauce on the flatbread)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2-3 T Tahini (or just use a little of the juice from the beans if you don’t have this in your cupboard)
1/2 tsp dried oregano or a handful fresh
1/2 tsp dried cumin
1/2 tsp dried chipotle or red pepper flakes, omit if you are not pro-heat
2 T lemon juice, fresh squeezed preferred, but that little plastic lemon kind won’t kill you here
salt to taste, this will take more than you think…white beans have little flavor
EVOO
2 pieces commercial naan bread

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Cut up onion, toss in hot frying pan with a swig of EVOO, then turn way, way down to low. Here is where the patience comes in…now, wait. Stirring every 15 minutes or so. Caramelized onions take TIME. Like, an hour or so. Good news, you don’t have to do anything to them except poke around at them every quarter hour….seriously quit your complaining.

Take the following ingredients and zap them in the food processor until smooth:

tahini

white beans (minus 3/4 C for topping of flatbread)

lemon juice

garlic cloves

spices

pinch of salt

You just made white bean hummus which is the “sauce” for the flatbread.

Asparagus should be washed, trimmed and tossed with a splash of EVOO, then turned out onto a hot grill, or in a grill pan until just warm, they should be crispy, semi-raw still, they will be cooked again in a hot second.

Fire the naan for a few minutes in a 400 degree oven to crisp it up just a little.

Now assemble:

Apply “sauce” to naan bread, then onions, reserved white beans, asparagus and top with provolone cheese. Toss back into hot oven until cheese melts. Season with a bit of black pepper.

Devour.

Posted in Bread, Leftovers, Less is more, Quick Cooking, Recipes

Tagged caramelized onions, cheese, chipotle, cook, create, delish, EVOO, flatbread pizza, food processor, freezer, garlic, grilled asparagus, lemon juice, lemon zest, Mr. Wonderful, mr. wonderful approved, naan, oregano, Provolone, recipe, red epper flakes, salt, seasonal cooking, tahini, vegetarian, white beans, yum

Sweet Potato Crisp

Posted on May 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

I think marshmallows are so gross, I don’t even want to tell you what gelatin is made from which is what holds those little guys together. So I took a topping that I love, from fruit crisp, and then modified it slightly for this dish. You could easily add 1/3 C oats to the topping and call this “health food”; however I didn’t do that.

Sweet Potato Crisp

Casserole:

3 C sweet potatoes, baked and mashed (approx. 4 large potatoes)
½ C sugar or Splenda
½ C margarine or butter, melted
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 C skim milk

Topping:

1/3 C melted margarine or butter
1 C light brown sugar or brown sugar Splenda
½ C flour
1 C chopped pecans
½ C – 1C sweetened shredded coconut

Mix together all of the casserole ingredients, place into a 9×13 greased pan.

Combine the topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of the casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees COVERED for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 3-5 minutes or until just brown.

CAUTION: the sweetened coconut burns QUICKLY so in the last 3-5 minutes you are really watching for the coconut to brown and then remove promptly.

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Posted in Baking, Leftovers, Make Ahead, Recipes

Tagged butter, coconut, crisp, Easter, mr. wonderful approved, not-health-food, pecans, sweet potatoes, vanilla, vegetarian, Yummy

Clean Out the Fridge Sweet Potato Hash

Posted on April 18, 2011 | 2 comments

I consider it a personal challenge when I have a few stray veggies in the fridge and a container of eggs. It’s not really a food emergency or worth going to the store unless I am out of half and half for the coffee. With the eggs, I could make an omelet (how predictable), or I could bust out some spices and a piece of stale naan bread from the freezer and make the following:

Curried Sweet Potato Hash with Egg Over Easy and Grilled Naan

This is a toss it all together recipe, so I didn’t measure. Do the best you can with what you have on hand. In these photos:

1 small onion diced
1 jalapeno pepper diced
½ green pepper diced
1 handful edemame from the freezer
1 medium sweet potato diced
1 egg, over easy
1 piece of Naan bread, grilled
1 tsp hot curry powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Dice up the veggies, approximately the same size. In a sauté pan or whatever is clean frankly, spray a little oil and add the sweet potato dice first, it will take a little longer to cook, when that becomes a bit soft, add all the rest of the veggies. Cook until just tender. Sprinkle mixture with curry, pinch of salt and pinch of pepper. While the hash is cooking, push to once side of the pan and fry the egg over easy. Over an open flame or in the oven warm up the naan bread. To assemble. Naan on the bottom, hash, fried egg.

Feelin’ really crazy? Butter your naan bread with peanut butter and slice up a banana on top of it before adding the hash and egg…this is called a Tickle.

For lunch this same day, I took the leftover hash, put it in a sauce pan, with a can of coconut milk, a can of water and some additional curry powder. Soup. 🙂

Crazy for Cumin? Try this one from Pinch my Salt, one of my fave food blogs.

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Posted in Leftovers, Recipes, Vegetarian

Tagged bananas, clean out the fridge, curry, diced veggies, edemame, fried egg, grilled naan, jalapeno, naan, onion, peanut butter, Pinch My Salt, scavenger, sweet potato, sweet potato hash, tickle

Lentil. Loaf. Love.

Posted on February 16, 2011 | 4 comments

I have pounds upon pounds of lentils lining the shelves of my kitchen. No time like the present to cook up a lovely lentil loaf. I searched high and low for a loaf that didn’t look like meat so much as it did a healthier version, grainy and textured. Finally, after much loaf searching, I stumbled upon the blog: eat me, delicious which really is clever and has a ton of really great recipes. This week I will be cooking from that blog beginning with this loaf.

Lovely Lentil Loaf
Makes 4-6 servings

3/4 cup dry red split lentils rinsed well (until no longer cloudy), cooked in 1 3/4 cups of veggie broth or water until just tender, not mushy
1 cup oats-not quick cooking (or leftover rice, millet or bulgur) I went for Bob’s Red Mill brand, it was on sale at Meijer tonight.
1 cup grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (tomato sauce or salsa-I used Tastefully Simple’s Bayou Bourbon Sauce)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons soy sauce or Tamari
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour mixture into a loaf pan or casserole dish, lined with foil and lightly oiled.
Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

As you can see with this formula the possibilities of add ins, etc are basically endless.

Your final product will be a firm, yet not heavy loaf that tastes delicious over smashed sweet potatoes…just sayin’.

Now get out there and love on some lentils! This is Walter The Wonderdog approved.

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4 Comments

Posted in Baking, Leftovers, Vegetarian

Tagged bob's red mill brand, cook, create, delicious, delish, eat me, freezer, lentil loaf, lentils, Mr. Wonderful, oats, recipe, red lentils, tastefully simple, veg, veggie, walterthewonderdog, yum

Yahtzee! Red Pepper SALE=Spicy Red Pepper Soup

Posted on February 3, 2011 | 1 comment

Some like it HOT. I for one, basically drink Frank’s Red Hot. It has some kind of hold on me. A sale on red peppers is like hitting 3 or 4 numbers in the lotto, not the full monty, but you still get an excellent monetary reward…especially at D & W. So when I saw red bell peppers, 10 for $10 dollars and sprinted to the produce shelf, leaving poor Mr. Wonderful in the dust returning with 20 red bell peppers, he had no idea what had just happened. Since he knows better than to actually ask about such things, he agreed to just wait for the finished product which we lapped up 2 days in a row and several lunch servings later.

This recipe was adapted from the klutzychef at her blog; check her out she is cute and honest…and talks about burning Rice Krispie treats, my kind of gal.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

serves 4 people as a main meal

Ingredients

8 red bell peppers, roasted (no, it does NOT taste the same if you use canned-just roast them in your oven..super easy)
1 baked medium russet potato, smashed
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1/4 cup half and half
2 medium chopped onions
6 garlic cloves peeled and left whole
2 tsp roasted red pepper flakes (half of this for a milder soup)
1 tsp chipotle powder (omit for mild soup, I like to hurt myself eating soup like this…)
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups crushed tomatoes (16 oz)
1 3/4 cups reduced-fat coconut milk (or whole fat, whatever)
2 cups veggie broth or water

Directions

Bake your potato, set aside to cool. Roast your peppers, whole, washed and then coated lightly with EVOO or canola oil on a foil-lined (you will thank me later for this step) jelly roll pan at 400 or so until they are black, yes, black. Set them aside in a tightly covered bowl to cool and then stem, seed, and peel them. This is not hard, suck it up and do it. Seriously, the taste is worth it.
In a covered non-reactive pot, heat oil in a dutch oven on medium-high heat.
Add onions, carrots, salt, pepper flakes, chipotle powder, and garlic. Sauté on medium heat for 15 minutes or until onions are soft and translucent. DO NOT INHALE DEEPLY when you put the flakes and powder to the oil. You might want to turn on the fan for a few minutes or suffer for about an hour.
Remove the pot from heat and add canned tomatoes, red peppers, coconut milk, smashed potato guts, half/half and broth/water.
Mix together so ingredients are fully integrated.
Now, in batches, add the soup to a blender or food processor to mix all together. An immersion blender works beautifully here as well since you can just throw it right into the pot. If you have a dish towel to spare and are using a standing blender, you may want to put the towel under the cover to prevent hot soup from spilling out the top.
Keep warm until ready to serve on stove over low.
Top with Frank’s Red Hot (I know it’s too much, but it’s soooooo good).

Posted in Leftovers, Make Ahead, Recipes, Soup

Tagged coconut milk, cook, create, delish, EVOO, Frank's Red Hot, recipe, red pepper, roasting red peppers, sale, seasonal cooking, Soup, vegetarian, yum

Holiday Leftovers II

Posted on January 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

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Leftovers to be transformed: pineapple, sourdough bread, green onions, heavy whipping cream.

Made grilled chipotle/raspberry open faced sandwiches with grilled pineapple, green onions on sourdough bread. Pineapple two ways for dessert, grilled and fresh/raw with cinnamon, nutmeg and are you ready for this? Peachtree schnapps. Yes. Schnapps.

The how: slice and press your tofu into “steaks”, marinade in chipotle/raspberry bbq sauce or any other sauce you have available for 20 minutes or so. While you are marinating, slice and grill your green onions and pineapple over high heat until just done. Remove pineapple and onion, then grill tofu until heated throughout and you achieve those super cool grill marks on both sides. Remove from heat and toss your bread right onto that mess in the grill pan. It will toast up with sauce remnants on it which isn’t a bad thing, trust me. Assemble as an open face sandwich (I only had 2 pieces of bread to work with).

For the grilled and fresh pineapple dessert with whip. Whip up some heavy cream with a dash of nutmeg, Splenda or sugar, cinnamon, and a douse of Schnapps. Don’t measure, just taste as you go. It’s not scientific, it will still be delicious-give it a whirl. If your household has more class than mine and doesn’t have Schnapps on your shelf, stand in judgement for a bit like I expect you to, then just use vanilla for the same type of flavor profile. 🙂 Add whipped tipsy cream to your fruit and serve as shown in photos.

Posted in Leftovers, Make Ahead

Tagged bbq, cook, create, delish, green onion, grill, Leftovers, Peachtree Schnapps, pineapple, recipe, sourdough bread, tofu, whipped cream

Doing The RIGHT Thing!! Leading By Example: Cooking Day With Molly

Posted on January 2, 2011 | 1 comment

My friend Julie is crazy. Like in all the very BEST ways, crazy. I’m so proud of her latest post to Facebook it nearly brought me to tears, I was forced to drop everything and brag about her in this post. But first, a little health education, as if you actually thought I could write about this topic and not go all geek on you!!

In case you have been living in a cave for oh, say 50 years. We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic. In ancient historic times a person’s weight was the gauge of their social standing. A thin person often meant poverty and a plum family equated to the fact that they were doing well enough to have plenty to eat. This is not the case now. Our culture is producing the first generation of obese children with the highest risk factor of developing diabetes. The National Institutes of Health estimate that over sixty five percent of Americans are either overweight or obese and the number is climbing. With the rise of obesity, the diagnosis of type-2 diabetes has also been increasing.

We are a nation obsessed with all the wrong types of foods and are constantly being marketed to buy and consume copious amounts of junk and fast food. The American Diabetes Association has been expressing alarm at the fact that approximately twenty one million people have diabetes with a potential of around another fifty four million diagnosed with pre-diabetes (an increased elevation of the blood glucose levels but not at a level to be officially diagnosed as type-2 diabetes). The obesity and diabetes statistics are alarming.

Diabetes is a dangerous disease, however, type-2 diabetes has been related as a lifestyle disorder. This means it can start at an early age with a high fat and high sugar diet that lends to the disease progress. By the time of later adult hood, the body functions are set in place to have type-2 diabetes.

Here’s what all the fuss is about:

Over two thirds of the adults in the United States twenty or older are considered to be overweight or obese-
All adults total: 68 percent; Women: 64.1 percent. Men: 72.3 percent

About one third of the adults in the United States twenty or older are considered to be obese-
All adults total: 33.8 percent; Women: 35.5 percent. Men: 32.2 percent

5.7 percent of adults in the United States twenty or older are considered to be extremely obese.

There has been a steady increase in obesity in all ethnicities, genders, ages and education levels. The prevalence of obesity in the United States has increase from 13.4 to 35.1 percent in adults age 20 to 74. Since 2004, while the prevalence of overweight is still high among men and women. There aren’t any significant differences in documented rates from 2003, to 2004; 2005 to 2006 and 2007 to 2008. There hasn’t been any change in obesity prevalence in women from 1999 to 2008; 2009-2010 official statistics have not yet been released, but I’m predicting an increase.

The increase in obesity in children in a 2003-2006 study showed 12.4 percent of children ages 2-5 and a 17 percent of children aged 6-11 were overweight. Most studies show that there is an increased mortality rate associated with obesity due to all sorts of preventable diseases and recently, even the National Cancer Institute links obesity to CANCER!!!!

If we as a community and a culture are going to encourage a healthy life for future generations, and change these alarming statistics, we have to stop buying prepackaged and premade products from manufacturers that really don’t care about us. Their job is to sell us product people! We need to pull the junk food from the schools and replace it with healthier choices (this I could talk about for hours-vending machines in schools still selling regular soda!!? It’s an outrage and a totally separate blog rant later). We also need to begin learning to eat right and less in volume, no matter where we are. Lastly, we need to cook at home with our kids!!!!! I applaud you Julie ( you too Molly! ) for taking steps in the positive direction for change. I love that you begin with a very humble and also misunderstood veggie, Brussels Sprouts. Listed below is Julie’s note from FB, keep up the good fight gals!

(Statistics not immediately sited in text were taken from the Centers for Disease Control website: cdc.gov).

Julie: So, I’ve been inspired by Cooking Light Magazine and their “12 Healthy Habits of 2011” program (check out their website…it’s a pretty cool thing they’re doing!) January is the month of adding more vegetables into your diet. Clearly this will only benefit my effort of weight loss (and my SparkPeople program) so I went to the store today with a mission to get some veggies, try a NEW veggie, and prepare some stuff that will get me through the week.

My new veggie: Brussels Sprouts. Yes, Erin, I’m trying Brussel Sprouts. (I know…you’re tearing up 🙂 I’m linking the recipe that I’m going to use. (I’m hoping that the link works.)

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000522381

And, Molly and I created a Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili. It has butternut squash in it. Which just happens to be one of my FAV veggies 🙂 Here’s that recipe.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001949760

It’s going to be a veggie filled month, I just know it 🙂

(If I tag you, it’s because you’re either a foodie or a diet buddy, or just b/c I adore you.)

Posted in Fall Food, Leftovers, Less is more, Make Ahead, Recipes

Tagged brussels sprouts, cook, cooking light, create, delish, eat your veggies, eating well, epidemic, facebook, julie, kids and cooking, molly, new year new you, obesity, recipe, school nutrition, seasonal cooking, snack, squash, type-2 diabetes, vegetarian, yum

Holiday Leftovers Take I

Posted on January 1, 2011 | Leave a comment

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I’m terrible when it comes to leftovers. They typically end up in the garbage. This dish however, began as stragglers, so not technically leftovers as in cooked and saved, this was mostly the stuff that didn’t get made and that would normally rot in my fridge. As there isn’t really a recipe, here is what I did:

1. Roasted the squash (in cubes) and brussels sprouts in a few teaspoons of EVOO at 400 until sprouts were caramelized and squash was done.

2. Warmed up some leftover Basmati (my fave) rice from a previous stir fry.

3. Stir fried extra firm tofu with lemon juice, orange juice and the zests of both until the tofu was caramelized and the juice made a little sauce. Then I tossed in a little soy for salt, it created a little glaze.

4. To assemble: tofu on rice, with side helping of veggies roasted and topped with pom seeds from the fridge. We enjoyed this with some leftover French bread and smoked cheddar cheese.

Nom nom. 🙂

Posted in Leftovers, Less is more, Seasonal Ingredients, Stir Fry

Tagged asian, cook, create, delish, eating well, EVOO, Mr. Wonderful, seasonal cooking, Stir Fry, vegetarian, yum

Clean Out Your Cupboard Mexican Sopa

Posted on December 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

I really, really wanted to go out and get half-off sushi at XO in downtown GR tonight, it’s just simply too cold to leave the house, really! Typically Mr. Wonderful and I eat at XO for lunch on Tuesdays, because can you really pass up a 9 dollar stuff your face with sushi lunch? No way. Today however, I had a lunch and learn speaker session to attend and could not go to half-off sushi day. I was crying on the inside, really. Instead, while listening to a charming and informative session put on by AMA West Michigan, I ate a crappy warm mixed greens salad without dressing (it looked gross), limp and flavorless “veggie pad Thai” (or my translation for the table was peanut butter spaghetti for white people-gag) and starchy, clumpy COLD rice, with a stale dinner roll. I pushed my plate forward and covered it with my napkin for a proper burial after I ate the greens and then waited to get home to eat my leftovers from last night’s Pineapple Tofu dish.

While I am known on occasion to exaggerate (I know you are surprised by this revelation), I have to get this out of my system as I work in a catering department of a very well-known west Michigan establishment and hotelier: food at other venues is shit compared to what we produce at my beloved place of employment. Yes, really, shit. I mean, I cannot emphasize enough, what an outstanding team of chefs and talented staff we have on our team. A luncheon on our turf, would NOT leave you wishing for your leftovers at home, this I assure you. I even passed on, are you ready for this…the Christmas sugar cookie. The Pillsbury cut and bakes I can buy in the refrigerated section are more desirable than the floury mess with butter frosting. Honestly people…and you call yourselves professionals?

Sorry about that distraction, I’m still mad that while my $40.00 paid to attend the session today was in my eyes a donation to the organization, approximately $0.00 went to the food bill. I feed my dogs better quality meals than I received at that country club, and not to the detriment of the host organization, this is all on the country club, 100% #epicfail.

On to the recipe.

As I wasn’t about to brave the cold, I took what I had and made “stone soup” or as I have dubbed it, “clean out your cupboard Mexican sopa”. Proof you can take normal stuff from your cupboards, toss it in a pan, add some broth and have a dinner in under 20 minutes. Mix it up people, your only limitations are what you currently have in your pantry or freezer. Good luck!

Ingredients:

3-15 ounce cans diced or whole tomatoes, zapped in the food processor to make your base
3-15 ounce cans black beans drained, or 4 cups cooked black beans, one cup zapped with tomatoes above for base
6 cloves garlic, zapped in food processor with first two ingredients
1 large sweet onion diced
1-15 ounce can whole corn kernels
1 can or 2 cups great northern beans drained
2T cumin, ground
1T ancho chili pepper, ground or your fave chili powder blend
3T chipotle en adobo, less if you don’t like spicy, play around with it beginning at 1T to taste
1tsp epazote, ground
4 C veggie broth or water
Juice of 4-5 limes

Really sophisticated directions here folks:

1. In a dutch oven, cook onion on medium high until translucent or browned whatever you like.

2. Dump into onion the base as described above with first 3 ingredients.

3. Next toss in whole black beans, whole northern beans, whole kernel corn, spices, veg broth, lime juice and chipotle en adobo.

4. Bring to boil, turn down to simmer, add salt and pepper to taste.

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Serve over baked tortilla chips or rice, sprinkle with cheese, top with avocado, sour cream, squeeze of lime, and chopped red onion. Freezes like a champ.

Posted in Fall Food, Leftovers, Less is more, Make Ahead, Michigan, Recipes, Soup

Tagged cook, create, cupboard, delish, eating well, kitchen sink, mexican, recipe, seasonal cooking, sopa, Soup, stone soup, yum

Baby, It’s COLD Outside!!

Posted on December 14, 2010 | 1 comment

Mr. Wonderful and I were out and about this evening, picking up some groceries, etc when I realized my car outdoor temp registered 17 degrees!!!!!!! Tonight was a toss up, eat poorly and grab some pizza on our way home from shopping or take a marginal amount of effort, 20 minutes and make a real dinner. If I had lost at Weight Watchers this week, I would have absolutely scarfed down some pizza, but since I only maintained, it was this delicious Pineapple Tofu Stir Fry that made me think of an island get-away. Luckily, I had everything except the ginger on hand, so stopped quick at Family Fare on the way home and whipped up this stir fry with some lovely Basmati Rice. Honestly, chopping and all, took me about 25 minutes. I doubled the recipe which is written to feed two as I had the tofu already cubed, and love this kind of thing for lunch the following day. Mr. Wonderful says “what kinda rice is this? It’s fancy, and tastes good.” Yes dear, it is fancy.

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PineApple TOFU Stir Fry

INGREDIENTS

1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks or tidbits, 3 tablespoons juice reserved
Juice of one orange
5 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 teaspoons brown sugar
7 ounces extra-firm, water-packed tofu, drained, rinsed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (See Tip for Two)
1 teaspoon cornstarch (I needed 2 1/2 tsp when I doubled the sauce recipe)
3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I used 2 T of garlic, I love garlic)
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 large bell pepper, cut into 1/2-by-2-inch strips (I used half a green and half a red leftover from my veggie tray)

PREPARATION

Whisk the reserved 3 tablespoons pineapple juice, orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup and sugar in a small bowl until smooth. Place tofu in a medium bowl; toss with 2 tablespoons of the sauce. Let marinate for 5 minutes. Add cornstarch to the remaining sauce and whisk until smooth.
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer the tofu to the skillet using a slotted spoon. Whisk any remaining marinade into the bowl of sauce. Cook the tofu, stirring every 1 to 2 minutes, until golden brown, 7 to 9 minutes total. Transfer the tofu to a plate.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the skillet and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the sauce and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 30 seconds. Add the tofu and pineapple chunks (or tidbits) and cook, stirring gently, until heated through, about 2 minutes more.

TIPS & NOTES

Make Ahead Tip: The tofu can marinate (Step 1) for up to 30 minutes.

Storing Tofu: I doubled this recipe so I didn’t have leftover tofu, but if you don’t double it consider this tip: rinse leftover tofu, place in a storage container and cover with water; it keeps up to 4 days in the refrigerator if the water is changed every day or 2; freeze tofu for up to 5 months. (Freezing tofu yields a pleasingly chewy result that some people prefer. Don’t be surprised if the frozen tofu turns a light shade of caramel.)
Uses: Crumble and use instead of the meat in your favorite tuna or chicken salad recipe; dice and add to a vegetable stir-fry; add leftover silken tofu to smoothies.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 263 calories; 12 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 34 g carbohydrates; 10 g protein; 4 g fiber; 368 mg sodium; 549 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (280% daily value), Vitamin A (50% dv), Calcium (25% dv), Magnesium (18% dv). With rice this was 10 WW points on the new program.

This recipe adapted from my new fave website http://www.eatingwell.com.