Indian-esque Baked Tofu

I started making this when I worked at Brighter Day in Savannah. They make a number of different variations in the deli (as well as a multitude of other tasty things) which I have adopted at home. The thing I like about baked tofu is the way that it firms up. It isn’t at all wobbly, and you don’t even have to press it because the moisture evaporates in the oven. This dish isn’t a meal in and of itself, but it goes well with green, grain or bean salads and other sorts of small tapa-like sides.

1 block extra firm tofu
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp cardamom
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander seed
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp hulled sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper

1. Cut the tofu into 3/4 inch cubes.

2. Combine and toss in a bowl with the oil and then all of the other ingredients. The tofu should be pretty well coated with spices, so if you need to add more than the amounts I’ve given, don’t be shy.

3. Spread the cubes out in a single layer on a baking sheet, making sure there is enough room between them.

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 F.  Remove the tray from the oven and flip the cubes (they should be starting to brown). Return to the oven for another 15-20  minutes.

Serve hot, cold or at room temperature.

Shiitake and Wild Rice Risotto

This week, I went to the wednesday farmer’s market to get sun gold cherry tomatoes and came back instead with a bunch of leeks, an eggplant and some shiitake mushrooms. It’s hard to resist beautiful produce.

I used to really hate mushrooms, but Matt loves them, so I’ve been making an effort and warming up to them slowly. In spite of this, I wasn’t sure about the flavor or strength of shiitakes, so I talked to the farmer a little bit. I also asked my brother about them (he’s a chef). Armed with a little more information, I headed into the kitchen. Here, I have to admit that I am a little bit of a mycophobe. Every time I chop mushrooms I wonder if they are really the type they’re supposed to be and if I am going to poison us by cooking with them. I recognize that this is irrational, but it’s true. After my first bite of this risotto, which was improvised but based on an existing recipe, my fears (mostly) melted away and I exclaimed, “I think I love shiitake mushrooms.” I hope you will love them this way too.

2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
3 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
5 oz. fresh or rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, chopped into 1/4 – 1/2 inch pieces
2 1/2 c wild rice mix (I got mine, a blend of about five varieties – from the bulk section of my health food store)
6-8 c veggie broth
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter with the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and saute until they are soft. Add the garlic and mushrooms stir for a few minutes, until the mushrooms are softer and have deepened a little in color. Meanwhile, heat the broth separately.

Pour in the rice and stir until it is completely coated in butter.

Add the broth in 1/2 c increments, stirring frequently/ constantly between each addition. The broth from the previous addition should be absorbed before you add more. If 6-8 c of broth is not enough liquid, add hot water to supplement.

When the rice is still slightly al dente, turn off the heat and add the Parmesan.

Serve hot.

A few notes: This is much more filling than it looks. We are both good eaters and each of us finished only half of what we served ourselves. Also, wild rice + risotto = very long cooking time. Make sure you have a few hours to set aside for this. It’s worth it, though. I promise.

The Failed Yogurt Experiment

Over on my personal blog, I wrote about my yogurt-making experiment. If you would like to read it, or see more pictures of the pretty glass jars involved in the process, you can do so here and here.

‘Nola Bars & Update

I have decided to change the format of my other blog  (ameliaroberts.wordpress.com) to include a recipe column on fridays. As a result, I’m not sure how much I will be posting here from now on. Today, over at my personal blog, I posted my recipe for granola (‘nola) bars. They are pretty delicious. Keep checking in for any new additions.

Warm Chickpea Salad

Chickpeas are probably my favorite bean. Although it’s hard for me to play favorites. I threw this together tonight for a potluck. I had planned to make a Sardianian chickpea salad that I had saved the recipe for, but I was in a rush and didn’t want to start up my computer to find it. What I made ended up being more similar to foul madamas, which is something I love to get from my favorite Mediterranean restaurant.

1 c dried chick peas, soaked and then cooked (I think this works out to about two small cans’ worth…)
4 cloves garlic, crushed or diced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
a few sprigs of fresh lemon thyme
1-2 bay leaves
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
a handful of pine nuts
juice from 2-3 lemons
1/2 c roughly chopped fresh parsely
salt & pepper, to taste

1. In a skillet over medium heat, saute 3 of the 4 cloves of garlic in the oil. When it is just beginning to brown, add the chick peas and stir.

2. Add the tomato, thyme and bay leaves, as well as the pine nuts. When the juice from the tomato is beginning to evaporate, add the lemon juice and parsely.

3. Cook, stirring frequently, until the juice has reduced by half. Then, add the parsely and the last clove of garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about another two minutes before serving.

Peanut Butter Coconut Delight Cookies

So, I have been baking a lot lately. If there was a graph to show how much cooking vs. baking lately, the baking bar would be taller. By a lot. I came up with this recipe one night a few weeks ago in a “what would happen if…” kind of mood… and I declared them a success.

1 c all purpose flour
½ c whole wheat flour
1 c toasted shredded coconut
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda

6 tbsp butter
1/3 c coconut cream (the coconut milk solid taken from the top of a can of coconut milk)
½ c crunchy peanut butter
½ c brown sugar
¼ c granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla

1. Cream together the butter, coconut cream and peanut butter. Add in the sugars, egg and vanilla.

2. Mix together the other ingredients and add to the peanut butter mixture.

3. Chill for a half hour and preheat the oven to 350.

4. Roll and cut or form into drop cookies and press down on the top with a fork.* Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.

*for cut cookies this is purely aesthetic, but for peanut butter drop cookies, being flat helps them bake more evenly.

A Double Food-Garden Tour

This post is going to veer off-course from my usual format.

The victory garden is a pretty awesome thing. It never should have gone out of style*, and in some places it never did. One of those places is my parents’ back yard. My mom has been gardening for as long as I can remember, and my dad took it up just this year (with fantastic results). They grow lettuces, the dark green leafies, root veggies, beans, peas, berries, herbs, peppers and so on. All of these are grown in three gardens, a few berry patches and a number of pots and window boxes.

I grow tomatoes. I have about ten plants that I rescued from a fate in the compost heap and transplanted. I have about three different heirloom varieties (l-r, below) – Crimson Sprinter, San Marzano paste and (I think) Brandywine. I had my first two sweet cherry tomatoes today! In North Carolina I had started some Silvery Fir Trees and a Pink Girl, all of which Matt is keeping up, along with the herb garden that we built when I visited.

The marigolds are supposed to keep bugs away. So far, they’re working.

While none of these gardens are producing enough to be a substantial part of our diets right now (maybe in August), I wanted to mention them. Because after work, when I am hungry from a long day in the sun (or drizzle, as the case may be) I usually wander into one of the gardens to graze. Right now we are able to harvest peas, and the raspberries are just beginning… yum.

*I think we are seeing the victory garden’s revival, between the economic downturn and people being more interested in where their food comes from… but I think I see a biased cross-section of the population, so it’s hard to tell.

Oatmeal Chocolate Pecan Cookies

These are the best cookies I’ve ever made.  They’re not cakey and not overly sweet.  My roommate claimed that they were a sexy cookie because they are a gooey, warm, chocolaty mouthful when fresh out of the oven.  I took the base recipe from Sherry Yard’s “Secrets of Baking” and then tweaked it a bit.  If there were any cookies left I’d have taken a photo…

Makes about 12 cookies.

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
generous 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 stick cold butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg at room temperature
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate cut into chunks (I used Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips)
generous 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1.  Sift flour and baking soda into a medium bowl.  Mix in oats.

2.  Cream butter and then add the sugars, vanilla, salt.  Cream until it is smooth and lump free.  Add the egg and beat in until fully incorporated.  Do not overbeat.

3.  Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.  Then mix in the chocolate chips and pecans.

4.  Bake on greased baking sheet at 350 F for about 12 minutes until golden around the edges.

Carrot Salad

This vibrant and delicious dish is great for summer. It’s also mostly raw. There was an original recipe at one time, in an Asian cookbook of my mom’s, but this version is mine. It went over well at a recent potluck – no left overs (but I wished I had some.)

1/2 c orange juice (use the kind with the pulp)
1/4 c sesame oil
2-3 tbsp tamari
a smallish knob of fresh ginger, finely grated
1-2 tsp agave nectar or honey
1/2 c golden raisins
6-8 carrots, washed, with the ends cut off
2-3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1. Mix the juice, oil, tamari, ginger and agave nectar or honey together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Soak the raisins in this while you prepare the carrots (step 2).

2. Grate the carrots, either by hand or in a food processor. Add them to the dressing, along with the sesame seeds, and mix well.

Delicious Summer Fruit

Hello All,

I’m sorry that I have been posting so sparsely on CK these days. Life has been kind of busy. Now that the weather is beginning to warm up (here in the North; in the South it’s been hot for ages, already), it seems appropriate to post a few of my favorite ways to eat up all of the season’s fresh fruit. Hooray for summer!

- Amelia