Coconut Krispie Baked Tofu

This will be a short sweet and to the point blog. I'm sure you've all had a night swallowed up by the unexpected! I put my adorable naked 10 month old into her playpen (where she sleeps) to grab a Snappi for her diaper. A minute later on my return I realized she had peed while standing up through the mesh and was both sitting in it and licking the mesh. Ughh. This resulted in a bath, her going to bed in the crib, and the toddler in our bed.

A trip to Costco this weekend yielded a multipack of tofu. Price-wise it was a great deal on three to four meals worth of protein. Inspired by a recipe on Cara's Cravings, I jumped off from that point and created a twist that fit my pantry.

Coconut Krispie Baked Tofu
Serves 4

1 lb firm tofu
2 egg whites
3/4 cup Rice Krispies
1/3 cup coconut
cooking spray

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 TBS maple syrup for sauce



1. Preheat oven to 425. Set up a cookie rack on top of a cookie sheet and spray it with cooking spray. Pour Rice Krispies and coconut into the food processor and pulse until the size of breadcrumbs. Pour onto a plate.

2. Remove tofu from liquid and pat dry on a paper towel. Mine came in four squares which I halved horizontally and then cut diagonally to create 4 triangles per square. (16 total).

3. Crack the egg whites onto a plate and dip the tofu into it. Make sure to egg both sides. It is easiest to egg a few at a time, drop them onto the coconut Krispie plate and then use your fingers to cover them completely with coconut. Then rinse your fingers and start again. Put the tofu onto the cookie rack.

4. Bake for 5 minutes, turn down the heat to 400 and bake for an additional 10.

5. Serve with dipping sauce (mix together soy sauce and maple) if desired. I also love to saute fresh spinach and serve it on the side.

Tortillas & Taco Casserole

I love tortillas. I bake my own bread and am trying to eliminate any packaged foods I do buy and tortillas are one of them. So, for Christmas this year I asked for a tortilla press. Thus far it has been heavily used! Homemade tortillas tend to come out a little thicker and smaller than store bought ones so I've turned to taco casserole as a topping. By baking everything together with cheese it is easier to fill the tortillas with and less messy.

Making tortillas is actually really easy and not as intimidating as it sounds. I highly recommend a tortilla press! Rolling them out is not easy because the dough is very elastic. Next, you'll need to buy some lard. Some grocers keep it in the freezer near the butter and some put it on the shelves near the Crisco. I'm a fan of the Snowcap brand. Lard may sound extremely unhealthy but you're only using a tablespoon and it eliminates the need for any oil to cook them in.

Tortillas
(Makes 12-16)

2 cups flour
3/4 cups water
1 tbsp lard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

Taco Casserole
(Serves 4)

1 pound ground beef
1 can light kidney beans (15.5 oz)
1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice
1 avocado
a little bit of chopped lettuce if desired
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne

I make the taco casserole first. In a pan brown the ground beef.  Once browned add the cumin, onion powder, salt, oregano, bay leaf, and cayenne. Stir to incorporate everything evenly. Pour the ground beef (pull the bay leaf out) into a casserole dish and spread to cover the bottom. Next, drain the can of beans and toss them into the same pan. I like to heat them up and squash the beans a little. Once the beans are warm, dump them into the casserole on top of the beef. Top with the cheese. Dice the avocado and toss that on top. Chop some lettuce and set aside. Put the casserole into the oven at 350 for 10 minutes to melt all the cheese and keep it warm.

And now tortillas:

In a mixer, blend the flour, salt, baking powder and lard. The lard will crumble into the dough. Slowly add the water and mix until the dough is smooth.

Roll the dough into small balls the size of a large marshmallow (or a Barbie head). It's easiest to roll them in flour. I use a $1 serving plate from the Dollar Store so that I don't have to clean the counter after.

I have the toddler help me put the ready to go tortillas on another serving plate.

Put a pan on the stove with the heat on low-medium. Next, put a piece of plastic wrap on both sides of the tortilla press. Place on of the dough balls on the bottom and press!

You want to peel the plastic gently off of the tortilla. Put it in the waiting pan. It takes less than 2 minutes per side to cook the tortillas.

Take out the taco casserole and assemble your tortillas. Top with the chopped lettuce and sour cream if desired. Enjoy! (We also spread leftover tortillas with Nutella & chopped bananas for a great toddler breakfast.)

Corn Fritters AKA Pancakes for Dinner

Toddlers. One day they amaze you by hoovering everything in sight. The next day nothing will get them to eat. Fun times in our house.

We've been super frugal lately and my husband went a few months working overnights. This meant that I spent a couple of months alone with the kiddos for dinner and bedtime. (Sidenote: sarcastic "Yay") This meant that we ate pancakes for dinner. A lot. I'd strap the baby to my back and serve the toddler pancakes one by one as they came off the skillet. Pancakes are an awesome dinner because:

- They're cheap.
- They're fast.
- If I put fruit in them and use whole wheat flour they're healthy.
- Great excuse to use the amazing Grade B maple syrup a client of mine makes.
- Watching me cook them qualifies as dinner and a show to the toddler.

Now here's where we figure out if my mom reads my blog. She used to make "corn fritters" when I was little. I HATED them. I was never a big corn fan, she thought I was nuts. Basically she was serving pancakes for dinner and I was turning up my nose at them. Now I am an adult and I get it. It was an easy dinner for her to make and at the end of some days pancakes are about all I have the energy to make. So the other day I (gasp) made corn fritters. And you know what? They've grown on me.

Corn Fritters
(Serves 4)

1 cup masa harina (you could use cornmeal but the masa harina is finer and cornmeal and less likely to break apart)
1 cup frozen corn (if you use canned add a little extra flour)
1 egg
1 cup millk
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp coconut oil

1. In a bowl, beat the egg. Add the milk and masa harina. Stir until blended. Add the baking powder and salt. Mix.

2. In a skillet, melt the coconut oil. Dump it into the batter. I love coconut oil because just the residue from that little bit melted was enough to cook the entire batch of pancakes in.

3. Add corn kernels and stir.

4. Make circles of batter on the skillet and cook over medium. Flip after 1-2 minutes and try to achieve a golden brown color.

Serve warm with real maple syrup (please don't defile them with anything that didn't bleed out of a maple tree). 

Quick Eggplant "Quiche"

Eggplant is hot right now. Not just the vegetable (although I have seen assorted "arty" eggplant pics everywhere) but the color. Last week I picked up two eggplants and they've been on the counter looking at me as I deliberated on what to do with them. Last night they became.... delicious. I made a quick and easy "quiche".

Apple Curry Squash Soup

Autumn is here in Vermont. Actually, technically it's practically over. Peak foliage has passed. Leaves are on the ground and snow has already hit the mountain tops. Which means it is prime soup weather. I love soup. A bowl of it with slices of homemade bread is one of my very favorite lunches.

I also love to can. There is something about hoarding mason jars that makes me really happy. As I follow USDA regulations I don't can anything with dairy so the two soups I made this week are all vegan and very healthy as I also didn't use any oil.

You will need:

2 lbs (about 2 cups) roasted butternut squash (Check out my post on easily roasting a squash whole.)
1 lb of apples, sectioned but not peeled (Macintosh or another squishy saucing apple works best)
1/2 cup sliced red onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 TBS curry powder
6 cups vegetarian stock (I use a Vegetarian "Chicken" Flavored powder, 1 tsp per cup)

Chop apples leaving the skins on. Slice onions and mince garlic. Put it all into a stockpot and saute using the cider vinegar. (If you wanted to you could substitute in a little oil here.) The apples will start getting a little squishy. This means you are ready to puree.

Puree the apples, onions, and garlic. Add 1 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper to the puree and mix. 

Return the puree to the pan and heat.

Add the 6 cups of stock into the apple puree. 

Puree 2 cups of squash until smooth and add to the pan. Stir in well.  

Add curry into pan and mix in. 

Simmer the soup over low until slightly reduced for about 20 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary (curry usually has salt in it so I always undersalt then taste it to avoid a salt-tastrophe!). 

If you're serving it right away then dish it out and enjoy with some bread!

If you're canning it make sure to use clean, hot sterilized jars. Fill the jars leaving about 3/4" of headspace. Wipe the rim and threads and top with clean sterilized NEW lids and a clean ring tightened (but not cranked on too tight). The soup will need to be pressure canned at 11 lbs of pressure (I do 15 since I have a weighted canner) for 55 minutes. Store for up to a year to enjoy on cold winter days.

                                       

Squash and Cheese, Macaroni's Healthy Cousin

I believe that last week included a holiday known as "National Leave a Zucchini on Your Neighbor's Porch Day". Even if you don't have a green thumb, zucchini and squash in gardens tend to do what bunnies do- multiply! Then you are left with an assortment of baseball bat sized zucchinis and you're begging folks to take squash home every time they come over. One particularly abundant year I sent our UPS man off with a bag of produce.

This was one day's harvest. I swear they weren't there the day before when I looked!

If you're reading this maybe you were one of the thousands of folks "googling" - What can I do with 15 pounds of squash? Well, the childhood blue box macaroni and cheese got fancied up a bit in our house.  Whether you have kids who don't love veggies or you're trying to cut out pasta, using squash as the macaroni has delicious results.

Ooey Gooey Squash and Cheese
(serves 4 hearty servings)

A glut of zucchini or squash, I used about 2 1/2 lbs- chopped into rounds it was close to 8 cups of summer squash
2 TBS oil (I used olive oil.)
3 TBS butter
3 TBS flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Wash the squash. I leave the skin on otherwise that texture ends up a little- well, squashy- after you cook it. If the squash is large slice it lengthwise and remove the seeds. (Bonus on this preparation is that you end up with elbow macaroni shaped slices.) Slice squash into 1/4" thick slices.

2. In a stockpot heat up 2 TBS oil. Add the squash and saute gently for 3-5 minutes flipping to coat all the slices. Turn the heat down to low and cover. The squash will continue to steam. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

3. In a saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Measure out your milk. When the butter is melted add the floor and whisk gently to make a smooth paste.

Slowly whisk in the milk to form a roux (basically a white gravy). Add in salt, pepper, paprika, and mustard.

Add the cheese, stirring gently to mix. Let it heat until melted completely.

4. Pour cheese sauce over the squash and stir gently until all the squash is coated in ooey, gooey melted cheese. Serve to a happy family and enjoy!

Note: This is great in the fridge as leftovers for quick kid lunches.

Garlic Scape Gnocchi with Mushrooms

Garlic scapes. Google them and you'll find 800 million garlic scape pesto recipes. These curly green snake-like veggies are abundant at my CSA at this time of year. I have to admit, I'm tired of scape pesto so I shook things up a little bit. It was freakin' delicious to shake things up. After roasting the scapes I blended them into a gnocchi base. The result? A mellow garlick-y green delicious fluffy ricotta pillow. These will happen again!

Garlic Scape Gnocchi with Mushrooms
Serves 4

Big Bunch of garlic scapes- enough to cover a cookie tray (I used about 1/2 lb)
1 egg
1 tsp salt
8 oz ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 lemons
8 oz mushrooms
2 TBS butter

1. Preheat oven to 325. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and lay scapes on it. Roast for 8 minutes and shut oven off. Leave the scapes in for a few more minutes. (If you roast for longer than 8 minutes the tips tend to burn- shutting off the oven avoids any burning.)

2. Shove the scapes into a food processor. Don't worry if you really jam them in they'll fit :) 

Process the scapes with the blade attachment until they are finely chopped. 

Add the egg, ricotta, salt, flour, and the juice of one lemon into the processor. Make sure you measure out the ricotta.

The result should be a thick paste-like dough. 

3. Flour a counter and take out a sharp knife. Set up a floured cookie sheet to put finished gnocchi on. Take the gnocchi one large spoonful at a time and roll in flour. Roll out into a snake-like shape and chop into little gnocchis. This part is really challenging to take pictures of so if you want to see step by step photos feel free to see a past post I did on Ricotta Gnocchi. 

Ready to go into the boiling water. 

4. Boil a large pot of water on the stove. You can also choose to freeze the gnocchi at this point to cook at a later date. This is a great way to have quick meals ready. To freeze- freeze in a single layer then transfer to a tupperware container once frozen. 

While you are waiting for the water to boil, melt the butter in a saucepan. Chop the mushrooms up and saute in butter. When the mushrooms are brown, add the juice from the 1/2 lemon. Lemon really helps to counteract the intensity of the scapes. 

 

Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water. Boil for 3-5 minutes. They will float to the top when they are ready. Use a slotted spoon to remove them. Don't drain into a strainer. The gnocchi will stick together and get gummy. 

Top with mushrooms and enjoy!

Mexican Tuna Casserole

Tuna casserole evokes warm homey memories in many folks. I love to eat it but also adore experimenting with it. This time I decided to replace the cream soup and try to add some Mexican flavors. The results were met with overwhelming support from my husband and son. I love putting a crunchy topping in the ramekins and serving them individually.
You'll notice that in the recipe I use a half can of multiple ingredients. If you want to you can easily double the recipe, or you can double everything but the noodles and cheese and set aside half of the bean mixture to use for dip (it was delicious)!

Mexican Tuna Casserole
Serves 6

2 cups dry egg noodles
1/2 15 oz can black beans
1/2 15 oz can black olives
1/2 cup salsa
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans tuna
handful of tortilla chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Boil water in a large saucepan on the stove. Add 2 cups of dry egg noodles and set for 8 minutes.

2. In the food processor blend a drained can of black beans, salsa, and olives.

3. Once noodles are done cooking drain them. Mix in two cans of drained tuna. Add black bean mixture to noodles and stir. Add 1/2 of the cheese. 

Divide the mixture between 6 ramekins that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Crumble a few tortilla chips on the top of each one and then top with shredded cheese. (Note: If you want to be able to flip the casseroles out onto plates to serve you can put the tortilla chips and cheese on the bottom. )

Bake for 10 minutes at 350. 

Enjoy!

Persian Stew with Greens & Beans

I was a little under the weather earlier this week so I went back to a childhood comfort stew. It's a little late for Meatless Monday but it's a great vegetarian dish & can easily be made vegan or gluten-free with minor modifications. The great thing about this stew is that because there is no dairy in the actual stew you can pressure can the leftovers.

Ash-eh Reshteh
(serves 4-8 easily)

10 cups water
8 oz lentils
1 15 oz can chickpeas

1 bunch chopped flat Italian parsley
1 bunch chopped cilantro
1 bunch scallions, green parts chopped
1 16 oz bag of chopped frozen spinach
a small handful of spaghetti noodles
1 onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons oil
plain yogurt for topping the stew

In a stockpot, put the 10 cups of water, lentils & rinsed chickpeas. Bring to a low boil for 20 minutes while you chop all the greens. After 20 minutes add the parsley, cilantro, scallions, and spinach into the pot.Cook on a low boil for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add the spaghetti noodles into the pot. Saute the onions & garlic in the oil in a frying pan. After they soften add the turmeric. Add half the onions into the stew & stir. Check to make sure the noodles are cooked through, salt if necessary and serve with yogurt on top of each serving. To make vegan eliminate yogurt topping & use vegan noodles. To make gluten-free replace noodles with a gluten-free substitute.
Enjoy!

Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken

I advocate easy real food. I don't like boxes and mixes and 80 steps. I love my crockpot. I also am a huge fan of rotisserie chicken. This combines the best of both worlds.

Doesn't it look yummy?

Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken

1 roaster chicken (I used a 5.5 lb one- $3.83 on sale at .69/lb)

2 TBS your choice spices, I use a Buzz Rub by a local VT company Brown & Jenkins Coffee which I traded for at a food swap (If purchased it would have been $7.95 per container- it uses about 1/8 of the container so $1.00)

1. Take out the crockpot and chicken. 

2. Place the chicken breast side down in the crockpot. 

3. Sprinkle with spices. 

4. Set crockpot for 4 hours and go do something exciting. You could also set it for 8 hours on low if you were going to work for the day. 

5. After 4 hours take the chicken out, marvel at how moist it is, and eat it. Enjoy!