{Another} Tofu Recipe

Here is another tofu recipe... I know, but I can't help myself. This lasagna is yummy. Although Robert contended it needed meat. But he always says that about veggie lasagna and it didn't say it until the day after so I don't think it really counts. At the dinner table he loved it and whilst it was cooking he proclaimed that it smelled "delicious."

Also, this recipe has less than 300 calories per serving.


Tofu Lasagna

• 217 g Lasagna
• 16 ounces Firm Tofu (squeeze the water out)
• 2 large Eggs
• 1/4 t Salt
• 1/4 t Black Pepper
• 1/4 t Nutmeg
• 2 T Skim Milk
• 3 c Spaghetti Sauce
• 2 T dried Parsley
• 2 c shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/2 c Parmesan Cheese
• 8 ounces Mushrooms
• 1 c frozen chopped Spinach
• 1 Zucchini
• 1 Yellow Squash

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Cook Lasagna (about 9 pieces) according to package instructions
3. Crumble tofu or pulse in a food processor until broken into small pieces. Combine in a bowl with eggs, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, skim milk, spaghetti sauce, parsley, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
4. Slice mushrooms, zucchini, and yellow squash, and saute with spinach in a pan.
5. Spread a layer of sauce mixture in bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. Add a layer of noodles (3 noodles wide), then spread another layer of sauce on top. Spread half of veggie mixture on sauce. Repeat layers of noodles, sauce, and veggies, ending with a layer of sauce.
6. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top.
7. Bake in preheated over for 30-35 minutes.

This recipe is very flexible. You can add whatever veggies you like and it's yummy. I think next time, I want to add some eggplant too.

General Tao's Tofu

Now before you start rolling your eyes and grumbling about the tofu, I'll have you know this recipe is delicious. Robert and Adjoa gave a hearty thumbs up. It also received rave reviews and is incredibly popular on vegweb.com. Oh, and it only has about 300 calories per serving.

So there.

General Tao's Tofu

• 1 box of firm tofu
• egg substitute for 1 egg - I just used an egg. It increases the calories and isn't very vegetarian, but I don't really care about all that at the moment.
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• vegetable oil for frying - I used olive oil because I don't typically have vegetable oil on hand unless I'm baking a lot of goodies. Which I haven't been lately. Sigh. Olive oil is also sweeter than vegetable oil, so you can get away with using less sugar than the recipe calls for later.
  
• 3 chopped green onions
• 1 Tablespoon minced ginger - I recommend using fresh ginger. This really makes the dish and is soooo yummy. I added a little extra ginger because I love it.
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic - I also recommend using fresh garlic. The flavor is just so much better than dried garlic.
• 2/3 cup vegetable stock - I was out of vegetable stock, so I had to use chicken stock. It helped give the dish more of a chicken flavor.
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce - Use low sodium soy sauce, if you have it.
• 4 Tablespoons sugar - This is a lot of sugar, and the dish is sweet. You can easily reduce the amount of sugar and still have a super yummy dinner.
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon sherry (optional) - I didn't put this in and we didn't miss a thing
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
• Cayenne Pepper, to taste
  
• 3 cups steamed vegetables - I used a frozen stir-fry mix
  

Tofu Preparation:

This takes a little forethought and a little preparation, but it makes all the difference in the world. Whenever you are using tofu as a meat substitute, I would highly recommend taking a few extra steps here. It makes all the difference in the world and helps the tofu have a more chicken-like consistency. You are going to drain, press, and freeze the tofu.

• When you get home from the store, immediately remove and drain the tofu.
• Place a dish towel on the counter, lay a paper towel on top and place the tofu in the center.
• Cover the tofu with another paper towel and another dish towel.
  
• You need to add some weight. A book or two works. I put a plate on top and a water bottle filled with water. The extra weight will help press out the water.
• Let it sit for a while.
  
• Slice the tofu horizontally so you have 2 rectangles, half as thick.
  
• Put it in the freezer. I remove the tofu the day before I want to use it and just stick it in the refrigerator.
  

Directions:

Cut prepared, thawed tofu into 1 inch chunks. Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer/water mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl.

Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil.

Heat 3 Tablespoons oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red bell pepper and vinegar. Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add cayenne pepper to taste. Add fried tofu and steamed vegetables and coat evenly.

Serve immediately over your choice of rice.

Serves: 4 - We actually got about 5 servings out of this. Once you add the rice, it fills you up fast.

Preparation time: 30 Minutes

I Missed My Birthday

But that's what happens when your birthday is on Sunday, I think.

That and I was in a mood where I can't really think of anything I want. Ridiculous, I know. But true.

Actually, I think it just took too much time to think about what I might want and so I just didn't. {As you can tell from my recent lack of blogging I haven't exactly had a lot of time since somewhere around November}

Robert and Adjoa sent me flowers for my Birthitine. I let it slide, even though I am adamant that Birthday and Valentine's Day should be separate when dealing with presents. They are still prettily sitting in the middle of the kitchen table where I can whiz by them every day and smile.

On a slightly divergent vein, I have kept the cards from all the flowers Robert has ever sent me. It's one of the only romantically corny and sentimental things I do. Oh, actually that's a lie. The very first one I don't have. I'm certain it's around here somewhere, but I haven't been able to find it for a long time. I guess it's possible that I threw it away during a short break-up that occurred while we were dating because someone was impatient and someone else wasn't communicating his - uh - or her intentions very well. Plus it was long distance and there's only so much patience for that, right?

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I still do have it. Somewhere. But even if I don't, I remember what it said because it was the first.

So. Back to my birthday. No body showed up to clean my sink, but Robert did take Adjoa for the day on Saturday. They left me alone in the house and it was heavenly. I stayed in my P.J.s all day. Never mind the fact that I still worked - it was just quiet and I didn't allow myself to care that my hair was a mess and my sleep-wrinkled P.J.s remained on my body. {I was eventually forced to get myself all gussied up when we went out to dinner that night, but in hind sight, I shouldn't have. I must remember that for next time).

By the time my actual Birthitine day rolled around, we all forgot it was the 14th.

So anyway. Happy Birthitine to Me!

Fotos for Food

The ever awesome Amy has set up an amazing opportunity for everyone to help raise money for Luckyhill. Our goal is to provide free food every day for all the school children. That way, every child is ensured a meal every day. Even if they don't get that at home.

Here's Amy's post:

I am so grateful! Jami, my wonderful neighbor and friend, has graciously donated her time and awesome photography skills for the benefit of Belinda and her friends. She has offered to do a day of "mini, mini sessions", with 100% of the cost going directly to the nutrition program at Luckyhill.

Here's the details:

And here's how it works:

1.) Email Jami to schedule your "mini mini session" for Feb. 20th.

2.) Bring your cute child or children HERE and Jami will take individual portraits of each child.

3.) The best part . . . a couple weeks later you'll get a disc with 3-5 images of your child, perfectly ready for printing or facebook, or whatever!

You'll be helping Luckyhill and getting cute photos of your kiddos!

You can get more info and contact Jami by visiting her blog here.