Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Stir fried mushrooms and tofu

Apparently I had been afraid to post tofu recipes on here due to the fact that some of us out there think tofu is strange or gross. I have now gotten over this hurdle because let's face it, I do cook tofu and in reality this blog is just my personal online recipe collector. So there you have it - it's settled. I can cook and blog about tofu whenever I want. I was trying to avoid it thinking no one would notice that I've secretly converted this into a vegetarian blog when Kurt wasn't looking.

Ingredients
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons Thai chili sauce (I actually used some of Kurt’s secret hot sauce but more like ½ teaspoon)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 (14 ounce) package extra firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes (I wrap it in a towel and put a bowl or something heavy-ish on the top to squeeze the liquid out)
2 cups sliced shitake mushrooms (or any other kind would work too)
1 cup any other good stir fry veggies - bok choy, broccoli, sugar snap peas, red/green peppers (I didn't have any others at the time so had to stick with tofu and mushrooms)

Directions
Whisk together cornstarch and 1 tsp water in bowl. Whisk in soy sauce, ginger, chili sauce, garlic and sesame oil.

Heat 1 T canola oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Stir-fry tofu for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to plate.


Add 1 T canola oil to pan and stir-fry mushrooms 2 minutes or until tender. Return tofu to pan and stir in soy sauce mixture. Stir-fry 1 minute until hot.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Brussels sprouts & pecans

I just whipped up some kind of amazing brussels sprouts while talking to Kurt about turning this blog into a real website where we could do cool things, which he has PROMISED he's going to do so I'm challenging him to do it before April 1. Go!

Ingredients
1 T oil--I used sesame oil because I just really wanted the flavor of it and figured it wouldn't really matter because I wasn't frying them or anything, but you could use vegetable, olive or any oil really
1 cup chopped brussels sprouts (I'll admit sometimes when I'm lazy I buy a bag of them already chopped from Trader Joe's - embarrassing, I know, especially while being on the phone with Kurt who's talking about how he needs to take the final step from buying canned tomatoes to canning his own, but it makes them so easy and quick to make)
handful of chopped pecans

Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the pecans and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the brussels sprouts, ¼ - ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

Weird that the ingredients and my rambling explanations are longer than the directions for this recipe.