Tofu Stir Fry Wraps

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 package firm or extra firm tofu, cube
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
• 6 to 8 Butter lettuce leaves, (about 1 head, also called Boston or Bibb lettuce)

Directions:

1. Prep Work: This recipe doesn’t take long to cook, so you need to have things ready to go. Slice the onion and bell pepper, have the garlic ready to “press”, grate the ginger, mix the cornstarch/water in a bowl, and wash the lettuce.
2. Cube the tofu, season with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over high heat. Add the tofu; cook, stirring/flipping every few minutes, until almost golden brown, 4 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate, set aside. (If the tofu is still too soft, you can also put it on a cookie sheet and bake/broil it for a bit)
   
3. Add remaining tablespoon olive oil to pan, along with the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender and golden, about 2-3 minutes (reduce heat if browning too quickly).
4. Reduce heat to medium; add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. Stir in soy sauce, rice vinegar and cornstarch mixture; remove from heat.
5. Add tofu; toss to coat. Serve in lettuce cups.

Do you like tofu?
Based on this recipe from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast
Originally published October 2007

Surprisingly easy to replicate, and so delicious.

Squash Kale Chevre Tacos Recipe

Serves 2
Ingredients

• 6 corn tortillas
• kale
• butternut squash (acorn works too)
• Chèvre or feta cheese (2 oz)
• Pico de gallo
• olive oil
• salt/pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Peel squash and cut into 1″ cubes.
3. Toss squash with oil & salt on a cookie sheet, spreading out in a single layer. Cook for about 30 min.
4. Lightly fry/heat the corn tortillas in a skillet. Set aside.
5. When the squash is almost done, heat olive oil on med in skillet and add several kale leaves. (cover with a lid for a few minutes) Cooking until soft.
6. Top tortillas with a layer of squash, kale, chèvre, and pico de gallo
7. Enjoy!

Shortcut: I was told Trader Joes has cubed squash in the freezer section.

These tacos are best with a side of black beans and rice (which I had at the restaurant, but didn’t plan ahead enough when I tried this recipe for myself). Verdict: I think these are my new favorite tacos!

Do you have any favorite restaurant recipes?

Chai Tea Latte Recipe

Serves 1
Ingredients

• 1 cup of milk
• 1 chai tea bag
• 1/2 to 1 TB of sugar (depending on your sweet tolerance)
• 1 TB of pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup of double strength coffee (you can also just use an instant coffee packet in less water, or refrigerate your extra double strength coffee to make this again tomorrow)

Directions:

1. Boil water for the tea bag and let steep in a 1/2″ of water.
2. Combine the milk and sugar in a saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring. When it starts to warm, pour the small tea mixture (and bag) into the saucepan. Remove tea bag after a couple minutes.
3. Remove from heat when the milk is steaming, and stir in vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk to make it frothy.
4. Pour in mug and add the coffee on top.
5. Enjoy!

What’s your favorite fall drink?

I’ve been dying to make Pasta with Roasted Summer Vegetables and Basil — my favorite squash recipe three summers running!  To be honest, I wanted to plant summer squash just for this recipe! You roast summer squash, grape tomatoes, red onion, and garlic in the oven until they’re caramelized. Then you mix it with campanelle pasta, Parmesan cheese, and fresh basil. Yum!

It’s from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine, but you can also get the recipe online.

What’s your favorite squash recipe?

Six weeks into container gardening, I’m having a brilliant time! It’s so fun to go outside and pick veggies to add to dinner. And I’ve finally updated my “Watching My Garden Grow” container garden slideshow. Check it out:

Radish Avocado Salsa

• 1 avocado
• 6 large radishes
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped pickled jalapeno chile
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions
1. Half, pit, and peel the avocado, cutting into 1/2″ cubes. Trim the ends of the radishes, half, and thinly slice.

2. In a medium bowl,  stir together avocado, radishes, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and oil; season with salt. Serve over black bean tacos.

Thinly sliced radishes are a really interesting twist to this recipe, and they look amazing with the avocado.

What’s your favorite radish recipe?

Here’s a simple pizza crust recipe from Martha Stewart: Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough recipe (Note: It does require an hour to rise).  After I make the dough, I freeze half of the recipe to use for pizza or stromboli (broccoli mozzarella is my current favorite) on another day. Then, roll out the other 1/2 into 2-4 mini pizzas.

Tomato Mozzarella Basil Pizza

Makes 4

Ingredients

Whole-wheat pizza dough (above)
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
8 oz  mozzarella cheese
1 cup fresh basil
1 cup tomato sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place pizza shells on baking sheet. Spread tomato sauce thinly over each shell; sprinkle with cheese, layer torn basil leaves over cheese, and then layer tomato slices over the basil.
2. Bake until crusts are golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

What’s your favorite way to use fresh basil?

First up, picking the rhubarb.  I’ve always just “picked” rhubarb up at the farmers’ market or the grocery store, so I assumed you would just grab some scissors and get chopping. Wrong. I found the following charming video on the proper way to harvest rhubarb.

If you couldn’t be bothered to watch the video, you simply pull the rhubarb stem off the plant. Although, I would recommend the video solely for the pronunciation of the word “rhubarb.”

Next up, what to make.  I looked at several recipes for fruit turnovers on Martha Stewart and Epicurious and finally just decided to make a combination filling and use the Trader Joes frozen puff pastry I had left over.  (FYI, puff pastry, which is made with butter is great for turnovers, while phyllo, the paper thin layered dough, is flakier and made with oil instead of butter and is best for baklava and other desserts)

Rhubarb Turnover Recipe

Makes 4

Ingredients
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry (1/2 package)
1 1/2 cups of rhubarb, chopped into 1/4″ pieces
1/2 cup sugar
2 TB cornstarch
2 tsp lemon juice
1 egg yolk
2 tsp water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (Parchment paper isn’t required, but helps the pastry not to stick to the pan and requires less cleanup!).
2. Roll out puff pastry and cut into 4 squares, placing onto parchment paper covered baking sheet.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Then, add the rhubarb and stir until combined.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and 2 tsp water.
5. Scoop the filling onto the squares, leaving room to fold over into a triangle. Brush the borders with the egg wash, and then fold into triangle. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal, and then brush the tops of the turnovers with more egg wash.
6. Bake until golden brown, about 25-35 minutes.

Now brew up a massive cup of coffee and get eating!