Black Pepper Tofu

There are probably as many versions of black pepper tofu as there are people who cook it so my version is just one of many. Unlike many versions I've seen though, I've added green veggies in mine. Can never miss an opportunity to get your green vegetables in your meals. This version I made with green beans but I have made this with broccoli and it tasted just as great. I'm sure even a more Asian choice (like bok choy?) would be great as well. 

Black Pepper Tofu

Ingredients:
1/2 Block of frozen extra firm tofu, thawed
about 3 tbsp. crushed black peppercorns (or coarse-ground black pepper)
cornstarch or all purpose flour
about 1/2 cup of soy sauce
about 1/4 cup of sugar
about 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
1/2 small onion chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic, minced
a splash of balsamic vinegar*
a splash of chili oil (purely optional)
green beans, rinsed and chopped in thirds
oil for frying

Freezing tofu changes the texture making it more spongy.

Directions:
Cover the bottom of a shallow pan with oil and place over medium high heat.
Combine the cornstarch and black pepper.
Cut the tofu in 1/2" cubes. Dredge the tofu in the cornstarch mixture and fry in the heated oil.
Do not crowd the pan with the tofu (but even I don't follow this rule in a rush so don't take it as gospel).
Cook the tofu until golden brown. Drain and set aside.
Combine the soy sauce, sugar, ground ginger, and balsamic vinegar in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
Heat a small amount of oil over high heat in a non-stick or cast iron skillet.
Combine the garlic and onions and fry in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes or until the onions just begin to caramelize.
Add green beans and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the chili oil and cook for 30 more seconds
Add the soy sauce mixture. When the soy sauce mixture reduces a little (shouldn't take more than 2 minutes), turn off the heat.
Combine the cooled tofu and serve with rice.

*Foodie Trick #2930: If ever you over-salt your food, adding a little vinegar will trick your taste buds and your food will taste less salty (though your sodium content will still be high. Too much salt is still a bad thing). Because the sauce for this recipe is made majorly of soy sauce, I thought adding a splash of balsamic would add depth of flavor and take some of the saltiness of the soy sauce away as well. If you'd like, you could use less soy sauce and add water but then your sauce might be a little runny and thin. And runny sauce is just tragic.









 

How I Cook Okra [for Cajun Rice]

I tend to get a little overzealous when I go to the store sometimes.

I saw prepackaged fresh okra for $2.12 at this great international market and I couldn't not buy it.

But it sat in my fridge for about a week before I put it to good use.

Now okra isn't for everyone. And cooking it isn't necessarily hard particularly if you're using it in a stew (a la gumbo). However, if you're particular about the amount of slime that may secrete from your okra in your dish then I say follow my simple method of cooking it.

Now I'm sure someone with a more sciencey background will refute my method but this has worked for me for years so I'll just stick to my method if you don't mind.

The key to reducing okra to minimal slimeyness is to keep it as dry as possible the whole time you handle it.

After washing okra, allow it to dry on a paper towel before cutting into it.

When you are cutting it, make sure your knife and your cutting board is as dry as you can get it. When cutting your okra, slice the tops off and discard them. That's the slime source. You don't want that.

Even with all the precautions there's still a little slime on the knife.

Finally, cook all of your other vegetables before you are ready to cook your okra. This is important because the vegetables you cook will release their moisture and if the okra's in there those veggies will trigger its need to secrete. Trust me on this one.

If you follow all of this you should have relatively slime-free okra for dishes such as the one I will talk about now!


Cajun Rice

Ingredients
Rice, cooked and allowed to cool
Okra, sliced (follow directions above on how to prepare the okra)
1/2 Red bell pepper, diced
Frozen corn kernels
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Cajun seasoning and/or Old Bay (I used a little bit of both)
Oil

Directions
Cook the rice (How to cook rice tutorial will come soon. I have gotten lazy at the ripe old age of 26 so I just use a rice cooker) and set aside to cool.

Heat a non-stick or cast-iron skillet to medium high heat and add a little oil in the pan. Once heated, add onion, pepper, and garlic to the pan.

Once the  vegetables caramelize,  add the frozen corn kernels and cook for 3 minutes or until the corn is thawed.

Add the okra and cook for 7-10 minutes stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the cajun seasoning and Old Bay.

Turn off the heat and fold the rice gently into the vegetable mix.

Broccoli Fritters

It was a blah Saturday morning.

I didn't want to get out of bed. So for the past few hours I've been lying in bed watching Wild China on Netflix (add it to your queue if you like NatGeo anything).

Then the inevitable happened.

Grumbles from my stomach would not allow me to stay in bed for the next 6 hours learning about rubber plantations and pandas. Had to get up and forage for food.

I haven't gone shopping yet so my protein stash is depleted but I remembered looking at a Smitten Kitchen entry on broccoli fritters and I knew I had some broccoli left so I decided to give it a shot (Smitten Kitchen is a pretty amazing blog definitely worth checking out).

Of course the recipe is adjusted to fit my insane flavor requirements ("Just one clove of garlic?? No I need at least three to make this work!!") so I would suggest tweaking certain things to make it fit your flavor buds as always.

I would've added the whole thing, but at some point I have to interact with people and not smell like I just came back from a vampire hunt.

Broccoli Fritters

Ingredients:
-1 head of broccoli
-3 cloves of garlic finely minced
-1/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese
-about 1/4 cup of flour
-egg (optional for those into that sort of thing)
-salt
-a pinch of cayenne pepper
-oil (I used vegetable but olive oil would work well too)


Directions

Cut the broccoli in small pieces and boil in a very small amount of water for about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. Broccoli, like many other vegetables makes its own water when it's cooking. It just needs a boost at the beginning.

While the broccoli cooks combine all of the other ingredients in a bowl. If you're using the egg, put this i the bowl first and whisk it. Then combine the other ingredients.

Mash the broccoli lightly with a fork (or a potato masher if you have one) and fold the broccoli in with the other ingredients.

Heat the oil in a non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. There should be just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

Test the oil by putting a pea-sized amount of the batter in the pan. If it begins to bubble the oil is ready.

Scoop a spoon of the mixture and drop it in the pan. You may need to flatten it slightly with the back of the spoon for an even cooking. Also, try to cook only 2-3 at a time in the skillet to not crowd the pan. 

Brown the fritters on both sides and drain on a few paper towels.

Serve by themselves or with a yogurt sauce or sour cream.

Beans, Beans, Good For Your Heart

Break out the Bean-O ladies and gents because boy, do I have a great bean dish for you!


I have been making some severe budget cuts recently and I had to cut down a little bit on my food budget. So to get me started I thought "Hm. What can I make for less than 7 bucks that would feed me for a few days?" And I thought of this.

Behold, the most budget-friendly, healthy yet satisfying meal that won't put a hurting on your pocket.


White Beans with Spinach and Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1 can of cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of crushed tomatoes (I used the Italian-seasoned variety)
about 2 spoons of tomato paste
1 pack of frozen chopped spinach, slightly thawed
2 Tofurky Italian Sausages, chopped

1/2 a small onion, finely chopped
about a cup of Water or vegetable stock (Let's keep it with water. Water's free and this recipe will be plentiful flavorful believe me)
Garlic powder
a pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Saute the onion until caramelized and add the chopped sausages and cook until brown. Then add all the other ingredients (no real order to this).

Simmer for 25 minutes. Serve with either crusty bread or rice. Or eat it as it is.