Celtic Heroes

Anybody have a good baked/roasted/fried tofu recipe?

I'm looking for one of those recipes that leaves the tofu chewy... My plan is mostly to use it in stir-fry.

Trying to reduce meat in the family's diet, but so far none of us are thrilled with my tofu experiments.

On the other hand, 2/4 of us liked this recipe (lol). Kids were not convinced:

Garlic sesame greens
1 bunch Swiss chard, stalks removed and leaves chopped (could certainly substitute spinach and likely other trees, may try with kale next week)
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Red pepper chili flakes to taste
1 T sesame oil (or any lightly flavored oil for sautéing)
1 T Toasted sesame oil
1 T Soy sauce
1-2 tsp sugar (to taste)
1 T sesame seeds

Sauté garlic, pepper flakes, and greens in sesame oil until greens are somewhere between wilted and soft, depending on how you like them - i go for soft

Meanwhile, mix the toasted sesame oil, soy, and sugar - toss with the greens to coat then sprinkle with the sesame seeds. I was out of sesame seeds so used chia seeds instead.

I like this best warm, but can certainly eat chilled

Instead of frying the tofu, cooking it in hot water then letting it out would make a healthier recipe. Then you can add various peppers, sesame oils.

Instead of putting Spinage, further add chopped beets and carrots which are properly cooked with olive oil.

And teaspoon of sugar is too much. The natural sweetness of tofu would get ruined.

This is my favorite recipe, i eat all the time. Good for any time of day.

To start off, use a bowl thats deep enough to hold your favorite type of cereal. (Use a wider cup if no bowls are present)

Then select a spoon that is of your preference.. Or whatever is in the drawer at the time.

After that you're gonna wanna fill the bowl to your liking with your favorite type of cereal (fruity pebbles preferably) if you wanna get real crafty you can throw in 2 or even 3 types of cereal. But thats for the most courageous of people, even i have not attempted this many times. When you go to 3 cereal you're really living life on the edge.

This may be one of the most important steps and its the last one. Add the milk. Be careful not to overflow, i get excited im eating my favorite dish and it happens from time to time.



Finally you're done, Voila, hope you enjoy.

Haha same bd like that type of food to #NoJok

Ahh BD. I struggle to get your recipe just right. The milk:cereal ratio is so key and varies cereal to cereal. I can't stand it when the cereal gets all soggy. A friend of mine who was even more revolted by soggy cereal than me used to pour her cereal in a bowl and the milk in a cup and then would get a spoonful of cereal and then dip into the milk to get just enough. A bit wacky to be sure, but her cereal was always crisp!

Thx for your response Aralus, am definitely working on healthier, but still find tofu texturally a bit of a problem for me (and, again, the kids) and am looking for a way to make it chewier. I have had baked or roasted tofu that. I enjoyed but just have never pulled it off. I think I need to press it longer to start with.

The greens recipe was meant to be a side dish and both the kids and I liked the bit of sugar to overcome the natural bitterness of the chard. I probably would not have used as much (if any sugar) had I made it with spinach.

Ahh BD. I struggle to get your recipe just right. The milk:cereal ratio is so key and varies cereal to cereal. I can't stand it when the cereal gets all soggy. A friend of mine who was even more revolted by soggy cereal than me used to pour her cereal in a bowl and the milk in a cup and then would get a spoonful of cereal and then dip into the milk to get just enough. A bit wacky to be sure, but her cereal was always crisp!

Thx for your response Aralus, am definitely working on healthier, but still find tofu texturally a bit of a problem for me (and, again, the kids) and am looking for a way to make it chewier. I have had baked or roasted tofu that. I enjoyed but just have never pulled it off. I think I need to press it longer to start with.

The greens recipe was meant to be a side dish and both the kids and I liked the bit of sugar to overcome the natural bitterness of the chard. I probably would not have used as much (if any sugar) had I made it with spinach.

Hm maybe try tofu desserts, it can certainly delight the kids. For example, it fits well with tiramisu due to its softness and well blending with the bitter chocolate layers.

Will give it a shot, thx.

Will keep experimenting on the tofu in main dishes thing. If I land on a good recipe I will post it.
For tonight will be having shrimp and avocado summer rolls and salmon crab cakes with lemon aioli both new recipes, wish me luck

Will give it a shot, thx.

Will keep experimenting on the tofu in main dishes thing. If I land on a good recipe I will post it.
For tonight will be having shrimp and avocado summer rolls and salmon crab cakes with lemon aioli both new recipes, wish me luck

Can already hear stomach rumbling, gd luc

Courtesy of a member from another board I'm on. Not the healthiest snack, but definitely simple and quick to make. A good indulgence for every once in awhile.

Bacon Glazed Donut Holes

1 can buttermilk biscuit dough
vegetable oil
2-3 slices cooked bacon nice and crispy
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
about 2 TB milk

Directions:

seperate biscuits and cut each into quarters, roll into individual balls and set aside.
Heat 2-3 inches of oil into a small to medium sauce pan allowing enough depth of oil so donut can puff up and be submerged in oil.
Make glaze in small bowl adding powdered sugar, vanilla and stirring a very small amount of milk at a time until you reach a slightly runny consistency. Adding too much milk the glaze will take forever to set. If your glaze is too runny add a small amount more powdered sugar. Set aside.

Test oil to see if its hot enough by pinching off a small bit of dough and dropping it in, if hot enough the dough will puff up and sizzle right away if too hot the dough will brown immediately.

When oil is ready drop 4-5 balls of dough in at a time giving enough room for them not to touch and freely move around. Constantly turn and submerge dough in oil so them can puff up and turn golden evenly all around. DO NOT walk away!
Drain on paper towels when golden. they should be cooked through in 2-3 minutes.

while still warm turn donut in glaze to coat evenly.

Top with crumbled bacon and set on plate to set the glaze.

Well Bd, Maybe it is your magnificent cereal recipe that has got you to 6ft tall with that manly dimpled chin! I managed the height, but not the dimpled chin (so something missing from cereals back in my youth). And agree about, 'living on the edge'....how else do we get to see the view? When life becomes 'comfortable' all the time it gets boring. I should add I don't mean to 'live on the edge' in the sense of killing yourself with drugs and/or alcohol.

Typical of Aralus to know all about tofu.......the French are of course superb when it comes to cuisine, they can make even the most basic and cheap ingredients into delicious food. And yes, the Japanese will simmer tofu and often incorporate it in their tasty soups. Miso soup has little chunks of tofu in it and the tofu absorbs the soup flavour so is full of flavour (on its own tofu is like tasteless rubber). Frying tofu can be hard in that it will catch fast and you then get a hard skin with goo inside. All tofu needs to be marinated in some way or another, as in Japanese or Chinese dishes (where of course it is most commonly used). It is an excellent source of protein while not being high in fat (so a great alternative to milk products and for folk with lactose intolerance). I am not being a tofu 'know all' by the way.....it was reading what Aralus said about cooking it in water, so memories of Japanese soup with tofu coming back to me. It was my wife who was potty about tofu and always ordered it in a Japanese restaurant, she cooked it quite often too. Am trying to now remember her recipe. She would cut the tofu into very tiny chunks, cook it the way Aralus describes, then place it on a bed of Japanese vegetables and coat the whole thing in a sauce she made....it is the ingredients of the sauce I am stuck on. I know there was ginger and garlic in it.

oNi's recipe might, as he says, not be too healthy but certainly the pics look very appetising. We can't be expected to live like bloody rabbits all the time, and eat raw veg. drink Spring water etc etc cos if we don't we will all die of cancer. We are all terminally ill anyway, as in we are going to die sooner or later. Some people who keep mega fit still get some horrible disease or another while some people who don't live very healthy life styles live longer. There is too much 'guilt' put on to folk by the 'diet police'. Yes, eating burgers and fries every day is not a good idea but eating the odd cream cake etc isn't exactly the end of the world. It is strange in the West how there is an obsession about being thin, as in, 'if you are thin you will be beautiful' and yet at the same time obesity in the West is at all time highs. There is a terrible pressure, especially put on women, to be 'thin' and I think that's why a lot of folk just give up and start stuffing themselves with high calorie junk. I think if we could - as we are - celebrate food the way the French and Italians do, not have this in built in 'guilt' thing about it, the USA and the UK would actually have less obesity. Food is after all a glorious thing and we are designed to eat things.

So many congrats. Lady Keri for starting this recipe thread...I have thoroughly enjoyed all the contributions to it.

oooooooNi....that was evil.
bacon glazed donut holes. I don't even like donuts but once a year at the local craft fair I get a bag of bacon-glazed donut holes from the Ogopogo Donut truck (Ogopogo is the local legendary lake monster. The Okanagan version of the Loch Ness monster). And the kids are lucky to get a crumb.

And ty Zapper. I needed a different sort of forum thread, so I made one. Besides, we have access to potentially wonderful recipes from all over, why not get people talking?

Didn't end up making the summer rolls or salmon cakes yet, so no recipes for those. Did discover that radishes sautéed in a bit of butter with garlic and the radish greens wilted in at the end are yummy. And since radishes are so easy to grow and one of my son's favorites, we may be having lots of those.

Am enjoying leftover refried black beans and yellow rice (sorry oNi, no pics so I may be lying ). The original recipe I based this off of called for epazote, which I have never had, but which I found at a garden centre this weekend and have put in my garden. So I will let you know if that improves things next time I get around to making these.

Refritos negros

1 T olive oil (I used coconut oil as I am experimenting with that these days, did give more of a coconut flavor than I wanted)
1/2 white or yellow ***, diced fine
2-3 cloves garlic
Cumin - lots of it. I'm guessing maybe a tsp but I love it so added more
1/2-1 tsp oregano
1 can drained black beans (yes, this is a lazy woman's recipe. make the beans from scratch if you are ambitious -- and add the epazote and let me know how that is)
1/4-1/2 cup broth (I used beef broth that I had rehydrated an ancho chili in, so got a bit of the chili flavor as well)

Saute the garlic and onions in the oil until very soft, add the spices.
Add the beans, about 1/3 at a time and mash them as you cook them.
Add broth until you get a nice soft consistency -- these will firm up as they sit, so you may need to add more.

See? I can do easy recipes!

and the yellow rice?
2 tablespoons shallots or 2 tablespoons yellow onions, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 -3 garlic clove
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice, rinsed
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth or 2 1/4 cups chicken broth or 2 1/4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Sautee the onions and garlic, add the rice and stir to coat, add the water/broth, turmeric and salt.
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook 15 min.

Grilled tomatillo salsa
4-5 large tomatillos, husks removed
3 cloves garlic
1/3-1/2 cup cilantro chopped
1/2 white or yellow *** roughly chopped
Lime juice -- maybe one lime worth
salt to taste

Sear the tomatillos on the grill (or on a hot pan if you don't have a grill)
Throw it all in the food processor till pretty smooth.

I like this served with chopped tomatoes and avocado.