Thursday, September 29, 2011

Dinners

Wow, it's been a while! School and work have been so time-consuming, and I missed being here.

Let's get right down to it with a little food, shall we? While I have been away from my blogging desk, I have NOT been away from the kitchen. Matt (and I) have whipped up some tasty things these last few weeks. Let's start with dinner.

Stir fry. You love it. I love it. Healthy for your body, especially your heart.

i heart stir fry
*6 servings*
1 bag frozen or fresh stir fry mix (16 oz of chopped red pepper, edimame, water chestnuts, green beans)
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cups broccoli, bite-sized
16 oz extra firm tofu (I ate tofu, Matt chopped up 4 oz lean boneless porkchop)
Handful (about 1/3 cup) raw cashews or your favorite (peanuts, etc.)
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 TB sesame oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds
salt to taste + crushed red pepper (optional)
3-4 cups rice


TOOLS:
1 wok, 1 wooden spoon, 1 basting brush, 1 tiny bowl
1 rice cooker (or pot with lid), cookie sheet with parchment paper/foil
*you'll need 2 woks or 2 pans if you're cooking "meat" separately from veggies


1) COOK THAT MEAT! Press the tofu with a few paper towels to remove all excess moisture. Cut into reasonable slices (I did strips this time, about 1/4 inch thick). Lay down on parchment paper or non-stick sprayed foil. In the tiny bowl, mix 1 TB of sesame oil, 1/2 of soy sauce and orange juice (optional). Stir ingredients together with brush and brush generously onto the tofu pieces. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Start cooking your rice, in whichever way you like.

If you're cooking pork or chicken, put meat into a wok or pan and pour the "tiny bowl" ingredients into the pan. Stir and watch carefully. Cook until no longer raw, between 5--10 minutes. Set aside.

2) CRISP THOSE VEGGIES! Adding 1/3 cup of water to the pan, cook the veggies thoroughly, adding 1 TB of sesame oil once the veggies are lukewarm and the water has mostly evaporated. Allow the veggies to soak up the oil. Add in the rest of the soy sauce, cashews and 1/8 t. of crushed red pepper (optional). Cover and cook for a few minutes, until veggie are hot but not soggy.


3) STIR FRY! Uncover and stir the veggies. Combine the meat and stir, if you like, or serve separately. Add salt or more red pepper flakes to taste. Eat!


 

Tofu is awesome,
Tofu is yummy,
Tofu's sure to make
A happy, full tummy!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Apple Olacakes


Sitting in our freezer are several little baggies containing 3 mini muffins each, the perfect grab and go breakfast (after 30 seconds in the zapper). I'm continuing the homemade grab-and-go breakfast kick with a new addition...OLACAKES (oh-la-cakes).

Olacakes--easy to grab, healthy
and tasty pancakes topped and 
cooked with granOLA on one side
I admit it, they're good! My first try at these are as follows:


Apple Cinnamon Olacakes
Makes 14 olacakes, or 6-7 servings

PANCAKE:
1 medium apple, grated (I kept the peel)
1 1/3 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 t. each: baking powder and baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 egg whites
2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (2% cow's milk works, too, or 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk)

TOPPING:
1/2 cup uncooked, dry oats
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

DIRECTIONS:
ONE: Spread coconut and oats onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, or until coconut is toasted. Set aside.
TWO: Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon together in a large bowl. 
THREE: In a small bowl, whisk egg whites for one minutes. Add grated apple to the egg whites and gently stir. Pour into dry mix bowl, along with almond milk. Stir until just moistened.
FOUR: In a non-stick pan, drop pancakes, 2-3 TB at a time. When pancakes are 75% cooked (before flipping), sprinkle 1 TB of the toasted coconut/oats mix on top of each pancake. Press down a bit with a spatula. Then flip and cook for 1-2 minutes, or when coconut/oat mix has stuck to the top of the pancake. You have now made an OLACAKE!

Serve warm, cold, topped with syrup, caramel, agave syrup, peanut butter, or eat plain (which is still so tasty!). A great breakfast grab-and-go, snack or guilt-free dessert. 

Happy eating! 

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Randomosity


Randomosity has been one of my favorite (non-existent) words since middle school. It can be applied to so many situations, as in this blog entry. This last month has been a whirlwind...school, reading, Wisconsin by car, Pearl Jam, apple obsession, dental work, stressful work environment, and--to make things windier--very little cooking! Oh, dear. So, here are some random, hopefully insightful facts about life and me right now...

1. I have been eating applesauce (with granola and cinnamon on top) and drinking diluted apple juice every day for the last month. 2 year old diet, I know.
2. Pearl Jam junkies really are amazing people. It was fun to meet the hardcore ones. Thanks for all of the accolades and tickets to Canada shows.
3. Sometimes, Matt & I get out the IKEA catalog and dream about design late at night.
4. I like shockcessories--pink shoes, orange purses, neon scarves. Apparently my grandmother was the same way.
5. I can't throw a ball to save my life...thank goodness Matt has mad baseball skills because sports have never been my strength. When he teaches our future kids to toss a ball, I'll be sitting in on that class, too.
6. I could live off of French bread and orange juice. My parents used to tease me about it.
7. I've recently retaken the Myers-Briggs (Jung's) personality test...I am a strong ENFJ. Five years ago, I was a strong INFJ. How did I go from introvert to extrovert? Still not sure about that one.
8. I've had a long daydream about owning a coffee shop. The name is already copyrighted...by me.
9. We finally know what Sam (our dog) is! He's a Jackshund or a Jackweenie...a dachshund/jack russell terrier mix. Who knew people actually bred dogs to be that weird? I'd take 100 more Sams...he's great!
10. Henri Nouwen's writings are quickly changing my life, even if I didn't ask them to.

Happy day, any way.