Day 7: Smokin' Tofu

I know, I know, it's tofu...but would a bbq-raised Texan bring you a bland, eggy substance and call it SMOKIN'? I think not. Let's get busy.

Tofu is a blank canvas for so much...I actually love smoked tofu in stuff but it's often hard to find at the store or more pricey than the reg tofu. Get organic tofu if you can...it's the real stuff. This is quick, easy, and sure to satisfy even the carnivore grizzly bears in your home.

Smokin' Tofu
Block of extra firm tofu (14 oz or so)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (homemade or store bought)
1 TB sesame oil
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp hot sauce (Tabasco chipotle, for example)
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

Supplies: towel, heavy book(s), bowl + brush, rimmed baking sheet, cooling rack (see photo)

Step one: Drain the tofu. It sounds gross, but tofu is a sponge--the more water you drain out means the more flavor/smoke liquid you can inject in. We want the tofu as dry as possible, so wrap the tofu in an absorbent kitchen towel. Place your heaviest cookbook or textbook on top of the tofu and let the towel absorb the liquid, about 20 minutes.

Step two: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. (This is the universal temp for cornbread, french fries, roasted veggies and all things hearty and awesome. FYI.) Slice the tofu into "finger-sized" strips, about 14 will come out of a 14 oz block of tofu. In a small bowl, combine all of the seasoning ingredients (sauce, oil, smoke, salt, hot sauce and pepper).

Step three: Place the cooking rack on top of the baking sheet. Line the tofu onto the rack and brush the bbq sauce mixture onto BOTH sides of the tofu. (OPTION: If you have a little time, put the tofu into a gallon zipper bag with the sauce and let marinade for an hour or two. Then, use the excess sauce to brush on the tofu.)

Step four: Bake the tofu for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through and brush with the rest of the sauce. Serve piping hot with a baked potato, fries and some beautiful steamed broccoli.





Happy eating!
Laurel

Banana bread muffins

One of my favorite things to do is take a healthy, flavorful bread recipe and turn it into a muffin...especially a mini muffin!

With the semester back in full swing, I've started baking a "batch" of mini muffins (about 24) and storing the cooled muffins in sandwich bags with 3 in each. Then I freeze them and can grab them on the go. I'll keep them frozen in my lunchbag but, for breakfast and immediate eating, I microwave them for 30 seconds...perfection! It's way better tasting than frozen waffles, as well as much better for you.

Like most people who like to spend time in the kitchen, I've made more than a few different banana bread recipes but this is probably a combo of several because-today-I walked into the kitchen and threw a few things together. (Sorry, not sure who to give credit to...mom? Michael Jackson? My agent? :) ) Hope this is tasty and fun to make.

Banana Bread Muffins
Makes 24 mini muffins or 10-12 regular sized muffies

DRY:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
Dash of salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg (optional)

WET:
2 TB agave nectar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 ripe, soft bananas--peeled and "smooshed" with the back of a spoon
1/4 cup orange juice

TOPPING:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 TB margarine/butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped pecans/walnuts (whichever you like)
1/4 cup of raspberries, slightly frozen (put in freezer for 30 min) 

WHIP IT UP:
1. In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, combine all wet ingredients. Put topping ingredients in a small bowl, stir together, and microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside.
3. Pour dry into wet ingredients and gently fold with a wooden spoon, until all is moistened and gooey. (Don't over stir.)
4. Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray (or whatever your routine is) and gently pour 1 to 1 1/2 TB of batter in each tin. Top with either 1) half a raspberry or 2) 1 t. drizzle of topping mix.

Bake at 350 for 8 minutes, or until they've risen and browned a bit.

Voila! Baby bits of happiness. Leave them in the pan for 2 minutes before putting them on a plate/cooling rack to get to room temp. Try not to eat all of them while they're cooling. HAPPY TUESDAY!

Puffy Scones

Have you ever walked in a kitchen with no plan? I just did. The result?


puffy scones (vegan)

these scones bring a little surprise by adding the toppings in the middle of this sweet, healthy dough. they're low fat, low calorie and the small size allows you to snack on them any time of the day.

*makes 12-15 scones*
 
 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1 cup wheat pastry flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup light vanilla soymilk
3 TB agave syrup 

toppings: (choose what you like)
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips/shavings
1-2 t. cinnamon sugar
 
step 1: preheat oven to 350. mix dry ingredients in medium bowl.
step 2: mix wet ingredients in a different medium bowl.
step 3: stir wet into dry ingredients. form into dough, which will be a little sticky.










step 4: flouring surface of a sheet of wax paper or counter surface, roll out dough into an egg shape (about 12" lengthwise and 7-8" width).

step 5: add toppings to one half of the "egg." roll the plain half of dough over to the topping half of dough, making it a 2-layer dough with the topping in the middle. using 2" cookie cutters, cut out your mini scones. place them on a non-stick baking mat.














step 6: bake for 8-10 minutes, until slightly firm but soft as well.

 e a t...lots.

 easy, simple ingredients, healthy!