Wednesday Food Blogging

Grilled Tofu with Bourbon Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Grilled barbecued tofu is easy to make with a grill pan

I love my grill pan. While I'm not much for cooking on the barbecue grill outdoors, I do like to get those grill marks on my food. And a non-stick grill pan, with ridges on the surface, is perfect for making barbecued tofu in the dead of winter.

The barbecue sauce is a little bit of "everything but the kitchen sink." I had just enough bourbon left to spike the simmering sauce with some Kentucky sweetness. And maple syrup for that essential Canadian nice-ness, as well as a nice blackened crust to the tofu. 

Don't worry if your barbecued tofu is "blackened"—it's even better that way!

I was also lucky enough to have extra-firm tofu. If you're shopping in Britain you'll be hard pressed (pun intended) to find firm tofu, since the only brand most stores carry is Cauldron, which for some reason doesn't offer a range of firmness in its tofu range. Go to an Asian store, and ask for the firmest tofu they sell, if you can. Otherwise learn to press tofu to create a firmer texture. 

I suppose if you wanted, you could make barbecued tofu with regular barbecue sauce from a bottle, but it wouldn't have the extra kick from the chipotles. There's nothing like smoked jalapenos for kicking barbecue-sauce ass. But go ahead, make your life easier, just don't say I didn't warn you.

Be sure you're using Chinese-style tofu from the refrigerated section of your supermarket, not the kind sold in shelf-stable packages (like Mori-Nu, which has its uses).

For a printable version, go here: 

Portobellos with Potato and White Bean Stuffing, French Green Lentils, and Red Wine Sauce

The dish with the very long name. 

What a mouthful! I'm not sure what to call this concoction, other than the unwieldy name at the top of this post. The photo doesn't do a good job showing the portobello mushrooms, flattened underneath the weight of all that layered stuffing. The mashed potatoes in the middle are actually mixed with a white bean puree, with green le puy lentils draped over that, and a nice red wine sauce—i.e. gravy, if you must.

I like meals that contain many components. Stacking, layering, building texture upon texture—here's an example, and here's another. A meal oozing with sauce, a sturdy plank of mushroom or polenta, a meaty filling, a creamy topping, and loads of taste. These meals don't happen every night—they're somewhat complicated to prepare, though not as difficult as you might think. Many parts can be made ahead of time, and with two people working together in the kitchen, prep is a breeze. 

With my husband as sous chef, we created this masterpiece in just under an hour. And with plenty left over, we're having it again tonight. The potato-bean mixture and the lentils would be an excellent meal on their own, or perhaps with some other component. (I particularly love layering slabs of polenta with rich bean mixtures.)

I served this with a side of sauteed spinach. Just the right accompaniment.

Here's how we did it: 

Lemony Poppy Seed Quick Bread

Thank goodness: Lemony Poppy Seed Bread

Thank goodness for Americans. They invented quick breads, after inventing baking powder, back in the nineteenth century. I guess they knew our twenty-first century lives would be too busy with our computers, phones, and other time-saving devices to make traditional slow breads.

However, before the Americans got around to inventing baking powder, a British man, Henry Jones, invented self-rising flour, except he called it self-raising flour. (He probably invented it in a laBORatry too.)

So, thank goodness for Henry Jones, whose self-raising flour is perfect for eggless quick breads. You can also use regular flour (plain, or all-purpose) with 2 teaspoons of baking powder plus another pinch of salt. Unless you have lots of self-rising flour to use up from the last thing you made.

In another lesson we'll discuss the history of lemons and poppy seeds. For now, here's a recipe for Lemon and Poppy Seed Quick Bread.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Dog Treats

From my dog and me to you and your pet, Happy Thanksgiving

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies for Dogs

2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup corn meal OR wheat germ
¼ cup flax seed, ground
½ cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon molasses
1 cup non-dairy milk (rice milk, almond milk, soy milk)

Combine dry ingredients. Mix the peanut butter and molasses; stir into dry ingredients. Stir in enough non-dairy milk to make a thick dough. Sprinkle flour on a cutting board and roll out dough. Cut with desired shapes and bake in 375F/190C oven for 15-20 minutes (around 10 minutes if you’re using very small shapes).

If your dog has an allergy to soy or corn or wheat, be sure to use non-soy or non-corn ingredients instead. This recipe is very forgiving, as is my dog.

Potato and Parsnip Rösti

A simple side dish, for Hanukkah perhaps.

You could call these latkes, or not, depending on how badly you’re wanting to celebrate Hanukkah vegan-style. Then you’d have to serve them with applesauce and vegan sour cream, and jelly doughnuts. Or you could call them hash browns, but that brings up images of Mickey D’s and those pre-packaged, pre-formed Tater Tot-like patties.

So why don’t we just go with the Swiss, who call them Rosti? Or Rösti, if you want to get technical.

I formed my Rösti into three separate 6-inch pieces, but you could make one large Rösti  if you’d prefer. Technique is crucial: Slip the browned Rösti onto a plate, cover the plate with the frying pan, and invert to brown the other side.

If you have a food processor with a grater attachment, use that; it will make short work of the prep involved. But if you don’t, or prefer to work with your hands, then be sure to watch your knuckles. Bloody knuckles are no fun; I don't even think the Swiss have a cute name for them.

Hanukkah begins on December 4, if you'd like to skip ahead.

Blueberry Brain Boost

A tall glass of brain food.

For the last few days I've made a blueberry-flax smoothie in the morning, about the time I get the 10 o'clock hungries. With high levels of neuro-protective antioxidents, blueberries are excellent brain food, and flax contains omega-3 fatty acids, also necessary for neuronal health.

I'm not sure, but I think these smoothies are making me smarter. For instance, today I completed 19 Sodoku puzzles when I got up at five, and by six I was working on my morning ration of quadratic equations. After solving for X, I visualized world peace for a bit, then hacked my iPhone. My perfectly symmetrical Rubic's Cube sits on my desk, next to the work of staggering genius I hope to finish writing today, after another Blueberry Brain Boost.

It's really simple to make:

Grind 2 tablespoons of flax seeds in a blender. (You must grind them first, else they won't get properly ground.) Add 1 cup frozen blueberries and 1 cup soy milk. (If you prefer to use soy milk powder, add 2 tablespoons powder and 1 cup water.)

Whiz for 30 seconds or so. Add a sweetener if you like. And if you have a banana, you can add that too, but I've been out of bananas the last few days.

Disclaimer: I do not actually own an iPhone, and it may come as a surprise, but much of the rest of this tale isn't entirely true. That bit about the Rubic's Cube, for instance. I don't own one of those either.

Laksa

Beansprouts add crunch to Laksa

A couple of months ago one of my food magazines featured a photo on the cover of Laksa, a Malaysian soup popular in Singapore. And then, as so often happens, I came across a couple more recipes, and by Saturday, when I visited Borough Market, I was convinced I had to try a vegetarian version of Laksa.

I found most of the ingredients at the market, except for rice noodles. Luckily my local shop carries those, and I had red curry paste and coconut milk. I used water-packed, Chinese-style tofu, but didn’t deep fry it as some recipes call for. Although I could see where the taste and texture of fried tofu might be nice, I didn’t want to go to the trouble, or waste the calories on deep frying tofu. (Isn’t there something a bit incongruous about the words “deep fry” and “tofu”?)

Next time, I’ll try adding another vegetable for variety. Maybe eggplant (aubergine) or butternut squash (pre-cooked), or zucchini (courgette). I would also use low-fat coconut milk, as the full fat variety didn’t seem necessary in this full flavoured soup.

Laksa would also make a nice starter for an Asian meal, especially if you leave out the tofu and serve it in smaller bowls. It took about a half hour to make, including the time for prepping the ingredients and making the stock. (I made this stock with a goodly amount of mint leaves, which are also used as garnish.)

I served this in wide, flat bowls, because I wanted plenty of room on the top for the garnishes. We filled our bowls more than once, though, and still had a bit leftover for lunch.

Recipe follows.