Tofu with Carrot Ginger Sauce

I have the internet at home! *and the crowd goes wild*

To celebrate, I am going to put up a recipe that I've been wanting to put up for a few months for Tofu with Carrot Ginger Sauce, which is quite tasty, easy, and looks all fancy pants.

Tofu with Carrot Ginger Sauce

Tofu with Carrot Ginger Sauce
2- 10 oz. packages of firm tofu, drained
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger (or ginger paste)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1-2 lbs. of baby spinach

For the carrot ginger sauce:
10 oz. baby carrots
2 teaspoons grated ginger (or ginger paste)
2/3 cup orange juice
1/2 cup vegetable broth

Slice the tofu into several, almost 1/2-inch thick, slices (or cube it if you wish). In a flat glass or plastic container, arrange the tofu in a single layer. In a small bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup of orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, cilantro, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of ginger. Pour the mixture over the tofu, cover, and refrigerate overnight, or at the very least, for several hours. (Because this step is pretty quick, sometimes I do this in the morning before work, then it has quite a few hours of marinating before I make dinner with it that same evening.)

In a medium saucepan, add of all of the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the carrots soften. Let cool slightly, then transfer the carrot mixture to a blender. Process until smooth.

Drain the tofu, reserving the marinade. Heat the oil in a skillet. Cook the tofu in batches. Cooking on each side, until golden. Remove the tofu from the skillet; set aside.

Using the same skillet used to cook the tofu, add the spinach with a tablespoon or so of water. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the spinach has wilted.

Reheat the marinade in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave.

Top the wilted spinach with the carrot sauce, then the tofu. Drizzle with the warmed, reserved marinade. Serve alongside, or on top of, rice.

Edible Food Festival

If I had the interwebs at home, I would probably update this blog more! One day folks, one day...

What have I been up to since my last post in February? Mostly I've been working and adjusting to my new job, playing with my now 1 year old cats, and also playing in the snow that ceases to end (seriously, it snowed yesterday- albeit, it didn't stick to anything).

One of my bosses, in another department ( I work for two departments), accidentally sends color prints to my printer all the time (apparently she has to manually put in which printer she wants to send it to when color is detected- but she forgets). This usually results in me being startled because the printer directly behind me begins printing out of the blue. However, the random printouts turned out to be a blessing in disguise! One of the printouts was for a Johns Hopkins event (my employer)- the first ever Edible Book Festival hosted by the Sheridan Libraries!

The adorable flyer that popped magically out of my work printer

After staring at the flyer for several minutes then spending an hour afterward doing crazy deliberation in my head, I decided, why the heck not, and signed up for the cake contest! The main rules for the cake itself are simple: it has to be edible and it has to be inspired by a book.

My book of choice: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Specifically, I wanted to recreate the 1972 book cover by David Pelham. The colors really popped and the design is very stylized. I didn't want to choose a book that might be too obscure. (Random fact: did you know that the book was first published 52 years ago?)

1972 David Pelham book cover of A Clockwork Orange by
Anothony Burgess

I started out making two, 8-inch square, layers of a basic white cake with rose water. The filling was buttercream with a layer of thinly sliced strawberries. I wanted to use fondant for the cake design, because 1) I've never used fondant before and thought it would be fun (and it was- it's kind of like Play-Doh), 2) I thought it would be easier to make the design than to try to do so with frosting, and 3) I really wanted bold colors so that it would stand out and match the book cover. For fondant to adhere, it's best for there to be a thin layer of something sticky over the entire cake. It can be a thin layer of buttercream frosting or melted jam. I opted for a thin layer of melted strawberry jam.

My psychedelic Clockwork Orange cake

The event was a lot of fun and a ton of people came (I mean there were like 20 cakes to eat and for free at that). At the end of the festival, I left on a sugar high and with $50 worth of gift certificates in my pocket because I won "Best Dessert that could be mistaken for a book!"

Check out the Tumblr link earlier in this post for more pictures of the cake submissions (the Silence of the Lambs cake is AMAZING)!

Winter Trip to Amsterdam

Me eating a stroopwafel

At the end of January, Nick and I took a week-long trip to Amsterdam. He went for a philosophy conference. I went for the heck of it. Since he’s been abroad roughly 100 times these past few years (okay, I might be exaggerating a tad on the amount), I felt it was finally my time to go with him!



Belgium Waffles

I must admit that Amsterdam was never in my ‘Top 10’ of places I longed to visit. However, I can assure you that I am glad I went! We had a wonderful trip, filled with wandering the beautiful canals, eating local fare, visiting many fantastic museums, and even getting to see and explore several windmills just outside of town, and this is despite the weather being rainy and cold for the entire length of our trip.

Pannenkoeken with strawberry rhubarb compote & koffee verkeerd

Eating abroad can sometimes be tricky if you’re a vegetarian, but it wasn’t a problem in Amsterdam. You often run into a problem of wanting to eat local specialties that more often than not, tend to be meat based. Sliced raw herring (or raw herring in a sandwich) as well as various types of sausage are popular. Other dishes such as stamppot or hutspot (both are a similar dish of mashed potatoes with vegetables) may also contain sausage (especially rookworst- a smoked sausage). I had an awesome dinner for one (Nick was at his conference) at De Blauwe Hollander, near our hotel, that was a vegetarian stamppot with cheese croquettes and a side of pumpkin soup with a biscuit of cheese.

Most amazing hot chocolate EVER with whipped cream (slagroom)

We ate many a pancake (pannenkoeken) on our trip. Dutch pancakes are more like a large, crepe (thin, and about the diameter of a medium-sized pizza). You can get a number of sweet or savory fillings.

Pannenkoeken with mushrooms and Edam

Stroopwafels, folks, are where it’s at! They are a chewy, caramel-flavored syrup filled cookie. They are somehow very flat and weigh a TON. We brought back several packages of them. Sad will be the days when they are gone! You can purchase them everywhere in the city. You can also buy freshly made stroopwafels of various sizes at the Albert Culp Markt, a street market in the De Pijp neighborhood.

While we were perusing the wares at the market, we decided to eat lunch at Cafe Flinck, where we had delicious open-faced sandwiches and shared a plate of fries.

Open-faced sandwiches from Cafe Flinck with fries (patat)- look at all that cheese!

We also ate at Bird’s Snackbar, a Thai restaurant in Amsterdam’s Chinatown. The restaurant was maybe a tad too cozy (roughly the size of a large closet), but the food was remarkable. Indonesian food is also quite popular and we ate at a restaurant behind De Nieuwe Kerk, where we had some warm comfort food in the form of gado gado.

Fries (patat) with mayo (background) and curry fries (foreground)

What would a trip to the Netherlands be if I didn’t eat cheese like it was going out of style? The Dutch make some of my favorites cheeses (kaas) like Edam and Gouda. One night, we bought cheap wine and expensive truffle cheese and crackers and had a wonderful evening. Most of the cheese shops we went in had samples of most of the cheeses they had for sale.



Applegebak (deep dish apple pie)



Okay, so I know that my pictures are mostly of sweet foods, but what can I say- I like sugar! (But honestly, I just forgot to take pictures of our lunches and dinners.)

Souvenirs/Airplane snacks

 

Spicy Black Bean Burger

Cooking up the patties

Have you ever gone out and purchased a spicy black bean burger and 1) it's in the shape of a hockey puck, and 2) it is NOT spicy? Yeah, I get that all the time. The latter irritates me the most. If I order a 'spicy' whatever it is, it better be spicy! So I decided to make up my own and let me tell you, my mouth was on fire!

Crisping the outside

Spicy Black Bean Burger
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup of cooked, leftover rice
1/2 cup of corn kernals (if frozen, thaw them)
1/2 cup of panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 chipotles in adobo sauce (cut the stems off), plus 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
dash of garlic powder (or 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, if you wish)

1-2 tablespoons of panko
1-2 tablespoons flour
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

In a mixing bowl, add the corn and 1/4 cup of the black beans; set aside. In a food processor, combine the remaining black beans, rice, chipotles, and adobo sauce. Blend until mostly smooth. Spoon the mixture into the mixing bowl with the corn and black beans. Add the 1/2 cup of panko, chipotle powder, cumin, salt, onion powder, and garlic. Stir to combine. Refrigerate the mixture for 10-15 minutes. On a small plate, combine the 1-2 tablespoons of flour and panko. Form the refrigerated mixture into four, large patties with your hands. In a large, nonstick skillet heat the olive oil. Dredge each patty, per side, in the panko flour mixture (it doesn't have to be completely dredged)- press to make the panko mixture stick. Fry each patty in the olive oil a minute or two per side, or until each side begins to become golden and crisp. Serve as you would any other burger- buns, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. Or for a more Southwestern feel, serve on a bun with slices of avocado and Mexican cheeses.

Done and ready to inhale!

NOTE: Chipotles in adobo sauce can often be found in the taco aisle of your local grocery store (at least that's where I find them). You can also use any leftover peppers and the adobo sauce in tacos and burritos. If the black bean burgers are too spicy for you, decrease the amount of the peppers and sauce, instead try using just 1 chipotle pepper and 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce.
This recipe makes 4, big burgers that are 1/2" thick and 4" in diameter and are totally vegan.

Arepa Time!

I'm horrible at this whole updating thing. Ah, well. I thought I'd post a recent recipe I whipped up just for the heck of it for arepas.

Arepas are round flatbreads made with corn. You can do just about anything with them. They can be fried, grilled, steamed, stuffed, topped, eaten plain, or thrown as Frisbees (joking on the last one). The recipe below is based on arepas I had at the Taste of Philadelphia food festival in July. Don’t be overwhelmed by the fact that there are several preparation processes going on in this recipe. They’re all extremely easy and the dish comes together quickly. Your mouth will be intrigued by the combination of sweet plantains, salty cheese, and smoky beans.

Drool worthy sweet plantains

Arepas with Beans and Plantains

Arepas:

2 cups Masarepa (a type of corn flour/fine corn meal- I use Goya brand)
2-3 cups warm water
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Butter, for frying

Beans:

1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
½ teaspoon dried oregano
a dash of garlic powder

Plantains:

2 ripe plantains, sliced
2 teaspoons honey
a sliver or two of butter

Toppers:

Sliced avocado
Cotija or Queso Fresco cheese (These are crumbly Mexican cheeses- if you can’t find them at the grocery store, shredded cheddar works fine)
Salsa (optional)

Getting everything prepped

To prepare the arepa batter, in a bowl combine the Masarepa, warm water, salt and sugar. It’ll fluff up pretty quickly. (If the batter appears too dry, add more warm water). Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the black beans and the next seven ingredients (i.e. the beans through the garlic powder). Bring the bean mixture to a simmer. Cook for 5 min. Turn the burner off and let the mixture sit (so the flavors will meld a bit).

In a medium to large skillet, coat the bottom of the skillet with the sliver or two of butter and melt it. Add the sliced plantains, and lightly fry, stirring constantly. When they start to brown, add the honey. Continue stirring until the plantains are coated in the honey and they begin to somewhat caramelize or appear glazed. (NOTE:  A ripe plantain is key in this recipe. A ripe plantain will appear brown or brown flecked in color and will give a bit when squeezed.) Move the plantains to a bowl.

In the same skillet used to cook the plantains, melt more butter. With your hands grab about a kiwi sized amount of batter. Form a flat, round patty that is about 3-inches in diameter and slightly more than ¼-inch thick. Again, if the batter is too dry, add warm water. Repeat. Fry the arepas on each side until golden and transfer to a plate. Add more butter to the skillet, when needed.

Reheat the beans until warm, then turn off.

Place several arepas on a plate and top with the beans, plantains, crumbled cheese, avocado and salsa, if using. Viola!

 

Arepas ready for eating!

 

Work Lunch Ideas

Breakfast: oatmeal w/brown sugar, blueberries, and almonds,
Lunch: tofu & quinoa salad plus two cuties, Snacks: yogurt & cheese and crackers

I made this post about a year ago about eating healthy at work. I thought I’d throw out a few more ideas for lunches (with pictures throughout!), for a standard workweek (i.e. 5 days), just for those peeps who are getting bored with eating the same old junk, day after day. Oh the monotony! (I can't talk because I have 'cuties' in 4 of my 5 lunches for the week. Ha!)

Breakfast: yogurt & a banana (not pictured- because I ate them! Take that!),
Lunch: Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake frozen dinner & a cutie, Snacks: grapes & watermelon

I don’t know about the rest of you busy bees out there, but 5 days a week I spend time away from home for a total of 10-11 hours per day (which is a combination of commuting to and physically being at work). A few years ago I readjusted my body to eating 6 small meals per day because the usual 3 meals left me starving and feeling lethargic and blah (yes, ‘blah’ is a feeling). Because of this change in diet, I had to start packing more food for work because I would be eating 4 of my 6 meals there (i.e. those four meals being breakfast, lunch, and two snacks).  I also get that blah feeling when I order food to be delivered to work (usually because my taste buds are like ,”Eh,”  to the ordered food- and let’s face it, who wants to eat so-so food?) I only get a half hour for lunch, so going out to eat is not an option.

 

Breakfast: cereal & milk, Lunch: FLT (fake bacon, lettuce & tomato) sandwich & two cuties cuties, Snacks: veggies with hummus and a Naked Blue Machine smoothie

To reiterate my 2012 post, here’s some lunch-packing advice:

Change up your lunch. Eating a PB&J and a fruit cup everyday can get boring fast. Plus, it doesn't give you the variety of vitamins and minerals your body needs.
 

It is OKAY to purchase prepackaged food. Read the labels for salt, fat, sugar, calorie content, and so on. Who isn't lazy sometimes and wants something super quick to prepare? The key is to just make healthier choices. For example, purchase applesauce cups that do not have any added sugars, or buy a Healthy Choice frozen meal over Banquet (which has more fat, calories, sodium, etc.) You can also get bags of prechopped veggies like broccoli and cauliflower which are perfect for dips, a wide variety of fresh fruits, and bags of mixed nuts.

Seriously, do make a grocery list. This will help prevent you from buying junk, and you'll have a plan, man!

Pack the night before. I couldn't suggest this enough. Seriously, in the morning I am never up to packing lunch. Never. I'm barely even awake! If I don't do it the night before, I'm more likely to just wing it by not packing a lunch and buying some unhealthy & unsatisfying glorp out. 

Breakfast: egg & cheese on a multigrain English muffin (not pictured),
Lunch: Asian style wrap & two cuties cuties, Snacks: Pink Lady apple, yogurt, & almonds

The tofu and quinoa salad (the recipe is below) makes enough for several work lunches. It’s also great for picnics, potlucks, or as a lunch/dinner side (or heck, a main course). Quinoa can be pretty pricey. If you don’t want to fork over the dough for it, couscous is a pretty good stand in. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is full of protein and fiber, is gluten-free, and full of calcium. With the quinoa, almonds, and tofu, this salad really packs a protein punch (i.e. it will be very filling). If you usually like some kind of cheese in your salad, feta works wonderfully in this recipe.

Breakfast: yogurt, Lunch: warm lentil salad with toasted walnuts
and roasted red peppers with a grilled cheese sandwich, Snacks: an apple & banana

 

Tofu & Quinoa Salad (a slight modification of this recipe)

1 1/2- 2 cups of cooked quinoa (or couscous)

1 (8 oz.) package of tofu, cubed

1 bell pepper (any color), diced

1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives

1 cucumber, diced

1/2 cup toasted almond slivers

1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese (optional)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 cup lemon juice

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

salt & pepper, to taste

 

Combine all in a bowl. Serve!

Baltimore Restaurant Week: Alchemy

Stuffed acorn squash

Nick and I almost missed Baltimore Restaurant Week! What were we thinking? Luckily we were able to make reservations, just in the nick in time, for a hip American eatery in Hampden called Alchemy. It was a beautiful day so we walked over. Alchemy lies right on 'The Avenue' (i.e. 36th Street).

Crab bisque and French onion au gratin

What we ate:
Appetizer/Soups-
French Onion au Gratin (caramelized onions, toasted croutons, and Gruyere)
Crab Bisque (seafood fumet, whipping cream, fresh thyme, lump crab meat, and sherry)

Main Dish-
Stuffed Acorn Squash (containing multiple grains, smoked almonds, and dried cherries with a salad on the side)

Dessert-
Tiramisu
Chocolate brownie with Bailey's Irish Cream liquor

Chocolate brownie with Irish Cream

The service was superb and the food simply excellent. Everything was fresh and the combination of flavors was definitely drool worthy. The crab bisque was so smooth and creamy and had a gigantic lump of crab meat in it. I didn't try it due to the onions (yuck!), but Nick said the French onion au gratin was wonderful. He said the gruyere gave the soup a pleasant creaminess and the broth was salty, but perfectly so. The acorn squash (which we both ordered) was roasted to just fork tender and the stuffing was wonderful. I don't know what they rehydrated the cherries with in the stuffing, but it really made the dish. The desserts were amazing. I can never turn down tiramisu and I wasn't disappointed. The brownie was very rich and the Irish Cream drizzled over the top just made it even more delicious.

Tiramisu

Such a good night for a date! I give you two thumbs up, Alchemy, on your fantastic food and service!