Vegetarian Goodness

Tonight, we had friends over for dinner...and massages. Yes, we have a friend that's a masseuse! I made dinner to coincide with their arrival so we could enjoy a nice meal together before massages. Because they are vegetarians, I reached outside my comfort zone to make something we could all appreciate. I decided to make a Kung Pao tofu dish from the Whole Foods Market cookbook. From the same book, I chose a side dish of Emerald Sesame Kale.

Once everything was prepped, this dish pulled together extremely quickly, so I'm glad that I prepped things ahead of time. The kung pao sauce consisted of brown rice syrup, rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, tamari and cayenne pepper, so I got those mixed up. In another bowl, I mixed some teriyaki marinade with a pound of extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

While the tofu cooked in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, and my rice cooker went to work with some brown Jasmine rice, I started on the base of the dish. Some sesame oil and canola oil get heated in a wok and to it, you add crushed red chili flakes, minced ginger, minced garlic, and some chopped peanuts. After 3 minutes of sauteing time, the tofu gets added to the wok along with some sliced scallions. After another minute, I added half of the kung pao sauce and allowed it to thicken. Once thickened, it is then okay to add the rest of the sauce, as well as the green and red peppers, allowing them to cook until firm-tender.

As for the kale, it was so simple. While the Kung Pao Tofu was cooking up, and the rice was coming to a finish, I threw some chopped kale into a pot with some minced garlic and minced ginger and allowed it to cook for about 4 minutes. After tossing it with a bit of tamari and some sesame seeds, it was ready to go!

The kale, the Kung Pao Tofu and the brown rice came together nicely, in a timely manner. It was a really delicious, hearty meal, with a great kick to it. So, next time you've got some vegetarian friends coming for dinner ... or just want to have a "Meatless Monday," give this recipe a try! The flavors were great, the dish was lovely, and I'm full! :)

An Easy Dinner and Planning for the Week Ahead

After a busy weekend, filled with fun times and good friends, we settled in for the first Sunday football games and decided on a very easy dinner of some marinated steak tips and a nice, spinach salad. We didn't have the ingredients for any of those things so I had to run to the store, but I hadn't planned my menu yet! I think the next week or so will consist of some quick trips to the farmer's market/grocery store as I figure out a plan for the next menu.

We are having friends over tomorrow night, and they are vegetarians, so I promised them a good meal...sans meat. I don't normally cook with tofu, but I'm going to give it a shot! We're going to try a recipe for Kung Pao Tofu, from the Whole Foods Market Cookbook, served with a side of brown rice and some kale. I hope it's good! I added the ingredients for these recipes to the list and off to the store, we go!

Easy, pre-marinated steak tips on the grill, and a delicious spinach salad. I bought some adorable heirloom tomatoes the size of cherry tomatoes, and threw those in along with some minced shallots, and crumbled feta. I tossed the salad with this awesome avocado dressing that Matt found at the store, and dinner was ready! This left me plenty of time to write to all of you, my culinary comrades, and then get down to work on the upcoming website. I think that we're going to do things a little differently with the menu for awhile. As I need to photograph, use, and write about certain ingredients for the site, I'll be using them and writing about them on the blog. That way, I'll "kill a few birds with one stone," so to speak, so I'll have posts for you on a daily basis, and still get in the writing I need to do to bring this website to you as fast as possible!

That being said, if there's an ingredient you want to learn more about, comment here and let me know. I'll move it to the top of the list!