Spicy Ketchupy Tofu with Cauliflower Rice

Spicy Ketchupy Tofu
1 package extra firm tofu
flour for dredging
1.5 cups ketchup
0.5 cups oil (like peanut or canola)
cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove minced
lemon juice to taste
salt & pepper

This is from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian." Because he gushed about it, I overcame my fear of the ketchup sauce. It turned out to be very General Tso's Chickeny and awesome.

• Slice or crumble tofu
• Dredge in flour
  
• Sprinkle with salt & pepper & fry in 1/3 cup oil over medium high heat until browned (at least 6 mins)
  
• Remove tofu from skillet
• Add remaining oil to skillet
• Add garlic and cook for about a minute
• Add ketchup
• Add cayenne pepper to taste
  
• Cook for about 5 minutes until sauce thickens and gets all sticky/caramelized
• Return tofu to skillet and cover with sauce
• Add some lemon juice to taste
  

Cauliflower Rice
Chop up cauliflower in food processor until about the size of rice (it sort of resembles couscous). Microwave in covered dish for about 5 minutes until soft with no added water. Voila, a yummy rice substitute that goes well with lots of stuff. (You can also make awesome fried rice out of this. There are loads of recipes online.)

turkey meatloaf

i make this at home more than any other meat dish, cuz its so easy and so yummy

preheat oven to 350

mix these ingredients in a large bowl:

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion (yellow, red, or whatever)
1/2 cup corn flakes
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup red sauce (i usually use something like newman's own)
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

optional - 1 tablespoon mustard
optional - 1/8 cup chopped parsley

pat into a greased or no-stick loaf pan, or mound into a loaf on a greased shallow baking pan and bake for one hour

is really good with sweet potato fries.

Kimchi Raw Ramen

This is sorta a salad and soup combined. Good for lunch or dinner. It's gets your raw in there as well as the warming soup.

Serving one person:
brown rice udon noodles (i know it's not ramen but hea, it's healthy)
kimchi plus about a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of it's brine (or veg stock if you don't have enough brine)
tamari
sesame oil
chili flakes or tabasco
1/2 carrot very thinly sliced
some zucchini very thinly sliced
1 spring onion
about a tblsp of chopped coriander
a few fresh mushrooms chopped (i didn't have any this time!)

Cook your noodles. Put aside and then add some of the kimchi brine to the pan and heat it up. Throw a few splashes of tamari in and then add your noodles back in. Add some water if you want more broth. Take off the heat and put it in a bowl. Add all your veggies, a heaping amount of kimchi, add a bit of chili on top, coriander and a few splashes of sesame oil. My favorite kitchen utensil for thin slicing is pictured above. Works great for carrots and zucchini!

Tempura At Home

You know how you are tempted to order tempura when you have Japanese take out or delivery and it's always soggy by the time you eat it and sort of a bummer? Well for real, just make it yourself. It's INCREDIBLY EASY and so satisfying.

For the vegetables, pre-cook them by steaming them or blanching and shocking them so they're not raw when you dip them in the batter and fry them, this will make them soft and delicious when you crisp them up.

From what I've read, the key is to getting the batter really cold and dipping your veggies right before you fry them. Double dip if you like extra coating. Classic tempura isn't fried long enough to brown, but us Americans might like it that way.

Tempura Batter

1 cup AP flour (AP whole wheat would work, I am pretty sure rice flour or another gluten free flour would work too)
1 cup seltzer
2 t. salt

In a quart container, add all ingredients, shake them up and store overnight in fridge.
When you're ready, heat oil to frying temp in a deep pan or wok so there is room for the veggies to swim.
When oil is hot, dip veggies in batter and drop in hot oil, frying until just golden. Remove from oil and drain on newspaper or paper towels. Sprinkle a bit more salt over the veggies and serve quickly with a nice ginger soy or ponzu sauce.

Notes to myself after my first run:
make sure oil is HOT.
make sure the oil is not crowded.
make sure you are hungry.

Enjoy!