Cold Sesame (Zucchini) Noodles

It's the start of a heat wave, or so I've heard, and I'm not about to turn on the oven. And I recognize that it would appear as if I haven't turned on the oven in the past 11 months!! I just realized while watching the French Open this morning, that my last post was in reference to Wimbledon. In July. Of last year. I obviously have a thing for eating while others are playing some hard core tennis. And I'm a super lazy blogger.

Rather than make something sweet today (I did actually get off the couch to go to the gym) I decided to jump on the zoodle bandwagon. For the record: 1. I hate the word "zoodle." 2. It would be a terrible band name. Anyhow...this recipe substitutes fresh zucchini noodles (totally uncooked!) for the more typical egg noodle, therefore saving a few extra calories and excess heat from your stovetop. 

I happen to have a really small spiralizer gadget from OXO so will occasionally make some zucchini (or other veggie) noodles because it doesn't take up a ton of space and it makes me feel healthy...until I pour another glass of wine. Add as much garnish and protein as you like to make this a more substantial salad. Note: The longer your zucchini sits in the sesame sauce, the more watery it will become. Good to know if your sauce is a bit thick. (Like me.) It will ultimately thin out. (I wish!)

Cold Sesame Zucchini Noodles

2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/3 cup tahini, peanut butter, almond butter or a combination
3 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon rice or white wine or other vinegar
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Hot sesame oil, chili-garlic paste or Tabasco sauce to taste
2 large zucchini, trimmed and spiralized
2 medium carrot, trimmed and spiralized (if desired)
Optional: Sliced cucumber, cubed tofu, chopped peanuts, sesame seeds, hot sauce

1. Whisk together the sesame oil, nut butters, soy, sugar, vinegar, ginger, garlic and hot oil in a large bowl. Taste and adjust.

2. Toss zucchini and carrot noodles with the sauce. Garnish as desired. Serves 2 main portions or 4 appetizer portions.

Frites Frites

My weekend spent visiting friends in the City of Brotherly Love was a little too lovely. I'd really like to detox and/or fast right about now, but because I have no will-power, I'll instead just try not to eat french fries with every meal. And since not eating french fries with every meal starts with me not going out for every meal, I need to refocus on making simple meals at home. This tofu recipe is one of my favorite quick dinners. So...I'm hoping that after a little more healthy eating (emphasis on little) and a few (hundred) more visits to the gym, I'll be able to enjoy steak frites, moules frites...frites frites...daily. Without consequence. Won't I?



Red Coconut Curry Tofu

1 one-pound package extra-firm tofu
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock or water)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon red curry paste
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons peanut oil
Chopped scallions, optional
Cooked rice, optional

1. Drain the tofu and cut into eight equal slices. Pat dry with paper towels.

2. In a small bowl whisk together the coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, lime juice, curry paste and sugar. Set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the tofu and cook until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Turn over and cook for 5 minutes more.

4. Add the coconut milk mixture to the skillet and simmer, turning the tofu once, until the liquid has reduced to a thick glaze, about 4 minutes. Transfer the tofu to a serving platter and pour the glaze over the top. Garnish with scallions and serve with rice, if desired. Serves 4 as a first course, or 2 as a main course.

Tofutti Salad

OK I've decided it's officially salad week. It's too hot to use my oven but I'm too cheap to turn on my A/C (before July 1st!!). So what?! Check it out.

I used to make this Tofu Caesar salad once a week. Don't be scurred! I know it sounds crazy to make a Caesar with tofu but what's more crazy is making your own Caesar salad without someone to make the dressing fresh...tableside. Is that so wrong? I don't know why I think it's OK for someone else to make a salad with raw egg and anchovies, but when I am actually in control of the ingredients, I don't want to be responsible. Enter: the fake Caesar salad. It's not so bad! Basically, you use all of the same flavor components. You just use silken tofu instead of raw egg and lots of olive oil. Look. (If I can just sound like a politician for a moment. What is up with that word? Look! It's so condescending.) Look. Just throw all of the ingredients into a blender and call it a day. Your friends will never know. And add some extra protein (grilled shrimp, roasted chicken, seared steak) to make it a main salad and not a side salad. And as I stated yesterday, I'm not going to give exact amounts because I think you really need to make a salad according to your specific tastes. But feel free to follow my guidelines.



Tina's Tofu Caesar Salad

1 - 2 garlic cloves (to taste)
8 ounces silken tofu
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about the juice of one lemon)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
Romaine leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese
Croutons (optional)


1. In a small food processor, pulse the garlic a few times. Then add the tofu, oil, lemon, mustard, Worcestershire, and salt. Process until smooth.

2. Toss the dressing in a medium bowl with the lettuce. Top with the pepper, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and croutons. Enjoy!

(*Note: Make your own croutons be cutting bread into cubes, coating in olive oil, and toasting in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Toss with salt.)

(**Note: I 've never used anchovy paste, but I think it could be a good salty element to add to this combo. I'll let you know when/if I try it!)

Like White on Rice

I had never used a rice cooker before tonight. It hasn't been on my top ten list of kitchen gadgets to buy, but since my good friend Chad (What up?!?!) is in the middle of packing and moving, I have become the proud new foster parent of a cute little red rice cooker. All you do is add measured amounts of rice and water, plug it in, and you're good to go. It's pretty cool, although I had this fantasy that it would be done in, like, five minutes or something. It's not really that different from making it on the stove top, except that when I do, I find myself constantly adjusting the heat.

Since I wasn't feeling the greatest, I thought I would just make some white rice and call it a day. But then I saw some tofu chillin' in my fridge and thought, "What the heck." I can always use some protein. Enter: The NY Times Recipes for Health section. (Yes, I'm like a broken record!) But I remembered a tofu recipe that I had made before. I was all over it. The tofu marinated while the rice cooked, and then the tofu took a mere five minutes to cook. Fab. I made a few adjustments, including changing the yield (maybe I should just be eating less?) and subbing out the mirin (cuz I didn't have any). Check it out ya'll:



Pan-Fried Marinated Tofu

1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 pound firm tofu
1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil
Cooked rice (optional for serving)

1. Combine the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk together well.

2. Drain the tofu and pat dry with paper towels. Slice into 1/2-inch thick slabs. Add to the bowl with the marinade and gently toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes to an hour, or for up to a day.

3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, nonstick skillet. When the oil is hot, add the tofu in one layer (cook in batches if needed). Cook for 1 - 2 minutes, until lightly browned. Turn the tofu over and cook another 1 - 2 minutes, or until lightly browned on the other side. Remove from the pan and serve with additional marinade or soy sauce, and rice if desired. Serves 3.

Recession Regression

I'm not a vegetarian. I've never been a vegetarian. (Helloooo. Bacon!) But sometimes I think if anyone saw the way I cook for myself, they might mistake me for one. Tofu. Beans. Grains. Veggies. I feel like I'm regressing to my undergrad days when it seemed like everyone was a vegetarian and there was a vegetarian restaurant on every other corner. And the cookbooks. Remember Moosewood Cookbook, American Wholefoods Cuisine, Horn of the Moon Cookbook? I lived by those.

The NY Times has been running a column called Recipes for Health and I'm totally obsessed. The recipes are simple, tasty, and inexpensive in addition to being healthy. I think I've printed out at least one recipe a week and have been trying to make them almost as often.

Let's face it. It's much easier to go out for steak frites than to mess up your kitchen making it at home, so I'll leave it to the restaurants to make anything grilled or fried. And with the guilt that drives me to the gym in the morning after one of those meals, I don't mind the occasional "healthy" meal at home (don't let the tofu scare you!).

The recipe that follows can be made in about 15 minutes...quicker than waiting for the delivery guy.

Spinach, Tofu and Sesame Stir-fry

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 pound tofu, cut in small dice

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon grated or minced fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes

Soy sauce to taste

1 6-ounce bag baby spinach, rinsed

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Heat the canola oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet or wok, and add the tofu. Stir-fry until the tofu is lightly colored, three to five minutes, and add the garlic and ginger (and chili flakes). Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute, and add soy sauce to taste. Add the spinach and stir-fry until the spinach wilts, about one minute. Stir in the sesame seeds, and add more soy sauce to taste. Remove from the heat.

2. Using tongs, transfer the spinach and tofu mixture to a serving bowl, leaving the liquid behind in the pan or wok. Drizzle with the sesame oil, and add more soy sauce as desired. Serve with rice or other grains, or noodles. You may also use it as a filling for whole wheat pita bread.