Tempeh Helper

Borderline brain dead, so this is all you get. Tempeh Helper from Appetite for Reduction. A pretty good homage to a meal from my childhood!

Lettuce Wraps with Hoison-Mustard Tofu

Tofu and I haven't always had the best relationship. In fact, I can't imagine a worse beginning to a relationship: I ended up in the ER about a half hour after our first rendezvous. The doctors deemed it a "bad case" of food poisoning, and while I'm not sure that was truly the problem or that the tofu was the culprit, I've since laid the blame with tofu. Since then, tofu has been begging for my forgiveness in the form of otherwise delicious sounding recipes, and I've continually given it the cold shoulder.

Until last week. I figured I'd persecuted tofu long enough, and god damn, it's in a lot of recipes. I searched a variety of sources looking for the ideal reintroduction, and found this recipe for lettuce wraps with hoison-mustard tofu from Appetite for Reduction. Given my recent discovery of hoison sauce, I picked this because I love its spicy-sweet flavor. And that's exactly what this dish is - sweet and spicy! The red pepper flakes add to the heat, but the cool crunch of the lettuce nicely complements the fire.


These were so insanely easy to make, and honestly, the tofu wasn't that bad. I'm still not convinced tofu and I will ever move beyond acquaintances, but this was a good first step. I was able to find an online version of the recipe!

Ingredients:

Tofu

• 1 (14 ounce) package extra firm tofu, 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce

Sauce

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or 1/2 tsp if you want more spice)
• 3 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard

To serve

• 12 lettuce leaves (iceberg makes a nice pocket for the filling)

Directions:

1
Tofu: Heat a cast iron or heavy bottomed nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with a little non stick cooking spray and add the tofu. "Dry fry" for about 10 minutes carefully flipping about halfway through. Add the soy sauce and toss to coat.

2
Sauce: Heat another pan over medium heat. Add the sesame oil and saute the red bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes for about 10 minutes.

3
Once the veggies are soft and browned add the mirin and let cook for 3 minutes.

4
Add the hoison & mustard and cook for another minute.

5
Assemble: Add the tofu to the sauce and toss to coat. Spoon mixture into lettuce leaves and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Baked Falafel

So, this baked falafel from Appetite for Reduction was supposed to make lettuce wraps, but the wrapping part was kind of a failure. I think the lettuce leaves were too small, but the romaine looked gross when I went to the store. Oh well, the end result was still delectable.

These came together really quickly; I think the total active time was 15 minutes. When they were fresh out of the oven, they were so perfectly moist and delicious. When I used them today, they were a little dry, so I've made a note to use less flour next time to hopefully rectify this situation.

You can eat these in pita, by themselves, with dips, whatever. I opted for the lettuce wraps as I'm trying to up my raw veggie intake. I spread a little hummus on the leaves (which was kind of chickpea overload but I also discovered that yellow mustard paired with these suits my palate just fine) and chopped red onion. The taste/texture was satisfying and filling and not too heavy, unlike fried falafel. Be warned, however, that because these are on the tiny side, you'll be tempted to pop them like candy. I'm already wishing I had made a double batch...

Hottie Black-Eyed Peas & Greens with Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Apples

Source: Appetite for Reduction

Isa Chandra Moskowitz has penned some of my favorite cookbooks; in a word, she's fabulous. As a post-Christmas gift to myself, I bought her most recent book. I've made two recipes from it thus far, and already I'm in love. I'm trying to eat as balanced a diet as possible, and each of these recipes details all the nutritional information! Even better, a single serving of every recipe is under 400 calories. Another bonus? A lot of the foods can easily be made gluten-free with some simple substitutions!

Prior to this recipe, I'd had black-eyed peas only a few times and had never had collard greens. I was excited to try something totally new, and I was pleasantly surprised. The flavor of the black-eyed peas & greens was a new experience for me, one I really enjoyed. I think it was the hot sauce that won me over - I love hot and spicy! And we all know I'd never say no to a sweet potato. It's safe to say my first adventure with this book was a success.