Red Curry and Ginger Tofu and Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

I have decided that the only way I can really enjoy tofu is when it is deep fried (surprise) or if it is cut into tiny pieces. If it is soft, or too large then it is gross. Thats what she said. Sorry, I had to! 

So since I don't own a deep fryer and don't ever plan on getting one I have to stick to cutting tofu into tiny pieces then dry frying it. Still just as delicious and so much better for you! Mixed with mushrooms this tofu dish is filling, healthy, and exotic. I had 4 in one sitting that is how much I enjoyed them. Next time I think they would go nicely with some sort of sesame vinaigrette sauce or Sirracha sauce. 

Red Curry and Ginger Tofu and Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

1 cup extra firm tofu, cut into 1 cm cubes

1 cup mushrooms, halved and sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 inch piece ginger, minced

1 tablespoon of lime juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon red curry paste

1/2 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks

2 tablespoons fresh basil

1 tablespoon fresh mint

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3-4 large green lettuce leaves

In a medium pan add tofu. Dry fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally until all pieces are golden brown

Remove from pan and set aside. Add oil to pan and add mushrooms, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and curry paste. Cook until mushroom begin to release their juices, then return tofu along with lime juice to pan and stir to combine. Set aside.

Rinse and dry lettuce leaves. Chiffonade basil and mint. To each lettuce leaf add a few tablespoons of carrots, a large spoonful of tofu/mushroom mixture, and top with fresh herbs. 

Crispy Baked Kale Chips

These have been all rage on the the ol' in-tro-net lately. The reviews below are just a few I have seen:

"They taste just like potato chips!" 

"I ate the whole batch."

"No more junk food for me!"

My replies: 

"Not a chance."

"Is the batch size 2 chips?"

"Suuuuuuure."

Anyways, so I thought I would give these a try. I don't really even eat chips, but kale is super healthy for you (in the cabbage family) and who doesn't love a crispy treat? The original recipes that I have read call for oil, and salt and pepper. We can do better than that! With a few tweaks, I will have to say these are pretty scrumptious. Also very hard to make... because the time has to be exactly perfect. Too long and the leaves are burnt. Not long enough and it is just a warm leaf. But give this a try and see how it goes for you!

Crispy Baked Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale

Olive oil

Garlic Salt, Barbeque Seasoning, or spice of choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash and dry kale. Using a knife remove the thick stems, then tear into bite sized pieces.

Add kale to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasoning of choice. I used barbeque spice, but I think curry powder & garlic salt might be great too! Toss to coat, and try to really coat each leaf with oil.

Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minute. Carefully monitor, and when edged of leaves begin to brown remove from oven. 

I was amazed at how crispy these were! Definitly not "just" like potato chips, but still hits the crunchy spot!

Cilantro Lime Hummus

While scouring the grocery store for healthy, clean food yesterday I stumbled upon a neat little snack. They were baked chips, made with chickpea flour, pea flour, and rice flour. Sounded pretty legit so I gave then a try. They tasted like salted cardboard, but could have used more salt. Anyways they were supposed to be roasted red pepper hummus flavor. Random right? So when I got home I thought I will just make some hummus and then have a sweet ass healthy snack that has super hummus power. 

Cut to me making hummus and staring at a jar of tahini that has been in my fridge for a questionable period of time. But the jar was in a foreign sandskrit or some non-sense and i couldn't read it. So my last resort was a taste test...... Let me just be clear here,I think rotten tahini may be my new topper for bad rotten foods you accidentally eat. I couldn't get the taste out of my mouth. It was pretty vile. But the good news is if you don't have tahini on hand, you don't need it for this recipe!!!

Cilantro Lime Hummus

1 cup packed cilantro, stems included

3 garlic cloves

1 lime, juiced

1 teaspoon salt

1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained

1/2 teaspoon chili paste

1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil

Place all ingredients in a small food processor and pulse. You may need to stop and push down mixture from the sides. 

 Slowy pour in olive oil, while pulsing, until desired consistancy is reached. I think I used about 1/4 of a cup. Serve with your favorite chips or veggies!

Oven Roasted Winter Squash Seeds

Here is another quickie for you, and the hippy in us all will love you for it. Talk about wasting nothing!  I usually thrown away the insides of a squash, but after cleaning out about 4 butternut squashes for soup, I began to wonder if I could use those seeds for anything. I think pumpkin and butternut squash are basically identical tasting. Well almost. So I figured you could roast the seeds just like pumpkin seeds! And after google-ing (not a word) to see if they were edible and not some sort of unused secret poison, decided to give it a try. 

I also usually write the recipe before I write the above portion so I had to say that this recipe below made me laugh. For some reason when I was writing the directions I turned into a 3 year old who can't measure stuff? Read ahead and you will see...

Oven Roasted Winter Squash Seeds

Seed from squash

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Favorite Spice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

After you are done cleaning your squash separate your seeds from the slimy guts. <---- Pretty technical terms, hey?

You can rinse the seeds, but I think leaving them as is adds a better flavor. Put seed in a bowl and toss with enough olive oil to coat. Add salt, pepper, and your favorite spice. Use whatever amount seems right to you. I used a few pinches of salt, a pinch of pepper and then sprinkled with garlic salt. <----- Standard measurements too :)

Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. These are great salad or pasta toppers, and are great snacks on their own as well!

Baked Mini Quinoa Bites

This great little appetizer is a great way to empty your fridge. You can personalize this with any spices, herbs, or vegetables you have on hand but this is a great base recipe to start with. And here is an interesting fact for your Saturday.... in 1/2 cup of quinoa there is 30% of your daily value of iron! So anemics and iron-lacking vegetarians rejoice (and make this recipe) !!!

Baked Mini Quinoa Bites

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa - cooked in chicken or vegetable broth

3/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated

7-8 baby carrots or 2 regular carrots

2 cloves garlic

2 green onions

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 cup parsley

2 eggs

1 tablespoon grainy mustard

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 teaspoon red curry powder

1/2 teaspoon pepper

butter or cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

You can either chop by hand or use a food processor. Today I used my mini food processor because I was making something mini. Not really. I used it because the large one is harder to get out :)

Place carrots, bell pepper, garlic cloves, parsley and green onions in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. 

Place into a large bowl and add egg, flour, cooked quinoa, and cheddar cheese. Stir to combine and then add mustard, curry powder, and pepper. Mix well. 

Grease mini muffin tins (or a regular sized muffin tin). Fill all the way to the top and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The top should be just crispy and the cheese melted through. 

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. I mixed low-fat sour cream with my favorite spices!

Mini Caprese Salads

My friend Leslie was daring enough to let me cater her sister-in-law, and her baby shower these past two weeks. It was my first time catering, and while at one point I was almost in tears, everything turned out okay. One of my favorite dishes I made were these cute little mini caprese salads. I know I have already made a caprese variation but I just love this flavor combination! I also have fresh basil growing in my window and that alone makes the flavor so much more spectacular. These come together quick and the wow factor will leave people thinking you slaved for hours. You can serve with plain balsamic vinegar and olive oil, or with a sweet balsamic reduction. Either way, you will love these!!

Mini Caprese Salad with Balsamic Reduction

1 container Bocconcini Mozzarella

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 handful fresh basil

1  cup balsamic vinegar

In a small saucepan add vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. 

While vinegar is reducing assemble your salads. Take a toothpick and skewer one tomato, followed by a basil leaf, and a bocconcini ball. If the cheese is fairly large, cut in half with a knife so everything is bite sized. 

Repeat until everything is used up. At this point (10-15 minutes later) the vinegar should be thick and syrup like. Place all your mini skewers on a serving plate and drizzle with reduction.  

Roasted Beet Hummus

I can hear you now. RELAX WITH THE BEETS. My hands are pink, all my dish rags are pink, if I wasn't such a girl I would be mad. But once you start roasting beets you have to use 'em! Plus how pretty is this bright pink hummus?  The roasted beets give it a nice sweet flavor, which goes great with the garlic and tahini paste. It is such an interesting combination and such a great color, I am sure you wont be able to resist trying it! It is also a great way to use your summer's end beets!

Roasted Beet Hummus

1 large beet, or 2 medium sized beets, roasted

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Lemon juice of 1 1/2 lemons (about 1/8 cup)

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini paste

2 tablespoons parsley

1 teaspoon Siracha hot sauce

Salt, to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

For directions on beet roasting see link: Roasted Beets

Peel roasted beets and cut into chunks. Place in a food processor along with chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini paste, garlic, parsley, hot sauce, and salt. Pulse until mixture begins to combine, then stream in olive oil until smooth. Remove from food processor and serve with your favorite crackers, cut vegetables or spread on a sandwich!

Sweet Chili Glazed Shrimp

Sweet chili sauce may be one of my favorite condiments of all time. I could literally put it on everything. Rice, vegetables, noodles, tofu, seafood......ice cream.  Okay maybe not ice cream, but I love the sweet, spice, salty goodness that is Thai sweet chili sauce. The only problem is the bottled version is more sugar than anything else. This recipe doesn't have quite as much sugar as store bought, and can stay in your fridge for weeks. Give it a try and replace your store bought for good!

Sweet Chili Glazed Shrimp

15-20 Raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves

1 jalapenos, seeds remove 

2 teaspoons red chili flakes

2 tablespoons cup peanuts, chopped

1 green onion, sliced

1/2 cup white sugar or honey

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon corn starch

2 tablespoons water

In a blender or food processor, puree' garlic, jalapenos, sugar, water, vinegar, and salt.

Spiciness is easily adjusted with more chili flakes!

Once mixture is smooth add to a small saucepan and heat over medium- high heat until boiling. Reduce to a simmer and cook until garlic begins to soften, and mixture becomes thicker. About 2-3 minutes

In a small bowl combine cornstarch and water. Whisk into saucepan and heat through. This will really thicken up the sauce. Set aside.

In a large pan heat oil over medium heat. Add shrimp and cook for 2/3 minutes per side, until shrimp is pink and curled up.

Pour chili sauce over shrimp tossing to coat. Serve over jasmine rice, and garnish with chopped peanuts and green onions.

Fresh Herb Spring Rolls

My friend Jadene and I had a little fresh spring roll making fest the other week, and ever since then all I want is more spring rolls!! I love making these with fresh herbs and veggies, and they are completely gluten free. They are also vegetarian! I made this with a yummy sweet chili sauce, but I think that it could use a little tweaking, so I will save it until later. You can put whatever you like in these, but this is just a guideline with a few of the basics in it! 

Fresh Herb Spring Rolls

12 rice paper wraps

1 cup cooked rice vermicelli noodles

2 eggs

1 mini cucumber

2 green onions

1/2 cup carrots

1/2 red bell pepper

Fresh mint, basil, & cilantro leaves

Makes 12 rolls

Slice cucumbers, carrots, bell pepper, and green onions into thin matchsticks. 

Pick mint, basil, and cilantro leaves from stems and set aside. 

Heat a small pan over medium high heat. Scramble eggs and add to greased pan. Cook until set, careful to keep in 1 piece. Remove onto a cutting board, and slice into pieces a similar length of other vegetables. 

To roll spring rolls:

1.) Soak a rice wrapper in warm water for 20-30 seconds until soft. 

2.) Lay on a flat surface or cutting board.

3.) Add 2 to 3 strips or cucumber, red pepper, carrots, and green onion. 

4.) Next add a small amount of rice noodles and 1 strip of scrambled egg. 

5.) Begin to roll, pulling tight as you roll. 

6.) Halfway through, add your choice of fresh herbs. 

7.) Fold sides over on top of herbs and continue to roll tightly until completely rolled up! 

While you finish rolls, keep finished spring rolls under a damp paper towel to keep moist. 

Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps

Today was a good day. I discovered a recipe that allows me to make my very own Raincoast Crisps. If you have never tried a Raincoast Crisp....don't. I am only trying to protect you...or your wallet. For $7 a box, these crackers cost a pretty penny. But they are so good, and the flavor combinations are genius. So when I found a recipe on how to make my own, I just about died. I obviously tweaked it, because that is what I do. That and no one sells buttermilk :) Try these, then send me the money you saved!!!

Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup honey

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/8 cup sesame seeds

1/8 cup ground flax seed

3/4 tablespoon dried rosemary

First thing is first. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Add vinegar and milk to a small bowl and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Now you have buttermilk :)

In a large mixing bowl add flour, salt and baking soda. Stir to combine. 

Add brown sugar, honey, and milk. Stirring only enough to moisten flour. 

Add raisins, rosemary, chopped pecans, sesame seeds,  and flax seed. Stir until just combined, careful not to over mix. 

Pour batter into greased 8 inch x 4 inch pan.  Hopefully your pan has seen better days then mine!!

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden brown and springy to touch. 

Remove from pan and allow to cool. Next you have to slice, and the colder the bread the better. I popped mine into the freezer for about 1/2 hour until slightly frozen. 

Using a sharp knife, cut bread into slices as thin as you can.

Reduce oven to 300 degrees. Place slices on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, flip over and bake for 10 more minutes, until deep golden brown. 

Now instead of a cracker costing you $0.25 each, they only cost you about $0.05 each! Eat as many as you want without the guilt of a dwindling wallet :)

Roasted Spiced Chickpeas

Few foods are as good hot and they are cold. Pizza, cheese, chocolate, and cookies. That is about all on my list. But this is my newest addition. These are great hot out of the oven, or the next day on top of your salad.  These little nuggets are packed with flavor, crispy, and healthy to boot! With a few simple ingredients, and only a few minutes in the oven, this snack is one you don't have to feel guilty about!

Roasted Spiced Chickpeas

1 can chickpeas

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon yellow curry powder

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Rinse and drain chickpeas. Pat dry to remove excess moisture.

Add to a medium mixing bowl along with curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili flakes, salt and pepper. 

Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into bowl and toss or stir to combine. Be sure every chickpea is coated with spices. 

On a large baking sheet spread chickpeas out into one layer. Place in the oven to roast for 15-20 minutes.  After 10 minutes remove from oven and shake or stir to prevent sticking and burning. 

Remove from oven once chickpeas are brown and crispy! Enjoy as a snack, appetizer, or on top of salad!

Leek & Cornbread Stuffing Mushroom Caps

These little gems are one of my favorite appetizers. Whether stuffed with cheese, crab, or stuffing, mushroom caps are always delicious. This vegetarian recipe is a great way to get rid of leftover stuffing, which you may have soon thanks to Easter dinner! If you have ever seen Semi-Home Made with Sandra Lee on the Food Network, this recipe reminds me of something she might make. With store bought stuffing, and a ton of fresh ingredients, this is a time saver that might make you look like a 5-star chef at your next dinner party. 

Leek and Cornbread Stuffing Mushroom Caps

10-12 large mushrooms

1 leek

1 clove garlic

1 cup prepared stuffing

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon butter

Salt & Pepper

Cut the end and top off of your leek. Rinse and cut into 1/4's lengthwise. Then cut into small pieces.  Peel and mince clove of garlic. In a small pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add leeks and garlic to hot oil and cook until soft.

Take your mushrooms and begin to hollow out. I broke of the stem, then used a knife to carve out the rest. But you can use whatever method you like best, just be sure to make enough room for plenty of stuffing. You can discard the stems, or chop some up and add to the cooking leeks and garlic. That is what I did! 

In a small bowl melt your tablespoon of butter in the microwave. Place your mushroom caps on a baking sheet stem side down, and brush with melted butter. Be sure to cover as much mushroom as possible with the butter. Dry mushroom=wrinkly mushroom :) Place mushrooms 2-4 inches under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Then remove to stuff. 

Take your cooked leeks, garlic, and mushroom stems and mix into prepared stuffing mix. Flip cooked mushrooms over and spoon about 1 tablespoon into each cap.

Once all caps have been stuffed, return to broiler for about 2 more minutes or until cornbread stuffing is nice and toasted. Remove from oven.

Grate around 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and top each mushroom cap with a few pieces. Place under the broiler for the last time, about 1 minute, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Then watch them disappear :)