medium crazy

One of us recorded a Food Network show that was entirely about strawberries. So we decided to watch it the other night since strawberry picking season is almost upon us and strawberries are so incredibly delicious and antioxidant-ful and awesome. They featured a quote several hundred years old that I loved and which really says it best:

“Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did.”   – Dr. William Butler

verdict = good.

Last night I made tempeh for dinner so I thought I would post a little dinner recap.

If you aren’t familiar with tempeh, you can find it near the tofu in the produce department. Tempeh is made from whole soybeans. It’s a very unprocessed soy food and is awesome if you want to replace meat in a meal once a week or something. It has a denser, meatier texture than tofu and is really versatile…you can sautee it, bake it, grill it, crumble it in sauce, whatever. It has lots of protein, fiber, calcium, potassium, and iron. Read about the health benefits of tempeh here.

Last night I made a very simple tempeh recipe that has a ton of flavor and is really delicious. And it takes about ten minutes of work. I cut my block of tempeh into cubes.

I mixed up an easy Italian marinade–marinade recipe here. Then I threw the tempeh in the marinade in a sealed tupperware and shook it to coat the pieces. I let it marinate for an hour in the fridge.

Incidentally, I also tried out this recipe for “Crash Hot Potatoes,” but I don’t have a masher so I had to improvise. These were actually a big hit with M. Please try to ignore my sad old baking sheets.

Then I just pan-cooked the tempeh cubes for about ten minutes, and that’s it. I think the tempeh tastes best when it’s really cooked and crispy. These are super easy and flavorful and really filling.

(I feel that I should disclose that I cook a meal like this approximately weekly, not nightly.)

A friend suggested a blog post on ways to make tofu. I eat vegetarian most of the time these days and tofu and tempeh have become a significant part of my life. I’m not at all an expert with them, but I’ve cooked with them quite a bit over the last year and a half. Some meals have been successes, some not so much. But I figured why not post some recipes when I make tofu or tempeh if anyone’s interested. If you are already awesome at cooking these things or aren’t into it…read no further.

Probably the biggest issue people have with tofu is that it can be prepared in a way that’s soft and slimy. Personally, I don’t enjoy it this way. I recently ordered szechuan tofu from a Chinese restaurant which came with super soft tofu, and I really didn’t enjoy it. (Then I mistakenly ordered the same exact dish another time and had to not enjoy it again.) Anyway, soft/silken tofu is extremely useful in making things like desserts, but it’s not really my style for dinner. I buy extra firm tofu and freeze it, which is key to giving it a meatier texture.

So, I had a block of extra firm tofu in the freezer which I defrosted today. Once defrosted, you have to drain the water out of it, and then SQUEEZE it to get the rest of the water out, and there is a lot. I use paper towels to absorb as much as I can. The defrosted tofu is basically like a big sponge. What’s so awesome is that once you add any kind of sauce or marinade to it, it absorbs it like a sponge and just becomes this awesome block of flavor and protein and iron and omega-3s.

So–once drained, I sliced my tofu square horizontally in three thin slices and then cut into cubes. It doesn’t look particularly appetizing at this stage. (You can also crumble it up when it’s like this and add it to chili or sauce…it absorbs all the flavor, has a chewy “meaty” texture and adds your protein.)

The marinade I used was 4 Tbsp of soy sauce, 2 Tbsp of sesame oil, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, and 1/4 tsp. chili powder. (You can really use whatever you want in your marinade.)

For greens I used what I had in the house, broccoli and baby bok choy, an adorable vegetable I first had prepared by Casey. Chop off the ends, cut the leaves from the stalks.

When I want something a little heartier (and quicker) than rice I use these awesome Thai style rice noodles from Trader Joe’s. We both really like them. I believe they’re made with white rice flour, so they’re not the healthiest possible grain option. So good though.

I sauteed my tofu for about ten minutes at medium high, flipping every so often, to let the sides get nice and crispy. (If you wanted it really crispy, you could add oil and fry the sides.) I also added a little bit of maple syrup at this point, which I had read in a recipe somewhere and thought I would try.

Sauteeting my greens in some oil and a little soy sauce and water…broccoli and bok choy stems first, then leaves…about 5 minutes total.

After the noodles cook and are drained, I throw them in the wok and toss them with some oil. Stir frying them for a few more minutes dries them out and just makes them awesome. I added a generous amount of turmeric because it’s good for you and gives them a nice color and flavor…I also added some sesame seeds and shredded carrots because why not?

And voila. I got a couple compliments from M. during his eating of the meal, and he ate a lot of it, so I think it was a winner. The only thing I’ll do different next time is go lighter on the soy sauce in the tofu marinade…they were like little soy sauce sponges, so they were a little WHOA, but very tasty. Definitely not boring or bland.

Side note…this Tofettes brand of prepared tofu is SO GOOD.  It’s a teeny bit more processed than just buying a block of tofu, but it’s made with organic soybeans and nothing scary. These have a very meaty texture and are so flavorful…the lemon garlic are especially so good. I use these to make super quick meals sometimes. But I’ve only found them at Market Basket.

Since I’m on the subject of tofu I thought I would add a couple of helpful links from sensible sources to clarify the recent ”Is soy actually bad?” controversy. (I can’t imagine which food industries are hell bent on spreading these rumors.) I personally find it helpful to remember that soy is just an innocent bean…a whole food with a long history of healthful, cancer preventing properties. Like any food, it’s best to eat it unprocessed, and it’s best to be wary of genetically modified plants and hydrogenized oils and weird isolated proteins derived from it.

Womens Health and Soy (click link)

Healthy at 100 article (click link)

Sensible quote from John Robbins:

“In my view, the best way to take advantage of soy’s health benefits is to follow the example of the traditional Asian diets and stick with whole foods…The Okinawa Japanese, the longest living people in the world, average 1-2 servings of soy each day. They have traditionally eaten regular but moderate amounts of whole soyfoods such as tofu, soymilk, and edamame, as well as the fermented versions, tamari, and miso. These are the soyfoods that I prefer to eat — rather than the soy products made with soy protein isolates, soy protein concentrates, hydrolyzed soy protein, partially hydrogenated soy oil, etc. Whole soyfoods are more natural, and are the soyfoods that have nourished entire civilizations for centuries.”

Factual quote from Psychology Today:

The research linking animal fat to heart disease and cancer is far stronger than that connecting soy to any health problems.