Experimentation Sunday: Freezing Tofu

Okay, this is why I love the Internet. You can find anything. I've been looking for information on how to cook tofu and came up with nothing on my favorite food websites (Allrecipes and FoodTV). Instead, I find a three-year-old blog post. I've read about freezing tofu but never could really figure out how to do it best. After her tutorial, I've found it to be a piece of cake.


Why freeze tofu? As I've learned first-hand in my attempt at Senegalese Tofu, it doesn't get firm just from cooking it. Freezing firm tofu changes the texture and makes it toothier, chewier, and better at soaking up flavors, a far cry from the squishy cheese texture you find in the tub.

First, you have to drain the tofu. Some people say to press it first, and I guess that would help, but you could also press it after. This is what I've done, and I'm inclined to say it doesn't matter when you do it as long as you do it.

If you want to divide it into serving portions, do so now.

Freeze in a baggy overnight, or as long as you desire. This is the time-consuming part; you have to plan ahead to freeze and thaw the tofu before you use it. I think I'm going to try to keep some on hand now that I know how tasty and easy this is.

Don't worry that the tofu turns yellow in the freezer. It'll change back as it thaws.

I thawed mine by leaving on the counter. You can also leave it in the fridge or place the block in hot water. Reviews are mixed on thawing it in the microwave; I've not tried that (yet). The thawing tofu will be watery if you didn't press it prior to freezing, but you can just pour the water out of the bag or press it between towels after it's thawed.

I'll be sharing the results of our frozen tofu dish shortly. I was very, very pleased.

Thai Coconut Soup

I was looking for a good coconut soup recipe and found this one, but I think it's always hardest the first time you try a recipe. The soup was tasty, but I really wish I'd added more carrots and mushrooms. I also had to double check whether the recipe says to cook this in a large stockpot, because that was just overkill.

I'm always torn about whether I should record my failed dishes, whether I should write about what I eat at restaurants, whether I should write about the things that everyone (probably) knows about. In the end, and maybe there should be some sort of mission statement to come from this, I decide to write about these anyway. This dish is far from a failure; in fact, it was so promising that I'm eager to try it again, with improvements. I may also, though, look for a coconut curry soup recipe. The good news, though, is that it's really easy, and the most challenging part was finding new ingredients. I suspect my supermarket lemongrass was not fresh, but I wasn't sure what to look for. I also have to figure out how to store the leftover ginger.


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1 carrot, sliced thin
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 jalepeno pepper
1-1/2 cups vegetable broth
12 oz coconut milk (my can came in 14 oz, so I just used it all)
5-6 thin slices of fresh ginger
5-6 1-inch slices of lemongrass
Juice of 1 lime
1 package tofu, frozen and thawed, then cubed
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

First, heat the oil in the pot and add the onion, garlic, carrots, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional minute.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except cilantro) and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.

As for the ginger? You can wrap it in a towel and put it in a bag in the fridge, or else freeze it. Refrigerated ginger should keep 3 weeks, according to my search results.

Portobello and Black Bean Enchiladas

I love enchiladas. I love the texture the tortilla takes on when it's baked in sauce. I don't love eating a slab of cheese as my entree.

Doesn't that look good? Sure, it fell apart. Doesn't change the taste!

I found this recipe for enchiladas with vegetarian filling, with the bonus that they'll be just as tasty with no cheese added. I do put a little bit of shredded cheese in each enchilada and sprinkle some on top, but that's it. That's all it needs.

First, you'll want to chop all your veggies.

- 3 large portobellos, sliced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- Green or red bell pepper (I used a mix because I had the peppers already on hand)
- 1 large can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 small can green chiles

Cook the mushrooms for a few minutes in a little bit of oil, then add the remaining veggies and beans. Cook until tender. Add the green chiles last.




The remaining ingredients:
- 1 large can enchilada sauce
- Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
- 6 flour tortillas

The recipe says to use cooking spray on the baking dish, and that would really help. My enchiladas fell apart when I tried to serve them.

Pour some enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish. One at a time, dip both sides of the tortilla in a plate of enchilada sauce, add the veggie filling, cheese if desired, and then roll. I have luck pressing one enchilada against the side of the dish, then stacking the rest. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas.

Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 45 minutes. The foil helps keep in some steam to cook the enchiladas. Remove foil, top with cheese, and let sit in hot oven while cheese melts.

Glossary: Cincinnati Portion of Cheese

I've been toying with the idea of including definitions, mostly just to include any potential readers in terms that have become common between me and my eating partner. I think this is a more likely occurrence than my actually defining food products or cooking terms, and probably more entertaining as well. Although I'd like to tell you precisely what seitan is, you'll easily find a definition if you want one, and I'm no cooking expert to teach actual technique.

So we begin with a term I've already used a couple of times in the blog: the Cincinnati portion of cheese, plus the cheese layer and the cheese inspector.

source

Upon our arrival to the 'Nati, we embarked upon intense restaurant exploration. No, we never ate at Skyline, the chili restaurant whose signature dish is pictured above, but if you'd like to read about what it's like, take this outsider's view. Skyline even had an ad campaign telling people they can get 50% more cheese for free, just for asking for it.

We have run into our share of restaurant dishes that replace meat with cheese, and we've affectionately termed this the Cincinnati portion of cheese. We first encountered what we call the cheese layer at a Mexican restaurant that seemed to have melted an excessive of cheese beneath each of our entrees. Although we do include cheese in the meals we make at home, we don't use nearly that much. We make jokes about what would happen if the cheese inspector came to our house and didn't find enough cheese.

I'm going to round this out with a couple of photos of a recent night out to Covington's Keystone Bar (holla, Pennsylvania!). I'd wanted to go there for macaroni and cheese, and I was experiencing a severe cheese craving. Although my craving could well be satiated at any number of local eatieries, I tried the mac & cheese as well as the spinach and artichoke dip at Keystone. The dip was great; the macaroni was mediocre. There were jalapeno flecks throughout, which did not jive with my tomato and mozzarella topping. I was enthralled by the promise of macaroni and cheese with your choice of toppings, but mine was just weird. Alas, behold the cheese:

Another salad: Napa & Ramen

I've had a few variations of the napa cabbage and ramen noodles salad in my life, most recently as one of the sides at Salt of the Earth. I looked up some recipes online and of course made some adjustments. One that I found had you melt butter and toast the ramen in butter, but there was just too much butter, so here's my version, with a few variations. I took a few notes from this recipe, especially reducing the amount of oil and total amount of dressing. Maybe my head of cabbage was just too small; I didn't need all the dressing I made.


Ingredients:
1 head napa cabbage, shredded
6 green onions, chopped

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 package (3 oz) ramen noodles, broken into pieces
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup slivered almonds or cocktail peanuts

Dressing:
1/4 cup vinegar (I used regular white vinegar; other recipes call for rice or cider)
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Combine the shredded cabbage and the green onions.

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the ramen, sesame seeds, and nuts. Toast lightly until the nuts are fragrant. Cool. In my photo I used the oven as one recipe instructed, but I'd go the skillet route next time. I think that gives the same effect with more control and less energy.

Mix all the dressing ingredients.

Combine the crunchy ingredients with the greens and dressing just prior to serving. I put leftovers in three separate containers in the refrigerator to combine and eat later and it was just perfect. Yum!

Don't vegetarians just eat salad?

Of course! Just as often as the next person. For me, making a salad is a good way to clean out the fridge.

Tonight we ate salads with leftover fresh veggies from the fridge in anticipation of going to The Pub to play trivia, have some beers, and possibly eat some fries. Turns out we got a half order of fried pickles instead, but that's okay.

We've been eating sandwiches recently with the plenitude of fresh veggies available, especially ripe homegrown tomatoes. Throw in some peppers, cucumbers, and sprouts and you're good to go! This is an at-home variety of the Subway sandwich, also known as the road-tripping vegetarian's fallback. It's a tasty sandwich, but certainly a last resort unless you're dying to take your chances on the pre-sliced veggies waiting for you in the salad bar fridge.

Anyway, after a few sandwiches, you'll find yourself with lots of veggies left over. Toss in some beans or croutons (or tortilla chips!) and if you're feeling adventurous, BacO's are vegetarian. Ick.

Yes, iceberg lettuce. Red onions and green bell peppers. Alfafa sprouts and diced cucumbers.


For me: canned black olives, tomatoes, and a sprinkle of cheese.


Beats the wimpy garden salad by a mile!

Oh wait -- that's already vegetarian! Part 2

Yesterday I shared my veggie lasagna, which is a very easy recipe and yet still one I've perfected through trial and error.

Here's another recipe that can be adapted for your personal taste Pot Pie! It's popular at our house. I always imagine Pot Pie! ending with an exclamation.


You'll need: 2 cans condensed soup, like cream of mushroom; fresh veggies: 3-4 small red potatoes, 1 carrot, 1/2 onion, 2-3 stalks celery, 15 mushrooms; frozen veggies: peas, corn, lima beans, green beans - whatever you like and whatever you have. Top with crescent rolls or biscuit dough.

I think the fresh veggies really make this meal for me, but again this is the labor intensive part with the peeling, chopping, dicing, and slicing. I start by peeling and dicing the potatoes, then cooking them in a skillet with a small amount of margarine. I usually cover them and cook them for about 10 minutes to give them a good head start and reduce the oven time. After 10 minutes, I add the chopped onion, carrot, and celery and cook for another 5 minutes. Finally, I add the sliced mushrooms and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

In your casserole dish, empty the soup cans. I used Campbell's low fat cream of mushroom. I add a little salt and pepper, but be careful not to over-salt as the soup is salty already. Add the fresh veggies from the skillet and be sure to include any liquid as well to help thin out the soup. Finally, mix in the frozen veggies and use as little or as much as you like.

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. This is usually enough time if the potatoes are already cooked on the stovetop.

Remove the casserole and turn up the oven to the temperature on your directions for your topper. Normally I use crescent rolls, but this time I used biscuits made from an SM pouch mix. Yummy!!