1/28/11
Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps
People are always raving about the Lettuce Wraps at PF Changs. I did try their vegetarian version a number of years ago, and although I liked the idea of it, I found them kind of salty and greasy.
I hadn’t really thought much about it until I ran across a recipe that sounded as if it would be tasty. I can’t tell you where I got this. I found it last year in a magazine at the local library. I am one of those obsessive types that collects recipes from everywhere and can’t always remember the original author or sometimes where I put them!
My sister came over for dinner last night and since she is the perfect guinea pig, I decided to try the recipe on her (and also on me..the other perfect guinea pig!).
We loved them and the best thing about them was they were easy to make. The wraps were fresh, light and flavorful. For a couple of small women like us, it was a great meal. More hearty eaters might want to add more to the dinner menu than just the wraps.
I did change a few things and would change another if I was to make them again. The recipe called for ¼ cup of crushed red pepper flakes in the sauce. I am sure I wrote that down wrong. It sounded like too much. I added about a teaspoon. Instead of jicama, I used water chestnuts. I couldn’t find jicama at the store and water chestnuts sounded more authentic anyway. I also put a few drops of sesame oil in the wok along with the canola oil. I like the flavor.
The lettuce used was romaine, but romaine isn’t very flexible. I would use a butter lettuce next time. The recipe was not enough for 12 lettuce leaves. It really just served 2 people with 2 Romaine leaves each. Double the recipe for 4 people if it is for dinner rather than an appetizer.
I followed the rest of the recipe with success.
How I made them:
I put together the ingredients for the wrap and stuck it in the fridge while making the sauce and the brown rice. While the rice was cooking, I threw the sauce ingredients into the blender, blended them then put it in a bowl. While the rice was cooking, I cleaned up the kitchen.
When it was time to eat, I pulled out the mix, stir fried it, added the sauce and that was it. When all was done, there was very little clean up, which to me is a big plus.
Ok, for you non-tofu lovers, feel free to substitute something else. I think some chopped up cooked shrimp would be a good substitute but you decide on that.
You can serve these with hot Green tea or you might try a Zentini or Saketini
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cocktails/zen-green-tea-liqueur.asp
(by the way The Nibble is a great newsletter too)
Tofu Lettuce Wraps- Serves two dinner size portions
Sauce:
¼ cup tamari sauce (low sodium if you prefer)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbl minced shallot
1 tbl packed light brown sugar
1 tbl plus 1 tsp rice vinegar
¼ cup plus 2 tbl water
1 tbl plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¾ tsp peeled and minced fresh ginger (a fine microplane works great for grating both the ginger and the garlic)
Put all of the sauce ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
Wrap ingredients:
½ cup diced carrots
½ cup sugar snap peas diced
½ cup diced jicama (or substitute water chestnuts diced)
½ cup pineapple diced
¾ lb extra firm tofu, diced
A drop or two of sesame oil (optional)
Canola oil spray for stir frying
½ cup unsalted peanuts (I used salted because I had them on hand)
12 romaine lettuce leaves (or substitute boston lettuce) See note on this. I only used 4 leaves
1 1/3 cup cooked brown rice
Toss together the carrots thru the pineapple in a large bowl. Mix in the tofu.
Heat a wok sprayed with canola oil on high heat (I added a drop of sesame oil for added flavor)
Add tofu mixture and stir fry briefly (30 sec to a minute). Stir in enough sauce to moisten well and cook another minute or until the sauce is just thickened.
Serve with the lettuce to wrap, the peanuts, rice and whatever leftover sauce there is.
Fill lettuce leaf with some of the mix, put some rice on top, then some peanuts. If you want, a little extra sauce is good too. Wrap and eat. Messy but fun and tasty too!
Fresh orange slices would be a great dessert.
I hope you enjoy these and would love to hear about it.
1/19/11
Food Safety
I get the Men's Health newsletters and enjoy reading them. Today they sent me a link to an article about the "10 Dirtiest Foods You are Eating". You really should read it. Some of the foods that can make you sick might surprise you!
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/foodborne_illness/
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/foodborne_illness/
Review: The George Foreman Indoor Grill
I spent the past week at my mother's house while she visited my sister in San Diego. I looked forward to cooking in a big, expansive kitchen and using my Coleman gas grill which I keep at her house.
I have considered buying a small indoor grill since my apartment does not allow my gas grill. I so miss outdoor grilling. Excited about the prospect of using "my" grill, I thought I would cook some kabobs for my sister and I on my last night at the house. Of course, as things go, it decided to pour rain that night. It was beautiful weather the whole week prior! I guess planning a grill night is like getting your car washed. That is the time the sky opens up and let's you know who "really" is in charge!
My mother has a George Foreman indoor grill and I have always wanted to see how well it worked for vegetables and fish. This was my chance.
I cut up some green pepper, yellow squash, mushrooms and onion then marinated them in an Italian Vinagrette (I chose whatever my mom had in her fridge!). I also took some already cooked and cleaned shrimp that she had in her freezer and defrosted them in water, then marinated them in a combination of Sonny's Barbecue Sauce mixed with a Mango Sauce she had on hand (obviously my mother has a well stocked fridge!).
So here is what happened.... I put the vegetables on the grill first. I don't think I preheated it enough and the first thing I noticed was, I had forgotten to put down the drip pan. Between the the water in the vegetables and the vinagrette, I had to rush to contain the drippings! Not only that but the vegetables were sliding down the grill.
Once I was able to slow down the sliding vegies and close the grill, all seemed in order. You know the saying, "a watched pot never boils" ? Well checking the vegies constantly does not help the grilling process. Not only that, but with the lack of preheating, they seemed to be stewing not grilling.
Having a degree of ingenuity, I came up with a not so healthy but equally tasty solution, garlic butter. Yes, my mother also had a tub of Land o Lakes Garlic butter in her fridge (she's such a thoughful mother!). I melted a bit of it and brushed a little on the vegies. Voila' my vegies quit stewing and started browning, leaving some very attractive grill marks.
I did try putting some vegies on a skewer but that didn't fare too well. The grill didn't close down enough to create enough heat. So, when the (loose) vegies were done, I simple replaced the grill pan with a plate and slid them onto it.
I did skewer the marinated shrimp. With them all arranged in the same direction, they were flat enough for the grill. I added a little...yup..here it is again...garlic butter to the marinade, (Paula Deen would be proud of me) brushed a little on each shrimp and grilled them to perfection.
In the meantime, I cooked the only rice my mother had available (you didn't think I was actually going to the store for anything did you?), long grain "white" (blasphemy) rice.
Dinner was delicious! Once I get the hang of it, I think old Georgie will be a great addition to my pescatarian lifestyle. A little butter won't kill me. Will it?
I have considered buying a small indoor grill since my apartment does not allow my gas grill. I so miss outdoor grilling. Excited about the prospect of using "my" grill, I thought I would cook some kabobs for my sister and I on my last night at the house. Of course, as things go, it decided to pour rain that night. It was beautiful weather the whole week prior! I guess planning a grill night is like getting your car washed. That is the time the sky opens up and let's you know who "really" is in charge!
My mother has a George Foreman indoor grill and I have always wanted to see how well it worked for vegetables and fish. This was my chance.
I cut up some green pepper, yellow squash, mushrooms and onion then marinated them in an Italian Vinagrette (I chose whatever my mom had in her fridge!). I also took some already cooked and cleaned shrimp that she had in her freezer and defrosted them in water, then marinated them in a combination of Sonny's Barbecue Sauce mixed with a Mango Sauce she had on hand (obviously my mother has a well stocked fridge!).
So here is what happened.... I put the vegetables on the grill first. I don't think I preheated it enough and the first thing I noticed was, I had forgotten to put down the drip pan. Between the the water in the vegetables and the vinagrette, I had to rush to contain the drippings! Not only that but the vegetables were sliding down the grill.
Once I was able to slow down the sliding vegies and close the grill, all seemed in order. You know the saying, "a watched pot never boils" ? Well checking the vegies constantly does not help the grilling process. Not only that, but with the lack of preheating, they seemed to be stewing not grilling.
Having a degree of ingenuity, I came up with a not so healthy but equally tasty solution, garlic butter. Yes, my mother also had a tub of Land o Lakes Garlic butter in her fridge (she's such a thoughful mother!). I melted a bit of it and brushed a little on the vegies. Voila' my vegies quit stewing and started browning, leaving some very attractive grill marks.
I did try putting some vegies on a skewer but that didn't fare too well. The grill didn't close down enough to create enough heat. So, when the (loose) vegies were done, I simple replaced the grill pan with a plate and slid them onto it.
I did skewer the marinated shrimp. With them all arranged in the same direction, they were flat enough for the grill. I added a little...yup..here it is again...garlic butter to the marinade, (Paula Deen would be proud of me) brushed a little on each shrimp and grilled them to perfection.
In the meantime, I cooked the only rice my mother had available (you didn't think I was actually going to the store for anything did you?), long grain "white" (blasphemy) rice.
Dinner was delicious! Once I get the hang of it, I think old Georgie will be a great addition to my pescatarian lifestyle. A little butter won't kill me. Will it?
1/10/11
12/27/10
12/21/10
Tree trimming 2010
Tree trimming 2010
Since I was away the first week in December and had the flu upon my return, I didn’t plan a tree trimming party this year. So, it was a quiet year as parties go.
It occurred to me that I am clueless as to how to decorate my tree, much less put an artificial tree together. Since I have a party every year, other people have handled the details. My job has always been the food and drink.
I still trimmed my tree this year and I still had guests, but only those close to me, my mother, my sister and Steve. I had invited a couple other close friends but both were under the weather. I was very happy Steve came over because my mother’s interest was watching the football game. My sister thought that was a grand idea too.
Steve and I trimmed the tree, he being in charge of the lights and both of us sharing ornament placement. I must admit I was impressed with Steve’s prowess at putting on the lights, especially since we were a bit short on lights. We also did a darn good job at trimming the tree all by ourselves. Designers watch out!
I normally make “from scratch” food for my parties. This time, with little advance notice, I took some shortcuts and made some “from scratch” food too. I made chocolate cookies from a mix, and the same was true for the lemon bars.
I am here to say, it’s just not the same. For most people the sweets would be acceptable but for a foodie that loves to cook from scratch, the mixes really fall short. The cookies were good but not great. The lemon bars didn’t even taste like lemon, they were just sweet. I had to squeeze fresh lemon juice over them to get even a little discernable taste of lemon.
I also made rosemary walnuts. Those were from scratch and although they are very salty, I really love them. Normally I use rosemary from my garden. This year, no fresh rosemary so I used the dried version. Fresh is much better.
Rosemary Walnuts
2 cups shelled whole walnuts
2 ½ tablespoons butter, melted
2 tsp crumbled dried rosemary (use more if using fresh)
1 ½ tsp salt ( I use less)
½ tsp cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place walnuts in a single layer in a shallow pan. Mix together the remaining ingredients and pour over walnuts. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, until browned, shaking occasionally. Yield 6 servings
From The Pink Adobe cookbook by Rosalea Murphy
One thing I did enjoy without disappointment was the dinner I made, Santa Fe Pasta Sauce. You will find it in a previous blog called Southwestern Pasta sauce. It came from a Cooking Light recipe. Several years ago it was among the top rated Cooking Light recipes. It is healthy, filling and tasty.
I normally make changes to the recipes I use. The changes I made to this one are minor. Because I was serving it buffet style, I chose not to use fettuccini. I wanted a pasta easier to handle. I used a mixed grain, higher fiber curly macaroni.
I was unable to find fresh jalapenos after visiting several stores and sliced pickled peppers just doesn’t work for a former Texan. I guess this isn’t Texas, but Brazilians have their own hot peppers. I chose some red Brazilian peppers without knowing if they were sweet or hot. Just so you don’t have the same surprise, they are HOT! They are really good though. I think I like them better than jalapenos (but don’t tell my Texas friends)!
I did not make the chicken as I wanted this to be a vegetarian meal. The sauce is better after it sits for a day, so don’t be afraid to make it ahead of time. I hope you try this and enjoy it. For the runners out there, it would be a good healthy carb meal.
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