September 26, 2007

Blueberry Waffles with Lemon Icing

Well hello there!

I do apologize for my absence, but I have a good excuse. I’ve finished the manuscript for my cookbook! We hope to have the book available for pre-order November 1st, and to start shipping December 1st. Hooray!

This also means I’ll be able to focus on the blog again. To celebrate all this wonderful news, I thought I’d share a recipe that will be in the book. Who doesn’t like blueberry waffles?

These waffles are great, but I especially like making waffles because they freeze so well. Having a waffle just out of the iron is a wonderful experience, but for me, it’s equally as wonderful to be able to go from sleepy pillow-creased face to homemade waffle breakfast in less than five minutes, just by popping some frozen waffles in the toaster.

When I created this recipe I was out of maple syrup, so I concocted a lemon icing to go with the waffles. It’s a super tasty way to enjoy them, but you can never go wrong with maple syrup in my opinion.

Edited to add: These work as pancakes, too! Thanks for reminding me, Esme!

Fresh Blueberry Waffles with Lemon Icing
Makes 10 Waffles

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Tbs Sugar

1 Container Blueberry Soy Yogurt (Scant 2/3 Cup)
1 1/3 Cup Soy Milk
5 Tbs Water
1/3 Cup Oil

1 Cup Fresh Blueberries (*see note about using frozen)
Spray Oil for the waffle iron

*If using frozen blueberries, keep them in the freezer until the last second. Reserve 1-2 Tbs of your dry mixture. When you’re ready to add the blueberries, take them out of the freezer, measure them and mix them with the reserved dry mixture. Then fold them into your mixed batter in NO MORE than three (3!!) folds. This will prevent your batter from turning a gray-purple color.

Preheat your waffle iron.

Mix all the dry ingredients together well with a whisk. In another bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together. Combine wet and dry, then gently fold in berries.

Spray your waffle iron with a little bit of oil and make a test waffle. In my waffle maker, 1/2 cup of batter is perfect for a single waffle, and they cook for 10 minutes. Follow the instructions or your preferred directions for your waffle maker. This recipe makes 10 waffles if each waffle uses 1/2 cup of batter.

Lemon Icing
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Lemon Juice
Zest of 1/2 Lemon
2-4 Tbs Soy Milk

Mix in a blender until smooth. You can do it without a blender if you feel like sifting your powdered sugar to make sure there are no lumps.

July 18, 2007

Tofu Kale Stir-Fry and Green Bean Salad

So how do you feel about freezing tofu?

Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t. Freezing definitely changes the texture of the tofu. It makes it… hole-ier? My totally unscientifically proven theory is that while tofu looks like a homogenous material, it’s not. When it freezes, the water expands in different areas, leaving behind little miniature tofu caves when you thaw it. This makes the tofu rather sponge-like. This can be good or bad, depending.

It certainly makes your tofu easier to press. You can almost wring it out over the sink like a sponge. Squeeze it between your palms and voila, pressed tofu. But it will suck up liquid just as easily as it releases it. If you’re making baked tofu, use a milder marinade than you might normally, and use more of it. It’s going to suck it up like nobody’s business.

Here, I cubed it and stir-fried it. Frozen tofu is an okay candidate for stir-frying, but beware. It’ll soak up oil just like anything else. “Wow, I thought I put oil in the pan.. where’d it go? Better add more!” You’ll find it later. A tofu cube full of hot oil isn’t my idea of fun. I’d recommend using something non-stick here to prevent an unfortunate dining experience.

But it’s okay if it sticks a little. It’s actually preferable. When it sticks, you can scrape off the sticky parts and you get these fun, crispy tofu crumble things in your final dish. The cubes don’t suffer for it, you just get some great added texture.

This recipe isn’t anything earth shattering, but it’s fast, easy, and super adaptable.

Tofu Kale Stir-fry
Serves two

1-2 Tbs Oil
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu, frozen, thawed, pressed, cubed
1 Bunch Kale, deveined and ripped into small pieces
1/2 tsp Chili Flakes
1/4+ tsp Ginger Powder (or a bit of fresh ginger, minced)
2 Tbs Low Sodium Tamari
2 tsp Sugar (for a sweeter version, optional)

Heat the oil on high in a well seasoned wok or large non-stick pan. Add tofu carefully, avoiding hot angry oil splatters. Use a wooden spoon to move the tofu around, until it begins to color.

Add kale, chili flakes, and ginger. Cook well, stirring and scraping bits off the bottom, until tofu is golden and kale is getting brown caramelized spots on it. Add tamari and optional sugar, stir well for a few moments, serve immediately with fresh ground pepper over the top.

What’s that in the background? A little green bean salad from the cookbook. I made the salty version of the stir-fry because the salad was sweet