Flat Stanley Guest Blogger! Panko Tofu

Flat Stanley is visiting us from an elementary school in Maryland and has requested to be a guest blogger - Take it away, Stanley:


Stanley:  There were chopping noises and yummy smells coming from the kitchen so I silently crept in. Paper does not make very much noise.  My vacation hostess was holding a big knife and slicing and dicing all sorts of colorful things.

Turns out it was red and orange bell pepper (not the hot kind), cabbage, green onions, garlic and ginger.   She already had cut the tofu into cubes, covered them with Panko and fried them in a pan.  Panko is not some kind of pokemon character, it is just big bread crumbs. The cooked Panko tofu is in the lower right hand corner of the picture above.


Then suddenly, she took the cutting board where all the colorful items were and just swept them right into the hot pan.  Don't worry I stood way back.  She put the cooked tofu in the pan also and stirred it all around. Wammo, it was done.  Here I am taking a little taste - Yum! Just like the name of this blog - Bites of Yum.  

Blogging is fun.  I could talk all day.  There was this big truck you see...


See you next time when I will Panko chicken, then cheese, then broccoli. Who knows what I will Panko next?


Flat Stanley

Delicious Brussel Sprouts - I will convert you!

Add Bacon.  Nuff said.


Recipe:
1 bag of Brussel sprouts
3-4 pieces of good bacon (make it nice and crispy)
1/4 c. chicken broth (optional)
1 T butter
salt and pepper
1/2 t of thyme or rosemary


1. Put on a rather large pot of water to boil.  Meanwhile, wash the Brussel sprouts and trim the ends, then cut in half letting the outside leaves fall if they may. When the water boils put the brussel sprouts in for about 2 minutes.  
2. After you manage not to burn yourself on the boiling water and have drained the sprouts, add them to 1 T of butter (might need more if you have a lot) in a saute pan.  Add salt and pepper and either rosemary or thyme (fresh is great but dried is fine).  Saute the sprouts until you get them a little brown, maybe 5 minutes.  Have on hand either chicken broth or some water to just steam them a bit at the end (sometimes I skip the initial boil and just cook them at this stage).  Cover the pan and cook them until they are tender (not mushy).
3.Crumble bacon on top and mix.  If you are really trying to get people to eat them add a bit more butter at this point.


Really, they are good and good for ya.  

Sushi Love - Without seaweed.....

It has been a while since I reviewed a restaurant in Durham.  Last week I ended up at Sushi Love in Durham 2812 Erwin Road near Nosh.  I mostly eat cooked sushi or rolls unless I am in San Francisco but it is a nice change of pace here in Durham.  The interesting item of note was that someone in our party did not like seaweed so they asked for rice paper instead.  It turned out that they had soy paper.  Also, when there are Du*e students you hear a lot of banging on the table from the saki bombs.  So gather your friends who had seaweed and enjoy buy one get one free!

Curried Tofu (with fresh pineapple)

Curried Tofu (with fresh pineapple)

2  teaspoons  vegetable oil

1  (15-ounce) extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1 can coconut milk

2 teaspoon  curry powder

1  cup  precut matchstick-cut carrots

1/4  teaspoon  crushed red pepper

1-2 cups fresh pineapple

1 sliced red bell pepper

1/2  cup  chopped fresh basil

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu, and sprinkle with salt (pretty sure I forgot that but still it was great). Cook 8 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. (Cooking tofu is not my favorite but if I let it sit with a pan on top of it to get the liquid out for a while it helps.) Remove from pan.

Add coconut milk and curry powder to pan, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add carrots, crushed red pepper, pineapple, and bell pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in tofu. Sprinkle with basil.

Falafel with lots of goodies

I went to Durham's Farmer's Market this morning and got some strawberries and some lettuce.  Suddenly I was craving this great falafel sandwich that we used to get at the Baltimore Farmer's Market (Waverly Farmer's Market).  So I went about trying to recreate it, mostly successfully.  Here is what I did:
Falafel - used that Fantastic Mix and fried them up in patties (not ideal but works in a pinch)
Sauce 
        1 c. plain yogurt
        1/2 cucumber diced small
        1 T lemon juice
        1 T tahini
(you could add some more to it but I wanted to keep it simple.  Tahini is not mandatory if you don't have it.)
Goodies
       Sliced strawberries (so good)
       Bibb lettuce (I can just eat it up plain)
       Frisee lettuce (fancy, tastes good and I love it)
       Matchbook carrots
       Thin sliced mushrooms
       Green onion sliced in sticks


Bread - I just got some whole wheat flat bread, but in the end we were just loading the leftover goodies into the bibb lettuce to finish them off.
A big bite for sure.
Chow.

Vegetable Curry

Now I am not an expert on Curry but I did get some great curry powder from Penzey's with some saffron that I just love.  So I used it in this recipe. It is simple but does take a bit of time as you cook things for 15 minutes after adding them.  I adapted it from a recipe that I found in the catalog.  Note that the recipe calls for 3-4 T of curry powder so I usually split with the good stuff and some regular curry powder.  Make sure you have it on hand before you start.


Vegetable Curry

• 5 potatoes ( I used red, precooked) in 8ths
• 1 or two carrots sliced
• Green beans (presteamed)
• red bell pepper (optional to add with onion)
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons curry powder (the above curry powder is great)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 (14 ounce) can whole tomatoes
• 1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Melt the butter in a large, deep saute pan and add the onion. Cook on low heat until the onion is translucent, about 15 minutes. (add optional bell pepper here) Add the curry powder and continue cooking on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring regularly as curry forms a paste. Add the lemon juice and stir.
2. Add the tomatoes, cutting them up once they are in the pan. Add half the juice from the can and save the remainder. Continue cooking the tomatoes and onions another 15 minutes on low heat.
3. Add 1/4 of the coconut milk and stir. Then add the rest of the coconut milk and the remaining tomato juice until you like the consistency of the curry base. Simmer this mixture for another 15 minutes (see how the 15 minutes adds up).
4. Bring the curry base to a boil and add the potatoes, green beans, and carrots ( you can add whatever you have on hand).  Cook for about 8 minutes or until it is all hot and cooked  as you like. Add the salt at this point to your taste (does not have to be kosher). You can serve over noodles or rice but if the potatoes are in there it does not need it unless you are trying to make more (good left over).

Pecan (or walnut) Vegetarian Meatballs

This is a great hearty meal for those with a robust hunger and dinner with a vegetarian.

Meatballs:

4 eggs
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (sharp is good)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon dried basil (some fresh herbs would be good too)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs (I only had unseasoned so had to add extra)
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup apricot preserves
1 cup ketchup (try using some non high fructose corn syrup  )
1/4 cup minced onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 dash hot pepper sauce (I use the wimpy green stuff, but it need it)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, Cheddar cheese, and cottage cheese until well blended. Mix in 1/2 cup onion, pecans, basil, salt and sage. Stir in bread crumbs. Form the mixture into 2 inch balls (some smaller ones would be since if using as an appetizer), and place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, vinegar, apricot preserves, ketchup, 1/4 cup onion, oregano and hot pepper sauce. Pour over meatballs.
4. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until meatballs are firm, and sauce is thick and bubbly.

Asparagus side:

This is a favorite and is simple.  Put the asparagus in the oven (400 degree) for about 8 min with just a bit of salt and pepper.  In the meantime, melt 2 or 3 T butter till it just starts to brown.  Remove pan from stove and stand back a bit while you add 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 1 t of balsamic vinegar (it splashes).  Whisk a bit and pour over asparagus when it comes out of oven.