Pan-fried Sesame Garlic Tofu · Wednesday April 20, 2022 by colin newell
Tofu. You love it or hate it. It’s your kryptonite. Your weekend friend. Your arch nemesis.
At best, I have struck an uneasy allegiance with Tofu – but it might be a case of “getting to know you better…” Give it time.
This inning, for whatever reason, the combination of condiments and grilled additions (asparagus) lead a siren song that had me quickly hooked.
Stuff
- Refrigerated 14 oz Tofu, extra firm
Condiments
- 1 tsp Garlic paste
- 2 tsp Honey
- 1/4 cup Soy sauce, low-sodium
Baking & Spices
- 3 tbsp Cornstarch
Oils & Vinegars
- 1/2 tsp Rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp Sesame oil
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
Liquids
- 1/4 cup Water
Others
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sambal oelek
- There are legion other options for dressings, applications, sprinkles and salves for this dish – I mean really. Hot sauces… just getting started. We noted that perhaps touch more honey might have been in order to sweeten this bad girl. 2 TSP of honey was very light – and just barely achieved a balance with the other savouries. You be the judge. This is your dish,
INSTRUCTIONS
Place two paper towels on a plate then place the entire block of tofu (drained from its packaging liquid) onto the plate.
Place two more paper towels on top of the tofu then put a heavy item on top. Not TOO heavy that it would completely crush the tofu but heavy enough that it can squeeze out liquid.
Tools: I like using a cast iron skillet…. but a good non-stick is fine.
The Tofu press: Leave for 30 minutes and halfway through, change out the paper towels.
ALTERNATIVELY and more eco-friendly: place a wire baking rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet. Place tofu on top and then put a heavy object on top and let drain for 30 minutes.
Once the tofu has drained, slice in half then into cubes and place into a large bowl. Sprinkle cornstarch on top and gently toss with your hands to ensure all tofu pieces are covered.
In your large skillet, add sesame oil and vegetable oil then bring up to medium-high heat.
Once oil is heated up, add the tofu to the skillet and let brown on all sides.
In the meantime, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce.
Once the tofu has browned and crisped up on all sides, add the sauce to the skillet and it should start to thicken immediately. Toss the tofu around to coat then remove from heat.
Serve on Jasmine rice – garnish with raw scallions, toasted sesame or pan seared asparagus – the sky is the limit on toppings so sit back and enjoy!
Colin Newell is a Victoria area resident, long time writer on the subject of cafe culture and trends in food. His musing on the subject of good eating have decorated the internet since 1995.
Next level chocolate chip date cookies · Monday April 18, 2022 by colin newell
I love the occasional chocolate chip cookie – and I have dabbled with a variety of recipes and approaches but have never really knocked it out of the park.
After catching a Bon Appetit YouTube video on the subject, I realized that maybe I have found what I was looking for. I was. These cookies use Olive Oil and Tahini and no butter. They are graced with sliced date and flaked sea salt. Honestly, one cookie could feed a sweet tooth for a week.
Let’s get to it.
The Dry Ingredients…
- 280G White flour
- 1 TSP Baking Soda
- 1 TSP Kosher Salt
- 1 TSP Cornstarch
Add ons…
- Dates
- Figs
- Flaked salt – Sel de Mar
Wet stuff…
- 1/2 Cup Olive oil (120G)
- 1/4 Cup Tahini (80G)
- 2 Eggs
- 2 TSP Vanilla
- 3/4 Cup White sugar
- 3/4 Cup Brown sugar
Instructions…
In a medium sized bowl add your flour, baking soda, kosher salt and cornstarch. Lightly whisk until these ingredients get to know each other.
In a bigger bowl, add Olive Oil, Tahini and 2 chilled eggs. Use electric blender and mix on medium-high speed for around 3 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla. Add sugars. Blend for 3 minutes more (give or take) or until the mixture is creamy with no sugary lumps.
Add dry to wet in two steps (add one half of the dry mix to the wet – and mix until 50-70% incorporated…)
Add the rest of the dry and mix until around 70% incorporated. Explanation to follow.
Add 1/2 cup of your preferred chocolate (seriously you can go crazy here with anything; light, dairy milk, dark, unsweetened… sky is the limit…)
Add 1/4 cup thinly sliced (and pitted dates…) or figs.
Mix until all the dry is absorbed and chill in the covered bowl for a minimum of 3 hours – ideally overnight or 12 hours.
Let’s bake…
Cookie sheets should (must) have a layer of parchment paper between the cookie dough and the pans!
I used an ice cream scoop to dose out the dough and this yields jumbo cookies – you have been warned!
You can dress the ready to bake formed dough with flake salt and a slice of date, fig or a lump of chocolate!
Bake for 16 – 18 minutes at 375 degrees (F) or 365 degrees (F) in convection mode.
Pay attention. Cookies are easy to burn.
Transfer to a drying grid as soon as you can handle them – the centre of the cookie may appear a bit “fluid” right out of the oven – but they set when they cool. You can eat them directly out of the oven but be aware of the fact that they are super hot and the chocolate is molten at this point. You have been warned.
Tech notes…
The cornstarch helps keep gluten strands from developing, yielding a chewier cookie.
All olive oils are not equal. I suggest starting with a milder all purpose olive oil.
Chilling overnight is almost a must — for the ingredients to get acquainted and the flavours to develop.
Conclusion…
I have made a lot of cookies over the years. These are the closest to Pure gourmet to my taste buds and give me a great template for experimentation. Do watch the video above. There may be some tips I missed.
Vitamix Vegan Avocado and Cacao Pudding · Monday January 31, 2022 by colin newell
There are few things more fun than the simplicity of a great recipe that whips up quick and satisfies unconditionally.
And for those of you that say, “…hang on! Avocado in a dessert, are you crazy?”
Avocado is a tasty and healthy way to add incredible texture to a pudding or dessert. Trust me.
This dessert comes together quickly with the Vitamix – its texture is Bistro quality and the taste is out of this World!
Let’s go!
Count them – 5 ingredients
2 Avocados, ripe (of course!)
Refrigerated 1/2 cup Almond (or Soy or Oat milk, unsweetened…)
1/2 cup Maple syrup
1/2 cup Cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Garnish – Mint, Chocolate shavings, fresh fruit… Use you imagination.
Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend on high until the ingredients have broken down.
Give the pudding a good stir and continue blending until very smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust according to personal preference.
Garnish with shredded dark chocolate, a sprig of mint or a fresh strawberry.Serves 4 people
Short and sweet – you are welcome!
Colin Newell is a Victoria resident and writer of words, recipes, kitchen inspirations and adult libations. His treatise on the edible and drinkable have populated these parts since the mid-1990’s. Dig in and enjoy.
Gorgonzola and peas in penne pasta - winter home cooking for the holidays · Monday January 3, 2022 by colin newell
We have some fav local eateries in Victoria like Cafe Brio – Il Covo Trattoria and Zambri’s – they are hard to beat for pure romance on date night. We have been doing a date night for 25+ years and put it down to the love for each other, the love of food and wine or the lack of children — I don’t know. It is a recipe that works for us.
And in this classic and massively tasty recipe (tried here for the first time!) we venture into the world of creamy, herbaceous, lightly seasoned and hugely tasty!
Sidebar on Gorgonzola over here – 100% Worth your time.
The basics
Pasta: We used Penne for this recipe, a tubular pasta that the creamy gorgonzola sauce clings to.
Oil and butter: For cooking. You can just use oil, but butter adds a nice richness.
Onion and garlic: For a nice base layer of flavour. Dice finely so that it mixes in well with the sauce.
Gorgonzola: This is a soft and creamy Italian blue cheese. It is milder in flavor than a hard blue cheese.
Whipping Cream: Use a heavy or whipping thick cream for a thick and rich sauce.
Peas: They add a nutty and herbaceous tang to the dish – as well as fresh parsley
Optional: Walnuts: Walnuts add a great flavor and texture to this pasta recipe, as well as some plant based protein.
Exact Ingredients
6 ounces Penne dried pasta
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 small onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 ounces gorgonzola (85g)
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
Optional – 1 cup walnut pieces (125g)
1 cup green peas
Fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions.Cook the peas in the last 2 minutes of the pasta cooking – yes, in the pasts pot! Drain and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, you can start on the blue cheese sauce.
Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet on pot on a medium high heat.
Add in the onion and cook til soft.
Add in the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add in the salt and pepper, pour in the cream and crumble in the gorgonzola.
Simmer at a very low heat, for around 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened.
Add the cooked pasta (and peas) and optional walnuts to the sauce. Toss to combine and coat the pasta.
Serve with a garnish of fresh parsley and serve with some of my legendary focaccia bread
Colin Newell is a Victoria area resident and food writer. His blogs go back to 2007 and as always, this food blog has no click bait, crap, ads or amazon links. We respect our readers so we only offer what you are looking for – recipes and no B.S.
Happy New Year Shakshuka with Feta · Saturday January 1, 2022 by colin newell
Welcome to the New Year everyone – 2021 is behind us and ’22 is ahead.
Our New Year’s brunch tradition is Shakshuka.
Shakshuka is a Middle-Eastern dish that is not only perfect for breakfast and brunch, but also for a quick and delicious dinner.
Best of all, it truly easy to make. Let’s do this…
Ingredients Overview
Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Don’t scrimp on cheap olive oil!
Onion and Red Pepper –
Spices – Roasted cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper.
Tomatoes – Fire roasted, canned and chopped is best.
Eggs – Free range or organic if you have them.
Ingredient specifics
▢14oz / 389g Chopped (Fire roasted) Tomatoes
▢ 2 large Eggs
▢ 2 tbsp Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
▢ 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced or 1 TBSP minced garlic
▢ 1 medium Red Pepper, finely diced (optional)
▢ 1 small White Onion, finely diced
▢ 1 tsp Cumin
▢ 1/2 tsp Salt, or to taste
▢ 1/2 tsp Sugar
▢ 1.5 tsp Smoked Paprika
▢ 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper, or to taste
▢ 1/4 tsp Black Pepper, or to taste
▢ Feta, crumbled to serve
▢ Fresh Parsley or Cilantro/Coriander, finely diced to serve
1.) Fry pepper and onion in olive oil until softened and beginning to brown. About 5 minutes.
2.) Add garlic and fry for a couple of minutes longer.
3.) Stir in spices.
4.) Pour in tomatoes and season (salt, pepper, sugar). Leave to simmer for 5 mins.
5.) Crack in eggs and cook. (see additional tips!)
The skinny of this is: You are cracking eggs into a “sauce” – there are many ways of approaching this, the quick way or the slow way. Many adherents suggest a long slow simmer to thicken the sauce. The problem with that is that you lose moisture and the sauce dries up. I believe in adding the ingredients after simmering the sauce for 5 minutes (medium heat) until it just begins to reduce. Make a divot in the sauce to hold two eggs. Crack in the eggs into the divots, turning the heat to low to simmer for 10 minutes. From there, cover the skillet and poach the eggs for an additional 2 minutes. Ideally, you want soft yolks, so there may be some practice required here.
Note: The feta cheese and parsley is actually sprinkled onto the serving plates — not into the pan!Colin Newell is an ancient 20th Century writer, photographer and electronics expert. He has roamed the streets of Planet Earth looking for genuinely good coffee and food. As always, if any of these recipes don’t seem quite clear, send me a note. Answers guaranteed!
