Tofu Two Ways

Since we had been traveling last week, the fridge was pretty empty yesterday. I defrosted some peaches and roasted beets for Eliana to have some fruit and veggies and we shared some oatmeal for breakfast. But, she needed some protein for her lunch. The fridge was so bare we didn’t even have eggs. But, we did have a container of tofu. Hmm. My friend Katy, mom to 11-month-old Joe, gives him tofu right out of the container. I can do that. But, I also saw a recipe Giadia de Laurentiis did recently on the Cooking Channel where she grilled tofu. I’d never tried that before. For being mostly vegetarian for around 20 years (I eat fish, too) I’m pretty boring when it comes to cooking tofu. It kind of scares me. So, I usually just bake it to go with stir frys. But, my Little Love needed protein and I had no time for that lengthy process. So, I got over it and got cooking! I felt very chef-like when the idea to prepare it two ways hit me. Hey, they do it in restaurants with meats and fish so why couldn’t I do it too?

Here’s the recipe below:

Tofu Two Ways

-¼ block of tofu- cut into two halves

-½ lemon

-Olive oil, garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste
**Taste the tofu first. Some tofu blocks are totally plain and in desperate need of salt. Some are already a bit salted and don't need any extra.**

First Preparation: Cut one tofu piece into small cubes. Sprinkle with a touch of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Toss and set aside.

Second Preparation: Place tofu piece inside paper towels and press down to drain excess water. Squeeze lemon juice into a small bowl, add salt, pepper, garlic powder and olive oil. Wisk. Pour into a small re-sealable sandwich bag and add tofu piece. Seal bag and swish around so it is covered with marinade. Let sit around 10 minutes. Flip and let marinate on the other side for 10 more minutes. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Spray with a touch of cooking spray. Cook tofu for 3-4 minutes per side. Let cool slightly. Cut into small chunks and serve.

Fancy presentation for my double preparation.

"Clap clap" for tofu! (Clapping is her newest "trick.")

Happy Cooking!

Baby Food Recipes 3/31/12

Here are the recipes for some of the new foods Eliana has been eating lately. I’m still mashing food (as opposed to pureeing it) by putting it in the food processor, so there are still small chunks for her to pick up.

Roasted Beet Sticks

- Medium beets with skin on

Cover beets individually with tin foil. Place in roasting pan and roast at 400 for around 30 minutes depending on their size. Let beets cool before touching them. Unwrap them and peel. The peel will come off easily in your hands. Then cut into 1/2 inch thick sticks. Can serve either warm or cold to baby. 

What is this tasty thing?

Vampire Baby

Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Spinach

- 1 sweet potato, scrubbed with skin on

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 1/8 teaspoon chopped garlic  

- 1 handful organic baby spinach, washed and patted dry

- ¼ cup part-skim ricotta (room temperature)

- 1/8 cup shredded parmesan (room temperature)

- ¼ tablespoon unsalted butter (room temperature)

Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, cinnamon and olive oil to taste

Bake sweet potato at 375 for an hour or until tender. Let rest until it can be held. Heat olive oil on medium heat and sauté onions with a dash of salt for around 3-4 minutes until they begin to turn yellow. Add garlic, stir and cook another minute. Add spinach, and some of the salt, pepper, and the red pepper flakes. Stir and cook around a minute until spinach is bright green. Set aside. Put ricotta, parmesan, butter and rest of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and cinnamon into a blender. Add onion mixture and puree on high until smooth. Cut open sweet potato and scoop out flesh and put into a small bowl. Add pureed mixture and mix with a large rubber spoon.

Let cool slightly before serving to baby.

She LOVED the sweet potato mixture.  

Broccolette-Ricotta-Cumin Puree 

- 1 cup chopped broccolette

- Around ¼ cup ricotta

- Cumin, salt, pepper, and chopped garlic to taste

- Reserved cooking liquid

Steam garlic and broccolette. Add a bit of cooking liquid, the ricotta, salt, pepper and cumin and puree. Taste and adjust seasonings, liquid and ricotta as desired.

Let cool slightly before serving to baby.
Since Eliana hasn't really been letting me feed her, it is hard to give her something pureed. I've gotten around it by spreading purees on toast or mashing them with brown rice.

Very tasty despite how it looks.

Food as a tasty and nutritious finger paint.

Baked Tofu with Asian Marinade

- 1 container extra firm tofu, drained and pressed

The following ingredients to taste:

- Grated fresh ginger

- Low sodium soy sauce or Tamari

- Toasted sesame oil

- Safflower oil

- Chinese 5 spice

- Dijon mustard

- Orange juice

- Shaoxing Hua Diao cooking wine or Rice wine (the alcohol will cook off in the oven but it can be omitted or replaced with white grape juice)

Press the tofu to drain out the excess water. Begin by cutting it down the middle lengthwise. Then place the two halves side by side on top of a plate lined with paper towels. Cover the tofu with more paper towels and another plate. Then put heavy books on top of the plate to press out the excess water in the tofu. I like to leave it for up to 3 hours but no less than 40 minutes. In a medium bowl, add the rest of the ingredients whisking and tasting often to adjust flavors to your liking. After the tofu is pressed, cut into ½ inch strips. Place in a large zip top bag with the marinade and shake the bag so the marinade covers the tofu. Marinate the tofu in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Shake off marinade and place tofu strips on the baking sheet. Keep the marinade to spoon over the tofu after it is cooked. Bake tofu for 20 minutes, turning once. Heat the marinade in a small saucepan on medium heat for around 5 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving to baby. 

Happy Cooking!