Today's Lunch: Chili-Lime Rubbed Tofu

This has got to be the ugliest crap I've ever cooked in my life. 

Hey Everyone!

Today's lunch is Chili-Lime Rubber Tofu taken from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. As I'm sure you guys have noticed I'm a huge fan of mexican food and citrus, but I am NOT a fan of tofu. I don't get it. Tons of vegans and vegetarians subsist on tofu alone, it seems, but I cannot muster a taste for it AT ALL. I figure I must be cooking it wrong, so I try to make a tofu dish every once in a while to see if I can figure it out. I chose the following recipe because it has everything I love in live... and tofu.

Chili-Lime Rubbed Tofu

Recipe from Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

• 1 block extra firm tofu cut into 8 pieces width-wise
• 2 tablespoons mild chili powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Zest of 1 lime
• Juice of 2 limes (1/4 of a cup, to be exact)
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce 
• 2 cloves garlic

1.  Preheat oven to 400 F. Poke each slice of tofu with a fork a few times to allow the flavors to seep in.

2.  Mix together the chili powder and salt in a small dish and set aside.

3.  Pour the lime juice, oil and soy sauce into an 8 x 13 inch pan. Use a microplane grater to grate in the garlic and mix in the lime zest. Toss each slice of tofu in the pan to coat.

4.  Rub or sprinkle each slice of the tofu with a big pinch of the chili powder mixture, until well coated. Bake the tofu on one side for 10 minutes, flip it and sprinkle/rub with more of the chilli powder mixture and  bake for another 10 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and serve.

I prepped my tofu by further pressing and freezing it because I like extra-firm, unslimy tofu. I cooked it just as indicated, placed a slice on my oh-so-chic white porcelain and matte grey Noritake dish, and reluctantly took a bite of the concoction. And how did it taste? Absolutely disgusting. I hate you, tofu. Never again.

The Green Lemonade Trials: Day Three

Hey Everyone!

So today's the final day of the Green Lemonade Trials, and Ladies and Gentlemen I feel we may have a winner. This juice omits the spinach featured in our last two recipes, is light on the kale, and is a total dupe for Whole Food's infamous, delicious green lemonade. Without further ado here's the winning recipe!

Green Lemonade

6 leaves of kale

4 celery stalks

1 cucumber

3 small green apples

2 lemons

You know the deal. Wash, peel, juice. Ta dah! I believe I have a new favorite! 

The Green Lemonade Trials- Part Two

Hello Everyone! Welcome to my second part of the Green Lemonade Trials! Today's recipe is as follows:

Green Lemonade
Taken from The Reboot with Joe Cross by Joe Cross

2 apples
4 handfuls of spinach
16 kale leaves
1 cucumber
4 celery sticks
2 lemons

Directions:
Wash everything, peel the lemons, and throw everything in the juicer!

This recipe was hard on my juicer. The kale leaves got jammed and hung up on the small blades of my Breville juicer, which was a real pain. That is due to the type of juicer I have, but that might be an initial deal breaker, because I don't want a juicer breaker.
Now on to the juice:
This is still a very green juice, however I find all the greens to be nicely balanced- if there is too much of spinach, kale, or celery, the vegetable in question's taste overpowers the juice. This juice has a nice tang and is nice and substantial. I prefer this recipe to yesterday's- but we have one more recipe to go before I can weight in for certain! Tomorrow I try my third recipe and weigh in on who is the winner!

Today's Recipe: Tortilla Soup, and Yesterday's Green Lemonade Review

So today I cooked Tortilla Soup from the Appetite for Reduction cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz for dinner and must I say it is DELICIOUS. I love tortilla soup, but I'm picky about it. I don't like it too much on the tomato soup side, so I never order it when I'm at restaurants because I'm just not willing to take that risk. The only thing I would change about this recipe the next time around is I would scale down the spice. This baby has HEAT.








Vegan Tortilla Soup

Recipe courtesy of Appetite for Reduction




Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, sliced thinly

2 jalapenos, seeded and sliced thinly

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped into 1/2 in. pieces

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

24 oz whole tomatoes

24 oz vegetable broth

4 oz baked tortilla chips (~2 cups)

1 tbs ground cumin

1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

juice from 1 lime 

Preheat a 4 quart pot over medium-high heat
Saute the onions, jalapenos and green pepper in the oil until the onions are translucent, about 5 min. use a little nonstick cooking spray or broth, if needed, to keep it from burning
Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and saute for another minute
Break up the tomatoes with your fingers and add them to the pot, including the juice
Fill the tomato can with broth and add it in
Mix in the cumin
Crush 2 oz of the chips into crumbs and add to the pot
Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to simmer, add the beans, corn and cilantro and simmer for 5 min.
Add lime juice, ladle soup into bowls
Crumble remaining chips over the top, garnish with cilantro and serve.


Yield: Serves 4











As for yesterday's green lemonade recipe? At the risk of sounding redundant there was too much green, not enough lemonade. I think the recipe could use more apple and lemon- but I have two more recipes to try out so hopefully I'll find my Holy Grail. Tomorrow I'll have another recipe and a review. Fingers crossed I find what I have been craving!

The Green Lemonade Trials, Part One

My blueberries are blooming, spring has sprung, and for me that brings a shift in diet. Instead of loading up on warm comfort foods I start eating more cool foods such as salads, and start drinking more juices. One of my favorite juices of all time is Green Lemonade. I love the tartness, and it's a great way to sneak those pesky vegetables into your diet. There are tons of green lemonade recipes out there, and this week it is my personal quest to discover the perfect green lemonade. I have a few recipes in mind, and below is the first recipe I am going to attempt. I'll follow up with my review of this recipe tomorrow. 

Green Lemonade
Taken from 101 Juice Recipes by Joe Cross

Ingredients (makes two servings):

-1 green apple
-2 handfuls spinach
-8 leaves kale
-1/2 cucumber
-2 ribs celery
-1 lemon

1) Peel lemon. 
2) Wash all ingredients
3) Add all ingredients through juicer and enjoy!

So easy. Now if only someone would clean up my juicer and my prep mess for me!


Nutrition per serving:
Calories: 74
Fat: 1g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 61mg
Carbohydrates: 17g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 7g
Protein: 3g