Sunday, April 19, 2009

tofu fish sticks











I have looked for a vegan recipe this time, these are fish sticks made into fish shapes for fun. I have set them against a bed of salad leaves that reminded me of a coral reef.....hope you like it Morissa.
I got the recipe from here

Tofu Fish Sticks

Everyone's crazy for these cute little fishies! Of course, you can cut them into any shape you prefer, sticks being the easiest and most economical. They stay crispy and crunchy in the lunchbox.

 Kelp granules can be found in shaker containers at health food stores.

serves 4

1 lb. package firm tofu, drained

2/3 cup fine organic cornmeal (or white flour)

2/3 cup sliced almonds

2 tsp. sweet paprika

2 tsp. kelp granules

2 tsp. salt

½ tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. dill weed

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2/3 cup plain, unsweetened soymilk

1 lemon

olive oil

 Preheat the oven to 400ยบ. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat parchment with olive oil. Set aside.

 Combine the cornmeal or flour, sliced almonds, paprika, kelp, salt, onion and garlic powder, dill weed, and black pepper in a blender, and blend on high until most of the almonds have been turned into a coarse meal, with a few larger pieces of almond remaining. Pour the mixture into a wide baking dish or pie plate.

Place the plain soymilk into a bowl and set next to the cornmeal mixture.

 With a sharp knife, cut the tofu into even slices just under ½-inch wide. Cut tofu out into fish sticks, or use a fish-shaped cookie cutter to cut out tofu fish.

 Working with one piece at a time, dip the tofu into the plain soymilk, then toss gently in the cornmeal mixture to coat evenly. Place on the prepared baking sheet. When all the tofu fish are on the baking sheet, sprinkle them with olive oil.

 Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the tofu fish over and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until crispy (if making tater tots, place them on the baking sheet for the last 15 minutes).

 Remove tofu fish onto a plate, and squeeze some fresh lemon juice evenly over the tofu.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Turkish Delight


Not sure where this came from but for some reason Donna's moly just screamed out Turkish Delight to me. I have never had it and my only experience with it come from the lion, witch and the wardrobe. Here is a recipe I found via the net.
Turkish Delight is a candy that originated in Turkey in the 1700's. The candy was featured in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", by C.S Lewis. The White Witch tempted a character, Edmund with Turkish Delight. This easy Turkish Delight recipe will tempt you, too!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 4 1/4 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons rosewater
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • Vegetable oil ot shortening

Preparation:

In a 9 inch baking pan, grease the sides and bottom with vegetable oil or shortening. Line with wax paper and grease the wax paper.

In a saucepan, combine lemon juice, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water on medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar dissolves. Allow mixture to boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine cream of tartar, 1 cup corn starch and remaining water in saucepan over medium heat. Stir until all lumps are gone and the mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring when the mixture has a glue like consistency.

Stir in the lemon juice, water and sugar mixture. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, Allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Once the mixture has become a golden color, stir in rosewater. Pour mixture into wax paper lined pan. Spread evenly and allow to cool overnight.

Once it has cooled overnight, sift together confectioners sugar and remaining cornstarch.

Turn over baking pan containing Turkish delight onto clean counter or table and cut with oiled knife into one inch pieces.

Coat with confectioners sugar mixture. Serve or store in airtight container in layers separated with wax or parchment paper.

Mussel and Prawn Pasta





My entry this time is about mussel and prawn pasta, it is done
by filling will color ink pen and watercolor. The background is
using torn glister paper, actually it changes from yellow to blue
from different view-angles but I can't demonstrate here :p
Anyway, it looks interesting to me!!


Okay, let's back to the recipe:

Mussel and Prawn Pasta

Ingredients: (serving size: 4)
-Pappardelle (=French Pasta, 400g)
-Romaine (4 leaves, ripped to bite size)
-Onion, finely diced (3 tablespoons)
-Butter (10g)
-Mussels (6 pieces)
-Prawns (8 pieces with shells)
-Garlic (5 cloves, finely diced)
-Extra Virgin Olive Oil (5 tablespoons)
-White Wine (50ml)

Method:
1. Boil water, add salt and oil, and then cook pasta for 2 minutes.
2. Heat up a pan under medium heat, add butter and onion.
3. Add mussels, prawns and garlic, season with salt and petter.
Add white wine, put lid on and cover to cook under medium high
heat. Leave it cook for around 5-7 minutes till mussels open and
prawns turn red.
4. In a large mixing bowl, put cooked pasta, olive oil, salt and
pepper and mix well. Layer of romaine on top, pour in the cooked
mussels and prawns. Mix well and serve.

Enjoy~

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Apple Mini Muffins










Apple mini-muffins. Very easy and pop-em-in-your-mouth good fresh out of the oven.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Sift together:

1 1/2 C. sifted flour
1/2 C. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon


Then add and beat well with the dry ingredients:

1 egg, well beaten
1/2 C. milk
1/2 C. butter, melted
1 C. grated apple (cheese grater works really well)

Fill greased mini-muffin pans.

Mix together and sprinkle tops with:

1/3 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. chopped nuts
1 tsp. cinnamon

Bake for 12 - 20 minutes depending on your oven and size of the muffins.