For the past month, and basically since we opened our restaurant, I have no time to cook at home. I cook and eat only at ImproV. And the two days that we are closed I eat leftovers, salads or I go out for dinner. So there aren’t really many new things to share. But it’s been a very nice experience. And I will blog about it in the next few days. But right now I want to share with you this fabulous recipe for crispy tofu in sweet orange sauce! You might find it funny but I was craving tofu. And as at the restaurant our only option for a tofu dish is scambled tofu, I was dreaming of crispy tender firm tofu in a sweet sauce over a bed of rice <3. And I made this one with the few ingredients I had on hand. Basically in my fridge, which looks kinda empty and lonely since we opened the restaurant :/
tofu in sweet orange sauce
ingredients
1 package firm tofu, pressed and drained, cut in triangles
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp tamari
chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
flour and salt for coating the tofu
2 Tbsp olive oil
In a small plate place a little bit of flour and pinch of salt and toss in the tofu, mixing it around until all sides are coated with the flour/salt mixture. Set aside. Add the olive oil in a cast iron pan and heat over medium high heat. Place tofu in the pan and let it cook until golden. Flip it over and cook the other side until golden as well. Add the sugar, tamari and spices in the orange juice and mix well until the sugar is dissolved. Lower the heat and pour the orange juice mixture over the tofu. Let it cook until the sauce becomes syrupy. Add the parsley, mix and serve with rice. Enjoy!
I am in a smoothie kick this week. My refrigerator is full with fruits that my mom sent me (from her garden). I am not sure how many cherries or watermelons or peaches a person can eat daily, but I am easily getting bored of them. Last year she sent me so many apricots and peaches that I had to make about 40 jars of jam. As we haven’t eaten not even 4 of them till now, this is not something I am willing to do this year. And as one thing that keeps me eating more and more fruits every day is smoothies, frosties, milkshakes etc, I decided to replace 3 of my daily meals with them. This smoothie was sweet and sour. You can add one tablespoon of maple syrup if you prefer your smoothies sweet. My recipe serves 2, so adjust the ingredients accordingly.
bloody red smoothie
Ingredients
2 cups watermelon
1 cup frozen sour cherries
1 cup orange juice
1 fresh medium banana
Blend all ingredients until smooth. Serve. Drink. Enjoy!
The truth is that I could live off lentil soup. I eat lentil soup at least twice a week. Lentil is pretty cheap, fat free and packed with protein, iron and calcium. Try my mom’s recipe without adding the orange juice. I added the orange juice to give it a sweet kick as I served my soup with corn muffins.
Ingredients
250 gr brown lentils
3 garlic cloves sliced thinly
1 onion sliced thinly
2 medium carrots chopped in cubes
3-4 bay leaves
1 TS tomato paste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 lt water
salt and pepper to taste
vinegar for serving
For the corn muffins
1 cup whole wheat all purpose flour
1 cup corn meal
3 ts of baking powder
2 ts of salt
2 ts of sugar
1 cup soy milk
1TS of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
lentil soup with a kick of orange
Place lentils in a pot, add water, garlic, onion, carrot and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until lentils have softened – about 25-30 minutes. Add the orange juice, oil, tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Serve and drizzle a bit of vinegar on top.
To make the corn muffins mix the soy milk with the apple cider vinegar and let it curdle. In a bowl mix the whole wheat flour, the corn meal, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the soy milk and olive oil and mix with a hand mixer. Pour the batter into muffin liners and bake at 180C/350F for 18-20 minutes.
