next stop, sandwich city!

I've never eaten an egg salad sandwich. It was the smell that always got to me and I just wasn't brave enough to try it. Maybe one day I'll give it a go, but not today. When I used to be a vegetarian, my mom bought me a cookbook that had a recipe for mock egg salad. I never got around to trying it, but this evening when I was staring down my near-empty refrigerator with only a few random vegetables and a block of tofu to keep me company, I figured I'd try something similar. That cookbook was long gone, so I threw caution to the wind and met the challenge head-on. I already make a pretty mean tuna melt and my latest chicken sandwich was pretty fantastic, so I figured that I could rise again to the occasion with tofu. Success! This filling is totally yummy stuffed inside of a toasted Portugese bun and dressed with some salad greens. Cornelius wasn't fooled when I told him it was "kinda egg salad like", but he liked it regardless. I did too. Very flavourful, comforting and messy in the right way. I'm looking forward to eating up the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

tofu salad sandwich
1/2 c mayo or soynaise
1 T yellow mustard
1 block of firm tofu, crumbled
1 t capers
2 T chopped pickles
2 T finely diced onions
juice & zest of 1/2 lemon
pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t curry paste (or powder)
1 t honey (optional)

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the mayo and mustard. Add in the crumbled tofu and combine well. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, mixing well after each addition. Let mixture sit for half an hour to let flavours develop. Spread on toasted bread.

Makes enough for 6 sandwiches

next stop, sandwich city!

I've never eaten an egg salad sandwich. It was the smell that always got to me and I just wasn't brave enough to try it. Maybe one day I'll give it a go, but not today. When I used to be a vegetarian, my mom bought me a cookbook that had a recipe for mock egg salad. I never got around to trying it, but this evening when I was staring down my near-empty refrigerator with only a few random vegetables and a block of tofu to keep me company, I figured I'd try something similar. That cookbook was long gone, so I threw caution to the wind and met the challenge head-on. I already make a pretty mean tuna melt and my latest chicken sandwich was pretty fantastic, so I figured that I could rise again to the occasion with tofu. Success! This filling is totally yummy stuffed inside of a toasted Portugese bun and dressed with some salad greens. Cornelius wasn't fooled when I told him it was "kinda egg salad like", but he liked it regardless. I did too. Very flavourful, comforting and messy in the right way. I'm looking forward to eating up the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

tofu salad sandwich
1/2 c mayo or soynaise
1 T yellow mustard
1 block of firm tofu, crumbled
1 t capers
2 T chopped pickles
2 T finely diced onions
juice & zest of 1/2 lemon
pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t curry paste (or powder)
1 t honey (optional)

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the mayo and mustard. Add in the crumbled tofu and combine well. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, mixing well after each addition. Let mixture sit for half an hour to let flavours develop. Spread on toasted bread.

Makes enough for 6 sandwiches

ravenous like a tiger

Sometimes I like to fly by the seat of my pants. No plans, no forethought. Just an idea and the faith that I can make it happen. Last Friday, I went out with friends to The Foundation, one my favored Vancouver eating spots. Vancouver is in the midst of a boil-water advisory due to all the insane amount of rainfall we've been having. No worries, though, as there was enough beer to keep us all afloat. I was modest in my choice of soup but I did manage to snag a few forkfulls of my friends pasta dish, the aptly named "Spicy Peanut". Oh the deliciousness that danced on my tongue that night! It was a party for the tastebuds and I've been dreaming of that damned "Spicy Peanut" ever since.

This evening without nary a look into the cupboards or fridge, I decided that hell or turbid water, I would make the Spicy Peanut dish! Unfortunately, I was out of fresh ginger, sambal oelek, limes, and my soy sauce bottle was almost empty. Did I let that deter me from the power of the Spicy Peanut? I think not. So I made do with what I could scrounge up, squeeze out and hastily substitute. And you know what? The results tasted pretty damn close to the mighty fine "Spicy Peanut" from The Foundation. This sauce will be a work in progress. Of course I'll make it again with fresh lime juice instead of lemon juice and I'm sure it will taste infinitely more fabulous with fresh ginger, and I'm sure a healthy dollop of chili-garlic sauce will render my black pepper additions useless. But, you know, I'm not ready to bad mouth this sauce for what it could have been. This velvety, coconutty, smooth concoction is a dream. If I could marry it I would. I mean, while you know there might be a Top-Of-The-Line Peanut Sauce out there, you just gotta love the one you're with.

I served this decadant sauce over whole wheat pasta, stir fried tofu, red onion and green peppers (the only vegetables I had!) and a tiny bit of shredded leftover chicken. This sauce would make a great dipping sauce for satay or fried tofu or poured over baked yams or steamed spinach. Oh the possibilities!

my spicy peanut sauce
1 c natural peanut butter
1 can light coconut milk
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T soy sauce
1 T fish sauce (if you want to make this vegetarian, leave out & put 1T of soy sauce in its place)
2 T hot sauce
2 t ginger powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T brown sugar
1 t ground black pepper
dash of salt

1. Add all of the ingredients into a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until everything is warm and blendy. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

And the title of my blog post? Well, I have Shake Your Fist to thank. Amy wrote about Dr. Joel and included a link to a song that I pretty much OD'd on in July. The track is gone off of Amy's blog, but you can hear Ravenous Like a Tiger on Dr. Joel's MySpace account. So good!

ravenous like a tiger

Sometimes I like to fly by the seat of my pants. No plans, no forethought. Just an idea and the faith that I can make it happen. Last Friday, I went out with friends to The Foundation, one my favored Vancouver eating spots. Vancouver is in the midst of a boil-water advisory due to all the insane amount of rainfall we've been having. No worries, though, as there was enough beer to keep us all afloat. I was modest in my choice of soup but I did manage to snag a few forkfulls of my friends pasta dish, the aptly named "Spicy Peanut". Oh the deliciousness that danced on my tongue that night! It was a party for the tastebuds and I've been dreaming of that damned "Spicy Peanut" ever since.

This evening without nary a look into the cupboards or fridge, I decided that hell or turbid water, I would make the Spicy Peanut dish! Unfortunately, I was out of fresh ginger, sambal oelek, limes, and my soy sauce bottle was almost empty. Did I let that deter me from the power of the Spicy Peanut? I think not. So I made do with what I could scrounge up, squeeze out and hastily substitute. And you know what? The results tasted pretty damn close to the mighty fine "Spicy Peanut" from The Foundation. This sauce will be a work in progress. Of course I'll make it again with fresh lime juice instead of lemon juice and I'm sure it will taste infinitely more fabulous with fresh ginger, and I'm sure a healthy dollop of chili-garlic sauce will render my black pepper additions useless. But, you know, I'm not ready to bad mouth this sauce for what it could have been. This velvety, coconutty, smooth concoction is a dream. If I could marry it I would. I mean, while you know there might be a Top-Of-The-Line Peanut Sauce out there, you just gotta love the one you're with.

I served this decadant sauce over whole wheat pasta, stir fried tofu, red onion and green peppers (the only vegetables I had!) and a tiny bit of shredded leftover chicken. This sauce would make a great dipping sauce for satay or fried tofu or poured over baked yams or steamed spinach. Oh the possibilities!

my spicy peanut sauce
1 c natural peanut butter
1 can light coconut milk
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T soy sauce
1 T fish sauce (if you want to make this vegetarian, leave out & put 1T of soy sauce in its place)
2 T hot sauce
2 t ginger powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T brown sugar
1 t ground black pepper
dash of salt

1. Add all of the ingredients into a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until everything is warm and blendy. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

And the title of my blog post? Well, I have Shake Your Fist to thank. Amy wrote about Dr. Joel and included a link to a song that I pretty much OD'd on in July. The track is gone off of Amy's blog, but you can hear Ravenous Like a Tiger on Dr. Joel's MySpace account. So good!

Tomorrow's lunch

When I spied the recipe for Linguine with Tofu and Coconut-Lime Sauce on Crystal's blog, I was instantly smitten. Coconut + Lime = Awesomeness. Plus, I had everything to make this amazing sounding dish on the spot! My friend Kristen was coming over for dinner and I figured this would make a quick and delicious vegan meal. Originally, I was going to use the magic loaf studio to concoct some kind of tasty magical loaf, but didn't want to risk turning on the oven, as it was already hot enough in the kitchen. So after studying Crystal's recipe, I made a few mental notes and got to cooking. When you have someone else in the kitchen it seems silly to keep running to the computer to check on a recipe, so I just started chopping and frying as Kristen, Cornelius and I laughed and talked and drank ice cold club soda to keep cool.

I wish I had the forethought to take some photos before we all dug in (and hey, each one of us went back for seconds), but it didn't even cross my mind. So unfortunately, you'll have to stare at my very unglamorous refrigerated leftovers tucked inside a Que Pasa salsa container. Someone is going to have a very lucky lunch tomorrow!

My notes: Although I did like the taste of using regular Italian fettucini here, next time I would use Asian rice noodles instead to keep things a bit more authentic. I also added in spinach and basil to the recipe since I had some on hand. This is a great recipe base to use up any vegetables in your fridge, so if you've got some celery, bok choy, carrots or broccoli on hand, throw it in!

Fettucini with Tofu and Coconut-Lime Sauce
(recipe adapted from poco-coco.com)
1 500 gr package of fettucini
1 package extra-firm tofu, patted dry and cut into 1/2-inch squares
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon peeled minced fresh ginger
1 c sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 red bell pepper, sliced into 2-inch strips
3 green onions, sliced
1 bunch spinach
1 small bunch basil
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 t cornstarch
1 can light coconut milk, well-stirred
2 T soy sauce
juice of 1 lime + zest

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.

2. Heat olive oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and heat for 1 minute. Add tofu and stir fry until golden. Remove tofu from pan. Add sesame oil to pan. Add peas, green onion and bell pepper; saute 3 minutes until softened. Add coconut milk, soy sauce, lime juice and zest. Add basil and spinach and let wilt in the liquid. Mix together the cornstarch and broth and add to pan, bringing mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Add pasta and tofu; toss to coat.

the other white....meat

I remember being in Vegas and ordering some chicken tenders at a pub and being ultimately disappointed when chicken fingers showed up on my plate instead. Maybe it was the desert air or the anise flavoured IPA I was drinking or the fact that I was feeling all romantic-like since I was on my honeymoon, but I just liked the word "tenders" and I didn't really think that would translate into the foodstuffs of little kids and restaurant chains. Oh well, live and learn.

Now don't get me wrong, I love foods like chicken fingers in that they are a means to an end and the end being sauce. Yes, I love me a good sauce and I'm not really that picky when it comes to the vehicle that gets me there. The other night I was visiting my friend Kristen and she had just pulled out some breaded baked tofu from the oven just so that she could have something to dip into some yellow mustard. Hmmm, that got me to thinking. Normally when I bake tofu, I marinate it and then use the end result in a yummy sandwich or to top some rice and steamed vegetables, but I liked Kristen's idea better! So I whipped up some homemade bbq sauce and came up with these beauties. Kristen just went all white trash vegan and dipped the tofu in oil before dipping in the breadcrumbs, but I liked the idea of an egg dip better. I'm sure a vegan with health on her mind could figure out a less fattening solution. As well, use any spice combination you like, the tofu won't mind at all.

tofu tenders
1 block of extra firm tofu, sliced into "fingers"
panko crumbs
paprika
salt & pepper
oregano
1 egg, beaten
the dipping sauce of your choice

1. Heat oven to 400 and spray a cookie sheet with vegetable oil. On a large plate, dump some panko crumbs and season with paprika, oregano & salt and pepper. Mix well with fork. In a separate bowl, beat 1 egg and dip each piece of tofu into the egg mixture and then the crumb mixture and place on cookie sheet.

2. Bake in the oven until the tofu is golden brown, about 30 minutes or so. Remove from oven, arrange in a pleasing pattern on a plate and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.