Crispy Tofu and Arugula Summer Salad

After a month of no grocery shopping, I started getting desperate with meal prep. Finally on Sunday, Aaron and I went shopping and stocked up as we had practically eaten everything in the pantry minus a can of tomatoes, and the remaining half cup of peas I didn’t add into the last week’s meals.

That means that the first week after a grocery shopping trip is always heaven. Oh, I can have fresh veggies or a snack? Awesome! We have more than rice? Great!

So with that abundance, comes this Japanese-inspired Arugula salad with crispy glazed tofu. I ate this whole thing in about a minute.

I’ve never actually cooked tofu on my own before but felt inspired after seeing these step-by-step instructions from One Ingredient Chef. He makes it look so easy, and after doing it, I realized how simple it really is to cook crispy, delicious tofu.

If you can’t get your head around tofu, I understand. The glaze I used (also inspired by One Ingredient chef) would be delicious on chicken, pork, salmon, or shrimp.

For SUPER EASY instructions on how to make delicious, crispy tofu for any meal, head over to the One Ingredient Chef.

I like a crispy topping heavy salad, if you don’t, pick and choose some of the crispy toppings depending on your preference and pantry. Make it your own! This is a fabulous salad for a summer dinner with Jasmine iced tea.

Crispy Tofu with Japanese-inspired Arugula Salad

(Tofu recipe adapted from One Ingredient Chef)

makes 1 large, dinner sized salad

 

 

Ingredients:
3 ¾ inch slices of extra-firm tofu, about 1/3 of a block (I got mine at Trader Joe’s)
1 tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
Warm salted water
3 oz. arugula or salad mix

Tofu glaze:
1 tbsp. agave nectar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, finely chopped
½ tsp. garlic powder
Squirt of sriracha
Black pepper

Toppings:
½ fresh avocado, sliced
1/8 cup Dried cranberries
¼ cup Fresh blueberries
pick and choose
Wasabi peas and almonds
Coconut chips
Toasted Sesame seeds
Chia seeds
Kalamata olives

Dressing:
1 tbsp. agave nectar
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. sriracha hot sauce
1 tbsp. fresh ginger root, chopped
1-2 tsp. fresh garlic, chopped
optional: 1 tbsp. orange juice

Directions:

Follow these instructions for crispy tofu, using the tofu slices, warm water, and oil for frying.

Once pan is cooled add all the ingredients for the tofu glaze to the same pan that you fried the tofu in over medium-low heat. Once the glaze begins to caramelize, add tofu and gently toss. Turn off heat.

To assemble your salad, first add arugula to a large plate. Pour half of the dressing over the greens.

Add toppings to your salad and pour the rest of the dressing over top. Add crispy tofu slices on top of the salad and pour remaining glaze of the salad if desired.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

Happy Earth Day!

And since it’s Friday:

Some live music from Adele.

A Cautionary Tale about Cyber-Bullying

I usually don’t comment on stuff like this, but  I felt compelled after reading a truly heart-breaking post from my blogging friend, Carrie at Bakeaholic Mama.

I hope she is okay with me writing about this, but as a fellow food blogger I could not let this one go. Carrie and I started within a month of each other and became among each others’ first followers, respectively.  Since July 2011, Carrie has helped me get Facebook fans, twitter followers, and blog followers on multiple occasions, just out of the goodness of her heart.

While my blog has stayed very small over this time, Carrie’s page has exploded, turning into an amazing professional-grade blog. I have the UPMOST respect for this mother of three and recipe-guru. Seriously, she’s amazing. I’ve often wished I’ve had similar success, but after this particular incident, I’ve realized there is always a price—no matter how well deserved that person is of their success.

I won’t say too much about the incident(s) in question in order to respect Carrie and the parties involved. If you wish, you can read Carrie’s side of it on her blog, and then go home immediately and make the recipe she included.

Seriously this woman gets sucker punched and she makes friendship muffins. Move over Mother Theresa!

But the point is Carrie who has worked tirelessly for almost two years on her fabulous blog has been subject to several separate cases of cyber-bullying on her blog’s Facebook page and actual site. I’ve witness these attacks on several occasions and often give words of encouragement but this time was just plain horrible. After an innocent and well deserved request for the respect of herself and other bloggers’ personal property, another person gave out Carrie’s personal Facebook information. Along with that, they allowed their followers to viciously attack her online through comments and private messages that would make your hair curl.

Guess what? This happens ALL OF THE TIME. Oh, and another thing...

This is not okay.

 A hard-working mother of three should be respected and honored, NOT attacked. If you agree (or even not,) please check out some information on cyber-bullying (from the Decorated Cookie) and the proper way to share other’s intellectual property online (from Dianne J.com) whether it be one Facebook, Pinterest, etc.

The only way cyber-bullying will stop is if we all take a stand against it. No matter if said bullying is against an innocent 13-year old girl or a blogger, it is never right. We as a society must stand against it before this problem becomes worst. Just because you are behind a computer screen does not mean give someone the right to say nasty things about others.

I know you, my readers are respectful, and essentially I am preaching to the choir, but I appreciate the occasional Amen! I hope all of you will send Carrie some love. And please share responsively.

That’s my two cents.

March Foodie Pen Pals

I was so excited to be a part of Foodie Pen Pals this month as Aaron was away and I needed something to do during the first week of March. I made a box for the lovely Sasha from Los Angeles and her report is included in this post!

As for my box, it was sent by Hazel from Maryland, (originally from Scotland.) I was so excited when I realized she sent goodies all from the UK!

It made me so homesick for London. I loved Hazel’s “instructions," as well as a recipe for homemade Spotted Dick pudding, and a history and fun facts about Tunnock’s.

Here's what was included:

A great list of recipes and tips including the "proper way" to make tea. Even I learned  some valuable tips.

My favorite tip is no. 4: “Pour a small amount of water into your brewing kettle. This will ‘scald’ the pot. Discard the scald water immediately. (This step is used to keep your tea warmer.)” It really works!

Can of Heinz Spotted Dick Pudding, a classic sweet
 

Container of Bird's Custard powder, so many uses!

Samples of various teas included Yorkshire Gold, Tetley, French Breakfast, and a delicious loose leaf Darjeeling all the way “personally” from Delhi, India.

A giant package of the Scottish classic, Tunnock's caramel wafers

Overall it was a perfect tea/pudding time! Thanks to for all the great items, and all of the thought put into it! I meant so much to me to have a little bit of the UK back with me a year later.


Here's Sasha's:

March marked the first time I'd participated in Foodie Pen Pals and I was lucky enough to be partnered with Marisa from this wonderful blog. I've participated in gift exchange programs like this before, so I knew that you kind of never really know what you're going to get. Some people end up with super passionate pen pals, whiles others end up with someone who didn't really have time to make anything happen.
 

 

Luckily for me, I ended up with the former. Marisa clearly put a ton of thought into this package, and coming home after a 12 hour long work day to a package of goodies from a stranger was super awesome. I couldn't wait to tear into the package, and what awaited me was truly fantastic.

The goodie box consisted of healthy treats from her current town of Philadelphia. She included chocolate covered fruit from a local chocolate store, coffee (and a reusable cup!), homemade spicy kale chips, a small sampling of local honey, dried veggie chips, trail mix, a package of Justin's almond butter, a mint wafer, and an adorable journal filled with quotes and recipes to try.

To say this box was awesome is an understatement. It almost made me feel guilty about what I'd sent my foodie pen pal and definitely inspired me to go further the next time around!

If you've never tried foodie pen pal before, I highly recommend it.

Thanks again to Marisa for doing such a stellar job!

Your new foodie friend,

Sasha
Wanna join in the fun?

Here are the rules from Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean, the amazing host and creator of Foodie Pen Pals:

-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

 -You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

 -The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

 -You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

 -Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

 - Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

***If you’re in the UK, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved!


Love,

The College Cuisiner

 

WIAW #56: Portabella and Sage Pita Pizza

This was going to be a longer post. But due to work, and the current all-you-can-watch marathon on xfinity right now, I haven’t been able to pull my much larger computer screen away from Aaron (or me for that matter) long enough to write a post.

Stay tuned look for this pita pizza masterpiece I couldn’t wait to share:

 

Mushroom and sage with feta....so good!

 

Otherwise, I have had a very green week with a big ole bag of arugula from Trader Joe’s and some lovely beets, sage, and thyme I got from Philly’s own Reading Terminal, Iovine Brother’s produce.

 

 

Oatmeal with dried cranberries, chia, coconut chips, almond butter, cashews, banana, yum.

 

 

Arugula salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, roasted beets, cashews, boiled egg, chia, feta, green onions, homemade balsamic and grapeseed oil dressing.

 

Cucumbers with balsamic and olive oil, green onions, black pepper

Everything bagel and butter (my treat), sauteed spinach, poached egg

 

Snack: Braeburn apple slices

 

Quinoa and Mediterranean Salad, sauteed zucchini (courgettes), grilled chicken

 

 

Iced Orange Tea with fresh squeezed orange juice and lime. Sweet and still good for you!

I threw this particular pita pizza together for a quick late lunch and fell in love. Pita pizzas are about my favorite quick meal because they are so versatile. Give this easy one a go and you'll fall in love too.....

Portabella and Sage Pita Pizza

Serving: One individual pizza

Ingredients:

1 Lebanese style pita, white or wheat
4 baby portabella mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 tbsp. crumbled feta
¼ cup part-skim shredded mozzarella
1/8 cup grated parmesan
1-2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3-4 leaves (roughly 2 tbsp.) chopped sage
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Chili powder

Optional:

Add Sautéed spinach, fresh thyme, chia seeds, or even roasted sweet potatoes! All would go well with sage; especially the sweet potatoes.

Directions:

Preheat your oven for 350 degrees. On a baking sheet place pita and coat with just enough olive oil to cover the middle, leaving edges for the crust.

Sprinkle coated pita with garlic powder, and a dash of salt and chili powder, and desired amount of fresh ground black pepper. Sprinkle with 2/3 of the sage and a little of the parmesan.

Top with sliced mushrooms and rest of the cheeses. Sprinkle with the rest of the sage and more black pepper.

Bake for roughly 8-10 minutes or until cheese is just melted and crust is crispy while still soft like fresh baked bread. (You’ll know what I mean.)

Enjoy.

Love,

The College Cuisiner

 

Song of the Day: I and Love and You (Live) - The Avett Brothers


What is you favorite quick, healthy-side meal?

Four Things Guest Post

Today I’m over at my friend’s Jennifer’s blog, Live Beautifully.

 Check out my addition of her Four Things series....including a few things on our wedding registry!

Make sure you let us know you stopped by!

In the meantime here are a couple updates on our upcoming wedding. Only five months away officially!

 

We have had our date, venue, caterer, band, dress, etc. for qutie a while now. But here is what we've been working on for the last month:

 

 

Our Engagement photos are taking care of by our amazing photographer, Kalim, who was a friend of my dad’s (also a professional photographer)

 

 

Save-the-Dates are out! Finally! Now just the invitations need done!

 

Red wine selected. Now we just need our wine-expert (invited guest) to come up with our white and figure out our signature cocktails which I will reveal soon with recipes once Spring is in bloom!

More updates coming soon......

Love,

The College Cuisiner

WIAW #55: Quinoa Jambalaya

There is nothing like the first one or two days after a really good grocery trip. I know that sounds silly but for those who cook, you understand that it is so nice to have ingredients at your fingertips rather than scrounging for that last but if frozen peas or grain. Last week was the end of a three and a half weeks of no-grocery-shopping.

But this week was plentiful.



Here are some of those grocery trip provided meals:
 

Rolled oats, coconut chips, blueberries, cranberries, bananas, almond milk and almond butter, chia, agave  

Fried egg, kale, bell pepper, onion hash. Baked potatoes, fried tomatoes  

Butternut squash ravioli, chicken sausage, peas, squash, Parmesan  

 
Everything bagel sandwich with tempeh, arugula, tomato,  homemade mustard, Gouda, balsamic  

Quinoa jambalaya, with chicken, andouille, shrimp, veggies galore

One of those nice meal experiences was this quinoa jambalaya. It has a mix of three meats: shrimp, chicken thighs, and andouille sausage (I used the chicken kind from Trader Joes.)

 

 

I used a few different vegetables as a traditional version just for the simple fact that I did not have green bell peppers or celery. But because I love veggies, I used zucchini and mushrooms instead. Try your own mix and see what you think. This is a great meal for a family gathering or friends.

Using quinoa instead of the traditional rice-in-pot was better than expected. If you are looking for a more traditional jambalaya, try this.

Quinoa Jambalaya:
 (Makes 5-6 servings)

 

 

Ingredients:

 1 cup quinoa
 2 cups chicken broth (gf)
 10-12 shrimps
 1 chicken thigh, diced
 2-3 links andouille sausage (I used the chicken variety)
 1 can (35 oz.) can of diced or plum tomatoes, chopped with liquid
 1 can (14.5) red kidney beans, rinsed
 1 zucchini, halved and sliced
 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
 1 small yellow onion
 6 green onions, chopped and some greens separated for garnish
 3 cloves of garlic, minced
 1 cup dry red wine
 2 tbsp. hot sauce (I used sriracha)
 1 tbsp. paprika
 1tsp. Garlic powder
 2 tsp. cumin
 Red pepper flakes
 Salt and pepper to taste
 1/2 lemon, juiced
 Olive oil
 2 tbsp. butter

Directions:
Prepare rinsed and dried quinoa by toasted in medium pot for 1 minute until nutty smelling. Add 1 1/2 cup chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover with lid and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes. The  take off heat, without removing lid for at least 5 minutes. Open and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Toss shrimp with a little olive oil and dash of all spices. Set aside.

Meanwhile in a large pot add 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter with garlic and yellow onion.  Sauté over medium heat, stirring for 2 minutes. Add spices, stir.

Add zucchini, mushrooms, and chicken. Sauté allowing to lightly brown. Add tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes. Add wine, and rest of broth (1/2 cup.)

Add hot sauce, kidney beans, and lemon. Allow to simmer lightly for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring. Season to taste. Add shrimp, mix in until pink.

Once sauce is thick and shrimp is cooked, add cooked quinoa.

 

Serve with rest of green onions on top and with a salad.

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

What did you eat this week?

WIAW #54: Brussels Sprout Som Tum Thai Salad

Now that my Spring Break is over, I suppose I have to do something productive. Ironically I feel less stressed now it’s over than before! Aaron spent his break in Russia volunteering. I spent mine working.

Who do you think had the better break huh? Well there were some good things. Lisa took me to a great Mexican Tapas restaurant in Wayne, PA called Matador. And we will definitely have to go back!

I also ate some good food and worked on my upcoming Foodie Pen Pal box. Since I had this break I thought it would be the perfect time for me to get back into pen pal mode for March.

If you haven’t heard about Foodie Pen Pals hosted by Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean,
check it out now!

Some of my healthy eats:

Quinoa breakfast bowl with vanilla almond milk, bananas, blueberries,

almonds, agave, and chia seeds

Spicy vegetarian (and veggie packed) curry over quinoa

 

Ginger Maple glazed Salmon with quinoa and homemade brussels sprout Som Tum. 
SO GOOD!

 

Chicken BBQ with Som Tum slaw on a tortilla

 

BBQ Chicken pizza with zucchini, carrots, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, mozzarella and parm

 

Raw brussels sprout, tomatoes, carrots, tomatoes, grapeseed oil and balsamic, chia seeds, goat cheese

Teriyaki veggies (sprouts, carrots, peas, mushrooms, sesame seeds) over rice

Some of my more fun eats:

Portabella ravioli in a saffron crème fraiche cream sauce with sautéed mushrooms, walnuts, and balsamic (at least there is a side of spinach for the necessary greenness)

 

Chicken Parmesan Sliders from my work

 

Aaron’s welcome home Sushi dinner for $25. (steal for sushi)

Sensing a theme of ingredients?

I wasn’t sure which of my eats I should post the recipe for today, but I finally decided on my Brussels sprout som tum Thai salad.

I love raw Brussels sprouts, and as of now, it seems the rest of the blogging community does too!

Growing up in a small town, we didn’t have many options for authentic ethnic foods. That is until Pakha came to town.

Pakha’s Thai House looked like a hole in the wall. Instead you got some of the best Thai food anywhere. Pakha moved to my small town from Thailand after marrying a local businessman. Luckily, she decided to open a restaurant and all of the fresh, delicious flavors of Thailand came along for the ride. Green Papaya Salad or Som Tum was one of my favorite things on the menu. It was sweet-tangy, a tad spicy, and overall delicious. I loved the shredded green papaya, carrots, and the spicy lime dressing, even as a kid.

This is not that salad. Instead my brussels sprout Som Tum is much different but since it has the familiar flavors, I thought it only fitting to name it after my favorite Thai salad. Instead of green papaya I used raw, shredded brussel sprouts along with the carrots, tomatoes, garlic, lime, and ginger, of the traditional som tum. The sauce consists of both sriracha, hot chili, lime, and crème fraiche to cool it down. When I made the slaw it was too spicy so I added a little crème fraiche to make the heat a little more subtle.

This is definitely Asian fusion it all sense of the word-best of both sides of the world.

This is  also a make-it-your-own recipe. I like a lot of fresh ginger, but you can add less if desired. It won’t be remotely the same with dried ginger, so don’t even do it!

Try my som tum as a delicious salad, a slaw on BBQ, or with your favorite grain.

I hope you like it as much as I do.

Brussels Sprouts Som Tum Salad

Makes 2-3 servings (1 serving bowl size)

Ingredients:

6 brussel sprouts, chopped into ribbons or strips, slightly shredded
3 large carrots, julienned 
4-5 plum tomatoes, quarted and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
Juice of 1 lime
1-2 tsp. apple cider vinegar to taste
½ small red chili, finely chopped, or 1 tsp. dried red chili flakes
Two generous squirts sriracha red chili sauce (or to taste)
3 tbsp. crème fraiche or low-fat sour cream, optional.
1 tsp. Garlic powder
1 tbsp. agave nectar (or honey)
Black pepper
Salt if needed
Chopped peanuts or cashew to top

For a vegan recipe, omit creme fraiche


Directions:

Mix sprouts, carrots, ginger, garlic, and tomatoes together in a medium bowl. Add lime juice, garlic powder, chili, and black pepper.

Add sriracha, agave, and vinegar to taste. (Should have a slightly spicy, sweet and tangy flavor that is highlighted but the ginger and garlic.)

Add salt only if needed. Add crème fraiche if desired. Top with chopped nuts.

Serve chilled on top of your favorite sandwich, BBQ, or as a salad.

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner