Easy tofu fried rice

Here is the recipe I use for tofu fried rice for Kiran (I double it if I am eating too). All measures approx.

-- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
-- 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
-- 1/2 cup chopped other vegetable (brocolli, zucchinni, etc)
-- optional -- 1/4 cup tomatoes
-- 1 cup rice, already cooked
-- 1/4 cup tofu, cubed
-- soy sauce
-- olive oil
-- sesame oil

1. In a frying pan over medium heat, fry up the tofu until brownish on the outside. Remove from pan.
2. In the same pan, fry up the vegetables in a little olive oil until soft.
3. Add in the rice and tofu and a little soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil for flavor. Mix and taste for seasonings. Not too salty for baby please!


I also use basically this same recipe for simple egg fried rice, only I fry the vegetables first, add the egg with the rice and it makes everything stick together as it cooks. 

New category: Toddler food -- First recipe: Tofu Egg Salad

Our beautiful boy Kiran is 11 months old already, and he is eating up a storm! He is eating mostly "people food" and not purees at this point. He can chew pretty well with his gums and 8 teeth, but since he doesn't have molars yet he can't grind difficult things like raw vegetables.

I try to cook as much of his food as possible, which was causing a problem because I was cooking Kiran a meal, then feeding him, then cooking myself a meal, then eating. The whole thing would take like 2 hours! So I decided to try and come up with some meals that both of us can eat at the same time! But there are many constraints, especially at lunchtime when time is short.

I have been looking for/creating meals that:

1. Use mostly foods I tend to have on hand
2. Include a protein source (varied throughout the day), vegetable and/or fruit, carb, and fats.
3. Are vegetarian (baby is vegetarian for now)
4. Are quick to prepare (for lunch this means under 20 minutes for sure, usually under 10)
5. Are yummy for baby and parents!
6. Bonus points go for foods he can pick up and eat himself (i.e. not purees)

I am lucky Kiran is a pretty adventurous eater, if he was picky things would be so much more difficult.

The other night I had some leftover tofu in the fridge so I put together a fast tofu egg salad for us to eat. It was good and I would like to share the recipe.

Tofu Egg Salad

modified from this link

• 1 block firm tofu, drained (I used medium firm and it was fine)
• 1/2 cup cooked soft vegetables (I used frozen spinach, cooked and chopped finely, but you could use cooked peas, cooked diced carrots, cooked brocolli chopped finely, or whatever you have on hand)
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sweet relish (or chop up some sweet pickles very finely, like I did)
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. celery powder (or 1/2 stalk celery, very finely minced)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder (or 1/2 small onion, very finely minced)
• 1 tbsp mustard
• dash paprika for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

In a medium-sized bowl, mash the tofu with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and stir together until well combined. Sprinkle with paprika for garnish, if desired. Serve on bread for an "egg" salad sandwich.

One thing I really hate is when I buy fancy produce from the farmer's market and it goes bad in the fridge. Somehow if regular produce goes bad I usually just shrug and throw it away, but seeing fancy produce all brown and rotten... it gets me. SO today we had a bunch of mustard greens that needed to be used up. I found this recipe from my pal Martha Stewart and decided to give it a try.

I don't believe I have ever caramelized onions before today. It isn't that difficult and the result is so delicious! This recipe tasted sort of like onion soup pasta. Next time I might try to add some kind of herb or something to it for a bit more complicated flavor. But definitely a recipe to save and try again.

Pasta with Caramelized Onions and Bitter Greens 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 medium onions, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rings
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 cups chicken broth, veggie broth, or water
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound fettuccine (I used farfalle and it was fine)
• 1 head chicory (curly endive), mustard greens, kale, or arugula, washed, with tough ribs removed and leaves torn into pieces
  
  

  Directions

• Step 1

  Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sugar and cook, stirring once or twice, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Turn heat to low; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft, about 10 minutes.

• Step 2

  Remove half the onions and set aside. Add broth or water to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat, scraping bottom of pan, for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

  Step 3

  Cook pasta in boiling salted water until a little underdone, and drain. Add to broth; simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add greens; cook, covered, until wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in additional tablespoon of butter, if desired. Divide among 4 shallow bowls, garnish with reserved onions, and serve

Next time it might be nice to try adding in bay leaves and thyme....

How the Tropizenne turned out

I know all of my avid readers are waiting with baited breath to find out how the Tropizenne, the fancy French dessert I was planning to make for a dinner party a couple months ago turned out.

Well this is how I had imagined it would turn out:


Note the delicious brioche bread, perfectly luscious pastry cream, with chunky sugar on top. MMMM.


To make a long story short, this is how my tropizenne actually turned out:

Turns out I should have been way more worried about the pastry cream than about the brioche, but live and learn. I had the pastry cream leaking out all over the place, and I had a pot luck to attend in about 20 minutes! So what did I do?

Make trifle! What I did was demolish the tropizenne and added in layers of whip cream and raspberries. It tasted so good and I think everyone at the party loved it. I sure did!

Moral of the story: There's nothing a little whip cream and raspberries won't fix.