Making Tofu Tastier

Many people have a preset notion of tofu. It's tasteless and slimy for starters and its' look is not that appealing. However , with the right recipes, tofu can be- dare it be said, delicious .

Melissa Clark is behind this movement, I suspect, and is trying to get New Yorkers and foodies to go meatless (and this could not happen at a better time when any slice of steak or bacon is vilified). What did she do to make this soy product seductive? She shredded it. The idea came from the cookbook "Near And Far: Recipes Inspired By Home And Travel" by Heidi Swanson. She sautes the shredded tofu in olive oil. For added crunch  she adds pumpkin seeds. A scant dash of buttermilk is also tossed into the mix as are pea greens. Since we're almost in mid autumn , Ms Clark gives it a fallish flavor with earthy shiitake mushrooms. These impart a lovely caramelized brown color that spreads over to the tofu.  There is color in minced red pepper and edamame.You can even add pork for more flavor as she does, but the flavors are perfectly intense, so it's kind of gilding the lily.

The only possible stumbling block is getting an actual brick of tofu. Ms. Clark uses it in her New York Times video. Whole Foods sell it, as do some regular grocery stores such as Stop & Shop. However it can be too soft, with the consistency of a set pudding. If worse comes to worse , turn to Morningstar Farms which has beef style crumbles. These can easily be subbed in. If you do come across a brick of firm tofu, it's then  easy to turn it into shreds. Just take your average cheese grater and rub the tofu against the larger holed side. The goal is a soft fluffy mound , akin to scrambled eggs or spaetzle even.This creates a nice light  textured medium that's easy to work with. You can also use this method to make vegan scrambled eggs too. Again, acquiring a firm brick of it can be somewhat of a quest, so be prepared to get alternatives.

Tofu is not always an easy sell. This one featuring it in shredded form is the perfect dish for soy lovers and those in need of converting. It creates a crunchy, flavorful dish that's good for you and good tasting.

The Exotic Side of Game Hens

Cornish or game hens sometimes have the reputation of being boring. They're usually served with a side of stuffing and maybe some green beans for a dash of colors. However ,like any fowl , they can be livened up with exotic spices. The result is a tasty spin on a traditional recipe.

David Tanis  experimented with the chickens and wrote about them in today's New York Times Food section.His City Kitchen column offers advice about them  Remember these are expensive birds , being slightly a few dollars more than the average capon or even turkey. Cornish or game hens are worth it. The meat is extraordinarily tender. That's really their selling point. this tenderness is a plus, because the meat quickly absorbs any marinade from spicy to lemony.They're about a pound each, with some reaching two pounds so figure one each for hearty eaters. Both butchers and grocery stores sell them.

Mr Tanis decided to give them a Middle Eastern spin. He spices them with sumac, the main ingredient in tend of the moment, za'atar along with pepper and cinnamon. Pomegranate molasses is added for color and sweetness  however be warned.It can slip to the bottom of the roasting pan and burn quickly.Mr. Tanis' solution is keep half an inch of water at the bottom. when this mixes with the pan juices, then baste the birds to keep them moist.It's served with basmati rice flecked with raisins, currents and pine nuts/ There's also a sprinkling of bright jewel red pomegranate seeds for extra zest and zing. Mr. Tanis garnishes it with fresh mint for color  but you can omit it if you like.

Cornish hens are a great dinner . Their tender meat is perfect for absorbing such exotic spices as sumac and cinnamon.Give it a Mediterranean flair with these and the lush pomegranate.

Thug Kitchen - In Your Face Blogging

Many food bloggers (including myself) go for a homey, informative and sometimes preachy way of writing about food and nutrition, Most of us don't use profanity and in your face phrases  to get our points across. Maybe we should. It works for a vegan food blog , Thug Kitchen and it's garnering fans and hits,

The controversial blog was started by Matt Holloway and Michelle Davis , vegan hipster, who want to spread the good word of vegetarian to the masses (and that is never more important in light of yesterday's not so eye opening news about red meat and bacon). However their way of doing such is peppered - and salted - with every obscenity under the sun.It does draw readers and fans. Their second cookbook "Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give A *&&^% was published in September. Using bad language is a good way of selling any product  and even giving it some oomph. However this has gotten them in trouble, namely with African Americans who feel that the language and their title is too ghetto and demeaning. A few critics even have claimed that it promotes a negative stereotype of their diets as well.It has caused two well known cookbook authors Bryant Terry and Alice Randall to comment on Mr. Holloway's and Ms. Davis' writing style. According to a recent New York Times interview ,Ms Randall feels that "it drowns out and distracts from authentic black voices who are speaking to communities they love with the wisdom of shared experience."


There are fans who do love the site..The recipes are influenced by the hippie era Moosewood Cookbook and Isa  Chandra Moskowicz Vegan With A Vengeance. There are a lot of them and they're divided them into seasons, meals and ingredients. This is great if you're looking for a fall lunch recipe that has apples.In some ways they're just ordinary vegetarian recipes.The pickings are pretty thin. There are no bakes, or casseroles, lunches are nothing more than sandwiches and burritos.The dessert recipes have only two good recipes, the frozen chocolate bananas and  iced gingerbread squares Another point is not all  the recipes are vegan. Milk is  used in one or more recipes. There are better vegetarian blogs out there, featuring really good recipes that are filling. Check out Oh My Veggies and Green Kitchen Stories. Both have interesting recipes that are hearty and filling. Oh My Veggies even helps in meal preparing with tips and hints. Best of all you can let the kids read them without any worrying about them learning bad language!

Thug Kitchen is OK if you're a hipster vegetarian living in Brooklyn. It's cool if you're into swear words being a part of a recipe. Otherwise it's just another food blog trying to get readers by being over the top and on the edge..

So, Do We Go Vegan?

There is a new report out claiming that red and processed meats cause cancer. This is no big news , it's been known for at least thirty or more years. What is controversial is that the World Health Organization or WHO now equates them with asbestos and tobacco. Yet are they that bad?Or is this an over exaggeration?

To be honest we do need meat, We need it for our bodies to produce amino acids . We also need it  for Vitamin B12 and protein. Vitamin B12 or iron can be found in lobster but that comes with a warning of its' own - its' chock full of cholesterol. If do still redmeat or bacon, then cut down on it. Try to limit it to maybe once a week  the cut down to twice a month and then maybe once a month. I know this is easier said than done. Most of us rely on our supermarket's deli or Subway for lunches . What can be done is looking to fresh cut meats , such as chicken or roast beef. Also subbing in soy meats helps along with switching to veggies. This can be done slowly. Start by adding more tomatoes and spinach. Cheese slices are also good and get familiar with the different types out there.Another idea is looking at vegan web sites and cookbooks . These are chock full of delicious recipes that can help transitioning over to a more meat free diet.

Other meats have come under fire as well, namely hot dogs, burgers and sausages. Again these are going  to be hard to get rid of or at least decrease.Look , Wendy's and McDonald's are a huge part of the American diet. Fast food is just easier  to deal with , especially after a long work day or busy weekend. Luckily we can cut down on the amount of burgers and dogs we consume.Wendy's offers a wide array of salads plus baked potatoes  to wean you off those Baconators. Morningstar Farms offers a variety  of veggie burgers and  hot dogs that can stand in for the real thing. To be honest we need to look to Germany who gave us the first two along with a huge variety of sausages and wursts. For some reason, Germans don't have the high cancer stats that we have and yet our diets are relatively similar. It could be portion control (they're not gluttonous by any means) or how the meats are processed. There could be less nitrates and chemicals in the meat.It could also be that they're not as heavily into the carcinogenic  barbecuing as we Yanks are. Maybe if we stop all this excessive grilling we can keep that extra chilidog or Sloppy Joe in our diets.

So what do we do? Eat well, eat for our bodies and not our taste buds.Try more plant based foods, nix all that barbecue - and like with alcohol and sweets - just cut back. It 's the start of a healthier way of eating.

Nikkei Cuisine A Marriage of East and South American

What is the marriage of Japanese and Brazilian/Peruvian cooking ?Nikkei. It's an interesting mix of centuries old Japanese cooking with cultivated for centuries South American ingredients. Now there's a new cookbook celebrating this happy pairing.

Luiz Hara is the author of Nikkei Cuisine,Japanese Food The South American Way(Jacqui Small publishing) and its based in his own mixed heritage. He is 3/4 Japanese and 1/4 Spanish , raised by his father's Japanese Brazilian side. The book is an interesting mix of recipes, his family's story and the story of the over 100 years of immigration from Japan to South America.It's one of the few cookbooks that have an interesting history lesson attached to it.In a way the two cuisines blend perfectly such as sushi and ceviche. Both  cultures use white rice religiously and it figures prominently in their cuisines. Of course there were some adaptations on the Japanese side, especially when they came from a fish eating culture to the Brazilian beef one. However the Japanese embraced the many vegetables South America had to offer and these were quickly incorporated in their recipes.

The recipes themselves are interesting. Chef Hara's is a definite marriage of the two worlds. He uses his own as well as ones from famed South American Nikkei chefs There is kouji fried chicken with fried lotus or renkon chips which would be fun for a Saturday night party or tail gating get together. Miso soup stars here as does arroz con pollo but both have tinges of the other's culture.There.s even a recipe for five different types of popcorn that have different spices from macha or powdered green tea to hot wasabi. He has a Japanese influenced chestnut rice side that would go well with any South American pork dish.The dessert recipes are also soaked in the two cultures. with green tea or coconut ice cream, along with South American super fruit flavors.

Nikkei  Cuisine :Japanese Food The South American Way is the perfect cookbook for those who love Japanese and Brazilian cooking.It's a salute to a rich and varied heritage as well. Buy it today and start making these interesting and flavorful cuisine.

Healthy Spaetzles

Spaeztles are one of those tasty and German foods that go with everything. This versatile homemade noodle is a great side and can be turned into  a great main dish too. Now there's a new twist to this classic - spinach . Spaetzles are going green.

David Tanis is the one behind their colorful transformation.His City Kitchen in Wednesday's New York Times Food section is devoted to them. He learned how to make then when he was a restaurant cook, form the place's chef, an Austrian who could make these in his sleep. These batter noodles are one of the easiest things to made for any  beginning home chef. They're just a simple mix of flour, water and egg, similar to pasta but without the drama of making sheets and then cutting them in even strips. Spaetzles should have a wetter consistency than pasta dough. Mr.Tanis suggests think porridge with its' gooey, runny batter. They can be made with a soup spoon and a cutting board with the noodles being flicked into a pot of salted boiling water. You can buy a spaeztle maker at Amazon for as low as eleven dollars and it's recommended if you make them a lot(using one is actually much easier and much less messier, plus you'll get a batch of evenly sized spaetzles).

Mr Tanis tweaks the recipe with a spark of green, He adds pureed fresh baby spinach for the best taste.to the egg and water. A dash of nutmeg, always recommended, is also use to temper the taste.He then sautes them in butter and sage with lardons or cubes of bacon or pancetta. Parmesan is then added and the whole dish has a decidedly Italian vibe to it. If you want a more Germanic one, then think of cooking it with sauerkraut or string beans. This last would go well with the spinach, a nice marriage of that fresh veggie flavor. Unusually the noodles accompany veal and pork  however these can be the perfect side to roast chicken or even turkey for the holidays.If these spaetzles are too bland for you , then try Martha Stewart's which have the added zing of thyme ,rosemary and parsley. Milk is also added for body.

A dish of spaetzles is always a good idea. Give them some spark by adding pureed baby spinach to the recipe.It'll be a nice new spin on an classic.

Rediscovering Your Broiler

For many home chef broiling is a rare experience. It's usually not thought of for cooking steaks, even now when the weather is still warm enough to grill outside. Yet broiling adds to meat,poultry  and fish , giving them a  nice juiciness without all that overpowering smoky flavor. It's time to rediscover this important part of the oven.

John Willoughby did just that and wrote about it in yesterday's New York Times Food section Sixty years ago broiling was de rigeur for home chefs.It was used mostly for chops and steaks and they were usually over broiled until they were dry and flavorless. The method  fell out of favor with only restaurants using them and being renamed as the salamander. (this from the Greeks who attributed the animal with fire producing ability). Luckily a new generation is discovering broilers and using them to create a variety of dishes. His friend and cooking partner, Chris Schlesinger started with steaks, namely because his girlfriend, Suzanne wanted them and the time of year was not agreeable to outdoor cooking. Her craving happened in the middle of a snowstorm. The stomach wants what the stomach wants and Chef Schlesinger decided that pan cooked steak would end up in a smoky kitchen. That's when his broiler snobbery had to be over come and the broiler was the only method left to produced perfectly grilled filet. He was hooked, graduating from beef to chicken to fish.

There are a few warnings to heed before trying out your oven's boiler. Remember that every broiler has its' quirks and peculiarities. Different ones heat to different temperatures and the distance between heat and rack varies from oven to oven. Home chefs have to be active in the cooking process.As with outdoor grilling, it's important to check in often on the food and move it around to avoid one side getting burned or cooked before the other side. Before even starting the broiler needs to be preheated  for five to ten minutes, preferably for the longer period of time. As with grilling select tender and thin pieces of meat to broil.Fish steaks, chicken and steak strips are all fine. Stay away from whole chickens ( although you can broil Cornish hens thanks to their small size) and wholes roasts. Save those for the oven. Pay attention to where the food is positioned. (this doesn't apply to the old fashioned under the oven type). The meat has to be close enough , namely three to four inches away to cook properly. Also nix the Pyrex or any glass  container because they will break. Buy  those aluminum  a roasting pans which can be used many times and then discarded without cleaning.

Home chefs should rediscover broiling. It's a lost method of cooking that should be resurrected. It produces  deliciously broiled meats, that are juicy and succulent,