Chinese anyone? A light, tasty lunch.

I don't know about you, but I LOVE Chinese food.  I could live on it.  One of my favorite things is the mixed veggies with tofu in the light broth.  Sounds healthy right?  Probably not.

See, in Chinese cooking you blanch a lot of things before the final cooking.  This is no different in veggies or tofu.  The difference is, in Chinese cooking, you blanch in oil; like a deep fryer, in oil.

So here is my healthy answer to this not so healthy dish and I made mine with left overs.  Note: It is important to have everything chopped and ready to go (mise en place) before you start, once you start cooking this will go very fast.

Sarah's Stir-Fried Veggies & Tofu

1 cup cubed extra firm tofu
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup baby corn, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup green beans, blanched (in water) and cut into bite-sized pieces
2-3 cups chopped cabbage
2 cups baby spinach
2-3 cups chopped broccoli
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 tsp lemongrass paste
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2-3 drops sesame oil
cooking spray

1. Coat a non-stick skilled with cooking spray and a couple drops of sesame oil, I used a 10-inch, and place over medium high heat.  Add onion and lemongrass paste.  Saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the tofu and allow to brown slightly.

2. Once the tofu has browned up a bit, add the broccoli, chicken broth and soy sauce. Put the lid on the pan and let it simmer for 2 minutes.

3. Add the remaining veggies except for the spinach and simmer with the lid on for 2 more minutes.

4. Mix the cornstarch with about a tablespoon of broth or water and add to the pan.  Stir thoroughly to completely combine into the  liquid in the pan.  Once it returned to a boil and is completely combined, turn off the heat.  Add the spinach and cilantro.

5. Stir until the spinach has just wilted.

6. Serve alone, as a side dish or over rice and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Yield:  2 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 174.3                                                    Sodium 1,494.9 mg   

Total Fat 5.1 g                                                    Potassium 1,428.2 mg   

Saturated Fat 1.5 g                                          Total Carbohydrate 25.7 g       

Polyunsaturated Fat 2.9 g                            Dietary Fiber 8.9 g       

Monounsaturated Fat 2.3 g                         Sugars 1.5 g

Cholesterol 5.0 mg                                         Protein 12.5 g

An inspired dinner

Hello friends!

I was reading my rss feed and facebook newsfeed yesterday trying to pass the time of my lunch hour when I read a post by an old friend.  She has company with another friend of ours called Always Gourmet in San Diego, Ca.  G posted that she felt the weather called for a hearty polenta dish for dinner with spinach and sausage.  It sounded perfect.  

I've been working to eat healthier the last  several years so I wanted to make a slightly healthier version of the traditional polenta I learned to make when I worked with the crazy Italians at L'Opera.  THe polenta I made was a tasty, protein and whole grain pack meal.  The recipe I used is this:

Polenta with Sausage, Spinach and Tomatoes
1/3 cup        polenta or cornmeal
1 1/3 cups   chicken broth
2 Tbsp         milk

1/2 cup        chopped onion

1 link           chicken sausage - I used Italian style, diced

1 tsp            olive oil

1 wedge      sonoma jack peppercorn parm cheese

1 wedge      laughing cow sundried tomato cheese

5 each         cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 cups         fresh baby spinach leaves

1. In a sauce pan (2 qts) sweat the onion in the olive oil.  When the onions become translucent, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, slowly add the polenta while stirring.

2. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to stir frequently until the mixture had thickened and most of the broth has been absorbed.  At this point you can add the sausage, cheese and milk.

3. Stir to incorporate the milk and bring back up to a simmer.  Once the sausage has had a chance to heat through and the cheese is completely melted, remove the polenta from the heat and stir in the spinach and tomatoes.

4. Continue to stir until the spinach is just wilted and the tomatoes are warm.  Transfer to a bowl, garnish and serve!

I garnished mine with a chiffinade of spinach, a couple of tomato wedges and a curl of asiago cheese.


I didn't do the math for the original version (which includes whole milk instead of broth, butter and handfuls of cheese) but I did calculate the nutritional information for this version.  The information is for the WHOLE recipe...

Calories:       497

Fat:              22.5 grams

Sat Fat:        8 grams

Carbs:          50 grams

Fiber             7 grams

Protein:         25.5 grams

Enjoy!

Time for a little change

So I know I lured you all over here with the promise of cake.  I won't lie, cake is good, but things have changed a bit since then.  I haven't blogged in a while because I haven't been making cakes.  Once my mom moved half way around the world the cakes fell by the wayside.

I don't have any cakes to post for you, mostly because I haven't remembered to take pictures of the last several I made. Oops!

I would like to actually get back to my blog though, so I am going to alter the format a bit.  I will still post cakes when I make them (and remember to take pictures) but I am going to write about food in general.  It was either that or a blog about my dog, Kia.  And no one wanted that.

I'll write about food I've made and food I've eaten out worth talking about, and hopefully before too long (maybe even by Sunday) I will hunt down the Hodge Podge truck and his other Truck Dim Sum and post about that.  Rumor has it they will both be at the Ingenuity Fest downtown tomorrow :).

Now... off to figure out how to talk Dan into going with me....

Blueberry Crumble

Good morning!! Today's post is by request. Last night we made a fabulous dessert for the neighborhood bunco group. It was such a hit that several of the ladies asked for the recipe. We made copies but not everyone got (or remembered) one so the recipe is my post for today. :)

This Blueberry Crumble is one of my favorite summertime desserts. It's easy and takes full advantage of the delicious summertime fruits that are available. It is also one of my favorite desserts in the dead of winter with 3 feet of snow on the ground... it works just as well with frozen fruit and reminds me of summer.

The original recipe calls for blueberries, but we have made it with mixed berries (cran-raz is one of my faves), peaches and apples. It's easy enough for a week night treat and spectacular enough for company with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fresh whipped cream. How ever you decide to do it, you won't be disappointed!!




Blueberry Crumble

Makes 10 servings

Filling:

• 4 generous cups of blueberries, cleaned and stemmed (or any other fruit you choose)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp lemon juice OR 2 drops of lemon oil

Topping

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Prepare filling: Toss all filling ingredients in a large bowl. Pour mixture into a 9-inch pie plate or similarly sized baking dish. Prepare topping: stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Pour in the melted butter and mix to form crumbles. Sprinkle over the top of the berry mixture. Bake 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the blueberry mixture is bubbly. Enjoy with a scoop of ice cream, some fresh whipped cream or just on it's own!

**I don't know the exact origins of this recipe (so I don't know who to credit) but we got it from a friend in California.

Hello Everyone! Welcome to Cake CaSa.

A few years ago my mom and I decided to take a cake decorating class together just for fun. After a few sessions we decided to make a baby shower cake. The cake we picked was soooooo cute that we completely ignored the fact that we didn't actually know how to make it. After some trial and error and lots of patience we made it.




That cake created a monster in both of us. What can we make next? What's the next challenge? Where do we go from here? The answers to those questions presented themselves to us over time.

My plan for this blog is to post what we are up to and what we are making as we go. I also plan to mix in some of the things that we have already done, so if you already know us, you'll see some things that look familiar. If you're new to Cake CaSa, enjoy the pics!!

That's it for tonight! See you soon :)