Eggplant and Tofu Stew (No Added Fat)

I'm looking forward to our next So Many Cooks in the Kitchen show on Saturday April 4th; we'll be demonstrating appliances like a juicer, mandolin, immersion blender, and more. I'll be discussing the pressure cooker. Today's dish with my Instant Pot pressure cooker was simple, fast, tasty, and healthy - as usual! 

Ingredients

• Medium eggplant cut into 3/4" or 1" cubes
• 3/4 of a 14 ounce block of extra firm tofu cut into 5/8" pieces
• 14.5 ounce can stewed or roasted tomato (diced not whole)
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped into 1/4" or smaller pieces
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1/8 cup water
• Herbs: 1 t oregano and 1/2 t sage if dried; 1 T oregano and 1 t sage if fresh
• (optional) Medium Yukon Gold or red or yellow potato cut into 3/4" pieces
• 1/8 cup onion cut into 1/4" cubes
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper OR spicy crushed red pepper or hot sauce to taste
• Salt to taste

Process

1. Traditionally one would salt eggplant such as by generously sprinkling salt over the cut pieces in  a colander over a bowl for 1/2 to 1 1/2 hours or so and then rinsing. It would draw off excess moisture, helpful if dry cooking, and pull out some bitterness. However, eggplants have been bred to not be so bitter and I am pressure cooking, so I skipped this step as I usually do.
2. Put the eggplant, tofu, stewed tomato, garlic, garlic powder, and water into the pressure cooker.
3. If using potato, add it as well. I did use potato but in hindsight its flavor and texture was not consonant with the rest of the dish so I'd omit it.
4. If using dried herbs, add them too (otherwise add just before serving).
5. Cook under pressure for 2 minutes.
6. After the cooking is done, wait a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mix in herbs (if using fresh), onion, black or red pepper (or hot sauce), and salt.

 

Results

The dish was predictably delicious. I have been pressure cooking for some years now but still am amazed at the depth of flavor that can be achieved in minutes. We didn't care for the potato but it really didn't detract much.

Ideas for the future

I would omit the potato. I have used capers in the past for eggplant and tomato dishes - they go well together. I wonder what a little bit of roasted fennel would be like in this dish.

Air Fried Tofu (for kiddo and me)

Quick Tofu and Vegetable Dinner just for me (no added fat)

I was grocery shopping and got home late; my family had leftovers. I love tofu and have a favorite dish that I make when it's late and I'm not cooking for my wife, who has trouble digesting tofu.

All I do is cut up some vegetables (or use frozen ones; I uesd fresh carrots and kale, and frozen green beans and bell peppers) and cube tofu (I used maybe 3/5 of a 1 pound package of extra firm tofu from Twin Oaks Farms, a favorite of mine), then cook in my Instant Pot pressure cooker for 0-2 minutes (I think I went with 1 or 2 minutes). I then mixed in a little salt, garlic powder, freshly ground black pepper, and onion cut to about 3/8" cubes. I served with dabs of hot sauce, fresh tomato, and leftover rice.

It was predictably good! We have our next So Many Cooks event coming up and this one is on tofu. I'm thinking of demonstrating this - or maybe a chocolate tofu pie? Something else? It should be fun!

Pressure-Cooked Risotto with Peas and Carrots, Air "Fried" Tempeh (or Tofu) (No Added Fat)

I decided to make risotto like I described last May with a 1 to 2 ratio of arborio rice to water pressure cooked for 5m, along with cubes of potato and carrot, plus peas, onion, and garlic. I also prepared tempeh (tofu for my daughter; I had some tofu, too) in the air fryer at 350°F for 4m.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Udon Noodles with Curry Tofu Nuggets

I had a full day and came home late. I love tofu and decided to make udon noodles with curried tofu, spinach, and bell pepper, for a simple dinner for myself.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Braised Tofu (or Tempeh) with Bell Pepper, "Cheesy" Riced Broccoli (Almost No Added Fat)

The hurricane is slowly passing us by and finally we had some sunshine today - but also tornado warnings this morning, a lot of rain, and nearby areas experienced flooding. We are lucking out and haven't even lost power, but I'm still focused on bringing down my frozen food inventory.

I recently bought frozen riced broccoli (blanced organic broccoli and salt), and decided to cook it waterlessly (I just put it in my small Saladmaster stock pan, covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 7-10 minutes, really just to defrost and heat up. I made a "cheese" sauce to serve atop the broccoli by blending soaked cashews, water, nutritional yeast, garlic, salt, and, for color, a little bit of tomato and red bell pepper.

I mentioned in the recent past about, for me, a new tofu company called Hodo Foods . I bought their braised tofu and used it with dinner as the main course by sauteeing with bell pepper and onion (on cast iron with no oil); my wife doesn't eat tofu as it doesn't agree with her, so her serving was of tempeh instead of tofu.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Thai Curry Nuggets with Vegetables, Brown Rice Noodles

The day before yesterday when I was shopping at Weaver Street Market Coop, I found products from a new company called Hodo that looked appealing (and they were on sale). I bought their Thai curry nuggets as well as braised tofu with Chinese five-spice. The nuggets are great!

They have very nice flavor and a chewy texture. They are great right out of the package, but today I decided to cook them with vegetables and red curry paste, and serve with brown rice noodles (my wife and daughter were away so I could cook tofu, which my wife has problems digesting, since I was cooking for myself).

The nuggets are a bit high in fat; the whole 8 ounce package has about 17 1/2 grams of fat. For tonight's meal, I used maybe a third of the package, so will call this about 6 grams of fat, which isn't bad.

I simply sauteed (with no oil) some onion, garlic, kale, bell pepper, and the nuggets, mixing in red curry paste. I served with brown rice noodles topped with black sesame seeds and tamari sauce.

Results

The tofu is delicious right out of the packet so it's no surprise that dinner was very good with all of the other flavors cooked together. In hindsight, the red curry paste didn't go great, but I used it to add more heat to the tame curry. Though I had mentioned garlic, I actually forgot to cook with garlic; the dish would have been even a slight bit better with garlic.

Ideas for the future

I love this new tofu product and only wish that it were lower in fat. I may contact the company and see if they might consider a baked or even air fried product. I should continue to make dishes like this when I'm not cooking for my wife, but don't need a curry paste. Perhaps a hint of lemon and miso dressing may be nice.

Panko-coated Air-Fried Seitan and Tofu, Sweet Potato (No Added Fat)

My wife and daughter are traveling this week, so I was on my own for dinner. I coated seitan in panko bread crumbs and jerk seasoning, but the coating didn't stick so well (I should experiment with vegan "egg" additions in such situations), so I also coated a piece of tofu, which takes coating well. I air fried for 5 minutes at  375°F. I had some small sweet potatoes and pressure steamed them for only 9 minutes in my Instant Pot; I could have gotten away with perhaps only 6-7 minutes!

Results

Dinner was good and I should replicate this for my family. The seitan, not nearly as moist as the tofu, was just a bit overdone but actually still quite good. If there were some lemon, it would remind me of my signature lime marinated jerk seitan dish. The tofu was good but could have been air fried for a few more minutes. It was fun to eat three sweet potatoes!

Ideas for the future

I might experiment with adding lemon zest to the breading of seitan - and mix in  some yogurt, a vegan "egg", or maybe lemon or orange juice to the breading to help it to stick to seitan. Some sesame seeds would also be nice but I'd be concerned that they might burn.

Air Fried Tofu, Waterlessly Cooked Kale and Vegetables (No Added Fat)

My wife ate on her own but I waited till after midnight to enjoy dinner with her cousin, visiting with us for a few days. I made air fried tofu by cutting tofu into approximately 3/8" x 1" x 2" pieces, dredging in a mixture of nutritional yeast + salt + jerk seasoning, and air frying first for 6m at 375°F, then for 4m more at 425°F. I served the tofu with a waterlessly cooked mix of kale, bell pepper, and onion, as well as brown rice that I had made in the pressure cooker (1 part rice to 1 3/4 parts water cooked with a touch of salt for 20m).

Results

Fried tofu (with no oil!) always comes out well in the air fryer, and my wife's cousin quite enjoyed it. I thought that the vegetables were a bit "flat" but my wife's cousin liked them.

Ideas for the future

Waterless cooking is nice, but I should be sure to use more vegetables. Having some cauliflower or broccoli might have been nice.

Udon Noodles with Air Fried Vegetables and Tofu/Vegan Sausage, Tomato and Olive Salad, Sweet Potato (No Added Fat)

With my daughter's help (she loves udon noodles, and so do my wife and I), I made an udon noodle dish tonight. We chopped golden zucchini, shallot, and broccoli into small 3/8" chunks and air fried at 350°F for 6 minutes. I also had my daughter include some tofu pieces dredged in nutritional yeast/sesame seeds/salt, and a Field Roast brand vegan sausage cut into 1/4" pieces and halved; the tofu went with her meal and some with mine, and the sausage went with my wife's meal and some with mine.

The noodles took 7m to cook on a low boil. I put the vegetables/tofu/sausage atop the noodles. My wife got some hot sauce and my daughter and I got soy sauce. A tomato and olive salad with ume plum vinegar, salt, and pepper, as well as sweet potato (cooked in the Instant Pot), completed the meal.

Results

We all loved dinner!

Ideas for the future

I had forgotten, but wanted to include ginger with the noodles; I should cook with udon noodles more often and remember to pair them with a good sauce and ginger.

Air "Fried" Tofu and Tempeh Steaks Coated with Quinoa

I'm excited about our new air fryer, the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven TOA-60. I got it about a week ago and am impressed by its toasting (even and fast) and baking, with or without convection (it's fast!). I finally wanted to try the air frying function.

I believe that all "air frying" is with this oven is convection baking, maybe with faster air circulation, and with food put in a rectangular basket with holes allowing air circulation. That basket sits atop a baking tray that I put aluminum foil on to make cleanup easier.

For my first try, I was going to make a battered seitan, but my wife forgot to pick up bread crumbs and it turned out that we were out of seitan. How about tofu steaks for kiddo and me, and tempeh ones for my wife?

I have read that quinoa can be a good coating, so made some quinoa. I also bought some frozen French Fries. I put a little canola oil on a paper towel and wiped the basket to help with keeping food from sticking.

The fries were easy. I wanted to buy Cascadian Farms brand French Fries that are coated with a little apple juice to enhance browning without a lot of oil; for example, their crinkle cut fries have 4g of fat per 3 ounce serving. The store I quickly stopped at didn't have these, but they did have Alexia brand organic truffle fries, which I bought. They turned out to indeed be rather oily, with twice as much fat (8g per 3 ounces).

I covered the provided baking pan with foil to ease in cleanup and put the mesh basket, very lightly rubbed with oil, on top of the baking pan. The fries were to be cooked for 425°F for 15m, but I went with 400°F for 12m. They came out great but maybe a bit too crispy; 10-12m at 375°F would probably have sufficed.

Here is what I did for the steaks:

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 t salt
• I would have used a bouillon cube, but for some reason the Rapunzel brand cubes I love haven't been available for some weeks now
• 4 ounces tofu for two of us, cut into approx. 1/4" x 1" x 2" pieces
• 2 ounces tempeh for one, cut into approx. 1/4" x 3/4" x 1 1/2" pieces
• (optional) 6-10 half moons of onion (approx 3/8" thick)
• (optional) 1/8 cup frozen or fresh mushroom pieces
• 3T nutritional yeast
• 1t garlic powder or garlic granules

Process

1. I first cooked the quinoa by mixing the water, quinoa, and salt (and bouillon cube or broth, neither of which I had), bringing to a boil, then simmering, uncovered for 2 or 3 minutes.
2. I took the quinoa off the heat and let it stand, covered (or uncovered - it may take a bit longer), for another 7-10 minutes or so till the liquid was fully absorbed and the quinoa took on its characteristic spiral shape.
3. I dredged the tofu, tempeh, onion, and mushroom through the quinoa. The quinoa didn't stick well (in the future, I might try using a vegan "egg" such as Ener-G Egg Replacer, or even, for a savory and sweet flavor, maple syrup, first), so I mostly just patted some quinoa down on top.
4. I air fried for 350°F for only about 7 minutes (I thought it would take longer, but it was done in 7 minutes!) and served.

Results

Wow, we all loved the results of the air fryer. The main course was surprisingly good! It was so easy and came out so crispy and flavorful. My wife and I added hot sauce and my daughter added soy sauce to the steaks. This was a very successful first attempt!

Ideas for the future

 I'd like to try making French Fries from scratch by soaking potatoes for 20m then drying them before air frying them. But the frozen ones, oily though they were, were very good. I bet less oily frozen fries would be great!

My original idea of working with seitan is exciting; I can't wait to try hopefully crispy air fried seitan. I need to make or get some bread crumbs and also consider better sticking of a coating.

Sauteed Tofu and Vegetables, Lentil Grain Bread with Tomato and Guacamole (No Added Fat)

I was out and about and got home late; my family had eaten, so I made a simple dinner for myself. I sauteed on a cast iron stove with no added oil tofu, asparagus, onion, garlic, and mushroom. I also roasted a jalapeno pepper and mixed some of it in.

I like a veganic company, One Degree Organic Foods, and enjoy their cereals. I found their bread in the frozen section; they had an interesting lentil grain bread, which I bought, toasted, and served with tomato and a bit of guacamole.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Tofu with Vegetables, Brown Rice Capellini with Marinara (No Added Fat)

My wife is traveling so for a few days I get to use tofu, which my wife can't eat due to problems with digesting it. I cooked on a cast iron pan some tofu, fingerling potatoes, broccoli, mushroom, onion, and garlic. I mixed in some bok choy in the final minutes of cooking and served with coconut aminos (like soy sauce) and dried chives. I also made brown rice pasta.

Sandwich Bun with Grilled Tempeh (or Tofu) and Vegetables (No Added Fat)

My wife had picked up an interesting looking thin sandwich bun (OneBun Multigrain by Ozery Bakery) that was a bit like an English muffin but that was pre-split to open into two thin halves. I made a simple dinner by putting a little oil on a cast iron pan then wiping the oil off, and grilling tempeh (tofu, in a separate pan, for my daughter), bell pepper, mushroom, and onion. I served the grilled vegetables with mustard, mixed greens, and pickle in the warmed buns. We picked out some huge tomatoes recently, and I served each of us a thick slice from one.

We all enjoyed dinner. I don't usually eat sandwiches for dinner, but this one was good and welcome.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Golden Beet with Spinach and Tempeh, Spicy Tomato Salad (No Added Fat)

Brussels Sprouts were on sale at the cooperative grocery store today, so I decided to try roasting them similarly to what I did for the Valentine's Day dinner. I also included a golden beet, cut into 3/8" cubes. At 450°F, I oven roasted the beet with onion for about 30 minutes and the Brussels Sprouts with onion for about 15 minutes. I did not broil, but removed from the oven; the beet looked and tasted good, so I just sautéed on cast iron the Brussels Sprouts and onion, along with (for my wife and me) tempeh, bell pepper, more onion, and chopped spinach. I added a bit of salt and garlic powder when I served. For my daughter, who doesn't like spinach or tempeh, I left out the spinach and used tofu instead of tempeh.

I also made a tasty tomato salad. I gave my daughter some tasty organic grape tomatoes that we also bought today. For my wife and me, I halved tomatoes, and mixed in chopped green chili pepper, ume plum vinegar, Indian black salt (kala namak), and freshly ground black pepper. I served brown rice, as well.

Results

Dinner was good but the main course wasn't as flavorful as the Valentine's Day one. I thought that the tempeh didn't work as well with this dish as the tofu. I cooked oil-free, as I almost always do; a crispier tempeh may have been better.

Ideas for the future

I am so glad that it's so easy to get roasted and crispy Brussels sprouts without oil, but I should season with more spices like turmeric, lemon pepper (which I'm out of right now), and/or ground cumin, and with other ingredients like garlic or, like I did on Valentine's Day, tomato. I should experiment with it more, perhaps mixing the cooked sprouts into mashed sweet potato. Roasting other vegetable combinations would also be good.

Tofu and Vegetables in Seeded Pita, Basil Peas (Almost No Added Fat)

We have a Lebanese restaurant in the area, Neomonde, whose seeded pita pockets I like. I picked some up yesterday and decided to make a simple sauteed tofu and vegetable dish served in the pita. I sauteed with no added oil on a cast iron pan and, since tofu bothers my wife, made an equivalent dish for her with tempeh instead of tofu.

I also made some peas with basil. All I did was put 2 cups or so of frozen peas in a small Saladmaster stock pan along with 2t frozen chopped basil, and waterlessly cooked for about 10-15m.

Results

Dinner was simple but good. My daughter had a girl her age visiting for the evening - she had never had tofu in her life, but enjoyed the meal. Peas and basil makes a good combination!

Ideas for the future

I don't generally serve or eat sandwiches for dinner, but a pocket sandwich somehow sounds appealing. I should serve these periodically and experiment with a variety of interesting fillings.

Tofu with Vegetables (No Added Fat)

I made a simple tofu and vegetable dish, pressure cooked for 2 minutes under low pressure in my Instant Pot pressure cooker. I served it with brown rice (rice : water ratio of 1 : 2 1/2, brought to a boil along with a vegan bouillon cube and a pinch of salt, then simmered, covered, for 50m) and the remaining huge radish of the bunch that I bought recently.

Tofu and Hashed Brown Potatoes with Vegetaables (No Added Fat)

I made a simple dinner today. On my cast iron skillet with no added fat (except a trivial amount left after rubbing in a few drops of oil), I made a saute with tofu, hashed brown potatoes, bell pepper, spinach, and onions. I served it with leftover brown rice, as well as radish.

Tofu with Artichoke Hearts, Brown Rice Capellini (No Added Fat)

I made a simple (2-minute, as I recall?) pressure cooked dish with tofu and artichoke hearts, well seasoned when it was done. Some brown rice capellini with marinara and nutritional yeast accompanied the main dish. It was good!

Macaroni and "Cheese" with Baked Tofu (Almost No Added Fat, surprisingly)

My wife is traveling for business so I could make one of my daughter's favorite meals tonight, macaroni and "cheese". We picked up a package of Annie's brand shells and creamy sauce. our favorite brand of boxed macaroni and "cheese" is Daiya's, but I was happy to read that the Annie's one, even with the added soy milk needed to make the sauce, has only 2g of fat per box of 2 1/2 servings - so I can surprisingly claim "almost no added fat" for my serving!

I served some baked tofu and a large salad with the macaroni. Dinner was good.