Blue Cayenne

Stir-Fried Tofu with Vegetables and Noodles

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Ingredients

• 1/2 pound firm tofu (sliced)
• 3 T. soy sauce
• 2 t. brown sugar
• 3 T. peanut oil
• 3 t. hoisin sauce
• 2 t. sesame oil
• 1 yellow bell pepper (seeded and cut into 1-inch squares or strips)
• 1 red bell pepper (seeded and cut into 1-inch squares or strips)
• 1 green bell pepper (seeded and cut into s1-inch squares or strips)
• 1 T. minced fresh ginger
• 2 large garlic cloves (minced)
• Dried red pepper flakes to taste (I used 1/4 t.)
• 4 scallions (white and green parts, cut into 1/2-1 inch lenghs)
• 6-8 ounces brown mushrooms (sliced)
• 1/2 C. fresh bean sprouts
• 1 Cup bok choy (sliced into 1 inch pieces)
• 8 ounces linguini noodles or Chinese rice noodles
• Chopped roasted peanuts for garnish
• Green onions for garnish

Instructions

1. To prepare the tofu, drain it and dry it. Wrap the tofu in a piece of cloth and place a cutting board (or something heavy) on top of the tofu to dry it further by pressing it. Let it sit for about 15 minutes under the weight. Slice the tofu into pieces measuring about 1/2 inch thick and 1 by 2 inch wide and long.
2. Mix 1 T. soy sauce, 1 t. brown sugar and 1 T. peanut oil in a bowl. Add the sliced tofu to the bowl and let the tofu marinate in the sauce for about 10 minutes.
3. Mix 2 T. soy sauce, 1 t. brown sugar, 3 t. hoisin sauce and 2 t. sesame oil together in another bowl. I think the amount of brown sugar and hoisin sauce can be increased to your taste. Set aside.
4. Boil noodles in salted water. Drain, toss with a little oil (not sesame) and set aside.
5. Heat your skillet or wok over high heat. Add the remaining 2 T. peanut oil and reduce the heat to medium high. Add the peppers to the pan and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. You want the peppers to begin to soften. Add the garlic and ginger to the hot pan and stir-fry for about 20 seconds. You want the ginger and garlic to begin to smell fragrant. Add the marinated tofu (and sauce) to the pan along with the dried red pepper flakes, bok choy, sliced mushrooms, bean sprouts and the green onions. Stir fry for a couple minutes. Add half of the sauce to the mixture. Cover the pan and cook for about two to three minutes. Remove the lid from the pan and stir and adjust seasonings.
6. Add rest of the sauce (or to your taste) and the noodles to the pan and stir to mix well. (I held some of the noodles back so that I could get a two-toned effect when I plated the dish.)The noodles will absorb the sauce. Arrange the stir-fry attractively on a serving dish and garnish with chopped peanuts and chopped green onions.

Nutrition

Calories

4257 cal

Fat

119 g

Carbs

634 g

Protein

144 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Apple Roses

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Ingredients

• 1 large sheet of defrosted puff pastry
• 2 red apples ( cored but unpeeled and sliced very thin)
• 3 T. apricot jam
• 2 T. water
• Granulated sugar (to taste)
• Cinnamon (to taste)
• Powdered sugar

Instructions

1. This recipe is adapted from the one that appears in the video link above.
2. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Roll out defrosted puff pastry on a floured surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the puff pastry into six to eight strips.
4. Put the apricot jam and water into a heatproof bowl. Melt the apricot jam in your microwave for about 1 minute and brush each strip of puff pastry with the melted jam. Set aside.
5. Microwave sliced apples in a bowl of water mixed with the juice of 1/2 lemon until the apples are partially cooked and pliable. Your apple won't roll properly if the apples aren't pliable. Perhaps my microwave is wimpy but, rather than the three minutes recommended in the video, I needed to microwave my apple slices for a little more than twice that amount of time. Drain the apples.
6. Arrange sliced apples along the long side of a strip of puff pastry with the red peel facing out. Sprinkle the apples with the granulated sugar and the ground cinnamon. Fold half of the puff pastry strip over the apple slices. Roll the strip tightly and put your apple rose into the well of a muffin tin that has been sprayed with oil or greased with butter. Repeat until you have used all the strips.
7. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes at 375 degrees F. Cool on your counter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. I'm thinking this would be wonderful served with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.

Nutrition

Calories

2400 cal

Carbs

624 g

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Orange Chocolate Cookies

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Ingredients

• 1 C. unsalted butter (at room temperature--plus extra for chocolate dipping sauce)
• 1 C. granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 t. freshly-grated orange zest
• 2 C. flour (plus extra for rolling dough)
• 1/4 best quality orange marmalade (divided)
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
2. Put the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer and beat it at medium-high speed for about 1 minute. You want the butter to be creamy. Add the granulated sugar and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). As you beat the butter and sugar, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl occasionally. Add egg yolk and orange zest to the mixture and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce the speed of your mixer to low and gradulally add the flour, mixing until just combined.
3. Lightly flour a working surface and put your cookie dough on top of the flour. Using a lightly-floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until you have a 1/4 inch thickness of dough. You may have to sprinkle on a little extra flour to keep your somewhat-sticky dough workable. Use 1 1/2 inch cookie cutters to cut the dough into rounds. Place your cookie dough rounds a generous one inch apart on your parchment-lined baking sheets. You can re-roll the little bits and pieces of dough left after cutting your cookies. These cookies are so good that you will want to get every last cookie out of your batch of dough.
4. Make a small indentation on the top of each cookie. You can use your thumb; I used a wine cork. Fill each indentation with 1/4 teaspoon of marmalade.
5. Bake cookies at 375 degrees F. until edges begin to brown, about 12 minutes. Remove baked cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes and then on a wire rack until they are completely cool.
6. When the cookies are cool, dip one half of each cookie in melted chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water (or in your microwave oven). As you melt the chocolate whisk in tablespoons of butter (one tablespoon at a time) to give you a good dipping consistence.