Last night I went to an adult CPR class. Interesting.  This is required for my Running Coach certification in June.  I’m excited about that!  Wednesday night, I have the First Aid class that I have to attend.

Last night’s class went from 6 until 9 pm.  There were 15 people in attendance. 

We covered a lot of material, not just CPR.

I formed a very special bond with my man.

I must have done everything right because I’m CERTIFIED! 

The workout:  30 minutes on the E.T., a quick 25 minute leg workout and a 5.19 mile easy run with Shane.  The run was one of those that start off good then at about 2 miles, I was wondering why I was out in the cold running.  2 more miles of forcing one foot in front of the other then the mile and run for home energy kicked in.  Now I’m thinking…COFFEE PLEASE!!!  Oh wait! I’d rather have a REESE’S….don’t forget the GIVEAWAY!

And now another tofu recipe.  This one is for those of you who have already acquired a taste for tofu.  This is a very flat, delicate patty that you start on the stove top and finish in the oven. 

Serves 4

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic
• 3 small green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen green beans
• 1/2 yellow (or red) bell pepper, chopped
• 14 oz Lite Firm Tofu, drained
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS honey mustard
• pinch salt and pepper
• 1 cup broccoli slaw (chop the longer slices)
• 1 TBS olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Heat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat with the 1 TBS olive oil.  When heated, add the garlic, onion, beans, and pepper.  Sauté for 5 – 7 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the tofu with the soy sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. 

Add the tofu mixture to the skillet with the beans, etc. and stir around to heat.  Turn off heat.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spread about 1 TBS olive oil over the sheet.  Dump the tofu mixture on the sheet and, since it will still be hot, separate into 8 piles.  Flatten to form patties.

Put in the oven to cook 25 minutes.  Remove and let cool 5 minutes.  Remove VERY CAREFULLY to a plate. Serve with additional honey mustard – optional- but I think it’s needed. 

Ted is going to be making a broccoli stir fry this week. What’s your favorite way to eat broccoli?  Do you even LIKE broccoli?

You won’t believe the silky, chocolaty taste of this mousse. It’s perfect. But the total surprise will be in the ingredients.

This was a Valentine’s Day perfect pick by Laura of Edible Ventures.  Visit Laura’s site to see the recipe, tips and tricks or go online here.

The title is really Dark Chocolate Mousse and even though I used 3.1 oz

of my best quality Valrhona bittersweet dark chocolate it looked like milk chocolate mousse. 

The color doesn’t matter because once this dessert touches your lips, your eyes will close, your lips will wrap around the spoon, and as this velvety mix dissolves effortlessly on your tongue, you’ll already be dreaming of the next bite.  You need to sit down while enjoying this guiltless pleasure because your legs may even get weak.

What’s the secret ingredient?  TOFU!  You guessed it!  This is a protein rich dessert.  A perfect word to lure Ted into being my taste tester.  After he went through all the above mentioned motions, I asked….”Do you feel the urge to put on something…uh…Pink?”   He knew immediately what I meant and let out  “WHAT?!!! OH NO!!! NOT  T   O  F  U  !!!!!  I made the mistake of passing along a rumor that tofu may slightly increases estrogen levels. Ted has never forgotten and wants nothing to do with increased estrogen.  It’s TESTOSTERONE for him!

Even after that outburst, he ended up eating the dessert. You know it’s got to be good.

The only changes to the ingredients that I made were:
1.  I used 1 lb of Silken Tofu – that’s what the package contained so I used it all.

2.  I used 2 TBS of water instead of 1/4 cup.

3.  I used 2 TBS of Peach Brandy instead of 1 TBS  

The only change I made to the directions was to cook it directly on a burner instead of over a pot with 1 inch of water.  I watched it closely and it didn’t burn or get lumpy. 

Laura, did I make myself clear?  We LOVED this dessert. Great, super, fantastic choice!

Raw Avocado Chocolate Mousse

I’m getting worse.  I did make this weeks recipe with beef for Ted and when I was looking at the photos to put them into this post, all of a sudden I got queasy looking at the beef.  They weren’t bad photos either but just something       ….oh well. 

Here are the photos of my version of the dinner with tofu:

Good pick by Alyssa of Alyssas Two Bites.  The recipe can be found on foodnetwork right here.

Very easy to make.  It goes together quickly.  There are a few ingredients the average household might not have but easily substituted.  e.g Mirin, sub sweet white wine.  Rice vinegar sub apple cider vinegar.  Edamame (personally I would NEVER forfeit these. I love them) use green peas or beans if you just can’t find them or your husband is scared to death of soy.

Lets talk tofu (information from cooking club magazine): 

Tofu is available from silken, being the softest to extra firm.  It is sold in either water packed packages that need refrigeration

or in aseptic boxes that can be stocked on pantry shelves but may also be found in the refrigeration section.  These aseptic packages will last about 8 months unopened. 

The aseptic packaged tofu is pasteurized and creamier than water packed.  It is more nutritious and offers less of a chance for bacterial contamination so you don’t have to cook it and can use it in a nutritious protein smoothie.

Back to Ellie’s recipe.  We weren’t over the top about this recipe.  It lacked flavor.  The tofu picked up the flavors of the orange juice and soy sauce but it needed more kick.  The lack of flavor might have been because instead of doubling the sauce for the meat version and the tofu version, I simply split it in half.   But Ted was also disappointed in the toughness of the meat. *He should have had the tofu  

My favorite part of this meal was the Edamame.  I just love the taste and the texture of those little green soy beans. 

Sorry I can’t bring myself to put a photo of  the meat version of this dish on today’s blog.   I’m sure I’ll get over it and will post many more photos of recipes made with meat but right now, it just isn’t happening.

For anyone interested in meatless options for traditional dishes, here are some suggestions, again from Cooking Club.

Stew:  Use eggplant cubes instead of beef.  Vegetable broth instead of beef broth. Add red wine and tomato paste to enrich taste.

Garbanzo beans (chick peas) or mushrooms can be used to replace ground meat in certain recipes.

Add oil packed sun dried tomatoes instead of bacon and chunks of portobello mushrooms instead of beef.

If you want to try soy products, use soy crumbles (textured vegetable protein) or crumbled tempeh for ground meats.  Smoked tofu is available for use in Reuben sandwiches instead of corned beef.

If you are a vegetarian or vegan, what substitutes for meat do you like best?

I miss football already.  I don’t sit still very long to watch it but I enjoy hearing it in the background while I’m doing other things.  We are down to …what?… 4 teams  now?  New York Jets. Minnesota.  New Orleans. Indianapolis.  My all time favorite is out (that would be Dallas), but I leave myself with other options. 

I like the Jets because they are a NY team.

I like Minnesota because I like Favre (and by the way…why is his name spelled “FaVre “ when we pronounce the R before the V????)

I like Indianapolis because I like Payton.

Sorry NO fans, I have no attraction what so ever to The Saints.

It will be a tough Super bowl should two of my three play each other which just might happen.

As for food….

All the eating-cheating done this weekend called for a gentle, back to normal approach for the stomach at this meal.  Ted however, was on his own. He won’t eat tofu. 

I like curry.  I like my curry with raisins.  If you don’t like raisins, simply add 1 tsp brown sugar or 1 to 2 tsp Agave Nectar to the sauce.  I find that the sweetness of the raisins when cooked in the sauce is just sweet enough for me.  The best experience, although we puree them in this recipe, is when you bite into one of those puffed up pillows of sweet delight when they are coated with the spicy flavor of curry.   Maybe we should add more and leave some whole?!   

Serves 2 to 3  (1 for me and the other serving for me )

• 12 oz  to 14 oz Silken or Soft Tofu  
• 1 TBS chopped cilantro 
• 1 tsp red chile paste
• 1 tsp curry powder (use more or less to taste)
• 1 TBS Golden Raisins
• 1/2  TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS Apple Cider
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 2 cups Broccoli Florets – rinsed and dried 
• 4 oz Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Vegetable Broth   

Add the tofu, cilantro, chile paste, curry powder, raisins, soy sauce, and cider to a saucepan.  Mash the tofu and stir everything together. 

Heat over medium heat until warm through, reducing heat after 10 minutes to low flame. Let it simmer about another 20 minutes.   During that time, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and, when hot, add the broccoli.   Sauté for 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and sauté another 3 minutes. 

Add salt and pepper to taste.  Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally.  The broccoli and mushrooms will most likely have about 10 min. left on simmer while the tofu cooks. 

When the tofu sauce is complete, after 30 minutes, puree in a blender or food processor or use your immersion blender.  

Add enough broth to make it as thick or thin as you like. Put back on the stove for 1 minute to stir around and heat through.  Ladle the sauce over the broccoli and shiitake mushrooms.  Serve immediately.

• Approx. Nutrition Per Serving:  208 calories.  11.4g Protein 21.6g Carbs. 8.3g Fat. 4g Fiber.

Sandy of the Group on Gather called “Recipes, Tips, Freebies, Household Hints, and More” has challenged the group to suggest things, products, etc. that members use in their kitchen.  Offer a photo, opinion, etc.

I am suggesting the Immersion Blender. 

Great tool!  It is SO much easier to clean than a food processor or blender.  Mine has a little age to it so it has become stained over the years, but I love it!

What’s your favorite kitchen tool, gadget or ingredient? 

 Since I transferred the site to a host provider, I have had so many issues, just not knowing what to do or how it’s done. It’s mostly editing and feeds and updating files.  I just don’t know how to do that “behind the scenes” stuff.  It begins to get tiring when it should be fun.  When the goin’ gets tough… cook something good.

Tonight is veggie night and up on the menu block is Cabbage and Bellas.  This recipe will serve 4.  It was adapted from “Cooking With America’s Championship Team: ACF” by Chef Edward G. Leonard.

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped Vegetarian Bacon (or regular if you eat meat)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 6 oz sliced Portabella Mushrooms
• 1/2 head Cabbage – sliced
• 1 cup Vegetable Broth
• 2 sprigs thyme
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat stove top to medium.  Add the olive oil and veggie bacon, cooking until it crisps.  Add the onion and garlic and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.   Add the mushrooms slices and cook another 2 minutes.  Add the cabbage and cook 2 minutes.  Add the broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and continue to simmer about 15 minutes until the cabbage is tender. 

Just before serving, add the thyme, salt and pepper. 

  For the main dish tonight, it was simply tofu prepared as follows….

1 12 oz container Lite Firm Tofu.  Squeeze and pat dry.  Slice into 1” cubes.  Stir in 2 TBS Peanut Satay Sauce (lazy me… it was store bought).  

Add to a preheated saucepan (over medium heat) and saute 8 minutes per side. 

The tofu sits on sliced butternut squash.

My legs and buns are beginning to get a bit sore from this mornings workout.  I knew that would happen.  Tomorrow it will be shoulders, triceps and calves.  Shoulders could be tough because when I went under my desk to retrieve something that had fallen, I whacked my shoulder on the up-swing.  It’s scrapped and bruised and a tad throbby.  I told you  my life is painful!     

Tomorrow is the first day of Fall.  Time is flying!