CrockPot Sweet and Sour Tofu

Day 187.

I was so excited to see that our grocery store has started carrying La Choy brand sweet and sour sauce.

So I bought a bunch.

La Choy uses soy instead of wheat starch to make it's soy sauce, and the sweet and sour sauce is labeled the same way. So there's no gluten! yippee!

We hadn't had tofu in a while, and after the french dip sandwiches, needed some lighter fare.

The Ingredients. -1 pound extra firm tofu, drained
- 4 cups fresh vegetables (I used 2 bell peppers, carrots, and broccoli)
- 1/2 white onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 10 oz jar of La Choy sweet and sour sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon water
- 1 T butter

The Directions.
You know how in Chinese restaurants the tofu is always really crispy on the outside and has a nice texture? I learned a trick last week to help create that at home without deep-frying. Cube your tofu, and put it in a zipper bag with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Shake the tofu until it's coated completely in cornstarch.

Then fry on the stove on medium heat in a tablespoon of butter. Resist the urge to flip the tofu often. Let it get a nice crusty coat before turning.

While that's cooking, wash and trim your vegetables and add to the crockpot. When the tofu is done, put it in also. Pour the entire bottle of sweet and sour sauce on top of the tofu and vegetables.

Add a 1/2 tablespoon of water to the "empty" jar, and shake. Pour the contents on top. Toss gingerly.

Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours.

This is finished when the vegetables have reached desired consistency. We like the veggies to have a crunch, so I didn't let it cook very long. The broccoli was not very crisp, but the onion, bell pepper, and carrot still were al dente.

The Verdict.

My kids each ate 2 helpings. They didn't eat the onion or bell pepper, but happily ate the tofu, carrots, and broccoli.

The sauce is a good flavor; it tastes like take-out. I might add red pepper flakes to the adult servings next time.

We ate this over white rice, outside. It was a really nice night.

Indian Spinach and Tofu CrockPot Recipe

Day 234.

I can't seem to get enough Indian food lately. Palak tofu is one of my favorite things to order as a side dish when we get take-out, and although it's not my favorite, I get the little foil packets at Trader Joe's for lunch about once a month. The problem (for me!) is that both the restaurant and the Trader Joe's version is hot and spicy---much too hot and spicy for me and my sensitive tongue. And, if I go digging around on the Internet, I find that many times the spinach is simmered in ghee (clarified butter), and that can't be good for my thighs.

This dish did the trick. It has a bit of a kick, but didn't leave me gasping for air and reaching for bottle after bottle of water. I had it for lunch and dinner yesterday, and am looking forward to today's lunch.

The Ingredients.

There are a lot of spices. Don't get nervous.
You can do this.

--2 boxes of frozen spinach, drained (I used one chopped, and one whole leaf)
--1 lb of extra firm tofu
--1 yellow onion, diced
--3 smashed and chopped garlic cloves
--1 can garbanzo beans, drained
--2 inches of ginger, peeled and grated
--1/2 tsp kosher salt (and then more later to taste)
--1 tsp cumin
--1 tsp curry
--1 Tbl coriander
--1/2 tsp chile powder
--1/2 tsp garam masala
--1/2 cup water

--cornstarch (to coat the tofu)
--butter (to fry the tofu)

The Directions.

Use a 3 or 4 quart crockpot.

Drain your tofu. Squeeze it in between some paper towels or a clean dish cloth if need-be to get as much of the liquid out as you can.

Cut it into 1-inch cubes and toss it with corn starch. Fry in butter until golden brown--resist the urge to flip; tofu takes a while to brown. I made some here, and there are pictures.

While the tofu is browning, squeeze out all of the moisture from the spinach and dump it into your crockpot. Dice up the onion, and mince the garlic. Add that, too. Drain your garbanzo beans, and pour them in. Add all of the spices.

Stir in 1/2 cup of water.

Add the tofu to the very top of the spinach.

Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours. This doesn't take very long to cook. Serve over white rice, and scoop up with naan, pitas, or corn tortillas.

The Verdict.

I loved this. Adam did, too. The kids each picked out a few pieces of tofu, but mostly they ate the tofu after it was fried in the butter, and ate rice with Parmesan cheese.

I will make this again. It's a very satisfying lunch, or flavorful side dish.

Other Indian food you should make and have a party and invite me:

lamb vindaloo
Indian coconut curry
vegetable curry
Indian chicken
tomato curried potatoes

Thai Coconut Soup CrockPot Recipe

Day 266.

We entertained over the weekend, and I was quite pleased with the results of this Thai soup. Entertaining is so easy when you use crockpots----everything in the kitchen is done, and you can really focus on your guests and not need to fiddle in the kitchen.

My friend Hayes has mentioned a few times that her children really like spicy coconut Thai soup, and I was interested to see if I could make it at home. I found two recipes that I pulled from, and used ingredients that I could find easily at our local grocery store. I used one from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, and one from Tyler Florence.

This is an elegant soup, fit to serve to your very best friends.

The Ingredients.

4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
1 can coconut milk (full fat is best. if you opt for the lite, you many want to add a drop of coconut extract to boost the flavor)
4 limes (3 juiced, 1 for garnish)
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 red bell pepper, sliced in strips
4 ounces sliced shitake mushrooms, cut in quarters
1 large vine-ripened tomato, or 4 small-med, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound extra firm tofu, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons red chili paste, to taste (you can use red chili flakes, too)
1 teaspoon white sugar (not pictured, I used a sugar packet)
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

The Directions.

I used a 6 quart Smart Set Crock-Pot for this soup.

Although there are a lot of ingredients listed, this soup comes together quite quickly. Nothing really needs to be cooked---you're just heating through fully and letting the flavors simmer together.

Pour the broth into the crockpot. Add the juice of three of the limes, and zest one of them until you get 1/2 teaspoon to add. Stir in the sugar and fish sauce. Grate the ginger and add. Stir in the coconut milk. You now have your soup base. Add the red chili paste, 1/2 tsp at a time until you have reached desired heat. I ended up using 1 1/2 tsp. You can always add more after cooking, though, so please go slow and don't overdo it.

Cube the tofu, slice the bell pepper, and mince the garlic. Add to pot. Coarsely chop the shitake mushrooms and the vine-ripened tomatoes. Stir in carefully, so you don't break up the tofu or the tomatoes.

Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours, or on high for 2-4. This soup is finished when it is fully hot, and the flavors have combined nicely.

Ours ended up sitting on warm for an additional 3 hours, and was fine. When in doubt, use the shortest amount of cooking time, and let the pot stay on warm.

Garnish with fresh lime slices.

The Verdict.

I am proud of this soup. It had a great flavor, without being overpowering or too spicy. I paired it with Korean Ribs (but I used stew meat this time) and coconut rice.

Both of my girls tasted the soup before our company arrived, and liked it, but I made this for the adults. The kids had buttered pasta with shredded cheese.