Korean Sesame-Crusted Tofu

My tofu cubes didn’t stay sesame-crusted!  They looked so nice when I first rolled them around in the sesame seeds, so pretty and professional looking. However, my tofu cubes preferred to be naked. The sesame seeds came off when I stir-fried them. No sense of modesty for these guys.

It didn’t matter, because this stir-fry was perfect for Vegan Tuesday. It was spicy, crunchy, and a complete meal. The recipe comes from the July/August issue of Vegetarian Times and is full of vegetables, garlic, and chile. Perfect over rice.

From Vegetarian Times

• 1 16-ounce package of extra-firm tofu, drained
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided
• 1 pound bok choy, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 15-ounce can baby corn, rinsed and drained
• 8 scallions, thinly sliced
• 8 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 bird’s eye chiles or other small chile peppers, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. Press tofu between two cutting boards lined with paper towels with heavy pot or can on top of the top cutting board for 10 minutes. Cut tofu into bite-size cubes.
2. Coat tofu with sesame seeds in small bowl. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add tofu and sauté for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to plate.
3. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil  in wok over high heat. Add bok choy and bell pepper. Stir fry for 4 minutes. Stir in corn, green onions, garlic, and chiles; stir-fry 2 minutes more. Stir in soy sauce and then fold in tofu.

Serve over rice. Serves 4.

Please visit Michele over at Veggie Num Nums to see what she made for Vegan Tuesday.

{twd}my tribute to dorie’s tribute to katharine hepburn brownies

Apparently, in addition to her film accomplishments, Katharine Hepburn was known for her brownies. I did not know this. After imdb-ing her, I’ve also realized that I’ve never watched one of her movies. The closest I’ve come to “watching” her in a movie is seeing Cate Blanchett play her in The Aviator. I really need to catch up on my classic movie watching.

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, A Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies, is Dorie Greenspan’s tribute to the famous brownies. My tribute to the brownies is ice cream. More specifically, Peanut Butter Ice Cream with a Caramel Swirl and Chocolate-Covered Cacao Nibs.

The brownies had just the right amount of gooey-factor and were fudgey with a hint of cinnamon. Loved them. Co-workers loved them.

See exhibit #1, email from co-worker (masked to protect the innocent):

From:	#####	Monday – July 6, 2009 10:28 AM
To:	Wendy
Subject:	OMG

Browwwwnnnnnniiiiiieeeeessssss Yummy Yummy Yummy.

But the ice cream, yes the ice cream was an absolute dream. This is my new favorite flavor. I made Peanut Butter Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop and swirled in Creamy Caramel Sauce also from the book and I also added in some chocolate-covered cacao nibs. You can find the recipe for the ice cream HERE. I need to figure out how to successfully bring ice cream to work. I was thinking about buying dry ice.

Thank you to Lisa of Surviving Oz for selecting this week’s recipe. She isn’t a member of Tuesdays with Dorie, but designed the new logo. Isn’t it cool? If you would the recipe, either buy Dorie Greenspan’s Baking… From My Home to Yours or visit Lisa’s blog.

Ciabatta al Funghi

I have had problems pronouncing ciabatta. No matter how many times people have told me the right pronounciation, I always said it wrong the first time it comes out of my mouth. I always wanted to pronounce the “i”–saying chee-a-bah-tah instead of cha-bah-tah.

One of the bonus benefits of baking along with a group like The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge is tweeting about our bread. I’ve previously mentioned learning how to spell international words and I can now proudly announce that I can correctly pronounce ciabatta. By tweeting so much about it, I’ve said it in my head so many times. Practice makes perfect.

Last September I made the poolish version of ciabatta out of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. You can see it HERE. I hesitated linking to my post about it. A lot has changed in a year. One is that my ciabatta now has holes! Not big massive holes, but there are holes. The other, as you know, is I will not be celebrating my anniversary this year. And if I want to get metaphorical like I did with my previous attempt at ciabatta, there were things obviously wrong with both my ciabatta and my marriage.

Back to the bread…this time around I decided to make the biga version and the Wild Mushroom (Ciabatta al Funghi) variation. This variation uses a mix of dried and fresh mushrooms. For the dried mushrooms, I used Trader Joe’s Mixed Wild Mushroom Medley which has: porcini, shiitake, black, and oyster mushrooms. I used cremini mushrooms for the fresh. The formula says to use a pound, but when I went shopping I mistakenly only bought a half a pound.

The dried mushrooms are rehydrated and added during the dough mixing-phase and the fresh mushrooms are sautéd with garlic in olive oil and added during the two stretch-and-fold turns.

Instead of shaping standard-sized ciabatta, I made twelve mini-ciabatta. The bread is incredibly creamy. It melts in my mouth. Every other bite, I’m hit with the taste of garlic. The bread tastes great plain, but it also makes a wonderful sandwich.

{sms} Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream

Yay! Ice cream! I’m always up for ice cream.

This week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays group recipe was Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream. It’s vanilla ice cream made with brown sugar instead of white sugar. I loved the taste the brown sugar gave the ice cream. We also had a choice of making a fudge or a butterscotch sauce, but I completely forgot. Oops.

I also baked the Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Almonds that the group baked during my break. I’m so glad I did, because they were really good. I loved the addition of toasted almonds. I had them with this week’s ice cream and they were a great combination. You can find the recipe for them HERE.

Thank you to Karen of Karen’s Cookies Cakes & More for selecting this week’s recipe. You can find the recipe on her blog.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

My sister’s boyfriend showed up at my parent’s house with a giant zucchini. Yes, literally, a giant zucchini that came from his family’s garden.  I cook with zucchini all the time, but I’ve never baked with it. I know zucchini bread is a summer classic when the squash is in season and home gardeners have so much their friends and neighbors run away screaming because they don’t want anymore.

Giant Zucchini: 3 lbs, 3 oz

I found a recipe for Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread in the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book and decided to try it. Instead of a loaf, I made muffins. The recipe made 16 standard-sized muffins. Also, instead of grating the zucchini (my parents don’t have a box grater. Who doesn’t have one?), I diced it really small. Or tried to dice it really small. I’m lazy with my knife skills.

The muffins turned out great, diced zucchini and all, and were a big hit at the office. Which reminds me, another reason I made these was to bring something into the office on Monday. I made cookies, but now that I’m in a house full of people they didn’t last the weekend. Apparently, my staff was a bit traumatized when I wasn’t able to bake for a few weekends and showed up to work empty-handed. They told me never to do it again.

You can find the recipe from the book HERE.  There is a different whole wheat zucchini bread recipe on the King Arthur website.