Crispy Oven-Baked Tofu

I have never been one who enjoys tofu. It's squishy and flavorless, but this recipe has totally changed my mind about it! It does take a little advanced preparation, but it's worth it. I have adapted the recipe from Cookie and Kate's blog and just used the flavors I like. If the tofu in the shop looks dubious, just remember that you're going to squeeze out a lot of the water and cook it at really high heat. I personally prefer the packets of tofu labeled "soya paneer."

 

Crispy Oven-Baked Tofu

1 block tofu
1 tsp ginger paste
1 Tbs soy sauce*
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbs corn starch

Begin by slicing the block through the middle parallel to your cutting board. Then slice lengthwise and width-wise (like a grid) to create small blocks of tofu. On a plate lined with folded paper towels or a tea towel, spread out the small cubes in a single layer. Add more paper towels or the other end of the tea towel to the top. Place another plate on top and weigh it down. I like to put a cast iron skillet on top. Let sit for 30 minutes to squeeze out moisture. 

Mix the other liquid ingredients in a bowl. After draining add the tofu to the bowl. The longer this marinates the better the flavor. I usually leave it 10 minutes to a few hours in the fridge. Just before baking, toss in the corn starch until all the powder is absorbed. 

Preheat oven to 200 C. On a foil lined baking sheet spread a little oil to prevent the tofu sticking. Spread the tofu out on the pan and put in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Toss the baked tofu half way through cooking to promote even browning. Enjoy hot and crispy! 

*Use gluten-free tamari to make this gluten free. 

If you want to use this tofu in another dish, then you may just want to stick to the oil, soy sauce, and cornstarch. The original poster suggests it can soak up whatever sauce is in the main dish better that way.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

The slider craze is everywhere in the US now. They are mini-burgers and sandwiches with various fillings and toppings. When I was last in the US, I had these delicious Ham and Cheese Sliders and recreated them here very easily. This recipe is based on this one from Dinner at the Zoo.

Ham and Cheese Sliders
1-2 long baguettes, cut into small sandwich sizes of your choice*
300 grams ham or enough to stuff each small sandwich
Thin cheese slices**, enough to stuff each small sandwich
2 teaspoons mustard (Dijon, Honey, or Spicy Brown)
2 teaspoons poppy seeds (optional)
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
6 Tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 170C. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients from mustard through melted butter and stir until well blended. Lay the bottoms of each sandwich across the bottom of a greased baking dish. Add ham and cheese to each sandwich, and then top with the remaining bread tops. Using a brush or spoon, apply the glaze over the top of each sandwich. It will also drip down the sides. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil from the top and put the pan back into the oven for 3-5 more minutes until the tops of the sandwiches are brown and toasty.

Enjoy your delicious sliders warm!

* You could also cut the bread in a few long lengths that go all the way across your baking pan and slice them into smaller sandwiches after baking.

** I think any cheese that pairs well with mustard would work here. I used sliced processed cheese, but I think the local cheese or something like brie would also work beautifully.

Also, I'm not sure what the point of poppy seeds is other than looks, and don't think the recipe would be missing anything if you didn't have them.

Hummus

The perfect pick me up snack for an afternoon slump. My favorite hummus recipe is Emeril Lagasse's, but I've tweaked it some more to make it even cheaper to make locally. You can occasionally find good quality, shelf-stable tahini here, but more often you can find small pots here with a shelf life of less than 2 weeks in supermarket freezers. For that reason, I have figured out how to make it work with toasted and ground sesame seeds. Play with this one, adding roasted garlic, roasted peppers or eggplant, etc. to see what flavor you like best. I'm a purist so I just go for plain old hummus.

Hummus
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 teaspoon cumin powder
3 garlic cloves
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons ground toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
Drinking water
Salt, to taste

Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Start with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth, add additional water until you have something slightly softer than what you want the dip to look like. It will firm up some upon chilling. Add additional salt as needed, noting that home cooked chickpeas are far less salty than those from a can. Place in an airtight container and drizzle with a little extra olive oil.

Pani Puri

This is a fun one! It may not be a recipe that you can implement unless you're in this part of the world or you have an Indian grocery store in your vicinity. My family loves Indian food, even the street snacks, and while my husband with his stomach of steel can actually come out unscathed after eating from a pani puri cart, I fear that I would not. That means I basically never get to eat these fun snacks. On top of that, even those sanitary restaurants serving them tend to make theirs on the side of too spicy for my children. I was introduced to the possibility of making these at a friend Esther's home and have been looking for the puris ever since, while trolling Padhus Kitchen for ideas. You can buy them ready-made in some bakeries, but here's a little packet you can make at home. You will find these usually in the section with lentils, uncooked papad packets, and little fryable things that look like pasta. The unfried puris look something like this.

Pani Puri
500g potatoes, peeled and chopped
1-2 green chilies, seeds removed and chopped finely
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
Pinch of chaat masala (or some black salt)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh coriander/cilantro, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Sev or bhujia (little crunchies)
3/4 cups sprouted moong dal or cooked chickpeas (optional)
1/2 packet unfried puris or 1 bag ready-made puri
Jal Jira masala

Boil potatoes until fork tender. While they are boiling, heat 1-2 inches of oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Drop the heat to medium, and add a few of the unfried puris at a time. They will puff, but you'll need to turn them to cook both sides. Once puffed and brown, remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Mash the cooked potatoes, adding the green chilies, chili powder, cumin powder, chaat masala, onion, and cilantro. Add the salt to season, starting with just shy of 1 teaspoon. Add more until the potatoes have enough flavor to stand on their own. According to packet directions, mix the jal jira masala in drinking water. You'll want to make at least 250 ml for this many puris. The little unfried puri packet actually comes with its own water masala that you add to 1/2 liter of water.

It's a messy job, but when you are ready to eat, assemble like this:

1. Take a fried puri and poke a small hole in it with your finger. 
2. Poke some of the potato mixture into the hole. Fingers seem to work best here...see why the street version can be ugh! 
3. If desired, poke in some chickpeas or sprouts and some of the bhujia.
4. Finally, dip the stuffed puri into the spiced water mixture so it gets a little pool inside. 
5. Pop into your mouth and repeat.

There you have it! Street food under sanitary conditions. And no, I would never go through all this trouble for a snack. We ate it for lunch.

Healthy Homemade Crackers

Good multigrain or multiseed crackers are something I miss whenever I'm trying to be more healthy here. The choices are quite limited in the whole grain, unsweetened biscuit department, and sometimes we get delicious choices that seem to disappear for good. My body's current blood sugar instability means I have been needing more high protein snacks to feel decent during the day, and let's be honest, you can only eat so much peanut butter or nuts before you feel like loosing your mind. I remembered making crackers when my children were babies, and decided to give that a go again. The beauty of these crackers is that you can make them with just about any grain, add-in, and oil you'd like so you can make them different every time and avoid any allergens your family might steer clear of. These are delicious with cheese, hummus, peanut butter, or just on their own.

Pardon some of the burned ones!

Basic Homemade Crackers
3 cups flour (white, wheat, oat, buckwheat, whatever)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
1/4 cup oil
1 cup water

Add-ins (aim for a 1-2 Tablespoons total):
Flax seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, rosemary, thyme, whole oats, cheese

Combine your dry ingredients into a bowl, making sure they are uniformly combined. If you want the add-ins in the crackers, add them now. Otherwise save them until the end. Mix together the water and oil just before pouring into the flour. Add a little at a time until you get a dough that you can knead without sticky fingers. Roll out the dough (on a floured surface) in small batches to about 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch. Place in a pan. If your dough is gluten-free, it may be easier to just press into the pan directly. Score the crackers into the size you want and dot the tops with a fork. If you want add-ins on top, brush with the crackers with water and sprinkle them over. Bake at 225C/450F until crisp (12-15 minutes). Cool and store in an airtight container.

Note: The crackers at the edges may brown more quickly. I remove those and let the rest of the pan cook longer to ensure all the crackers get browned and crisped. Also, to make oat flour (one of my favorite grains for these), just put quick cooking oats in your blender's grinder jar and blend until you have something resembling a flour. To keep them from sticking, use a good non-stick pan or line with parchment paper before you put the crackers on the pan.

Granola Bars

Keeping healthy snack foods around is one of my challenges.  There are seasons when fresh fruit and vegetable options are pretty limited, and there certainly aren't many healthy ready-made snack options to purchase.  I was looking for a low-sugar snack to make when I had a group coming over this week, and I found a great recipe for Grab'n'Go Granola Bars at Southern Distinction.  I tweaked them a bit based on what I had around and what is available here, and I was really excited with how they turned out, so I thought I'd share.

Granola Bars
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans from my stash I had from the States, but I think almonds would also work nicely in these. Any kind of nut you enjoy would work but would just change the flavor a bit.)
1 cup oats (I used the quick-cooking ones, as those are all that is available here.)
1/4 cup flaxseeds (These can be hard to find here but are available.)
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
2/3 cup unrefined sugar (I used a brand of "mineral sugar" that is sometimes available here, and I've included a photo below. Demerrara or even the local brown sugar would work. Really, regular brown sugar would work as well. I was just trying to go for as unrefined of an option as possible to maximize the "healthiness.")
1/2 cup honey
3 Tablespoons molasses (I kind of just dumped a bit in, but I think around 3-4 T.)
50-60 grams butter (3-4 Tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used Himalayan pink salt because it is easily available here and much healthier than regular table salt.)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups puffed rice cereal (This is sometimes available here but there is also a local puffed rice that would easily work.)
1/2 cup dried fruit (I had planned to use some apricots which are available here now, but they were bad when I took them out, so I ended up subbing dried blueberries that I had on hand. Many options could work well for this, even raisins.)
1/4 cup shredded coconut



(Mainly from Southern Distinction but edited slightly for what I did.)
 
Preheat oven to 350°F/175C. In a large bowl mix together nuts, oats, pumpkin seeds and flaxseeds. Spread mixture onto a baking sheet and bake until fragrant - about 5 minutes. (The quick-cooking oats start to burn if left much longer, but if you are using regular rolled oats, you could leave it a couple extra minutes to give the nuts and seeds a more toasted flavor.) Transfer the mixture back to the large bowl. If you don't have an oven, you can put the mix in a large pan over low heat on the stovetop and shake occasionally until it starts to become fragrant.

In a medium sauce pan combine sugar, butter, honey, molasses, and salt. Slowly bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Simmer until sugar has dissolved and a light brown caramel forms - about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour caramel all over oat-and-nut mixture. Stir in puffed rice, dried fruit, and coconut and mix until evenly coated.

Line an 9x13 baking pan with foil, extending a bit over the sides. Lightly oil the foil with a bit of cooking oil so that the mixture doesn't stick. Scrape granola mixture into the baking pan in an even layer. Use a second sheet of lightly oiled foil (or waxed paper would work well, I think, but I didn't have any), and press down to compress the mixture. Let it stand for 2 hours or until firm. Using the overhanging foil, lift out the cereal square and transfer it to your counter top or work surface. Cut into bars or squares. Store in an airtight container.

Hot Spinach Dip

Yay! I'm back. I took almost two weeks for some mental recovery, but I've been itching to post some recipes, oldies but ones I've realized I never posted in the past. Before I get to that, however, a HUGE thank you shout out to Megan and Rachel for their posts while I was away! I will say that I have already tried almost everything they posted, and the results have been great on all of them. One more to go this week! I'm so thankful for these wonderful friends who have been in my life at various points during my time overseas.

So, now that the weather has begun to turn cool here (a little later than some of you on other continents), 'tis the season for parties and warming foods. With all the little get-togethers, I like to have some appetizer recipes up my sleeve, but I realized in the history of the blog I haven't actually posted any. This Hot Spinach Dip is probably my favorite appetizer to make here because having something warm as an app just makes it feel extra special and it actually tastes like something I might get at home. This is my adaptation of this recipe from Skinny Taste--since I'm not counting calories and since our local mozzarella clumps terribly in sauces-- but I am quite jealous of those little pretzel-cracker things she's got in the photo! Serve this with tortilla chips, crusty bread dippers, hearty crackers, or even a fresh veg crudite. The measurements do not need to be exact so just go for it.

Hot Spinach Dip
2-3 big bunches spinach, chopped, steamed, and squeezed until somewhat dry
1/2 cup sour cream (here's how)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Parmesan or other salty cheese
1/4 cup onion or green onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup grated cheese
Pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Pour into an ovenproof dish, or if you're lazy like me, just mix the dip in the baking dish to save on washing a bowl. Bake at 375F/190C until everything is melted and the edges just begin to turn golden. Serve hot.

Note: If you're not up for spending the extra $$ for the parmesan, I have done this using 100% local cheese, and it has still tasted fine. It just needs a tiny sprinkling of extra salt if you do that.

Crunchy Coffee Cake

Sometimes I just have a craving for a cake. Baked goods are a serious weakness for me actually. So, in good fashion, around 3 o'clock yesterday, I had a hankering for a cake. That probably explains my expanding backside, huh? This little coffee cake was the result of the limited ingredients I had in the kitchen due to our departure for a trip in a few days. Thank you, Better Homes and Gardens 1977! If you need something slightly sweet for tea or coffee time in your house, give this one a try since it doesn't feel like a guaranteed trip to the dentist. It's super simple with tasty results--and it's Miracle Oven friendly since we're approaching that season of very little electricity.

Give me a C! Since someone couldn't wait before snapping a picture...

Crunchy Coffee Cake
1/4 cup oil
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine the liquid ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another. Add the dry to the wet and stir just until combined and relatively smooth. The batter will be pretty thick. Pour into a greased 9x9 square pan/round cake tin/Miracle Oven. In the empty dry bowl, mix the topping ingredients together lightly. Sprinkle over the cake. Bake at 375F/190C for about 25 minutes or 30 minutes on low heat in the Miracle Oven. Transfer to a cooling rack after cooling for 15 minutes.

Notes: The cake part is just plain white, especially when cooked in the Miracle Oven. If you want some color, try subbing brown sugar for the white sugar and adding a little cinnamon to the batter. That should get you a more golden cake color even in a stove top oven. Also, just a side note on stove top ovens. I am told that, unlike conventional ovens that start putting out delicious smells right away, stove top ovens let you know when they're done because the smell of a cake won't become obvious until the very end of cooking. In other words, when you smell it, it's probably done. Helpful little tidbit that has been pretty accurate for me in the last 4 years of use.

Energy Bites

Always on a quest for healthy snacks that will interest my kids, I stumbled upon these from Super Healthy Kids. Verdict = Super kid love. Seriously, they ask for these all the time, maybe because the name makes them think they’ll get super powers. They’re also 100% no cook so the kids can be involved in making them. What’s not to love? And speaking of love, if you have kids, you need to have a peak at all the great things the wonderful ladies at Super Healthy Kids have on their website--all of which are aimed at increasing kids' intake of fruits and veggies along with more vegetarian protein sources. Some of their snack ideas are soo cute and creative! We have made these bites in balls and bars, both of which seem to work equally as well. 

Energy Bites with Chocolate Chips

Energy Bites
1 cup uncooked oats
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy)
1 Tbsp chia seeds (not available locally) or flax seed (local)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix all the ingredients into a bowl. Add up to a cup of any extra add-ins you want to make them special. You can use M&Ms or Smarties, dried coconut, dried fruit, chopped nuts, etc. Mix everything, form into balls or bars (between waxed paper), and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Notes: I just noticed that on Super Healthy Kids they form the bites after the 20 minutes of refrigeration. It seems to work fine either way, but might be easier to work with once chilled. 

Also, if you're concerned about pesticides, look for a honey variety like rudilo (in beekeeping/honey shops) that is cultivated away from other commercial crops like mustard. There would be a much higher chance of having better quality, uncontaminated honey.