Easy standby stirfry

Fried Tofu with Collard Greens

I love making this as it is so simple and easy and I can let the tofu cook first while cutting up the rest of the vegetables.

Before starting, get your rice started cooking, either in a rice cooker or on the stove top. Rice can always stay warm if it is ready before the stir-fry.

1. Cube very dense tofu and place in a hot wok with oil. Sprinkle some sugar and salt over the top. Cover and let brown.
2. Minced several cloves of garlic to place with the tofu after the first side is browned.
3. Slice 1/2 of a yellow onion. Cut the stems out of the collard greens, then thinly slice the leaves. Select another vegetable of your choice. I like broccoli, cauliflower or carrots, but any will do.
4. When the tofu is brown on one side, turn all the cubes over. Add the minced garlic. Continue cooking until the second side is brown.
5. Add the most dense vegetable first (i.e. cauliflower). Add a 1/4 cup of water to the pan and cover to let cook. After about 1 minute, stir in onions leaving the collard green leaves for the last item to be added.
6. If necessary, add more salt and/or sugar.
7. Add the vegetable mix to a plate or bowl of steamed Jasmine rice.

Enjoy! It should take less than 30 minutes.

Stir-Fried Tofu & Collard Greens

This is one of my favorite dishes to prepare. I started cooking it in my mini-wok in Cambodia over the little gas stove. For this recipe I get to use fresh collard leaves picked from my garden!

Ingredients
Firm tofu (I like Trader Joe's brand Extra Firm)
6-8 leaves of collard greens (or substitute kale, spinach or chard)
1/2 yellow onion cut into slivers
4-6 garlic cloves, minced
salt & sugar to taste
1 Tbsp oil

Directions
1. Begin cooking rice in an electric rice cooker or on the stove-top.

2. Heat wok with 1 Tbsp oil. Drain and cube tofu. Place in oil, salt and sugar, then cover. Cook until golden on one side before turning and cooking some more. Add minced garlic and stir in. Continue browning.

3. While tofu is cooking, separate collard leaves from stems by slicing down each side of the stem. Slice stems into 1 inch pieces. Fold leaves over onto each other and slice across the bundle to create thin slices. Slice onions. (If desired, other dense vegetables can be added to the stir-fry mix such as broccoli, cauliflower or cucumbers.)

4. When tofu is slightly crispy on the outside, add the collard stems and any other vegetable you'd like. Don't add the onions or leaves just yet. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan. Stir this together. Cover and let cook for about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the onions and cook another 2 or so minutes covered. Finally, add the collard leaves, mix in and cover for about 1 minute. (You can also leave off the cover and stir with a spoon.) Turn off the heat. Serve with steamed rice.

Garden Delights

My vegetable garden Squash uploaded by Nikkster

I am beginning to enjoy the fruits of my labor of a small home garden that I put together in my backyard using half wine barrels and other large terra cotta pots that were free.


My vegetable garden Collard Greens uploaded by Nikkster

I have enjoyed two yellow zuchhini squash so far, by steaming them and serving with steamed rice. Also enjoyed were several tender leaves of collard greens stir-fried with tofu and onions. In addition, my Bibb lettuce leaves have been a tender addition to my daily salads I take to work.


My vegetable garden Squash & Beans barrel uploaded by Nikkster

Soon the tomatoes will be producing as the first flower buds have appeared. There are also some beans just now growing. I don't think they get enough sun because the squash leaves have taken over. My peppers are slow but steady. I think they'll be late bloomers.

I can hardly wait for the tomatoes to start producing as I have high hopes for doing some canning of homemade spaghetti sauce.

Vegie Marinara Pasta in a Buddhist Communal Home

Birthday night was shared with one long-time friend and one new friend. It was a splendid evening doing what I love best, creating exciting eating plans then cooking it up together with friends. Thanks to Camille and El Caballero (see Camille for his reference) for the inspiration and the hosting.

Dinner plans were initiated by our voicing a desire for dinner on the cheap. Since all the restaurants floated out by Camille were nay-sayed for extravagance by El Cab, he offered his vermicelli and sauce as a dining option. Well, for Camille and I it wasn't enough to just eat packaged pasta and sauce from a jar. It needed our special handcrafted touch.

So, off to the G.O. (God bless the Grocery Outlet) we went for some inspiration. Ooh, let's get some chard. Oh wait, those are collard greeens. That's my favorite vegetable in Cambodia. How about zucchini? Add a red bell pepper. Does he have any garlic? I'm looking for parmesan cheese. Should we have some wine? What about bread? We swooped up all the fantastic ingredients and managed to fine a very inexpensive bottle of petite syrah from Lodi, which turned out to be a delectable wine with our meal.

Back to the commune, no joke, for some kitchen magic. There was a brief hunt for cooking pots and were satisfied to fine one big deep skillet for the vegies and sauce.

Smashed and chopped garlic. Cubed zucchini and pepper. Sliced collard greens salvaged from the steaming pot. El Cab was on top of the sauteing. He heated the oil in the pan, tossed in the garlic, added the zucchini and peppers when ready. Stirred, flipped and tossed. Lastly came the collard greens, and finally to top it all off, a jar and a half of marinara sauce.

The pasta was cooked in its normal way: boiled water. The sliced sourdough bread was toasted and buttered by Camille. The table was set. Then we sat and dined on divine pasta. It was delicious for lack of a better word. Of course it's digestion was vastly improved by the company, and the setting of an old-stlye wood kitchen with a hearty wooden table.

My birthday was complete.