tofu stroganoff

You'll need:
1lb of pressed, frozen/thawed tofu*, cubed
2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms (or other dark, meaty mushrooms, cut into small pieces)
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (I use Better Than Bouillion)
4 shallots, diced
2 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons corn starch or arrowroot powder (flour can be substituted)
olive oil
seasoning salt (Lawry's or similar)
freshly-ground pepper (I prefer a four peppercorn blend)
1/2 pound egg noodles (dry weight)
1/2 cup sour cream

Use a big skillet for the stroganoff preparation! If you are using a nonstick pan, the tofu will not stick as badly; if you are not using a nonstick pan, you're going to need a metal spatula to scrape as you're browning the tofu.

While you're cooking the tofu, start a pot of water for the egg noodles.

Put some olive oil into the skillet and heat it up on medium-high. Once it's good and hot, toss in a little salt and the tofu. Cook the tofu until it is slightly darkened, scraping it and turning it every so often so it cooks evenly.

Once it's cooked a bit, toss in the paprika, shallots, and mushrooms. Continue to turn the mixture over with the spatula until the mushrooms and shallots are well-cooked.

Stir in the corn starch, folding it into the mixture until there are no lumps.

Add in the stock, red wine, and tomato paste and stir thoroughly. If you're using Better Than Boullion, it's okay to just pour in the water and spoon in the bouillion mix without pre-cooking it (so easy!). Turn the heat to LOW and allow the mixture to simmer.

Put the egg noodles into the pot of water that should be boiling by now and cook them according to directions.

Once the noodles are cooked, the stroganoff mixture should be ready to serve. Grind in some pepper, and give it a taste test to see if it needs more salt.

Serve stroganoff over the noodles, with sour cream on the side. I find that I like it better without the sour cream, but tastes may vary.

* To prepare the tofu:
Squeeze out as much water as you can without crushing the block.

Set the tofu block on top of something screened, like in a colander, or a splatter guard placed over a . Put something clean on top, like an upside-down plate, and then pile something heavy on top, such as books, or a brick. Let the tofu sit like this for about half an hour.

Toss the tofu into the freezer and allow it to freeze solid. Then, allow it to thaw. Freezing changes the texture, making it firmer and more spongey.

7 things about the Lady of Shallots

1. I can't stand beets or yams, but I love squash.

2. I rarely use measuring spoons or cups.

3. I think many people overuse garlic because they lack the skill to spice more subtly.

4. I cannot make marinara sauce or pie crust.

5. My favorite cookbook author is Robin Robertson.

6. Any birthday cake for me MUST be a white cake with vanilla buttercream. Chocolate will NOT do.

7. I never get take-out Chinese food. I learned to make my own, after having worked at three different stores that were next door to Chinese restaurants. I won't say anything more than that.

Spritz cookies

This is my favorite tried-and-true recipe for pressed cookies. I grew up with this recipe.

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup shortening (I usually use margarine instead)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract*
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional: a few drops of food coloring can be added as desired.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Mix up everything but the flour, then stir in the flour**.

Follow the directions on your cookie press, using it to put the cookies on the sheets about an inch apart from one another. If you just want the flavor without the cookie press, you can drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheet.

Decorate the cookies with sprinkles, colored sugar, or other candies before baking, if desired. Rainbow nonpareils look awesome on tree-shaped cookies!

Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Allow these to cool thoroughly on a wire rack for the best texture

* A half teaspoon of almond extract can be substituted for half a teaspoon of the vanilla, if you want. I love almond extract.

**If using a stand mixer, do not overmix the flour--only mix until it is combined. If you mix it too long, the gluten in the flour will change its quality and make chewy cookies. These are supposed to be crispy, not chewy.

Pecanless pecan pie

The challenge: To find or create the best-tasting pecanless pecan pie recipe for a friend, who revealed that he liked the "goo" of pecan pie, but didn't like pecans.

Basics of pecan pie: Pecan pie is a type of custard pie made mostly with corn syrup, pecans, and most of the other typical custard pie ingredients (eggs, vanilla, butter). Some people (including me) prefer to use brown sugar and a little water instead of the corn syrup; if you use white sugar, a dab of molasses can give it the brown sugar flavor.

Experimentation: I tried out several variations, including one that replaced the pecans with oatmeal, before I finally settled on this recipe. I actually didn't like it at first, but after it had set for a day, it was exactly right.

Let me FIRST give you my favorite pecan pie recipe:
3 eggs
2 cups brown sugar mixed with 1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
tiniest little dash of nutmeg
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup pecans, broken or halved (whatever you've got)
1 pie crust

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Mix everything but the nuts (and pie crust) together until it's smooth; stir in the nuts; pour into pie shell; bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool for at least twenty minutes before serving.

*************************************

NOW! For the pecanless version!

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 eggs, well-beaten
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (do NOT add more; it will overpower the pie even in small quantities!)
1 pie crust

Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Cream together the sugar and butter, then blend in the eggs, cream, and nutmeg. Beat this mixture until it's well-blended and slightly fluffed (this will take about 45 seconds with a silicone spatula). Pour into the pie crust and bake for 55 minutes. At the 40 minute mark, check the pie and cover the crust with foil or a pie guard if it seems pretty dark.

Allow the pie to cool for a minimum of an hour. Baking it the day before it is to be eaten is ideal; it can take a while to set. If you prefer it to be very liquidy, though, pull it out of the oven at 45 minutes and eat it the same day. It depends on your preference!

Yummy squash stew

My guests really liked this. I did too! I recommend some kind of bread or biscuit to go with this.

You'll need:
To start:
1 spaghetti or butternut squash, peeled*, scooped out, and chopped into chunks
2 parsnips chopped into chunks
2 large carrots chopped into chunks OR a couple handfuls of baby carrots (use what you've got)
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 15.5 ounce can chick peas, drained and rinsed (or use dried ones you've cooked, whatever)
1 chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons fresh or jar ginger
2 teaspoons garlic (or 2 cloves)
freshly ground pepper (as much as you like)
1 or more teaspoons sea salt (as much as you like--taste and adjust before serving!)
2 cups vegetable stock (I use "Better than Bouillion" to make mine)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Put all of the above into a crock pot. Let it cook for about 5 or 6 hours.

About half an hour before serving, put in the following:
1/2 cup green beans (frozen or fresh)
1/2 cup peas (frozen, NOT canned)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots and golden raisins (proportions up to you)

Stir it up before serving; there's a LOT of stuff in this to mix together. If you use spaghetti squash, it will disintegrate slightly. That's normal and okay.

If you don't have a HUGE crock pot, by the way, you may want to halve this recipe!

* I've found a regular vegetable peeler works well for these two squashes. It's harder to use it on an acorn squash because of the ridges, but smooth-skinned squashes are no trouble

Spiced cider or cranberry juice

A favorite hot drink to warm up a cold day.

You'll need:
Half a gallon of cider or cranberry juice (or some of each)
1 orange
3 whole cloves*
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice (optional)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon or 2 cinnamon sticks
a mesh tea infuser, preferably a big one
one coffee filter

Pour the cider and/or juice into a saucepan or slow cooker, put the lid on, and heat it on a low setting.

Put all the ground spices in the middle of the coffee filter. Gather up the edges of the filter and twist to form a sachet. Roll the sachet up and stuff it into the tea infuser, then drop the infuser into the cider.

Slice the orange into 1/4 inch slices. Stick the whole cloves into one of them (do NOT be tempted to overdo it on the cloves, it will be very nasty if you do) and float the oranges in the cider.

Float the cinnamon sticks in the cider as well, if you have them. Alternatively, use ground cinnamon in the filter and serve the mugs with a cinnamon stick stuck in each one.

Let this simmer for about 15 minutes minimum. Ladle into mugs. You can top off the cider with more as it is used up; this is especially useful if you're having a party and are using the slow cooker.

Hint: If your cider isn't very good (which it might not be if it was heat pasteurized; if you want cold-pasteurized cider in the Albany area, try Indian Ladder farms. If you're in the Quincy, IL area, I STRONGLY recommend Edgewood Orchards cider), add a tablespoon of honey to make it better.

Play with this recipe! Drop in whole cranberries, apple slices, crystallized ginger, whatever you can think of. Tweak the spices. Add some rum. Try a teaspoon of spiced rum butter on top. The possibilities are endless.

* if you don't have whole cloves, use 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves and put it in the filter with the other ground spices.

Illinois Pie

I have renamed my pie due to the wackos who have made their money by suing people who use the original name. I'd never have heard of them if they hadn't sent me a nastygram, and they've ensured that I won't be purchasing their products (or recommending them) ever. I also noted that their "trademarked" pie contains walnuts, which kind of defeats the purpose of the whole southern theme. Therefore, I have named MY recipe after the state in which I grew up, because the pecan's scientific name is Carya illinoinensis. :)

A word of warning: If you try to leave out the bourbon, the recipe just won't work properly; the ingredients do not stratify into the layers like they should.

You need:
1 pie shell (there is no top crust)*
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tablespoons bourbon
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips (half a bag, generally)
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Mix all but the pie crust together (this is easier if you stir in the pecans and chocolate chips last) and pour the mixture into the crust. Bake for 45 minutes. Allow the pie to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Goes great with vanilla ice cream.

*About the Lady's pie crust issues: There are some things in this world that are harder for some people than others. Pie crust is an ancient nemesis of mine, and I have spent many an afternoon weeping because of it. No, don't offer to teach me. I've had at least four people try and fail. I know my limitations, and using a pre-made crust saves me the frustration as well as the time and cleanup of making it from scratch. For this particular recipe, I use a frozen crust that comes in the pie pan. Check ingredients carefully! Generic or store brands often use animal fat or lard. Non-generics generally use vegetable shortening, and the difference in price is minimal. If you are good at making pie crust, of course, have at it! :)

Almost *too* easy cornbread

Ingredients:
1 package corn bread mix*
1 egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup milk
1 11 oz can sweet corn**
1 tablespoon ground rosemary***
2 tablespoons chopped scallions

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Mix the stuff together and pour into a small baking dish (I use my Pyrex 8.5x6.5" dish from this set, but an 8x8 would work too) and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Allow the bread to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. This is a very tender, moist bread, so it would't work well for muffins.

Serve plain or with butter. Goes GREAT with barbecue sauce, especially Gardenburger Riblets.


* I used the Betty Crocker one. Jiffy's is not vegetarian. These mixes are about 75 cents apiece, so they're super easy and cheap.

** I used the "super sweet" from Green Giant. Very, very tasty!

*** If you have dried whole rosemary, you can grind it in a mortar and pestle. If you have fresh stuff, chop it until it is fairly fine. Whole rosemary is pointy and painful.

This is the cute little mortar and pestle I have; it is small and easy to use:

Ultimate blueberry cobbler

Ingredients for dough:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons margarine or shortening
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon almond extract

Ingredients for fruit filling:
1 lb blueberries, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Chambord
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Additional ingredients:
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 teaspoon sugar (brown, raw, or white)

Stir together the filling ingredients and set aside.

Heat oven to 400ºF.

Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Add the shortening and blend with a fork or pastry blender until mixture is in marble-sized chunks. Stir in milk just until dough forms a ball. Divide the dough in half, and spread one half over the bottom of a greased square baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned, then remove from oven and spread fruit mixture on top of the cooked dough, using a rubber scraper to get all the juice into the pan. Drop remaining dough in spoonfuls over the top of the blueberries until it is fairly evenly spread without touching the sides of the pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup almonds and teaspoon of sugar evenly over the dough. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm.

Quesadillas

We had some tasty quesadillas tonight. One of the good things I did was use Cubanelle peppers. I have been unable to tolerate bell peppers for some time now, and a friend whose husband has a similar problem told me that he is able to eat Cubanelles with no trouble.

Stuff you need:
Half a butternut squash
package of tortillas (we used sun-dried tomato ones, but use what you've got)
2 Cubanelle peppers, sliced
1 onion or 1 bunch scallions, chopped
Cheddar cheese (or whatever your favorite kind is, you'll need ~2 cups)
garlic
cumin
pepper
salt
sour cream

First, steam or bake the squash until it's tender. Remove the rind and mash it up, adding salt and garlic to taste. You can use pre-cooked frozen squash, or the pre-cut frozen squash if it's easier. You can also find pre-cut, peeled butternut squash in the produce department these days.

Next, spread some squash over 1/2 of a tortilla. You will want it to be a thin but even layer.

Put chopped peppers and onion on top of the squash, and sprinkle pepper and cumin on top.

Put about 1/4-1/2 (depending on size and taste) cup cheese on top of the peppers and onions.

Fold the quesadilla in half and bake at 350F for about 7 or 8 minutes (until the tortilla is crispy and the cheese is melted). Serve with sour cream on the side.

Organizing Your Recipes

This idea was part Catt's, part mine. When she is looking at a magazine, and she sees a recipe that she likes, she'll tear out the page(s) containing the recipe rather than keep the whole magazine. Or, she'll cut out the recipe if it's small.

The result was a pile of snippets and pages, so I tamed the pile by hole-punching the whole pages and sticking them in a binder, then taping the snippets to either a full size sheet of paper that I hole-punched, or to an index card. I know that a lot of people intend to write the whole recipe out on the index cards, but who really has the time for that, especially if it's one that you haven't tried yet? Taping it to the card works just as well--you can wrap it around the side of the card if it's a long snippet.

The next step is to keep track of the ones you try. If it's a keeper, move it to a different binder marked "Keepers". If it was indifferent or crappy, rip the page out, throw it in the recycle bin, and be done with it.

Also, if you're trying stuff out in a cookbook, feel free to take a pencil to that sucker. I am merciless with my cookbooks, marking the recipes in a star-rating system, and commenting with adjustments or alternative ideas. I can never leave a recipe well-enough alone, so making notes right in the book helps me keep track of what I've done, what's worked, and what I shouldn't bother with again.

Mashed potatoes. So simple, so filling, and a traditional comfort food. Yet, it's possible to have boring, bland, gluey mashed potatoes if you're not doing a few simple things.

The first important matter is to select the right potatoes. I prefer russets or Yukon golds--they mash very well and make light, fluffy mashed because of their high starch content. Red-skinned potatoes are NOT good for this because they will become gluey; if you really like the flavor, use red-skinned potatoes for potato salad or scalloped potatoes instead. Generally, go with a "high starch" potato; there are some weird varieties out there like Caribe potatoes that might work too, so just research your varieties before trying something different.

So now, you've got your potato variety in order. Now you have to decide: Peel on or peel off? I usually scrub them down pretty hard with a potato brush, using the tip to nick out the eyes (yes, that's what the point at the end of your potato brush is for)*. and chop them up with the peels on. I have better things to do than peel potatoes, and I like having the peels in anyway. Yukon golds have a thinner, more delicate peel than the russets, so if you're a peel-on kind of cook, those are a better choice.

How are you going to cook them? You can throw them in a big pot and boil them, like most people do. I still occasionally do that, but mostly I use my steamer to cook them. I've burned my hands too many times trying to pour a big pot of potatoes through a colander, and the steamer leaves the stove free for other things. I use the steamer for all kinds of other foods, too, so it's a pretty good investment.

Now, during the cooking process, I usually use some kind of herb to infuse the potatoes. The steamer has a "scenter basket", while I use a giant tea ball in a boiling pot. The herbs are usually whole rosemary and bay leaves, but fresh thyme wouldn't be a bad idea either. I don't put them directly into the pot because rosemary is a craptastic thing to get stuck in your throat, and it's impossible to pick it out like you would a bay leaf. Infusing the flavor this way works very well, and you'd be surprised at how far a little rosemary goes to flavor a lot of potatoes!

Another sneaky trick I use is to chop up a parsnip (or two) and steam/boil it right along with the potatoes. It will mash up nicely with the potatoes, blending in due to its color, and will impart a bit of nutty flavor.

Now, for the mashing, you can do whatever you want. Some people like to mash up the old fashioned way with a handheld potato masher. I can't really do that without pain, so I toss the potatoes into my stand mixer and use the paddle attachment to mash them. You can also use an electric hand mixer; they're a little cheaper than stand mixers. Use what you've got. Butter/margarine are tossed in during this process, along with your liquid (milk, cream, sour cream, soy milk, whatever you prefer), along with salt and fresh-ground pepper. Be gentle with the pepper; it's very easy to overpower potatoes with it. Give the potatoes several taste tests to get the salt just right. Everybody has a different preference, so it's up to you to sort out the amount you want. If you want to make it a little more interesting, use some seasoned salt instead of regular stuff.

I prefer not to have gravy, but if you must, Tofurky's giblet gravy is absolutely delicious and totally vegan. Enjoy!

* Potato brushes that have cute little potato shaped designs are adorable, but they lack the eye-gouger; they are less useful than the more utilitarian design linked below.

Essential tools: The Rice Cooker

I received my first rice cooker as a wedding gift nine years ago (yes, my first wedding). Now that I have one, I can't imagine how I managed life without it. I put in rice, water, and possibly seasonings, put the lid on, and flick the switch. No stirring, no watching the pot, just perfect rice every time with almost no effort. Doubly good is that, to clean it, I just soak the pan for a little while, and anything stuck to it comes right off.

Rice is a perfect companion to many of my dishes, and I keep at least a couple types of rice on hand. We buy basmati rice in large cloth bags at the Indian grocery, and we buy jasmine rice in large quantities at the Asian grocery.

Because these wonderfully scented rices are fantastic on their own, I usually leave them plain while cooking. Sometimes, however, I toss in a bay leaf, or I sprinkle in some cardamom. Either one can lend a little something to the rice.

If I have a lot of leftover rice, I will sometimes use it to make rice pudding, or store it for the next day's meal. There is no such thing as "too much" rice. It's too versatile to go to waste!

I would like to impart one piece of advice for use of the rice cooker: Use a little bit of extra water than you would normally use for stovetop cooking. This will prevent the rice burning on the bottom. My general rule of thumb is an extra half cup of water, but if you've got a really large cooker, you may have to use more. I have our formula tacked up on the fridge:

W = 2R + .5
The quantity of water is equal to twice the amount of rice, plus a half cup. So, if you are cooking one cup of rice, you will need two and a half cups of water.

Another bonus of rice cookers is that they usually can also steam vegetables. So, you can cook your rice in the bottom while steaming a basket of carrots and broccoli up top! Very easy, no stove needed, and you can work on things other than standing over a hot stove!

Some are fancy and digital, while others are simple. Ours is simple, and it works just fine. You don't have to spend a lot to get good results! Also, please note the size of the cooker that you're getting. If you have more than two to feed, a larger cooker is a good idea, but if it's just for two, a smaller quantity of rice tends to burn in the bigger cooker--so you'd want to go for the three cup model. The links below are just an example of what's out there; search for rice cookers to see all kinds of them. Read the product reviews carefully, too, so you don't end up with a dud. There are a few out there that are very cheap, and you should avoid them. Expect to spend about $20 for a simple 3-cup cooker that works pretty well. I wouldn't trust anything that costs less than that.

Finally, if you do get a rice cooker, I'd love to hear about it--what brand, what model, whether it's really good or too cheaply made. Good luck, and enjoy :)

How I do what I do

Much of my cookery is "spoonful of this, pinch of that" sort of stuff. I find that, with a few very simple ingredients, I can make a number of different meals taste really good. Some of the essentials:
- a jar of minced ginger (cheap at the Asian or Indian grocery)
- a jar of minced or crushed garlic
- Tamari soy sauce
- lemon juice
- lime juice
- orange juice
- sea salt (the gray stuff at the co-op is fabulous)
- thyme (dry or fresh; dry's easier, but they make a paste in a tube now, of all things!)
- olive oil

Seriously, a combination of most of the above, with your choice of one of the citrus juices, makes a very basic but very tasty "sauce" for cooking vegetables. Some favorite combinations:

- Zucchini and mushrooms, with chopped tomatoes thrown in at the very end (and sometimes a can of chick peas). The tomatoes can be fresh or canned--canned ones are best if you can't get garden-fresh ones. The tastless, grainy, painfully acidic things that pass for modern tomatoes in grocery stores are NOT worth your time. Cherry or grape tomatoes, however, are the exception. You toss them in at the end of cooking so that they don't get too mushy; you want them hot, slightly seared, with the skin wrinkling just slightly.

- green beans (or other fresh beans, including the yellow wax beans and dragon beans), chopped into 2-inch segments, with sliced almonds

- snow peas, broccoli, carrots, and cashews.

We generally serve the vegetables over rice; our preference is basmati rice, but jasmine rice is also wonderfully aromatic and delicious. I love it when the basmati fragrance fills our home. It's doubly good when I've put a pinch of cardamom powder in the rice cooker.