Monday, September 6, 2010

Week I - Innovate with your Imagination!

The Letter I stumped me for nutritious ingredient starting with the letter "I". Sure we could look at Idaho Potatoes or Italian Eggplant, but what was the point when I could feature them as "corn" or "eggplant" with out a country representing?


Stumped for a few months... I came home the other night after a long day at work in the kitchen. My fridge was looking a bit bare, but there were leftovers and random vegetables amongst other ingredients to make something delicious and nutritious for dinner. I decided to graze the contents of my refrigerator and let my imagination go to work. It was settled, we were going to have BBQ Tofu Sandwiches. Once I figured out the meal it came to me in a flash! This week is dedicated to using our imaginations, being inventive and improvising with what we have available to us. I was super excited to see what can come together. 


I started to grab fried rice we had made the night before, freshly made tofu from the Korean Market, BBQ sauce, panko bread crumbs, and a little egg to keep them together.  My sweetie shaped a beautiful large Spanish Tortilla like pattie. Once it was cooked through we cut it in four quarters and voila!  We made breaded BBQ tofu patties and serve it on some delicious whole grain bread with fresh heirloom tomatoes from the farmers market and a delicious cabbage slaw already made from the night before.  Purrrfect!!  


What will you make?


Ingredients:  (I will list our ingredients with out measurements. Its up to you to create it how you like it!)
Two small tofu loafs
Fried Rice with edamame, carrots and red onions
BBQ Sauce (approx 1 Cup)
3 Eggs, whipped
1-2 Tablespoons  chili paste
fresh basil leaves, chopped 
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sweet spice mix (basil, thyme, oregano, paprika)
salt & pepper
3 Tbsp Vegetable oil (sunflower, safflower, grapeseed)


Method
  1. Get out a large mixing bowl. With clean hands, crush tofu until there are no chunks.
  2. Mix in fried rice, BBQ sauce, bread crumbs, basil and spices.
  3. Continue to mix until all the ingredients are incorporated together.
  4. Wash hands and whisk eggs in separate bowl. Slowly pour the egg, while mixing, into the large mixing bowl.
  5. Using a large non stick skillet, turn on to a medium high heat to get your pan nice and hot. 
  6. Add vegetable oil to skillet and scoop the filling into the pan and form into patty.
  7. Once one side is completely cooked through (5-7 min), take a dinner plate and cover the top of the pan. Using a towel to protect your hands, turn the pan over onto the plate. Place the pan back on the heat and slowly slip the patty back into the skillet. Slowly is the key word. Guide it with a spatula or utensil if needed. We don't want it to break after all your hard work!
**we attempted to make small patties with the panko on the outside but the broke, so with our improvisational minds we mixed it all back in to make one giant patty. Its up to you!!

**If you decided to do this as single patties: 

    1. Scoop a golf ball amount of mixture into hand and roll it into a ball.  
    2. Roll the ball in the egg.
    3. Place the panko bread crumbs spread out on a plate. Place the ball on the plate, roll it, then shape it into a hockey puck size width and height fully breaded.**

photo found from website: http://vi.sualize.us/pobreiluso/food,imagination/?perpage=18





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