Slow Cooker Ham with Homemade Barbecue Sauce

This homemade barbecue sauce is not the sweet Kansas City type of sauce but more the vinegar-y type North Carolina is famous for.  The ingredients can be found in your pantry like ketchup and cider vinegar.  

I tasted Isaly chipped ham in a ketchup, vinegar based sauce in our recent Book Club meeting.  It was prepared by Karen Novak, the event organizer.  I did not get the recipe from her so I resorted in googling for a recipe for barbecue sauce using those two ingredients and I found one in this site, the  Allrecipe website. 

I decided to use my slow cooker for convenience and also for the ham to be marinated while being slow cooked.  It was a really good sauce.  It made the ham moist and really flavorful.  It is not the sweet kind that most bottled sauces come in but tangy and with just the right kick and some sweetness.   It is not too tangy either like the sauce I had in North Carolina when I was there.  

My picky taster almost ate the whole thing. I used this for leftover ham I had from the holidays but I could imagine this to be good with pork or brisket.  

Slow Cooker Ham with Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Adapted from this site 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb ham, sliced
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water 
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Add all the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cook at high setting for 3 hours or at low for 6 hours.  I cooked mine in an Aroma brand slow cooker/rice cooker for 2 hours at slow cooker setting.

Slow Cooker Beer Chipotle Green Chilies Pulled Pork

This was a hit with the end users shown below.  I visited my friend Seville and Bob and I brought this dish to their house.  They and their guest Rosie who was staying with them like me for the APAMS 2016 meeting gave the dish two thumbs up.

I just placed all the ingredients in a crock pot the day before I drove to my friends' house. I then froze it and brought it frozen in the car during the four hour drive.  I  placed it again in the freezer until the next day when I thawed it in the fridge and heated it on the stove for our dinner.

Note the number of ingredients!  Just five of them and they are all pantry items you can pack with you in case you prefer to cook this at your destination.  You can bring along frozen pork butt or buy it when you get to the place you are staying.  You can then place it in the slow cooker and forget it as you go about talking to your friends or sightseeing.

I prefer this on crusty bread that has been spread with mayonnaise and lined with roasted red pepper from a jar. You can also eat this over rice. This is delicious with that hint of spiciness as you bite into the dish either on rice or on a crusty bread.  Try it.  It is so easy to prepare.

Bob is entertaining us with his stories.  I wish he would get to the point.  ha ha ha.

Seville came later to savor the dish.

Rosie looks so full, doesn't she?

Slow Cooker Beer Chipotle Green Chilies Pulled Pork

• 2.5 lb pork butt
• 2 pieces of bottled chipotle 
• 1-10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup beer (I used Samuel Adams)

Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cook at high for 4 hours or at low for 8 hours.  I cooked mine in an Aroma brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 3 hours at slow cooker setting.

You can skim off the fat if you prefer after cooling.  

You can serve this over rice or as a pulled pork sandwich using a baguette spread with mayonnaise and lined with roasted red pepper from a jar.  

Slow Cooker Jalapeno Chicken Adobo

Once you are used to eating dishes with jalapeno, you will be adding it to even those you had in childhood that you would never dream adding it to.  I was eating the chicken adobo, an iconic Filipino dish, without the jalapeno slices and my tongue wanted something to spice it up.  So I reached for the bottle of jalapenos and dumped 2 tbsp of it to the dish.  In this recipe I instructed it to be added at the beginning.

However, if you have Chicken Adobo purists in your family, use the jalapeno as a side.  Or just don't tell them it is adobo. They will just wonder to themselves or aloud, "This tastes familiar.." while eating with gusto and you just smile.

Slow Cooker Jalapeno Chicken Adobo

• 3 lb chicken legs or thighs 
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp jalapeno slices from a bottle or more

Place all the ingredients in a crock pot. Cook at low for 6 hours or at high for 3 hours.  I cooked mine in an Aroma Brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 3 hours at slow cooker setting.

Note:

I did not add water at all.  The chicken gives off enough juice so that all the chicken pieces will eventually be in the broth.

Mediterranean Vegetable Linguine

The combination of the mediterranean vegetables make this flavorful despite the absence of any meat and oil. I added the juice of the bottled olives that gives that salty taste perfect with sundried tomatoes.  If one wants this to be dairy free, just substitute nutritional yeast or dairy free Parmesan cheese for the Parmesan cheese in the recipe.  Refreshing summer vegetarian salad.

Mediterranean Vegetable Linguine

• 8 oz cooked linguine, saving 1 cup of the pasta water
  
• 1 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup bottled olives
• 1/4 cup juice of bottled olives
• 1 yellow pepper, cut into small pieces
• 2 cups cooked broccoli florets
• 1 piece roasted red pepper in water from a jar, cut into small pieces 
• 1 tsp dry oregano
• 1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• black pepper to taste

Place in a saute pan the saved pasta water, olives, its bottled olive juice, dry tomatoes, yellow pepper, onion flakes, and garlic flakes.  Allow the liquid to boil till the yellow pepper is cooked and dry tomatoes soften. Add the cooked pasta, the broccoli, roasted red pepper, dry oregano and pepper flakes.  Lower the heat and mix the ingredients till everything is heated through.  Add the Parmesan cheese and black pepper and mix.  

Slow Cooker Korean Lemon Chicken

The slow cooker really is a great tool for preparing chicken dishes with thick sauce.  The flavor of the sauce really permeates the tender chicken meat.  With the help of a thickening agent like cornstarch the sauce becomes a vibrant enticing topping for the dish.

I have posted several slow cooker chicken dishes in the past of different ethnic origins, Chinese, General Tso's Chiclen; Vietnamese, Banh Mi Chicken; Filipino, Chicken Afritada among several .  In this post I am going Korean with the help of gochujang sauce which one buys from any Asian store.  I have recently posted recipes using this magnificent Korean signature delicacy.  It has that spicy sort of nutty flavor but it does not have any nut in its ingredients.  It is really made of red pepper with rice as a co-ingredient according to the label.  I am in love with it.

I have come up with a recipe combining gochujang with other condiments like soy sauce, rice vinegar and honey.  I have tweaked the proportions of these ingredients which have appeared in past recipes since one has to intensify the saltiness and sweetness when it comes to slow cooking.  The liquid does not evaporate in slow cooking.  I have mentioned before that I used cornstarch to thicken the sauce since all liquid stays in slow cooking.  As for the other spices, I used dry garlic flakes and ginger powder since I was lazy.  Actually they work.  The star of the dish is its tangy citrus taste that comes from the juice of lemon.  I used a large juicy one.  It really complements the spicy sweet taste of the combination of ingredients.

The sauce is a rice guzzler.  It is that good and addictive.  So have plenty of it.  You can double the recipe of the sauce ingredients if you wish.  This a convenient way to prepare chicken with a luscious delicious sauce for a party or family gathering.  You cook and forget it.

Slow Cooker Korean Lemon Chicken

• 1.5 lb chicken tenderloin or any other cut 
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp gochujang sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp dry garlic flakes
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp corn starch in 1 tbsp water

Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker and mix so the chicken pieces are coated with sauce ingredients.  

Cook for 6 hours at high or 3 hours at low setting.  I used an Aroma Brand rice cooker/slow cooker and I cooked mine for 2 hours at slow cooker setting.

Serve over rice.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.  Serve with side of mixed vegetable stir fry.  Enjoy. 

Pulled Pork Rib Taco Quesadillas

This is a hybrid between a quesadilla and a taco.  It has the usual filling for a quesadilla, meat and cheese, and the traditional taco toppings of salsa, shredded lettuce and sour cream.  Whereas the tacos usually include these goodies inside the taco shell together with the meat they are now used as a topping in this hybrid recipe.  The quesadillas are ideal for this mode of adding these usual accompaniments to the tacos right on top because of the unique crispness of the tortillas used. This combination recipe is easier to eat and handle since all the fillings are encased in the tortilla rather than the taco shell.

I served this at our Book Club meeting last night held at the McGinnis Sisters Specialty Store in Monroeville, PA.  We usually have a themed dinner prepared by the talented Karen Novak, the Book Club and event organizer of McGinnis Store Monroeville but last night was a potluck affair.

Some, who did not mind the heat of the jalapenos, raved about it.  My picky taster, my husband, gave it a thumbs up too.

Below are photos I took during our meeting where we had for the book theme of the evening, "naughty heroines". We also had Brynn Chapman as a guest speaker. She is a prolific author of young adult fantasy books including the recently published The Requiem Red (click on image below for summary and to purchase). It was a great night of food and interesting discussions among friends.

Pulled Pork Rib Taco Quesadillas

• 2 cups cooked leftover pork (butt, ribs, shoulder), chopped (Note 1)
• a few tablespoons of the leftover sauce of the pork
• 1 onion, chopped
• 8 jalapeno pepper slices, bottled, chopped (Note 2)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• salsa
• shredded lettuce
• 4-8 inch flour tortillas

Mix the cooked pork, some sauce, onion, jalapeno pieces and shredded cheese in a bowl.

Place a whole tortilla on a plate and fill half of it with 1/4 amount of the pork and cheese mixture.  Put the other half of the tortilla over the filled part.  Spray both sides with cooking spray.

Place the filled tortilla into a large preheated saute or griddle pan that has been coated with cooking spray.  Heat till the tortilla crisp up, carefully turn to the other side and crisp up this other side.

Cut into triangles and serve with shredded lettuce and salsa.  One can also serve the taco quesadillas with sour cream.  

Notes

1.  I used the left overs from the Cola Soy Sauce Ribs found in this blog.  It is an easy slow cooker recipe. You can also use this other recipe, The Rolling Stone Spare Ribs, from this blog.

2. You can also serve the jalapenos as a topping instead of being part of the filling.

Non Dairy Cheesy Vegetable Pasta

I have been very busy lately helping my daughter take care of her new born baby and toddler. I have resorted to frozen dishes to serve my family when they drop by.

I used a creamy chicken vegetable pasta a few days ago and it was pretty good.  I am plant based and wants to stay with this approach so I decided on making a no meat non dairy version.

I have been using Daiya brand non dairy cheeses and love it. This was what I used in this plant based version of cheesy vegetable pasta. I also used cornstarch stirred into almond milk to further thicken the creamy texture of the sauce.

I used the vegetables that I had in the fridge, carrots, celery and zucchini,  but other combinations are possible. Peas, grean beans and corn come to mind.

The result is something that satisfied my craving for a cheesy creamy saucy vegetable laden pasta dish that is plant based. Any carnivore will love this dish too.

Non Dairy Cheesy Vegetable Pasta

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 2 stalks celery , sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into cubes
• 2 tsp garlic dry flakes
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup Daiya non dairy shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups of cooked pasta of your choice

Mix the cornstarch into the almond milk in a small bowl and set aside.  

Place the water, onion, carrots and celery in a saute pan.  Allow to boil gently till the carrots are cooked.    

Add the cornstarch in almond milk, zucchini and garlic flakes into te boiling mixture.  Lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer till the sauce gets thick and the zucchini heated through but not overcooked.

Add the cheddar cheese and mix till melted with the rest of the ingredients.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Add a cup of cooked pasta of your choice and mix.

Plant Based Filipino Tinola

Chicken Tinola is one of the most popular comfort food in the Philippines.  Filipinos love the pungent taste imparted by the ginger in this stew.  It is the heart of the dish.  Chicken is the protein of choice and as far as the vegetables are concerned potatoes, cabbage and chayote or sayote are the popular options.  

Chayote or sayote (see picture below) is a green vegetable which belongs to the squash family.  It is hardier than a zucchini and has to be boiled as long as the potatoes.  It has a large seed in the middle which is removed while the skin is left intact during the cooking process. It tastes like the zucchini but has a sturdier texture which makes it ideal for stews.  

Chayote or sayote

I found chayote or sayote in the Patel Indian Store in Monroeville and happily used it when I felt a craving for Tinola.  Being plant based I skipped the chicken and just relied on sauteed ginger, garlic and onions to enhance the flavor imparted by the familiar vegetables used in tinola, cabbage, potatoes, and the chayote.  I wanted more green and nutrition to the dish and added spinach.  In the Philippines, they would have added dahon ng sile or leaves of small chilis.  Instead of this one could add for that spicy kick, if desired, one whole banana pepper.  For seasoning, fish sauce or patis is traditionally added to the stew while cooking as well as a side condiment to dip the chicken in while eating.  Again being plant based I just added salt and some pepper and skipped the fish sauce.  

This plant based version really satisfied my cravings for Tinola.  I got the ginger flavor from the soup and heartily savored the vegetables including the chayote with brown rice.  Life was really good while I savored this Filipino comfort food sans the chicken.  

Plant Based Filipino Tinola

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp ginger, cut into small strips
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cabbage, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 potatoes, cut into large cubes
• 1 chayote or sayote, cut into large cubes (available in Asian Stores)
• 4 loosely packed cups spinach
• 1 whole banana pepper (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 tsp oil or 1 tbsp water in a pot in medium heat and add to it the onion garlic and ginger.  Saute till the onion is translucent.  Add the vegetable broth, cabbage, potatoes, chayote and whole banana pepper if using into the pot.  Allow to boil till the potatoes and chayote are tender but not mushy.  Then add the spinach at the last 5 minutes of cooking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy with rice.  

Tofu Vegetable Curry

The recipe is very similar to the Spinach in Coconut Milk with Indian Spices in this blogpost.  I added tofu and used a different mix of vegetables consisting of zucchini, carrots and spinach.  It is just as delicious as the inspiration but felt more substantial because of the tofu present and the crunchy presence of the carrots and zucchini.  My daughter gave this the thumbs up.  Just like the original recipe this does not last long since the curry sauce makes it utterly addictive. One of my favorites in my plant based approach to eating.  It has protein in the tofu and the texture of the vegetables and the creamy sauce make it very satisfying.

.

Tofu Vegetable Curry

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup water (Note 1)
• 2 red dry chilies, crumbled
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup coconut milk (Note 2)
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 1 bag spinach
• salt to taste
• 4 stalks cilantro, chopped

In a saute pan heated to medium high heat, add the garlic, ginger, onion and some of the water. Continue heating and adding the water till the three ingredients are cooked.  Then heat till only a little bit of the water is left then add the chilies, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and coconut milk.  Continue to heat at medium heat till the taste of the spices are blended.  Add the carrots and cook till tender.  Then add the spinach zucchini and continue to heat till the spinach is wilted. You want the zucchini to retain its crunch.  Garnish with cilantro.  Serve over rice or quinoa or with Naan bread. Enjoy.

Notes:

1.  I am observing the plant based approach so I skip oil in sauteing but you can use some oil in sauteing the garlic, ginger and onion.  If you are doing this, skip the water.  

2.  You can use coconut cream for a thicker sauce.  If you do not have it, you can place the coconut milk in the fridge overnight and decant the liquid leaving the cream which you can use in place of coconut cream.  

Slow Cooker Smothered Pork Chops With White Wine Gravy

Slow cooking is perfect for preparing pork chops with its gravy. I had to stay with my daughter and granddaughter at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Magee Hospital yesterday as my daughter nursed her newborn boy.  I thought of this dish which I could prepare before I left for the hospital and just forget it until I come home to prepare the birthday dinner for my daughter.

I served this with brown rice, crusty baguette, salad, and roasted potato and carrots. Plus of course cake and ice cream at the end of dinner.

My picky taster, my husband, gave it two thumbs up and so did my daughter and son in law. The white wine sauce gave it that special French touch.  The pork chops came out succulent and delicious smothered with the gravy and vegetables. Easy recipe without any sauteing involved. My kind of cooking.

Slow Cooker Smothered Pork Chops With White Wine Gravy

• 2.5 lbs pork chops
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 cups sliced mushroom
• 4 tbsp dry onion flakes
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup wine
• 1 tbsp cornstarch in 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 red pepper, sliced into strips
• salt and more garlic powder to taste

Mix the flour, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Divide into two portions. Use the first portion to dredge each pork chop. Set the dredged pork chops aside.  

Mix the second portion of the flour mixture with the ingredients starting from the mushrooms up to the Worcestershire sauce in the slow cooker bowl. 

Stack the dredged pork chops on top of this mixture. Place the onion and pepper on top of the pork chops.

Slow cook for 4 hours at high setting or 8 hours at low setting. I cooked mine in an Aroma Brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 3 hours using the slow cooker setting. 

You can add salt and more garlic powder to taste at the end of cooking.

You can serve this with rice or potatoes, crusty bread and salad. Elegant and delicious. Cest magnifique!

Meatball Mushroom Pepper Stoup

I was planning to serve this over whole wheat pasta for my husband's lunch today before he went to sing in the opera he was in.  When I came home from church, he already ate it as a stoup, a term coined by Rachael Ray for something which is a cross between a soup and a stew.

This rustic stoup is easy to prepare.  You just dump everything in the slow cooker and the amounts of the ingredients are flexible.  The only thing you need to slice is the onion and the rest either comes from a bottle or a can or a bag. How so convenient can a recipe get.  Or how lazy can one be.  Simple as it is this is a delicious recipe. You can eat this as a stoup or over pasta with a slice of crusty bread.  You can also scoop the solid part and put it on a bun.

Slow Cooker Meatball Stoup

• 1.25 lb cooked frozen meatballs (1/2 of 2.5 lb bag)
• 1- 28 oz jar Spaghetti sauce
• 2- 4 oz  cans mushroom pieces and stems, undrained
• 10-12 small red and yellow peppers, whole
• 1 large onion, sliced

Combine all the ingredients in a the crock pot.  Cook for 3 hours at high setting or 6 hours at low.  I cooked mine in an Aroma Brand rice cooker/slow cooker for two hours at slow cooker setting.  You can also cook this at the Keep Warm setting in your crock pot overnight.  

Easy Quinoa and Brown Rice Pilaf

Fried rice is made for leftover rice.  I had both brown rice and quinoa in my fridge and I decided to combine them both for a plant version of the Chinese fried rice.  Being plant based, I avoided the use of frying the rice and quinoa and just used the soy sauce to help accomplish the blending of the two grains.  I wanted this to be a quick and easy recipe so I used frozen mixed vegetables and for the spices, dry garlic and onions.  I actually cooked the frozen mixed vegetables as is, namely frozen, and added it to the rice and quinoa in the same saute pan to save on washing an extra dish.  I just added water to help cook them.  The only thing I needed to chop are the green onions which I find is a must for any fried rice dish.

I decided to call this a pilaf so people would not be expecting a fried dish.  This recipe I assure you works without the step of frying in oil.  I do include a drizzle of sesame oil be used to round up the taste of this dish just when one is ready to eat it. It gives that nutty flavor and a little goes a long way.

This is delicious and will satisfy your cravings for the Asian fried rice without all the oil.  It is healthy dish especially with the addition of the super grain quinoa which gives it the protein boost.

Quinoa and Brown Rice Pilaf

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp dry onion flakes
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 cup green onions sliced
• Sesame oil (for drizzling over the pilaf)

Place the quinoa, brown rice, soy sauce, garlic powder and onion flakes in a pan and heat the mixture with stirring over medium heat.  Heat till the soy sauce and spices are incorporated into the rice and quinoa.  

Add the frozen mixed vegetables and water into the mixture heat at medium high with stirring until the vegetables are cooked. 

Season with salt and pepper according to your taste and add the red pepper flakes if you like and stir. 

When serving have the sliced green onions on the side to top each serving of the pilaf and also a bottle of sesame oil on the side for the individual to drizzle it over the pilaf.  You would like to drizzle the sesame oil just when you are ready to eat the pilaf since it tends to decompose with heat and lose its full flavor.

Grilled Salmon over Spinach and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Citrus Dressing

Are you running of ideas for a meatless meal to serve this Lenten Friday? Here is an easy, delicious and healthy alternative to the boxed frozen fish options you have been resorting to.

The grilled salmon has been flavored with the Turkish spice rub I have published previously transforming it to a tasty and a not so overwhelmingly spicy dish. In the picture above, it is served over spinach and roasted butternut salad with citrus dressing, the recipe of which I posted recently.  You can however use any salad you like.

This beautiful meal will surely kick your Lenten Friday meatless meal a notch.

Grilled Salmon over Spinach and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Citrus Dressing

(Inspired by this recipe) 

4 pieces of salmon
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp turkey spice rub (recipe here)
1 tbsp oil

Place salt and pepper on each salmon.  Coat each salmon with the turkey spice rub.  Heat the oil in a saute pan at medium heat.  Pan fry the salmon in the heated pan.  Serve over the Spinach and Roasted Squash Salad with Citrus Dressing or your favorite salad.

Cauliflower with General Tso's Sauce

If one goes to the Chinese buffets, one of the most popular dishes is General Tso's Chicken.  You can see this irresistible dish in almost all the overfilled plates. I have posted a Slow Cooker Healthier General Tso's Chicken recipe in this blog in the past.  I love its sweet and spicy taste and with that unmistakable kick in it that sets it apart from other sweet-spicy Chinese food.  Now that I am plant based I am still alive with all my cravings intact.  I decided to satisfy this yearning for this iconic Chinese dish by using cauliflower.  It is a hardy vegetable that I envisioned to be able to withstand being cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce and still retain its crunch.  I could have used tofu as this online website, the Minimalist Baker, has done but I just tofu-ed out for the week.  If this is eaten with quinoa instead of brown rice the protein requirement for the day can be met.

I used a tangy sweet spicy sauce in my Slow Cooker Healthier General Tso's Chicken with orange marmalade and juice in it.  It was really good but I wanted to try another recipe.  In this recipe, I based it on the one in the Minimalist Baker.  I did tweak it including adding chili garlic sauce.

Daphne Oz from the TV show The Chew has a recipe for General Tso's Cauliflower where she dredges first the cauliflower in rice flour cornstarch mixture with egg whites.  I did not have the motivation to go through that dredging step plus I want to stick to the plant based approach that refrains from using eggs.  So I decided to just cook the cauliflower florets with the sauce in the pan.  It is an easier procedure that even a burned out cook with no energy at the end of the day will be motivated to do.

I was really impressed that the cauliflower held its crunch as I envisioned and the sauce went really well with the florets.  The consistency of the sauce is left for the cook to decide.  I prefer mine thinner so I can scoop it with the florets and pour it in my rice or quinoa.  If it is to be served as an appetizer a thicker consistency will be the preferred so the florets are coated with the sauce as people pick them up.  It is a flexible and very easy recipe as you can see and so like the real thing, baby.  You can use it as a main dish, side dish or even as an appetizer.  Yes, yes.  I had it for breakfast today, the indicator it is addictive and haunting.

Cauliflower with General Tso's Sauce

Adapted from the Minimalist Baker  

                    

4 Servings

• 1 cauliflower head, cut into florets
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 4 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 -1 tsp chili garlic sauce 
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water

Mix all the ingredients except the cauliflower florets right in the saute pan.  Let it boil and then add the cauliflower florets.  Continue to boil gently the cauliflower in the sauce until it is cooked but still has that crunch.  You can boil off as much of the liquid as you want until you get the consistency of the sauce you want.  Do not overcook the cauliflower, however.  Serve topped with sliced green onions and over rice or quinoa.  Enjoy.  So good.

My Plant Based Pizza with Stringy Mozzarrela, No Kidding

I am happy to announce I am eating pizza again even though I am plant based.  I just could not eat one without cheese so I avoided pizza.  If not for the dairy free Daiya brand mozzarella cheese I would have just given up on eating pizza on this plant based approach of eating.  In the past on this diet I have sneaked in a small piece of the regular non plant based pizza with dairy cheese but I was not happy about it.  I wanted my own substantial serving of pizza I would not be guilty of.

   

Dairy free Daiya mozzarella as the package claims is cheesy and stringy.  The taste is delicious and not the pasty kind you get from other brands.  I got mine at Mc Ginnis Specialty Food Store in Monroeville PA. It is a bit pricier than the regular mozzarella but definitely worth every penny for me.  They are so rich I just use less than what some would use of the regular version.

I decided to make my pizza using ciabatta bread I got from Aldis Grocery Store.  I placed the store bought marinara sauce on top and just placed the Daiya mozzarella cheese, mushroom slices and sliced yellow pepper on top.  I then sprinkled garlic powder, dry oregano, basil and parsley on top.  The garlic powder gives the taste to me of the Parmesan cheese that one sprinkles on most pizza.

This pizza works.  I am in pizza heaven.  As one T shirt I saw said, Life is Pizza and I got mine back. Thanks to Daiya cheese.

My Plant Based Pizza with Stringy Mozzarrela, No Kidding

1 serving

• 1 Cibatta bread, split into two pieces
• 2 tbsp Marinara sauce
• 2 tbsp or more dairy free Daiya Mozzarella cheese
• 1 small yellow pepper, sliced into four pieces
• 2 large button mushrooms, sliced into 6 pieces
• garlic powder to taste
• dry oregano, basil and parsley to taste

Spread the Cibatta bread with the marinara sauce.  Top with the cheese, yellow pepper and mushroom pieces.  Toast or bake in the toaster oven till the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted but not burnt (like mine).  Sprinkle garlic powder, and the dry spices to taste.  Enjoy!

Easy Sloppy Joe

Busy night.  Lots of picky mouths to feed.  You are tired but do not want to order take out.  This is the recipe you need.  Short list of ingredients are needed.  Very flexible.  You can control what you want in the sauce unlike the bottled commercial Sloppy Joe sauce you can buy.

The most essential ingredients in the list are of course ground beef (preferably low fat to skip draining of the fat step), catsup and Worcestershire sauce.  You can embellish the flavor with the onions, green pepper and garlic powder.  Yes you can add Sriracha sauce for extra oomph and depending who you are feeding. Children tend to find it too spicy.

My family loves this and so do my friends.  I gave this to an ailing friend and her husband, Joe, wrote me an email gushing that it is the best he had had or something like that.  Superlatives no less.

Easy Sloppy Joe

• 2.5 lb ground beef (preferably low fat)      
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 cups catsup
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce (optional)

Saute the onion and green pepper in a the oil in a saute pan.  Add the ground beef, salt, black pepper and garlic powder to the vegetable mixture and continue to saute till the beef is browned.  If you are using beef that are high in fat, you can skim off the fat at this point.  Add the catsup, Worcestershire sauce and Sriracha sauce if using and continue to simmer the meat mixture till the flavors are blended.  Spoon over your favorite bun and enjoy pure bliss.  Do not forget to serve some veggies on the side like carrots and celery.  

Baked Barbecue Hoisin Tofu and Recipe for Homemade Hoisin Sauce

 

Our Class '65 of St. James Academy, Malabon went on a trip to Tuguegarao as one of several activities to celebrate our Golden Jubilee. We were served this wonderful array of grilled and fried assortment of meat and seafood (shown below) arranged beautifully on a bed of green banana leaves by our wonderful hosts Myrna and Bob Guzman at their beautiful Las Palmas Hotel in Tuguegarao. Chopped fresh green mangoes and an eggplant salad completed the assorted plate. Gorgeous and delicious.



Clockwise from the top, roast pork belly, barbecue pork on skewers, fried fish, fried shrimp, green mangoes, fried fish and barbecue chicken on skewers. In the center is an eggplant salad.

I would love to prepare a similar assortment of grilled and fried foods for one of my future parties and I thought that including barbecued tofu would be a good addition to the mix. It would accommodate the vegans and vegetarians among my guests.

This recipe for barbecued tofu is adapted from the one I found online. It uses hoisin sauce as a main ingredient in the marinade. It required the use of a grill but it was still not quite summer yet in Pittsburgh at this time. I thought of pan frying but I did not feel like going through the hustle of standing in front of a hot stove plus I wanted to avoid using oil to cut calories. So I resorted to baking.

I was able to leisurely watch "The Voice" show I recorded on my DVD while waiting for the tofu to finish baking. The resulting baked barbecue hoisin tofu was deliciously coated with the amazing marinade. Most importantly, the texture of the tofu was close to the other methods of grilling or pan frying. Draining or pressing the water of the firm tofu helped in attaining this highly desirable result.

I understand that some of you have to follow stringent nutritional requirements and are wary of using store bought hoisin sauce so I am including the recipe of homemade hoisin sauce from CDKitchen. You can tweak or adapt it to your specific needs.   A friend of mine prefers making her own half cup called for in this recipe rather than buy a bottle of hoisin which she might use only once. 

This recipe is really good even my picky 20 month old granddaughter, Maddie, ate this tofu and so did her picky daddy, Matt.  Really amazingly delicious you would not think it is actually healthy.

  

Baked Barbecue Hoisin Tofu

(Adapted from this About Food site)

• 1 block extra firm tofu, pressed or well drained (see note 1)
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce (store bought or use the recipe for homemade hoisin sauce provided below)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp lime juice from bottle or fresh limes
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder 

Press or drain your tofu first for best results.  See note 1 for two methods you can choose from.

Carefully slice the drained tofu into the size and shape, depending on what method of cooking you are using to cook it and also for what purpose.  If you are grilling it is best to slice it into 1-inch thick cubes or strips.  If you are placing them in skewers, cubes are better.  I wanted to make the barbecue tofu for an appetizer and I am baking them in a pan rather than grilling so I can get away with thinner slices.  My tofu came in four smaller blocks rather than one large one.  I cut each block of tofu into 1/2 inch thickness and then cut each square or rectangle diagonally and then once again diagonally to get four triangles per square or rectangle.

Whisk together all the ingredients except the tofu in a bowl.  Transfer the marinade in a shallow dish or a Ziplock bag.  Carefully place the cut tofu in the marinade making sure it is covered with the marinade.  Marinate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F,

Cover a cookie pan with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Place the tofu pieces on the pan 1 inch apart.  Bake for 20-25 minutes (30 minutes for thicker pieces) turning it over halfway through the baking time.  I actually did not baste it during the whole baking time but you can using the leftover marinade.  I froze any leftover marinade for future use.

 Notes: 

1.  You can use either of the two methods below for draining or pressing the tofu:

a)  First method of pressing the tofu can be found on this site. 

b) Second method uses less paper towels which I find to be a waste.

•  Use a plastic steamer with holes or a colander and position it on top of a bowl which can catch the water.   
• Place the tofu on top of the steamer or colander and cover with a folded piece of paper towel.  
• Use a can or cans or any weight for that matter on top of the paper towel.  Drain for about two to three hours.   

Homemade Hoisin Sauce

(From CDKitchen)

(Makes 1/2 cup)

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter or black bean paste
• 1 tablespoon honey or molasses or brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 20 drops chinese hot sauce, habenero or jalepeno
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together.   At first it does not appear to be mixing together, keep at it and whisk a bit longer.

Moo Goo Gai Pan

Healthy, Tasty and Moist

This has my husband's seal of approval.  It is not too salty like most Chinese dishes but it is still very tasty.  To ensure that the chicken stays moist, an added step of velveting the chicken or coating it in egg whites and cornstarch is used.  The result is a restaurant style chicken dish where the meat remains juicy during the stir frying procedure.

Moo Goo Gai Pan 

Ingredients: 

Velveted chicken: 

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 large egg white
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp oil

Chop the chicken into 1 inch cubes.     In a bowl, mix the egg white, cornstarch, salt and garlic powder.  Add the chicken to the mixture and using your fingers coat the chicken with the mixture.  Cover the bowl and set the coated chicken in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile while the chicken is marinating prepare the vegetable mixture and sauce:

Vegetable mixture:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
• 1 (8 oz) can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
• 1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can whole straw mushrooms, drained
• 1/2 of a (15 oz) can baby corn, drained
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Sauce:

• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp dry sherry or rice wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or water

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until it begins to smoke.  Stir in the fresh mushrooms, broccoli, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, straw mushrooms and garlic.  Cook till the broccoli is tender.  Remove from wok and set aside.

In a bowl mix the white sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sherry or rice wine and broth or water.  Set aside

Wipe the wok and place 2 tbsp oil to it.  Heat the oil on high and then add the marinated chicken for velveting.  Cook until it is white and stir using a wooden spoon to gently separate them.

Add the vegetable and sauce to the velveted chicken.  Mix all of them together till all the components are heated through.  Garnish with the baby corn. 

Serve over rice or Asian noodles or pasta.