Tofu, Anyone?

Last week I was perusing the grocery store when I came across some organic tofu that was 50% off. I had never tried tofu. I didn't even know where to look for tofu until that day. Since I love a bargain and I've heard it's good for you, I decided to get some. I got home and thought "What do I do with it?"

I poked around the internet and found a few recipes that looked good. The lasagne sounded really good, but I'll have to pick up a few ingredients before I try it. I decided to try a grilled tofu sandwich and a tofu stir-fry.

For the tofu sandwich (this was NOT gluten-free), I placed two slices of bread on a cookie sheet. I spread a little mayo on each piece. I then put tomato slices on one piece and tofu slices on the other. I sprinkled a little sea salt on the tomatoes and a little garlic powder on the tofu. Under the broiler it went. It was pretty good, although I couldn't taste the tofu. Is that good or bad? The garlic and tomatoes made a nice combination. It might be good with a little Parmesan cheese.

For the stir-fry (gluten-free), I kinda cheated and used a bag of Asian-style frozen vegetables from the grocery store. I sliced the tofu into cubes. Then I heated some olive oil, sauteed the veggies, again with sea salt and garlic powder, then sauteed the tofu. It was ok, but nothing outstanding. I could taste the tofu a little more, but it's pretty bland.

Do you have some good tofu recipes you're willing to share?

Gluten-Free Gluttony

My post is a bit late this week because I had to go out of town for a funeral :(

I've seen gluten-free products on the shelf but never paid much attention to them. Recently my father-in-law started a gluten-free diet, so I've been noticing them more. He's found some cereal and bread that fit into his gluten-free diet, but was lamenting that he doesn't have any "goodies" to eat. He had bought a package of wheat-free Newman-O's but apparently they're not gluten-free. Olivia and I wanted to make him some cookies, but all my recipes call for flour. So the other day I bought some gluten-free all-purpose baking flour. I substituted it in one of my favorite cookie recipes and it worked pretty well. The cookies were a little crumbly (no gluten to hold them together!), but they tasted great! By the way, I made some gravy with the gluten-free flour since he was having dinner with us and it made excellent gravy.

There are desserts that are flourless, like custard, ice cream, and fudge. The Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe I posted earlier is gluten-free. But sometimes you just crave warm cookies and a glass of cold milk. Here are a couple of recipes to get you started.


Nutmeg Meltaways
Taste of Home
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour (the original recipe calls for regular flour)
3/4 cup ground almonds (about 3 ounces), toasted
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Gradually add flour; mix well. Stir in almonds. Shape into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 300 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Combine confectioners' sugar and nutmeg. Gently roll cooled cookies in sugar mixture.
Note: If using gluten-free flour, the cookies will be VERY fragile. Handle with care!


Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
(I forgot about this recipe until today.)
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda

In a mixing bowl, cream peanut butter and sugar. Add egg and soda and mix for 2 minutes. Roll into walnut-sized balls and place on a buttered cookie sheet. Create a criss-cross pattern with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.