What's for dinner? Installment # 2



What's for dinner? Installment #2


I had too many meals planned (for my house) last week. We had some unexpected circumstances arise and we were not home for a few evenings and thus not able to cook.

Also I am going on a little adventure for a few days that will curtail my usual cooking schedule.

Thus, because weeks (and days) are like snowflakes (no two are ever the same) we will only have two meals planned for this week.

Also, when I am crunched for time (like I will be this week), I go for one of my standby recipes. One that I know will be easy because I can make them with my eyes closed and KNOW my little family will be delighted when they see the weekly menu. Also because I promised you a recipe to showcase my favorite, delicious, twin oaks tofu, I am going to try a new recipe (once all the excitement dies down) later on this week.

So the meals for this week are:

Asian Inspired Salmon Cakes (Rogers-MacLean Family Standby)

AND....

Pan Fried Sesame Tofu (Something new and hopefully a good use of some delicious twin oaks tofu)

So here we go...
  
Asian Influenced Salmon cakes (Darren's favorite meal)

This recipe is one I found on Epicurious.com years ago, modified a bit for the tastebuds at our house, and it's remained a staple ever since. The curry powder, ginger, and tamari flavors go really well with the salmon.

For the original recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salmon-Cakes-with-Garlic-Spinach-Saute-240524

Ingredients:

• 1 can (14.5 ounces) wild Alaskan salmon
• 1/4 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Bread Crumbs Panko Style is what we use)
• 1 egg  
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons gluten free tamari (or low sodium soy sauce if you are not sensitive to wheat)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

Drain fish; put in a bowl. Stir in breadcrumbs, egg, ginger, curry, and soy sauce. Form 4 patties. Heat oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Cook patties until light brown, about 4 minutes; flip; cook 3 minutes more.

This is tasty served with either brown rice and steamed broccoli or atop a green salad with a homemade ginger dressing (be careful of store bought ginger dressing which usually contains soy sauce and thus wheat).


Pan Fried Sesame Tofu

I found this recipe on Whole Foods Market's website and (you guessed it) modified it to suite my preferences.

For the original recipe: http://caloriecount.about.com/whole-foods-pan-fried-sesame-recipe-r139629

Ingredients

• 14 ounces extra-firm tofu
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons tamari
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped ginger (I will just use 2-3 tablespoons of ground ginger)
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil (not toasted)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 cloves finely chopped garlic (I like to buy the jar of chopped fresh garlic at the grocery store--you can usually find it in the produce section, it saves time and saves your hands from always smelling like you are trying to scare off a vampire)
• 1 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup cornstarch (make sure you check the label to be sure there isn't any wheat or gluten)
• 1 tablespoon Canola oil
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 6 green onions

Directions

1.Wrap tofu with paper towels and place on a cutting board. Put another cutting board or heavy plate on top to press out liquid. Set aside for 20 minutes.

2.Meanwhile, put honey, tamari, ginger, sesame oil, vinegar, garlic and chile flakes into a small saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Keep warm.

3.Dry drained tofu with paper towels and cut into cubes. Dust very lightly all over with cornstarch or flour. Heat 1 inch of oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat until it reaches 350 F on a deep-fry thermometer. Fry tofu until golden brown, then transfer to a large bowl and toss with 2/3 cup of the warm sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions and toss gently. Serve with remaining sauce for dipping, or drizzle over vegetables on the side

Serving suggestion: I think I will serve this with sauted broccoli, sugar snap peas, shredded carrots, and maybe some bok choy.