Category Archives: Main Courses

Really Good, Really Easy Tofu Stir Fry

Easy Weeknight Meals, Low Calorie, Main Courses, Vegan, , , , , , , , ,

Lots of people *think* they don’t like tofu.  There is no question that tofu that is not prepared well can be bland, mushy, and generally not that great.  Tofu that is well-prepared is delicious.  It absorbs the strong flavors of stir-fry sauces beautifully, and tofu that has been pressed and added to a stir fry complements the textures of stir-fried vegetables perfectly.  The secrets to great tofu are:

1. Buying the right kind of tofu

2. Seasoning and cooking it properly

This recipe is a great one to try if you think you don’t like tofu or are on the fence about it.  Just take care to follow the preparation directions carefully, the preparation makes all the difference.  

tofu broccoli stir fry2
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Bouillabaisse

Easy Weeknight Meals, Low Calorie, Main Courses, Soups, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provencal seafood stew that is made with at least 3 kinds of fish and flavored with saffron and traditional Provencal flavors like fennel, tomato, bay, thyme and tarragon.  Traditionally, the soup is served with rouille, a mayonnaise made of olive oil, garlic, saffron and cayenne pepper on grilled bread.

My bouillabaisse is not a traditional version, but it does contain the traditional flavors.  I like to make this with leftover scraps of fish that I keep in my freezer when I buy a piece of fish to cut into fillets.  I usually have some halibut pieces and shrimp in the freezer, which is enough to make this dish (though it doesn’t meet the traditional rule of three types of seafood).  I also like to add clams, mussels or calamari to the stew.

I skip the rouille, and serve this with simple grilled bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil.

 boullibaisse
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Eggplant Rollatini

Easy Weeknight Meals, Low Calorie, Main Courses, , , , , , , , , ,

I have written about Coach Farms goat ricotta in other posts, it’s great in lasagna and for making gnocchi.  I love it in this recipe as well.  It’s more flavorful, creamier and less chalky than other ricottas, and it is lower in fat and calories than even part-skim ricotta.  I find it at Whole Foods and PCC in Seattle.

If you aren’t a big lover of eggplant, or don’t think you like eggplant, I encourge you to try this recipe anyway.  There are two reasons that people generally don’t like eggplant:  the texture and the bitter flavor.  This texture of the eggplant in this dish is melt-in-your mouth, and the bitterness is extracted from the eggplant with salt prior to cooking.  I recommend salting eggplant to extract the bitter liquid prior to using eggplant in any preparation.  I salt eggplant slices prior to making eggplant parmesan, and I salt it is cube form prior to making ratatuille.  The only time that I don’t use the pre-salting technique is if I’m using a small Japanese or Chinese eggplant.  These varieties don’t seem to have the same bitterness as the larger varieties.

 eggplant rollatini cooked
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