Tag Archives: easy weeknight dinner

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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Tortilla Soup

Easy Weeknight Meals, Low Calorie, Soups, Vegan, , , , , , , , , , ,

This vegan soup is a wonderful, healthy, low calorie and low fat meal that is a great antidote to holiday indulging.  The soup is delicious on its own, but what really takes it to the next level is serving it with a selection of different toppings/ condiments on the side.  You can serve this soup year-round; in the summer I take advantage of fresh corn, in the winter I use hominy instead of corn.  

If you aren’t familiar with hominy, it is corn that has been soaked in an alkali solution, which causes it to swell to 2-3 times it’s normal size.  The flavor of hominy is not as sweet as fresh corn, it tastes more like the corn flavor in a corn tortilla or a tortilla chip: slightly sour and more mineraly than fresh corn.  The texture of hominy is it’s best feature, it has a lovely chewy bite.

condiments for tortilla soup

tortilla soup

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