What Are "Pulses?" #haveaplant #gardencuizine

#Haveaplant

@JerseyFreshNJDA Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage #GardenCuizine Low Sodium, Healthy Meal using fresh garden ingredients! @EatRight_NJ

low Sodium

Stuffed Cabbage

Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage made from a beautiful head of Savoy Cabbage from Burlington County Ag Center's Farmers Market. Stuffed Cabbage makes a nutritious recipe for a large family or as meal prep for several meals for a household of one or two. 

The outer leaves were large and unblemished, which gave me the idea of using them for stuffed cabbage rolls. I plan to make more sauerkraut with the rest of the cabbage.

We used lentils vs ground beef for something different from traditional stuffed cabbage rolls with ground beef and rice. Harry picked up some red lentils vs green lentils, because that is all they had at the store. And, guess what? The red lentils worked out great and were delicious!

GardenCuizine Free style recipe - meaning use as much or little as you want of the ingredients!

Yields: At least 10-12 servings or more

Serving size: one roll

Ingredients                    

1 cup rice - (I used a rice blend from Rice Select "Royal Blend" - Texmati white rice, brown rice, red rice and wild rice)

Outer leaves from fresh head of cabbage

1 lb dry Red (or green) lentils cooked and strained - (I used Goya Lentejas Rojas and cooked the entire bag. We had leftover filling to use for fritters at other meals)

Onion, diced - I used half of a large onion (from the Farmer's Market)

1 jalapeno pepper, minced (from the garden!)

few thin sprigs celery with celery leaves chopped - (I used Tango celery from our garden)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 clove fresh garlic, minced

2 Tblsp olive oil

pinch salt and ground black pepper

Your favorite red sauce - we used a jar of Rao's

Grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Putting it all together

Cook the Rice

1) Cook the rice and set aside.

 Cook the Lentils

2) In a stock pot, saute the onion, peppers and celery in olive oil. Saute until onion is translucent; stir in the garlic and seasonings of your choice.

Add 4 cups water and lentils, salt and pepper and bring to boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until lentils are cooked.

Combine

3) Stir in the rice blend with the cooked lentils and combine.

Set aside while you prepare the cabbage leaves

Prepare the Cabbage Leaves

4) Boil a large pot of water

Rinse off your selected cabbage leaves then add to boiling water; boil a few minutes to soften. Remove and place in a large baking dish to drip off and cool.

Use a paring knife to trim out the thick stem from the edge.

Stuff and Roll the Cabbage

5) Using an ice cream scoop, scoop a portion of your filling onto a cabbage leaf. Fold up the sides and roll burrito style.

Place into baking dishes with a layer of red sauce on the bottom.

Repeat for how ever many Cabbage Rolls you want to make.

Top with more red sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese

Cover and keep in refrigerator or freezor until ready to cook.

Cook and serve!

When ready to cook, add a small amount of water, cover and bake in 350 deg oven until heated through and bubbling.

Serve with a side of chopped ripe and juicy heirloom Jersey tomatoes!

Enjoy!

Blog post and photos Copyright(C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Spicy Candied Almonds #GardenCuizine #SuperBowl #Snack

Spicy Candied Almonds

Candied nuts with cinnamon and spice give your body nutrition while providing flavor to your taste-buds. A few is all you need to satisfy and serve as a stand alone snack. For those who can safely eat nuts, spiced nuts make a welcomed homemade gift from your kitchen. I made these at Christmas and just made another batch for Super Bowl Sunday snacking!

Ingredients
2 cups lightly salted whole almonds
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon (or more!) ground hot peppers from your garden (or store bought cayenne)
2 Tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch sea salt

Putting it all together
preheat oven to 375 deg F

Spread the almonds onto a foil-lined baking sheet; bake 5 min
Remove from oven and set aside to cool

• In a medium bowl, sift sugar with spices
• Add water and vanilla; stir to combine
• Stir in nuts; save the foil lined cookie sheet

On stove-top, medium heat, preheat a 10-inch cast iron skillet
when hot, add nut mixture

• Cook 3 min, mixture will get bubbly
• Stir
• Cook another 3 minutes

Spread onto the foil lined baking sheet
Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt
Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight baggie - I let them sit overnight

Serve with other healthy snacks such as fruits, cheese and/or veggies and dip.

Enjoy!
Related Links
My Instagram post
Healthy Super Bowl Party Recipes
Blog post and photo Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

What is Konjac? #GardenCuizine #guthealth #weightloss #diabeticfood #WLS

Magical Konjac
Zero Calories? 
Zero Carbohydrates? 
High in dietary Fiber

People who want to control or prevent diabetes, obesity, or who just want to succeed at weight loss, have discovered that a healthy diet and lifestyle are the keys to success. Healthy eaters never get bored from discovering new foods. Have you ever tried a food made with Konjac? Just what is Konjac anyway?

Low carb and no carb foods are popular with Keto and Paleo dieters. Personally, the clients I see that inform me they started trying a keto diet never really get to the stage of ketosis; we can talk more about ketosis another time. Just know that I do not recommend a ketogenic diet for the average person whose is looking to lose weight. 

Eating and cooking with lower carb foods and balancing carbohydrate intake throughout the day is always a winning strategy for glycemic control and weight management. Foods made with Konjac are often near zero calories and zero carbohydrates. 

Studies have shown that Konjac may promote increased butyrate, which improves gut health. And, people with diets low in fiber who suffer from constipation may notice improved bowel movements since Konjac is high in dietary fiber [1].

Knojac comes from a large plant native to China with the botanical name of Amorphophallus konjac. The corms (tuber-like roots) can grow to 10-inches and are the part that is harvested for use in foods. Konjac is most popular in Asian cuisine in flour, jelly, Konnyaku (yam cake) and Shirataki noodles.
Doesn't a food with no calories or carbs sound magical or like every dieter or diabetics dream food? Maybe that's why a noodle brand calls their noodles made from konjac "Magic Noodles." Often noodles made from knojac are packed in water with instructions to buyers to rinse them well before using. 

Reviews from people who have used Konjack noodles are all over social media. So check them out or try them for your self and let me know what you think.

Happy and Healthy Cooking!

Diana 

References and photo credit
[1] Chen, HL; Cheng, HC; Wu, WT; Liu, YJ; Liu, SY (Feb 2008). "Supplementation of konjac glucomannan into a low-fiber Chinese diet promoted bowel movement and improved colonic ecology in constipated adults: a placebo-controlled, diet-controlled trial". Journal of the American College of Nutrition.
Photograph: By James Steakley [CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Just two ingredients to make-your-own Probiotic Sauerkraut #GardenCuizine #guthealth #probiotics

Probiotic Sauerkraut

The joy in preparing for my probiotic foods cooking class was introducing myself and the participants to homemade and store-bought fermented foods with live-cultures. Being new to fermentation myself, I ordered a few educational, how-to-ferment, cook books by James Beard Award-winning and NY Times bestselling author Sandor Ellix Katz. He is considered "The Johnny Appleseed of Fermentation" by Michael Pollan. Katz says in his book, Wild Fermentation, that for him, it all started with sauerkraut.

Sauerkraut is a good place to start for making food with probiotics. Our first batch of sauerkraut is fermenting now. We used the dry-salt method and did not add any water. When enjoying probiotic kraut in meals it is important to remember to eat it at room temperature or not to heat it too high or the beneficial live probiotic microorganisms will die.

Clean your Jars or Crock
To start your adventure in fermented food preparation, first decide what containers you would use. We washed out a few Mason canning jars that we had in our basement. We use them in jelly making and preserving our Jersey tomatoes - now they have yet another purpose - sauerkraut! 

You can readily find Mason jars at grocery markets and stores like Walmart and Target. Our next batch of kraut is going in our crock pot, for an even larger batch!

Only Two (2) Ingredients
Ferment time: 3 to 4 weeks or more (of course you could nibble sooner too) - taste and you decide! Fermentation for at least 9 days yields a more diverse group of microorganisms.

1. 1 head Green Cabbage  (note the weight)
2. non-iodized course sea salt- 1 Tablespoon per 2 lbs. (2% salt)

Method

• Rinse cabbage; discard any dirty, bruised leaves and core and shred the cabbage like you would for Coleslaw. 
• Add cabbage to large bowl and sprinkle top with salt. Squeeze and massage salt into shredded cabbage until you start to notice sweating and moistening of the cabbage. This indicates that cell walls are breaking and water within the veggie can seep out. 
• Stuff the cabbage loosely into clean jars. Then firmly tamp down using tongs or a wooden spoon. Cover and let nature do the rest!
• Check your kraut daily and open the lid to allow any natural gas to escape. Tamp down each time to press down the top cabbage pieces into the brine.
• For best results temperature should be between 68°F and 75°F

Congratulations! You've just completed Sauerkraut Fermentation 101. In your next batch try using other types of veggies. In his book, Sandor Katz suggests radishes, turnips, carrots, beets, garlic, greens, peppers and other veggies. Other options include: caraway seeds, turmeric, ginger or whatever else you can imagine.

People use many different methods to weigh down the top layer of cabbage to keep it under the brine. We didn't do anything. When we try a larger batch in a crock, I may use a stainless steel pot lid to press down the top.

There are several strains of desirable lactic acid bacteria that will develop and preserve your sauerkraut by lowering the pH. This type of bacteria are anaerobic so it won't matter if you want to cover your kraut with an airtight lid. Just remember to allow the natural gas that forms to escape daily.

We used a huge 4 lb. head of store-bought cabbage. Sliced it and added 2 T of salt. After massaging in the salt I took a taste. It tasted too salty. After one week I took another taste and it was so much better; still crunchy, but had the familiar flavor of sauerkraut. Success!

Trouble Shooting
What if Brine Does Not Cover Top of Cabbage?
As you can see from my photo above, our brine is not covering the top layer of cabbage in the first week. I'm thinking that the green cabbage that we used may not have had as much water in it's cell walls like homegrown, fresher cabbage probably would have. If that happens to your kraut too, an option would be to make a small amount of brine (non-iodized sea salt and water) and add it to the jars. 

Update 1/26/18: We waited three weeks before making and adding brine and by the third week, enough natural brine developed so we did not add any.
References and Related Links
Katz S., Wild Fermentation, Chelsea Green Publishing 2016

Plengvidhya V, Breidt F., Lu Z. et al, Applied Environmental Microbiology. DNA Fingerprinting of Lactic Acid Bacteria; 2007 Dec; 73(23): 7697–7702. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2168044/

Recommendations for Safe Production of Fermented Vegetables

Blog post and photo Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Prebiotics and Probiotics #GardenCuizine #probiotics #guthealth

Prebiotics and Probiotics

In recent years there has been a surge of interest in Gut Health and Gut Microbiota. As a Clinical Outpatient Registered Dietitian I provide nutrition counseling for patients battling or wanting to prevent diseases that include: Obesity, Insulin Resistance, Diabetes, Dyslipidemia, Crohn's disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS). Scientific research is ongoing and showing promise for all ages across the lifespan - infants, children and adults - including Individuals with these diseases (and other conditions) for health benefits from Pre- and Probiotics.

In October 2013, an expert panel was formed by the International Scientific Association for Prebiotics and Probiotics (ISAPP) to further discuss and study the emerging science of how they benefit human health.

Recently, I taught a Cooking Class at Inspira Health Network on this very topic. I had more people sign up than I expected! Most participants had heard of probiotics; more so than prebiotics. Below is a brief RD chat on the subject. Recipes will follow.

Prebiotics
Prebiotics are non-digestible dietary fibers that feed Probiotics. Prebiotics are usually found in plant foods; but, did you know that there are a number of prebiotics in human milk too? Yet, another reason making breastfeeding superior nourishment for babies. Prebiotics enhance calcium absorption and help in the relief of constipation and diarrhea. 

Prebiotic foods include: whole grains, onions, bananas, garlic, honey, leeks, asparagus, cabbage, soybeans, dandelion greens, artichokes, chicory root, Jerusalem artichokes, bran and of course Prebiotic fortified foods and Prebiotic dietary supplements.

Probiotics
Probiotics are microorganisms that when ingested have a positive benefit on our health; especially digestive health and immune system. Foods and beverages that offer probiotics must contain live cultures as found in Macrobiotic, Vegan products, such as: miso, tempeh, soy sauce and fermented soybeans called natto. 

Other, more common probiotic foods include: fermented vegetables, such as: sauerkraut, pickles; aged cheeses, yogurt (with live active cultures), kefir and kombucha tea. Other functional foods include products such as Siggi's Filmjölk, a Swedish drinkable yogurt, and Special K Nourish cereal with added probiotics.

• It is important to note that some yogurts and most store sold sauerkraut and pickles are heat treated at high temperature, which kills probiotic cultures. 
• Fermented dairy products are often better tolerated by individuals who are lactose intolerant because the good bacteria metabolizes the lactose into lactic acid. The result is a creamy buttermilk-like flavor. 
• Yeast-risen breads, Coffee, some teas and Chocolate have fermentation involved in their production. However, they are not considered probiotic foods since the cultures are not living when consumed.

Read Labels
Carefully reading product labels helps in selecting foods containing beneficial pre- and probiotics. Look for the freshness date and the name of the microorganisms. Look for the National Yogurt Associations "Live and Active Culture" seal on yogurts with probiotics. 

Probiotics work by colonizing and crowding out the bad potential pathogens, replacing the bad bacteria with good bacteria; breaking down toxins in the gut. Probiotics play an important role in digesting proteins. They produce anti-microbial substances along with needed B vitamins and Vitamin K.

Low Sodium Diet Helpful
Gut microbiota is sensitive to a high sodium diet. To improve immune dysfunction, hypertension and autoimmune diseases a low sodium diet may be helpful to gut lactobacilli. Limiting added salt at the table and cooking more at home is the best way to control dietary sodium. Sodium is high in most prepared foods eaten out in restaurants. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends keeping dietary sodium under 2,300 mg per day.

Check with your Doctor if you have unwanted symptoms or medical conditions. Blog post and photo Copyright (C) Diana Wind. All rights reserved.

References:

1. Younis K, Ahmad S, Jahan K (2015) Health Benefits and Application of Prebiotics in Foods. J Food Process Technology 6:433. doi: 10.4172/2157-7110.1000433
2. Mozaffarian, D., Hao, T., Rimm, E. B., Willett, W. C. & Hu, F. B. Changes in diet and lifestyle and long-term weight gain in women and men. N. Engl. J. Med. 364, 2392–2404 (2011). 
3. Gibson GR. Dietary Modulation of the Human Gut Microflora Using the Prebiotics Oligofructose and Inulin. Am Socity Nutr Sci. 1999;129:1438S-1441S.
4. American Nutrition Assoc. Nutrition Digest. Vol 38 No.2 Assessed 1/13/17 http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/science-probiotics

Related Links
Consumer Reports Top 5 Probiotics of 2017
Prebiotics and Probiotics, Creating a Healthier You
Live and Active Cultures Yogurt Facts
The Microbiology of Chocolate 
What dose is recommended? Is more better? 
Do Probiotics Work?

Edamame Dill Cous Cous #wholegrain #healthysidedish #GardenCuizine #recipe #NNM

Edamame Dill Cous Cous

whole grain 

serves 6
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup Edamame
1/2 cup Whole wheat Cous Cous
1/4 cup fresh Dill* chopped
1/4 cup Onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons (Tbl sp) olive oil
1 Tbl sp Garlic, minced or freeze-dried
pinch salt and pepper

Putting it all together
In a quart pot, saute onion in olive oil. Add garlic and dill, stir. Add water and edamame and bring to boil. Stir in cous cous. Cover and turn off heat. Let sit covered until liquid is absorbed. Serve when ready. Can be easily reheated in microwave.

Great as a side dish during National Nutrition Month®! Serve with additional lean protein such as tofu, salmon, chicken or fish. And, don't forget to add non-starchy vegetables to your meal; such as, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, bok choy or salad. 

We made this last night for dinner with stir fried tofu and broccoli to keep it vegetarian.

*GardenCuizine Kitchen Tip: Rinse fresh dill and shake off excess water. Store in an airtight plastic baggie in the freezer. You will always have dill when you need it!

Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved. National Nutrition Month® is a federally registered service mark of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.Used on GardenCuizine with permission.

@Eatingsoulfully Preparing Nopal Cactus for salad #GardenCuizine #MexicanCooking #Diabetic #Nopales

Preparing Nopales
Prickly Pear Cactus

Ingredients 
Fresh Prickly Pear Cactus pads

I knew I wanted to cook nutritious Prickly Pear Cactus after reading Constance Brown-Riggs' article about it's health benefits in Today's Dietitian magazine. Our first recipe was a Cactus Salad. This popular Mexican dish tasted better than you may think! But, finding the cactus may be a little tricky.  

First, we went to our local ShopRite. They only had Cactus Pears, which is the fruit of the Prickly Pear Cactus. Then we tried Wegman's, another supermarket. One of their produce guys told us they have not carried Nopales since October. I asked him if it was a seasonal item; he said he didn't think so. I did a quick search for local Mexican markets on my iPhone... we took a short drive and found it at Mi Ranchito in Moorestown, NJ - success!

We lucked out, the moist, green paddles were already prepared and ready-to-go in plastic baggies with 4 paddles per baggie. The cactus was in the stores refrigerated section next to a batch of fresh cilantro. 

To prepare Prickly Pear Cactus pads, carefully trim the thorns off and slice off the nubs too. To do it, run your chefs knife along each side; then trim around the outer edge (see above photo).

Cactus can be cooked several ways. One way is to brush each side with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill. We cut ours into bite sized pieces and boiled it for use in Cactus Salad. The cooking liquid reminded me of Aloe Vera juice so I saved it to add to smoothies. Even Mom loves this high fiber nutritious food. 

GardenCuizine Cactus recipes coming soon....

Related Links
Dynamics of Diabetes: Prickly Pear Cactus 
Cactus Pears

Blog post and photo Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

"But, I can't afford to eat healthy..." Cooking Healthy 101 #GardenCuizine pinto #beans #legumes #pulses

Cooking Healthy on a Budget

Cooking Pinto Beans

Frijoles Pintos

Yields 2 quarts of cooked beans!

• Start with a 16 ounce bag of Goya Pinto Beans, Frijoles Pintos for about $1.39 at your local supermarket. Rinse the beans in a strainer. Place in a stock pot. Cover beans with an inch or so of water. 
• I like to add a 2-inch dried piece of Wakame sea vegetable (available at Asian markets and natural foods stores). But, beans cook fine without it, if you don't have it.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover leaving a small opening for steam to escape; simmer until beans are cooked to taste.
• No need to pre-soak the beans. Cooking time only takes about 30-45 minutes.
• Also, no need to salt or season the beans. Wait until you use them in your recipes. 

Note: don't worry if you overcook them - pinto beans are delicious mashed with a little salt, pepper, onion and olive oil as refried beans, or as a spread in fajitas or mixed with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic as a bean dip.

• When cooked, strain and save the bean liquid. Divide beans into two quart storage containers. Top with bean liquid and refrigerate until ready to use in recipes. Any extra bean liquid can be tossed or used in recipes. I used our extra bean liquid in a quinoa recipe.

Buon Appetito!

Related Links
Take the Pulse Pledge
Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

The BEST tasting summer dressing for greens! #SesameTahini #GardenCuizine

Summer Sesame 
Tahini Dressing

This dressing will get anyone to enjoy superfoods such as kale greens! It was inspired by Michele's Sesame Tahini Salad Dressing that we sold so much of, and used when we had our restaurant: Garden of Eden Natural Foods and Country Kitchen Inc. 
 
Ingredients
4 Tablespoons Sesame Tahini
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon lite soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon hot sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon Nutritional Yeast*
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
pinch onion powder

Putting it all together
Combine all ingredients. Mix together with a small whisk.

Serve over your favorite salad greens, kale, chicken, tofu or fish.

Enjoy!

*Nutritional Yeast adds Vitamin B12 and fabulous flavor to foods! You can find it at supermarkets such as ShopRite.

GardenCuizine Nutrition data: coming soon - check back!

Recipe and photo Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Celebrate Cabbage Today! #GardenCuizine #NationalNutritionMonth #StPatricksDay

Celebrate Cabbage Today

No matter how you eat cabbage, raw or cooked, it is low in calories and a good source beneficial plant sterols, dietary Fiber and an excellent source of Vitamin C! 

Happy St. Patty’s Day! 

Eat something green today. Cabbage anyone?

• Coleslaw
• Boiled Cabbage
• Corned Beef and Cabbage
• Cabbage Chips
• Grilled Cabbage
• Kimchi-style Sautéed Cabbage
• Cabbage Soup
• Sauerkraut
• Borscht
• Cabbage with Apples
• Cabbage and Chickpeas with Mustard Seeds and Yogurt
  

… and many more! What’s your favorite recipe with cabbage?
GardenCuizine Nutrition Data Cabbage  
Raw: 100g (almost 1cup) = 25 calories, 0g total fat, Vitamin C 37mg (61% DV WOW!), Dietary Fiber 3g (10% DV), Folate 43 mcg (11% DV), Plant Sterols 11mg

Cooked, boiled: 100g = 23 calories, 0g total fat, Vitamin C 37.5 mg (62% DV WOW!), Dietary Fiber 2g (8% DV), Plant Sterols 10mg
Blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Healthy Snack: Fresh Fruit. Pears anyone? #GardenCuizine Nutrition Data Pears @Fruits_Veggies @eatright @kidseatright

Enjoy Fresh Fruit 

for a Healthy Snack

PEARS

Good source Vitamin C and dietary Fiber

We recently received a welcomed gift of a dozen fresh pears from a special friend. We allowed them to ripen at room temperature on our counter top and then put them in the refrigerator to slow down the ripening and preserve them long enough for us to eat them all. Ripe, fresh pears taste juicy and naturally sweet. 

To encourage more family members enjoy fresh fruit daily try this healthy eating tip: after a meal or in between meals ask your family, "Who wants some Pears?" Then use a corer separator gadget to core the pear and make it blossom into individual serving slices. Serve on a small plate on the table and I guarantee you that your family will all want to be first in line for their fair share! 

One small pear is considered one carbohydrate serving (about 15 net grams carbohydrates) for those who are counting.

GardenCuizine Pear Nutrition Data: One small Pear (148g):  Calories: 86; Total Fat 0g; Sodium 1mg; total Carbohydrate 23g; dietary Fiber 5g (18% DV); Vitamin C: 6.2mg (10% DV);

Related Links
Pears and Diabetes: A Sweet You Can Eat
Photo and blog post Copyright (C)Wind 2015. All rights reserved. 

General Tsao Tofu Stir-fry with Broccoli Rabe and brown rice #GardenCuizine

General Tsao Tofu Stir-fry

with Broccoli Rabe 

served over Brown Rice

Ingredients
1 bunch Broccoli Rabe
1 pkg Nasoya extra firm tofu (tofuplus has added vitamins)
Garlic - generous portion minced
Vegetable oil (we use sesame oil or peanut oil)
General Tsao's bottled Stir-fry Sauce (a blend of soy sauce, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, onion, garlic, spices; select whatever brand you prefer; available in most supermarkets; we select bottled sauces with natural ingredients) 

Prepare Broccoli Rabe
Rinse broccoli rabe; cut off thick ends; chop bunch into thirds; set aside in colander. Bring pot of water to boil. Add broccoli rabe and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and save the cooking liquid for other recipes (can use greens liquid when making quinoa, rice or soup). Set aside greens.

Stir Fry Tofu
Open package extra firm tofu, drain liquid. Line a pie plate with a clean dish towel and place the tofu in the center. Cover with the towel and place a few small cast iron skillets or other heavy weights on top as a press. Let excess water drain into towel for at least 30-minutes. Cut into bite-sized pieces.

In a large wok, on high heat, add a few tablespoons sesame oil. When hot, add tofu. Stir-fry until slightly brown. Remove and set aside cooked tofu.

Stir Fry Broccoli Rabe
Add a little more oil to wok if needed. On high heat, stir-fry prepared broccoli rabe. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until broccoli rabe is tender. Push greens up the side of wok, away from direct heat. Add chopped garlic to the center for 1 minute and then stir together with the greens.

Add the cooked tofu back in and add a small amount of General Tsao's stir-fry sauce. (Read the label; bottled sauces are usually high in sodium, so use sparingly.) Serve over brown rice. Enjoy!

Brown Rice:
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon minced hot pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch salt and black pepper

Cook rice in a rice cooker or on stovetop in a pot with a lid (we use 4-inch deep Corning-ware) saute onion in olive oil. Add 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, stir. Stir in brown rice. Add water and pinch salt and pepper - bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer until all water is evaporated. 
Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.