Blood Orange Roasted Tofu and Asparagus

Spring is here!!! Which means asparagus is super cheap at the market. I dug and dug all over the internet for an asparagus recipe that wasn’t the same old same and came across this recipe from Eating Well. I loved that it had some of the asian flavors already in the recipe, but I thought it would be fun to add even more by upping the miso and swapping rice vinegar for balsamic. I had a blood orange in the fridge that I wanted to use up and it was SO amazing in this recipe. I don’t even know if I would make it with a regular navel orange. Ingredients juice from one blood orange 16 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch-1 inch cubes 1 1/2 lbs. asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces 3 1/2 T. red miso 2 T. extra virgin olive oil 3 T. rice vinegar 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely sliced 2-3 teaspoons blood … Continue reading

Prosciutto, Grilled Fennel, & Grapefruit Salad

Thank you Martha Stewert for this amazing salad!!!! My husband is now hooked on grapefruit… and it used to be a struggle to get him to eat it. The salad we made was pretty similar to Martha’s but we made … Continue reading

Salad…Who Eats Salad???

In our attempt to not waste as much food, Steve and I have started eating more salads…which is a good thing right? Packed with vitamins…and if we didn’t pile on the cheese they’d probably be considered healthy too. Recipe 2 … Continue reading

Blood Orange Roasted Tofu and Asparagus

Spring is here!!! Which means asparagus is super cheap at the market. I dug and dug all over the internet for an asparagus recipe that wasn’t the same old same and came across this recipe from Eating Well. I loved that it had some of the asian flavors already in the recipe, but I thought it would be fun to add even more by upping the miso and swapping rice vinegar for balsamic. I had a blood orange in the fridge that I wanted to use up and it was SO amazing in this recipe. I don’t even know if I would make it with a regular navel orange.

Blood_orange_roasted_asparagus_and_tofu

Blood Orange Roasted Asparagus and Tofu

Ingredients

juice from one blood orange
16 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch-1 inch cubes
1 1/2 lbs. asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
3 1/2 T. red miso
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
3 T. rice vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil, finely sliced
2-3 teaspoons blood orange zest
salt and fresh ground white pepper, to taste
chili flakes, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450° Fahrenheit.

2. In a large bowl whisk together 1/2 the olive oil, 1/2 the rice vinegar, and 1/2 the miso. Then add the tofu to the bowl and stir until generously coated.

3. Line cookie sheet with foil and spread the tofu out evenly on top of the foil. Roast the tofu for 15-18 minutes.

4. While the tofu is cooking whisk the remaining olive oil, miso, and rice vinegar with the blood orange zest and blood orange juice.

5. Once the tofu has cooked for 15-18 minutes mix in the asparagus and roast for another 10 minutes, or until the tofu is golden brown and the asparagus is tender.

6. Remove the asparagus and tofu from the oven, place in a large bowl and pour the sauce over it, then add the fresh basil. Stir it all together until evenly coated. Add salt, ground white pepper and chili pepper flakes until desired flavor.

 

Prosciutto, Grilled Fennel, & Grapefruit Salad

Thank you Martha Stewert for this amazing salad!!!! My husband is now hooked on grapefruit… and it used to be a struggle to get him to eat it. The salad we made was pretty similar to Martha’s but we made our own dressing and we brushed the fennel with olive oil when we grilled it.

Prosciutto Fennel Grapefruit Salad

So many flavors going on…. the bitterness of the rocket, the clean citrus flavor from the grapefruit, the saltiness from the prosciutto and olives and the richness from the cheese…

Ingredients

2 servings.

1 bulb of fennel, green stalks removed, sliced into 1/3-1/2 inch slices
4 slices of prosciutto
1 ruby red grapefruit, slice off the rind and then pull apart and remove the tough skins that separate the segments, then cut into bite size pieces
6 garlic stuffed green olives, sliced
2 large handfuls of rocket greens (or arugula)
fresh shaved parmesan
1 T. olive oil for brushing the fennel

3 T. grapefruit juice
3 T. olive oil
2 T. sherry vinegar
1 T thinly sliced shallot
1 t. honey
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat up the grill to medium heat. Brush the fennel with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and grill for about 12 minutes, flipping every three minutes or so. Make sure you don’t burn the fennel… burnt fennel is pretty nasty!!! You may need to brush the fennel with  more olive oil to keep it from sticking to the grill.

2. Grill the prosciutto for a few minutes so it gets a nice smoky flavor.

3. Prepare your salad dressing by combining grapefruit juice, olive oil, sherry vinegar, honey, shallot, salt and pepper and whisking it well.

4. Prepare your salad by arranging the rocket greens, green olives, grapefruit, prosciutto, fennel and parmesan on salad plates. Drizzle with the grapefruit vinaigrette and enjoy.

 

Salad…Who Eats Salad???

In our attempt to not waste as much food, Steve and I have started eating more salads…which is a good thing right? Packed with vitamins…and if we didn’t pile on the cheese they’d probably be considered healthy too.

beet_green_bean_goat_cheese_salad

Yep, Steve will eat beets!!! And he doesn’t gag when I serve them anymore.

Recipe

2 servings as entree or 4 servings as a side.

3 beets
1 big handful of green beans, trimmed
1 bag of organic salad mix
goat cheese (about 1-1 1/2 oz. per person)
2 green onions, diced
1 shallot, finely minced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed with a garlic press
1/4 cup EVOO
1/4 cup red wine vinegar, plus some to drizzle on beets (takes away some of the earthiness that some people can’t stand)
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Rinse your beets well before adding them to a large pot of boiling water. Boil the beets until they are fork tender, this could take anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour (maybe more) depending on the size and freshness of your beets.

2. While your beets are boiling prepare a second smaller pot of boiling water. In this pot you will add your green beans. Boil them for 2-3 minutes until bright green then strain them and add them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

3. Once your green beans are cooled cut them into 1-1 1/2 inch segments and set aside.

4. Once your beets are tender, strain them in the sink. I’ll usually run a little cold water over them and put a handful of ice cubes on them to speed up the cooling process. Once they have cooled you can peel them and dice them up.

5. Drizzle your beets with a little red wine vinegar while you prepare the dressing.

6. To make the dressing combine EVOO, red wine vinegar, mustard, honey, minced garlic, and minced shallot in a small bowl and whisk until blended.

7. Toss the beets in a tablespoon or two of the dressing.

8. In a large bowl toss the salad greens, green beans and dressing until covered, then serve the salad greens on small plates and top with the beets and goat cheese. Garnish with some of the diced green onion.