Baked Oatmeal, Revamped for Summer

19 Jun

Last fall I wrote a post about baked oatmeal. It was filled with apples and bananas and was the perfect get-out-of-bed-and-watch-the-leaves-change-color breakfast.

Now that summer is here and things are starting to heat up, I made a summer-ed up version of this oatmeal. A get-out-of-bed-and-treat-your-body-right breakfast (or snack or dessert). There’s raspberries instead of apples, I used coconut oil instead of butter, almond slivers instead of walnuts, and a few pumpkin seeds and coconut flakes that I had hanging around in my pantry to give the oatmeal an extra seedy crunch.

I think that there is no need for butter in oatmeal. A touch of coconut oil lends a really nice warm-weather flavor and is cholesterol-free.

As you will read in the instructions below, “thwack” is a technical kitchen term and has an important purpose in the recipe 😉

P.S. Why are halved raspberries so seductive?

Baked Oatmeal

A revamped version of this recipe, originally from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday

serves 6 generously or 12 as part of a larger brunch spread

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

1-2 tablespoons coconut chips/flakes

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt (or fine-grain sea salt)

1 large egg

2 cups milk

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly (if it is hot outside, your coconut oil may already be in a liquid state and therefore you would not need to melt it)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups fresh berries

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Optional: Grease the inside of an 8-inch/ 20 cm square baking dish with coconut oil.

In a bowl, mix together the oats, pumpkin seeds, coconut chips/flakes, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla.

Arrange the bananas in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 2/3 of the berries over the top. Cover the fruit with the dry oat mixture. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Gently give the baking dish a couple of thwacks on the counter-top to make sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and the slivered almonds across the top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Cut it up and serve.


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Pineapple Not-So-Fried-Rice

15 Jun

I’m at a weird transition point in my life.

Just a few weeks ago, I was working full time, volunteering once a week, and taking an online medical biochemistry class to fulfill a prerequisite for graduate school.

I felt busy and stressed, but I was in the groove. There came a point when I had to let something go. I stopped volunteering and I quit my job. I went back home to California for a week and was able to completely relax and gather myself. Now that I am back in New York, my main responsibility is to do well in this biochemistry class. Sure, I study throughout the day, but boy do I have gobs of free time.

Gobs. Of. Free. Time.

What a blessing, right? I’m trying to seize the day and take advantage of my new-found ‘freedom,’ but it is hard to get out there and explore when I feel obligated to catch up on Parks and Recreation and devour the tin of chocolate covered almonds in my pantry. Life is so hard sometimes.

At least now I have the time to experiment in the kitchen and cook healthy meals for myself.

The tofu gods were calling on me this week, I’ve been craving tofu like a maniac (see my previous post on Tofu Bento Bowls). And now that I finally realize how important it is to drain and press the tofu (see recipe below), all of my tofu dishes have been turning out better than ever.

This recipe is from Chloe Coscarelli’s book. This is her Pineapple Not-So-Fried Rice. In her picture, she plates the dish in a pineapple boat. I tried to do the boat, I even looked up how to do it online and watched a video. When push came to shove, things just got messy and I found that I was wasting to much of the sweet flesh. I broke down and cut the pineapple up and ate my meal out of a bowl. Oh the perils of being uncreative/lazy.

Despite the pineapple boat failure, the meal tasted superb. There’s sweet yellow pineapple and crunchy raw cashews. Baked tofu and bright green peas. Shredded carrots and studs of raisins. With all sorts of onion and garlic and spice to flavor the rice.


Tofu cubes fresh out of the oven. Ain’t nothin’ better. All it took was a good pat-dry and a press, a little soy sauce, and an oven.

Pineapple Not-So-Fried Rice

Serves 4-6

From Chloe’s Kitchen

1 14-oz package extra-firm tofu, drained

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 pineapple, or 1 1/2 cups diced pineapple

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 scallions, chopped (optional)

sea salt or Kosher salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce

3/4 cup cashews

1 carrot, peeled and shredded (I simple sliced the carrot thinly with my knife, but you could use a box grater if you want)

1/2 cup peas (you can use fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup raisins

3 cups cooked rice

1/4 cup water or vegetable broth

Note: The first thing I did was get my rice cooking so that it would be fully cooked for when I needed it later.

To prepare the tofu: Wrap the tofu tightly in dry paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Set the tofu on a flat surface and place a small baking pan on top. Then stack something heavy, like canned food or books, on top. Let the tofu sit for 20 minutes while it releases its water. When ready, discard the towels and cube the tofu.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the tofu with the soy sauce, making sure each cube is coated. Place in one layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, turning the tofu a few times with a spatula. Remove from the oven and set aside.

If you are using a whole pineapple, peel it and remove the core. Slice the pineapple into cubes. If you want to make a pineapple boat for serving, cut the pineapple in half lengthwise, remove the inner flesh with a paring knife, then cut into bite-sized pieces (I tried to do the boat, but found that I was losing too much of the good flesh, so I nixed the idea).

In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat and saute the onions until soft and lightly browned. Season with salt. Add the garlic, scallions (if using), curry, coriander, and chili-garlic sauce. Let this cook a few more minutes. Add the cashews, carrots, peas, raisins, cooked rice, water (or broth), pineapple, and tofu. Cook until heated through and adjust salt to taste. Serve the rice in the pineapple shell (if you are brave enough to try the boat method) or simply in a bowl. Enjoy!

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Tofu Bento Bowls

10 Jun

A light dinner for a warm summer night.

A vegetarian take on the Japanese bento box, the containers with separate compartments usually used for  lunch to-go.

Vegetarian Times Magazine is a great resource for healthy vegetarian meals. This Tofu Bento Bowl, along with the Hearty Grain Soup With Beans and Greens and the Peanut Butter Banana Bread With Chocolate Chips are some of my favorite recipes that I tend to make over and over.

Finally, I felt satisfied with my skillet tofu skills. The secret? I drained and patted the tofu until it was nice and dry, which, as so many tofu experts preach, is the best way to ensure a great tofu product. No excess water to interfere with the heat and the sauce that flavor the tofu. I also tried not to turn the tofu very often; I just let it get nice and brown and flipped it only once or twice.

Tofu Bento Bowls

serves 6, adapted from Vegetarian Times Magazine (october 2006 issue)

For some crazy reason, I did not have hot chili-garlic sauce (I know, I need to get on that asap). I omitted the chili-garlic sauce and instead used a combo of a spicy chili sesame oil and a regular dark toasted sesame oil. I also sprinkled a few red chili flakes into the mix for an added kick. 

I also used lime instead of lemon because that was what I had on-hand. 

You could also omit the yogurt in the recipe to make this a vegan meal. And if you use a gluten-free soy sauce, this could be a gluten-free meal! Boom.

Spicy Tofu

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup hot chili-garlic sauce

2 Tbsp. dark sesame oil

14-oz. extra firm tofu, cubed

5 green onions, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Salad

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

1 tsp. hot chili-garlic sauce

2 cups cooked brown rice

4 1/2 cups mixed baby greens

2 carrots, peeled into ribbons

1 cucumber, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 avocado, peeled and sliced

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

To make the Spicy Tofu: First, drain and pat your tofu dry. Wrap it in paper towel and put a skillet on top to ensure that the tofu dries out. Change the paper towel a few times.

While the tofu is drying, whisk together the soy sauce, chili-garlic sauce (if using), and sesame oil in a bowl. Cube the tofu and add it to the sauce mixture. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Let the pan get hot. Add the tofu in one layer and cook it for about 10 minutes, or until browned, turning occasionally. Save the remaining sauce. Cool the tofu.

Add the green onions, yogurt, and lemon juice to the remaining sauce. Toss it with the tofu.

To make the Salad: Whisk together the soy sauce, lemon juice, ginger, and chili-sauce in a bowl (I added some more scallions to the dressing). Mound the rice into bowls. Top with greens. Add the carrot ribbons, cucumber slices, avocado, and tofu. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with the sauce.

Nutrition Info Per Serving: 297 calories, 12g protein, 15.5g total fat (2g sat. fat), 30g carbohydrates, 0mg cholesterol, 858mg sodium, 6g fiber, 3g sugar

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Lime Yogurt Cake

9 Jun

Last week I made a 3 bean summer salad. It was filled with fresh corn and onions, avocado and tomato, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice. I had a few extra limes hanging around my kitchen, and decided to make tequila and gin cocktails  bake this lime yogurt cake.

I have always been a fan of yogurt cakes, and incorporating citrus helps to enhance the yogurt’s tang and balance the cake’s sweetness (see my Meyer Lemon Yogurt Cake and Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake).

Deb from Smitten Kitchen explains the Classic French Yogurt Cake method: Most people don’t measure them — the math is based on the volume of your yogurt cups (they use two), to which you add an equal amount of sugar, a double amount of flour, a little less than one of oil, two eggs and some leavener and flavors.

The result? A shining balance between dense and fluffy, not-too-sweet with a soft perk of lime, eat-me-any-time-of-day cake.

The cake is perfect with a simple dusting of powdered sugar and a cup of hot coffee. I am also enjoying it for breakfast and dessert alongside European-style plain yogurt (from Trader Joe’s), a tiny drizzle of honey, and dried blueberries (although fresh would be ideal).

P.S. Did you know that Greek yogurt  (try to choose low or non-fat) contains about 18-20g of protein per serving? Take that, bacon and eggs!

Lime Yogurt Cake

from SmittenKitchen

1 cup 2% plain Greek unsweetened yogurt (I used Fage brand)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (olive oil works as well, for a slightly different flavor profile)
1 cup sugar
zest of one lime
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
2 eggs
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (258g)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the sides of a 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan with oil (I used butter plus a dusting of flour) and line the bottom with parchment paper if the pan is not springform.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, oil, sugar, lime zest and juice. Add the eggs one by one, whisking well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together, right over your yogurt batter. Stir with a spoon until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let stand for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the pan to loosen. If you’re using the springform pan, unclasp the sides. Otherwise, flip the cake onto a plate and flip it back on the rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

NOTE: You can make this cake ahead and keep it well-wrapped in the freezer. I froze mine for a week and took it out a few hours before serving and it was perfect. 

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3 Bean Summer Salad With Corn, Tomato, Avocado, & Lime

28 May

A colorful healthy salad to ring in the summer. This salad was inspired by Cooking Light’s Summer Salad  slide show. I don’t own a grill, so I adapted the recipe to accommodate my NYC apartment lifestyle.

A delight on its own with some fresh ground pepper.

Perfect with feta (or cotija) stuffed into lightly fried corn tortilla tacos. Or simply pair the salad with tortilla chips for a crunchy appetizer or snack.

This also makes a nice little side dish to accompany some heart-healthy salmon (I purchased my salmon already grilled and cooked at Whole Foods).

3 Bean Summer Salad With Corn, Tomato, Avocado, & Lime

from CookingLight

makes 12 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)

If you have a grill, you can grill your onion, corn, and jalepeno (click on the link to the Cooking Light recipe). If you do not have a grill, follow my directions below

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1 jalapeno, minced

1/2 of a large onion

3 ears of corn, shucked from the cob

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

1/3 cup lime juice

1 can pinto beans, no salt added, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, no salt added, drained and rinsed

1 can kidney beans, no salt added, drained and rinsed

2 avocados, peeled and diced

olive oil, for sauteeing

Place the sliced tomato halves in a large bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, mix, and let this sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

In a large saute pan, heat some olive oil. Add the onion and saute for about 5-7 minutes. Add the jalapeno and corn and saute for another 5-7 minutes.

Add  the corn mixture to the bowl of tomatoes and toss with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the beans, cilantro, lime juice, and avocado. Grind some fresh pepper over the top and enjoy.

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