Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Despite the heat wave outside on the East Coast right now, fall is coming and one of the perks if you like pumpkin is it's a great replacement for oil.  You might already be familiar with a Weight Watches recipe where you pretty much dump a can of pumpkin into a box of spice cake mix and voila.... cupcakes with no oil or butter (aka fewer calories).  Last fall I found a blog that took that recipe and added oil and an egg to it, probably in response to comments I have seen that the WW cupcakes are dry. 

But doesn't adding oil defeat the whole purpose of using pumpkin?  So this is my take on merging a few different recipes together.  If you don't have pumpkin pie spice in your rack, it's pretty easy to mix up your own using cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.  Also I have made both cream cheese and cinnamon frosting for these cupcakes and either one tastes great.

Cupcakes:

1 box spice cake mix

1- 15 ounce can of pumpkin

1/4 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Mix together all the ingredients.

3. Line 24 cupcake pans and fill approximately 2/3 of each with batter.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Iced with cream cheese frosting dusted with cinnamon

Bacon Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

The first time I made these cookies was over the holidays.  My work was having a bakeoff and I knew I wanted to compete.  I spent awhile researching something new, I work with a lot of very manly men so I figured baking with bacon would make a lock for winning. I found this recipe on the Maker's Mark website and I knew I had to make them.  Sure enough my Bacon Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies won the competition.

I actually found a different recipes and experimented with them.  I like the one from Maker's Mark because it's similar to the classic Tollhouse recipe that I make all the time.  I also experimented with both milk and dark chocolate and it was decided dark chocolate is definitely the way to go.  I also added a little extra bourbon.  They are definitely special occasion cookies because frying a pound of bacon and cooling the lard takes time and isn't cheap.  Plus in case you weren't paying attention there is bacon lard in it!

Makes 3 dozen cookies

1/4 cup bourbon

3/4 pound bacon

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup reserved bacon fat, chilled

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I just used chocolate chips)

1) In a large sauté pan, cook bacon. Remove the bacon pieces from the fat and drain on a paper towel. Strain the fat through a fine sieve and measure out a 1/2 cup of bacon fat and chill the bacon fat until it congeals and is set.  I fried my bacon a few days before I made the dough.

Bacon and lard before it goes in the fridge

2) Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Cut the bacon into a variety of diced and larger pieces.

3) Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl.

4) Beat the butter, chilled bacon fat, granulated sugar, light and dark brown sugars, vanilla and bourbon in large mixer bowl until it is well combined.
5) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in the flour mixture.

6) Stir in the cooked bacon pieces and chopped chocolate bits. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto parchment-lined baking sheets at least 3 inches apart.

7) Bake in the oven for 9 to 11 minutes until the edges start to brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

Day 12: Our Day in Palermo

Palermo, the capital of Sicily, was the only part of our trip that we went to out of necessity.  Originally we had talked about making our way back to Rome to head back to the States, but while researching our options, we realized it'd be easier and cheaper to fly out of Palermo.

 By the time we arrived in the city we were in our fourth hotel (not including the night on the ferry) and had traveled hundreds of miles.  We were ready to go home.  The trip had been amazing but we missed our pup and our couch.  Luckily there was not much we felt a need to do in Palermo so we could just relax.

After a lovely breakfast at the hotel we retrieved the car and returned it.  Driving in Palermo was a lot less stressful in the daylight but I was still glad we were finally dropping off the Panda.  I have never been so happy to see an Avis sign.  

After the car was finally taken care of, we decided to head to the local market.  A real Sicilian market was the one thing my husband really wanted to see while we were there.  It was everything we imagined.

While wandering the streets through the market, we found a little bakery where I was able to get a fresh cannolo.  It was awesome.

From there we continued our meandering and saw some of Palermo.  First we came upon the Palermo Cathedral.  We didn't feel like waiting for the next tour so we didn't see much of the inside, but it's a beautiful old building.

We kept moving through the city and I was struck by how many abandoned buildings are still damaged from the Allied bombings.

The other thing my husband really wanted to try was Sicilian street food.  He had read about a restaurant that served only street food.  We tried a little bit of everything, including several variations of their rice balls called Arancina and a spleen sandwich!

Most of the rest of the day was spent wandering through the shopping district and getting gelato.  That evening for our last real meal in Italy we went to a restaurant that we had seen on Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown.  He had done an episode on Sicily right before we left that we of course had to watch.  It was good food and a busy restaurant.  The husband ordered pasta with ink of the squid (as seen on the show) which is something for which Sicily is known.  We also had fresh seafood as an appetizer and the Sicilian Cassata which is made from ricotta.

As seen on Parts Unknown

Fresh off the boat

Real squid ink

Cake made from cheese-- yum

After we finished our last meal in Italy we headed back to our hotel to pack and head back to reality.

Corn Bar

Ever since fresh corn appeared in the grocery store, the husband and I have been obsessed with it.  We are grilling a lot to enjoy our patio and the beautiful weather and corn is something we can season and throw on the grill (wrapped in tinfoil of course).  This past weekend we had family in town, my great aunt and uncle from Oklahoma and my aunt and her kids from Alaska.  My parents hosted a cookout so we decided to bring a corn bar.  It was easy for us to put together and something fun for people to do.

Before we left, we cut up basil, cilantro and lime to use.  We also gathered some spices including Old Bay, chipotle seasoning, salt and pepper.  Since corn is best with some sort of fat, we brought butter and olive oil.  There was a roll of aluminum foil that everyone could tear a piece off, add their own seasoning to the corn and roll it up to be grilled.  We used a sharpie to write everyone's name and the time before it was popped on the grill for 10-15 minutes.  There were a lot of good combinations but lime and cilantro with olive oil is my favorite.

Corn bar!

1 year Finniversary

1  A year ago today we decided to bring home this guy.  A friend of ours had done a personal rescue from a shelter in NC and brought him and his brother up North to find them homes.  We went to meet him and took one look at his little face and knew he was the dog for us.  We didn't realize when we got him how long it would take to work through his many fears and shyness.  We still are a year later but he's such a goofy, sweet little dog it has been worth every second.

     1) I’ve learned that I am Finn’s voice. I know that seems really obvious but it wasn’t until I had a dog that I started understanding how unaware some people are.  The first few weeks we had him were rough on everyone in our household and it wasn’t helped by people coming up and wanting to pet him.  I can’t blame them; he’s so darn cute who wouldn’t want to say hi.  But Finn still becomes nervous when people really focus on him; he’s much more likely to sniff the hand of someone who isn’t making any eye contact.

When we first got him I would say to these people, “He’s shy, he’d prefer if you don’t pet him” and they would say “No it’s fine, dogs love me” or “I don’t mind” and proceed to move in on my shaking dog.  Finally I realized there was no deterring these people so I now maneuver him behind me and make it clear that he does not want to be petted.

2) I’ve learned that people are oblivious.  Having a dog has really opened my eyes as to how some people really are ignorant to the fact that not every dog is happily socialized.  There are people who haven’t taught their kids to ask a stranger if it’s okay if they pet their dog and seem generally unaware that they should.  For some reason Finn is terrified of kids.  He’s scared of new people and in particular men, but a pack of screaming kids waiting at a bus stop a block away will send into a fit of trembling.  We have not figured out how to solve this yet, and as my niece gets older and our own children come it’s something we will need to work on.  But in the meantime we don’t allow kids to pet our dog.  The one woman that blew my mind was holding her toddler one her hip while I was walking Finn and put him down and without even looking at me, told him to go pet the doggie.  I immediately put Finn behind me and told her that my dog was not used to children.  She said the classic line “It’s okay, he loves dogs” and told him to go ahead.  Again I told her that it was not okay for her kid to pet my dog and she finally gave me a look of disgust before picking up her kid. 

3)    I’ve learned that people are kind.  About 2 weeks after we got Finn, we found out my husband would be have to go on a work trip for four weeks.  And he’d be leaving within days.  At that point he was still terrified of us and our building, so we were still carrying him out of our apartment, onto the elevator and through the lobby to pee.  No small feat with a 35 lb dog who was gaining weight.  A few days after he left, I met with the trainer and Finn and I made a lot of progress.  But at the time I had a long commute to a job I hated and I was crating him during those long days.  I originally planned to pay a dog walker but I quickly realized he would be terrified of a stranger coming into the apartment so we just had to deal with my schedule.   I would wake up and take Finn on a long walk very early in the morning when it was still quiet but by the time I got home the building and neighborhood would be busy with people coming and going.  I would try and wait until later to take him out but I was always worried that he hadn’t peed in such a long time.

I’m sure we were a sight to see those evenings after I got home from work.  There were times I was almost crying trying to get him to pee so we could go back to our apartment.    There were times I had to carry him to the grass because he refused to walk and a couple of times I got peed on.  I think we became known in the neighborhood, several people would stop and tell me stories about how their rescue dog was the same way and to give it time.  There was one gentleman I passed almost every morning with Finn and he stopped me to tell me that Finn was making progress even if I couldn’t see it and that he was proud of me for my patience. 

4) I’ve learned that the problem with unwanted dogs is even bigger than I thought.  Before we adopted Finn, I knew there was a problem in this country with overcrowded animal shelters.  I knew people were uneducated about getting their dogs spayed and neutered, but I had no idea how big the problem was.  I got these statistics from the Humane Society:

6 to 8 million—Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year

25 percent—Percentage of purebred dogs in shelters

3 to 4 million—Number cats and dogs adopted from shelters each year

2.7 million—Number of adoptable cats and dogs euthanized in shelters each year

30 percent—Percentage of shelter dogs reclaimed by their owners

An estimated 2.7 million healthy shelter pets are not adopted each year, and only about 30 percent of pets in homes come from shelters or rescues.

While doing research on helping a rescue dog adapt, I also learned a lot about the rescue animal population.  While there are many dogs in the shelters who were abused and/or unsocalized, there are just as many dogs who are left behind when people have to move into new housing or who’s owners have died.  There are also many puppies between 6-12 months, sometimes purebred, who are simply dumped because they have stopped being little furballs and become balls of liveliness instead.  Sweet, loving, social dogs and their only “defect” is getting bigger and having more energy.  I'm happy that a year ago we chose to adopt and I hope more people start doing the same.

Spicy Eggplant and Tofu

For Meatless Monday this week I wanted to try something with peanut sauce.  I found this recipe and since we don't have eggplant very often I thought this would be something tasty and delicious.  Plus we had mushrooms and broccoli that needed to be used.  

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8 ounces firm tofu

1 small eggplant

1 small onion

1 package mushrooms

1 cup broccoli

4 garlic cloves

1 dash red peppers or 1 dash cayenne

1/4 cup peanut sauce

white pepper, optional

1.  Slice tofu into bite sized pieces.  Place in bowl and toss with cornstarch.
2.  In a large skillet add olive oil and pan fry tofu over medium high heat.  Allow to cook at least 5 minutes on each side or until brown.  Remove tofu from the pan.
3.  Add eggplant, onion, mushrooms and broccoli and sautee to hot pan. Allow to cook for 6-8 minutes or until broccoli turns a bright green and onion is browning.
4.  Place tofu back in pan with a 1/4 of peanut sauce.  Add red pepper and a dash or white pepper.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Turn heat to low and simmer for at least five minutes, the longer it simmers the better for flavor.
5.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Tofu and Broccoli

Our streak of Meatless Monday has stayed alive.  Last week I decided to make Tofu and Broccoli, similar to beef and broccoli you get from the Chinese restaurant... but much healthier.  I found a recipe I liked on Pintrest which I modified so I could stick with my normal method of pan frying the tofu and removing it from the skillet, cooking the veggies and then adding the tofu and sauce to let it all simmer together. 

I also learned a new trick with this recipe.  If you toss the tofu in cornstarch it will become crispier.  We also discovered you can buy tofu at Costco, we have enough to last 6 meals for about $7.

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

Ginger, to taste

8 oz. extra-firm tofu, cubed

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 bunch broccoli florets

1/2 tbs. sesame seeds

3 scallions, chopped or chopped green onions

Instructions

1. Mix together soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger and set aside.
2. Toss cubed tofu in shallow bowl with cornstarch. Shake off excess pieces and set aside.
3. Heat large skillet to medium-high heat and add olive oil.  Cook tofu about 4-5 minutes per side until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

4.  Add onion, pepper, garlic and broccoli and cook until tender, about 7-8 minutes. 

5.  Add sauce, sesame seeds and tofu to vegetables. I sprinkled in some white pepper to add heat.  If you've never used white pepper it's potent so a dash is more then enough.

6.  Cook for an additional three-four minutes.  The longer you can let simmer the better and toss together with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with noodles or rice.

Kanelbullar: Swedish Rolls

Almost three years ago I packed my bags and headed to Stockholm to visit a good friend of mine.  She was born and raised there but attended college in the states and I was fortunate to meet her during that time.  She had to move back home a couple of years later but we kept in touch with email and Skype.  I was lucky enough to visit her and her family during one of the warmest weeks in May they experienced in years.

View of Stockholm

I fell in love with the city.  It's a beautiful place and the city is formed by seven islands so it is surrounded by water.  The people were friendly and almost everyone spoke conversational English, so it was easy to get around and interact with her friends.  I went for 10 days so she would often work in the mornings or even a full day.  I could relax and explore the city before meeting her.  I quickly discovered that Swedes love their coffee as much as I do but that they don't have Starbucks.  The only Starbucks in Stockholm is in the airport.  What they do have is small shops that serve coffee and pastries.  And every shop had Kanelbullar, or cinnamon rolls which I loved.  Despite my avid sweet tooth I actually am not a big fan of big, gooey American cinnamon rolls.  But I fell in love with the Swedish version.  

They have cardamom which gives it a spicy flavor that the Scandinavians are known for in their baking and it is also popular in the Middle East.  I would suggest finding a local Mediterranean or Middle Eastern store to buy cardamom as it can be pricey on the grocery store shelves if they even have it.    The rolls also have pearl sugar on the top which you can buy at Ikea or online, mine actually came from Marshall's where my sister in law randomly found it.  

Delicious Swedish pastries

Ingredients

1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cardamom

3 cups flour

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1 egg, lightly beaten

Pearl sugar

Directions

1) In a pan or a pot, melt the butter. Add the milk, and heat until the the mixture is lukewarm.  If you have a thermometer, the idea temperature is between 100-110F.
 

2) Pour the mixture into a large heatproof bowl. Add the sugar, salt, and cardamom.
 

3)  Add the yeast, and mix until dissolved.  Let mixture sit for up to 10 minutes to proof the yeast.  If the mixtures becomes bubbly you know that your yeast is healthy.
 

4) Add the flour and mix. Turn the dough onto a floured counter and knead the dough until it is elastic, I discovered that the attachment that came with the Kitchenaid was for dough and used that instead.  It worked great!
 

5) Place the dough in a large bowl. Cover it, and let it rise for 30-40 minutes, until it has doubled in size. 

6) After it has risen, turn the dough onto a floured counter, and knead again. Use the remaining flour if you find the dough too sticky to work with.
 

7) Roll the dough out into a square about 1/3″ thick.  Create a rectangle that is approximately 12"x10".
 

8) Spread the 2 tablespoons butter onto the dough.  Mix together the cinnamon and sugar sprinkle mixture on dough.

9)Roll up the dough to form a log. Cut the dough into 20-24 pieces. Lay the pieces flat onto a baking sheet. You can also place the pieces in muffin cups or muffin tins.

10) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and let the rolls rise for 20 minutes.
 

11) Once the rolls have risen, before baking, brush them with the beaten egg, and sprinkle them with pearl sugar.

12) Bake the rolls for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

Day 11: Trek Across Sicily to Agrigento

Thursday morning the 21st we woke up and got ready to leave Taormina.  We were sad to leave, since this had become one of our favorite parts of the trip.  We lingered over our Sicilian breakfast on the terrace before calling a cab to take us to the rental car company.  The only part of our trip we did not plan out before arriving in Italy was getting from Taromina to Palermo.   We had several options and after talking to the concierge in Palermo, we decided to rent a car and spend the day sightseeing.  Sicily has several sites with Greek ruins with the most popular being Agrigento which was about three hours southwest of Taormina.

View from our balcony

Of course being in Europe meant that it was much cheaper to rent a manual.  Since I have regularly driven a stick most of my driving life, I became the designated driver.  We rented a little European car, the Fiat Panda.  The car was easy to drive but I was white knuckled driving down the mountain on a little two lane road from Taormina.  Once we got on the highway I was able to relax a little and start enjoying our adventure.  And it was definitely an adventure.  The little rental office in the town square of Taormina did not have a GPS and our phones weren't set up for data so we were depending on paper maps and the Sicilian signage, which we quickly discovered stunk.

Side of the highway

Sicilian countryside

 After a few hours we reached the town of Agrigento but we were struggling to find the Valley of the Temples.  We decided to stop at a gas station to fill up on gas before trying again in a new direction.  The pumps were automatic and the husband put in a 50 euro bill to fill up the car.  The Panda took about 35 euros so he went in to get change from the attendant.  The guy finally managed to get across that the pumps were separate from his store and the guy in charge of gas didn't come in until 2.  At that point it was only 11.  The husband asked if we could go back to the station after we finished at the ruins since we were due nearly $20 in change, I laughed and said there was no way we'd ever find it again.  

The quick gas break seemed to help us reorient and we finally found the Valley.  We made our way through the ruins at the bottom of the hill, which was the corner of the Temple of Castor and Pollux.  From there we reached the a road running through the temples and stopped for a quick, greasy lunch that was mostly Sicilian street food.  At this point it was getting late in the day and I was worried about reaching Palermo before dark.

Ruins of the Temple of Castor and Pollux

We made our way through the Temple of Hercules and stopped to admire the Temple of Concordia which is one of the best preserved Greek temples.  At that point it was getting late and we decided to head back to the car instead of trekking to the Temple of Hera which we were able to see out in the distance.

Temple of Hercules

Temple of Concordia

Temple of Hera

Once back in the car we were turned around several times trying to find our road to Palermo.  It was stressful for both of us trying to find the signs and determine which way we wanted to go.  And then all the sudden, the husband yells, "There it is, stop!"  Yes, we had inadvertently found the gas station.  The husband marched out and found a guy with a money apron, who I can only assume was in the mob.  I could see in my rear view mirror that he was arguing with the guy, I could tell the guy was trying to get out of paying him but the husband came back with every penny of his change.  I still don't know how we ended up back there, I would've sworn it was miles from where we were.  

We set out again and finally found a road that hugs the western coast of Sicily.  I did not get to enjoy the sunset as much as my passenger did, but he did take some pictures for me to see later.  After the sun went down we had about another hour to Palermo through the mountains.  The roads were not as well lit as I would've liked, but that may have been for the best since I'm pretty sure we were hugging the side of the mountain and there wasn't much between us and a sheer drop down.  Eventually we found our way to Palermo and we realized we would not be able to return the car before the Hertz closed.  We had paid for the car for 24 hours and decided to just head to the hotel and return in the morning.

Sicilian sunset

In Palermo things got a lot worse before they got better.  The hotel we were staying in is a small boutique hotel and we passed it several times because the sign was small and we were stressed.  The drivers in Palermo make DC drivers look nice.  There were motorbikes weaving in and out of traffics and lanes would just end.  Once I stalled at a light because a motorbike startled me so badly that I lost the clutch, which of course set of a chorus of horns and cursing behind us.  I was mentally exhausted and near tears by the time we finally parked illegally outside the hotel.  The husband went in and found the owner who offered to park the car for us, which I gratefully accepted.

We checked into our super modern hotel room at the Palco Hotel with a view of the Opera House.  The owners were lovely people who went out of their way to make us feel welcome.  By the time we got settled in, it was late and we were ready for dinner.  The hotel owners recommended a restaurant in a little pedestrian alley a few block away.  The weather was nice enough that we could sit outside with our jackets and enjoy the musicians playing in the streets and the atmosphere.  The food was authentic Sicilian and there was no English on the menu so we ended up just selecting a few items and we enjoyed all of it.  We ordered house wine of course and after a few glasses and the food the stress of the drive melted away.

Antipasta

Squid

Thai Curry Tofu

The experimentation with tofu continues in our house, this time with some Thai Curry Tofu.  I found a recipe I liked online and used it a couple of weeks ago.  It came out alright, it was nothing special.  Last week I used it again adding additional veggies and spices and was a lot happier with the final product.  Like all curry it's great for using those veggies that are going to go bad, in our case it was carrots and mushrooms.  I'd think this would be great with broccoli, kale or most other veggies that might be starting to turn in your kitchen.  

Ingredients:

1 package of extra firm tofu, drained and cubed

salt to taste

1 tbsp butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 pepper (red, orange, green)

1 carton of mushrooms

1 carrot

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-10 oz can coconut milk

2 tsp curry powder

black pepper to taste

 1 tsp ginger

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup cliantro or parsley

1) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu cubes, season with seasoned salt and fry until golden on all sides, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Remove tofu from pan and set aside.

2) Melt butter or margarine in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and other veggies; cook and stir until tender.  Add garlic and cook for another minute. 

3) Stir in coconut milk, curry powder, ginger, red pepper flakes, more salt, pepper and parsley. 

4) Return the tofu to the skillet. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5) For this recipe we used the same Thai noodles as for the Orange Tofu but anything from brown rice to quinoa should work great.  Serve tofu over your choice of carbs and enjoy!

Orange Tofu

When the husband and I first started dating I started introducing him to healthy cooking.  He's a great cook but he grew up in the mid-West where red meat and bacon grease are staples.  Slowly I introduced him to ground turkey and vegetarian meals which he embraced and made part of his style.  He did balk a little the first time I suggested tofu but eventually got on board and was a good sport about experimenting with it.... I suspect he was still trying to impress me. 

The first few times we made tofu it came out terribly.  We somehow missed the whole part where it needs to be drained and we didn't understand how to cook it.  After a few attempts, we perfected the Hungry Girl Tofu Stir-Fry and have made it probably once a month for the past couple of years.  Last week I decided to finally branch out to a new tofu recipe.  When we order Chinese food I love Orange Chicken, so I decided to do a recipe that mimics the sauce to marinate the tofu.  I checked out a lot of different recipes, most of which had a 1/4 cup of brown sugar which I was not interested in.  I finally found this one that used honey instead and we both enjoyed it.  I actually forgot to buy broccoli at the store and I wish I had, I think it would go great with the meal.  

For this recipe we used Thai noodles that we already had in the pantry to serve the tofu on but rice or quinoa could also be used.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 3/4 cup orange juice (about 2 large oranges)
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce or sriracha
• 1 pound broccoli florets
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound firm tofu, weighted, drained, and cubed
• Noodles, rice or quinoa
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Sesame seeds to taste

The first step is preparing the tofu.  There are multiple ways to do it, but this is what we do that works for us.  We slice it in half lengthwise so it is not as thick and firms up better while cooking.  The two slices are put inbetween two paper towels and cans from the pantry are put on top for at least half an hour.   We then slice it into smaller pieces to cook.  We used Thai noodles to serve the tofu on, rice or quinoa could also be used.

Draining the tofu with cans from the pantry

• 1)  First make the sauce to marinate the tofu in.  In a bowl, whisk together cornstarch and warm water. Add orange juice and zest, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar and hot chili sauce. 
• 2) Steam broccoli for 2-3 minutes until broccoli turns bright green but is still very firm.
• 3) Heat oil in a very large nonstick pan or wok over medium-high heat. 
• 4) Add tofu to pan and cook,browning on both sides, about 6-8 minutes total on each side. 
• 5) While tofu is cooking, prepare noodles, rice or quinoa using the instructions on the box.
• 6) Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. 
• 7) Add broccoli and orange sauce and stir to combine. 
• 8) Cook until sauce begins to bubble and reduces slightly, an additional 2-3 minutes.
• 9) Stir in sesame seeds.
• 10) Divide among 4 bowls on top of your carb of choice.

Raw tofu

After about 6-8 minutes of browning

Tofu simmering in the orange sauce

Orange tofu