Ricera: Strawberry Rice Yogurt

This is a new product, at least new to me. I found it at Whole Foods and decided to try it out. It wasn't that bad, though I must say that the So Delicious soy yogurts are still my favorite vegan yogurt. It's nice to have yet another alternative to soy, though.

Christmas 2008: Christmas Day

This was my main entree on Christmas Day: pasta with vegan meatballs. Seasoned up with garlic salt, olive oil, and red pepper flakes.

There was also a nice fruit selection that I nibbled on throughout the day:

Illionois/Chicago: The Hilton Gardenview and the Sheraton at O'Hare

I had to take a short trip to the Chicago area and here are the hotel/suburban foods I had. (I plan on going back to Chicago proper sometime soon to sample all of their great vegan restaurant selections.)

First up, the airport hotel. Room Service breakfast, which is the same at nearly every hotel I've been to: hashbrowns, fruit bowl, toast, peanut butter and jelly. The Sheraton @ O'Hare:



I must say that the fruit bowl was actually quite good and all the fruit tasted fresh and ripe. The hashbrown weren't too bad. Nothing spectacular and definitely not worth the price, but that's room service for ya.

Next up, a very similar breakfast from the Hilton Gardenview: fruit, mini bagels and diced potatoes:

Fruit Bowl: Kiwi, Strawberry, Banana

Not too spectacular, but oh so pretty. I like to eat kiwi with the skin on (washed, of course). Actually, you should always wash bananas, too. There is a really high incidence of rat pee on bananas, or at least I was told that by a SYSCO SafeServ training many moons ago...

Another one, because I can't choose:

Berry Smoothie

An easy berry smoothie made with fresh berries, flax seeds, and Vanilla Soy Yogurt from Silk.


What You Need

100g blueberries
100g strawberries
1T flaxseeds
3/4c vanilla soy yogurt

I put everything into the smoothie cup of the Magic Bullet, blended, and I was done! Tasty and nutritious.

Grilled Tofu with Spinach, Grilled Corn, and Mixed Fruit

Dinner tonight was grilled tofu over sauteed spinach with a side of mixed fruit and an ear of grilled corn.

I utilized the George Foreman Grill:


What You Need:
150g tofu
55g of fresh spinach
100g of kiwis
100g of strawberries
60g blueberries
olive oil for spinach
cooking spray for grill

Marinade/Seasoning for tofu:
Bragg's
Lemon Juice
Black Pepper, cracked
Lemon Pepper
.5 clove Garlic, Crushed


What to Do:

1. I froze this tofu. Just put the whole tub in the freezer, when you need to use it either put it in the fridge the day before, or defrost in the microwave on low power. The texture is interesting when it's been frozen. VERY chewy. I think I need to experiment grilling this tofu again with thin slices rather than the usual grilling slabs.

2. Anywho, thaw and drain or just drain your tofu, slice into the appropriate size slabs. Store the extra unused tofu in a large container filled with cold water. Change the water daily and store in the fridge for up to a few days (maybe a week? I'll look into this for a confirmation. I usually use mine up before a week passes.)

3. With your slabs nicely defrosted and drained, season each side evenly with a couple of splashes of Bragg's and lemon juice, a good shake of lemon pepper, and cracked black pepper. Crush some garlic and push the tiny pieces into the tofu on each side, also slather the juices of the garlic all over the tofu. (sounds kind of gross, but it is tasty.)



The thing about freezing the tofu is that once it is thawed and drained, it holds marinades REALLY well. Think about it. All the water freezes and expands inside the tofu, so when it thaws and drains, it becomes very porous and able to soak up liquids much better. I want to try and bake this tofu next time I use it.

4. OK. Tofu set up, plug in the grill and let it warm up. You can slice up the fruit during this time. Place corn in the husk on the grill, cook until grill marks get dark, darker than the photo below:



5. Corn takes a while, 10-20 minutes. Keep husk on to maintain warmth, cover the corn, too. Place tofu on grill, cook 10 minutes. I might cook it even more next time.

6. Right as tofu is almost done, sautée spinach with a little olive oil until desired doneness. I like it when it just starts to wilt.

7. Plate up!

Remove husk and silk from corn, butter and salt, and put in your nifty little corn boat. What? You don't have a corn boat? Then you'll have to just be jealous of mine:



(Ok, so it's a "corn dish" but I've always called them corn boats, so that's that. There is another slightly blurry photo on flickr if you click the pic.)

I put the tofu on top of the spinach, and had the fruit on the same plate. (I eat the kiwi skin, also. Fiber!!!)