FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Double Booked, In Pictures

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Breakfast:  Black Bean & Daiya Frittata Topped with Salsa

Lunch: Avocado “Cream” Pasta with Green Beans & Almonds

Pre-Run Snack: Spinach Artichoke Hummus with Baked Pita Chips

Dinner:  Total Tostacos

Dessert: Theo Spicy Chile Dark Chocolate

Robbie shot me a text this morning saying that he double booked dinner plans – boo!  But having a gift certificate doesn’t quite trump a best friends’ birthday, so it was cool in my book.  Luckily corn tortillas are sold by the gazillion, leaving plenty of leftovers for my version of Los Frejoles Tacos!

P.S.  Meghann of Meals & Miles recently moved to Tampa and is meeting up tomorrow for some cocktails!

P.P.S.  The Avocado “Cream”, although pretty delish, needs a few tweaks.  I’ll definitely post when it’s post-worthy!

Chicka Chicka Yeah!

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I promise I recognize the irony of admitting that I don’t fancy meat substitutes and then immediately dedicating a two week period to faux meat meals.

But I wasn’t thinking far beyond tzatziki today.

Growing up within miles of Tarpon Springs will do that to a girl (give her random Greek food cravings).  Baklava, avgolemono soup, tzatziki, souvlaki – I think about them all the time.

I modified this recipe by replacing the yogurt/sour cream with Tofutti sour cream and doubling the dill.

I shredded the cucumber rather than dicing it.  In hindsight, I should have squeezed the cucumber with a paper towel to remove excess moisture prior to mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.  It was a tad too watery.

Then what to do with the sauce?  Leftover Gardein?  I microwaved a mini, room temperature pita for 15 seconds and a Gardein patty for 30 seconds.  After cubing the Gardein, I topped it with some iceberg and COVERED with the vegan tzatziki.

I will surely be making the thicker version of this sauce often.  I loved it.  As far as the whole souvlaki shebang?  I’m Gardein-ed out.  Fear not, the faux meat meals will be winding down, effective immediately.

BLT. VLT. VLA?

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Last week I deviated from my usual sandwich at Cafe Hey and switched it up by trying the “VLT” – Vegan Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato.  But since I still cringe like a kindergartener at the thought of consuming raw tomatoes, I subbed avocado.

It was amazing.

So amazing that I was determined to recreate this “VLA” at home.

And having just made a fresh loaf of bread, it was the most perfect of timing.

Who needs a panini press when you have a tea kettle full of water?

I can’t tell if I 100% loved the sandwich or if I 90% loved it and 10% loved the MacGyver feeling that accompanied creating a make shift tea kettle panini press.  Either way, it was a gold star ‘recreation of a meal’ moment for this girl!

 

Summertime, I Can Almost Taste It

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As an early University of Florida Building Construction student, if you had asked me what I thought of BBQ…  You would have gotten a mouthful of nothing positive and a grossed out facial expression to match.  By senior year, on any given day, you could have spotted me at an XYZ BBQ table, eating lunch with five of my favorite boys of all time.  Total 180.  Who would have thought?

Last Tuesday, a subcontractor catered BBQ lunch at my office (mind you, I’m still a construction gal by day).  They delivered a heaping load of food that lingered until Friday, which induced extreme BBQ and summertime cravings.

Then it dawned on me, it’s not the meat I crave, it’s the sauce.

Simple fix – BBQ Tofu.

Two tips:

1.  Tofu found in the ethnic aisle is significantly cheaper (see brand above).

2.  If you buy pre-made sauce, pick some up at a local restaurant or the local section at Whole Foods.  Keeping it local is never a bad thing!

FoodFash’s BBQ Tofu

Cut extra firm tofu into french fry like slivers and cover with BBQ sauce in an appropriately sized container for 30-ish minutes.  Place tofu slivers on foil (or foil covered cookie sheet) sprayed with olive oil Pam.  Set foil on the top oven rack and broil for 5 minutes.  Flip tofu slivers over, cover with additional BBQ sauce, and broil for an additional 5 minutes.

I am not a tofu lover, so I’m convinced that this is a dish that tofu skeptics would enjoy as well.  The broiling process removed the excess moisture from the sauce giving the BBQ tofu a “chewy” exterior that was unexpected, but thoroughly enjoyed.  And I totally two-bird-one-stoned this meal by adding strawberries and satisfying my summertime craving too!