FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Friend Finds

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One of the best things about blogging is the frequency in which my friends and family suggest new recipes.  It happens almost daily and I enjoy it, well, almost daily.

Earlier this week, Lex told me that she found the best, most perfected tofu recipe ever.  Naturally, I wanted to try it.  And when I read through it, I realized how closely it resembled my favorite tofu dish at Urban Thai.

Since I used a tofu press rather than the paper towel method, my tofu was much less moist than I imagine the recipe intended.  I didn’t get as much sizzle as I had expected while reading.

And before I get to the good stuff, my only beef with this recipe is that it didn’t tell you how long it should take for the tofu to brown.  It seemed like it was taking forever, I grew impatient to the power of ten, and gave up with barely browned tofu.

But onto the good stuff, I’m confident that once I grow a little more patient and find the perfect marinade, this technique will be my go-to tofu recipe.  Dry fried is where it’s at!

Have you ever dry fried tofu?  Favorite marinade recipe??

Fried That!

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Remember that chicken fried tempeh that was on the menu at Jackson 20? Well…. I tried my best to recreate it.

And although I don’t have anything to compare it to because I didn’t actually taste it, I’m fairly certain I succeeded.

Because my version was A-mazing!

FoodFash Chicken Fried Tempeh

(yields 2-3 servings)

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons pepper

3 tablespoons garlic salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons hot sauce (I used Crystal)
1 – 8 ounce package of tempeh
1/4 cup sunflower oil

Mix flour, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  In another small bowl, mix eggs and hot sauce.  Heat sunflower oil in a cast iron pot over medium heat.  Cut tempeh into 1-inch slices, dip in egg mix, then flour mix, and set into heated oil.  Watch carefully and flip when browned.  When both sides are crispy, place the fried tempeh on a paper towel and let cool for a few minutes.

It’s been a loooooong time since I’ve had fried chicken.  But I do remember fried that tasted so good that I couldn’t help but eat all the spare fried pieces I could find.  This combo of hot sauce, pepper, and garlic salt turned my fried into exactly that.

I don’t plan on making this often, but it’s good to know that I’m capable of turning a southern staple into something sinfully veggielicious!

Have you successfully fried anything lately?

Lunch Date!

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I have no food in my house.  As in, I ate popcorn for dinner last night.  And not that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy it, but I totally wouldn’t have eaten popcorn for dinner given a more meal-worthy option.  So today when thoughts of lunch time rolled around, there was no cruising home to make my own meal.

Almost as quickly as it it dawned on me that my fridge was food-less, I remembered that Val’s new job is much closer to my office and we hadn’t had our first lunch date yet.  We met half-way at Thai Terrace, where we were greeted with a small soup and veggie spring roll – standard lunch special treats.

I ordered the Tofu Pad See Ew and Val ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken.  It was the first time I had deviated from their Pad Thai and I couldn’t have been happier with my decision.  Level 4 spicy was right on the money.  Basil and crisp veggies were goodness gracious yum.  We were in-and-out within the hour.  And…  they served some fried sweetness as we waited for the check.

Thai Terrace is all about distracting you with snacks while waiting, which means I’m all about Thai Terrace.

Now I’m off for a Friday afternoon run before meeting Val and Amber for dinner and cocktails!  All this DC-ness has left me missing my friends.

Happy Weekend!!

Intention

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There are roughly three scatter brained thoughts I have going on about dinner tonight.  I’ll start with simple first.  I had a feeling as I drove by Jackson 20 that it was a place I’d like to eat even though it had a “Pig-A-Palooza” sign out front.  Just a feeling.

Partial thought:  When I turned to Google to scope out the best restaurants in Old Town Alexandria, Jackson 20 was near the top.  Convenient.

Relevant thought:  I immediately went to their website to look at the menu and saw mac and cheese, ribs, yada yada, Pig-A-Palooza stuff, then… Vegetable? Tempeh?  I assumed they were smothered in cheese, as most restaurant vegetarian dishes are, and then stumbled upon this:

In order to accommodate every appetite, we are more than happy to offer vegan and vegetarian dishes in addition to our daily menus.

Which brings me to another point: intentional vegetarian.  I read something about intentionally vegetarian dishes at restaurants some time ago, most likely Tal Ronnen related.  It was at that point I could put my finger on why I loved certain dishes so much (Restaurant BT, whaaaaat!).  I have a huge appreciation for dishes that are vegetarian on purpose and not make-shift, dairy covered, thrown together side dish veggies.  Besides, I’d have to order them without cheese and then they’d be make-shift squared.  A bummer.

So all that scattered-ness brings me to the Roasted Vegetable Napoleon.  Wow. It had simple layers filled with flavorful bulgur wheat and complimentary pureed sauces.  It filled the fancy void that foodie vegetarians have, the void that was most likely responsible for me returning to the pescatarian world.  It was a version of something I wish could be on every menu at restaurants that are reservation and eyeliner worthy.  It was…  exactly what I wanted.