After Dinner Thoughts

High raves for the Chili-Glazed Tofu over Asparagus and Rice! Mom said, "This is a real success. Put it in the regular rotation." Here's how I prepared it...

I first drained the tofu then placed it on top of paper towels on a cookie sheet with paper towels on top, then a cutting board, then a cookbook (for weight). After the tofu drained for over an hour, I cubed the tofu into small - maybe 1/2-inch - cubes. I cooked it in the peanut oil until it was lightly browned all around.

I cut the asparagus and carrots into bite size pieces (I didn't used shredded carrots, instead I used fresh that I sliced to be about the size of the asparagus). Then I roasted the vegetables in a 350° oven for about 30 minutes.

I doubled the sauce and when I cooked it I let it reduce quite a bit. I didn't have hot chili sauce with garlic, so I used sweet chili sauce and added a couple pinches of red pepper flakes. Additionally, because I doubled the sauce, instead of using 2 teaspoons of minced ginger I used 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon minced garlic.

I didn't mix the rice and vegetables together. Instead I kept the rice separate so I added the sesame oil to the vegetables. I made more rice than the recipe called for and I wanted to be able to use the rice for another recipe later this week.

This was a fairly easy recipe to prepare and truly tasty. Yes, I will make this again.

Hmmm...something with Tofu

I stopped by the Grocery last week and picked up some extra firm tofu since I haven't had any for awhile. So, I knew I wanted to make some kind of tofu dish, but wasn't quite sure what. Yesterday I stopped by Whole Foods and picked up some fresh asparagus (from Chile), some yummy fresh carrots (I can't seem to pass carrots up whenever I visit Whole Foods), and some baby bok choy. But, I still didn't know what I wanted to make.

This morning I searched the Internet for "tofu asparagus rice" and found a Chili-Glazed Tofu Over Asparagus and Rice recipe that is highly rated. I think this is what I'll make. As an extra bonus, I actually have all the ingredients on hand!

I'll let you know how it all turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts

Mmmm...I like black eye peas! This Hoppin' John recipe is terrific and I believe I will make it again sometime. Also, everyone truly enjoyed the bok choy. I don't think mom or dad had ever had bok choy as a separate dish before; I know I've used it as an ingredient in other recipes, but not as its own dish. They both really enjoyed it! I'm glad.


For dessert I ended up making a trifle. I used two of my Weight Watchers cookbooks to make a mash-up. Below is the recipe I made. I must say it was mighty tasty. Very easy too. I will definitely make it again!

1 package vanilla-flavored instant pudding mix (the size that serves 4)
2 cups skim milk
1 cup frozen light whipped topping (thawed)
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (I used the zest of 2 oranges)
1 angel food cake, cut into cubes (I used a store-bought cake that looked like it was prepared in a bundt cake pan)
1 cup orange juice
1 20 oz can unsweetened pineapple tidbits, drained
4 small navel oranges, peeled, sectioned, and cut into chunks
3 ruby red grapefruit, peeled, sectioned, and cut into chunks
1 pint fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1/4 cup sliced unblanched almonds

1- Prepare the pudding mix with the milk according to package directions. Stir the orange zest and whipped topping into pudding mixture.

2- Place 1/2 of the cake cubes into a large bowl. Pour 1/2 cup orange juice over cake cubes. Spoon 1/2 of pudding mixture over cake cubes. Add the fruit from 2 oranges and 1 1/2 grapefruit, 1/2 of the pineapple tidbits, and 1/2 of the blueberries on top of pudding mixture.

3- Follow step 2 with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

4- Shortly before serving, toast the almonds and coconut in a large non-stick skillet. Toast the almonds first for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the coconut and stir for about 2 more minutes until both are lightly browned. Transfer to a heatproof dish to serve from.

5- Just before serving, add a bit more whipped topping to individual servings and sprinkle with toasted almonds and coconut.

FYI...when I section citrus I use a knife to cut the peel away and then cut the sections out to only have fruit and to leave any membrane or pith behind. It's a bit messy to do it this way, but totally worth it!

We got at least 8 servings from this dish. Very good!