its thursday!

so, it's date night.
in a tribute to lazy date night, here's our favorite <3

summer slaw.

mmm... cabbage.
mmm... summer.
mmm... slaw.

summer screams cole slaw! it's so versatile.
in salads.
on sandwiches.
by itself.
with bbq.
possibilities are endless!

i love slaw. i especially (and really only) love home-made slaw. none of that pre-packaged crap that's swimming in mayo. that shit's for the birds...
i personally like to make my slaw with a teeny-tiny bit of mayo and more red wine vinegar. (something i'm clearly a HUGE fan of) i'll mix it with some dried minced onion, and the varieties are limitless! limitless!
typically, i'll slice my cabbage into medium-long strips and toss it. today, i ran it through the food processor. i (more like cuisinart) chopped it into tiny little bits, and i'm liking it.
i mixed my head of cabbage with the chopped up bits of 5 carrots. i added about two tablespoons of low-fat hellman's, and about 1/8c of red wine vinegar. i tossed it together, added some dried minced onion and black sesame seeds. (why not?!)
i'm letting my cole slaw sit, i love how it gets "cooked" in the vinegar and gets nice and dense.
i'm amped to throw my cole slaw over salad, and more specifically throw it on a toasted roll with some vegetarian ribs.

yum!
perfect.summer.dinner.

tofu stackers!

how have i never thought of this...
tofu... as lasagna noodles!

i mean, not exactly lasagna noodles, but they will be a midway between veggies and sauce.
yum! i'm brilliant!
i decided i needed to do a greek flavored tofu. mmm, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic, basil, amazing!
i pressed my tofu, as per usual, and then sliced each quarter block into three pieces. i suppose i turned each block into twelve pieces. look! i can do math too! ... she's multi-talented, folks!
-to start, i layered each of my le cruset dishes with some plain crushed tomatoes and then a slice of deliciously cooked tofu.
-on top of that i added my spinach mix. for my spinach mix, i combined chopped frozen spinach (defrosted, of course) mixed with chopped mushrooms, and tomato paste. i mixed that all up and dropped small little mounds onto each slice of tofu.
-next, came s'more tofu. yum!
-second veggie layer was a pile of cooked-down red onions. i let them spend about an hour or so on low in the pan. (i've really come to love red onions. cooked or marinated. we've become very close.)
-next, more tofu... i'm sorry, is this getting repetitive?
-last, i mixed a bit of crushed tomatoes with chopped kalamata olives.
i popped my crazy tofu stacks in the oven. 350* for about 30 minutes. they heated through, and the tomato sauce & olives on top started to cook just a bit. perfect!

my veggie tofu stacks were tasty! lots of yummy veggies mixed with the taste of fresh herbs and the tangy-sweet taste of the red wine vinegar.
of course i'm super proud of these and would love to share them with my fellow cooks at work...

...but... i only have four...

tub-o-spice tofu.

so, upon recommendation of my mother to mix my super spicy korean spicy paste with something to make it edible... i did!
tofu!
better yet, i mixed it with thing that will help have it not set your mouth ablaze.
please, hold your applause til the end.
super spicy kathrine tofu. or at least i attempted to make it not be super spicy kathrine tofu.
i got an excellent crust brown on my tofu. i pressed it (as per brother) and cut it into cubes. i let it sit in a medium pan for 45 minutes, constantly tossing.
(i pulled some pieces aside for a tofu parm -- later this week, darlings.)
once my pieces were good n' brown, i added my super-hopefully-not-so-spicy mix. i added maybe a tablespoon of super hot korean chili paste, half a tablespoon of garlic, two tablespoons of soy sauce, ginger, a tablespoon of tomato paste, & two tablespoons of light brown sugar.
i dumped my potentially-not-hot-sauce over my tofu, and as soon as it started to cook down, i poured in about a half a cup of ff vegetable broth.
tofu looks tasty, is sweet and garlicky, but has that super hot chili paste kick at the end.
not for the weak of heart.
enjoy!
...just not too much at once.

korean chili paste.

this chili paste is no damn joke.

apparently, it comes in a tub that resembles a tub of baby wipes.
baby wipes in a tub = ok.
chili paste in a tub = lethal.
bravely, i stuck my finger into this thick mess and licked it.
holy freaking crap!
then my mother shares with me... "oh, you can make sauces and marinades out of it"
"so, you're supposed to tone it down"
"yep"
...yeh mom. thanks for letting me stick my finger in it.
anyhow, this lethally hot chili paste will apparently never go bad and seeing the size jar i have sitting in my fridge, ill never run out.
first recipe to follow soon.

get cha' fire extinguishers out, bitches.

super summer sandwich.

love it!
somehow (through whole wheat bread) i have managed to update my cucumber and onion cold salad into some type of ridiculously delicious sandwich!
i love it!
as you know, i was off the bread situation for a while. that was all sorts of well and good. but then it got hot out, and for as hungry as i'd ever get, i never wanted to cook anything.
i toasted two pieces of one point wheat bread, covered them in slices from half an avocado, and topped it to the brim with cold cucumber and onion salad.
quick, easy, & light dinner...
for those long, hot summer days.

the appaloosa.

in (mostly) pictures, of course!

the appaloosa was an AMAZING place in denver. to me, it was the highlight of my eating adventures in denver, and i would be happy to recommend it to anyone passing through, visiting, or who has a drivers licence in denver.




encouraged eats:
-manchego fondue (spinach, roasted red pepper, tomato, toasted bread): hot, creamy, cheesy, & delicious. just what was needed after a day of drinking in the hot sun... then in the rain.








-truffle garlic fries (herbs, garlic, truffle oil, sea salt, grated parmesan, pepper aioli... oh, and fries): these... were... unbelievable. i say 'were' because we gobbled them up super quick. the pepper aioli was key to these rich fries. oh god, i'm drooling...













-fish & chips (fried/breaded cod, tartar sauce, lemon): i am a sucker for fish & chips. i tend not the order it because i try to not be fat (doesn't always work). luckily sister ordered it. this is one of the best fish and chips i've had. while the fish was battered and fried, the batter didn't outweigh or outshine the fish. it was a perfect, light balance, and it was HUGE hit at our table.





-falafel (falafel, toasted pita, greens, lemon tahini, tomato, cucumber, hummus, feta): i love greek, and i looooooved this. there is nothing better than fresh, made-from-scratch greek food, and this took the falafel. best i've had. without a doubt.






-beer & cocktails: purely gratuitous and always loved.

bb-q.to-fu

ok. bottom line.
i don't like bbq sauce.
not. at. all.
well, i lie. i like eastern nc bbq sauce. call me a traitor. that's fine. but as for that thick, tomato-ey, bbq sauce (esp the ones in the bottle)... no... thank you.
then, a co-worker of mine had her class of three year olds make a vat of bbq sauce. they blindly spiced it up, added brown sugar to the base, and through some form of magic...(maybe boogers - ha!) it was great!
i cubed up some tofu and fried it in a pan. once my tofu cubes were browned, i added half the jar of bbq sauce. it cooked down, got thick, and glazed my tofu cubes perfectly. yum!
there's no doubt that it was the sauce that made me enjoy this bbq tofu. it was more original than any of that bottled crapola. and it was pretty spicy. mmm!
bbq tofu is perfect in the summer. it's not everyday that you get to have bbq ribs, or other bbq meats. besides, it's expensive and heavy, and i know i'm not made of money.
but, bbq tofu cubes? light, saucy, and... bbq-y! delish!

best... ice cream... EVER! (pt. 2)

just when i thought that larry & luna's had it on lock with their dark chocolate coconut milk ice cream, i bought.... the chocolate peanut butter.
*sound the angels*
i never realized that spending $6 on a pint of ice cream would be so... rewarding!
again, larry & luna's is vegan & dairy free. it's made with coconut milk which makes it ridiculously rich, with excellent coconut flavor in addition to the chocolate & hard swirls of creamy delicious peanut butter.

wipe your mouth, you're drooling.

it must be a special occasion!

it's not everyday you see me cooking, eating, posting about meat.
i rarely eat or cook with meat.
but there was this creeping feeling in my belly that i *needed* some chicken.

i really REALLY love pounding out chicken breasts and rolling them up with all sorts of delicious things. i've done ham & swiss, spinach & sun dried tomatoes, stuffing, the possibilities are endless! ...and that's what i love!
so, i pounded out a chicken breast and then it was time to empty the fridge. what do we have here? i thawed out some chopped spinach and mixed it with some goat cheese. i added diced roasted red peppers and chopped pickled garlic cloves. *drool* there was these amazing layers of flavors going on in the filling. tangy & creamy goat cheese with the sharp pickled garlic. i rolled my little chicken breast up with all that delicious filling. stuffed... if you will! i topped them with a unique spice blend i picked up, basiks key west spice blend. the spice blend is citrus-y and spicy, and all basik spice blends are sugar & preservative free! woot!
i stuck my decadent (*drool*) piece of chicken in the oven at 425* for about half an hour. the top of the chicken started to brown with the spices, it was heated through, and the middle was creamy and rich. de-lish!
i completed my dish with the maple roasted purple sweet potatoes, and kernels off the cob tossed with hot sauce.
holy crap, i'm hungry!

hit me up,
i'm now taking reservations for dinner.

onion revolution.

i love red onions!
sometimes people call them purple onions!
it's crazy!

i always thought red onions sucked. big time. in fact, i thought they tasted like gasoline! when have i ever tasted gasoline, you ask? never. but for some reason, my brain made that comparison. little did i know that all it takes is some red wine vinegar and these little gasoline onions turn into something i love. <3
i use red onions all the time. they have become famous in my cucumber & onion salad, and now i've started adding them to all my raw salads!
my secret: i chop them in long stringy slices and soak them in red wine vinegar. the vinegar bath cuts the horrid overwhelming onion taste and makes them ripe for the eating!
yum!

i know i've sparked your interest, now go in the kitchen and try it.

summer pasta salad.

yum! i love orzo.
i think it's the best base for a pasta salad.
those tiny little noodles don't over-power any other guest stars in the salad. not like the way those big curly-q noodles do.
so for this version of light & fresh pasta salad, we have:
-orzo
-diced tomatoes (drained)
-chopped cucumbers
-slivered red onions
-chopped mushrooms (from a can)
-kalamata olives
-red wine vinegar <3
-oregano
-basil
-parsley
(variations: add juice of a lemon, goat cheese, feta. don't worry, you're free to make your own decisions. i won't yell at you. i promise.)

directions are pretty simple. cook the pasta, toss everything together in a bowl.
it's so easy, i bet even cheryl could do it.