Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Healthy Tofu & Veggie Quiche (another one of my own!)


So there I was again, wondering what to cook for dinner. And as is my way when I have a culinary creative block, I hit up my favourite food blog. It turns out that I had some pie-crust left over from the last time I made apple pie, so a veggie quiche was what I decided to make! The pie-crust recipe can be found here

For the calorie conscious, this crust is quite a killer (but it tastes soooooo good!!). However, for a 6" x 10" baking dish, we only used about a fist size of pie crust dough (thats all there was left!!) and we got a great thin crispy crust in the bargain! You can make the dough and freeze it till you need to use it again.
So thats the deal with the crust.

For the filling, I had french beans (about 100 gms), a couple of green peppers, 1 pkt of Tofu, onions and tomatoes. First, the onions and tomatoes are sauteed really well, you could add some chopped garlic to this if you like. Once the onion-tomato mixture is ready, crumble and add in the tofu. Tofu absorbs flavour really well, so you might want to add your seasonings at this point - salt, pepper and a tsp of thyme does it...give the tofu-onion-tomato mixture a few minutes on the gas. Beat 3 eggs (quiche lorraine calls for 5 eggs, but 3 did just fine!) with (technically!) half cup cream and half cup milk, but I halved those quantities. Add in some chives, salt and a generous shake of pepper.

Into the pre-baked crust, layer the tofu mixture (use half of what you have), add in the chopped beans and green peppers (and whatever other veggie you like!) and finish with another layer of tofu-onion-tomato. CAREFULLY (so the egg doesnt leak out of the crust), pour egg-milk-cream mixture and see that it spreads around among the filling.

If you want to add cheese on top you can (but that kind of kills the point of the tofu!!) but do so only after the quiche is almost done (or the cheese will burn).

Preheat your oven to about 200 degrees C and bake till a knife comes out clean. The egg mixture should set and thats what you need to look for.

I served this with a raw cabbage, carrot and corn salad tossed in vinaigrette.
Easy peasy and healthy :)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

((My Own!!)) Sweet n Spicy Crispy Chicken!


Aah... see, now THIS is not for the calorie conscious! Serenity (that would be my Significant Other) is having some friends over tonight.... As of this morning, we were ordering in, but then came afternoon and boredom, so I decided to do something fun! So here is my very own Sweet n Spicy Crispy chicken... and yup, its finger lickin good! :D
How to make? easy peasy!

Ingredients for the Marinade: 2 egg whites
4 tbsp soy sauce
garlic (as much as you like!!)
salt & pepper
flour
2 tbsp vinegar (optional)
Ingredients for the Sauce: 5 tbsp Tomato sauce (I used Hot ' n' Sweet n it worked great!)
2 tbsp Soy sauce
salt to taste
1 tbsp Honey
2 tbsp Cornflour
Other Ingredients: (I used) 1 kg chicken with bone (but you can use boneless!)
Spring onions
1 large onion
1 green pepper (or other assorted veggies!)
Oil
Method:
1. Stir the marinade ingredients together and use a vessel with a lid to toss the chicken with it. See that the meat is coated with the marinade
2. Let it sit for atleast 20 minutes to absorb the flavour of the garlic and soy.
3. CAREFULLY (yes, much emphasis on that word) heat the oil in a wok and shallow fry the chicken in batches so they're evenly brown. Reduce the flame if necessary and see that the chicken is cooked through. Keep aside the fried chicken.
4. Mix the sauce ingredients together and keep aside.
5. Saute the onions, spring onions (again, you can add some garlic cut fine here!) and when the onions are brown and tender, add the other veggies and stir fry briskly. (remember that some veggies take longer to cook).
6. Add the chicken back and toss with the onions and veggies (or not!)
7. Pour the sauce over the mixture and let it cook for 10 minutes.

Note:
1. More water can be added to make this a curry to be eaten with rice. (I made mine semi-dry)
2. If you like your chicken crispy, then DO NOT pour the sauce over until ready to serve. Cook the sauce separately and reserve till serving time.
3. This sauce worked really well for me, I think it'll be great over chicken wings **I LOVE CHICKEN WINGS!!**