Oven-Baked Tofu Scramble

I love gas-powered cooking ranges. I love my oven. I love cast iron pans.

I swear with the combination of these two things, I can't go wrong with meals I make. They are a magic team.

On days when I am lazy, or busy, or making a lot of things at once (like brunch or dinner parties), my oven and cast iron pans are my best friends.

Almost like a crock pot. You can just toss everything in, turn over to anywhere between 350-450 degrees, depending on what you're cooking. Check back in 15 min-1hr later and your meal is ready.

I usually make tofu scrambles over a stove top, but sometimes I remember I can just toss it in the oven to create effortless magic. The good thing about this is that it also saves it from becoming to mashed up (unless that's what you want. I sometimes do).

For this
Cube some Extra Firm Tofu
Chop some Bell pepper, onions (and other veggies you like)
Add oil, salt, peppers, and other spices and herbs you like
Throw into oven at 400 degrees

Cook for about 30 mins, check and turn over, cook for longer if you want browner.
Ready!

Pan-Grilled Tri-Tip, Roasted Potatoes & Carrots, Almond Gravy Green Beans etc

 >Pan-Grilled Tri-Tip
> Roasted Potatoes & Carrot Blend
>Almond Gravy over Sauteed Green Beans
>Persimmon, Plum & Pomegranate Spring Greens Salad

Grub this!

Pan-Grilled Tofu, Sauteed Greens & Potatoes

>Extra-Firm Tofu seasoned with salt and spices and grilled in a cast iron pan
>Mixed Greens sauteed in onions and olive oils with apples to cut the bitter
>Cubed potatoes loaded with herbs & spices and cooked with bell peppers and onions, simmered in a pan.
>Spring Greens Salad

Plate: Chicken Soup, BuzzwordFood Salad, Fresh Garlic & Rosemary Toast

 >Chicken Soup with Bell peppers & Onions
> Buzzword Food Salad
> Garlic & Rosemary Toast

I was on my way to the grocery store to pick up some household staples, and see if something may inspire me for dinner, when I ran into my upstairs neighbor Emily and found out she would be making chicken soup that evening. I invited myself into her meal by offering to make a salad and 'some bread thing'. Awesome! I was glad to have someone else make a good chunk of the meal, because I had been a bit stuck. I was also excited about soup, because I kinda-sorta never like soups and just never really think to make them. Well our forces combined to make something that I was really excited about.

I have been pretty much using a lot of Rosemary to cook these days, because you know if you've ever had a rosemary plant, that baby GROWS. So I've been trying to put a dent in it (even doing things like rosemary pesto; another post on that).

How to:
>BuzzwordFood Salad? Check here to learn how I made this
>For the toast: I threw some fresh garlic cloves and some butter into a mini mortar and pounded. Spread it on whole wheat bread, sprinkled fresh rosemary on top of the bread and threw it in the broiler. Another way to make it would be to throw all the herbs and garlic in the mortar and pound with butter.
>Make your favorite chicken soup recipe, just make sure to throw in lots of veggies too, to make it a true grub-a-plate meal

Discovery: Will the Real Yams please stand up?!

"I'm going to take this back and show people what a real yam is. Sweet potatoes are NOT yams!"- a friend

Yeah, these are yams. This picture captures one of my favorite places to be. The Backyard of my Grandpa's village home. The Oba is where Yams are stored.

"Yam is a versatile vegetable. It can be barbecued; roasted; fried; grilled; boiled; baked; smoked and when grated it is processed into a dessert recipe. Yams are the staple crop of the Igbo people of Nigeria, in their language it is known as ji, and they commemorate it by having yam festivals known as Iri-ji or Iwa-Ji depending on the dialect." -From Wikipedia, Read More

If you are not in Nigeria (or other local sources), you may find Yams at an African/Caribbean Food store. I'll be posting a plate featuring a yam dish soon. I can't wait!

Recipe: When I FALL in love...it will be forever!

Let me introduce you to my 'Ode to Fall' salad. It's delicious!

Here's the story: I like Jicama and when I run into it, I remember that I like it. I had this large Jicama that I needed to use quickly because it was going to go bad soon. So I knew it would be the perfect thing to make for a brunch party where people could help me put a dent in it.

I knew I wanted it in a salad and looked online for recipes; I found one I liked but by the time I got up to start making it, I forgot what it was, and because I can't follow a recipe to save my life. I was like 'umm, how about this instead'? I had to think/work fast because, I was expecting a lot of people over any minute and was still behind. I was excited about doing something that was 'hella fall' and I liked the colors I could see it making. We had just picked up all these cool fruits and veggies from the farmer's market, so I thought how about it. The result was a winner, and I'm just saying this from all the good feedback I got that day.

Okay, so now pay attention because this is REALLY complicated.

Ingredients

1. Jicama
2. Fuyu Persimmons
3. Pomegranate

Directions:

1. Grab Bowl
2. Peel Jicama
3. Shred into bowl
4. Grab Persimmon
5. Shred into Bowl
6. Open/Tear Pomegranate
7. Drop seeds into bowl
8. Tear off mint leaves
9. Garnish
10. Proceed to Ravish.

Complicated. Right? Okay so it's not. I somehow suspect this will work on kids. Got kids? Try it on and let me know.