Quasi-Roasted TofuBergine

A dish inspired by Gordon Ramsay’s Aubergine Caviar recipe…

I still remember the first time I tasted a roasted eggplant dip made by Tommy, it was like heaven! Yes heavenly delicious! 😀 A few friends and I were spending the weekend at a cottage up-north; the poor guy was spending more than 1 hour in the kitchen making this dish, as it takes 30-40 minutes for the eggplants to bake in the oven – while the rest of us were enjoying ourselves in the hot jacuzzi outside in the freezing cold winter. So I told myself that when I make the dish one day, I refuse to go through this kind of long process. In fact, I rarely use the oven to cook. I’m just not fan of the idea of waiting that long and using that much electricity. So I decided to adapt this Ramsay recipe to my own style! I don’t know if it tasted as good as his version, but it sure tasted yummy enough!

Ingredients:

• 1 large sized Aubergine/Eggplant, cut into small cubes
• 1 package of firm tofu, cut into small cubes
• Fresh basil leaves, chopped thinly
• Dry parsley leaves
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• Oil
• Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

• When the pan is hot, pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and brown the tofu.
• Remove the tofu from the pan after they turned slightly golden brown and set aside.
• Add another 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and fry the garlic.
• Add the aubergine cubes and cook them until they become a bit soft – for about 7 minutes.
• Add a bit of water in between to keep it moist.
• Throw in the browned tofu and stir.
• Toss the basil leaves, dry parsley leaves in.
• Let it cook for another 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve with toasts, or rice.

Enjoy! 🙂

Vegetarian Gluten Free Pizza

We made two wonderful 12-inch vegetarian gluten-free pizzas that evening. The crust turned out to be really thin; and let me tell you something: you cannot go wrong with sun-dried tomatoes and cheese!! =)

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of Gluten Free Pizza crust Mix (Bob’s Red Mill) 453g
• 1 pack of Yeast
• 1 1/2 cup of warm water
• 2 Eggs
• 2 tbps of Olive Oil
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 2 packs of Parmesan Cheese
• Mushrooms
• Green Peppers
• Parsley

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425F
• In a large bowl, combine water and yeast
• Let stand a few minutes
• Add eggs and oil to mixture and blend briefly
• Add Gluten free Pizza Crust Mix and blend until combined
• Leaving dough in a bowl, split in half, cover and allow to rise for 20 minutes
• Place dough on greased pizza pans
• Using wet hands, speed out dough to cover the full pizza pan
• Bake without toppings for 7-9 minutes
• Remove from oven, cover with favorite sauce and toppings
• Bake for 15-18 minutes

Eggplant Gratin

Eggplants (Aubergines) are known for its deep purple color and unique taste and texture (bitter and spongy?). So it’s really important to know how to cook them! Well, with the help of an excellent cooking assistant, I was able to execute this great Eggplant Gratin! =)

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• Onions, finely chopped
• Garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Eggplants, thickly sliced
• Fresh Parsley, chopped
• Dried thyme
• Canned chopped tomatoes

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400F
• Heat the oil in a casserole over medium heat
• Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, or until soft
• Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds
• Transfer the onion mixture to a plate
• Cook the eggplant slices in batches in the same casserole until they are lightly browned
• Transfer to another plate
• Arrange a layer of eggplant slices in the bottom of the baking dish
• Sprinkle with parsley, thyme and salt and pepper
• Add a layer of onion, tomatoes and mozzarella, sprinkling parsley, thyme and salt and pepper over each layer
• Continue layering, finishing with a layer of eggplant slices
• Sprinkle with the Parmesan
• Bake, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the eggplant slices are tender. Serve hot.

Fish and Kale Bruschetta

Well… I haven’t been posting recently. I just got really swamped after my last salad post with the planning of my photo exhibition (you can take a peek at my photography at inspiritia.tumblr.com), going to all my friends’ birthday parties (Many of them are born from mid April to mid May), celebrating my own birthday and hosting + hanging out with Sarah who’s visiting from New York (we made sushi yesterday-post coming up) and we’re going to enjoy a full relaxing day at the spa tomorrow.

 Lately… in pictures.

Preparing for the “Artists Among Us” Art Exhibition

Enjoying the City Night View from my Windows

I’m 24!!

Dancing till the Night ends?

Sucrerie de la Montagne at Rigaud

Alright, let’s move on to today’s post about the Fish and Kale Bruschetta!

Ingredients used: Sesame bread, Fish (Trout), Tomatoes, Kale, Onion, Garlic, Salt, Pepper, Oil

Instructions:

Kale Stir Fry

• Add some oil to the heated pan
• Add minced garlic and fry until fragrant
• Add in kale and stir fry
• Pour some water and let it simmer, until stems are slightly soft
• Add a pinch of salt and pepper
• Remove to a plate

Fish with Tomatoes

• Add oil to the pan
• Add minced garlic and chopped onions and fry
• Fry the fish fillet until golden brown
• Add the tomatoes (cut into cubes)
• Let it cook for 5-7 minutes – stir occasionally

• Cut the bread into slices and toast them
• Place the fish and kale on the bread and serve!

Beef & Mushrooms with Egg Noodles and Polenta Pudding

JenJen came over last night for dinner and to watch a movie chez moi. I made a simple homey noodle dish that we used to eat a lot back at home. Jen took care of the dessert and made Polenta corn pudding.  Cooking these kinds of food always gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling of nostalgia, which brings me closer to home but which also makes me miss it and my Mom’s cooking more.

Beef & Mushrooms With Egg Noodles and Polenta Pudding

Ingredients:

Beef, Mushrooms, Garlic, Spring onions, Soy sauce, Corn starch, Pepper, Oil

Instructions:

• After cutting the beef into thin slices, marinate them with corn starch, pepper and soy sauce
• Cut the mushrooms into slices
• Chop the garlic
• Pour some oil in the pan, and fry the garlic, then add the beef and cook for 3 minutes
• Throw in the mushrooms and stir fry for 5 minutes
• In the meantime, boil 3 cups of water and add the egg noodles when the water is ready
• Drain the noodles, add oil and some soy sauce and mix them well
• Fry the eggs (optional)
• Put everything together nicely on a plate and sprinkle some spring onions on on top

Polenta pudding

Ingredients:

Polenta pudding powder, Milk, Sugar, Dry raisins, Coconut powder, Vanilla essence

Instructions:

• Soak the Polenta powder in cold water and get rid of the water (skim off the floating bits)
• Add milk and bring it to boil over medium low heat
• Add sugar, 2 drops of vanilla essence and the dry raisins
• Stir constantly to avoid burning
• Pour the whole thing in a bowl or plate and leave it to cool down
• Sprinkle grated coconut on top
• Allow it to cool down and put it into the fridge
• Go watch a movie and serve when it’s cold enough

VOILA!