fruits & veg soak

Lets be realistic here, as much as I would love to buy all our produce organic, it would cost a lot as we buy the following on a weekly basis just for juicing plus more for actual meals

5 pounds of carrots
1 or 2 bags of apples
Package of Asian pears
Bag of oranges
2 lbs strawberries

And that's just for breakfast, if we do lunch juices, we also get spinach, parsley, kale, cabbage, beets, etc

As you can imagine, it would be a whopping grocery bill at an organic store. Instead, we go to Costco, buy what they do have in organic and the rest, soak the heck out of them when we get home to hopefully get rid of whatever gunk is on them.

First start with a clean sink, plug it and turn on the cold water. The mixture is about ten parts water for one part vinegar. I don't bother measuring and just add what I estimate is on part of vinegar.

I soak all the fruits except oranges and bananas. And most veggies unless they are pre washed.

veggie burgers with salad

This is what we call a "we have veggies in the fridge we need to use up" kind of meal. Enough to make a salad - check. Nothing thawed - whoops. Veggie burgers are cooked frozen - check. Something to go with it, umm no bun; oh, mushrooms and spinach - check.

Assemble everything so the end result is:

Salad consisting of mixed greens, pecans, dried cherries, cherry tomatoes, bacon bits, Brie, left over maple dressing

Burger topped with brie and a medley of cooked spinach and mushrooms topped with sliced cherry tomatoes, pea shots and chopped pecans.

Surprisingly, it was quite delicious and we'll likely have it again, maybe mix things up and have the veggie burger with rice or couscous..

sweet & sour stir fry with tofu

I absolutely live properly fried tofu in a good stir fry. I still haven't gotten the process down path but am getting there as I experiment with different oils and tofu firmness. At suggestions would be greatly appreciated as would a decent sweet and sour sauce that is more Thai than the stuff from the bottle. As I keep trying and improving this, I'll keep updating this post.

fried Thai tofu

Organic tofu (I'm leaning more towards medium firm or softer)
7 tablespoons of sesame seeds
6 tablespoons of cornstarch
6 tablespoons of flour (or rice flour)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of sugar (optional, said to help eliminate bitterness)

Heat canola oil on medium heat in a frying pan or pot (i use a pot as it's a bit sturdier), you'll need about an inch deep of oil. Prepare a plate with paper towel and take out a slotted spoon. Press and drunk the tofu. Cut into cubes, slightly smaller than an inch. Mix the dry ingredients in a pie plate. Toss the tofu until well covered, I do this in small batches, about 1/8 to 1/4 of the tofu at a time. Test if oil is hot enough, using the slotted spoon, gently place a covered cube of tofu in the oil, if it sizzles and starts cooking, it's ready.

Turn the heat down slightly and slowly place some of the covered cubes in the oil. When they are light golden brown on all sides, remove from oil and place on the paper towel to drain and cool.

Repeat until all the tofu is cooked.

sweet & sour stir fry

This stir fry is super simple and you can put in whatever you like. Here's what I use:

1 onion
2 peppers (usually to different colours)
Mushrooms
Pineapple chunk (save the juice)

Occasionally, I also use
Zucchini
Tomatoes
Or whatever is in the fridge

(While doing this, start your rice, I personally like basmati or jasmine). Heat olive oil, chopped garlic and a bit of ginger in a wok. Add in onions, when translucent, add in mushrooms. After 2-3 minutes, add in remaining veggies other than the pineapple. Sautée for about 10-15 minutes. When almost done, add in the pineapple chunks along with 3-4 tablespoons of e pineapple juice. Add in your sauce (I use the bottle stuff usually but next time I will try one from scratch). Sautée for about five minutes. When done, gently incorporate the tofu and mix well.