Sort-of Waldorf Salad

     This is a "sort-of" Waldorf salad because it uses two ingredients that are normally found in a traditional Waldorf: apples, and walnuts. Instead of using yogurt or mayonnaise for my dressing I made my own with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, honey and grated apple. I have made this salad more than any other and I can't get enough of its complimentary tastes and textures. I hope you'll like it as much as I do!




1 small gala apple
1/4 cup walnut halves or chopped walnuts
spinach leaves, rinsed with the stems removed
red tipped lettuce, two to three leaves rinsed with spine removed
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
juice of 1/2 small lemon
1 tsp honey

Core and slice the apple into 4ths, reserving 1/4 of the apple to grate into the dressing. Chop the remaining 3/4 of the apple into small cubes.

I like to shell the walnuts myself. Pre-shelled walnuts can be just as yummy too. Set aside the amount of walnuts you want to use in your salad.

Tear your spinach and red tipped lettuce into bite sized pieces and toss together in a large bowl. Do not chop them with a knife, this will damage the leaves giving them a wet or wilted appearance.

Sprinkle the cubed apple and walnuts over the spinach and lettuce in the large bowl.

Combine the apple cider vinegar and olive oil in a small bowl. Grate 1/4 of the apple with a cheese grater and add the grated apple to the oil and vinegar mixture.

Add the honey to the oil, vinegar and grated apple. Grind as much pepper as you would like into the dressing and then stir together all ingredients until they are mixed well.

Pour the dressing over the salad and then squeeze 1/2 of a small lemon over the salad. Toss together and enjoy!

Want to make a true Waldorf Salad? Follow this link: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/waldorf_salad/

Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango

I promise I'll get a new camera soon!

What you will need:

1 cup Jasmine rice
1 3/4 cup water
1 can coconut milk (I use the full fat kind)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp shredded coconut, 1/4 cup shredded coconut for toasting

What you will do:

Put your cup of Jasmine rice into a bowl and cover it with 1 cup of cold water. Let the rice soak for 30 minutes. This is important, do not skip this step!

While the rice is soaking; combine 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 cup of coconut milk in a bowl and set aside. Mix well.

After the rice has soaked; add 3/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of coconut milk and 1 Tbsp shredded coconut and put it all in a saucepan. Bring everything to a simmer on medium heat and then cook for 15 minutes on low heat with the lid on.

Keep the lid on the rice for the entire 15 minutes so you don't lose any moisture. Once the rice has cooked, fluff it with a fork and stir in the coconut milk mixture you set aside in the second step. Pour in half of the coconut milk mixture and stir, then pour the other half of the mixture in a stir. Let the rice sit for 15 minutes.




Let the rice stand for 15 minutes


Once the rice has thickened, you can scoop it out with a spoon onto a plate and surround it with diced mango. It will be sticky enough for you to shape it into a little dome in the center of the plate.

Using a small, dry frying pan, toast the shredded coconut on low to medium heat until it is slightly browned. Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the sticky rice and mango and serve warm.

**I found this recipe a couple of years ago on a YouTube video. I wrote it out by memory so it may not be exactly the same as the original. If I find the video I will post a link to it.

Greek Salad

There is something about the combination of olives, onion, feta, and lemon that make this salad my personal favorite. A greek salad from Pappadeux is the next best thing to making my own. A traditional greek salad has parsley and bell peppers instead of the lettuce, in my version it's lettuce and no peppers.

-Romaine or Green Leafy Lettuce

-Red onion, chopped into rings

-Kalamata olives

-Crumbled feta cheese

-Sliced cucumber

-Roma tomato, cut into

-Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Dressing:

Olive oil, 1 part

Red wine vinegar, 2 parts

Freshly ground pepper

Dried oregano (optional)

If you don't want to make your own dressing, this is the brand I recommend: Cardini's Light Greek Vinaigrette

Tofu "Chicken" Nuggets

My apologies for the blur.

1 block firm or extra firm tofu, pressed

Peanut oil or Canola oil (enough to coat the bottom of the frying pan)

1/3 cup plain, unsweetened soymilk

2 Tbsp mustard

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried parsley

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp freshly milled black pepper

1 tbsp cornstarch

¾ cup bread crumbs (Panko are nice, but you can make your own as well)

Prepare your tofu by cutting it into 1 ½ by 3 inch slices about ½ inch thick. Wrap in a clean dishtowel and press gently to remove excess moisture. Place the tofu into a zip lock bag and put in the freezer for at least two hours. To thaw leave in the zip lock bag, making certain the bag is sealed, and run cold water over it until the original color returns. (Frozen tofu becomes a darker yellow color) Once it is thawed, remove tofu from zip lock bag and wrap in a clean dish towel to absorb excess moisture.

*You may skip this step, but I do not recommend it because frozen and thawed tofu will take on a meatier texture. You still must remove excess moisture from the tofu no matter what.

1. Cut the tofu into small pieces, approximately 1 inch square pieces. You do not want the nuggets to be too big because you want them to cook quickly and evenly so the tofu does not soak up too much of the frying oil.

2. Wisk together milk, mustard, cornstarch and spices until smooth in a wide bowl. Spread the breadcrumbs out on a plate and set the two side by side.

3. Put the oil in your frying pan and heat it over medium heat. It should become hot enough that anything that falls in it will sizzle.

4. Coat each piece of tofu with the mustard mixture, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Once all pieces are coated, place them in the frying pan and fry each side until golden brown.  Drain on a paper towel and serve immediately.

Frying in Action.