Awesome Veggie "Chicken" Nuggets

I really hate the title of this post. I'm not trying to fool anyone, there was no chicken in the food I made tonight. But if I say "TVP Nuggets," this dish doesn't sound appetizing at all!

Texturized vegetable protein, or TVP, is a meat substitute that I've recently become acquainted with. A student first mentioned how wonderful it is, and then MikeDub brought me lunch one day at work from Veggie Heaven. Not knowing where the lunch had come from, I actually CALLED him concerned I'd received pork by mistake!

TVP is dry, and can be bought in the bulk food section of HEB. The nice thing is, it really takes up the flavor of whatever you cook it with. Well, tonight was my first night cooking with this type of protein and I am really impressed. I based this recipe off of a chicken dish that I make that's really popular with my friends. (It's a pan-cooked chicken recipe from Kapes' momma's kitchen, actually.) I made the mediallions small (don't be fooled by the picture—they're on a mini plate), as I was having trouble with the nugget falling apart when I tried to make them bigger. I was happy with the result, and I ended up picking them up with my fingers and dipping them in Stubb's BBQ sauce.

Veggie Nuggets

Nuggets
3/4 cup water
1 cup TVP
1 egg
Salt and pepper
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion flakes (or powder, I only had flakes in the pantry)
Accent to taste (cause MSG is awesome and tasty! Although MSG has a bad rap, my analysis of the studies makes me believe it is truly OK for humans. Just use more salt if you have a hang up with MSG and don't complain about your blood pressure...)

Breading
2 tbsp. rolled oats
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. cornmeal

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Mix all of the dry seasonings with the TVP and then add the water (boiling). Mix well, and then stir in the egg. Shape the TVP mixture into nuggets (I used my hand and a tablespoon). Drop into the breading mixture and coat on both sides. Pick up the nugget with the spoon and transfer it to the pan with olive oil. Cook each side until browned (I had to add a bit extra olive oil when I flipped the nuggets). Serve with BBQ sauce.

Tofu Fried Rice

Tofu
Vegetable Oil
Cooked rice (leftover rice is perfect for this!)
2 Eggs (optional)
Green onions, chopped fine
Salt (optional, to taste)
Veges - be creative! Personally I like to use scallions and carrots (sliced thin with the peeler), and this time I added in baby corn and mushrooms. Try something new and comment–I'm always looking for ideas

1. Heat about a half tbsp. of vege oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add in the eggs and stir so that they're almost scrambled. Remove the eggs and set aside.

2. Brown the tofu on all sides (you may need to add about 1 tbsp. oil). There are some good pics of this in MikeDub's pad thai post. He's the one that sold me on tofu by cooking it up this way.

3. Remove the tofu and set aside (I put it in the same bowl as the egg).

4. Add about 1 more tbsp. oil to the pan and fry the rice. Put in the vegetables (except the green onion). Stir on medium to medium-high heat, until rice just begins to brown and vegetables are tender.

5. Add the tofu and egg back in to warm, stirring frequently. During the last minute of cooking, add the green onion.

Kapes' Kitchen: Ultimate Salmon Tacos

Friday night, MikeDub and I were called in to cook for a couple of friends. One of our nearest and dearest is 9 months pregnant, and needed a break from culinary duties. We relished this opportunity; this couple has an amazing kitchen, and let me tell you, standing on opposite sides of an island sure beats wondering if you're going to lose a limb when your partner walks through the kitchen with a knife.

I called ahead, a good tip for when you're cooking for someone new, or someone who may have special needs. I inquired if my pregnant friend was OK with salmon. Due to the mercury content of fish in our increasingly toxic environment, consumption should be limited. During pregnancy, this is especially important. Well, salmon just happens to be our friend's favorite fish, and it is the one maritime friend that she will make the exception for (fortunately, it is also a "lower mercury" choice).

I've been working to perfect this dish for six months, since the night I dreamed it up based on some random items in the fridge.  I think it is close to perfect, but you should leave suggestions if you come up with something better, or have a favorite twist on it.  The "secret" of this dish is developing the toppings to suit your taste. Nearly all of the prep can be done ahead of time, making this an outstanding choice for a dinner party dish. Just prior to serving, the fish should be prepared, along with as many tortillas as needed. Remember, making tortillas for a few guests does take a bit of time. I recommend starting the tortillas a few minutes prior to cooking the fish. Having two pans for tortillas isn't a bad idea if you have a full house.

All of the crucial ingredients are pictured here, except for the avocado (dad-to-be had to grab those on his trip home):

ULTIMATE SALMON FISH TACOS

Slaw
1/4 of a purple cabbage, shaved thin
2 large carrots, shaved thinly with a peeler
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of lime juice
pepper to taste
2 scallions (green onions), chopped

Combine everything but the scallions. Using a spoon, stir the mixture until the cabbage is coated with the oil and vinegar. When preparing the slaw ahead of time, stir well just before serving. I like to top with the scallions last minute; it makes it look fancy :)  May be prepared the night before.

Pico De Gallo
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 small white onion, diced
1 jalapeño pepper. diced finely
1 bunch of cilantro, stems removed, chopped finely
juice of 1 lime
salt

Combine all ingredients and stir well.

Roasted Red Pepper Salsa
One jar of your favorite salsa (HEB roasted salsa is the best!
One roasted red pepper (you can buy these in a jar, or make your own)

I just throw everything in a blender and hit pulse a few times.  

Fixin's
one large avocado, sliced and sprinkled with lime juice (mandatory, unless you are allergic to avocado)
sour cream (optional)
hot peppers, or other spicy stuff
whatever else you like to put on tacos...

ALL OF THE ABOVE MAY BE PREPARED AHEAD OF TIME

Fish and Tortillas
1 to 1-1/2 lbs. of super-fresh, wild caught salmon: Just under a pound serves two with leftovers, and just over a pound served five of us (if you include baby-on-the-way)
olive oil for brushing, salt and pepper
raw flour tortillas (HEB shoppers: get Guerrero tortillas [pictured], which can be found in the bread aisle. You should not be using anything else for flour tortillas.)

The salmon can be cooked either on the stove or in the oven.  When cooking for just MikeDub and I, I like to do stove top.  In this TX heat, it's much more convenient not to turn on the oven. 

Stove Top: Place fish skin-side down in a saucepan and add just enough water to steam. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Top the salmon with limes, cilantro, onions, etc. (Personally, I like the flavor cilantro gives the fish–add this during the final couple minutes of cooking so that it doesn't wilt.)  Heat the water to boiling on medium high heat.  Simmer, covered, on medium to medium–low heat for about 10-15 minutes.  When the white lines in the fish just start to run, the fish should be done.  It should be flaky in the center; check with a fork.

Oven: Preheat oven to 400 ºF.  Place salmon skin-side down on the baking sheet (for easier cleaning cover with foil).  Brush the fish lightly with oil, and then top with vegetables or spices (see above).  Check the fish after 10 min of cooking (just over a pound of fish took 15 minutes).  Check for doneness as described above.  

Kapes' (Momma's) Kitchen: Strawberries n' Cream

My mother tells a tale of being 8 months pregnant with me, picking strawberries in the field, and eating as many as she picked. It might be an exaggeration, but given my obsession with this fruit, it might not be too far off. This recipe (which is really more of a serving suggestion than a true recipe) truly surprised me, as I knew not my entire childhood what the "cream" component was.

Whole Strawberries
Sour Cream
Brown Sugar

Dip the strawberries in sour cream, and then brown sugar.

Don't be turned off by the sour cream, folks! The blending of flavors in this recipe is so outstanding that you will never know it's sour cream if your mother doesn't tell you...

Kapes' Kitchen: Turkey meatloaf w/ spinach and feta

Lucky me! I got to stay home tonight while the man went out shopping. So what exactly is on his grocery list for tonight's much anticipated turkey meatloaf?

• Ground turkey meat (1-1.5 lb.): I recommend the Honeysuckle White as opposed to store brand if you're shopping at HEB. I also generally go with ~85% lean; I'd rather cook out the fat myself than risk ground turkey or beef that is too lean and rubbery.
• Bread crumbs: If you forget the bread crumbs, you can actually just toast some bread for this recipe then break it up into small bits. This works well for this particular dish, however I NEVER recommend making your own breadcrumbs! This takes far too much time and effort (unless the bread is super-stale) and takes away from time with your company. I often use 3/4 cup of breadcrumbs and 1/4–1/2 cups torn wheat bread in this recipe.
• Egg (1)
• Diced onion (3/4–1 cup)
• Diced or minced garlic (4–6 cloves)
• Toasted pine nuts (1/3 cup): I strongly recommend getting your pine nuts in the bulk section of HEB. To toast: Preheat oven to 325 º. Place the pine nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet, baking dish, or (my personal favorite bit of ovenware) a piece of foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until pine nuts are browned.
• Feta cheese: I used to buy the pre-crumbled Athenos feta at HEB, however I realized I could save quite a bit of money by buying the block. Self-crumbling isn't nearly as difficult as I thought! Just drag the tines of a fork along the top of the block while it's still in the packages. Carefully shake off the crumbles into a bowl, and you've saved a ton of money and probably have feta for next time (it keeps well in the fridge for quite a while)! I recommend using about 3/4 of a cup for this recipe, but this part has a lot to do with personal taste.
• Spinach: I recommend fresh, however frozen works just as well, as long as you let it thaw, and then squeeze out most of the water using a (strong) paper towel. I like a lot of spinach, and use about a 2 cups of fresh spinach or one cup frozen.
• Salt and Pepper
• Be creative! Dry mustard is often put into meatloaf, so that might be an option. For you creative cooks: Look in your cabinet and post what your favorite "secret" ingredient is here!

HOW TO MAKE IT

Combine everything except the spinach, pine nuts, and feta into a bowl. Mix well; this is best done by kneading the mixture with clean hands until it is somewhat uniform. Gently fold in the pine nuts and spinach until they're pretty evenly dispersed throughout the loaf. Mold the mixture into a rough loaf shape, and then flatten it out, keeping it at about the same length. Sprinkle the feta cheese over the flattened loaf, and then roll the meatloaf so that the feta ends up in the center (see pictures).




It doesn't need to be perfect! Reform the loaf, place on a baking sheet and cook at 350–375 ºF for about 1-1.25 hours.

*Note: If you split this into two mini-loaves, you can cut your cook time down to about 45 min.

This dish is ideal for dinner parties. Although it involves a bit of prep, this can all be done beforehand, and by the time your guests arrive you can have the dish in the oven and the kitchen tided, leaving plenty of time for you to enjoy pre-dinner cocktails with your guests!



Recommended sides: Baked sweet potato, jasmine rice, brown and wild rice mix (available in Central Market's bulk foods section), sugar snap peas (store brand frozen are delicious and easy, but don't cook for nearly as long as the package says)