blueberry coffeecake with flax seed

On the box of the Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking and Pancake Mix I found a relatively simple recipe for blueberry coffeecake. We were actually on our way to a friend's house for a weekend and there would be several little rugrats roaming the halls. (And by roaming, I mean running.) I figured that a blueberry coffeecake could supplement pretty much any breakfast. I had everything necessary to make the cake in my fridge and pantry, minus the buttermilk.

Blueberry Coffee Cake with Flax Seed

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons oil

2 1/2 cups TJ's multigrain baking mix (but any baking mix will work)

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Whisk together egg, buttermilk and oil, add baking mix and sugar. Fold in blueberries. Spreak batter into an 8x8x2 pan coated with cooking spray and sprinkle flax seeds on top. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees.

I believe this recipe to be relatively healthy, especially after I sprinkled flax seed on top. It seriously took me about 10 minutes to prepare. I'm going to get some more fresh blueberries and make another loaf this week.

Tofu Steaks

My relationship with tofu is fickle at best. I've compared the taste to styrofoam and twigs. I've suggested that I'd rather eat paper or a dirty shoe. And I've dismissed it's appearance with a "gross" on pretty much any restaurant menu.

Here's the problem. The Mister and the Bebe heart the tofu. And why shouldn't they? I mean, I loath it. So it's only natural that they both love it. I have had it prepared properly. La Na Thai (French Thai Restaurant) in Media, PA on State Street makes an amazing tofu. They must inject it with delicious or marinate it in succulent for days, because it's flavor is nothing short of fantastic.

Tofu is high in protein, iron, calcium, magnesium and low in calories. I'm losing this fight, so rather than hate on the tofu I've decided to dominate it.

Here was my train of thought...what do I love? Meat and potatoes. Why not prepare the tofu like the meat? Over the past few months, the Mister has taken it upon himself to make me various cuts of meat. I've become familiar with different sauces and marinades.

TOFU STEAK

Ingredients

1 block of tofu (firm or extra firm)

1/2 cup Worchestire sauce

2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

1 teaspoon chili powder

McCormick steak seasoning

1/2 large onion chopped

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

Marinade: combine Worchestire sauce, spicy brown mustard, chili powder.

Cut the tofu block into six blocks. Make sure they are thick and even, otherwise they are going to fall apart in the frying pan. Place the tofu in a deep baking pan and cover with the marinade, make sure everything coated and covered. The longer you marinate the tofu, the better it will taste. I recommend a minimum of 3-4 hours so it can really absorb the flavor.

Fry the onions and garlic in olive oil, add the mushrooms. Sprinkle the tofu with the steak seasoning. Place the tofu steaks in the pan with all the marinade (ta-da, there's the sauce!). You can fry 2-3 steaks at a time depending on the size of the pan. Make sure you put the mushroom/onion mixture on top of the tofu while you fry them so the sauce doesn't over cook. I fried them on medium for probably 15-20 minutes until the outside was browned.

Serve with the sauce on top.

And not to toot my own horn...but "toot-toot!" The Mister's eyes just about popped out of his head when I handed him the plate with the tofu and the mushroom/onion sauce on top. The presentation was quite impressive. I even made a side of mashed potatoes (straight out of the box, thank you very much) mixed with some wasabi sauce.

I really think these would be AWESOME on the grill. You'd have to make the sauce separately then grill the tofu, but that might be the way to go next time.

indian veggie pancakes

She is crude, she is rude, she is a mess. If she doesn't like it, she throws it, spits it and yells. She is the Beast. The Beast is presenting me with a variety of challenges these days. In addition to making something that the Mister likes, I also need to take the Beast's meals into consideration. All her counter parts have a mouthful of teeth and she has two, it presents additional obstacles. Such as chewing. I must say, that she gums the hell out of her food when she likes it.

Anyway, I digress. Really, I want something healthy and tasty for the kid and if the Mister can eat it, then I can hit the bottle earlier rather than later. (Things burn when I drink and cook.)

I raided TJ's yesterday. I came back with the Multigrain Baking and Pancake Mix, among other items. Multigrain always sounds as if it tastes like dirt. Not the case this time. I wanted to make some veggie pancakes with Indian spices. My mother-in-law makes something similar called Appom, which is very tasty, but I'm looking for something a bit healthier (Appom involves coconut milk.)

Basically what I did was shred a bunch of vegetables and add some flax seed and spices to the basic pancake recipe.

Indian Vegetable Pancakes

1 cup pancake mix

1 cup milk

2 eggs

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup shredded zucchini, carrots (TJ's has them ready-shredded) and peas

1 tablespoon flax seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon chili powder (tweak to your tastes)

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon cumin powder

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Spray frying pan, spoon mixture onto griddle and cook as you would a pancake.

We ate the pancake with what I thought was the best tasting yoghurt I'd ever had. It was actually sour cream. (Tee-hee) I'd suggest yoghurt for a healthy alternative. I really think you could put a lot of different veggies in the batter...corn and spinach might be good.

After spitting it out twice, the Beast finally chewed and once she tasted it, she ate the entire pancake. The Mister ate the other two.

Beast is satisfied.

domesmita lives!

Domesmita has spend the last six months in a deep coma. During this coma her family has eaten atrocities such as Kraft Mac N' Cheese, frozen pizza and grill cheese. Plain. Grill cheese.

For shame.

But there was a miracle this morning and she awoke. (I chose not to smother her with a pillow.) The first thing she did was run to Trader Joe's and fill the cart with fresh and healthy foods.

Her resolve was renewed.

Will she cook consistently? Probably not. (Especially since there are talks of a part-time job.)

Is the quality of her food going to improve? Maybe.

Domesmita wants healthier, quicker and fresher food. More vegetarian, less cheese (Ok, fine. Same cheese, but more masked vegetables.) and Indian recipes will dominate. The Beast loves Indian. (The Bebe may not-so-occasionally be referred to as Beast from here on out. The Mister will still be referred to as the Mister.)

Next time: Indian pancakes.