Crunchy Marinated Mexican Tofu and Corn Fritters

Here's how this meal evolved -- we had friends over for dinner Saturday night and at the end of dinner, I had 3 cooked ears of corn on the cob that no one ate. I rarely actually eat leftover corn on the cob unless I cook it into something else, but what? Not enough for soup, wasn't really in the mood for salad... then genius struck. CORN FRITTERS!! My mom used to make corn fritters when I was a kid out of a can of corn niblets and flour and eggs and things, and we loved them. I set out to find a vegan corn fritter recipe and found a bunch, but some just had too many ingredients, and a lot called for a bunch of other veggies, and I JUST wanted corn fritters.. so after reading a bunch of recipes from various sources to get an idea of what goes in 'em, I made one up. It turned out FANTASTIC!

... of course you can't just eat corn fritters for dinner. (ok ok, you can, but you SHOULDN'T because they aren't a balanced meal) I thought maybe tofu of some sort would go well, and decided to make up some sort of Mexican-ish marinade for the tofu, and then bread it and bake it. It also turned out absolutely delicious. I thickened the leftover marinade into a sauce that I drizzled over the top (and dipped my fritters in). I served sauteed broccoli and carrots on the side, and it was a complete, and completely yummy dinner.


Crunchy Marinated Mexican Tofu
1 cup vegetable broth
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp liquid smoke
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, diced
1 lbs tofu, drained and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornstarch

1. In a small bowl whisk together everything but the tofu, bread crumbs, salt and cornstarch. Place the tofu slices in a lidded container, pour the marinade over it, and refridgerate overnight (or until you become impatient and want to cook your damn tofu already).

2. Oh hey tomorrow! How's it going? Preheat the oven to 425. Remove the tofu from the fridge, and pour the marinade off of it into a small pot. Set aside.

3. Mix together the panko and salt on a plate. Retrieve a baking sheet and either spray with nonstick spray, or use a silpat sheet. Press each piece of wet tofu in the bread crumbs, flip, press the other side in (you're trying to stick the breadcrumbs to the tofu) and place on baking sheet. Once they're all ready to go, lightly spray each piece with oil (helps it brown and crisp!). Bake for about 45 minutes, or until firm, golden brown, and crispy.

4. Meanwhile, during the last 15 minutes of cooking, bring the remaining marinade to a boil. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with just enough water to dissolve it, then whisk it into the boiling marinade. Simmer for about 5 minutes, whisking often, until the sauce gets a ketchup-like consistency.

5. Apply sauce to tofu. Eat.


Corn Fritters
3 ears of corn, de-eared (about 1 1/2 cups of corn niblets if you're going frozen or canned)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 1/4 cup rice milk
Oil for frying

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

2. Add the rice milk and whisk until the big lumps are gone.

3. Fold in the corn. Allow the batter to sit for at least 5 minutes before frying.

4. To fry, in a cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan (about 1 cm of oil). It's ready when it looks "wavy," or if you put the bottom of a wooden spoon into the oil it bubbles around the wood. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter per fritter and pour into the pan, spreading it a little as you pour. Cook until the edges look bubbly and brown, then flip, and cook until that side is golden brown. Drain on paper towels or bags, and sprinkle with salt immediately after removing from the oil.

Burritochiladas

Sometimes I invent recipes based on "things that have been in my pantry a while and I want to get rid of" and "ingredients in the supermarket that are cheap and healthy." Sometimes these recipes fail, but other times they're delicious. Fortunately, this one fit into the latter category.

Burritochiladas are a combination burrito-and-enchilada. They're tortillas filled with rice and beans, burrito style, then covered in tomato and cheeze sauce and baked, enchilada style. This did turn out being rather "step intensive" to prepare all the different stuff, and in the end I had WAAAY too much filling so I'm going to write this out using half as much rice as I used which should solve that problem.

Now these are a mild Mexican flavored food because you're probably aware of my onion and spicy things issue by now.. but one could definitely kick it up by sauteeing a diced onion and some jalapenos (or hot peppers of your liking) and adding them in with the other veggies.


Burritochiladas
8 whole wheat tortillas (NOT the huge burrito/wrap sized ones!)
1 can vegetarian refried beans
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1 1/4 cup instant brown rice
1 bell pepper, color of your choosing, diced
1 1/2 cups frozen corn niblets
6 cups chopped kale
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground paprika
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 clove garlic, pressed or grated
water
[URL="http://megatarian.blogspot.com/2008/10/vegnews-mac-cheese.html"]1/2 recipe of Cheeze sauce from Veg News Mac & Cheeze recipe[/URL] (optional -- you could get away with some grated vegan cheddar, or nothing at all)

1. For the rice -- prepare according to liquid:rice ratio on the box, substituting 1/2 of the water with tomato sauce. Add 1/2 tsp each onion powder, cumin powder, paprika and oregano to the cooking liquid.

2. Meanwhile... sautee the bell pepper and the kale in the olive oil until the kale is wilted. Add the frozen corn and cook until the corn is defrosted. If you find the veggies sticking to the pan, add a little water to sautee in. Stir the veggies into the rice when the rice is finished cooking.

3. Add the garlic and the rest of the spices to the tomato sauce.

4. Now start assembly. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 inch baking dish. Take a tortilla and spread it with refried beans. Add a few heaping scoops of the rice mixture, and roll it up. Place the tortilla seam side down in the bottom of the baking dish, and repeat with the other 7. You should end up with 2 rows of 4 burritochiladas.

5. Top the tortilla rolls with the rest of the tomato sauce. Top that with the cheeze sauce. Bake uncovered at 375 for about 30 minutes until the sauce is bubbly.

Mexican Lasagna and Collard Greens

August has been 'AHHHH!' so I haven't been taking as many pictures or recording as much food as I usually do. I fear it isn't going to improve much with this semester of craziness ahead, but I'll do what I can.

Tonights dinner was Mexican Lasagna and Collard Greens. This was born partially of Things I Had In My Pantry. I've been trying to use pantry things instead of buying new things lately because I have a feeling a lot of that stuff needs some rotating. This dinner was step-intensive, but yummy. I made two small lasagnas, one for the boy, and one for me, mine with tomatoes, his with onions, though I'm going to list the ingredients for the whole shebang and you can, of course, leave out the onions or tomatoes if desired! I made them in small springform pans, but you could use any pan you like, you'd just have to use more tortillas on each layer! The collard greens are mostly an approximation. They were a little bitter so I let them cook longer than I normally would.

It's not so pretty, really.

Mexican Lasagna
1 package corn tortillas
1 can vegetarian refried beans
1 box Spanish rice mix
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 ears corn cut off the cob (or about a cup of frozen/canned)
1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh parlsey
8 oz cheddar style non-dairy cheeze, grated

1. Prepare the rice according to package directions.

2. While the rice is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and bell pepper and sautee on medium for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add the corn and sautee a minute or two more until its a little bright.

3. When the rice is done, fold in the veggies, tomatoes, and parsley.

4. Spray whatever pan you're using with non-stick cooking spray. Spread refried beans on one side of a tortilla and place in the bottom of the pan, bean side up. Layer with 1/3 of the rice and a bit of cheeze. Repeat twice more, then top with a final tortilla spread with beans and sprinkle with a little extra cheese.

5. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheeze is melty and the entire thing is heated through -- about 15-20 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes before you cut into it!

Collard Greens
1 bunch collard greens, tough stems removed
1 15oz can diced/crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dry oregano
10 drops liquid smoke
salt and pepper to taste.

1. In a skillet large enough to fit all the collards, heat the oil. Add the garlic, collards, tomatoes and spices and cover.

2. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until collards are softened as much as you like. Add salt and pepper to taste.

** This would probably also be good with onion if you can eat that sort of thing, or with a can of diced tomatoes with chilies, if that's your thing. Or heck, some cayenne or something. Or y'know, we liked it pretty good just like this, and it really rounded out the meal!

Still in its little pan