An Alfredo Recipe, No Cream Please

SparkPeople sent along a recipe a few weeks ago and I’ve been dying to try it.  The original name was “Tofu Fettuccini Alfredo Recipe“.  I have changed it to “Tofu “Alfredo” over Vegetables”.  The result was very good. A lot of flavor and it paired well with the vegetables.  If you eat pasta, definitely try this over your favorite homemade or store bought pasta.

Have you ever wondered about that name “Fettuccini Alfredo”?  What does it mean?  Well here’s one version at cookthink. In summary, it was created by a Roman restauranteur for his pregnant wife back in 1920.  It’s name is really, fettucine al burro.  Interesting.

Tofu “Alfredo” over Vegetables

• 2 cups Broccoli Florets (or vegetables of choice)
• 12 oz soft tofu, drained
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup parmesan, asiago cheese grated and mixed
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 2 TBS chopped sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
• 1 large basil leaf, minced
• salt and red pepper to taste*
• *If you do not want the spice of red pepper, use black or white pepper. White pepper won’t show up in your nice, creamy sauce.

Steam the vegetables to your liking.

Place tofu and cheese in blender and puree until smooth. 

Saute onions and peppers about 10 minutes on medium in olive oil.  Add garlic, tomatoes and basil, saute 1 minute.   Add the tofu/cheese mix and warm over medium, stirring occasionally.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4. Enjoy.

Now go to the GIVE AWAY, leave me a comment and if all goes well for you, I’ll send some Bob’s Red Mill Products your way.  Have a great night!

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

CEimB: Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth

This weeks recipe for CEimB was picked by Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen.  If you visit her blog, don’t go there hungry. Her posts will make you drool. 

As indicated in the post title, we all made this recipe using a delicious fish, Halibut.  It is mild in taste, flaky, yet firm and moist when cooked correctly.  It is also on my list of fish that should only be eaten 6 or less times a month due to their “moderate” mercury content.  Halibut is an expensive fish so I can’t imagine indulging too often anyway.  An interesting fact about this fish is that it is on a “sustainability” list and almost all the Halibut we purchase on the East coast is brought in from the Pacific. 

Ted and Teddy's version with brown rice

This recipe can be found on page 232 of “The Food You Crave” by Ellie Krieger.  You can also get it off the foodnetwork.   Our opinion of this recipe, and we had 3 taste testers, Ted, Teddy, and yours truly were very much the same:  the fish was moist and delicious but the flavor was lacking. I must have missed something because this is my sister’s comment “Here’s the halibut dinner for this week, we loved it.  Sue”  Her photo is at the end of the blog.

Super moist

My recommendation if doing this again is at the bottom of this post.  But…here’s my story.

First, let me introduce you to my “gadget” of the night. I found this at the back of my cupboard when making the Spring Rolls the other day. It’s amazing what I can find in the back of my cupboards. It’s similar to finding that $50.00 bill you hide in your wallet “just in case”…you know..the one you put there about 10 years ago?!?  This gadget, actually it’s a tool rather than a gadget, comes with a wooden cutting board that has an indented surface. You put the herb in the middle and simply rock the super sharp blades back and forth. Easy chopping.

Ingredient changes…. I didn’t use canola oil, I used olive oil. I didn’t have the shallot so I used 1/2 an onion. No cilantro, only fresh flat leaf parsley. 

Time changes.  The only time difference was with the fish. The Halibut were 2 very large fillets and I had to let them cook 12 minutes.

My fish tales….When in South Carolina last week, I went to my favorite fresh fish store, Murrell’s Inlet Seafood. I was told it was no problem shipping to NY and the fish would certainly keep for months since it was fresh and NOT previously frozen.  Apparently you can freeze fish and defrost ONLY ONE TIME. Do not freeze, defrost and refreeze.  No good. So in this event, I believed the fish person and was going to order a whooping 4 lbs of Halibut. But the guy on the phone pooh-poohed me and was ready to hang up saying “it’ll cost more to ship”.  I could tell by the tone of his voice he thought “silly woman. wasting my time”.  Since his tone kind of annoyed me (not the word I would like to use but to be courteous…) I ordered several pounds of different fish, 4 lbs of which were Halibut.  It arrived today and was packaged perfectly. I used 2 fillets for our dinner, Susan wanted one, so I am left will one fillet of Halibut along with the rest of the “catch” tucked away in my freezer. 

Why I was not thrilled with this recipe… First, I didn’t enjoy the spinach. It needed “something”.  Next time, I would saute the spinach with a little garlic, salt and pepper. But I was curious how such a simple method, using the microwave to cook spinach would prove out.  Second, the sauce didn’t have that sweetness I so enjoy with my curry. Typically, raisins are added to my curry dishes and I REALLY wish I had included them tonight. There wasn’t enough flavor imparted into the fish.  Luckily the natural flavor of the fish carried this dish home.

Joanne's dish - no rice

Thanks to Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen for picking this recipe because it gave us a chance to enjoy a lovely piece of Halibut and also, now I have 20 lbs of fish in my freezer that I can’t wait to use.  Was I a sucker or what?!

 

Sue's Version of this weeks CEimB

Reminder:  Check out the Give Away for some Bob’s Red Mill GF Products.

Read Full Post »