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Every year, Americans throw away between 10 and 15 million Christmas trees.🌲Many, if not most, of these trees end up in landfills where they slowly rot over years, releasing methane, a greenhouse gas that's 25% more potent than carbon dioxide at speeding climate change. 🗑️🔥🌎Not so merry...ðŸ˜
If you celebrate Christmas, I've got three more sustainable and plastic-free options for your consideration below.
My friend Molly has been hosting semi-regular potlucks at her house. These communal meals are fun and warm and fill me with a much-needed sense of community and connection in these troubling times.
I made this dish a couple of weeks ago to bring to a dinner at her house as I figured that a tasty vegan main is always welcome.
It's adapted from Nisha Vora's I Can't Believe It's Not Chicken recipe in the New York Times. I've amped up the aromatics in the tofu and increased the amount of and flavorings in the sauce because the grated tofu has a ton of surface area and it really soaks the sauce up, making it even yummier.
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I suggest serving this over coconut rice with stir-fried chinese broccoli (gai lan) or simple roasted broccoli. As my now-grown niece, Lila used to say, it's nummy!
Maybe you'd like to try hosting a potluck at your house this fall or find a group of friends to take turns hosting meals with? Let me know how this dish turns out for you.
Stir-Fried Grated Tofu with Yummy Sauce
Recipe is adapted slightly from Nisha Vora's recipe in The New York Times
Ingredients
For the tofu
* 1 package super firm tofu, drained
* 1.5 Tbsps neutral oil (grapeseed, peanut, olive, etc.,)
* 1 jalapeño pepper*, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
* 4 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped
* A knob of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
* 4 scallions, chopped, white parts (reserve the green tops, chopped for garnish)
* Feel free to use more peppers if you like things spicy; you can also use 1-2 Thai birds eye chilis instead of jalapeños if they're available in your neck of the woods.
For the sauce:
* 5 Tbsps soy sauce or tamari
* 2 Tbsps chinese black vinegar
* 2 Tbsps oyster sauce
* 1 Tbsp maple syrup or agave
* 1 Tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) or sub 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
* 2 Tbsps toasted sesame oil
* 2 tsps cornstarch
For the garnish
* 1Tbsp roasted sesame seeds
* Chopped scallion greens
Directions
1. Grate the tofu using the large holes on a box grater, if any pieces break off, just chop them up with a knife
2. In a large cast iron or stainless steel skillet, heat the olive over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic chilis, ginger and scallion whites and cook, stirring frequently until the scallios are softened and the garlic is golden.
3. Add the grated tofu to the pan and stir to coat in the oil, and leave it undisturbed for 2 minutes, then stir. Repeat, stirring every 2 minutes, until the tofu is golden brown in some spots, for about 10-12 minutes.
4. Make the sauce by mixing all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, stirring well with a fork to blend the cornstarch in.
5. Once the tofu is golden brown in spots, add the sauce to the pan and stir well to coat all the tofu with it. Let it bubble a bit and cook until the sauce thickens slightly. The tofus should absorb most of the sauce.
6. Turn off the heat and remove the pan. Top with the sesame seeds and scallion greens and serve.
This is a riff on the wonderful salad my friend Kali makes that's always a hit at her summer dinners. If you're new to the concept of esquites, think of it as a big beautiful bowlful of elote, the tasty Mexican grilled corn you see for sale on the street.
I'm always in a rush so I've updated Kali's recipe (which was inspired by the esquites served at Colonia Verde in Fort Green, Brooklyn) to simplify it and shift the flavor profile a wee bit and it's now quicker and easier to prepare without losing any flavor.
I apologize for the photos - I was in a rush and had to use my phone. Photo quality aside, this salad is hands-down one of the best ways to celebrate sweet corn season.
Grilling both the corn and the jalapeno peppers (YES, GRILL THE PEPPERS, TOO!) imparts a fantastic smokiness to the dish's addictive combination of flavors and textures - sweet, crunchy, creamy, zingy, herby, smokey, and salty. Folks always come back for seconds and, sometimes, even thirds.
The amounts below are for a double batch that serves eight people because it tends to be very popular and I know from personal experience that if don't make enough to have leftovers the next day, you will be sad. Feel free to cut the amounts in half if you're entertaining fewer folks, though.
A few notes before you get started:
¡Que aproveche la ensalada! (I hope you enjoy it.)
-Eve
Every year, Americans throw away between 10 and 15 million Christmas trees.🌲Many, if not most, of these trees end up in landfills where they slowly rot over years, releasing methane, a greenhouse gas that's 25% more potent than carbon dioxide at speeding climate change. 🗑️🔥🌎Not so merry...ðŸ˜
If you celebrate Christmas, I've got three more sustainable and plastic-free options for your consideration below.
My friend Molly has been hosting semi-regular potlucks at her house. These communal meals are fun and warm and fill me with a much-needed sense of community and connection in these troubling times.
I made this dish a couple of weeks ago to bring to a dinner at her house as I figured that a tasty vegan main is always welcome.
It's adapted from Nisha Vora's I Can't Believe It's Not Chicken recipe in the New York Times. I've amped up the aromatics in the tofu and increased the amount of and flavorings in the sauce because the grated tofu has a ton of surface area and it really soaks the sauce up, making it even yummier.
I suggest serving this over coconut rice with stir-fried chinese broccoli (gai lan) or simple roasted broccoli. As my now-grown niece, Lila used to say, it's nummy!
Maybe you'd like to try hosting a potluck at your house this fall or find a group of friends to take turns hosting meals with? Let me know how this dish turns out for you.
Stir-Fried Grated Tofu with Yummy Sauce
Recipe is adapted slightly from Nisha Vora's recipe in The New York Times
Ingredients
For the tofu
* 1 package super firm tofu, drained
* 1.5 Tbsps neutral oil (grapeseed, peanut, olive, etc.,)
* 1 jalapeño pepper*, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
* 4 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped
* A knob of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
* 4 scallions, chopped, white parts (reserve the green tops, chopped for garnish)
* Feel free to use more peppers if you like things spicy; you can also use 1-2 Thai birds eye chilis instead of jalapeños if they're available in your neck of the woods.
For the sauce:
* 5 Tbsps soy sauce or tamari
* 2 Tbsps chinese black vinegar
* 2 Tbsps oyster sauce
* 1 Tbsp maple syrup or agave
* 1 Tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) or sub 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
* 2 Tbsps toasted sesame oil
* 2 tsps cornstarch
For the garnish
* 1Tbsp roasted sesame seeds
* Chopped scallion greens
Directions
1. Grate the tofu using the large holes on a box grater, if any pieces break off, just chop them up with a knife
2. In a large cast iron or stainless steel skillet, heat the olive over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic chilis, ginger and scallion whites and cook, stirring frequently until the scallios are softened and the garlic is golden.
3. Add the grated tofu to the pan and stir to coat in the oil, and leave it undisturbed for 2 minutes, then stir. Repeat, stirring every 2 minutes, until the tofu is golden brown in some spots, for about 10-12 minutes.
4. Make the sauce by mixing all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, stirring well with a fork to blend the cornstarch in.
5. Once the tofu is golden brown in spots, add the sauce to the pan and stir well to coat all the tofu with it. Let it bubble a bit and cook until the sauce thickens slightly. The tofus should absorb most of the sauce.
6. Turn off the heat and remove the pan. Top with the sesame seeds and scallion greens and serve.
This is a riff on the wonderful salad my friend Kali makes that's always a hit at her summer dinners. If you're new to the concept of esquites, think of it as a big beautiful bowlful of elote, the tasty Mexican grilled corn you see for sale on the street.
I'm always in a rush so I've updated Kali's recipe (which was inspired by the esquites served at Colonia Verde in Fort Green, Brooklyn) to simplify it and shift the flavor profile a wee bit and it's now quicker and easier to prepare without losing any flavor.
I apologize for the photos - I was in a rush and had to use my phone. Photo quality aside, this salad is hands-down one of the best ways to celebrate sweet corn season.
Grilling both the corn and the jalapeno peppers (YES, GRILL THE PEPPERS, TOO!) imparts a fantastic smokiness to the dish's addictive combination of flavors and textures - sweet, crunchy, creamy, zingy, herby, smokey, and salty. Folks always come back for seconds and, sometimes, even thirds.
The amounts below are for a double batch that serves eight people because it tends to be very popular and I know from personal experience that if don't make enough to have leftovers the next day, you will be sad. Feel free to cut the amounts in half if you're entertaining fewer folks, though.
A few notes before you get started:
¡Que aproveche la ensalada! (I hope you enjoy it.)
-Eve
