HomeY Treats

Tofu-rific dishes is my term for terrific tofu dishes. My family even my boyfriend loves tofu. Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. It is low in calories, contains beneficial amounts of iron and has no saturated fat or cholesterol. It may also high in calcium and magnesium depending on the coagulant used in manufacturing. Below are two recipes of tofu that you could try at home.

TIP: Try to use tofu as soon as possible or if you need to store it, make sure it is put in a covered container with water to keep it moist.

Tofu and Shiitake Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 stalks leeks, cut into 1-inch slices
10 pcs fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced (you can use dried shiitake but
soak them first in water until soft. You can also use canned shiitake if you wish)
1/4 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 pack Japanese tofu, drained and cubed
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a pan, heat oil and saute garlic and ginger.
2. Add the leeks, shiitake mushrooms and carrots.
3. Carefully add in the cubed tofu and oyster sauce. Simmer for a few minutes.
4. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water then add to the pan. Cook until sauce thickens slightly.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Japanese Tofu Steak


Ingredients:

8 pcs. Japanese tofu cubes
cornstarch for dredging
oil for deep-frying
20 grams shiitake mushrooms
10 grams button mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter
1/8 cup yakinuki sauce

For the yakinuki sauce:
2 tbsp. sesame seed
2 pcs. bell peppers, quartered
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. rice vinegar

Direction:

1. Coat tofu with cornstarch. Deep-fry in hot oil until light golden, and set aside.
2. Saute tofu with the mushrooms in butter. Transfer to serving platter. Pour yakinuki sauce over the mixture.
3. To make the yakinuki sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Lat boil, then lower heat and simmer for a few minutes.

I love desserts with fruits and Blueberry Cheesecake is one of those delicious desserts. But it would be a problem if you want to make one but don't have an oven to bake on. Since I have this same problem, I searched for a recipe that will solve my problem and craving. I found one and tried doing the recipe and it's really good. Actually, not just good, it's the best. I want to share this recipe with you...maybe you'll like it too.Enjoy!



Crust:

-1 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
-2 tbsp unsalted butter
-1/2 cup brown sugar

Filling:

-2 (8 oz) pack cream cheese, softened
-1/3 cup sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-2 cups cool whip topping, thawed (whipped cream will also do)
-1 jar of blueberry preserves (use as much as u prefer as topping)
-1 tsp unflavored colorless gelatin
-3 tbsp water

How to make No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

1.Combine all the crust ingredients with a fork until well blended. Press in a 9 inch pie pan. Chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

2.Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer. Add in vanilla extract.

3.Dissolve the gelatin in the water and add in the cream cheese mixture. Beat until well blended and cream cheese fluffy.

4.Add in the cool whip and fold gently.

5.Spoon over crust and let chill in the fridge for about 3 hours or until set. Top with some blueberry preserves or fresh ones which ever you prefer. Can do your favorite fruit topping too.

Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. Learning how to taste wines is a good adventure that will make you appreciate the wine you are tasting and the wine maker. It starts with having good senses --- looking, smelling and tasting. From this basic senses, it will expand to senses of a pro in no time. Keep in mind that wine tasting is a combination of smell and taste that allows you to distinguish flavor.

Here's How:

1. Look at the wine, especially around the edges. Tilting the glass a bit can make it easier to see the way the color changes from the center to the edges. Holding the glass in front of a white background, such as a napkin, tablecloth, or sheet of paper, is another good way to make out the wine's true color. Look for the color of the wine and the clarity. Intensity, depth or saturation of color are not necessarily linear with quality. White wines become darker as they age while time causes red wines to lose their color turning more brownish, often with a small amount of harmless, dark red sediment in the bottom of the bottle or glass. This is also a good time to catch a preliminary sniff of the wine so you can compare its fragrance after swirling. This will also allow you to check for any off odors that might indicate spoiled (corked) wine.

2. Swirl the wine in your glass. This is to increase the surface area of the wine by spreading it over the inside of the glass allowing them to escape from solution and reach your nose. It also allows some oxygen into the wine, which will help its aromas open up.

3. Note the wine's viscosity - how slowly it runs back down the side of the glass - while you're swirling. More viscous wines are said to have "legs," and are likely to be more alcoholic. Outside of looking pretty, this has no relation to a wine's quality.

4. Sniff the wine. Initially you should hold the glass a few inches from your nose. Then let your nose go into the glass. What do you smell?

5. Take a sip of wine, but do not swallow yet. Roll the wine around in your mouth exposing it to all of your taste buds. You will only be able to detect sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (think: meaty or savory). Pay attention to the texture and other tactile sensations such as an apparent sense of weight or body.

6. Aspirate through the wine: With your lips pursed as if you were to whistle, draw some air into your mouth and exhale through your nose. This liberates the aromas for the wine and allows them to reach your nose where they can be detected. The nose is the only place where you can detect a wine's aromas. However, the enzymes and other compounds in your mouth and saliva alter some of a wine's aromatic compounds. By aspirating through the wine, you are looking for any new aromas liberated by the wine's interaction with the environment of your mouth.

7. Take another sip of the wine, but this time (especially if you are drinking a red wine) introduce air with it. In other words, slurp the wine (without making a loud slurping noise, of course). Note the subtle differences in flavor and texture.

8. Note the aftertaste when you swallow. How long does the finish last? Do you like the taste?

9. Write down what you experienced. You can use whatever terminology you feel comfortable with. The most important thing to write down is your impression of the wine and how much you liked it. Many wineries provide booklets and pens so that you can take your own tasting notes. This will force you to pay attention to the subtleties of the wine. Also, you will have a record of what the wine tastes like so that you can pair it with meals or with your mood.

* Wines have four basic components: taste, tannins, alcohol and acidity. Some wines also have sweetness - but the latter is only appropriate in dessert wines. A good wine will have a good balance of all four characteristics. Aging will soften tannins (see Tips for a more detailed description). Acidity will soften throughout the life of a wine as it undergoes chemical changes which include the break down of acids. Fruit will rise and then fall throughout the life of a wine. Alcohol will stay the same. All of these factors contribute to knowing when to drink/decant a wine.
* Here are some commonly found tastes for each of the most common varieties (bear in mind that growing region, harvesting decisions and other production decisions have a great impact on a wine's flavor character):

o Cabernet - black currant, cherry other, black fruits, green spices
o Merlot - plum, red and black fruits, green spices, floral
o Zinfandel - black fruits (often jammy), black spices - often called "briary"
o Syrah (aka Shiraz, depending on vineyard location) - black fruits, black spices - especially white and black pepper
o Pinot Noir - red fruits, floral, herbs
o Chardonnay - cool climate: tropical fruit, citrus fruit in slightly warmer climes and melon in warm regions. With increasing proportion of malolactic fermentation, Chardonnay loses green apple and takes on creamy notes, Apple, pear, peach, apricot
o Sauvignon Blanc - Grapefruit, white gooseberry, lime, melon
* Malolactic fermentation (the natural or artificial introduction of a specific bacteria) will cause white wines to taste creamy or buttery
* Aging in oak will cause wines to take on a vanilla or nutty flavor.
* Other common taste descriptors are minerality, earthiness and asparagus.

10. Match the glassware to the wine. Stemware/drinkware comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The more experienced wine drinkers and connoisseurs often enjoy wines out of stemware or bulbs that are tailor-made for a specific varietal. When starting out, there is a basic rule of thumb; larger glasses for reds, and smaller glasses for whites. Austrian glassware company Riedel is the gold standard of drinkware when it comes to wine, but for the beginner, less expensive stemware will do.

11. Try pairing wines with unusual ingredients and note the how it enhances or diminishes the flavors of the wine. With red wines try different cheeses, good quality chocolate and berries. With white wines you can try apples, pears and citrus fruits. Pairing wine with food is more complicated than "red with beef and white with fish." Feel free to drink whichever wine you want with whatever food you want, but remember a perfect pairing is a highly enjoyable experience.

12. Ultimately, a wine should complement the food and cleanse the palate. So big, jammy, sweet wines will not do as well as ones with a more composed bouquet or aromas and high acidity.


Steps are adapted from http://www.wikihow.com/