Tofu...Who Knew?

I'm the first person to admit having a fear, and perhaps even a suspicion, about tofu. In defense of tofu, it is a low cost, low fat and high protein staple. In the interest of culinary research, I bought a 16 0z. package from Claudia's Natural Food Market (3344 Secor Road - Toledo, OH).


After spending a few minutes in the parking lot googling "tofu" I found a seemingly innocuous recipe:


Tofu Stir Fry with Broccoli and Carrots
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. dry sherry
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 tsp chicken seasoning
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup sliced carrots
1 clove garlic
3 cups broccoli florets
6 oz. tofu (cubed, MoriNu Lite)


Stir fry carrots and garlic in a small amount of cooking oil for 2 minutes. Add broccoli and continue to stir fry for 3-4 minutes or until the broccoli starts to soften a little. Push the veggies to the side to create a well in the middle of your wok. Add the sauce and stir until the sauce becomes thick and bubbly. Add the tofu and toss all ingredients for an additional minute (to heat the tofu and season the vegetable mix). Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve with a side of cooked rice.

I have absolutely no idea what "chicken seasoning" is. Sounds to me like something that people buy to season the flour before whipping up some fried chicken. Or maybe its something you can sprinkle on a breast before grilling? Regardless, I substituted "Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute". This is always flavorful and does not contain salt. I also prefer to use Lite soy sauce to save a few grams of salt. I drained the tofu of water and cut up the pieces into 1/4 inch thick rectangles. I suppose 1/2 inch cubes would have been good looking, too.

The recipe tastes a little bit too much like the sherry. I think next time I'll cut it back a bit. Otherwise, its a great recipe. Easy to whip up with minimal ingredients and a pleasant flavor.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

A Taste of Thai in T-Town

Bangkok Kitchen
582 Dussel Dr. Maumee, OH
419-897-7777


One of my favorite evenings in Toledo involves a large table at Bangkok Kitchen and an ecclectic group of people sharing dishes, passing hot tea and laughing together.

Our host is a glass artist and metalsmith with an international reputation both for her work and vivacious personality (www.labinostudio.com). Among her friends, she is known for being a great chef and an exceptional hostess. Thai night is always full of surprises...

Last night, she brought the "Stump" family. We toasted their reunion and the coming new year with a chilled bottle of blanc de blancs champagne. I was delighted to recognize one of the Stumps as my favorite, former yoga instructor. I was so sad when she and her family moved out of town. Her husband is an accomplished painter (www.jasonnikel.net) . Her brother, a talented chef based in Jackson Hole. I was in heaven. This is my idea of perfect dining companions. In one conversation I was learning about using coffee grounds as part of a seasoning rub for seared elk...in the next we were talking about the permanent collection at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, NY. I was totally blissed out!

The assorted dishes flew fast and furious around the table. Laab, drunken noodles, curries, spring rolls, more spicy cold salads, steamed fish, roasted duck and more. 15 people, at least a dozen dishes, and it ended up costing $14.00/person with tip. This is just another joy of Thai night.

Get a nice group of friends and head over to Bangkok Kitchen for sensory overload. If your only experience of Thai food is a plate of greasy, tasteless Pad Thai noodles - ask for help. The waitstaff knows the menu well and will be able to help you broaden your horizons with more interesting and authentically Thai flavors...thai basil, lemon grass, cilantro, red chili pepper, and curry.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Oo-La-La, Rugelach!

Happy Chanukah, Toledo!

In honor of the festival of lights and the annual cookie exchange with my book group, I decided to take on a few rugelach recipes. Rugelach literally means “little horn”. The first recipe, comes from Joan Nathan, the best of Jewish cookbook authors. The second comes from Martha Stewart, the woman who provides America with the best of everything.

Rugelach is not as easy to prepare as it is to pronounce. Yes, it rhymes with oo-la-la. The dough is a combination of 8 oz of cream cheese and two sticks of butter with a little bit of flour to hold it together. It is creamy, sinful, and delicious. If it is done right, it melts in your mouth. However, if you’ve ever worked with butter and cream cheese, or tried to make a homemade pie crust, you probably know the challenges associated with this type of dough. If not, suffice it to say that butter and cheese melt easily and render the combination a sticky goo.

After whipping up each of the doughs, I had to refrigerate them. Martha Stewart recommended waiting six hours for the dough to chill. Joan Nathan, clearly the superior chef in this instance, only has to wait an hour. While waiting, I decided to shave my Scharfen Berger chocolate for the chocolate rugelach. At the end of an hour I pulled out the dough and found that it was too warm and too gooey for me to handle. Joan Nathan has probably been making rugelach for 50 years and is willing to ice her hands to create perfect pastry. I am a complete novice and a bit of a wimp. I chose to give the dough 24 hours to chill thoroughly and begged my Mom to let me use her kitchen. She has top of the line appliances and yards of granite counter tops. I needed any advantage I could find for success with this project.

For those of you who are blessed to have granite countertops as a decorative touch to an unused kitchen, I urge you to try out a rugelach recipe or anything involving filo dough to see the benefits for which you paid dearly. Some luxuries are very practical.

Sunday afternoon, I went to my Mom’s kitchen to make the batches. I decided to use the Joan Nathan dough to make the traditional rugelach “little horn” shape. This was more challenging than I expected. While the dough was cool enough for me to handle it easily, rolling it into a perfect circle to cut identically sized wedges was a little more stressful. After the first two batches, I realized that my circles would never be symmetrical. The easiest solution was to cut the circle in half and then use a pizza wheel to cut each wedge with an even 1 ½ inch outer edge. Perfection. Once I made this adjustment, the batches turned out with identically sized cookies. Presentation still counts in the world of cookie baking.

The Martha Stewart recipe worked somewhat differently. I had to roll the pastry into 8” x 12” rectangles, add the filling, and then roll the pastry into a long roll for baking. This was a helluvalot easier than the “little horn” method. I ended up using her apricot jam, dried currant, walnut and cinnamin filling for three of the rolls. I had leftover chocolate from the Joan Nathan recipe and decided to try this shape with chocolate and pecans…just to see if I preferred one dough over the other.

In the end, the Martha Stewart rolls look fabulous…but the Joan Nathan dough tastes much better. For a novice, I would suggest using the Joan Nathan dough and the Martha Stewart fillings.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Sushi in Suburbia

I'm not sure when, or even how, it happened but Sushi has taken a huge turn to the West and gone completely mainstream. In an effort to seduce the Midwestern palate, Japanese sushi chefs have developed a variety of maki rolls to suit even the most sushi-shy of Midwesterners. Cream cheese, artificial crab meat, and even "Tasuda Age" (fried chicken nuggets) are now part of this hybrid cuisine. "McMaki Rolls" must be in product development as I type this.

Restaurant Pacific
7629 Sylvania Avenue
Sylvania, Ohio 43560
419-841-8484

Upon entering Restaurant Pacific, it is clear that the restaurant is designed to appeal to the masses. It features bright yellow walls adorned with flat screen tvs that display looping videos of tropical fish swimming in their natural habitat. The videos are mesmerizing, and I couldn't help but stare at the walls while waiting for my dining companion.

In an effort to sample the menu, we ordered the "House Dinner for Two" ($29.95). This is described as "Our famous boat dinner for two, now served with chef special Sashimi, Sushi Roll, Vegetables Tempura, Lobster Tail, Teriyaki Steak, Seaweed Salad and daily side in boat style dish. In addtion, it also includes miso soup, house salad, Yakisoba and choice of ice cream."

The first dish is the Yakisoba. These are cold soba noodles in a peanut sauce. The sauce is rather salty and somewhat bland. We were both underwhelmed with the first course. The miso soup and house salad are standard Midwestern sushi house fare. I'll never really know how a bibb lettuce salad coated with an orange, ginger, and rice wine vinegar dressing made it to the Midwest sushi house menu, but it is wildly popular in this town. The miso soup is hot and predictably pleasant.

As soon as we finished the starters, the infamous boat dinner for two docked at our table. The boat is beautiful. Each piece is artfully arranged and the presentation is certainly Japanese. One of the unique features of the meal is a boiled lobster tail filled with teriyaki grilled chunks of lobster meat. While I found the meat to be a bit dry and chewy, my dining companion had no trouble finishing the remaining pieces. She was equally pleased with the assortment of tempura vegatables. I managed to find a couple of small pieces of sushi grade tuna in the tip of the boat and promptly devoured them.

Surely there is a place for a Japanese restaurant that serves Americanized dishes. Judging by the crowd that night, and the number of stir fry dishes on the menu, this is what Toledo wants.

If you are looking for "Sushi light" this is a lovely restaurant with a great mix of Americanized Japanese and Chinese dishes. It is probably a good place for family dining as well. The cooked dishes outnumber the sushi dishes about 8:1 so it may be a great place for someone who has never tried Japanese cuisine of any kind.

For now, I will continue my quest to find a sensuous plate of sashimi in Toledo, Ohio (hira giri, please). In the meantime, there's always NYC....

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Any Given Sunday

Another Sunday night and I'm hoping to clean out my fridge of the week's leftovers. Tonight, I'm bringing back the notorious "Sunday Salad". Today's random assortment of produce and seasonings includes:

romaine lettuce
skinned and grilled chicken breasts
black bean corn salsa (Trader's Joe's Fresh Salsa)
shredded sharp cheddar
tomatoes
red pepper chopped avocado
sliced leeks (no green onions available!)
a few tablespoons of Marzetti's Southwest Dressing

chopped cilantro

a few white corn chips (for crunch!)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and toss before serving. Nothing fancy, just a quick easy combination of the leftovers in my kitchen and an easy Sunday dinner is prepared.

Ole!

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Another Reason to Go Organic

You've heard the news: Ecoli found in Spinach is killing people...or, at the very least, giving a few people a bad case of diarrhea.

In the last 24 hours I've witnessed wide spread panic in the food service industry. Last night, I ordered an Italian chop salad and was advised that spinach containing dishes would not be served. It took me about 5 minutes to convince the waitress that the Italian chop contains arugula, radiccio, and romaine lettuce (rather than spinach). This morning, I went to a breakfast meeting and was greeted at the door of a local egg cafe with a sign that read: "In response to the ecoli warning, we will not be serving spinach in this restaurant".

In all honesty, I never really considered spinach to be such a staple of fine dining.

Prior to going to the breakfast meeting, I was pleased to wake up and hear on NPR that Organic Spinach is not likely to be affected by this bacteria. From All Things Considered:

All Things Considered, September 18, 2006 · The California produce company that's been linked to a widening nationwide E. coli outbreak is at odds with the Food and Drug Administration over what's causing the illness. Natural Selection Foods said Monday that its organic spinach has been cleared as the source of outbreak. But government health inspectors disputed the company's claim and said nothing has been ruled out. I recommend tapping the link and learning all about the ins and outs of ecoli and spinach.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6098858

I'm not an alarmist by nature. I happen to have a recycled plastic container filled with triple washed organic spinach in my fridge right now. I also happened to eat a chopped tomato, cucumber, garlic and balsamic vinaigrette salad decorated with a chiffonade of organic spinach with my dinner tonight. 3 hours later and I'm still doing fine.

No hang gliding, high speed motorcycle riding, or repelling necessary to validate my zest for life. I'll just whip up a mushroom, spinach and jarlsberg omelet in the morning. But, just to be safe, I'll wear a helmet and "Go Organic".

NB, Since publishing this article there have been several deaths linked to the ecoli bacteria. I deeply regret making light of this situation and extend an apology to anyone reading this after these deaths occured.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

A Slice of Heaven

On Thursday night, I went to the Ball Park to watch the Mudhens. Munching on peanuts and sipping a beer was not enough to keep me going. After the game, I split a piece of salmon and some crab cakes with a friend. This was still not enough food for me. So a little later, I met up with other pals at a local watering hole and found out about another new secret in Toledo...

Home Slice
28 S St. Clair Street
419-724-PIES
Downtown Delivery is free ($10 minimum order)
Toledo, OH

This is an original, New York style pizzeria. It is furnished with just a few sticky tables and chairs with a clear view of the pizza ovens behind the counter. This is not a place for a romantic date. This is a place to quench a late night appetite and soak up some of the deadly toxins in your tummy. Regardless, it's exactly what I remember from college on the East Coast...a real slice of NY "Za" in a simple pizzeria. In college it was $3 for three slices or $3 for 2 slices and a soda. Yes, "soda" is the term that is still used in the East for what Midwesterners commonly refer to as "pop".

The price has changed but nothing beats a skinny, bubbling pizza crust with hot mozzarella and sweet tomato sauce. A true "slice" is always served on a plain, white Dixie paper plate. The paper pulp soaks up some of the cheese grease. Plastic or china wouldn't work. I always liked to add a dash of garlic powder, a sprinkle of dried basil and a few of the crushed red peppers available in disposable plastic shakers on the counter of "NY ZA" in Hamilton, NY. I didn't see these at Home Slice, but I wasn't looking either. I was too much in awe of the properly shaped slice, its consistency and the wonderful smells around me.

The beauty in a slice of Za is that the crust is thin enough so that you can fold the slice in half to eat it. This serves the purpose of keeping all the cheese grease in one place and preventing the diner from burning his/her mouth on the bubbling cheese. Somehow, the crust manages to cool off just enough between the oven and the service counter to spare the roof of your mouth. Leave the slice open, and you risk spending a week playing with the raw, hanging flesh on the roof of your mouth.

It is still the perfect antidote to an empty stomach and one too many pints of cheap beer. Upstairs is another throw back to my college days, the skinny bar. The space is long and narrow with elbow high tables and plenty of bar stools. It is the ideal setting for not-so-serious beer drinking. We hung out long enough to hear a set of cover tunes from a cute guitar player who was not afraid to use his notes to sing lyrics written before he was born. He added to the charm of the place, really.

I will definitely go back soon in yet another attempt to recapture lost youth with heavy drinking and the joys of a hot slice of fresh Za.

N.B., On the 5th year anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, sharing a little slice of New York within Toledo is a small recognition of the simple pleasures of life that we so often take for granted.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Rhodes Garden Fresh Market

Every once in awhile, I stumble upon a hidden treasure in Toledo. A few weeks ago, it was Rhodes' Garden Fresh Market. In all honesty, it has probably been around since before I was born. But I missed it. The worst part is that I lived within walking distance of this fine produce oasis for almost two years. It is on a busy road, hidden behind a chain link fence and tons of outdoor garden supplies. I always assumed it was a nursery. But, thanks to the Food Momiac...www.foodmomiac.com, I now know better!

The beauty of Rhodes' is the fresh produce and special labels to designate locally grown products. Apparently, government assistance programs for seniors and WIC favor locally grown produce. This is refreshing news. It also affords Rhodes' to have a large selection of these delicacies.

On my first visit, I stuck to the local products and managed to bring home a few pounds of Catawba Island free stone peaches, some healthy looking broccoli, Michigan blueberries, a pint of raspberries, and some vine ripened tomatoes. The peaches and raspberries were transformed into a fresh baked pie. The rest became a part of a very healthy week of menus at my apartment.

Today, I went back to Rhodes' and picked up some leeks, fresh basil, more of the succulent vine ripened tomatoes, and a nice compliment of locally grown berries. Recipes to follow.

Rhodes' Garden Fresh
4171 Monroe Street
Toledo, OH 43606

http://www.flickr.com/photos/glasscitygourmet/233218813/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/glasscitygourmet/233218810/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/glasscitygourmet/233218809/

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

A Semi-Sweet Secret

This secret is probably not going to make the headlines, but I love chocolate. DARK CHOCOLATE. I always have a bag of semi-sweet morsels in my freezer for weekly cravings. A quick handful is usually enough to quench this desire.

Monday night I went shopping for a hostess gift at Churchill's, a locally owned gourmet grocery store on Salisbury Road. While I managed to pick up a lovely bottle of Cote du Rhone, I also decided to check out the chocolate aisle in the name of "blogging research". I found a great selection of baking and eating chocolates. European, South American and eco-friendly brands are available. But I honed in on the Scharffen Berger and managed to walk out of the store with a 9.7 oz box of semisweet, 62% cacao, pure dark chocolate.

Scharffen Berger is very special chocolate. It has not been around very long. Founded in 1996 by wine and champagne maker John Scharffenberger and physician turned chocolatier Robert Steinberg, it is the first American chocolate manufacturer founded in the last fifty years. However, it is consistently rated as one of the best cooking chocolates on the market for its properties when tempered.

Terrific! Great to know!

I make chocolate souffles on rare occasions. Usually as a finale for a small dinner party. I still haven't tackled a recipe for pot de creme. The box clearly says, "perfect for baking & eating". So I can just eat it, right?

I barely made it through the party that night. I was there for three hours, drinking wine, laughing and eating as little as possible. After three hours, I couldn't wait another minute and graciously exited. I was able to make it back to the privacy of my own home before ripping open the box and nibbling on this giant bar of chocolate heaven.

I managed to consume about an ounce of chocolate during the first sitting.

I feel great. I feel happy. I feel patriotic eating premiere American chocolate. I feel like a crazed lunatic who gave up a social occasion to sit quietly by herself and savor a new box of chocolate.

I need to keep my semi-sweet secret to myself.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

BananaRama

I must admit that I have a unique relationship with the banana, and it's NOT sexual. As a small child, I collected bananas...Specifically glass, wood, pottery, limoges, kitchen utensils, magnets, ceramic jars, just about anything shaped like a banana or with a banana on it. There are no monkeys in this collection. Something about the sunny yellow color of a banana and the fact that they are shaped like a smile really appeals (horrible pun!) to me. Now that you know someone who collects banana crafts you will start seeing them everywhere. My collection of nearly 60 bananas is now carefully wrapped and boxed. As an adult, it's just too weird to keep around the house. The last time I had it displayed, circa 1994, my boyfriend at the time called it "quaint". Needless to say, that relationship lasted for awhile.

It's been a very long time since I've let any bananas get brown. Usually, I slice them up on a bowl of Grape Nuts or put them on toast with cream cheese and cinnamon. This week was one of those weeks. So I mashed them with a fork and whipped up a loaf of banana bread. This is an old recipe from my Mom who swears that the sour cream is what keeps the bread moist. She also throws in a little lemon juice so the bananas don't turn totally brown. I recommend slathering a slice with cream cheese or canned chocolate frosting (Yup, I said "canned". Duncan Hines is best!) before eating.

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 cup (or one stick) of sweet butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 c. mashed bananas
2 tbs. sour cream
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Work the butter until soft, then work in the sugar, a little at a time, until smooth. Beat eggs, one at a time, add the vanilla, lemon juice and bananas. Stir into the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream. Last of all, mix in the nuts. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake in a preheated 350*F oven for 1 hour or until a toothpick tested in the center of the loaf comes out dry. Remove from pan and cool on a rack. Cut in thin slices and serve.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".