Plant-based Kitchen Gadget: NexTrend 3rd Generation Clear Garlic Twist

This is another nifty new kitchen gadget I found while on a recent trip to Walla Walla where I visited the Providence Fine Living Kitchen Shop.  I have been using it a lot and it cleans up well.  I tend to not want to waste even a smidgen of the nicely minced garlic and so after I shake as much as possible into whatever extradinary dish I am preparing, I add a tablespoon of water to the cup part to rinse the remainder into my recipe.  Then it goes into the top rack of the dishwasher and presto—it's clean!

Once the clove of garlic is inside, just turn each end in opposite directions.

Freshly and perfectly minced garlic in seconds

New Potsticker Toy or Asian Dumpling Maker

A couple of weeks ago I went for a motorcycle ride with my husband and we ended up in Walla Walla,  WA.  Yes, that's a real place.
I am famous around our house for not really enjoying the riding of motorcycles but once in a while I go along and as time passes in my life, I have to admit I enjoy riding more now than I used to, but not at freeway speeds.  My little Honda Rebel and I do just fine keeping it under 50 mph thank you.

So to appease me, my husband was more than happy to go shopping with me while in Walla Walla.  They have some great little stores, one of which is a kitchen shop I like: Providence Fine Living at 16 East Main Street is wonderful and I try to support small business because, you know, I am a giver.

Anyway, their shop window is always fresh and inviting and I enjoy just perusing the merchandise.  I came upon a gadget to make the preparation of pot stickers go a little faster than usual and the result is a bit more professional.  It is called an Asian Dumpling Maker.
As you know, sometimes kitchen gadgets can be a gamble and many end up in the draw unused.  Shhhh, don't tell.  But this is truly blog-worthy so here goes:

Filling ingredients:
1/2 pound firm tofu, pressed to remove excess water
1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
A few drops sesame oil, optional
1 tsp Ener-G egg replacer powder
Dash each of salt and pepper

1 package of round dumpling skins, also called gyoza (preferably twin dragon brand)
Small bowl of water for wetting fingers

First step:
Press the 1/2 pound of tofu to remove excess water by taking 2 or 3 paper towels and folding into a pad the same size or slightly larger than your block of tofu.  Put the tofu on the paper towels and make another pad of paper towels to put over the top.  Place a plate or other flat surface on this and then weigh it down with a can of something, like a 32 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, etc.
Let this sit for at least 20 minutes while you gather the other ingredients together and toss them into a large bowl.  After the tofu has been pressed, slice into 1/4" cubes and toss with other ingredients.

Next step:
Heat two large heavy non-stick skillets to medium, without oil.  While these are warming up, make your potstickers by placing one skin on a flat surface or dumpling press and mounding about 1 teaspoon of the filling mixture onto it.  Wet your finger and run it along 1/2 the circumference of the skin, then fold that half to meet the opposite edge and pinch the edges together to shut it tight.  Now you should have a dumpling or potsticker that is in the shape of the letter "D".
Continue to make these while listening to your favorite jazz music, for cooking I like Steve Tyrell and Diana Krall.  Even if it is not Friday.
When you have enough to cover the bottom of a skillet, spray that skillet with a really light coating of olive oil spray before placing potstickers in it.  (*I have found that the canned Olive Oil Spray by Crisco puts out a much finer mist than Pam!  Who knew?)  Immediately cover with lid and make some more potstickers for the other pan.  If anyones else is home they will eat them as fast as you can make them is why I suggest two pans instead of one.  Also, you don't want to be standing there all day over one measly little pan.
After a few minutes, when the top looks transluscent and if you lift the corner of one and see a golden brown color, add enough water to just cover the bottom of the pan, about 1/8" deep.  Immediately place lid back on and steam until water has evaporated.  Remove the potstickers from the skillet and onto a plate.  Keep them warm by inverting a second plate over the top.

For the dipping sauce I like to make it easy on myself and use pre-prepared sweet n' sour sauce mixed with sweet red pepper sauce.

7-11 has raw veggies! Who knew?

Yesterday we found ourselves traveling by car through Utah at ungodly hours of the morning and stopped for gas at a 7-11 store in Salt Lake City.  I went in to use the restroom and look for protein bars without milk or eggs in them and low and behold--raw veggies and fruit in the refrigerated section!  We enjoyed apples, celery and carrots.  What a nice surprise--Thank You 7-11!

A little later we found the nicest fellow working at a coffee shop down the road called "Bad Ass Coffee".  Yes, I still drink coffee (soy vanilla lattes).  Not every day or even every week, just sometimes.
But the T-shirt from Bad Ass Coffee is most excellent and worth going out of your way!

Airport pizza

If you really want to puzzle the workers at a California Pizza Kitchen Restaurant in the Salt Lake City Airport, ask for a pizza with no cheese, no meat, no bell peppers or onions but please add extra mushrooms and pineapple.  For some reason, traveling just makes me ravenous and this really hit the spot.  I am ashamed to say I ate the whole thing and loved every minute of it.  Sure, the crust probably had a little olive oil, but really compared to anything else I could find at the airport this was heaven.  A bit expensive but hey, I am worth it.  So are you.

Acceptable alternative to trail mix or pre-made sandwiches at the airport!

Isn't it funny how as soon as you choose to not eat meat or cheese and end up in a situation without a lot of choices, every option seems to have meat or cheese?  Every pre-made sandwich I walked by had some type of meat on it.  Yikes, don't these people keep up with the latest research about cancer prevention?

Where to find some plant-based, no added fat groceries--online!

Red lentils, red quinoa and crystalized ginger!

Do you ever have moments where you can't remember where you bought something that you really like?  Or get emails from a company that you know you ordered something from but can't remember exactly what they offered that was better quality and/or price than you were able to find anywhere else?  And if you are like me, you don't like wasting time re-doing all that research to find items unavailable locally.

Well, today our shipment came in from the "Nuts Online" company and I wanted to make a note to myself that this has been the best source for a few things, the most important being crystalized ginger for my Soft Ginger Cookie Recipe.  It would cost a fortune to use the little spice bottled ginger from the grocery store for this, and so I order candied or crystalized ginger online.

For the record, I like this company!

Custard Powder

In some recipes where I am trying to recreate something "eggy" looking or tasting I will use Custard Powder that does not contain any eggs or dairy products.  I get this online through Amazon, by the case.

It is worth keeping some in your pantry if you can find it, or if not just order it when you can.  I really like the color it gives lemon pie and tofu scramble.

Comparing two bottled pasta sauces: Walnut Acres vs. Muir Glen

I must admit I prefer the flavor of the Muir Glen Garlic Roasted Garlic Organic Pasta Sauce.  This is really just a note to self so when I am at the grocer and can't remember then I can look at my blog.

Holy Panini, It's a Wrap!

About a month ago we went to Spokane for a business workshop that turned out to be useless for what we needed and so we left early and spent the day doing unexpected things. A good friend of ours was celebrating a birthday and his co-workers took him to lunch and we joined them. It was so nice to see old friends and tell them all about how we lost weight by eating just fruits and vegetables, whole grains and beans, all without added fat. It's fun to be able to brag about low cholesterol (okay, now I am sounding old). Anyway, we were able to spend a little time shopping too.
Spokane has a few stores that we miss now that we live 150 miles away: Huckleberries Market, Williams-Sonoma, Spokane Art Supply, World Market, Aunties Bookstore, that Woodworking store out on Sullivan, Mel's Nursery....if you ever find yourself in Spokane with some free time check out these places.
One of my favorite things to do in life is wandering though a kitchen shop admiring all the gadgets. I don't really NEED anything, just looking. Okay so once in a while I buy a new spatula or dish towel. This is really about covetting those items I have no room for and shouldn't be spending money on anyway. Secretly, for a few years now I have been wanting a panini press to make those wonderful hot sandwiches. I knew it was silly since I could do the same thing with a hot skillet and a heavy weight of some kind so I just couldn't justify the expense.
But on our Spokane trip we admired a panini press at Williams-Sonoma and discovered that it was on sale for about 60% off. Well, hello. This changed things. Suddenly I could envision myself serving wonderful panini sandwiches using the recipe from Rip Esselstyn's book, "The Engine 2 Diet". Yum!
You guessed it, we arrived home several hours later with our new favorite kitchen gadget! We use it almost every day. It does a superb job of grilling tofu, warming tortillas and of course, making sandwiches.
Last night for dinner I used it to put nice golden grill marks on a spinach wrap. Next blog: a recipe for a BBQ Wrap that will remind you of a BBQ sandwich, but without the fatty meat and too sweet coleslaw.

Breville Model BRG200XL

Vegetarian Bouillon products are indispensable! and so is a good balsamic vinegar....

I thought it might be a good idea to take photos of some of my favorite ingredients that aren't always easy to find, so I can remember who made them.  You might like to try some of these products too!

This is an important ingredient for making dumplings taste more like the old school "Chicken and Dumplings".  I can't find it in my local grocery store, but it is available in my local health food store.
I use the "No Beef" version for..., well, things that I want to taste beefy.  :)

There are some recipes that require a good balsamic vinegar, and one of my favorite brands is Colavita: