baking fail
At the recommendation of my aunt, I tried a bread recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of several books including The Bread Bible and The Cake Bible. After reasonable success with whole wheat bread from King Arthur's site, I thought I would try something different. The wheat bread recipe I tried uses about half whole wheat, half bread flour and is a bit futzy with several different rests and rises in the process. My apartment is quite warm, so rising is usually not a problem at all. In fact, this dough rose in a balloon-like way that left large air bubbles that then collapsed and left me without a lovely rounded loaf. Instead, I had a wheaty brick that looked like it came from a bread machine. Nothing against bread machines, just against unintentionally brick-shaped loaves.
A bit disappointing. I must confess that I haven't eaten much of anything - let alone bread - since I baked it, so I haven't tried a slice. Breakfast tomorrow, though! After all that fussing and shaping and patting I was hoping for a nicer loaf. Maybe it makes up for looks with deliciousness. Fingers crossed!
To compensate, I'm also posting tonight's dinner, which was pretty darn good. Often when hubby and I go out to eat, we decide the dish we want to eat and just go to the restaurant that serves it. Though most common with breakfast (Do we want Veggie Tex-Mex or or the 9A from Key's?), it also applies to dinner, especially with Asian food. One such option is sesame tofu at KinhDo, a local Vietnamese place not far from our old apartment. Fried tofu cubes are coated in a gooey gingery sauce, topped with sesame seeds and served with rice. Not too hard, right?
Next time I will make it, per hubby request, "more saucy." More sauce-y? It also needed coriander, but I got by without as I didn't have any on hand. To be fair, I did estimate these measurements since I just made the sauce up as I went, so feel free to do everything "to taste."
Sesame Tofu (serves 4)
1 cup white rice, uncooked
1 package firm tofu (12 oz. I think?)
2 Tbsp. corn starch plus a little for sprinkling
1/4 cup orange or lemon juice
2 Tbsp. honey or brown sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce, divided
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
dash red pepper flakes
2 gloves minced garlic
1/3 cup water
3 Tbsp. white sesame seeds
pinch of ground coriander or minced cilantro (optional)
1.) Drain tofu. Press out excess water by setting on paper towels between two plates and weighing down the top one. Let sit for a while.
2.) Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of white rice. Return to boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until water is absorbed.
3.) Cube drained tofu and sprinkle with about a teaspoon of cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly.
4.) Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil in a frying pan or skillet over med-high heat. When oil shimmers, add tofu cubes. Flip cubes every few minutes until evenly browned. Set aside.
5.) Put the 2 Tbsp. of corn starch in a small saucepan. Add a splash of the orange or lemon juice (juice should be cold) and whisk it into the starch. Add the juice a splash at a time, whisking constantly to avoid clumps. Gradually whisk in honey or sugar, soy sauce, ginger, pepper flakes, coriander (if using), and oil.
6.) Heat sauce over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Add in water a few tablespoons at a time, whisking until combined before adding any more. Whisk constantly until mixture boils, then reduce heat to medium. Add in minced garlic. Continue stirring until sauce reduces slightly to desired consistency.
7.) Pour sauce over fried tofu and mix until evenly coated. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (and cilantro, if using).
This just reinforces my thought that I need some coriander. When I asked if it was a repeatable success, the hubby wouldn't admit to much -- he's still holding out for homemade pad thai. That requires a grocery trip for scallions and cilantro, though, and probably either tofu or shrimp. Maybe tomorrow.
A bit disappointing. I must confess that I haven't eaten much of anything - let alone bread - since I baked it, so I haven't tried a slice. Breakfast tomorrow, though! After all that fussing and shaping and patting I was hoping for a nicer loaf. Maybe it makes up for looks with deliciousness. Fingers crossed!
To compensate, I'm also posting tonight's dinner, which was pretty darn good. Often when hubby and I go out to eat, we decide the dish we want to eat and just go to the restaurant that serves it. Though most common with breakfast (Do we want Veggie Tex-Mex or or the 9A from Key's?), it also applies to dinner, especially with Asian food. One such option is sesame tofu at KinhDo, a local Vietnamese place not far from our old apartment. Fried tofu cubes are coated in a gooey gingery sauce, topped with sesame seeds and served with rice. Not too hard, right?
Next time I will make it, per hubby request, "more saucy." More sauce-y? It also needed coriander, but I got by without as I didn't have any on hand. To be fair, I did estimate these measurements since I just made the sauce up as I went, so feel free to do everything "to taste."
Sesame Tofu (serves 4)
1 cup white rice, uncooked
1 package firm tofu (12 oz. I think?)
2 Tbsp. corn starch plus a little for sprinkling
1/4 cup orange or lemon juice
2 Tbsp. honey or brown sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce, divided
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
dash red pepper flakes
2 gloves minced garlic
1/3 cup water
3 Tbsp. white sesame seeds
pinch of ground coriander or minced cilantro (optional)
1.) Drain tofu. Press out excess water by setting on paper towels between two plates and weighing down the top one. Let sit for a while.
2.) Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of white rice. Return to boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until water is absorbed.
3.) Cube drained tofu and sprinkle with about a teaspoon of cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly.
4.) Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil in a frying pan or skillet over med-high heat. When oil shimmers, add tofu cubes. Flip cubes every few minutes until evenly browned. Set aside.
5.) Put the 2 Tbsp. of corn starch in a small saucepan. Add a splash of the orange or lemon juice (juice should be cold) and whisk it into the starch. Add the juice a splash at a time, whisking constantly to avoid clumps. Gradually whisk in honey or sugar, soy sauce, ginger, pepper flakes, coriander (if using), and oil.
6.) Heat sauce over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Add in water a few tablespoons at a time, whisking until combined before adding any more. Whisk constantly until mixture boils, then reduce heat to medium. Add in minced garlic. Continue stirring until sauce reduces slightly to desired consistency.
7.) Pour sauce over fried tofu and mix until evenly coated. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (and cilantro, if using).
This just reinforces my thought that I need some coriander. When I asked if it was a repeatable success, the hubby wouldn't admit to much -- he's still holding out for homemade pad thai. That requires a grocery trip for scallions and cilantro, though, and probably either tofu or shrimp. Maybe tomorrow.