BBQ Tofu, Bean, Tomato & Corn Salad w/ BBQ Yogurt Dressing

I'm back!

I didn't intend to take such a long absence from this blog, but my summer ended up being entirely taken over by working on my PhD dissertation, and I didn't have time to even go outside many days let alone create and photograph recipes or write blog posts.  Now that I've handed it in (one step down!) I'm hoping to have a little more time for blogging!

Needless to say, most of my meals this summer consisted of quick and easy dishes, which included a lot of salads!

This bbq tofu salad was a little more time consuming because of the steps involved in preparing the tofu (pressing the water out, marinating it, and baking it), but it's worth it!  I follow Oh My Veggies' recipe for baked barbecue tofu which is my favourite way to eat tofu.  She calls it 'tofu for tofu haters' and I agree; I used to think I hated tofu until I tried it this way, so if you think you hate it too, give this a chance!

With the addition of fresh corn, tomatoes, cucumber, black beans, two types of lettuce, and sprouts, this salad has lots of crunch, flavour, and protein.  For the dressing, I whisked together some low-fat plain yogurt with a bit of bbq sauce, apple cider vinegar, and a couple spices for an easy, creamy, and light dressing that complemented the tofu.

And as with most salads, feel free to add in whatever else you like!  Avocado would have been great, I just couldn't find any ripe ones in time; mushrooms would work well too.

I'm hoping to share some of the other easy meals I was enjoying over the summer in a recap post later this week, then I can't believe it's already time to start thinking about fall recipes (which I admit I'm pretty excited about)!

BBQ Tofu, Bean, Tomato & Corn Salad with BBQ Yogurt Dressing

Inspired by Vegetarian Times and Delish Knowledge

Makes about 4 main course servings

Ingredients:

For the Tofu:

1 (12-14oz) package of extra-firm tofu

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

For the Salad:

2 cobs of fresh corn or around 1 cup of thawed frozen corn kernels

1 (540mL) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

Half to one cucumber, chopped (I used about 3/4 of one but it depends on its size)

1 ripe avocado, chopped (I couldn’t find a ripe one in time so it’s not included in pictures)

1 red pepper, chopped (I've added this in later versions but it's not pictured here)

1 head of romaine or iceberg lettuce, or your desired greens 

Handful of alfalfa sprouts, if desired

For the Dressing:

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt

2 tablespoons barbecue sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

1.5 to 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (start with 1.5 and add more to taste if needed)

Directions:

Prepare baked barbecue tofu following directions from Oh My Veggies (be sure to allow enough time to press the tofu, marinate it, and bake it).

If using fresh corn, cook according to your liking if desired (I boil the cobs of corn in a large pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes, rinse with cold water, then slice off the kernels).  Prepare other salad ingredients.  

Whisk all ingredients for the dressing together in a small bowl, taste, and adjust any amounts to your liking. I sometimes add more yogurt or throw some mustard in.  You can add a bit of water to thin it out if necessary.

Toss together all ingredients with the dressing and serve.

Beet & Potato Soup

I hope that those of you who had the day off yesterday enjoyed your long weekend!  Yesterday was a holiday for many of us here in Ontario - we don’t celebrate President’s Day (obviously, as we don’t have presidents in Canada), but we do celebrate Family Day on the third Monday of every February. 

I love the idea of a holiday that celebrates the family and encourages families to spend time together.  This was actually the first year that every member of my family had the day off and could get together, so we took the opportunity to go for a wintery family walk along a trail around a frozen pond.  Even though I think I risked my life a thousand times because the trail was pretty much all ice and my boots do not seem to have even the slightest bit of traction, it was still a great way to get outdoors and spend some time with my wonderful family!  Here’s a little glimpse of our walk – the ducks were my favourite part :)

After spending a day outside in the cold, nothing is more comforting than a warm bowl of thick soup and a hearty loaf of bread.  Unfortunately I didn’t have any of this beet and potato soup left to enjoy so I had to settle for an Earl Grey tea latte from Starbucks, but just looking at these photos as I prepared them for this post had me craving this soup so bad!

I won't bore you with a long description of this soup except to say that it’s thick and creamy but still healthy, and is a gorgeous red colour! The first time I made this I used chicken broth but thought it didn’t quite work, so the next time I used vegetable broth, and also increased the cumin for more spice and let the soup simmer longer so the flavours would intensify, and it was so much better! If you hate beets, I’m not going to try to convince you to try this because the beet flavour is really front and center, but if you’re a beet lover like me then you will love this!

Beet & Potato Soup

Adapted from Cooking Light

Serves 3-6, depending on serving size

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

4 cups vegetable broth

1 pound of beets, peeled and quartered

1/2 pound yellow potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 bay leaf

1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon honey or agave

Sour cream or plain yogurt for topping

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.  Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.  Add salt, pepper, and cumin, stir to coat and cook for another 30 seconds. 

Add vegetable broth, beets, potato, bay leaf, and thyme.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 30-35 minutes, until beets and potato are tender.  Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs.  If soup has reduced considerably, add a splash of water.

Puree soup in three batches in a blender. Remove the plastic stopper in the blender lid and cover with a paper towel or tea towel to let steam escape.  After pureeing each batch, transfer to a bowl, then once all the soup has been pureed, transfer back to the saucepan to heat through, if necessary.  Add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and taste.  Add an additional teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of honey or agave to sweeten, if desired.

Serve each portion with a swirl of sour cream or yogurt.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Greek Quinoa Wraps with Tzatziki

A couple of months ago, I made these Southwestern quinoa wraps with chipotle yogurt dressing and absolutely loved them – Even better, Ryan (who is usually skeptical of quinoa) loved them, which made them an even bigger success!   

I knew this was something I’d want to repeat often for a healthy, protein-filled lunch, so I started thinking of other versions that I could make to change things up a little.  Since I loved this Greek quinoa with cucumber, tomatoes, olives, and feta (which I’ve talked about in my summer quinoa recipe roundup), I decided to use it in a wrap combined with an easy tzatziki sauce.

I already knew the quinoa on its own was delicious, but combined with a cool and creamy yogurt sauce, crisp lettuce, and a whole wheat tortilla wrap, it’s even better – plus its more filling this way, making it a great healthy option for lunch or dinner.

I don’t recommend making the wraps too far ahead of time because the tzatziki could make the wraps soggy, but I found that making a wrap in the morning and eating it for lunch was still fine – just make sure you lay the lettuce down first before the sauce to protect the tortilla from getting soggy!

I hope you all have a great weekend!  I’ll be back on Monday for a great giveaway for my Ontario readers, so be sure to stop back then!  And now that it’s official Fall, I’ll have plenty of fall recipes coming your way soon!

Greek Quinoa Wraps with Tzatziki

Quinoa component adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod

Makes about 6 wraps

Ingredients:

For the tzatziki:

1 medium English cucumber

1-1/2 cups nonfat plain yogurt or plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper

For the Quinoa:

2 cups water

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed

1 cup chopped peeled cucumber

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

1/4 cup pre-sliced kalamata olives

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup crumbled low-fat feta cheese

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Optional: Add red onions for more crunch (I just don't like red onions), or chickpeas for more bulk

For the Wraps:

6 twelve grain or whole wheat tortillas

Romaine lettuce

Tzatziki (above)

Greek quinoa (above)

Directions:

Prepare the tzatziki:

Peel the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds.  Grate the flesh into a strainer, sprinkle with salt, and let sit for 20 minutes.  Use your hands or a paper towel to squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the cucumber.

Add the cucumber to the yogurt.  If you have time, you can strain the yogurt through a cheesecloth for a couple of hours first to drain out some of the water and thicken it, but I don’t bother.  Add lemon juice, mix everything together, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Keep in refrigerator until ready to use.

Prepare the quinoa:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add quinoa, cover, and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and keep covered for 5 minutes.  Remove lid, fluff with a fork, and transfer to a large bowl to let cool.

Meanwhile, mix the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, parsley, and feta together in a medium bowl.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper for the dressing.

Add the cucumber mixture to the quinoa and toss together.  Drizzle the dressing overtop, and mix to coat.  Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Prepare wraps:

Lay a lettuce leaf in the center of each wrap.  Top with tzatziki sauce and quinoa, wrap, and serve.

Earl Grey Vanilla Tea Cake

On Monday I got hit with a cold at full force ... I don't want to complain too much because I know a cold is to be expected around this germy time of back-to-school, but normally I get a few days of warning signs first.  You know that little tickle in your throat that tells you a cold is on its way and you'd better start taking vitamins like crazy to try to lessen its blow?  This one came with no warning signs, just the whole works right from the start - sore throat, runny nose, sinus congestion, fluctuating body temperature, I'm sure you all know the drill!

It doesn't help that I have a crazy amount of work to get done this week, which is hard when I'm so tired because my stuffy nose just does not want me to get any sleep!  So, in my efforts to rid myself of this cold as quickly as it came on, I have been taking lots of vitamins, eating lots of fruits and veggies, and drinking a TON of tea!

And what goes better with a cup of tea than a delightful tea cake!  

This healthy-ish and not-too-sweet loaf contains the actual contents of three bags of earl grey tea, steeped in a bit of milk, along with some warm spices and vanilla so the smell and taste of the end product really remind you of earl grey tea.  I've been snacking on this with every cup of tea (which is probably not a good thing considering how much tea I've been drinking), and it's especially good warmed up or toasted.  You could probably even change up the tea and spices to any flavour you like - a chai bread would be really nice too!

Even if all my tea drinking doesn't chase away this cold, at least it's given me an excuse to eat lots of tea cake :)

Earl Grey Vanilla Tea Loaf

Adapted from Butter Me Up, Brooklyn

Makes one 8x4 inch loaf

Note: This loaf has a light and delicate crumb, much more like a cake than more dense and moist banana bread-like loaves.  If you want to add to the subtle citrus notes of the Earl Grey tea, you can add a splash of lemon juice to the loaf.

Ingredients:

3 bags earl grey vanilla tea

1/4 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line the bottom of an 8-1/2 by 4-1/2 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. 

Add the milk to a small saucepan and empty the contents of the tea bags (snip off the tops first) into the pan.  Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the milk is warm and tea begins to steep.  Turn off heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  In a medium bowl, combine the oil, sugar, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla.  Stir the milk and tea mixture into the wet ingredients.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and fold together with a flexible spatula until just combined (do not overmix). 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean (mine was just slightly overdone at 45 minutes so you might want to check on it at 40 minutes first, though the exact time will depend on your oven).  Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Whole Wheat Peach Oatmeal Bread

It seems that this time of year seems to divide people into two camps: those who are already dreaming of pumpkin pie, apple cider, cozy sweaters, and all those warm and fuzzy things that go along with the fall season, and those who are not yet ready to say goodbye to warm weather, long days of sunshine, and abundant fresh summer fruits and veggies.  I definitely fall into the latter camp; as much as I love fall, I always feel like summer’s way too short and I haven’t fit in enough peach/tomato/blueberry/corn/basil/etc. goodness yet!

I also feel like I have a ton of summer recipes still to share with you guys and I’m running out of time to do so, so I’m trying to switch from two to three posts per week over these last few weeks of summer.  So because I’ve spent more time than usual on blogging this week and also seem to have WAY more schoolwork than usual this week, I’m going to keep today’s post fairly short!

This is a dense, hearty bread with bursts of sweet peaches and hints of warm spices throughout, so it’s perfect for this transition period from summer to fall.  It’s also pretty healthy, made with whole wheat flour and oats, non-fat yogurt, and only 2 tablespoons of oil.  I’ve been loving eating it for a snack every day this week just on its own, but I think it would be amazing toasted with fresh peach jam too!

Whole Wheat Peach Oatmeal Bread

Adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, via Slow Like Honey

Makes one 9x5 inch loaf

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

2 cups diced ripe peaches (from about 3 peaches)

2 large eggs (I used Omega 3 eggs)

1 cup plain non-fat yogurt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through oats) in a large bowl.  Add the diced peaches and stir to coat the peaches.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, oil, and vanilla extract.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until just evenly moistened.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.