WEEKLY FUEL: TOFU STIR FRY

  


 I have a treat this week in the form of two weekly fuel post's. I did not have time to post yesterday due to a class. Which brings us to the reason for two posts this week. Last night I taught a knife skills class to a talented bunch of home chefs(the most hard core breed in my opinion, since they do it for free, day in and day out).  So the post for today is going to be a tofu stir fry. Tomorrow I will be presenting you with 5 recipes and pictures of techniques. I would love to say there will be videos but I cant promise that. The amount of involvement in tomorrows post is exactly why it's going up tomorrow.  Now, today's Tofu stir fry is kinda cool because my mom cooked up a batch and provided me with pictures. I gave her the recipe yesterday. Mom and dad transformed into a prepping machine and knocked out a double batch. It looked delicious and from what I here it was. This is a dish that I would make for my wife and I all the time,  I once made it on one of my trips home and now it is a favorite. It has quite a bit of knife work, so if you want to double this recipe and freeze the left overs in single serving bags, it works well. I hope you enjoy this family favorite Remember tomorrow there will be 5 recipes and some knife work demonstration in the form of pictures. Maybe video if I can figure it out.

Tofu stir fry
Yields 8-1/2 cup servings

Ingredients:
1.5 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
1 clove garlic
1tbsp fresh ginger
4 heads baby book choy
1 cup broccoli florets
2 large carrots
1 small can bamboo shoots(drained)
1 small can water chestnuts(drained)
1 package extra firm tofu(1 inch cubes)
1/2 cup orange juice
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin(japanese rice wine)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:
grate the ginger and garlic on a micro plane/rasp grater. set aside
For the knife work: cut the carrots into julienne, halve the water chestnuts, slice the bok choy in half and remove the core then cut into 1 inch pieces, cut broccoli into small florets. Once vegetables are cut, set aside.

Cube the tofu into 1 inch pieces. As an option you could toss the tofu in cornstarch and fry in a medium sized pot, fill the pot 1/2 way with coconut oil or vegetable oil, heat the oil to 325 degrees and place 5 or six pieces of coated tofu in at a time. Fry until it turns a light golden brown, remove to a paper towel to let drain, repeat until it is all cooked. You can also just put the tofu in the saucy vegetables to heat through to save on fat.

For the stir fry: heat the 1.5 tbsp of oil in a large saute pan or stove top wok. Once it reaches a med-high heat add the garlic and ginger, cook for about 1 min until aromatic. Now add your broccoli and carrots and cook 2 to 3 min until the color starts to turn vibrant. Add the bok choy and cook 2 more minutes. Now add the water chestnuts and bamboo shoots and cook for 2 more minutes. In a bowl mix all the liquids together, reserve 2 tbsp of it and pour the rest into the vegetables, cover and let cook until the vegetables are al dente. Be sure to not have your heat to high so you don't lose any liquid through reduction or evaporation. Mix 2 tbsp corn starch into the reserved liquid, once the vegetables are cooked, bring the liquid to a boil and stir in the cornstarch mixture.
Cook until it is thick and glazes the vegetables. Now add the tofu, cook until tofu is hot, and it's coated with sauce. You can eat this with rice or on it's own. To keep healthy enjoy this with some steamed brown rice or your favorite whole grain.

Nutrition Facts CRB tofu stir fry Serving Size: 1 serving Amount Per Serving Calories 134 Total Fat 7.4g       Saturated Fat 3.5g       Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 434mg Carbohydrate 10.9g       Dietary Fiber 2.5g       Sugars 5.2g Protein 6.9g Vitamin A 100% Vitamin C 34% Calcium    6% Iron 8%

BEER:30 ISSUE #5 MOYLANS CHELSEA PORTER

I'm afraid there is no story along with this BEER:30 review. I picked this porter simply because I love it and would say its one of my favorite porters of all time.  Well, I guess there is something else to talk about. I have a race coming up, it's the first race of the year. It's held in Mountain View, Arkansas, they call it the, "Sylamore 50k trail run". I ran this last year in 8:03:17, my goal time is set at 7:30. I really want to set a lower time goal but, i will shock myself if i do better than 7:30. Shaving 30 minutes in one year's time is a B.F.D. My excitement for Sylamore is almost too much to handle. The trail out in Mountain View makes this run spectacular. The fact that Sylamore was the first ultra I ever ran doesn't hurt its chances of staying in the top 5. Training is going very well and with the recent addition of a strict low calorie diet and daily yoga, I am feeling stronger than ever. The race is on February, 19th, 2011, one day after my 29th birthday. Be sure to keep on the lookout for the race report shortly after race day. 

"GET TO THE BEER ALREADY" 

Moylans Chelsea porter pours very dark black but held up to the lights you get some red hues. The head is dense with a cappuccino color. Already the beer is sexy and we haven't even smelled it. First thing that happens is the right jab of chocolate. When I say chocolate don't think heresy's bar, more like dark chocolate, bitter sweet and hints of berry. The second thing that struck my nose is coffee. These are very typical descriptions for a porter. If you've never had a porter, you may be thinking that this beer is going to be really bitter, thick, and strong. Well, it's not true. Chelsea porter has a nice carbonation that lightens all the strong bitter profiles in the nose. With that carbonation you really get to enjoy a clean coffee and chocolate flavor. It's not too cloying on your palette. This is not a beer that takes 20 minutes to drink nor is it a "i'll just have one" type of beer. Just a side note, Moylan's Chelsea Porter was just in BEER magazine and received 90/100 points in there rating section. Get out there and find this one while its cold. I would like to try something with those following along, my next BEER:30 will be the Moylan's White Christmas Spiced Winter Ale. It would be cool if you picked one of these up when your made the trip for Chelsea porter. This way we can start a discussion on what we all think about it. Let's make this interactive. I Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. GO BEARS!!

WEELY FUEL: STUFFED CHILIS WITH ROASTED TOMATOES

Over the holiday, I was treated to a post run snack, courtesy of my dad. As far back as I can remember my dad has been cooking peppers and eggs, and I love it. The peppers caramelize and become sweeter. Scramble that up with cheesy eggs, it's a winner in my book. This last trip I received something different. That nostalgic dish was wrapped up in these little pepper blankets. I am going to be honest, it kinda blew my mind when I first laid eyes on it. This is not to say I have never seen a chile rellano, its just that the rellano is normally seen fried. Which is a quick cooking method not giving the egg time to leak.  After I relayed my disbelief that those peppers couldn't have been cooking back there on the stove for 10 minutes at least, and no egg was spilled. I was reassured that that was indeed the case and then it was explained to me. I was swiftly overcome with the feeling, "Why didn't i think of that". Then the thought, how can I make this healthier, so I can eat it all the time. That brings us to present day and I have successfully overcome all of the above. The tomatoes in the picture and recipe below was made out of necessity of a more attractive plate. They did more than that it completes the dish, now all we need is a piece of toast with apple butter and a hot cup of coffee. I will see you at the breakfast table, enjoy!

Stuffed Anaheim chile
Serves 3

Ingredients:
6 medium size Anaheim peppers
7 egg whites
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 slices 100% whole wheat bread
salt  & pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Slice a 1/4 inch off the stem side of the pepper, remove the seeds with a paring knife(careful not to break the pepper). In a bowl crack and separate 7 eggs, discard the yolks. Whisk whites and salt and pepper with the cheese, set aside. Remove the crust from the bread and cut into half. To assemble, fill a pepper 3/4 full and smoosh the bread to create a plug gently lay on a plate and repeat until all the peppers are full. Heat a heavy pan to med-hi, add oil to the pan and let heat up. Once the oil shimmers add the peppers and cook about 7-8 minutes turning frequently to brown and blister the skin. Once browned place in a 350 degree oven for 10 min until the peppers plump up and the eggs are cooked. Serve whole or cut on a bias to display the egg. Accompany the peppers with roasted tomato.

Nutrition Facts

CRB
stuffed anaheim

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per Serving Calories216
Total Fat7.9g       Saturated Fat2.5g       Trans Fat0g Cholesterol13mg Sodium826mg Carbohydrate19.2g       Dietary Fiber2g       Sugars5.3g Protein19.7g

Vitamin A 123%	Vitamin C 255%
Calcium    40%	Iron 4%

Roasted Tomato
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 med sized vine ripened tomatos
1 tbsp olive oil
6 sprigs oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Slice the tomatoes into 1 inch thick slices, coat a heavy pan with half the olive oil, lay out the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, strop the leaves from the sprig over the tomatoes, and then drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven for about 15 -20 minutes. Serve immediately or chill for a salad.

Nutrition Facts

CRB
Roasted tomatos

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per Serving Calories47
Total Fat2.7g       Saturated Fat0.4g       Trans Fat0g Cholesterol0mg Sodium4mg Carbohydrate5.4g       Dietary Fiber0.9g       Sugars3g Protein0.8g

Vitamin A 15%	Vitamin C 30%
Calcium    2%	Iron 2%

BEER:30 ISSUE #4 SAMUEL SMITH'S WINTER WELCOME ALE

        On a recent run around the neighborhood I realized that it is as cold as a witches tit(pardon my out of date metaphor for the severity of the temperature). Couple that with a walk through the store and you have my arrival at this weeks BEER:30. Since Little Rock's winter is just starting it seems appropriate we drink the Winter Welcome. I look forward to the coming of this beer every year. Samuel Smith always pleases in my opinion. 

     As the beer hit the glass I noticed quit a bit of carbonation. Lots of tiny bubbles flying to the top to create an off white head with medium density. It has a nice light amber color with hints of golden hue. The aroma that this beer gives off is not what you or i would expect from a winter welcomer. Apricot leads the way on the nose following with caramel malts. All in all this beer is fruity, I get a little stewed cherry along with the apricot. All of that fruit carries into my first taste, but it is transformed by a creaminess almost like a curd of apricot. The malt and hops are balanced to give a slight grilled lemon characteristic to this beer. The toasty malt gives that caramelized citrus flavor and the bitterness of the hops offer that of the citrus itself. Winter Welcome finishes crisp and dry. It is not your typical winter beer and I think that is why I like it so much. Thank you Samuel Smith for offering something different, and breaking the monotony of the normal winter beer. It's a long season and it can get tiresome drinking the same style over and over. 

Well, I am going to the couch to finish this beer comfortably, then it is off to bed. I have an early run of around 15 cold trail miles, i just hope thoughts of the Winter Welcome warms enough to stay out of ice cube status.

CHEESY LASAGNA WITHOUT THE GUILT

        I love lasagna, come to think about, who doesn't? It has everything we crave cheese, pasta, sauce, sometimes the trifecta of meat(pork, veal, and beef). On the other hand,  Putting in 10 to 12 hours of training a week, I don't want to see it spoiled by a 900 calorie slice of lasagna. If your in the same boat as me or simply want to try a different recipe for this classic dish, your in luck. This is like a cross between eggplant parmesan and lasagna. Well, I just checked it and it looks delicious. Leaving the pasta and meat out we can go all out on the cheese and feel good about it. The recipe still has a good bit of fat, but fat is not as bad as most think, it is it is an important part of our diet so take comfort in that. If the amount of fat makes you uncomfortable, You could use 2% mozzarella  and leave out the goat cheese. I personally love good cheese so I went all out.  I hope you enjoy this, and please leave me feedback on how it turns out. Of course questions are welcome and encouraged.

Eggplant lasagna
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 eggplant(roasted)
2 zucchini(roasted)
10 spears asparagus(roasted)
2 cups tomato sauce(see recipe or use your favorite jar)
1 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2/3 cup parmesan cheese(grated or shredded)
4 oz goat cheese
1 ball of fresh mozzarella

Directions:
Trim the ends off the eggplant and cut it in half cross ways, then slice in 1/4 inch slices. Toss with 3 table spoons salt and then lay out on a cooling rack set on a cookie tray, place another cookie tray on top of eggplant and weigh down with  cans or bags of flour. Let this sit for an hour. This step removes the bitterness that eggplant has. While the eggplant sits mix the parm, ricotta, and goat cheese, set aside. Slice the zucchini the same as the eggplant. Now rinse the eggplant and pat dry. Place the eggplant and zucchini on a sheet tray and spray with olive oil pan spray and season, roast in a 400 degree oven until slightly browned (about 20 minutes). do the same for the asparagus on a separate tray (only cook the asparagus until it is bright green and tender).  Put a couple spoons of sauce on the bottom of an 8" by 8" lay out slices of eggplant, zucchini and asparagus to cover the bottom. Top with sauce and cheese mixture then repeat until all is used and the pan is full to the top. Slice the mozzarella into 7 or 8 slices and put on top. Place in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the top is nice and bubbly brown. I like to let my lasagna sit for about 20 min to settle because it makes slicing way easier.  Slice into 6 pieces and serve with a salad.

Nutrition Facts cookrunbeer eggplant lasagna
Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories	313
Total Fat	18.9g
Saturated Fat	11.3g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	58mg
Sodium	254mg
Carbohydrate	17.9g
Dietary Fiber	6.3g
Sugars	6.6g
Protein	1.7g
Vitamin A 20% Vitamin C 26% Calcium    35% Iron 8%

Tomato sauce
Yields 6 cups
Ingredients:
1 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can tomato puree
1-12 oz can tomato paste
 4 sprigs oregano
3 cups water

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a pot and saute the sliced onions about4 minutes, add the tomato past and reduce the Heat to low. Cook the paste for about 5 min to caramelize and develop a sweetness in the tomato. Add the puree, water, and oregano and cook about 30 minutes or until the acidity is reduced and the sauce is thick and rich. You could omit the olive oil to cut the fat to 0g. just cook the tomato paste with a little water to the same state then add everything at once and cook as directed.

Snow Run

Pinnacle Mountain from afar 

This will be a quick post. It's getting late and I am in need of a shower. I split my run today, not on purpose but it happened to work great. I'm thinking of doing this more often. My number one agenda is to share the pictures I took on the earlier run/snow climb. A while back I was talking to man on the trail. We were swapping stories of running and trips up Pinnacle. I was climbing Pinnacle 3 to 5 times a week at that time. He mentioned that he made the accent to 1,020 feet,  In every weather condition. The man went on to list; 110 degrees. 20 degrees, stormy weather, perfect weather and snow. I was not aware that his story stuck with me until this afternoon. Seeing the snow accumulate, and reading my favorite running blog, Riding the Wind. I was immediately jolted with energy. Nothing pumps me up to run more than reading Anton Krupicka's blog "Riding The Wind".  I realized I have never ascended pinnacle in the snow and since I'm leaving Little Rock in March, it was a no brainer. I jumped up filled my bottle with water, put on some warm gear and headed out to shovel my way up the court. I live on a 12% graded hill.  It was not easy, once I got to the base of the accent, footing was a guesstimate. It took 34 minutes to summit, my fastest time is 13 minutes. Heading down took about 22 minutes, with my fastest time being 9 minutes to get to the trail head. The trip around was a normal 12 to 13 minutes. For the condition I was pleased, although I'm sure that my time could be beat with another shot. Today was a great day for running, the trail was beautiful, the weather was brisk and clean. As for my evening run, all that I can say is, "I had the road to myself." Check back tomorrow, I am making eggplant lasagna for dinner and would love to share the recipe with you.

                                             This is looking down from the base of the summit.

                                                Looking up at the base of the summit.

  The view from the top.

                                                          

Heading down

                                                          

over looking the valley

what could beat this

A foot in the deep snow

BEER:30 ISSUE #3 Infinium by Sam Adams and Weihenstephan

I would like to start off by first apologizing for being away for so long. I realize that no one will come back to read this blog if I don't write anything. Problem noted and deemed correctible. Now to the meat and potatoes of this post. About 30 minuets ago I cracked an Infinium, this is a collaboration between Jim Koch of Samuel Adams, and Josef Schradler of Weihenstephan(the oldest brewery in the world). I love, love, love this beer. The color, the head, the taste, the aroma. Everything about this beer is exciting, regardless of what all the snobby single, ponytail wearing beer snobs on rate beer think. Rate Beer gave this a 87 score, I disagree. Side note; Rate beer is a wonderful site, it is my go to rating site when we are purchasing beer for the store, all hail rate beer!

Now, what do I think and why do I recommend this beer? As the beer hits the glass I immediately notice the beautiful honey color, reminiscent of the tub of local Petite Jean honey in my pantry. It has a nose full of tropical fruit and orange with a little background straw/wheat characteristic. The first thing I noticed on my pallet was, sweet honey and tropical/orange with the malt and carbonation rounding it out giving that luxurious mouth feel, All capped off with a nice acidity. Exactly like a perfectly balanced dessert wine. The carbonation is cleansing to not let the sugar become so cloying. It finishes clean and crisp leaving you with round tropical malty loveliness. The only mistake I made with this one is opening it by myself. Once opened it must be drunk, so I did. Now I am left to think about my 30+ mile mountain bike ride tomorrow at 10am. On second thought it is totally worth it and the sip i just took verified that. You must go out and find this beer it is delicious, but hurry before it is all gone.