Soba and Tofu Spring Rolls

Last week's heat wave made turning on the stove or oven impossible.  So, faced with more CSA veggies, we set out to make a meal that was both health- and heat-friendly.  Try these Soba and Tofu Spring Rolls.   They are healthy, seasonal, and easy.

I always set out all the fixings, and each guest assembles her/his own.  I always find that this setup makes dinner easy and fun.  When you're on a special diet, it also makes eating with friends a bit easier.  No one questions your food choices, and everyone has fun creating unique roll combinations.  I made mine vegetarian, but traditional Vietnamese rolls feature thin slices of pork belly or shrimp along with rice noodles.  These anti-inflammatory rolls were made with thin slices of browned tofu and soba for extra heartiness.  Cucumbers were perfect for crunch and their anti-inflammatory properties.  Lastly, carrots provided wonderful lutein for eye health.

Soba and Tofu Spring Rolls

(the rolls)

1 block of extra firm tofu

2 carrots, shredded

1 cucumber, halved and thinly sliced

1 head of red leaf lettuce, washed

soba noodles, cooked and cooled

rice paper wrappers

Drain and dry the tofu, squeezing out any excess water.  Divide the block into equally sized rectangles (approximately 8-10).  Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil into a hot pan.  Lightly pan fry the tofu slices until sides take on a golden color and a slightly crisp texture.   Transfer the browned slices onto a paper towel and cool until room temperature.  Slice the tofu into thin strips.

Submerge one sheet of rice paper into warm water, and then place the wet sheet onto a plate.  Arrange your roll's contents in the center of the wrapper.  I like to start with a small piece of lettuce, then layer on a small amount of soba noodles, carrots, cucumber, and tofu.  Bring up one edge of the wrapper and fold it over the contents.  Then lift up the right and left sides, one at a time, to the center.  (It should remind you of an open envelope.)  Finally, roll the rest into the final open seam.  With practice, you'll become a master roller.  The key is to keep your contents manageable--otherwise, you will burst the rice paper.  

(soy ginger dipping sauce)

1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari

1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger

1 Thai chili, thinly sliced into rounds

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  

For extra kick, allow the ginger and chili to steep in the liquid.

A Cool Summer Treat

If you're an East Coaster like myself, you are probably sweltering in this persistent heat wave.  It can be hard to enjoy a sweet treat in hot weather especially when faced with ice cream, gelato, and sorbets.  So when I'm craving something cool and sweet, I turn to banana whip!

I have frozen blackberries on hand, but banana whip is really versatile.  Go naked and just stick with bananas.  Or add a dash of cocao powder.  The banana is great on its own but also provides a wonderful canvas for other flavors.  I love banana whip not only because it is delicious but most importantly, it is easy to make and incredibly healthy.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need a Vitamix or a Champion Juicer.  I used my Cuisinart food processar/hand blender combo and it worked great.

Berry Banana Whip

1 frozen, very ripe banana

5-8 blackberries

nuts for topping

agave, optional

Slice the banana into small chunks.  

Toss all fruit into the blender and blend until creamy.  

Add agave if desired and blender until incorporated.  

I sprinkled some sliced almonds, 

but any traditional ice cream topping will do.  

I especially love a drizzle of chocolate!

A Berry Green Smoothie!

My CSA veggie box has yielded me with plentiful greens--so much, that I am scrambling to eat them all before they go bad (or the next box arrives)!  Luckily, I've discovered the joys of the green smoothie, which makes good use of my CSA veggies.

Most other green smoothie recipes yield literally green smoothies.  Because I used blackberries, mine took on a deep, pink hue.  Additionally, I used beet greens because that was what I had on hand, but you can easily throw in kale or spinach.  Surprisingly, the smoothie turned out sweet with a mild vegetal flavor.

Berry Green Smoothie
Serves 1

1 small partially frozen banana
1/2 apple, cored
1 c greens (loosely packed and chopped)
1/3 cup of non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 c berries
water, as needed for consistency

* All ingredients can be tailored to your tastes.  Add more fruit for sweetness or some agave.

Toss all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Enjoy on the go or my favorite...on a sunny balcony. :)

Here Fishy Fishy

Fish has always been my preferred meat of choice, so I was delighted when I discovered the canned sardine. As a kid, I used to eat them with saltine crackers. However, as I got older, I simply forgot about sardines. No one I knew ate them, so it was easy to forget they even existed.

Then came Hurricane Irene.

After watching a flurry of frenzied news reports predicting imminent doom, I decided to be safe and head out to the grocery store. I decided that canned sardines would be a tasty storm treat and headed home with a couple tins of Wild Planet sardines packed in extra virgin olive oil. I was thrilled to find that were even tastier than I remembered and fit perfectly into my anti-inflammatory diet. Sardines are rich in omega-3s and packed with calcium, especially if you eat the bones. I particularly like the Wild Planet brand because the fish are not overly soaked, and the fish are wild caught.

My sardine love affair continued. I now bring a can to lunch and munch happily away, sopping up the savory oil with two pieces of multigrain bread. It's a filling lunch that doesn't leave me overly full. I also appreciate that I don't need to refrigerate it, so it's a convenient option too.

A girl can only eat so much sardine straight from the can, though. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to find an email today entitled "Your Perfect Sandwich" (from my perfect special someone) with a link to Alton Brown's Sherried Sardine Toast. It marries my love of avocado and sardine into a warm, open-faced sandwich. It's pretty tasty. I definitely recommend it! For a gluten-free alternative, these would work just as well on warm tortillas.

Next time I make these I think I'll play around with flavor combinations. Perhaps one with a drizzle of hot sauce. Or another with some crushed garlic. Tonight, I simply splashed an extra does of the sherry vinegar on top, and it was healthfully delicious. (Oh, by the way, it's definitely worth it to splurge the extra few dollars on sherry vinegar--the flavor is tart but with a wine undertone to cut the abrasiveness.)

A Lukewarm Appointment

Last Monday, I had an eye appointment to track the progress of my eye. After going through the usual pre-appointment anxiety attic (which included getting short with some of my students), I finally trekked on over to the doctor's. Here, I found out that my referral had never been processed, thus risking a cancellation of the appointment or forking over my credit card to absorb the charges. I figured that I wasn't going to waste all my time and anxiety, so I handed my credit card to the receptionist.

The day was off to a grand start.

Eventually, my eyes were dilated, and I was ushered into a technician's office. While I had 20/20 in my left "good" eye, I struggled to read pretty much everything with my right eye. I began to get a sinking feeling in my stomach, but I told myself that perhaps something had changed when I switched out my usual contacts for my occasional glasses. It was a nice consolation until I remembered that I read perfectly with my left eye.

The sinking feeling persisted when I finally saw the doctor. He was taking an awfully long time examining my eyes. Then, he took out a wooden stick and rammed it just below my bottom lashes to keep me from involuntarily flinching. It was becoming an atypical examination. Furthermore, he kept directing me to look down, leading me to believe that he saw something troubling.

While he did not see any evidence of wet macular degeneration (wet = presence of blood), he did notice that my vitreal jelly had begun pulling away. This means that I will most likely face a retinal detachment. However, whether the detachment occurs today or in a few years is unknown. All we could do was monitor it and hope for the best.

So, I'm calling the appointment lukewarm. I left without an Avastin injection, which is always good. But I also left knowing that my retina can detach any moment now. I am also beginning to wonder whether my right eye will always cook up something new for me to fret about. The complications seem endless and as I approach my 8th anniversary since diagnosis, I begin to wonder what else may be in store. 8 years sounds like a long time, but I'll probably still live much more than 8 years. What else can happen?

Simple Soba Soup

Here's a simple soba soup that is chock full of nutrients!

The recipe begins with a homemade vegetable stock, so this is a great way to use up all your veggies and scraps. I also love that it's nutrient-rich from beginning to end, making this a very healthy anti-inflammatory soup. Mushrooms are the winning star in this meal, so add them liberally!

Simple Soba Soup

The Stock:

5 c. cold water

2 onions, halved (opt for flavorful varieties like red and Spanish)

5 garlic cloves, smashed

3 carrots, roughly chopped

a large handful of mushrooms*

1 Tbsp. of soy sauce (optional)

1 egg, lightly beaten

a handful of soba noodles

1/2 cup corn kernels

1 carrot, sliced into thin circles

a large pinch of wakame**

* I like to use dehydrated shitake mushrooms, widely available and affordable in Asian markets. These are a great way to make a rich and flavorful stock without the high price tag that often acccompanies mushrooms. I freely use these in my stocks.

** Wakame is a type of Japanese seaweed and also found in many Asian markets, at a fraction of the price. Once hydrated, wakame swells into thick sheets, adding a nice texture to the soup. It is at once subtly sweet and slightly salty.

Fill a large pot with water, and toss in all vegetables. I like to add a pinch of salt here to help the vegetables release their flavors. Bring the mixture to a boil and then cover and simmer for at least an hour. The longer you simmer, the more flavorful your stock. My clue is to look for a deep brown broth color.

Once the stock becomes sufficiently flavorful, discard the vegetables and bring the broth back to a boil. Add the soba and cook for approximately 6-8 minutes. Soba should have a tough texture, so be careful not to overcook. While the soba is cooking, add the carrots and corn.

Toss in the wakame. Stirring the soup, add the beaten egg. If stirred continually and quickly, the egg will blossom throughout and give the soup some "egg drops".

For extra protein, I sometimes add small squares of silken tofu. However, if you may have to add more broth as the soup can become quite crowded.

Healthy Vegetarian Sandwich

As I began looking for healthier ways to approach my lunchbox, I realized that it was difficult to find a meal that was filling, convenient, and healthy. Eating dinner leftovers can get routine, so I began brainstorming ways I could create a healthier sandwich.

One day, I decided to opt for lunch at a local vegan spot and grabbed a Mock Chicken Club. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not "mock chicken" but actually a thick slab of tofu, which keeps in line with my low-processed food limit.

Try this tasty sandwich, and let me know what you think!

Tofu Club Sandwich

hearty multigrain bread

light mayonnaise

basil pesto

olive oil

1 container of extra firm tofu

three slices of vegetarian bacon

baby spinach

1. Slice the tofu into 4 large triangles of equal size. I usually slice a rectangular block of tofu in half, to make two thinner rectangles. Then, I bisect each into two triangles. Dry each piece thoroughly

2. Drizzle olive oil on slices. Bake tofu in a 400 degree oven until pieces are chewy and have formed a golden firmness. You can also add slices of veg-bacon in the same pan, but make sure to take it out after 10 minutes. Let cool.

3. Mix mayonnaise and pesto together in a bowl. I like to mix to taste but I find that 2:1 ratio of mayo to pesto adds a nice flavor.

4. Spread the pesto-mayo mixture on bread, add two tofu triangles, veg bacon, and generously heap baby spinach on top. Slicing the bread into triangles (following the tofu slices) makes for a hand-y sandwich!

* If you don't have pesto handy, you can also use hummus or whole-grain mustard as a flavorful spread. I also like to add mustard to the pesto mixture for extra kick.