Home...Sweet Home

There's something so comforting about the first day back from school. No...it's not the warm hugs and the "oh I've missed you so much honey!" Actually, the past three (four?) times that I came home from college, the house was empty because my family was out grocery shopping or working - not that I'm complaining!

So although the welcomes are greatly appreciated, I really look forward to that night's dinner. I know it's going to be something extremely special; all mom's want to make their children something delicious on their first night back from a semester of hard work towards that 4.0 GPA (hahah..)

Mommy Li did not disappoint. Homemade pan fried meat and cabbage filled buns? Oh yes.

They came out a little burnt, but that's how I know it was homemade -mom was frantically trying to read over her friend's recipe and forgot the pan was heating up rather quickly over the stove. Love.



Leftover dough turned into "Mon Tau" - little pillowy doughs of heaven.

BBQ Tofu Wrap w. Avocado and Light Slaw

I think barbecue anything has the potential to taste yummy. I wanted meat-less lunches this week so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try marinating tofu with BBQ sauce. I ended up roasting it and the results turned out better than I thought! I wrapped it up with some sliced avocados, chopped tomatoes, and a light slaw made with dijon mustard and the tiniest big of mayo and cider vinegar. The flavors blended together nicely! Will definitely make this regularly.





Not much of a recipe here..but for the bbq baked tofu:

You will need:

1 package extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
Bottled BBQ sauce of your choice
Olive oil

Steps:

1. Slice tofu into strips and marinate in 1/2 - 3/4 cup BBQ sauce for 30 mins - 1 hour.
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Place tofu onto baking tray and drizzle rest of sauce over tofu.
3. Drizzle with olive oil
4. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake for another 20 minutes, or until golden crusted.
5. Let cool and enjoy!

(Makes about 10 strips - serves about 3-4)
Note - This stores nicely in an air-tight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

I have a love/hate relationship with gnocchi. I love it because it tastes so carboliciously good and each batch can last me for months. I hate it because making it is SO time consuming and messy; my clothes are usually covered with flour after rolling the dough out and cutting it. But of course, the pros outweigh the cons so I end up making it once in a while anyway. I make butternut squash gnocchi not only to decrease the carb/starch content, but because I am absolutely in love with the fall vegetable.




Step 1: Using all your mighty strength, slice (lengthwise) down a 1.25-1.50 lb bnut squash. Place on a baking sheet, skin side up, and bake in a 400 degree F preheated oven for approximately 45-50 minutes.


Step 2: Let squash cool, and scrape the flesh from the skin into a large bowl. Mash with fork until there are no more lumps, OR use an immersion blender (this is much easier). Add 2 cups of flour to squash and combine until no longer sticky. Keep adding more flour as needed.




Step 3: Divide the dough into 6 or 8 balls, and roll each ball into a long rope. Slice the dough into little pillows. For the real "gnocchi" effect with the indents, roll the pillow onto the back of a fork.

To prepare: boil a large pot of water and add gnocchi with pinch of salt. Gnocchi will be done when they float to the top of the water -approximately 5 minutes. Yes ,It's that quick. Pan fry them, or serve as you would with regular pasta and enjoy!

To freeze: After rolling out the dough, place onto a flat sheet pan and place pan in freezer for 30 min-1 hour until frozen. Gather gnocchi into ziploc bag. Yes, It's that simple.