I love stuff that smells good. This soap
For the rice, I would definitely seek out the lemongrass as I think it made the rice dish seem very authentic and uber-scented. However, if you don’t have it or can’t find it, add in the zest of one lemon instead. Both recipes are adapted from a cookbook that I don’t use that often, Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites, but after these 2 very successful adaptations, I’ll definitely be cracking it open on a regular basis. These are very simple recipes that don’t take a lot of time to make, despite the exotic ingredients.
fragrant jasmine rice
(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites)
2 c jasmine rice
1 t canola oil
2 T minced lemongrass (stiff outer leaves removed)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 small green chili, seeds removed, diced
1/2 t salt
1 c crushed pineapple, undrained
1 T fresh basil, chopped
2 1/2 c boiling waterRinse rice and set aside to drain. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and add in the lemongrass, garlic, shallots, chili and salt. Cook over medium heat until fragrant and soft, about 3 minutes. Add in the remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes before serving.
jerk-spiced tofu
(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites)
1 onion, diced
3 green chilis, seeded and diced
3 T soy sauce
1/4 c cider vinegar
2 T brown sugar
1 T fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T fresh thyme, minced
1 t ground cloves
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t black pepper
1 block of tofu, pressed1. Press the tofu by placing between 2 plates and weighting the top with a couple of cans. Let stand for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Meanwhile combine the remaining ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.
3. Drain the tofu and slice lengthwise into 3 slices. Place layers on top of each other and slice on the diagonal to cut into triangles. Cut again into the opposite corners so that you are left with 12 tofu triangles. Place in 8×12 baking dish and pour jerk sauce over top, making sure all sides of the tofu are covered. Bake for 1 hour, turning pieces frequently. Serve with rice.
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Wow, this looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it!
Oh, dude, that is one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. I bought it years ago, when I was just out of university and have referred to it ever since. I urge you to give it another try (love the West African peanut stew, for starter)!
Lately I have been making many of your recipes and have been enjoying them immensely.
I made the braised cabbage with the brown rice with mushrooms. Yum! I made the squash lentil tofu curry. De-lish!
Aromatic foods. What’s not to like? A perfect segway to tell you that my term paper is on ‘olfactory overload.’ It’s based on the insidious way neurotoxic fragrances find their way into our everyday household products.
I much rather smell jasmine rice and jerk-spiced tofu in the air than use ‘Febreeze’ or ‘Oust’ in my home.
Curious about what’s inside cosmetics? Here’s a great resource:
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
That is seriously one of my favorite cookbooks (and I have close to 100). I use it all the time but have never made either of those dishes – time to try! For amazing smells and even better taste, try the twice baked sweet potatoes. It’s a favorite of mine and my clients.
I just posted a Mrs. Meyers product on my blog (lavender dishsoap) – it is sooo good!
I love jerk spicing/flavoring. This looks wonderful!
the tofu looks like it got a nice crisp crust on it or are my eyes failing me? I have a hard time getting my tofu to get crispy outside, soft inside. Lemongrass smell reminds me of summer :::sigh::
I love that hand soap too! Ammmmmazing!
I bought that candle too! Isn’t it great….I just love it…evn not lit. The jerk tofu looks good, I will have to give it a try.
Those ingredients are making me salivate!
The rice looks so pretty molded like that.
Hilarious!
After realising it’d been about a year since I last ate tempeh, last night I whipped up a batch of jerk-spiced tempeh. The kissing-cousin of your tofu recipe, really.
Delicious!
Liz, the meal was totally amazing! Let me know if you give it a try.
Hungry, I've got the peanut stew bookmarked! Thanks 🙂
Rawbean, hooray for good smells!
Bijoux, glad you're trying them out & loving them. It's great to hear 🙂 As for the cosmetics db, I've seen that site before. Scary!
Good to hear that it's a well-used cookbook, Dana. I'll definitely be trying more recipes out.
Hag, that candle is the BEST. I love it!
Thanks Cakespy, it was rather wonderful 🙂
Amanda, too funny! I guess we both felt like jerks 😉
Dawn, sadly, it's not a crisp crust on the tofu…just the delicious marinade packed onto the sides of the tofu! The photo was taken the next day when i was eating leftovers for lunch. Still delcious, just not crispy.
Thanks Aimee!
Jasmine rice smells so wonderful cooking on its own, my nose is twitching at the idea of adding lemongrass, basil and pineapple. How could that not be good?
Oh my, I heart jasmine rice! It has long been a sweetheart companion to many tofu and rice dishes.
Thank you, because I think this is going on the most recent recipe agenda!
Ooo yum I didn’t notice this recipe in the cookbook. I made a jerk tofu once and didn’t really like it but I should give this one a try.
Marisa, I hope you enjoy this twist on Jasmine rice!
Hanne, it just is great. All those flavours whip up into amazing-ness. Truly.
Eatme, this is a pretty good recipe! The rice especially. Thanks for giving me the inspiration to look into this cookbook again!
Can someone help me out? I tried this recipe, and while the rice was perfect, I couldn’t get the tofu to come out right. The sauce mostly slid off of the tofu slices and ended up baking onto the pan, making a nasty mess that went through two SOS pads to clean up. Would marinating the tofu in the sauce first help?
p.murray, I’m sorry the tofu didn’t turn out for you. I didn’t have the problem with the sauce sliding off. You can definitely try marinating it and then adding a bit of oil to the pan so it won’t stick or baking it on a silpat mat.
i just made this and my apt smells amazing! so delicious. your recipes are always so inspiring, thanks so much!!!
this looks fantastic! so nice to find your blog. it looks great. so stylish. love the header!
hmmm I made this tonight and it didn’t turn out very well. The clove flavor was VERY overwhelming. I only used the amount stated in the recipe, but my ground cloves are from Penzey’s and brand new. I wonder if that was the problem?
Anyway, love your blog!
thanks edgecakes, glad you liked it!
redmenace, thank you 🙂 i'm blushing!
liz, it could be. i don't have penzy's spices here in vancouver, and i've heard they're very good & strong! my cloves are shamefully old, however, the cookbook did state that amount as well. maybe take it easy on the cloves for awhile until they begin to mellow!
Well, being the 22nd commenter, is there anything else for me to say? Actually, I haven’t cooked with tofu much (except stir-fry and using it in smoothies – which may or may not count as cooking). But I’m thinking that the process used in this tofu recipe could be very versatile. For example, would using other kinds of sauces work (sweet and sour? barbecue sauce? etc.) and also making small ones stuck in toothpicks as a kind of appetizer, perhaps with dipping sauces (or not). Of course, this is all speculation, and waits to be actually tested out… Thanks for putting it up. You have a lot of good recipes. I also like your page headings… very creative.