Edible Tulip

Fried Tofu from T & T Market

Craving fulfilled. 5 out of 7 nights last week I ate fried tofu (alongside a variety of vegetables and rices) from the T & T Market down on Cherry Street. I could visit the SUPERmarket once every six months to stack up on large bags of basmati rice, canned curries, jars of pickled vegetables but I get a bit repelled from Asian markets for a number of reasons: the neon lights; the abundance of barely live fish in cloudy tanks; the total overpackaging that happens with all Asian goods - cellophane under saran over top individually plastic sealed nests of noodles; the plethora of things I only enjoy a few times of year anyway - seaweed salad, dimsum, sushi. In all of my local green grocers and health bulk stores, regular tofu is the only option. Fried tofu is preferable over plain tofu because: it keeps much longer before turning rancid; it is firmer and saltier than even the most firm plain tofu; men like it (and most men cannot stand tofu).

A typical tofu dinner for me includes:

brown basmati rice steamed separately

a starter of chopped garlic and ginger and vegetable oil (I use a blend of canola/oil)

any kind of vegetable diced or sliced or cubed (broccoli florets, green beans, carrot slices, snow peas, fresh peas, bok choy, swiss chard, rapini, cabbage, zucchini)

a hunk of fried tofu cubed

a handful of chopped raw almonds or cashews

a sprinkle of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes

Put the rice in a bowl, top with the vegetable mix, season with lemon juice and a dollop of Indian jalapeno or hot mango chutney. Add soya sauce or tamari to taste.

Mexican Gazpacho and Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

The night after a week of eating cottage food and a day of eating road trip food (in my case, Budweiser beer and salt & vinegar Lay's chips), and the night before to a large Italian sit down family feast, I invited my boyfriend over for a celebratory dinner, despite food being the last thing on my mind.

I wore a cranberry coloured polyester cocktail dress that I found at a vintage store on Roncesvalles Avenue for $15. It is smashing with diamond earring studs and strappy black peekaboo sandals. We had chilled Italian Prosecco. And a bottle of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that we got at a liquor store in Ellenburg, New York, that my father has been stopping at on his way to the cottage for more than 20 years. The guy has incredible deals. We got a California Cab Sauv, a French Rose, an Australian Sauvignon Blanc and an Australian Merlot for $26. He had three of the wines on a $4.99 special "last case in New York State" sell off. We ate the only meal I could summon myself to eat while I was trying both to detox and to cook in a sweltering kitchen - cold soup and vegetable laden bread with a bit of piquant. It's not fancy but it is sufficient in colour and aroma to make a romantic meal for two. I dressed the table with a tall yellow candle in a silver candlestick, aquamarine placements, grass green linen napkins, and the bamboo blinds pulled down enough to only let in slivers of urban light. The moon shone its silouhette through the matchsticks.

Menu

Mexican Gazpacho

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Fresh Peas, Mango Green Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Baskin Robbins Espresso Bean Ice Cream after a walk through Christie Pitts Park with the dog

Mexican Gazpacho serves 6

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp kosher salt

1 lg. cucumber, peeled,chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

4 ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

4 cups tomato juice

2 tsp ground cumin (I toasted cumin seeds instead and left them whole for a smoky flavour)

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 jalappeno pepper, chopped, sprinkle in a few seeds

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Black pepper

Cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Salsa Topping

1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced

Juice of 2 limes

Directions: Pound garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle. *my garlic only shredded, rather than being pounded out into a paste, but it worked fine 2. Put cucumber, bell pepper, celery, tomato and onion in a bowl, and add the garlic 3. Pulse 1/2 the mixture in a food processor until just blended but still a bit chunky. Pour back into the bowl. 4. Mix in tomato juice, cumin seeds, chili, and top with red wine vinegar. Stir. Chill several hours. 5. Just before serving the soup, dice the avocado and toss with the lime juice. Top each bowl with a spoonful of salsa. Season with pepper and a sprinkling of cilantro leaves.

Back to a Pantry Devoid of Cholesterol Ratings

We (my boyfriend, my dog and I) just returned from a week in the Adirondack mountains where we stayed in a cabin that literally hung over the rock face of a shore of Lake Champlain. It's such a magnificent backdrop of utterly breathtaking scenery - mountains, pine forests, craggy boulders - that nobody who visits comments on the odd choice of decorative ornaments that fill the cabin: a huge yoke for an ox, a hatchet, a rifle above the stone fireplace, a fishing net missing its net, old snowshoes. The lake crashes against the rocky shore. The train whistles through the mountains in darkness. The fireflies crackle like embers. The air is ripe wtih the musky scent of pine and cedar. And then there is the food.

People like to eat in cottage country. It doesn't seem to matter what state or province you camp in it simply seems to be an excuse to eat wherever you go. Our cottage is in hunting country. Heart of the Republican grip on middle America. Stars and stripes wave from every front stoop. The main streets are often desolate with many stores boarded up but still the flag rips in the wind and the gun and tackle shop do just fine with business. Is Ron Paul still in the Presidential race? Because I saw a few signs erected proudly on lawns.

Back to the food. I've never eaten so much meat in my life. If it wasn't meat, it had a beak or scales, and in my still recent journey into being a carnivore, if it has a beating heart it takes more mental energy not to mention kilowats to take in and digest over a baked eggplant or a bowl of brown rice and dahl. So, we had steak one night, chicken another night, left over chicken another night, grilled fish a following dinner, and hamburgers our last dinner. There was luncheon meat in the fridge and bacon and eggs for breakfast. I have never been so constipated in my entire life. Well, that's a lie, but not in so many months. My ridiculously regimented 'diet' or eating habits include as an example: fruit for breakfast. And only fruit. It may mean half of an entire melon with a handful of berries or chopped kiwi. I will probably follow it with a banana and then indulge in some cherries. Lunch is typically anything green. I have only eaten salads for lunch for more than a decade. They may weigh close to 7 pounds but they make me feel great. I load them with nuts and dried fruit and cheese and grated bits of something or other maybe toss in a few legumes and then ground it out with a variety of lettuces. Today's lunch was a sink sized tupperware of: mango, avocado, raw sunflower seeds, dried goji berries, romaine lettuce, cubes of old cheddar cheese. It was simply an artful amalgamation of all that I had on hand. Now if I was still at the cottage lunch would have been some take on a club sandwich. We even went out to a charming lakeside village for lunch one day where the ferry sets off across the lake to Vermont and I sat on the deck overlooking the water and ordered a beer and read the menu and it was all platters of chips, burgers, fried calamari, club sandwiches, popcorn shrimp, ceaser salad with chicken. I do not understand why salad is anathema to America. I also do not understand the concern people feel for me when I do eat salad for lunch. Eating vegetables is not akin to starving yourself.

My Italian boyfriend craved fresh tomato sauce on pasta all week to ease his wrenching stomach. I dreamt of the fried block of tofu in my fridge with chopped cucumber and cilantro over soba noodles in a spicy chile/soya/peanut sauce. We're happy to be home and ensconced in our respective pantries.