Connecticut Strawberry Ice Cream

24 hours - farm to freezer.

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts of fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, quartered
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
• 2 pints heavy cream

Directions:

• Macerate strawberries in 1/2 cup of sugar until well juiced.
• Add vanilla to strawberries
• Mash or blend strawberry mixture. I used a hand immersion blender.
• Add heavy cream and the rest of the sugar. 
• Mix well. 
• Add to ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's directions. 
• When ice cream has reached the desired firmness, transfer to a freezer container. 
• Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap into the mixture to work out any air bubbles.
• Put in freezer until ice cream is well set. 
• Homemade ice cream is even better on the second day, when the flavors have set!
• Scoop into bowls and serve. 

Yellow Curry & Lemongrass Tofu

This is pretty spicy, but adding some lemon juice and honey while cooking really rounded out the flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 package extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cubed
• 1 small jicama, diced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 small red pepper, diced
• 1 pound bok choy - firm ends diced and leaves chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, washed and minced
• 1 -2 teaspoons yellow curry paste
• 11 oz coconut water (one can)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried lemongrass
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 - 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• sea salt

Directions:

• First, make a marinade for the tofu cubes. In a bowl, combine yellow curry paste, coconut water, dried lemongrass, garlic powder, soy sauce and sea salt to taste. The marinade will be very spicy... so add the yellow curry in small amounts and adjust to taste. Mix well. 
• Add tofu cubes to the bowl, covering completely with the marinade. 
• Set aside.
• In a large saute pan, add olive oil and diced red pepper. Saute over high heat. 
• As red pepper begins to cook, add carrots, jicama and the firm ends of the bok choy.
• Saute the firm vegetables until all begin to cook.
• Reduce to medium heat and add some of the marinade liquid to the pan.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove the tofu from the marinade, and add to the vegetable mixture.
• Gradually add more and more of the marinade to the saute pan, gently folding in the tofu and vegetables.
• As the liquid heats up, add the chopped leaves of the bok choy and the cilantro.
• Add lemon juice and honey
• Fold all ingredients together
• Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the greens are cooked.
• Serve with your choice of rice

Chick Pea Crusted Baked Tofu

Last week, I tried a second version of veggie burgers, using canned chick peas, onions, egg and a host of garlic and oregano spices. The flavor was wonderful, but like my prior attempt at veggie "burgers", the texture just wasn't there and the mixture wouldn't hold a shape.

So, today, I tried something different. I crumbled the remaining chick pea mix onto a cookie sheet and lightly toasted it into a breadcrumb-like texture.

Then, I drained and sliced some firm tofu, bathed it in egg and dipped it into the chickpea crumbs.
Next, I baked it on a cookie sheet at 475 for 35 minutes, flipping it once.

Here's lunch today:

Chick Pea crusted Baked Tofu, roasted beets and kale chips.