I will have to admit that I am a meat and potatoes kinda of girl therefore a lot of the recipes I will post will have meat. I try to cook a couple of vegetarian dishes and use tofu,eggs, nuts and lentils or copious amounts of cheese. Isaiah has claimed he is a vegetarian. He had an experience where he was at a party where they were roasting a whole pig. While he was bouncing up and down on a trampoline which was in an adjacent garden. He kept bring up a lot of questions about meat. Where it comes from, and why this little pig was on a stick going around circles over hot coal. For me this was a delicious feast on the eyes.  For my son who was not impressed at all, he and I had our first conversation about the how and where meat comes from. Since the concerned look and the proclamation of becoming a vegetarian, I do give him the option of having  egg or tofu if he would prefer not to eat meat for dinner.

My first dish I will post surprisingly is a vegetarian dish which my mother used to make for us when we were small. It is simple and delicious. It is an Chinese dish made with tofu, ginger,garlic and soy sauce. A lot of my favorite meals are Chinese and usually when I do cook greens I make them based off of dishes I have learnt from my mother who is Chinese. This dish can be served with greens veggie's and rice (I usually prefer Japanese rice because of the texture and taste).

Steamed Tofu with ginger and Garlic

As you can see from the pictures, I have created my own steamer. If you have your own traditional Asian steamer you wont have to cook your tofu this way. All you would need to do is place the bowl in the steamer and steam the dish the way you would usually use the steamer. I have used a very large pot, a small Chinese bowl (I found these bowls are very resilient to the hot water and heat from the pot). I then have this small dutch oven style pot for the tofu which is usually for baked brie cheese. It makes a nice presentation if you have guests coming over.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yields 2-3 servings
Ingredients
1 small pkg of medium firm tofu (you can find tofu in most large grocery stores now)
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/4 sesame oil
2 tbs of Chinese cooking wine
1/2 small Thai chili pepper cut into small pieces ( this can be omitted if you prefer, they are very hot).
1/2 tsp sugar or honey
3-4 tbs grated ginger (ginger is a staple in my house, I always add more. But if you prefer a little this is o.k too).
3 bulbs of finely chopped or grated garlic.
1 sprig of green onions chopped for garnish before being served.

Just a small note: when grating the ginger and garlic save the juices and pour it into the sauce before steaming.

Preparation:

 In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce,wine,sesame oil. Then whisk in the sugar/honey. Add the cut chili's, ginger (with it's juice), and garlic. Let it stand in the bowl for 10-15 mins to let the sauce marinate. While this is being marinated if you don't have a steamer create the one I have suggested up top. Add 2 cups of water to the pot (you may need to add more water if it slowly evaporates later during the cooking process). Then cover the pot to let the water heat and slowly create steam for your dish. Cut the tofu to the size of the bowl you will be using and place in bowl. Add the marinated sauce over it and quickly place it in the pot trying to not let all the steam come out. Cook dish for 25 minutes add chopped green onions and serve immediately with the accompanying side dishes.

I would like to add that this dish can be pan fried too.Cut the tofu into rectangles 1 cm thick and place in a flat plate. Pour the sauce over and marinate each side for 15 mins. Then heat the pan add a little oil and place tofu in pan, cook each side till golden brown. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

This dish is so simple that after a while you can add and change ingredients to your preference.