Food Friday on Empty Streets: Tofu Burger

I know that this recipe is a bit delayed. I have been overly busy with my new job as an Accounts Manager in the company that I am working in and trying to learn how to balance time is quite a challenge. Eating healthy has become quite a challenge just as much as my job so I decided to bring my own lunch instead of eating out in the fast food chains that can be so easily tempting to grab a bite from. So for today am featuring a cool but tasty vegan meal known as Tofu Burger.

Here is how to make your own:
Ingredients
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
2 eggs
1 c. bread crumbs
3/4 c. walnuts, ground or finely chopped
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. soy sauce
Black pepper
3 cakes tofu, pressed

Procedure:

To press tofu: Place cakes between plates or baking sheets.

Weight the top wit ha bowl of water, heavy can or etc.

The sides of tofu should bulge but not split. Let stand 30 minutes.

Pour off water.

Saute vegetables and basil in oil until tender, about 10 minutes.

In large bowl, lightly beat eggs, then add bread crumbs, walnuts, and remaining ingredients.

Mash the pressed tofu with your hands and add it to the bowl, along with the sauteed vegetables.

Stir well. Pat into 6 large burgers.

Bake on oiled baking sheet, about 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown on outside.

Serve with ketchup, pickles, tomato slices, lettuce on whole wheat buns.

This is a large batch - may want to half the recipe and use 1 cake tofu.

And for those that like to watch how another version of a vegan burger is done here is a video that I found to help you guys out:

Food Friday on Empty Streets: Ceasars Salad

I love a good salad and what surprised me the most today was that I found out that a lot of my officemates didn't know how to make a basic Ceasar Salad. So for their benefit I have prepared a pretty simple and easy recipe to follow. Cool thing about this recipe is you can add a lot of other things with it according to your taste.

Classic Caesar Salad
Serves 4 - 6 (depending on the size of the plates)
INGREDIENTS

* 2 head Romaine, washed, dried, and outer leaves discarded
* 3/4 cup garlic flavored olive oil
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
* 1 large lemon, halved
* 6-8 drops Worcestershire Sauce
* 2 Coddled Eggs
* 1/4 cup Imported Parmesan Cheese, grated
* 1 cup garlic croutons


PREP WORK

Wash, dry and discard the lettuce. That's it. Now put it all together.
HOW TO MAKE AT HOME

Place Romaine in a large salad bowl and assemble all the ingredients on a tray tableside. Pour about 1/2 cup of the garlic flavored olive oil over the Romaine. Toss gently using a rolling motion. Add salt and pepper and toss lightly.

Squeeze lemon juice-you should have about 2 1/2 ounces-over the salad and add the Worcestershire sauce. Break eggs over the salad. Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Add the cheese and toss again until the leaves are well coated.

Add the croutons last and toss slightly. Arrange individual leaves on a dinner plate, stem side out, the easier to eat with the fingers as Caesar Cardini intended. Serve immediately.

This recipe will serve 4 to 6 depending on the serving plate size.

Here is a video version of this recipe for you to try by a very cool chef ;)