Tofu Cutlet

Never had this before - Tofu Cutlet.

Kind of an interesting product.  One of the issues with tofu is that it is very wet, and if you are going to stir fry it you typically need to drain and press out the liquid.  It takes a while, it is a little messy and it is not conducive to a quick meal.

So I picked up some Tofu Cutlet at L'Oriental, which is a local asian grocery.  Basically it appears to be pressed and deep fried tofu block.  Taste is somewhat bland (that's a surprise), however it is very easy to use - just cube, slice, whatever, and it is ready to go.

I used in in a stir fry - mushrooms and chinese mustard greens, with a hoisen sauce, with some buckwheat soba cooked and then tossed with.

At least I think they are chinese mustard greens.  I should of asked.  Peacock Tail mustard greens, I believe

Pork Tinga - sorta like Rick Bayless (but not)

At Casa Mexicana, Tinga is one of my favorite dishes there.

Fortunately, it is easy and cheap to make at home.  Basically think of it as a Mexican Pork Stew.  Easy to make in a crock pot or to braise on a stove top or in the oven.

Dad's Version of Tinga

I started with this recipe from Rick Bayless - but his version is considerably spicier than mine.  Good if you like spicy, not so good if you have to feed my family.  So mine is heavily spiced, but no heat.

One key item - I use adobo seasoning (from Penzey's), while Rick Bayless uses chipotles in adobo sauce.  They are NOT the same thing.  Adobo seasoning is garlic, onion, Tellicherry black pepper, Mexican oregano, cumin and cayenne red pepper.  Chipotle's in adobe sauce is
Chipotle Peppers, Tomato Puree, Vinegar, Onions, Sunflower Seed Oil, Sugar, Salt, Paprika and Garlic, and is quite hot.


Don't confuse the two.

Tinga with Home Grown (frozen) Sweet Corn

Ingredients

1 pound lean, pork shoulder, pork loin or boneless pork ribs  Trim and cut into pieces, 1- 2 inches in size.
3 medium  potatoes, pealed and quartered
1 large white onion, halved and sliced thin
1 green pepper, cut into chunks if you don't like to eat it, thin sliced if you do)
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1  28-ounce can diced tomatoes, in juice
Chicken Stock (enough to cover)
2 tbs adobo seasoning (not chipotles in adobo sauce)
Salt and Pepper

Recipe

Season the pork heavily with salt, pepper and at least 1 tbs of adobo seasoning.
Heat the some oil in a le crueset, brown pork chunks, set aside
Brown onion and green peppers
Add garlic and 1 tbs adobo seasoning, cook for 2 minutes
Add chicken stock to deglaze
Add tomatoes
Add potatoes and browned pork.
Cook on low heat for 1-2 hours, or in crock pot for 6 hours till pork is very soft.

Many options on how to serve this.  You could use it as a taco filling - shred or chuck it up a little.  Serve it over mexican rice and beans.  Serve on top of a salad with lettuce, fresh tomato, onions, some cheese and avocado (no dressing required).  Serve over brown rice.  Eat it like a soup.  Serve it with sweet corn.  Any way you serve, it will be great.

Eye of Round - Roast Beef

this is just so I keep this recipe - I have done it this way - you want to be sure to keep it rare

McDonald's New Cheddar Bacon Onion Burger - the Review

Yes, I eat way too often at McDonald's.  Yes, it is terrible for you.  But it is everywhere, and it is usually open at 10 when I am traipsing home.

So, at not one of my favorite McD's, I stopped in and ordered one of their new Cheddar Bacon Onion Burgers.  Now, as you might expect, their advertising stops at nothing. White cheddar, hickory smoked bacon, fried onions, angus beef, artisan role, steak sauce.  They have a chicken option also.

Well, this is what mine looked like.

Not too bad, but when they made it, I think they whispered "onions" over it, rather than pile them on as their picture makes it appear.  But really the only important thing is taste - so how was it?

Better than a microwaved C-store burger.  Not a fan of McD's "Angus" beef - never seems to taste like real beef to me.  I liked their steak sauce (mustard mayo based?), the mushrooms were ok as were the onions, but a little short and the amount, as I said before.  Bacon was typical for McD's - cooked, but not crisp.  Kind of like that microwave bacon before you microwave it.  It was far better than the new Wendy's Bacon Portabella Burger, which is worse than a microwaved C-Store burger.

I will say that the fry's at this McD's were TERRIBLE.  Stale, barely warm, clearly at the end of their hold time if not past it.  Only to be expected at this McD's.  Like I said - not my favorite place, but it is very convenient for me.

A review of the chicken version is here.

Starbucks Pumpkin Scone – dry, bland and just plain bad

I had some time to fill between meetings.  I like Starbucks if for no other reason I can get wifi and plow through some work.  I pay for this by purchasing a burnt coffee and some type of frozen and thawed/reheated bakery product.  It's generally edible, but like I said, I am paying for the wifi and ability to get some work done.

In doing this, I usually stick to one of their breads – lemon often.  It’s ok.  Nothing to write home about, but it’s generally edible.

No, I did not try to make those crumbs

I instead went for the pumpkin scone this week.  Bad Choice

Let’s see….it’s good points were….nothing.  Not much pumpkin flavor, dry, crumbly.  A perfectly terrible waste of $2.25.  I mean, awful.  Is it really so hard to make a product that your average starbuckian employee could thaw/reheat?

Places to eat in Madison - Paisan's

Daughter #2 moved to Madison, and asked me, where should I be sure to go out to eat?  So this is the start of a series - Places to eat in Madison

First up - Paisan's.  

Funniest, and most accurate review of Paisan's I have read said "Ownership of a UW alum license plate and likeliness of an appreciation for Paisan's are in direct correlation.".  That is a true statement - or at least certainly the correlation is there for anyone who has gone to UW Madison.

There is a definite split in views on Paisan's - either people think it is the best thing ever, or they think, meh, kind of average.  Put me in the column of best thing ever.  First up - best Pizza ever.  Thin, crispy crust, great toppings (love me some of that italian sausage).   The Porta salad also gets high marks.  Sandwiches - good. Pasta - only meh.  Stick with the Pizza.  

If your interested in an adult beverage, you have to have the Sangria - available in white or red versions, it is the original wine cooler, only it tastes good.

Only downfall is the prices have gone up - $13 for a small pitcher of sangria?  That used to buy you two large!  

Review of Goodies.co October Surprise Box - Does Walmart Have a Winner?

Just to ruin the suspense, right off, yes, Walmart has a winner.  It was great fun getting a box of surprises.  We opened it together, and even did an unboxing video.  For those not aware, Walmart has started Goodies.co, which sends out samples to members who pony up $7.  You are then asked to rate the products and provide reviews.  For whatever reason, I cannot log in on the site, so here are our comments.

Of course, however, we had not done the taste test yet.  So, here are the results.  You should note that the survey was of four adults, no children.  Ages were 49, 49, 21 and 19, so consider that, if you will.

Four of us tried all six products.  We then scored them on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being "More, right now" and 5 being "I would rather eat grass".  I then added the scores each item got, then divided by the number of voters.  This gave us a composite score of the participants.  Very scientific.  Your results may vary. Some of the items got consistent scores, some scoring was widely divergent.  From the worst to best....

Juicefuls - 4.3 - Very divergent scoring - a 2, 3, 4 and 5.  Some felt they were far better than your average fruit gummy, others not impressed. You will either like these, or not.

Mayesa - 4 - Super divergent - 5, 5 and 2.  Very polarizing product.  Do not expect this to taste like chocolate milk.  Very strong seasoning.  We theorize that if you like soy milk, you will like this.  If you like real milk, then not so much.

Smartfood Selects Cinnamon Brown Sugar  Popped Chips - 3.3 - Pretty consistent 3, 3, 3 and a 1.  A common comment was like Cinnamon Crunch Cereal, but good tasting.  This is the opposite of the Mayesa - very mild flavors.







Dang  Toasted Coconut Chips - 2 - Everyone liked these, just some more than others.  Scores were 3, 2, 2 and a 1.  These were good on their own, and would be good with other things, like ice cream or nutella.  Interestingly enough, this was a kickstarter project.

Brownie Brittle Chocolate Chip - 1.5 - Now we are getting into what we really liked - a 1, 1, 1 and a 3.  They are advertised as the crispy corner of a brownie pan, and that is what they are like.  Very sweet.

Nutella & Go! - 1.25 - Well, duh.  Top scores - 1, 1, 1 and a 2 (the 2 only because the reviewer felt that Nutella is not new and exciting, just simply exciting.  We have been eating it for 40 years





Overall, it was not just the food products that made this fun - also the event - we waited for the box, the box had to sit on the counter till I came home, then we all opened it together and tried it.  It was an event - we had fun with it and argued over our views.  I (we) look forward to the next box.  For $7, it was great fun.