Did I Mention Our New Panini Grill?

Yes indeed.

Our kitchen is home to a shiny, new panini sandwich grill and we couldn't be more excited!

Loads of thanks to our friend, Shaun.

.

I think we were actually his tester Guinea-pigs, because after sampling only 37363536 amazing and tasty things we'd grilled, he went and bought himself one too!

.

The grill was actually a Christmas present specifically for my Middle Sprout. She'd had it on her wish list for over a year. No Ipod, no cell phone requests like most 15-yr-olds; this girl is truly the kitchen appliance queen and loves cooking, experimenting and playing with food as much as I do. We're fortunate that she's willing to share all the grilled goodness with the rest of us family members.
.
Now everything on our plates has those delicious toasty stripes. Even slabs of pineapple. (Without a doubt my FAVORITE!!)

Mr. Panini gets used frequently for quesadillas.

I've been having a lot of luck with vegan Tofutti slices; super-yummy with some cilantro, onions and tomatoes!

.

Avocado slices are good too, but my kids aren't fans of green goo oozing from their quesadillas. How sad. More for me.

Slices of potato turn out great! These had a little olive oil, pepper, sea salt and rosemary. I don't remember how long they took, but it was a while; do them on med-low so they cook through before browning to a crisp.

.

I didn't get a picture of the some of the tempeh - it was Shaun's favorite. Turned out pretty amazing too!! I simmered it in apple cider, let it marinate over night and grilled with a little soy sauce.

Grilled peanut-butter and sliced strawberries on thick whole-grain bread. Better than it looks!!

.

So decadent, but certain nine-year-olds like it better than junk food, that's always a plus.

And it actually makes AWESOME panini-type sandwiches too - who knew? Currently, I'm really liking grilled eggplant and portabello mushrooms on sourdough, or a tempeh-rueben.

.

If you've been considering yet another counter-hogging appliance, it's definitely a great multi-tasker. Lots of fun, super easy, get's dinner done FAST, hardly any clean-up, you don't need any oil for grilling most things.

.

Even vegans can get plenty of use out of these babies as our pictures show... Have a great week!!!!

California and Grandma's Birthday and Grilled Tofu

Just some random posts of family and food at Grandma's 90th Birthday Party.

We had such a wonderful time, can you tell?! The first thing we did was toast Grandma and her 90 well-lived years.

I added random pictures of me with my Grandma, my crazy and hilariously fun cousins, my darling little niece with the dog, and my wonderful Auntie J.

Of course the spread was far from vegan but my family watched out for me, (I have an awesome family!) and I made a side trip to Trader Joe's for veggie burgers, tofu, hummus and such.

Not to fear, I had plenty to eat right along with everyone else...









I'll leave you with my newest Tofu creation.

Grilled Tofu Kabobs

• 1 package EXTRA FIRM tofu
• 4 cups random veggies
• (tiny baby eggplants, cherry tomatoes, pre-boiled new potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, red bell peppers, pre-boiled baby carrot chunks, paper thin ginger slices)
• 2 cups marinade of your choice:
• I used:
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp. Tabasco

I learned something recently. I really didn't think you could actually marinate tofu and have the marinade soak in.
But, the secret to actually getting marinade to soak IN to tofu is to press the tofu a LONG time until it's squeezed practically dry and THEN marinate. It soaks up the marinade just fine!

So, here's what you do, it takes some advance prep but it's SOOOO worth it:
Slice block of tofu into thick slices. (About 4 in a block.) Wrap in
6 layers of paper towel. (I know, sounds wasteful, but this is what works - if you have a lot of cheesecloth, use that.)

Lay in a shallow baking pan or similar
and weight down with another pan of the same size. Put several heavy books or cans on top the covered tofu.
Put in the fridge 4 hours or overnight. Unwrap the soggy towels and wrap in dry paper towels. Do the process all over again for at least 4 more hours.

Unwrap tofu. It should have shrunk and become dense and dry and firm. Cut into cubes.
Put into a bowl or bag with marinade. Marinate overnight.

Thread onto skewers with the above listed veggies and several slices of ginger.
Grill over med-high heat for about 15 - 20 min., turning several times until veggies are very done. Baste with marinade several times while grilling.

Gently remove from grill. Serve hot. (If you grill extra, throw 'em together for an awesome Grilled-Veggie and Tofu salad the next day.)

Surround yourself with family and enjoy!