Some Tried-and-Trues: Jambalaya, Spicy Red Dragon Pie

Lately we seem to have been going over old tried-and-true recipes here - what's called 'in a rut' or 'in one's comfot zone', dpending on the point of view. Yesterday I got 'creative' and decided to revamp my Jambalaya recipe. Well, it wasn't a huge change, but it was a good meal, as you can see below.

Okay, as you see in the photo, I added more mushrooms - way more - than the recipe called for, and I also decided it didn't much matter what colour the peppers were as long as they were pretty (of course it doesn't), and I used a couple of jalapeno peppers instead of the thai chilies I usually use - a less subtle flavour, but I think it is better with this robust dish.

Then, instead of the tofu, I used a little over half a pack of tempeh - which had been marinating in a Tbsp low-sodium soy, ginger, garlic and chilies with a Tbsp hot water while I was dealing with the vegetables in the pan. Actually, I like tempeh much better than tofu, and some say it is even better for you :) Here it is added to the pan.
And here you see the completed dish, bar a little extra simmering time, with the cooked rice added. Surprisingly good, I always think - and wonder why I don't make it more often.

And here's the finished dish - all ready for lunch, cilantro garnish (cuz we love cilantro) and all.





I also had a craving for SPICY RED DRAGON PIE - so I made enough for three luncheon meals for the two of us. We're having a re-run of it today :) Yayyyy!!! On Monday we had it with some broccoli florets steamed with crushed chilies and garlic and a little ginger (love ginger) and
a salad with baby spinach, apple, etc. Not quite sure what it will be today!

JAMBALAYA

This dish is what we had for lunch today - it is a quick fix and has the virtue not only of using up what's left in the fridge but also being healthy, low-cal and almost fat-free :)

This used to be a standby with us for those days when we seemed to have a bit of this and a bit of that needing to be used before we pressed on to making new dishes. A friend reminded me of it recently, so here I was at lunchtime today making my low-fat version of -

JAMBALAYA

- serves 2 generously (ie. we had a serving left over)

1/3 lb extra-firm low-fat tofu, frozen, thawed, squeezed & cut in 1/2-in cubes.* Do the squeezing and cubing first, then set tofu aside.
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 large rib/stalk celery, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper/capsicum, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
6 white mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 Thai red chiles, finely chopped (you may want more)
1/2 large (28-oz) can tomatoes, chopped, with juice
healthy shake or two of oregano
1 tsp cummin
1/4 tsp cayenne - or more :)
1/4 tsp ‘liquid smoke’ (you can leave this out, but it is nicer in)
1 cup cooked brown rice
salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish? - I used some green onions

* THE TOFU: If you freeze it, it gets a wonderful texture. You will need to squeeze out excess water after it defrosts. Be kind to it.

Put the onions, garlic, chiles in a large skillet over medium-high heat with a little liquid (water or stock) until the mushrooms are translucent. Add all the other vegetables and seasonings and stir well.


Stir in the rice then carefully stir in tofu without breaking it up.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook covered for around 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the vegetables are just cooked. NOTE: you should check about half way through the cooking - you may need to remove the lid to finish the evaporation of the liquid. Garnish and serve.