This menu is very easy and can be assembled in about 15 minutes.  It's perfect for vegans, very low in calories and refreshing for summer days. Ingredients:

• 1 package of Extra Firm Tofu
• 1/3 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Palm Sugar (you can buy it from any Asian grocery stores or substitute with regular sugar)
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
• 1 teaspoon Sasame seeds 
• Cilantro for garnish

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients except for tofu and sesame seeds for the vinaigrette, stir well and chill. Cut tofu into squares about 1/2 inch. thick. Pat dry.  Heat your grilling pan or just regular pan.  When hot just lay the pieces of tofu into the pan.  Brown both sides and use flat spatula to carefully move the browned tofu into a salad plate. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the tofu.  Sprinkle the sesame on top. Then serve with cilantro or vegetable of choice.

I always love to read Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate every now and then -- especially during Valentine's Day fever (hee. hee). Tita's rituals and magic in her recipes are the most romantic of all times.



Last Valentine's Day, I attempted magical rituals of my own -- and the results were pretty good.... My presents brought a big smile and magically disappeared in a flash...



xoxoxoxoxoxooxox

[grandmother] said that each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can’t strike them all by ourselves; just as in the experiment, we need oxygen and a candle to help. In this case, the oxygen, for example, would come from the breath of the person you love; the candle could be any kind of food, music, caress, word, or sound that engenders the explosion that lights one of the matches. For a moment we are dazzled by an intense emotion. A pleasant warmth grows within us, fading slowly as time goes by, until a new explosion comes along to revive it. Each person has to discover what will set off those explosions in order to live, since the combustion that occurs when one of them is ignited is what nourishes the soul. . .You must of course take care to light the matches one at a time. If a powerful emotion should ignite them all at once they would produce a splendor so dazzling that it would illuminate far beyond what we can normally see; and then a brilliant tunnel would appear before our eyes, revealing the path we forgot the moment we were born, and summoning us to regain the divine origin we had lost. The soul ever longs to return to the place from which it came, leaving the body lifeless. . .
-Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel-

. . . when she first felt his hot gaze burning her skin. She turned her head, and her eyes met Pedro’s. It was then she understood how dough feels when it is plunged into boiling oil. The heat that invaded her body was so real she was afraid she would start to bubble—her face, her stomach, her heart, her breasts—like batter, and unable to endure his gaze she lowered her eyes and hastily crossed the room. . .
-Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel-

xoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxo

The kitchen becomes a veritable reservoir of creative and magical events, in which the cook who possesses this talent becomes artist, healer, and lover. Culinary activity involves not just the combination of prescribed ingredients, but something personal and creative emanating from the cook, a magical quality which transforms the food and grants its powerful properties that go beyond physical satisfaction to provide spiritual nourishment as well.

-"Romancing the Cook," by Susan Lucas

INGREDIENTS:

• Spinach
• Dried Cranberries
• Oranges
• Roasted Sunflower Seeds

STRAWBERRY VINAIGRETTE

• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or grape seed oil)
  

In a screw-top jar combine 1/4 cup of the vinegar-berry mixture and oil. Cover; shake well. Drizzle over salad. Store any remaining dressing in the refrigerator.

This basic shortbread recipe can be used as base for many types of cookies. I sometimes use it as cheesecake crust too.


BASIC SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup butter

1. In a mixing bowl stir together the flour and sugar. Then cut in butter till mixture resembles fine crumbs. Form mixture into a ball and knead till smooth.
2. For wedges, on an ungreased cookie sheet pat or roll dough into an 8-inch circle. Using your fingers, press to make a scalloped edge. If desired, use a fork to prick the dough. Using a sharp knife, cut dough circle into 12-16 pie-shaped wedges. Do not separate wedges.
3. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or just till edges are lightly browned. Cut into wedges again. Then remove wedges and cool on a wire rack. Makes 12-16.


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RASPBERRY JAM SHORTBREAD

Ingredients

1 recipe Basic Scottish Shortbread

1/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam (substitute strawberry, blackberry if desired)

1/2 of a recipe Powdered Sugar Icing


1. Prepare dough for Basic Scottish Shortbread as directed.
2. After kneading dough, divide dough in half. Shape each portion into an 8-inch roll. Place the rolls 4-5 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Pat each roll into a 2-inch-wide strip. Using the back of spoon, slightly press a 1-inch-wide indentation lengthwise down the center of each strip.
3. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or just till edges are lightly browned. Transfer cookie sheet to a wire rack. If necessary, re-form the indentations in the shortbread. Then immediately spoon the jam evenly into the indentations. While shortbread still is warm, diagonally cut the strips crosswise into 1-inch-wide pieces. Drzzle with Podered Sugar Icing. Cool Completely, then remove cookies from cookie sheet. Makes about 18.

POWDERED SUGAR ICING

In a mixing bowl stir together 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla or several drops almond extract, and 1-2 Tablespoons milk to make of desired consistency. Makes about 1/3 cup.

It is claimed that California's Castroville (near Monterey) is the "Artichoke Capital of the World". So that makes me who's a devout fan very happy. Artichoke is full of anti-oxidants and easy to make a yummy treat even without any culinary skills :).

Clip away the thorny part of the leaves.


2. Cut the top off.


3. In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, a clove of garlic, a slice of lemon, and a bay leaf (this adds wonderful flavor to the artichokes). Insert a steaming basket. Add the artichokes. Cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 25 to 45 minutes or until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off. Note: artichokes can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (about 15-20 minutes cooking time). Cooking time depends on how large the artichoke is, the larger, the longer it takes to cook.



Artichokes may be eaten cold or hot, but I think they are much better hot. They are served with a dip, either melted butter or mayonnaise. My favorite dip is mayo with a little bit of balsamic vinegar mixed in.

• Pull off outer petals, one at a time.

• Dip white fleshy end in melted butter or sauce. Tightly grip the other end of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal. Discard remaining petal. Continue until all of the petals are removed.

• With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the "choke") covering the artichoke heart.

The remaining bottom of the artichoke is the heart. Cut into pieces and dip into sauce to eat.

Baking at midnight has become something of a fetish lately... and here I go again... anybody wants to try my banana bread?