Kathy's Pic of the Week

Tofu Salad w/chilies and ginger

Tofu Salad w/chilies and ginger
Adapted from Beyond the Great Wall, by Alford & Duguid

Ingredients

1/2 block extra firm tofu, tofu noodles, pressed tofu your choice

1/2 - 1 tsp dried red chilies (use different varieties for flavor*)

2 tbs chinese soy sauce

1 tbs water

2 green onions sliced very thinly

1 tbs ginger minced

½ red bell pepper, minced

Mix dried chilies* with soysauce and water and set aside.

Prep the tofu, depending on what kind you are using.

· If using fresh extra firm, rinse and drain for a few minutes, pat dry and then cut into small 1/4 inch or less cubes.

· If using pressed tofu, open package and slice into small cubes 1/4-inch or less. Pressed tofu is very firm, compressed tofu. It comes plain or preseasoned, either works.

· If using tofu noodle, rinse to separate strands, drain.

Slice green onions, and mince ginger and bell pepper. Mix all ingredients together.

Let sit for a few minutes for flavors to incorporate. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with rice or roll the salad up in lettuce leaves.

Serves 1 or 2 for a snack

*dried chilies. I use mild dried chilies which have little heat but lots of flavor. Grocery stores often have a variety of dried red peppers. You can also try the local farmer's markets.

Thrifty joy!

I said to Don, with this post, my sisters are going to think I'm more "nuts" than they already do! Oh well, welcome to my little world. I wanted to find a way to donate more to the food bank and not go out of my budget. It is also a less painful way to keep a few extra of the items you use a lot of.

I went to Albertsons and saved $9.64 shopping sales and using coupons and spent $6.63
I went to Walgreens and saved $24.73, and spent $7
I went to Fred Meyer and saved at least $20 and purchased everything on sale--there are a lot of good deals on organics and in natural foods right now. I got the brand of packaged Indian dinners that Aji loves for $2/ea vs the usual nearly $4/ea.
Audrey also got her favorite Coconut Milk Ice Cream - Purely Decadent on sale and with a coupon for $2.00. The regular price $5.49?

It is not hard. It is not actually that time consuming. I found a good coupon site called the discount queens. I compared them to many others. If you find one good site, it is not really necessary to use any others because they are all blogging the same deals.
If it seems too good to be true and wonder if it is "ok" to do, the store accepts this method of couponing because the manufacturer pays them too. It is like the "loss leaders" they use in the weekly flyers. They take the loss to get you into the store. It is a free sample. (The organic shampoo was an amazing free sample!) Everyone is happy you are getting their product and hope that you are so happy you will get some more! I got a dark chocolate Reese's p-cup regular price of 89cents on sale for 49cents and used a 55cent manufacturer coupon. My total sale got credited the 6cents and I got a free candy bar.


Here are 2 of my highlight buys I think might interest you...

A new item at Walgreens. This was FREE. It has a "peelie" on it: A coupon attached to the item. This was a buy one ($7) and get one free, EXCEPT, there is a rebate for the entire cost for each item. FREE Organic shampoo and all I'm out is an envelope, stamp and 3 minutes.

Donnie likes his sandwiches wrapped in wax paper. Its a thing. This roll normally costs $1.99 at Walgreens. This weeks flyer (you can get the flyer at the store) it was 89 cents. The limit is 3 for the shopping trip. They have no problem you picking up another coupon if you come in again during the coupon expiration date (Walgreen's coupons are for 1 week).

Kathy's Pic of the Week

How to use leftovers – Momo Dough

I posted a recipe for Tibetan momos on February 17, 2010. Often when making momos there is leftover dough. My favorite way to use up this dough is to make Yow Bing or Chinese green onion pancakes.

Yow Bing

Ingredients

Dough leftover from making momos OR make full batch as outlined in the momo recipe

1 tsp to 1 tbs safflower oil or other neutral oil

salt,

1/4 to 3/4 cup very finely sliced green onions (depends on how much dough is left)

oil for frying

On a floured surface roll out the dough into a roughly circular shape to 1/8-inch thick. If dough is sticky, keep lifting up and dusting flour underneath as you are rolling. Spread a thin film of oil on the round and salt evenly. Sprinkle green onions evenly over surface, not too thickly. Roll the dough tightly into a tube. Cut the roll into 4 sections. Take one piece and dust with flour and roll again into a tube shape. Take tube and twist a few times then roll into a spiral, tucking ends in to seal. Roll out to a round about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Repeat until dough is used up. Use flour to dust the dough or work surface as needed.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium low heat and add enough oil to create a thick film. When hot, put in bread and cook for a couple of minutes. Press down occasionally to ensure even cooking. Turn bread over and cook for 2 minutes on other side. Continue to cook, turning form side to side until golden brown spots form and the bread is cooked through. Remove and put on a paper towel and let drain. Cook all bread this way. Serve hot, cut in quarters.

Note: the size of your bread will vary depending on how many times you divide up the dough or how much dough you have left over. I usually get four med-small breads from the left over momo dough.

Kathy's Pic of the Week