Tofu Tip #3

Stuff it!

Tofu makes the perfect stuffing and uncannily resembles cheese. I have used it to stuff lasagna, ravioli, and even collard greens! Using the ricotta recipe I gave in Tip #1, I whipped up some DELICIOUS and healthy stuffed collard greens. This is not only a great use for tofu, but it's also a great use for grains and collard greens. It's pretty easy to make too!

Stuffed Collard Greens

I bunch of collard greens (about 10 large leaves)
1/2 C buckwheat (or other grain)
1/2 C amaranth (or other grain)
2 1/2 cups water
1 tbs miso
1 batch of tofu ricotta
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 C sundried tomatoes
1/2 C basil
2 tbs lemon juice
4 cloves garlic (minced)
olive oil for drizzling
salt and pepper to taste

Add the grains, water, miso, salt, and pepper to a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and cover. Let simmer for 35-40 minutes, or until all water has been absorbed. Add the tofu ricotta, sundried tomatoes, and basil to a food processor. Blend until well combined. Add this mixture to the cooked grains. This is the filling. Trim the stems from the collard greens and begin filling them. Lay one leaf down, add about 1/4 cup of filling, and roll up to close. Line them side by side in a baking pan. When finished, sprinkle with lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.



I needed to mention this too! I don't really watch TV, but when a friend told me about these commercials I had to find them on YouTube. I am speechless! I visited their website www.sweetsurprise.com and they surprisingly even tell you how it's made. Have a look for yourself, how natural does it sound?





"Corn refiners make high fructose corn syrup from corn starch, which must be separated from other components of the kernel. Cleaned, shelled corn is soaked in warm water containing 0.1% to 0.2% sulfur dioxide, which softens the kernels and facilitates separation of the various components: starch, hull, protein and oil. The soaked corn is milled to release the oil-containing germ, which is separated from the components by hydrocyclones. The resulting starch, hull and protein components are then finely ground and screened to remove the hull. The resulting slurry is passed to a continuous centrifuge to separate the starch and protein components. The starch is washed and concentrated in a series of hydrocyclones.

The enzyme alpha-amylase is added to a slurry of starch and water to liquefy or reduce the particle size of the starch to produce glucose polymers. Enzymes are nature's catalysts to get things done. This step is followed by saccharification with the enzyme glucoamylase, which breaks the glucose polymers down to their basic building blocks. The resulting glucose mixture is filtered and clarified by centrifugation, carbon filtration and ion exchange.

A small amount of magnesium is added to the purified glucose solution. Glucose isomerase, an enzyme, is used to convert a portion of the glucose to fructose. The resulting mixture is 42% fructose, 53% glucose and 5% higher sugars. The mixture is refined with carbon filters and ion exchange. The fructose content of the resulting syrup is enriched by chromotographic separation, accomplished by passing the syrup through a column of adsorbent containing calcium or other cation that attracts the fructose portion of the syrup. This step produces a syrup that is about 90% fructose, which is then blended with the 42% fructose syrup to produce one that is 55% fructose, 42% glucose and 3% higher sugars. The final syrup is refined by carbon filtration and ion exchange and then evaporated to 77% solids for shipping."

-Corn Refiners Association

http://sweetsurprise.com/get_sweet_smart.php