Homemade Bagels with Maple Walnut Cranberry Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon Spread

I used to make bagels before I started this blog. I remembered how impressed Adrian was. He was telling everyone that I made bagels - "handmade, not machine. I didn't even know that's humanly possible!?!" The lady whom I'm doing rehabilitation work with even suggested I should start selling; seeing the lack of quality bagels in Thailand. Although I'm flattered, but apparently there are tonnes of others in the world who make bagels, with hand, at home.

I'm doing it again after so many months because Adrian is craving for good bagels. He even asked Sandra to buy bagels back from The State after her Thanksgiving trip in San Diego. Let's say we established that's not possible. Eventually he decided to ask me to bake them. As all good wives do, I obliged.

This time I'm using the recipe from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. This intimidating looking book is the only food book that I bought (or I made Adrian bought for me). It is a shame but I have to admit I haven't been making good use of the book since I got it through Amazon months ago. However, from what little I have gone through, I know it is THE book for amateur bread baker. It's full of recipes and instructions to experiment with artisan breads, also, basic concepts of bread baking, the science of bread, and information about equipment and ingredients. It also includes an extremely useful section on the twelve stages in the life of bread. What I like the most about this book is it helps me to understand why the recipe does what it does.

I made a mistake by making too many bagels at once: I forgot we have a small kitchen and refrigerator with limited space. Besides, 12 bagels is a lot of kneading to do with bare hand. Next time, I'm leaving the arm works to the American who craves for good bagels.

I made the bagels with two different toppings: poppy seeds and white sesame seeds to go with sweet filling such as Maple Walnut Cranberry Cream Cheese, and minced onions and garlic to go with savory filling like Smoked Salmon Spread.

I'm too lazy to type out the recipe but you can go to The Fresh Loaf for it. Nevertheless I'm happy to share our favorite bagel fillings:

Maple Walnut Cranberry Cream Cheese

Most recipes use a mix of sugar and maple syrup but why would you do that? I certainly don't.

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
  
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
  
• 1/4 Cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  

Whip cream cheese until smooth. While continuing to whip, slowly add all of the remaining ingredients. Cover and chill until firm (at least an hour or two).

Smoked Salmon Spread

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 oz smoked salmon, chopped
• 1 Cup sour cream (lemon juice + cream)
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon and zest
  

In large bowl, stir cream cheese until light and fluffy. Fold in salmon, sour cream, dill, capers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

Grape, Celery and Blue Cheese Salad with Toasted Walnuts

What is it with celery that I always need to use up the extra? Looking back, there have been more than once occasions where a recipe calls for little or not enough to use up the big bunch that they sell at the store. This is just another one of them.

This recipe uses grapes as its main ingredient and celery as a companion for a twist on the classic Waldorf. Fennel, endive or arugula also pair nicely with the grapes if you happen to have any of those on hand. Any of these will make a tasty substitute for the celery. For color and flavor variety, I used different green and red seedless grapes. Do not fool by this seemingly unassuming salad - wait till the blue cheese kicks in. "You redefine fruit salad"; "Extraordinary" YUM~

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 2 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 7 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Whisk ingredients together and keep in refrigerator until ready to use. This recipe makes enough for 4 - 6 servings. You can keep the extra dressing in refrigerator for future use.

For the salad:

• seedless grapes, halved or quartered
• ribs of celery, sliced
  
• walnuts, toasted and chopped
• blue cheese, crumbled

Toss all the ingredients together in a salad bowl. Pour dressing over to serve.

Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin

I never knew Thanksgiving is a American thing. I always thought it's one of those "Christmas", "Boxing Day" or "Halloween" things. So I did a little bit of googling and found out Thanksgiving falls on 26th November. So why did I make this now and not later? I guess I just wanted to try something different and Thanksgiving is just an excuses.

With apples, cranberries and nuts as ingredients, this dish has a festive taste to it. I know Adrian was very pleased with his "Malaysian Chinese wife making Thanksgiving dinner for her American husband in Thailand". It also answers his needs for Thanksgiving meal; it used to be "should I eat the turkey? Is it ok to eat just the stuffing?"

There's a lot of room to play with the ingredients. You can substitute cooked barley with lentils, toasted bread, long grain rice or seitan; raisin always works in place of cranberries; any types of nuts you have in hand; apple cider vinegar or dry white wine instead of lemon juice. Use a whole pumpkin if you are serving a small group of people. Cut a large circle around the stem and remove the seeds and stringy matter from the inside.

Ingredients:
(serves 2)
For the Stuffing:
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup mushroom, sliced
1/4 cup cooked barley
1/4 big apple, diced
Handful of walnuts and hazelnuts, chopped
Handful of dried cranberries
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano and sage, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cumin
pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1. In a sauce pan, saute onion with pinch of salt until fragrant. Add celery and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Add mushroom and cook for another 1 minute. Toss in cooked barley to coat evenly. Remove from heat and pour sauteed vegetable into a large mixing bowl.
   
2. Stir in apple, nuts, cranberries and beaten egg. Let the mixture sit for a moment.
3. Melt a tablespoon of butter over medium heat until it bubbles. Stir in garlic and cook for one minute. Stir garlic butter over vegetable mixture.
4. Add herbs and spices, finish with lemon juice and blend thoroughly.

For the Pumpkin:

• 1/2 medium pumpkin, seeds removed.

1. Press stuffing into the shell until the pumpkin is completely stuffed.
2. Using a sharp knife, cut several small, slit-like pockets at different levels in the exterior wall of the pumpkin. Dab a pat of butter into each of these crevices.
3. Place the stuffed pumpkin in an oiled baking dish and cook, in a preheated 180C oven, for about 1 1/2 hour. (Cooking time may vary, depending on the thickness of the pumpkin's wall.) Pumpkin is ready when fork inserted comes in and out easily through the shell.
   
4. As the pumpkin bakes, the butter will trickle down from one side-slit to another, finally winding up in the pan. Collect the dripping and dressing.
   

For The Gravy:

• cooked dressing and dripping from the pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a small frying pan. Add the pumpkin drippings and stuffing, being careful to break up the dressing as it simmers. Then slowly add the flour, stirring constantly. When the flour starts to brown, gradually pour in the water a little at a time, still stirring continuously. Add soy sauce. As soon as the gravy thickens, remove it from the burner. This should make 1 cup of sumptuous sauce for spooning over roast pumpkin slices.

Bear Heart Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Today, 16th November 2009, is our 2-year wedding anniversary. Or, as I prefer to call it: 730 days as Mrs Cox. Adrian arranged for us to stay a night at the Shangri-la Hotel. People wonder why would we do that given that our apartment is literally a stone throw away from the hotel. At least Shangri-la is at the other site of the river as our apartment; we get to see different view of the city from another angle.

Since it's our anniversary, and upon Mr Cox's permission, Mrs Cox decided to "take the day off" and not cook for the day. So we rode the apartment boat to the hotel, stormed straight into the Next 2 riverside cafe for breakfast buffet; we got a Spa appointment at 9.30am. Breakfast was good although Mr Cox thought "nothing is as good as your cooking".

We had a 3 1/2 hours couple spa treatment. It was way too long. I was terrified when they placed the 5th layer of mask on my face after the 8th cleanse (or whatever they were for). It was a huge relief for us when the masseurs finally let us go.

The rest of the day was spent chilling by the pool, eating free snacks and drinks at the club lounge, and watching TV (we kind of have this thing with TV while we travel to make up for the lack of TV back home). It wasn't exactly an exciting day but we both felt refreshed by the end of it. I think the occasional isolation from the "world" is necessary for the soul.

Someone once told me honeymoon is over after two years of marriage. There may be certain truth in that. In any case I prefer to see our marriage as an adventure. I'd be straight up lying if I say everyday has been great in this two years. But every time we fight it makes our relationship stronger than before; it makes me appreciate our relationship even more; I come to realize how truly I am in love with this man.

I panicked the day Adrian told me he had plan for our anniversary. What should I do then? I thought of a symbolical way of telling Adrian my wish of truly becoming one with him - no "he" no "I"; just "us". I'm keeping a little privacy here as to what I gave him. Along with that, as a gesture to commemorate our anniversary, I baked this oatmeal cookies in Bear and Heart.I adjusted the recipe to suit the Bear and Heart molds. You may double the amount to make 18 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 50gram of butter, soften at room temperature
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup natural cane sugar
• 1/2 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 tsp pure Vanilla
• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 cup Oatmeal
• 1/4 cup Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
   
2. Add a pinch of salt to the softened butter. Beat together with sugar until creamy.
   
3. Stir in egg, pure vanilla, flour, baking soda and oatmeal. The dough should not be too sticky.
4. Fold in chocolate chips, walnuts and cranberries.
5. Transfer dough into molds or drop by rounded teaspoons onto parchment paper.
6. Bake for 20minutes if using molds, or 7 - 11 minutes for cookies-size.
   

Pumpkin Goat Cheese Salad with Walnut and Cranberry Orange Vinaigrette

The key to this salad is the cranberry orange vinaigrette dressing that come with just a tinge of ginger. It is rather simple provided you have homemade cranberry sauce (not that you can't use commercial brand but why would you?) at hand. You can make a big batch of it and use it whenever you need that delicious dressing for your greens. When in hurry, simply omit the roasted pumpkins, and use fresh goat cheese instead of deep fried - I'm just in the mood for it since I made it with the Barley Pilaf. For aesthetic reason I spooned the dressing into the orange halves. You can dress it any way you like.

This dressing is a keeper.

Ingredients:
(makes 2 sides or 1 large)

Vinaigrette Dressing:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup homemade cranberry sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar
sea salt and Pepper to taste

1. Whisk the juice and cranberry sauce together in a large bowl until thoroughly blended.
   
2. Add in the ginger, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to taste and mix. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
   

Salad:
Salad greens
1/4 large pumpkin, peeled and cut into wedges
4 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons dried cranberries

Deep Fried Goat Cheese: (optional)
60 gram goat cheese, freeze and cut into bite-sized chunks
Unbleached all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
Breadcrumb

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Coat pumpkin wedges with olive oil and salt. Bake in oven till tender.
   
3. Place flour, egg and breadcrumbs in three separate plates. Coat goat cheese with flour, egg then breadcrumbs.
4. Heat a pan with pure coconut oil. Fry coated goat cheese for 2 minutes on each side.
   
5. Pile the salad leaves either on one large bowl or two individual plates. Top the greens with roasted pumpkins, walnuts, cranberries and goat cheese.
6. Drizzle vinaigrette over to serve.
   

Pomegranate Salad with Maple-Spiced Walnuts and Honey-Mint Lemon Dressing

I love a good fruit salad. It's the kind of dish that doesn't seem like much and requires some thought to make an impression . You know what I mean? Most fruit salads I have at restaurants are just mindless jumble of seasonal fruits. The more creative ones would add yogurt as topping. And that was my education of fruit salads through eating out.

I'm glad I'm a learner and I educate myself pretty well otherwise I may never discovered the beauty of a GOOD fruit salad. Especially the type that is filled with season's best, picked at their peak, and speaks FRESH in every bite. This fruit salad is a winner because it's tossed in a light sauce of fresh squeezed lemon juice, honey, fresh mint and a touch of cane sugar: just enough to bring out the natural sweetness in the fruits without overwhelming it while the fresh mint works as a refreshing compliment.

The key is to use fresh ripe fruit. Under ripe or overly ripe will kill it. And if you must, canned fruit such as mandarin orange wedges or even peaches can be used, but fresh is truly best. This is a very versatile recipe; you can use other fruits combination: blackberries, apples, pears, peach, etc.

This salad would be perfect for breakfast, brunch, dessert or potluck. It will also serve as compliment to French toast, waffle, or pancakes.

Ingredients:
(makes 4 side servings)

• 1 banana, peeled and sliced
  
• 1 pomegranate, peeled and break seeds apart
• 1 C seedless grapes, halved

Honey-Mint Lemon Dressing

• 3 TB pure honey
• 3 TB fresh mint, chopped
• 3 TB fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 3 TB natural cane sugar

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to toss with fresh fruits.

Caramelized Walnuts (optional)

• 1/2 C walnuts
• 1/3 TB Maple syrup
• salt and pepper
  

Combine walnuts, maple syrup, pinch of salt and pepper in a medium bowl, tossing well to coat. Spread pecan mixture evenly onto a baking sheet coated with oil. Bake at 180° for 15 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. Cool completely and break nuts into small pieces.

Mix cut, fresh fruits and Honey-Mint Lemon Dressing in a serving bowl. Toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle with chopped caramelized walnuts. Garnish with sprigs of fresh mint.

Beet and Feta Salad

Ever since the success of introducing beet root into Adrian's diet, I have been wanting to cook with more beet roots. As Dan said, beet root is a very versatile ingredients. He was generous enough to share with me some of his killer beet recipes back in his Bed Supper Club-day. They are really tempting, and equally intimidating. I'm going to stick to baby-step and experiment the home-style before I venture to the pro-style.

It's such a pain to cook beet - it takes such a long time to get it cooked! In my case, 40 minutes. What did I do as I wait? I whipped up an Apple Crisp.

The maple syrup-candied walnut was a good touch; it added some crunch to the salad. Its sweetness is a good compliment to the saltiness of feta. The orange zest, too, added a not overly whelming citrusy taste. On last thought, I threw in some sprouts (broccoli, alfalfa and pea) for variety.

Ingredients:

• beets, washed, trimmed and cut in half
• 1/3 cup of walnuts, chopped
  
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• salad greens of your choice
• 1/2 cup of orange juice, or one orange
• orange zest, grated
  
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• feta cheese, crumbled

1. Cover cut beets with water and boil until tender. About 40 minutes.
   
2. At the mean time, mix orange juice, balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a medium bowl.
   
3. Lightly toast walnuts in a frying pan for a few minutes. Add maple syrup and stir to coat.
   
4. When beets are done, let cool under running water. The skin will slide off easily at this point. Chop into bite-sized chunks.
5. Place salad greens to individual plate. Toss all ingredients together, spoon on salad green to serve.
   

Maple Sour Cream Walnut Muffin: Revisited

I hardly ever repeat the same recipe - I like to attribute it to my fondness for varieties. So many good recipes, so little time! There were exceptions:

1. Adrian requests for it.
2. My lack of motivation for net surfing.

And now this: Pee Wee. She's been a huge fan to my cooking and so it's impossible to say no to her. Besides, she's revisiting Bangkok as the newly crowned Little Mrs B. Congratulation =)

I basically followed the recipe as before. Except I used buttermilk plus sour cream, and mixture of maple syrup and agave nectar. Purely because I was short of each. Also, I dropped the topping randomly onto each batter instead of trying to smoothing it into one even layer. I like how the batter folded and molded around the crumbly topping as it baked; it makes the muffins look more textured.

I maintain this is a good muffin recipe. It shares the throne with Chocolate Zucchini Muffin with Peanut Butter Topping.

Roasted Beet with Orange and Walnut Dip

According to the Liver Detox book that I'm reading, beet root is good for toning and rebuilding the liver. Something I want to share with Nook. There has been ongoing investigation on the role of beet extract in protecting normal and diabetic livers, as well as they role on elevated cholesterol level in individual with cancer.

While the Romans used beet for fever and constipation, Roman soldiers famously coined 'take favours in the beetroot fields', as an euphemism for visiting the prostitute - beet root juice has been considered as aphrodisiac since the Roman times.

Beet root really is one of nature's many wonders - from treating indigestion to blood pressure and cancer - . Consumption of this purple vegetable also known to produce pink urine. We'll see.

So far I have successfully turned Adrian's dislike of olives and eggplants to the better. Tonight, it's a "I-hope-you-like-beet root-although-I-knew-you-don't" night. I saw the look on his face and it's understood when he said, though with a smile, "Don't take it personally if I don't eat much".

"You will like this" Says the cook.

Verdict: The cook is always right.

I like the nutty, creamy flavor the toasted walnut added to the dip. Adrian likes how the orange and garlic hinder the beet root-ty taste. I actually like beet root as it is, but it feels good when he says "OK. You are right. I like this".

You can use the dip as sandwich spread, mix it into hummus for a gorgeous light pink colored dip, or simply serve as a platter with vegetable crudites, melba toast, loves, crackers and apple wedges.

I served it with strips of red and yellow capsicums, and toasted bread with spread of feta. I suspect cream cheese, tahini and yogurt would work just as well. I thought we were not going to finish the dip but I somehow discovered that the dip works as dressing for the Warm Spinach Goat Cheese Salad. They look pretty together =)

Ingredients:
makes about 1 1/2 cups

2-3 medium beets
3/4 scant cup walnuts
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp orange juice
salt, pepper
1/2 tsp orange zest

1. Wash and dry the beets. Wrap them in foil,place in a baking dish and bake in a 200C oven for 1 hour or till the beets are fork tender. Let the beets cool a little and peel the skin.
2. Toast walnuts in a pan over medium heat till they are light brown.
   
3. Place the roasted beets, toasted walnuts and all other ingredients, except orange zest in a blender. Puree till smooth.
   
4. Adjust vinegar, sugar, and salt to taste. Transfer the dip to a bowl and mix in orange zest. Serve chilled with pita bread and vegetable crudites.

Muffins: Take Two

During my two-month teaching stint on Cocoa Island, I was persistently hogging the baker every morning during his romantic breakfast with his wife. He told me many things, out of which these two stay:

1. Bake with love.
2. If you are angry, your bread will get angry with you.

How can I argue with that?

Anyway, I really liked the muffins there. Especially the ones with walnuts, and the one with chocolate chips, also that with buttermilk and bran flakes..... I guess I liked them all.... The baker was kind enough to give me his recipe, which I conveniently left behind.... So now I'm determined to explore the BEST muffin recipe. Or at least the one that works for me.

Blueberry Yogurt Muffin
When I told my Irish student I "resort to frozen blueberry" because I can't afford the fresh imported ones, she comforted me and told me her baker cousin strongly advocated frozen blueberry for baking. Frozen, NOT thawed, is the key. They will plum up nicely after baking. Well, I can tell that much is true from what little baking I've done.

Ingredients:
(makes 12 standard-sized muffins)
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of yogurt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries (not thawed)

1. Preheat oven to 175C.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, combine orange juice, oil, vanilla, yogurt and egg; add to dry ingredients, stirring until just moist. Gently fold in blueberries.
4. Spoon batter into a muffin tray lined with paper muffin liners.
5. Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean (about 15-20 min.). Remove muffins from the pan and place on wire rack to cool.

Maple Sour Cream Walnut Muffins

How can you resist a recipe that uses 3/4 cup of maple syrup? Plus, it has a crumb topping, AND sour cream, AND walnuts. I had so much faith and expectation for this recipe, I actually bought a muffin tray. Yes, I did. It was on 20% discount. And I'm so glad I bought the tray. Be it the tray or the recipe. This recipe gets 4 thumbs up from this family. I was going to give away 4 of them; they are so good I decided to keep 2 more after the 2 at breakfast.....

(makes 6 large muffins)

For the batter:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

For the topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 Tbs butter, chopped
Scant 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped small
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Whip butter in an electric mixer. Slowly add maple syrup to combine. Add eggs, one at a time. Add sour cream. Add vanilla extract. Combine dry ingredients (except nuts). Add to butter mixture. Stir to combine. Stir in walnuts. Fill muffin cups approximately half full with batter.
2. Combine ingredients for the topping. Use your fingers to pinch butter and break into pea-sized pieces well-combined into rest of ingredients. Generously spoon topping over muffin batter.
3. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 - 30 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Tofu Steak with Red Pepper and Walnut Sauce

"It's almost like salmon steak" said Adrian.

The herb-flecked marinade also serves as the base of a delicious Mediterranean-style dipping sauce. You can serve it with couscous or toasted bread to enjoy all of the sauce

Ingredients:
(serves 2)

• 2 packages extra-firm tofu
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
  
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
  
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup wholemeal flour
  
• 1 egg, beaten
  
• 1 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• Coconut oil for frying
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted
• 2 red bell pepper for roasting (see Roasted Red Pepper Puree or buy one)
  

1. Place tofu slices on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 30 minutes, pressing down occasionally.

2. Combine basil and next 8 ingredients (through garlic) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add tofu to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning bag occasionally.

3. Place flour in a shallow dish. Place egg substitute in another shallow dish. Place panko in another shallow dish.

4. Remove tofu from marinade, reserving remaining marinade. Working with one tofu piece at a time, dredge tofu in flour, shaking off excess. Dip tofu in egg substitute, allowing excess to drip off. Coat tofu completely with panko, pressing lightly to adhere. Set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining tofu, flour, egg substitute, and panko.

5. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add coconut oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add tofu to pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove tofu from pan, and keep warm.

6. Combine reserved marinade, walnuts, and bell peppers in a blender; process until smooth (about 2 minutes). Pour bell pepper mixture into pan; cook over medium-high heat 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with tofu.

Spinach Salad with Stone Fruits and Maple-spiced Walnuts

What is stone fruit? Its family includes cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines and prunes. They are also called drupes or summer fruits for they all arrive in the summer. Although being in SEA it only means paying high price for imports regardless of the seasons.

I wasn't sure if spinach was ok to be eaten raw and so I did a quick research on it: cooked or raw, they each have their advantages. While cooking reduces Vitamin C and folate level, at the same time it boosts beta-carotein and lutein bioavailability. I guess it's best to have it both way: raw in the lunch salad and cooked for evening dinner, for example.

There's also a very interesting fact about spinach: it has an undeserved reputation for being high in iron. Apparently in 1870, Dr E. Von Wolf mistakenly placed the decimal point for iron content in spinach. Hence the iron content was overstated for 10 fold. The mistake was uncovered 67 years later by a German chemist. However, to date, the myth of spinach being high in iron is still being wrongfully, and yet widely, circulated. Makes me wonder if Popeye was really eating spinach.

Anyway, if you don't have stone fruits on hand, I suspect papaya and mangoes would go well in the salad too. The maple syrup-roasted walnuts are great complement with the tartness of dressing and fruits. Feel free to substitute with chopped pecans.

Ingredients:

(yields 2 servings)

• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
  
• 1/3 cup plus 1/3 tablespoon maple syrup
• Pinches of salt and ground red pepper to taste
  
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/6 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1 ripe peeled, sliced peaches
• 1 ripe peeled, sliced plums
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Combine walnuts, 1/3 tablespoon maple syrup, pinch of salt and pepper in a medium bowl, tossing well to coat. Spread pecan mixture evenly onto a baking sheet coated with oil. Bake at 180° for 15 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. Cool completely and break nuts into small pieces.

3. Combine remaining 1/3 cup maple syrup, pinches of salt and pepper, vinegar, mustard, and ginger in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk.

4. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add vinegar mixture to pan; cook until hot. Add onion, peaches, and plums to pan; cook until warm.

5. Arrange 1 cup spinach on each plate; top each serving with fruit mixture and 1 tablespoon nut mixture. Serve immediately.