Food Obsessed is moving to a cozier house!

That’s right! The movers will be here bright and early tomorrow morning.

Theoretically, you shouldn’t feel a thing. You shouldn’t even notice that anything’s changed at all. But that is the theory!

Although I have hired professional movers to get the job done, there is always a chance that something will go wrong.

Sure, they are much better equipped than I am to get us from point A to point B without a hitch, but still, if something should happen, I would really hate to leave any of you behind.

While I have not been in this neighborhood for a long time, I have grown accustomed to having you all around, and the place would feel awfully empty without you guys.

So please, if by an evil twist of fate you should get dropped in the process, resend your subscription request.

You’ll be able to find me at the exact same address and you should feel right at home as soon as the door swings open.

As of Thursday, I should be the proud owner of a brand new self-hosted WordPress blog.

Phew! What a learning curve this is going to be!!!

See you all on the other side! 😀

Sesame Tofu and Shrimp Soba Noodles

I almost feel like a broken record with that one. I dunno… I sort of get the impression that I’ve done a million different variations on this same subject. Asian inspired dishes including broccoli, tofu, shrimp and sesame.

Well, what can I say? To me, this is the perfect “quicky meal”, the perfect “let’s-eat-some-veggies-and-clean-up-the-fridge-a-little” dish. Or, the perfect “darn-I-have-no-idea-what-to-make-tonight-let’s-see what’s-in the-fridge-and-whip-something-up” dinner plan.

*No, that’s not a tentacle that grew on the side of the bowl… it’s a green onion who, apparently, decided to jump out… The shrimp must’ve said something scary to him!

AND, it appears that I tend to always have broccoli, bell peppers, tofu and ginger in my fridge… 😉 Oh well! But it doesn’t matter what’s in your fridge really. The beauty of this is that you can use whatever veggies you want or have. Everyone ALWAYS has something in their fridge to whip up some kind of an Asian inspired rice or noodle based stirfry resembling dish, now, don’t they? 😉

Bottom line is, you don’t really need to follow a recipe here. If you don’t have the exact vegetables that are in this recipe, don’t sweat it. Use what you have. You don’t like shrimp? No problem! Use chicken, or eggs, why not?. You don’t care for soba noodles? Use rice instead…

This is one dish where a little bit of this and a little bit of that will get the job done!

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 1)

• 80g soba noodles
• 75g extra firm tofu, cut into ½” cubes
• 6 tail on cooked shrimp (size 31-40)
• 5 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• ¼ red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 2 bird’s eye chili peppers
• 2 green onions, chopped (save some to garnish if you want)
• 10g ginger, finely chopped
• 1 tsp tamari sauce
• A drizzle of sesame oil
• Sesame seeds, to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook noodles per instruction on package. Throw in your broccoli when your noodles are 30 seconds away from being done, just to give it a quich blanch. Drain and set aside when done.
2. Meanwhile, coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat it over high heat. When it’s really hot throw in the tofu cubes and mushroom slices and turn the heat down to medium-high.  Cook from 5-10 minutes, until nice  and golden brown.
3. Add shrimp and the rest of your vegetables and saute for a minute or two, then add tamari sauce, broccoli and noodles. Drizzle with sesame oil and toss quickly just to combine everything.
4. Transfer to serving bowl (or plate!) and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.

Savory Broccoli and Spinach Cheesecake

WHOA! Hold the phone! What’s that I read? CHEESECAKE?

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking… “Sonia, didn’t you just say you were going to keep your calorie intake in check and cook more light and low cal dishes for a while? And yet, here you are, making CHEESECAKE? Are you, like, out of your mind or something?”

Well, not exactly! 😉 While cheesecake isn’t exactly you typical low cal dish, believe it or not, one serving of this baby will only set you back about 425 calories.

Not bad for such a rich and decadent dish. While eating it, you would never guess that it was so healthy and surprisingly light. It definitely feels super rich and creamy and oh so cheesy.

You see, I was initially planning on making a quiche, but I suddenly remembered that I had bought about a million packages of low fat cream cheese last time it came on sale (I know, I have to work on that…) and so my mind immediately went “SAVORY CHEESECAKE” and this huge grin came across my face.

Then I remembered: “-Low cal”. D’OH!

I had to think of a way to make this happen. HAD TO!

And I did!

How? I remembered that one could also use cottage cheese to make cheesecakes! Bingo, problem solved. I used one package of low fat cream cheese, one container of 1% cottage cheese and a little bit of Feta cheese for added flavour and texture.

All in all, I am EXTREMELY happy with the results. The texture is rich and creamy with nice chunks of vegetables and the pie as a whole doesn’t feel heavy at all despite being loaded with cheese. The taste? Hard to describe… but definitely YUMMY!

There’s only one tiny little detail that didn’t quite work out… the crust isn’t of the cuddly kind and doesn’t seem to want to cling to the cheese filling. That’s why I decided to garnish with arugula leaves, to hide the gap that had formed between the crust and the filling. Problem solved? Not quite that easily…

The slices are a little tricky to cut, but if you make a small “starter” indentation in the crust, the rest goes pretty good. However, once a slice is cut, the “gap” transforms into a drawbridge, so you sort of have to hold it in place with a toothpick.

Not sure how to solve that problem… I will have to think of something… Edible superglue?

Anywho, that won’t stop me from making this wonderful savory cheesecake again, or even from bringing it to an eventual party. I am truly happy with this experiment and the way it turned out.

And, now that I’ve got a good base, I can play with different flavour combinations!

Oh! food, how I love thee!

INGREDIENTS

Crust

• ¾ cup spelt flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup no fat plain yogurt
• 1 egg

Filling

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp oranic no salt seasoning
• 4 cups broccoli florets, chopped
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 140g spinach, chopped
• Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

• 250g low fat cream cheese
• 500g 1% fat cottage cheese
• the zest and juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 3 whole eggs
• ¼ cup egg whites (equivalent to 2 egg whites)
• 100g Feta cheese, crumbled

INSTRUCTIONS
(serves 6)

Crust

1. Whisk flours, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a measuring cup, whisk oil, yogurt and egg; pour over flour.
2. Stir to form fairly smooth dough.
3. On floured surface, knead until smooth, 2 minutes.
4. Press into disc; wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. On floured surface, roll out dough to form a 12-13 inch disc. Fit into 9 inch spring form pan, letting excess hang over edge. Set aside.

Filling

1. Preheat oven to 375F
   
2. In a skillet coated with cooking spray, cook onion, bell pepper and seasoning over medium heat, until fragrant and onion becomes translcent, about 2-3 minutes. Add broccoli and continue cooking for another minute or two.
3. Add water and balsamic vinegar. Cook until all water has evaporated. Turn off the heat and add chopped spinach and nutmeg. Stir until the spinach is wilted. Set aside to cool.
4. In a food processor, blend cream cheese and cottage cheese together until smooth. Scrape the sides once or twice during process to make sure all cheese is well incorporated.
5. Add lemon juice and lemon zest, Dijon mustard and give a quick stir.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, blending until smooth between each addition. Add the egg whites and take the mixture for a final spin.
7. Transfer cooked vegetables to a large mixing bowl. Add crumbled feta and creamy cheese mixture. Fold delicately until well combined.
8. Transfer this mixture into the reserved crust. Immediately put in the oven and lower temperature to 325F.
9. Cook for 55-60 minutes, until cake is set.
10. Allow cake to cool completely before unmolding.
11. Garnish with arugula leaves right before serving.