Glow in the Dark Jello a la Bompas and Parr

I recently picked up a copy of Jellymongers from those British jelly (Jello to us Americans) fanatics Bompas and Parr. They have been making all kinds of wild jello out of cool custom made molds and ingredients for the past couple of years. This awesome cookbook shows some of the jelly art installations they have done, has some techniques and a ton of awesome recipes.

I was having a party this past weekend and decided I needed to come up with something cool so I turned to my new cookbook. They have a recipe using tonic water to do a glow in the dark jello. The quinine in the tonic water naturally fluoresces under a black light for a showstopping effect.

The only problem with my jello was the texture. This is the first time I have made jello in a million years and I didn't get the gelatin dissolved all the way. The book recommends using leaf gelatin, but it wasn't something easily available to me. I think next time I will hunt it down ahead of time or just be a little more careful with my timing to make sure the powdered stuff is totally dissolved.

Anyway, I am just being a show off, so here it is....

Super Tasty Baked Tofu - Not the Watery Nasty Stuff

When people find out I am a vegetarian, the conversation inevitably turns to the disgustingness of tofu. Many people try cooking it at home for a healthy alternative and, not knowing how to cook it, make a total watery mess of a meal. Many restaurants aren't much better.

Here's my favorite way to make tofu that tastes good and has great texture...

Super Tasty Baked Tofu

1. Cut the block of tofu into large thin slabs. I like to make mine aprox 2 cm
2. Wrap the blocks of tofu in paper towels and place on a plate. Place something flat (like a cutting board) on top of the tofu and then add something heavy on top to weight down the tofu and squish out the water. I like to use a heavy wooden cutting board and my Kitchenaid mixer on top.
3. After 30 minutes, remove the tofu and change the paper towel. Squish it for another half hour. If you are short on time, one round of squishing works pretty well, but the more water you remove, the more the marinade can soak in and give the tofu a better flavor.
4. Marinate your tofu. I like to put mine in a large 9x12 baking dish, add plenty of marinade and let it soak half of the time on one side and half on the other so it has plenty of time to soak in. If I have time, I like to let mine marinate for 24 hours so it gets good and flavorful.

My Marinade

I never make the same thing twice, but I do have several constants.
1. I always use olive oil to help the tofu crisp up
2. I always use veggie stock to help make a lot of marinade with a lot of flavor
3. I always use coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper - great simple and pure flavors


This last batch I made (as pictured above) is Hawaiian BBQ sauce, ginger, tamari, olive oil, salt and pepper, veggie broth and a splash of Tabasco and apple cider vinegar. It was a particularly good!

Enjoy!

Things That Have Recently Caught My Eye

Vintage Typing Table Painted and Repurposed by Maize in Montana

Log Bowls from Loyal Loot Collective

Milk and Bread Pendant by Melanie Favreau on etsy

Annamoa Fabric Line from IKEA

Stachin' Bottles Corkscrew from Mod Cloth

DIY Canning Workshop in Seattle

This looks really fun. I have been doing a bit of canning this summer and so far nothing has exploded or appears to have gone bad. Yippee!!!

Time Travel Photos

These are some of the most amazing photos I have ever seen. They were taken in Russia in 1910 using an experimental color photo process. It's like going back in time. I was enchanted!!

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/08/russia_in_color_a_century_ago.html?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed1_HP

Random Recent Eye Candy

Early morning self-portrait (on the Mac) with Bucket Kitty
(she is way too cute to not have a company named after her!)

Our insane volunteer poppy, back for another year

Jellies at the Vancouver Aquarium

I Heart Zines

I had such a fun time participating in Alma Stoller's I Heart Zines project last year. If you haven't checked her or the project out, I would definitely have a look. Here are some of the entries from last year, including mine, Z is for Zine.

http://i-heart-zines.blogspot.com/2010/03/visual-review-i-heart-zines-2009-part-1.html

If you are interested, she is taking sign-ups for this year. You have to sign-up by July 30 and have the zines to her by September 13. It was a lot of work, but getting all the zines back from other folks was so much fun. I highly recommend it!