Tofu and a chard frittata

Boy, I've been hungry all day. Or am I really hungry? Or just stressed? Eh, probably PMS. At least most of the food I've eaten is healthy.

Today, I needed something easy for dinner. So I knew it was going to be brown rice (rice cooker) and tofu. But for the veggie, it was a mystery. For today is CSA pickup day. And the result? Well...we got a lot of fruit. Strawberries, mandarins, and oranges.

That left carrots, beets, and chard. My child has requested carrot soup for the weekend. So I decided on chard.

My friend Nellie made a chard tart the other day and posted the pic on facebook. So I decided to do something quicker and easier, a frittata.

Now, this whole dinner did take 1.5 hours to make. About 1 hr 15 mins of it active. Which is a lot, I know. And the only reason I attempted it is because I came home to an Easter package from my son's Farmor. So he was busy playing with a new toy.

Chard frittata:
3 stalks green garlic, chopped: 0.50
1 bunch chard: 2.00
1 T olive oil: 0.11
1 8 oz can sliced mushrooms (we had em): 1.00
6 eggs: 0.75
1/4 cup milk (eyeball it): 0.08
2 oz shredded cheddar: 0.50
zest of one lemon: free (that great boss of mine)
2 Tbsp parmesan: 0.21
1 tsp dijon: 0.10

Total: $5.25 for about 8 servings (as a side dish). $0.66 per serving.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a small 7x9 ish glass pan.

Remove the chard greens from the stems. Slice the stems thinly. Saute the green garlic and chard stems in olive oil for 5 min. Add the drained mushrooms. Increase heat to high and cook until mushrooms start to brown and stems are fully cooked.

Meanwhile, thinly slice the chard then chop crosswise a bit. Add to pan and stir. Cook 2 min. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 5 min. Remove cover, cook 1 more minute.

Put veggies in bottom of glass dish. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Mix eggs, milk, and dijon in a bowl with salt and pepper to taste. You should probably mix the dijon with the milk first. I found a nice big blob later on.

Pour egg mixture over veggies. Stir if you find a nice big blob of mustard in the mix.

Bake 30 -40 mins, until brown on top. I increased the temp to 400F for the last 10 mins. Top with parmesan


Glazed Tofu

This glaze is based a bit on a recipe for glazed baby bok choy from Perfect Vegetables.

1 14-oz pkg firm tofu, pressed between two plates with a paper towel: 1.49
1 T canola oil: 0.03
1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger: 0.10
3 cloves pressed garlic: 0.15
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar: 0.10
2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce: 0.16
1/2 Tbsp dark sesame oil: 0.10
1 Tbsp water
1 tsp sugar: 0.02
Total: $2.15 for about 3 servings. $0.72 per serving.

Slice tofu into thin slices and cut into desired shapes (triangles, rectangles, squares, stars...)

Heat oil in nonstick pan and fry tofu on one side until brown, about 5-10 min on high.

Flip, and fry on other side until brown.

Meanwhile, mix all other ingredients in a bowl to make the glaze. With the heat still on high, pour the glaze over the tofu and cook until it thickens. You can flip the tofu if you want to get it nice and coated.

Add some brown rice, which is about 0.10 per cup cooked, maybe a little less.

Dinner tonight: about $1.48 per person. A little more for the spouse, a little less for the kid, pretty good.