I have adapted it to be gluten-free and a bit more savory from a rather dated and, I’m sorry to say, out of print edition ofThe Great American Tofu Cookbook that promises to teach the reader to use “the Orient’s Amazing Protein Food in America’s Favorite Dishes.” Oh dear. However dated the tagline, the author has some very creative ideas about using tofu, and we’ve enjoyed several recipes from the book including Tofu Strips with spicy peanut sauce and a rather stellar Tofu with Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce. What can I say, we like our tofu. And I hope you will enjoy this recipe too, brought to you with love from all of us at the Book of Yum. Happy Valentines Day! It is perfect for a night of spaghetti love. Re-enactment of a gluten-free vegetarian version of a certain “Lady and the Tramp” scene, anyone? If you have any leftovers, you can serve it on gluten-free french bread in a subway sandwich. Delightful! What is your favorite vegetarian main dish for Valentines Day, or other romantic holidays?

By the way, the tofu meatballs are pictured on Mrs. Leeper’s Organic Corn Spaghetti, a favorite with our whole family.

Entered in Diane’s Real Food Weekly Event and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

Tofu Ganmo Ball Recipe Main Course  Tofu  American

Ingredients 2 lbs firm tofu, drained 3 cloves garlic, minced 4 whole green onions, sliced 1 tsp fennel seeds 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley 1 1/4 tsp salt generous amounts of freshly ground pepper 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese (optional) 1 egg, beaten 3/4 cup gluten-free bread crumbs, made in a food processor 1 1/2 tsp italian seasonings 1/4 tsp smoked paprika more freshly ground pepper 2 or 3 tbsp. olive oil pasta sauce A few large mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional) fresh basil for serving additional grated parmesan or romano (or dairy-free cheese) for pasta Directions Slice tofu horizontally and wrap in kitchen towels and put a cutting board on top of the wrapped tofu. Put something on top of the cutting board, like a pot, for additional weight. Leave it to drain for 20 minutes. Then wrap it in a clean thin cotton dishtowel, knead it and squeeze as much water out of it as possible. Knead the tofu in a large bowl for five minutes and then add the garlic, green onions, fennel seeds, parsley, salt, pepper, and cheese. Knead it for another few minutes. Whisk the egg and work it into the tofu dough. Combine the ground bread crumbs, spices and pepper in a large flat bowl or pie pan. Make small, walnut-sized balls out of the tofu dough and roll each ball in the dough. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick pan or well-seasoned cast-iron pan on medium and fry your tofu ganmo meatballs on each side until golden brown. I like to freeze half the recipe and save it for another time. Then simmer in pasta sauce for an hour or more so it absorbs the flavors. If you like you can add thinly sliced fresh mushrooms to the pasta sauce and let them simmer along with the tofu meatballs. Serve on gluten-free french bread with fresh basil leaves or on gluten-free spaghetti, sprinkled with additional grated cheese and julienned basil.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  adapted from the Great American Tofu Cookbook Recipe ID:  1541 Added:  February 8, 2011 Last Modified:  February 12, 2011

Once Ali threw down the challenge, I started thinking about what dishes would be good in a tiffin. Lately I’ve been eating more quinoa than rice, and so a quinoa dish was a given. I could have packed my favorite quinoa masala recipe, but this time I thought I’d make a more basic recipe that would be the base note for the meal, rather than the star component. I riffed on a favorite rice cooker recipe, adding more spices and peas for fun. Lately I’ve been reveling in the fresh offerings at the Farmer’s Market, and I’ve got a serious crush on baby zucchini and zucchini blossoms. I decided to make a highly seasoned and decadent (but still healthy!) baby zucchini and baby pattypan dry curry that would travel well and complement the quinoa pilaf. And then, influenced by Japanese bento where a high-protein fried treat accompanies rice and vegetables, I decided to end on a slightly decadent note with a pakora (chickpea flour fritter) zucchini blossom. It tastes lovely hot, cold, with ketchup or simply kissed with salt, and marvelously blends the fresh flavor of the blossom with hearty, savory chickpea batter.

And so, a healthy Indian vegetarian (and vegan) lunch menu was born. Baby Yum is too little for such lunchbox menus as yet, but I think you’re never too old to treat your adult self with a healthy and delicious lunch, whether it be in a paper (or eco-reusable) bag, tiffin, or bento box. And when Baby Yum is old enough for school, I hope she’ll enjoy eating this type of International, vegetarian feasts as much as I will enjoy making them for her.

Here is Ali’s roundup of gluten-free lunch ideas

I also entered this post in Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays

More International Lunches from the Book of Yum:
Vegetarian Bento with Burdock and Lotus Root and Inari Zushi
Fusion Tiffin with Thai Lemongrass Corn and Quesadillas
Spinach Sesame Onigiri (Japanese Rice Ball) for Bento
Assorted Avocado Fusion Onigiri recipes for Bento

Looking for more inspiration for your Bento or Tiffin Box? Here are some of my favorite sites which have recipes that can be adapted to be gluten-free:
Just Bento (Japanese recipes)
Just Hungry (Japanese recipes)
Maki of Just Bento and Just Hungry’s Cookbook:
The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches To Go
Cooking Cute (Japanese recipes)
The Cooking Cute cookbook:
Yum-Yum Bento Box: Fresh Recipes for Adorable Lunches
Lunch in a Box (no longer being updated)
Week of Menus (How about a Korean recipe bento?)
Hapa Bento (Japanese cuisine)

Indian Baby Zucchini, pattypan squash, and tomato dry curry recipe Side Dish  Vegetables  Indian

Ingredients 1/2 lb baby zucchini 1/2 lb baby pattypan squash 2 small tomatoes or one medium tomato, cubed and dusted with salt 2 tbsp. of olive or canola oil, divided 1 1/2 tbsp. ground coriander 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp. ancho or cayenne chili pepper (or paprika for kids) 1/2 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/4 tsp salt Directions Clean zucchini and pattypan squash and towel dry. Cut Baby zucchini in half lengthwise, and cut pattypan squash in half horizontally so that you have two circlets, one having a pumpkin-like stem and os one not. Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a large nonstick pan on medium high and then add your baby zucchini so that you have one layer in the pan. You may have to do this in batches. Let it brown for a minute or so and then lower the heat. Let brown for 8 minutes, turning halfway through to get even browning. Remove zucchini from pan and reserve. Heat the remaining oil on medium high again and put a single layer of your pattypan squash in the pan. After a minute or so, lower heat and brown for 5-6 minutes. Turn halfway through or as soon as the bottom layer is brown and brown the other side. Add the zucchini back into the pan and add your spices, mixing thoroughly. Let the spices heat up and brown slightly. Add the cubed tomatoes and mix again. Let the tomatoes cook down slightly and then take off burner. Taste and season with additional salt if needed. Serve! Notes *vegetables can be replaced with Okra if desired.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Adapted from a recipe for Okra Supreme from The Best of Lord Krishna’s cuisine cookbook, but changed to be a new recipe. Please do not replicate. Recipe ID:  1521 Added:  September 27, 2010 Last Modified:  September 27, 2010

zucchini blossom pakora fritter recipe Side Dish  Vegetables  Indian

Ingredients Batter: 1 cup chickpea flour pinch baking soda 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper) 1 tsp roasted ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup water canola oil for deep frying 1 farmer’s market package of zucchini squash blossoms salt for taste Directions Combine pakora batter ingredients in a small bowl. Pour enough canola oil in a small, deep pan for deep frying. Heat on high until hot but before reaching smoking point. If oil is too hot, fritters will burn. If not hot enough, the fritters will absorb too much oil. Oil is ready when a drop of batter rises to the surface immediately and sizzles. Lower heat to medium high to keep at correct temperature. Dip your squash blossoms into the batter, coating all sides evenly. Drop them into hot oil, turning frequently so that the blossom browns evenly. Remove fritters from oil with tongs or metal strainer and set on rack to drain. You can reheat them later in the oven on 375 and they will taste hot and fresh! Sprinkle lightly with salt if desired. Notes Good with ketchup, chutney, or even plain! *this photo is of whole baby zucchini and blossom from my first experiment with this recipe. However, I found it better to just batter and fry the blossom separately, and those are the versions pictured in the tiffin photos!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Pakora batter based on the Bombay Cafe, variation my own. Please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1522 Added:  September 27, 2010 Last Modified:  September 27, 2010

Special Indian Quinoa Recipe Side Dish  Alternative Grains  Indian

Ingredients 5 tsp sesame oil 1 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained 1/2 – 1 cup green peas 3 1/2 cups water 3 tsp fresh lime juice 1/2 tsp. turmeric 1/2-1 tsp sea salt Directions Heat sesame oil in your rice cooker and then add your black mustard seeds and cumin. Heat until seeds pop and then add your quinoa. Heat the rice cooker again (by pressing cook), stir the quinoa, and let it cook a few minutes. Open rice cooker and add your peas, water, lime juice, turmeric, and salt. Stir. Start your rice cooker cycle again and let cook. Can keep warm in the rice cooker for a bit or serve immediately. Enjoy!

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Inspired by an old recipe for rice but radically altered to be my own. Please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1523 Added:  September 27, 2010 Last Modified:  September 27, 2010

The latter recipe was inspired by an earlier recipe I’d never gotten around to blog, where I used very yummy gluten-free miso mayo with avocado and pine nuts for a fusion nigiri. This time I didn’t have any on hand but I did have some of the new gluten-free San-J peanut sauce in my pantry, so I used that. It was delicious and ended up being one of my favorite rolls, next to the sesame spinach onigiri. The rolls traveled beautifully and made a very tasty and hearty dinner during our class. They would be perfect for a picnic lunch or a Fourth of July celebration as well! If you haven’t tried making vegetarian onigiri, I highly recommend it as a portable and delicious, easily gluten-free meal.

Product Review of San-J Gluten-Free Peanut Sauce
Thin Japanese egg omelette recipe for an alternative to a nori wrap
Festive Coconut Sticky-Rice Onigiri Recipe

Fusion Avocado Basil Vegetarian Onigiri Recipe Main Course  Rice  Japanese

Ingredients 2 rice cooker scoops of White Sushi Rice Nori Seaweed sheets, either square cut in half or onigiri size 1/2 fresh avocado, chopped in large, thick chunks Miso Mayo or your favorite GF mayonnaise with a touch of salt or GF soy sauce added (if soy is ok for you) Handful of Pine Nuts, toasted or not to taste Julienned fresh basil OR fresh shiso leaf (I prefer basil) kosher salt flakes black sesame seeds Directions Rinse your (uncooked) sushi rice until the water runs clean with no cloudiness. Drain and cook your sushi rice in your rice cooker according to machine’s directions OR, if you don’t have a rice cooker, prepare on the stove according to rice directions. When cooked, fluff rice and let cool slightly. Prepare your ingredients and set up an onigiri station with a rice bowl, saran wrap and ingredients. Line rice bowl with saran wrap. Sprinkle saran wrap with kosher salt flakes. Place layer of sushi rice in the bowl on top of the saran wrap, press a few pine nuts into the center of the bowl and rice, top with a little fresh basil and then add your piece of avocado to the center on top of basil and pine nuts. top with a little miso mayo, a little more julienned fresh basil and then cover with a layer of rice. Sprinkle rice on top with kosher salt. Wrap saran around the whole rice ball and remove from bowl. Compress with hands until you have a nice, tight triangle. Gently remove from saran wrap and wrap in nori seaweed so nori is open towards the top of the triangle. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds if desired. Make more until you run out of rice. Enjoy this easy lunchbox treat. :) Notes *Will need to be refrigerated, especially if you use an egg based mayonnaise.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1304 Added:  October 19, 2008 Last Modified:  July 2, 2009

Gluten Free Vegan Peanut Avocado Onigiri Recipe Main Course  Rice  Japanese

Ingredients San-J peanut sauce or homemade peanut sauce 1/2 cubed avocado 1/4 sliced, cubed peeled cucumber pine nuts Julienned fresh basil OR fresh shiso leaf (I prefer basil) black sesame seeds Directions Rinse your (uncooked) sushi rice until the water runs clean with no cloudiness. Drain and cook your sushi rice in your rice cooker according to machine’s directions OR, if you don’t have a rice cooker, prepare on the stove according to rice directions. When cooked, fluff rice and let cool slightly. Prepare your ingredients and set up an onigiri station with a small triangular onigiri mold, saran wrap and ingredients. Line onigiri mold with a small piece of saran wrap. Place layer of sushi rice in the mold on top of the saran wrap and drizzle a small amount of peanut sauce on the rice and add avocado, cucumber, and a few pine nuts in the center of the rice mold. Top with a little fresh basil or shiso. Then cover with a layer of rice and press into a nice triangular onigiri. Wrap saran around the whole rice ball and remove from mold. Compress with hands and gently remove from saran wrap and sprinkle with black sesame seeds. Notes San-J peanut sauce is very liquid, so it will seep into the top of the onigiri. Homemade peanut sauce can be thicker so will not necessarily leak.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, completely original recipe. Please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1431 Added:  July 2, 2009 Last Modified:  July 2, 2009

For this month’s edition of Adopt-a-gluten-free Blogger, I chose a special lunchbox theme. I hoped to collect a selection of delicious recipes from gluten-free bloggers that would be suitable for a gluten-free packed lunch. We didn’t have as many participants as I had hoped, but I hope this post can be a jumping off point for thinking about creative gluten-free lunches. In the interest of this, I am starting a list in this post of gluten-free recipes that are lunchbox friendly. I hope you will contribute ideas and even URL’s of appropriate recipes in the comments.

Cheryl of Gluten-Free Goodness brought along a gorgeous Summer Tomato salad for our tiffin that she found at Kalyn’s Kitchen.

Rachel of the Crispy Cook contributed Susan of the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen’s delicious and romantic chickpea crackers for our lunchtime tiffin! She said they were surprisingly easy to make. All I can say is they look delicious to me, and I’d love to try them too. :)

We were all hungry for dessert, and I was pleased to have Emily of Gluten Free Expedition share delicious-looking Mini Donut Hole Muffins from Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl.

Meanwhile, I (Sea) couldn’t resist bringing along Carob Brownies from Asparagus Thin’s blog. They fit perfectly into a little metal tupperware and I am certain this is one travel-safe carob brownie!

I think you can agree that this would make one delicious gluten-free lunchbox, albeit one a little bit heavy on the sweets.

What do you like to pack in a gluten-free lunchbox?

For a gluten-free vegetarian lunchbox, I like foods that don’t require silverware. If they are tasty WITHOUT being heated up, that is a definite plus, although I know many of us have access to microwaves at our school or workplace.

Here are some of my favorite ideas for lunches:

*A gluten-free sandwich on TOASTED gluten-free bread (such as Bette Hagman’s, the Gluten Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread, or Bob’s Red Mill GF Homemade Wonderful Bread-NOT hearty)
Tasty fillings: egg salad, veggie [hummus with avocado, sprouts and fresh basil etc.], peanut butter or other nut butter and jelly

*Japanese Inspired Rice Ball with Fillings such as..sesame spinach or Avocado.

*Thai or Vietnam Inspired Spring/Summer Rolls Instructions for summer roll and peanut sauce recipe here. Substitute sweet chili sauce if nut allergies are a concern. Wrap summer roll individually in plastic wrap so they don’t stick to each other, and make sure sauce container seals OR put layer of sauce in the roll in between layers of rice paper

Here are YOUR ideas for a gluten-free lunch….

Gaile suggested a mouth-watering Mediterranean lunchbox. Assemble a Mezze platter of gf prepared dolmas, GF crackers, hummus, a few hearts of palm, a couple of artichoke hearts, bites of tomato, cucumber slices, and a little side of quinoa tabouli. For vegans, marinated tofu cubes are nice. Those who do dairy can add a little feta. Pescatarians and omnivores can add smoked salmon. [Sea: olives and baba ganoush eggplant dip are other tasty options!]

Rachel usually brings leftovers into work as she has access to a microwave, but she also enjoys a tasty gluten-free cheese sandwich, stuffed celery and deviled eggs for lunch.

Kim’s 12 year old son Jon eats non-veg sandwiches on Pamela’s Wheat Free Bread (turkey & cheese, roast beef & cheese), Cold Pizza (Carol Fenster’s Crust topped with sauce, cheese & peppers), with various options like Fresh Fruit, stacked Hormel Pepperoni & cheese, Yogurt, Chips, Nature Valley Roasted Nut Crunch Bars, Lara Bars (chocolate mint, lemon, key lime), Chips (Cool Ranch Doritos, Blue Corn Chips, Pirate’s Booty). She also uses a thermos for meals like Spaghetti & meat sauce; Chili, cheese & chips; and Mac & Cheese. [Sea- A thermos is so useful for a hot GF meal when microwaves aren't an option!]

Karen has access to a microwave, and uses it to heat a can of Amy’s Tomato soup or grits with cheese leftover from breakfast. Sometimes she adds gluten free crackers and peanut butter. For a portable snack, she makes her own trail mix that has pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and dried pineapple. It goes good with a gluten free pudding cup. [Sea- Homemade trail mix is a great way to avoid CC issues or suspect ingredients in some packaged trail mixes!]

*Add your ideas! you share!

I’d like this post to be a “work-in-progress” so I will be adding to it as time allows. Come back anytime!

I’d like to open the first ever Adopt-a-gluten-free-blogger Event with a THEME!

For the September edition of our event, please find a recipe perfect for a gluten-free lunchbox (or tiffin, or bento) posted by a gluten-free blogger. This blogger should either only post gluten-free recipes OR have an easy organizational structure that allows readers to sort by gluten-free recipes. Try the recipe as posted (to the best of your ability) and take a picture of it (in a lunchbox/tiffin/ bento if possible) and write a post about the blogger and your experience with the recipe. Write your post between September 26- October 13. Then email the picture along with the URL of THEIR post (the one with the recipe) and the URL of YOUR post (without recipe is better) TO: Seamaiden399(at)gmail(dot)com. Then when I do a roundup, we’ll have a list of gluten-free lunchbox recipes perfect for back-to-school or back-to-work lunches! The more participants we have, the better for creating a really useful list of lunch time resources!

Another way I’d like to tweak this event would be to have sign ups for various PARTS of the lunch.
To participate, please comment below with your name, blog name, and the blogger you’d like to adopt AS WELL AS one of the following categories:

Salad
Carb (may contain protein)
Protein
Vegetable
Dessert

If you don’t have a blog- don’t worry! You can still participate. Just email me your digital picture of the finished dish, the name of the dish and the URL where the recipe was originally posted. You are also welcome to share your experience with the recipe- just add it to your email or comment (including the above information.)

To start us off, I’d like to adopt Asparagus thin in the Dessert category.

Adoption List:
1) Asparagus Thin- adopted by Sea of the Book of Yum- Lunchtime Dessert
2) Kalyn’s Kitchen- adopted by Cheryl of Gluten-Free Goodness- Lunchtime Salad
3)Carrie from Ginger Lemon Girl- adopted by Emily of glutenfreeexpedition- Lunchtime dessert
4) Susan of the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen- adopted by Rachel of The Crispy Cook- Lunchtime Carb
5) You Pick!

Feel free to use one of my “stickers” in your post!

Enjoy the roundup of the Adopt-a-gluten-free-blogger-event for August
Here’s the announcement of last month’s edition
Here’s an example of a post for the Adopt-a-gluten-free-blogger Event!
(Note: it is best not to reproduce the recipe unless you have permission from the adopted person/ author)