Burger night! Sloppy 'fus (sloppy tofus)

MOH just got over being sick and the first thing to come to mind was BURGERS. A good juicy burger with fries. We had some leftover shredded chicken breast that I was using for MOH's pasta noodle soup, so MOH creatively whipped up a mesquite mix and created a riff off "pulled chicken" to top his burger bun. It smelled so deliciously sweet and tangy (my favorite kind of BBQ flavor) that I thought about just having a little bite o' meat. Times like this channel my inner fried-chicken fatty.

But to make sure his little chef wasn't feeling left out, MOH surprised me with tofu sloppy joes (or sloppy 'fus).

These bad boys are so delicious and come with great flavoring. I usually make a quinoa burger but MOH's little creations had a great kick and smoky flavor to them - great for a casual Sunday dinner. These darlings are super easy to make - the key to cooking with Tofu is to make sure you pull out as much water as possible (my favorite tofu is firm or extra firm - I only use silken or soft for soups) and let the tofu simmer in your sauce of choice.

For these sloppy 'fus, MOH made a rub of his favorite BBQ sauce, honey, maple syrup and spices. I'm not going to showcase too much measurements because MOH just threw stuff together, so when you make your rub of choice, just follow the bare bone recipe below!

Ingredients:
- 1 packet of tofu, drained
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- Spice rub: your favorite BBQ sauce (1 cup), 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 tablespoons honey, and your favorite spices (onion powder, paprika, garlic salt, fresh ground pepper)

Protocol:
- Mash tofu in a bowl into little pieces (this also helps take out some water)
- Marinate tofu pieces with rub
- In a small saucepan, add tofu marinated mixture
- Let tofu and sauce simmer until thickened (be sure to mix and cook down the tofu until the tofu is firmed and has a consistency of ground beef, or close to that)
- When cooked, let cool - then put on bun of your choice with all the "burger" fixings!

This sloppy joe mixture doubles over as a great snack and is jam packed with protein (tofu contains all the essential amino acids we need). Perfect munchies to prepare me for my half-marathon, which is next weekend!

Until next time, happy eating all!

Tackling mortality at the genetic level

Ever care for someone while they're sick?

MOH has been extremely sick for the past couple days (and counting) and has been putting the whole "in sickness and health" vow to good use. Aside from walking around like a zombie, coughing sporadically, and taking in tons of tea/soup, he's been moping around requesting that even if he dies, I stay unmarried.

MOH's constant death remarks got me to thinking about a question that we normally don't think about until we get much older... What determines our mortality? Is there a such thing as an elixir of life that can keep us our youthful selves, free of disease, free of aging? 

Immortality in art: "Four immortals saluting longevity" by Shang Xi

While life expectancy has gradually increased with the advent of technology and better health care, our life span has remained pretty constant (the maximum life span is currently ~120 years old). While this life span is quite long, other animals, even mammals, have been known to live longer. For instance, a large whale called the bowhead whale can live up to 200 years. In addition to a long lifespan, this whale species also has low prevalence of many diseases associated with aging. 

Bowhead whales can reach up to 20 meters in length and weigh up to 100 tons (photo courtesy of Olga Shpak)

Why so old and healthy? And is it possible that with today's technological advances, can we tap into some of those genes and maybe get clues as to why we don't live as long?

In a recent article published in Cell Reports, scientists have uncovered the genetic makeup behind why long-living mammals like the bowhead whales are able to live so long, disease free.

Scientists were able to map the genetic map (or genome) of this whale species and compared the bowhead gene map to another whale species that does not live as long (Minke whale which lives for about 50 years) and identified several genes that may be the reason for why these whales live so long. 

Not surprisingly, many age, cancer, pro-growth, and DNA repair genes were found in the bowhead whale. Some interesting genes that turned up were the gene called histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC), a gene that is important for packaging DNA, and excision repair cross-complementing rodent repair deficiency (ERCC1), which when mutated, affects the lifespan of rodents and accelerates the aging process.

It's an experiment taken right out of what seems like a mad scientist's brain, but how do you apply these genetic findings to humans? Finding natural ways that animals are able to live so long, disease free, offers us new ways to study how these same genes may be changed in humans. If we could understand how these genes work naturally (to ward off age-related disease), we can potentially figure out how to fight these same genes when they get funky and altered. Though it's a long stretch to believe that we can take a cocktail of assorted genes that are "anti-aging/anti-disease," it's definitely a possibility in the future (realistic or not, it's possible!).

Hope everyone's enjoying their weekend. In between caring for MOH, I've been making peanut butter energy bars that when frozen taste like frozen yogurt.... so good.

Until next time, happy eating all!

References:

Keane, M et al., 2015. Insights into the evolution of longevity from the bowhead whale genome. Cell Reports. 10: 112-122.

Holiday wind-up and warm vegetarian quiche (coconut milk base!)

MOH and I just got back from visiting our family in Northern California and just had our engagement ceremony and it was so memorable.

Our families came together to celebrate our engagement and take part in some good food. We were so fortunate to have the day documented by our wonderful cousin, Sid, who was a total trooper in photographing every moment!

A traditional vietnamese engagement ceremony involves the groom's family coming over to the bride's side with an assortment of gifts - a dowry almost. Gifts include fruits, cake, liquor, and tea. Each gift has special symbolism for wishing the couple a happy, lucky marriage.

Matthew's side brought so many delicious treats including dragonfruit, sticky rice cake, durian sweetcakes and a big roast pig! Another key part of the ceremony is a tea ceremony and lighting incense, where both our father's light incense to wish us good luck in our future union.

The day was full of so many happy memories for MOH and I (even despite a slight misspelling in the desserts), but MOH and I were so overjoyed to have our families support us in this next step in our life regardless.

Unfortunately, when we got back, both of us seemed to catch a NorCal cold - we've been in bed and walking around the apartment like zombies. Such a far cry from how happy and excited we were a week ago! After four days of a "flu-like" outbreak, the skies have cleared and we're feeling slightly better.

What better way to ring in the new year than to celebrate with quiche?

I love to make quiche when there's a bunch of "roast-friendly" vegetables. I like to make quiche with mushrooms, onions, broccoli, carrots and even eggplant. Today, I decided to make a quiche that's a little on the healthier side than using the typical heavy cream or half and half. Coconut milk is often a great substitute for any dairy ingredient. I was debating on almond milk, but the one in my fridge is slightly sweetened, otherwise I'd use it.

Quiche is super simple to make - simply sautee quiche ingredients in a saucepan until slightly cooked.

Then add in cream base (dairy option of your choice or almond milk, or coconut milk), eggs (egg white can be good), and cheese. Then toss this mixture into ramekins and bake, and then eat to your heart's delight!

MOH likes to have a crust in his quiche, so I line his ramekins with croissant dough. Quiche is just as good without the crust, which is how I like to eat it.

Hope everyone is having a great start of the new year! May this year be full of lots of happy memories for everyone - happy eating all!

Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large broccoli crown, chopped
- 1 package of mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 large eggplant
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup cheese (mixture of cheddar and four-cheese blend)
- 2 eggs
- optional: croissant-crust (I used Pillsbury croissant mix)

Protocol:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Heat butter in medium saucepan
3. Sautee broccoli, mushrooms, eggplant and garlic until slightly softened
4. Turn off heat once vegetables cooked through, add milk and cheese and egg mixture - once mixed, pour into ramekins (if you want a crust, line the ramekins with the crust first, then pour mixture on top)
5. Bake quiche for 30 minutes and browned. Once cool, enjoy!