Instead of eating old Larabars for lunch everyday this week (as appealing as THAT sounds), I forced myself to get a little creative and scrounged around for the makings of a pasta salad. I ended up with half a box of orzo, a can of tuna, and clementines. I was trying to recreate this salad my aunt makes that has orzo, chicken, mandarin oranges, celery, and a dressing with mayo, dry mustard, and white pepper. Unfortunately, I did not have chicken, celery, oranges, or mayo. So… pretty much the only thing that links these two dishes is orzo. Think of this Easy Orzo and Tuna Salad as an homage.

I started by cooking the orzo and tossing in the tuna and clementine. Tasty, but it lacked a little crunch, so these guys got chopped and added:

I also added a sad half of an avocado that was losing life in the fridge. It added some creaminess that replaced the missing mayo.

For the vinaigrette, I just winged it since I was missing the key ingredients. Check out the recipe!

I ate a nice bowl for lunch this afternoon:

I wanted to put it over some spring mix, but to my dismay the remains of the bag was past its prime. (We are FAIL on the vegetable front over here.) I still think this is a good way to get a little more filling fiber into this lunch.

The salad is very light. At first I feared it was too light, but I think I am still caught in the doldrums of heavy winter stews and sauces. Each bite is quite refreshing and keeps you guessing: you’ve got a little heft from the tuna, a nice citrus spritz from the clementines, carrot-y crunch, and creamy avocado. The recipe makes a nice batch to last you through the week.

Penguin Tupperware: for use all year round! Let’s hope this sunny weather keeps away any real penguins, though!

The first product is a soy sauce from Kikkoman. I’ve had leftover tofu from stir fry a couple of nights ago and I knew I needed to use it fast. I don’t cook with tofu much; I’ve only ever used it in stir fries, so I knew I wanted something different.

A few days ago I received a bottle of Kikkoman’s Ponzu lime soy sauce as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers program and I used that as inspiration for the tofu. The Boyfriend was squeezing fresh juice with some oranges that were on their way out, so I incorporated orange juice into the recipe.

I decide to make crusted tofu, but instead of sesame seeds I used flax.

Zesty Crusted Tofu

Click on the link to be taken to my recipe page! Making this tofu is simple and it turns out quite tasty. Once it’s baked the tofu can be thrown into salads or used as the main dish in a quick dinner.

The second is juice that I’ve mentioned on the blog before. The company hasn’t sent me samples or anything to try; I just bought it on sale at Price Chopper and it’s super tasty!

I’m off to a hot bath. My back is all sorts of stiff and I have no idea why. For those of you in the middle of the Super Bowl, go team! For everyone else who’s lame like me and didn’t even know what teams were playing until she asked her roommate’s boyfriend yesterday, happy Sunday night.

Anyway, positive attitude! Got in a little cardio at the gym between work and dinner.  After I threw together a quick stir-fry for the three of us.  I started with some chicken marinated in Szechuan Spicy Stir-Fry Sauce from House of Tsang.  Holy deliciousness! I like a little spice in my stir-fry.

Next some broccoli and red peppers got cozy in the wok.

I added the chicken to cook, along with water chestnuts, mushrooms, and baby corn (of course!).

Nice blurry picture, eh? Apparently Technology is having a case of the Mondays.

In another pot I cooked some spaghetti, a mix of white and wheat.

Stir-fry is wonderous dinner food because it’s easy and customizable.  And you can use any grains you like to accompany it: egg noodles, standard pasta (which we seem to have an obscene amount of around this house), rice, quinoa.

My bowl.  If you look closely you can see a puppy nose in the edge of the frame.

Everyone at the house seems to be in EDF mode.  The Roommate has to make dessert for her class tomorrow and in order to do so she scoured the cupboards for sweet ingredients.  She came up with this awesome cookie pie made with toffee pieces.

I need to get back into the kitchen now and bake some bagels that are chilling in the fridge.

Earlier last night I completed Level 1 of Jillian Michaels’ Shred.  I decided it is time for me to shred something other than cheese.  For 20 minutes it’s a decent work-out and I know I’ll feel it in my arms in the morning. A nice alternative to putting on your boots and going to the gym in the middle of an upstate freeze.

Later, as a kind-of closing ceremony for last week’s Eating Down the Fridge, I used up pecans I had in my cupboard to replace the jar of peanut butter I polished off this weekend.  I had a previous love affair with homemade pecan butter when the Boyfriend brought some home for me this summer, so I’ve been dying to try my hand at it.  This is my recipe:

Pecan Butter

2 c. pecans

3 t. canola oil

1/4 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. honey

Before

Pecan tornado!

After

Blend the pecans first in a food processor, then add the other three ingredients.  Adjust amount to your taste.

I did not roast the pecans but I believe the butter would have turned out differently if I had.  I’m happy with the consistency and taste, but play around with the recipe yourself and let me know how it goes! All great recipes are born of experimentation!

I foresee this being delicious on morning toast and in oatmeal.

Some final thoughts on EDF: Due to an abundance of birthdays plus a weekend spent visiting family, I did not cook as much as I normally do, and therefore didn’t scour my cupboards to fully experience EDF.  When I did make dinner, though, I tried to think outside the recipe box. Try practicing EDF on your own pantry.  I promise you will save yourself a bundle and come up with some unusual and wonderful dishes.  One night I used apple butter to make a glaze for some roasted vegetables.  It was unexpected and delicious.  Experiment on your own and tell me how it goes! And to read how other bloggers handled EDF, check out the guest posts at Licking Your Chops.

I did really well with Eating Down the Fridge today.  My banana breakfast muffins included two bananas that were on the verge of garbage-dom.  I used up some leftover pesto in a turkey and goat cheese wrap for lunch.  And for dinner the Boyfriend and I split the last third of a box of wheat rotini paired with some roasted vegetables from last night.

This week looks to be zany but fun.  Tomorrow I’m taking a Begin to Cycle class at the YMCA.  I’ve always wanted to try cycling but am pretty much extremely intimidated.  Any thoughts/experiences to share?

And now I’ll leave you with some lovely images from my drive home from work: a double rainbow!

When it comes to food, though, I don’t really believe that you have to spend a ton of money.  I try to be constantly aware of what I have in my fridge and cupboards and make good use of it.  I hate throwing food away and wasting money.  Sometimes it takes a little creativity to put together a really great meal.  And it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

So I was intrigued by Kim O’Donnel’s article over at Licking Your Chops on True/Slant.  She’s proposed this plan called Eating Down the Fridge.  The basic concept behind EDF: don’t go grocery shopping for a week and see if you can eat up what’s in your fridge and pantry.  EDF is supposed to instill in awareness in your eating and shopping habits (and possibly save you a little money).

I’m kind of intrigued by this idea, especially since this is something that I try to do.  I’m partaking in EDF for the week of October 3-10.  For me, there is one hitch: Thursday is The Boyfriend’s birthday, so sneaking in a grocery trip for that. I’m But overall I think it will be a good exercise in frugality and creativity! Wonder if I’ll come up with any interesting recipes this week? Give it a try yourself and see what EDF can do for you!