To determine the most sustainable sushi choices, Chef Iinuma advises, it helps to remember four “S” words: small, shellfish, seasonal and silver:

California roll with a yellow Asian spice garnish. Photo courtesy Genji Sushi.

And, start by looking for a rating from a reputable foundation such as the Marine Stewardship Council or the Blue Ocean Institute.

If you haven’t been to a Genji sushi bar, they are located in 158 Whole Foods Market locations in 18 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in the U.K.
 
 
FIND ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUSHI IN OUR SUSHI GLOSSARY.

Recently at the breakfast bar at our Whole Foods Market, we had a delicious tofu scramble that was just as satisfying as scrambled eggs—but so much more healthful. So in the name of reduced cholesterol and sustainability of the planet,* we’ve switched. Try it, you’ll like it!

Tofu is made in different firmnesses that suit different recipes—from silky smooth tofu for puddings and mouse to extra firm tofu that keeps its shape in stir frys. Scrambled tofu works best with a medium firmness.

As with omelets and scrambled eggs, you can customize scrambled tofu with your favorite flavors and vegetables. Cumin, curry and tumeric are a popular seasoning mix. Consider garlic, onion powder, and pretty much anything from the spice rack. Any fresh herbs work: Basil, cilantro, dill and/or parsley are our favorites.

You can add as many or as few veggies as you like. Bean sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, onions/green onions, snow peas, spinach, cherry tomatoes or any favorites work. And of course, many people welcome breakfast meats or their vegetarian equivalents.

Scrambled tofu: Yummy! Photo © Bigio | Dreamstime.

RECIPE: TOFU SCRAMBLE

Ingredients For 2 Servings

1. SLICE the tofu into one inch cubes and crumble lightly with a fork or your fingers.

2. SAUTÉ onion, pepper and tofu in oil in a skillet for 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring often, until onion and pepper soften. Add the remaining ingredients.

3. REDUCE heat to medium and cook 5-7 more minutes as needed, until tofu is hot. Stir frequently; add more oil as needed.

VARIATIONS

Add your favorite ingredients to customize your tofu scramble. Some ideas for starters:

But soft cheeses have their place as well. Today‘s tip is to consider how to use them in your favorite soups…and beyond.

Fresh cheeses also have a place in salads and other everyday dishes. As you peruse the list below, think of how you can add them to everything from eggs to vegetable dishes.

Depending on the texture, fresh cheeses can be crumbled, diced, sliced, shredded or, in the case of very soft cheeses, scooped/spooned.
 
 
WHAT ARE FRESH CHEESES
Fresh cheeses are those that are not aged (some are aged for a very short amount of time) and do not have a rind, which is a result of aging.

Jennifer Meier, an About.com Guide, has grouped fresh cheeses by similarity of texture.

[1] A scoop of fresh fromage blanc, flavored with herbs, makes an impressive (and delicious!) soup garnish (photo courtesy BigFoto.com).

GROUP 1: SALTIER FRESH CHEESES WITH A DRIER, CRUMBLY TEXTURE

GROUP 3: MILD, CRUMBLY FRESH CHEESES THAT DO OT MELT

GROUP 4: SOFT, SPREADABLE CHEESES

This group of spoonable, smooth cheeses looks similar to sour cream, and each makes an excellent soup garnish. Some might wonder why they are classified as cheeses. The answer is in the recipe: Production techniques differentiate between what is cheese and what is cream.

GROUP 5: SOFT CURD CHEESES

This last group of fresh cheeses doesn’t work well with soup or salad. But the cheeses are very versatile in other recipes.

 
MORE ABOUT FRESH CHEESES.
 
DISCOVER MORE OF OUR FAVORITE CHEESES IN OUR GOURMET CHEESE SECTION.

Although peanut butter makes up a large percentage, 67% of American nut consumption comprises peanuts. Almonds are second at 13%, with the remainder filled out by pecans (4%), pistachios and almonds (each 2%) and other tree nuts (12%).

Yet, the grand winner in the nut category is not an actual nut, but a legume—a botanical group that includes alfalfa, beans, carob, clover, lentils, mesquite, peas, soybeans and climbing vines like wisteria.

Peanuts actually grow underground,* as opposed to true nuts, which grow on trees (and in recent times have engendered the differentiating term, “tree nuts”). Tree nuts are packed with protein and other excellent nutrition; legumes, as a group, provide the best source of concentrated protein in the plant kingdom.

Today’s tip covers ways to use this nutritious nut/legume in cooking.
*As the budding pod begins to enlarge, it grows down away from the plant, into to the soil.

The most common way to eat whole peanuts is as a snack. But add them to your recipes as well. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

TYPES OF PEANUTS

There are four categories of peanuts; if you taste them side-by-side, you’ll notice subtle flavor differences.

 
Peanuts are grown mainly in southeastern U.S., Texas and Oklahoma; New Mexico grows the small crop of Valencia peanuts.

There’s a world of peanut-liciousness beyond peanut butter, which is terrific in baked goods, sauces, and delicious peanut soup (try these peanut soup recipes). Many Asian cuisines add nuts to cooked dishes, from curries to stir frys.

 
We love the Thai Beef Salad recipe below. It’s just one example of how to add peanuts to dishes; serve it as a first course or main course. The recipe makes six first-course servings. Is from The Peanut Institute, which has many more peanut recipes.

Ingredients For Dressing

 
Ingredients For The Salad

 
Preparation

1. WHISK together all the dressing ingredients except peanuts. Stir in peanuts just before mixing with salad.

2. COMBINE the beef, cucumbers, snow peas, bean sprouts, peppers, cabbage and onions with dressing.

3. ARRANGE salad on lettuce leaves. Sprinkle with peanut garnish. Serve.
 

A BRIEF PEANUT HISTORY

Today, peanuts are grown in tropical and subtropical regions around the globe, but they most likely originated in South America. When the Conquistadors returned to Europe from Mexico in the early 1500s, peanuts went with them.

Traders brought peanuts to Asia and Africa, and the versatile legume made its way to North America on sailing ships in the 1700s. Yet, peanuts were not grown extensively in America; harvesting techniques were slow and difficult. Until the Civil War, the peanut was a regional food in the southern U.S. (It’s the “goober” in the famous Civil War song, “Eating Goober Peas”; and why Nestlé calls its chocolate-covered peanuts Goobers.)

After the Civil War, the demand for peanuts increased rapidly. According to PeanutsUSA.com, by the end of the 19th century, the development of equipment for production, harvesting and shelling peanuts, as well as processing techniques, led to the expansion of the peanut industry. Twentieth century labor-saving equipment resulted in a rapid demand for peanut oil, roasted and salted peanuts, peanut butter and confections.

The proliferation of flavor-infused vodkas provides a ready-made “cocktail” that you can enjoy straight (and straight 80 proof!). But you can also create more complex-flavored drinks with them; every distiller has a website full of tempting recipes.

The next time you’re at the liquor store, take a look at what’s available in the infused vodka category, and consider experimenting with your favorite flavor.

If you like all things (a) fizzy, (b) with vodka, and (c) with grapefruit, Belvedere Vodka has created this very simple and refreshing Pink Grapefruit Fizz.

 
GRAPEFRUIT FIZZ COCKTAIL

Ingredients For 1 Drink

 
Preparation

1. BUILD drink over cubed ice in a highball glass.

2. GARNISH with a wedge of grapefruit.

Rum, tequila and vodka distillers are launching more and more infused or flavored options. What‘s the difference?

Some things don’t mean what you think they do. Unless regulations limit them, manufacturers choose words that are less accurate or explanatory but better for marketing; consumers and the media change the meaning of words via ignorance, and the usage proliferates. (The most egregious example is the use of the word decadent. It doesn’t mean delicious or anything positive, but the vast number of people who pick up the erroneous meaning couldn’t care less.)

In the old days—which may be as old as 10 years ago—infused olive oil, honey, etc. meant that the flavor being infused (steeped or soaked)—herbs, citrus, etc.—was crushed or placed into the vat with the main ingredient, and the flavors melded. That was the expensive, old-school way of doing things.

A less expensive way is to simply add an extract—the way you can use lemon extract in a recipe instead of infusing slices of lemon or adding fresh lemon juice.

With spirits, all bets are off: “Infused” has no meaning to those who govern the industry. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), the department of the U.S. Treasury that is responsible for controlling the labeling standards of spirits (and collecting taxes on every bottle sold), neither defines the term nor holds distillers accountable for how they label the products. For example, a bottle can declare that it is “infused with the flavor of Seville oranges” when the contents have never been anywhere near a piece of fruit. No seller wants to declare a product “infused with the flavor of Seville oranges via orange extract.”

The current trend among whiskey distillers is to add honey flavor, as in the case of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, Jim Beam Red Stag, Wild Turkey American Honey and Bushmills Irish Honey. We don’t know where the honey flavor comes from in those bottlings, but Dewar’s new Highlander Honey Scotch incorporates real honey from their own hives. It restores our faith.

FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE COCKTAIL RECIPES.