Gado-Gado, Ottolenghi-Style

Here is my variant on Gado-Gado, adapted from the version in Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

To make it as written I would budget about an hour and a half, maybe more. But you can take some shortcuts if you want (it just might not be quite as yummy!)

Note: I haven't actually made the OTHER Gado-Gado on this blog since I posted it.. it was probably easier but I would say this is definitely yummier. The other one has some interesting topping ideas too though, and could be a good option if you're lacking in fancy ingredients like galangal and tamarind.

Totally worth the time to make the super satay sauce from scratch. I will write it out as I made it, which includes a small substitution as I couldn't get a hold of fresh galangal. If you can find it, the original calls for using fresh galangal in the place of the fresh ginger and dried galangal.

Ideally you will read through this whole recipe and think through your timing, as you may want to overlap preparing the salad with making the sauce in ways that make sense for the ingredients you choose.

Satay Sauce

This is the slow part and it could definitely be done ahead of time if you're organized. If you're rushed for time or want to use ingredients you're more likely to have on hand, you could always skip this part and make awesome no-cook peanut sauce instead.

Ingredients

• 4 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 roughly chopped lemongrass stalk
• 2.5 tbsp sambal oelek (makes for a sauce with some heat, but not really spicy... if I were making this for kids I would probably reduce the quantity or maybe just make them some kid-friendly peanut sauce and keep this deluxe sauce for those brave enough to eat it!)
• roughly the equivalent of a 5" long piece of fresh ginger (about 1-1.5" in diameter), peeled
• 2 slices of dried galangal, rehydrated in a small bowl of boiling water for a few minutes, cut into small bits (if you don't have dried galangal, just do a little more ginger instead)
• 4 medium shallots, peeled (this is probably the most annoying part of the recipe)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 tbsp salt
• 7 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp thick tamarind water (rehydrate about 1/4 cup tamarind in about 1/2-3/4 cup of boiling water, let sit at least 10 minutes or so, stir it together and mash the tamarind with a fork, then press out the liquid through a sieve)
• 1 1/2 cups roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 cup coconut milk

Method

1. Use a small food processor or hand blender to crush the garlic, lemongrass, sambal oelek, ginger, galangal pieces, and shallots into a homogeneous paste.
2. Heat up the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the paste from step 1 and cook over medium-low heat for 40-50 minutes (until the oil starts to separate). Stir regularly. 
• While the paste is cooking...
• Prepare the tamarind water
• Combine the salt, sugar, and paprika in a small bowl
• Crush peanuts roughly in a food processor - leave them a bit chunky. Put the peanuts and water into a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until the mixture thickens and most of the water has evaporated
3. Add the salt, sugar and paprika mixture to the pot with the paste. Also add the tamarind water. Stir and cook for 10 minutes more.
4. Add the cooked peanut mixture to the cooked spice paste then stir in the coconut milk

Spice paste is done.. keep it somewhere warm.

The Salad Part

This part is relatively quick - the time-consuming pieces are preparing tofu, roasting yams, and cooking rice... the rest is pretty speedy.

Ingredients (and some Method)

Note: you could do this part with basically whatever ingredients you want... the sauce is the key! But I will outline what I did today here. Note that in the original recipe there are potatoes instead of the rice and yams, and various other differences. 

These ingredients should be prepared first (like before or while you make the sauce) as they will take some time:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice. Cook this according to package directions or using your preferred method.
• 4 small yams, cleaned and sliced into 1/2" to 3/4" rounds (no need to peel) - toss these with some olive oil and kosher salt then roast in the oven at the same time as you roast your tofu (about 30-40 minutes, flip them over about half way through)...
• 1 block of extra firm tofu, prepared according to instructions in my post "The best way to prepare tofu" (you can roast the tofu and the yams at the same time)

These ingredients will cook quickly and the process is described below:

• 1 very small or half of a medium-large cabbage, cut into chunks (I cut a very small cabbage in half and then each half into 4 wedges, then halved the wedges to make 8 chunks per half cabbage)
• 1-2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 1-2 cups green beans, washed and trimmed
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
• Something crunchy to sprinkle on top. I used these yam chips from Hardbite. The original recipe calls for crisp-fried shallots and cassava chips

Method (the rest of it)

1. If you haven't already, get the rice, tofu, and yams started cooking (see notes above). You should also hard boil your eggs if you haven't done that yet. See below for tips if you need them.
2. Once your sauce, rice, tofu, yams, and eggs are done ready... 
• Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil
• While the water is heating up, spread the cooked rice out in the bottom of a large casserole dish or serving platter
• When the water comes to a boil, add the cabbage and blanch it for 1 minute, then remove and drain it (I used a large slotted spoon to fish out as much as I could). Spread the cabbage out in a layer over the cooked rice
• Add the bean sprouts to the boiling water and blanch for 30 seconds, then remove and drain them. Layer these over the cabbage and rice
• Add the green beans to the boiling water and blanch for 4 minutes then drain. Layer green beans over the cabbage, rice, and bean sprouts.
• You're done the cooking part - go ahead and turn off the water pot.
3. If you need some time to finish getting other things ready, put the casserole/serving platter somewhere warm.
4. Before serving, layer the roasted tofu chunks and yam slices on top everything already added to the casserole/platter.
5. Serve the salad with the satay sauce, chopped cilantro, quartered eggs, and crispy chips on the side so everyone can add these in whatever quantity they like.

Quick Cabbage Roll Stew

waaayyy easier than making cabbage rolls, and also way tastier!
Based on: https://www.averiecooks.com/30-minute-one-pot-cabbage-rolls/ 

The recipe calls for pre-cooked rice, so if you don't happen to have some in the fridge, go get some started right now!

Ingredients

• 2-4 cups of cooked rice (just put in whatever you happen to have leftover - it could even be less or probably omitted altogether)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 large can diced tomatoes (240mL, I think)
• a good squirt of ketchup, to your taste (or tomato paste. might want to add a touch of sugar to balance acidity if you choose not to use ketchup)
• 1 tbs worcestershire sauce (or put a little soya sauce if you don't have this)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 medium - large onion, diced small
• 3-4 garlic clovers, minced
• 1 small-medium head of green cabbage, sliced and diced into bite-sized pieces
• 2-3 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• pinch of cayenne
• chopped fresh parsley (makes a big difference if you have it!)

Method

1. Heat a large dutch oven or pot on the stove over medium-high heat
2. Add olive oil, ground beef, and onions. Break up the ground beef with a spatula as it cooks. Stir frequently. Cook about 5-7 minutes or until beef is cooked and onions are soft.
3. Add garlic and cook about a minute, stirring often
4. Add cabbage, rice, tomatoes (including juice), 2 tsp salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir to combine. Cook about 2-3 minutes until it comes to a simmer
5. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook covered for about 10 minutes (until the cabbage is tender)
6. Taste - add ketchup, worcestershire sauce, additional salt if you like, and the cayenne. Stir to combine.
7. Garnish or stir in the parsley.

Enjoy!

Thai-style Fried Rice

I figure I should actually post this here since it is one of my gotos when the fridge is mostly bare but I have leftover rice and various bits and pieces. It is open to major modifications.

Ingredients

• 500g chicken breast, pork fillet, prawn, beef, or tofu cut into thin strips
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 bunch chinese broccoli or gailan, carrot, snowpea, or baby corns (at most 2
• veggies to prevent too much moisture)
• 1.5 cups cooked rice per person
• 1/2 small onion, cut into strips
• 2 green onions cut into 3/4 inch long pieces
• 2 eggs (1 per person)
• 1 firm tomato cut into 8 wedges
• few cloves garlic, diced

Sauce:

1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
pinch of black pepper
1 tbsp thick sweet soy (ketjap manis)
1 tsp (maggi) seasoning sauce
(can substitute depending on what you have. For example, 2 tbs soya sauce, 1.5 tbs fish sauce, pepper, and a little sugar works perfectly well)

Seasonings:

1/4-1/2 lemon (for juice)
fresh coriander
sliced cucumber on the side as an accompaniment

Method

1. Heat oil in the wok
2. Add garlic
3. Fry meat until medium-cooked
4. Push meat to the side and add egg. Flip the meat on top of the egg so the egg coats it - let cook on one side a bit, then flip to cook other side.
5. Add onion and cook a little
6. (remove from heat if needed) Add: veggies, rice, and seasonings
7. Return to heat and mix well (can smush together with spatula)
8. Add tomato and mix in
9. Cook until the mixture is not too moist
10. Turn off heat and add a bit of lemon juice + coriander

Variations

Today I made this with sliced mushrooms in place of the meat. I fried up the mushrooms in oil with a little sprinkle of salt to draw out some moisture, added diced quartered carrots and cooked the carrots and mushrooms until they started to brown, then continued from step 4 with the eggs (so I used mushrooms + carrots in the place of the meat, since that's all I had). I skipped the coriander, garlic, and tomatoes since I had none (would have thrown in canned pineapple tidbits in the place of tomato but didn't have any of that either). I also often just use deli sandwich meat in this recipe - it's a good way to use it up if you have too much.

Simple Tasty Stir Fry

Ingredients

• broccoli florets
• mushrooms, quartered or sliced
• other sliced veggies of your liking or that you happen to have (carrots, cauliflower, snow peas, onion, etc)
• splash of soy sauce (say 1-2 tbs or so)
• splash of sesame oil (say 1/2 tbs or so)
• splash of water (about 1/4 cup?)
•  oil (I just use olive oil)

Method

1. Heat oil in pan on high
2. Add the veggies and stir for a few minutes until they are coated with oil and starting to look a bit cooked/browned
3. Add the water and cover with a lid to steam the veggies. Leave to cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Check for desired level of done-ness - go with a little underdone instead of a little overdone!
5. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil, stir it all up, and remove from the heat

If you want to get all fancy, here are a few ideas to jazz it up...

• toast some slivered almonds and/or sesame seeds before you put the oil in the pan then set aside to sprinkle on top at the end
• add some minced garlic and/or ginger to the pan with the oil before anything else
• fry some meat (either plain or dipped in beaten egg then a flour/salt/pepper mixture) before cooking the veggies - I'd cook the meat first, remove it from the pan to do the veggies, then add it in at the end with the sauces
• grind some pepper on at the end?

Chinese-style Beef and Veggie Stir Fry

The beef was slightly freezer-burned and the veggie assortment was slightly random, but it turned out to be delicious!

I basically followed this recipe, but I did things a touch differently: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/the-best-easy-beef-and-broccoli-stir-fry-99476

Ingredients

• a beef steak, cut into strips
• half of a large head of broccoli, cut into medium-small pieces
• a quarter of a large head of cauliflower, cut into similar-sized pieces
• half an onion, sliced
• half a zucchini, chopped
• a handful of pathetic-looking mushrooms (the pathetic part is optional)
• 1/3 cup soya sauce, divided (about a tablespoon and the rest)
• about a tablespoon of black bean sauce
• 3 tbs cornstarch, divided (2tbs and 1 tbs)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbs water, divided (2tbs and 1/2 cup)
• ground black pepper
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbs oil

Method

1. Mix 1 tbs soya sauce, 1 tbs black bean sauce, the garlic powder, 2 tbs cornstarch, and 2 tbs water in a bowl. Toss in the beef strips and coat with the sauce, as well as some ground black pepper. Set aside.
2. Prep the veggies.
3. Prepare sauce by mixing 1 tbs cornstarch, the rest of the soya sauce, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 cup water, and the brown sugar in a small bowl.
4. Heat the oil in a large pan or wok, add the beef and stir fry until just browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Put the veggies in the pan with a little more oil and stir fry about 4-5 minutes. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if need be to help deglaze the pan and prevent starchy bits from burning.
6. Add the beef back to the pan.
7. Add the prepared sauce (step 3) and stir fry for about 2 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Teriyaki Fish (Salmon) Fillets with Asian Salsa on Brown Rice

Ok this was a good dinner I happened to come up with tonight. And super quick/easy to make! Worthy of writing down and sharing. I served myself a second mini-helping just so I could take a picture (and well also because it was good!)

The first serving was much bigger!

A great opportunity to use the multi-slicing tool our neighbours brought back from Vietnam

Ingredients

Fish

• fish fillets (in our case, sockeye salmon)
• soya sauce
• rice wine vinegar
• maple syrup
• sliced lemon (optional)
• black pepper

Asian Salsa

• finely sliced carrot sticks
• 1 tomato, diced
• a few inches' worth of cucumber, diced 
• chopped cilantro
• finely chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

Dressing

• ~2 tbs rice wine vinegar
• ~1 tbs fish sauce
• ~1/2 tbs white sugar
• ~1 tsp chili sauce (sambal olek)
• ~1 tbs olive oil
• drizzle of sesame oil

Directions 

I. Rice

1. Start cooking some brown rice so that it will be ready in time
2. For extra rich and tastiness, stir 1 tbs of butter into the cooked rice prior to serving

II. Asian Salsa

1. Mix dressing ingredients together in a small dish
2. If you happen to have a fancy slicing and dicing tool from Vietnam then you can use it to make fun shapes with your veggies like nice fine carrot strips and squiggly cucumber chunks!
3. Put the chopped carrots, cucumber, tomato, and cilantro in a bowl 
4. Toss the veggies with the dressing
5. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over top

III. Fish Fillets

1. Preheat oven to 400C
2. Drizzle a little olive oil in a pyrex baking dish. Place fish fillets skin side down in the oiled pan
3. Drizzle roughly equal parts soya sauce, olive oil, and rice wine vinegar over each fillet (I didn't use too much)
4. Drizzle the fillets with maple syrup to your taste (I used less of the maple syrup than the other drizzles)
5. Place a slice of fresh lemon on each fillet and grind some pepper over top
6. Put the dish in the oven and bake for roughly 8-10 minutes for 1 inch thick fillets (adjust time based on thickness)

Serve either on plates or as rice bowls.

Beef Stew, Mostly in the Oven

I made a really good beef stew a little while ago and I don't remember exactly how I did it.  Tonight I made another beef stew and it was also quite good indeed, so I thought I'd better post the recipe here so as not to lose it.  Also I sort of liked that this one does most of its cooking in the oven.. although it doesn't really make all that much difference and you could just do it on the stovetop if you wanted to.

It is basically this recipe: https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/beef-stew-with-carrots-potatoes.html... I only made a couple of small adjustments this time - next time there is one other one I would want to make, and that is to add canned tomatoes.  I simply prefer a beef stew with canned tomatoes in it.  I will include the tomatoes in my version so I don't forget (just be aware that I've never tried actually making this as written)!

Ingredients

• 3 lbs beef cut in chunks (either stewing beef or fancier beef which will probably be even yummier
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 
• 3 tbs olive oil
• a sack of pearl onions (or 2 med onions cut in chunks)
• 7 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1.5 tbs tomato paste (this is where the tubes come in handy!)
• 1/4 cup white flour
• 2 cups red wine
• 2 cups broth, preferably homemade (beef or chicken is fine)
• 1 large can tomatoes with liquid (instead of the 2 cups water in the original)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme (or like me use a little bundle of fresh thyme tied with string)
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup cranberry sauce or lingonberry jelly (if that's what you happen to have in your fridge)... if you don't have either, substitute whatever seems reasonable (the recipe called for 1.5 tsp sugar)
• 4 large peeled carrots cut in 1-inch chunks on the diagonal
• 1 lb potatoes cut into similar sized chunks as the carrots (peeled if the peels are thick)
• frozen peas (optional) 
• Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• fresh chopped parsley for serving (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 325 and position a rack in the lower-middle
2. Prepare the pearl onions, if using - blanch for 2 minutes then submerse in ice water so you can easily remove the skins
3. Pat the beef chunks dry with paper towel
4. Season the beef with the salt and pepper mixture
5. In a large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Brown the meat in 3 batches, turning with tongs, for about 5 minutes per batch; add one tablespoon more oil for each batch. (To sear the meat properly, do not crowd the pan and let the meat develop a nice brown crust before turning with tongs.) Transfer the meat to a large plate and set aside.
6. Add the onions, garlic, and balsamic vinegar to the pan. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping the brown bits from bottom of the pan, for about 3-5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute more. Add the beef with its juices back to the pan and sprinkle with the flour. Stir with wooden spoon until the flour is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. 
7. Add the wine, beef broth, canned tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, and berry sauce/sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid, transfer to the preheated oven, and braise for 2 hours. 
8. Remove the pot from the oven and add the carrots and potatoes. Cover and place back in oven for about an hour more, or until the vegetables are cooked, the broth is thickened, and the meat is tender. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. I might add a little Worcestershire sauce at this point next time around. If you want to, add some frozen peas.
9. Garnish with fresh parsley and eat with hot biscuits!

Super Simple Sauteed Zucchini

I had a bunch of cut up zucchini sitting in the fridge that needed eating.  I decided to just keep it simple and fry it up as a side dish for our picnic lunch.  Often I find myself thinking I need to make something complicated for it to be good, but I have been trying to remind myself lately that simple is good too, and often more baby-friendly.

Ready to picnic!

Ingredients

• some quantity of zucchini, cut up into whatever size and shape you like (mine were sliced and halved/quartered)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• olive oil
• splash of soya sauce
• pepper

Method

1. Heat oil in pan
2. Add garlic, fry till fragrant
3. Add zucchini - sauté just until outsides don't look raw
4. Add the splash of soya sauce (not too much) and toss to coat zucchini
5. Fry until the steam starts to die down a little and the zucchini is still firm 
6. Grind some fresh pepper over it and remove from heat

It feels so decadent and delightful to add a little cooked side dish like this to sandwiches or leftovers or whatever easy lunch you're making. And it only takes a few minutes, especially if your zucchini happens to be cut up ahead of time!

Beety nutty salad

I go through phases when it comes to salads... this is my latest obsession!

Salad

• lettuce
• toasted slivered almonds and sunflower seeds (I don't normally like sunflower seeds, but they definitely add something to this salad!)
• grated beets or beets and carrots (in the salad pictured above I used golden beets and no carrots but any combo of beetiness and carroty-ness is great)
•  thinly sliced bell peppers
• feta cheese if you happen to have it
• whatever else you feel like putting in there - it's a salad, it's flexible! 

Dressing

• roughly equal parts oil and apple cider vinegar (to match the rest of the ingredients here, say about 1/3 cup each)
• a large teaspoon full of honey 
• a small clove of minced garlic
• 1/8 tsp grainy dijon mustard (since I don't like mustard I put very little)
• salt + pepper

Sauteed Green Beans

I had a busy weekend of cooking... I'd like to share here a couple of the delicious things that I made :)

Sauteed Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252123/sauteed-green-beans-cherry-tomatoes

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (I just grabbed a few from the garden - not nearly this many but it was still yummy!)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green beans and cook, stirring often, until seared in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Add water, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes for tender-crisp or 6 minutes for tender. Push the beans to the side; add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, stir everything together and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar, salt and pepper.

Peanut Dressing for Salad, Spring Rolls, etc

A few days ago I decided I wanted to eat a salad with some kind of peanuty dressing.  I don't even know where the idea came from, but a quick google search found numerous recipes.  I went with one of the first ones and I've been pretty enamored with it ever since.  I've had it on salads and also used it as a dipping sauce for some vietnamese spring rolls that came on a hike a couple of days ago.  Delish!

The recipe comes from here: http://www.onceuponachef.com/2013/07/thai-crunch-salad-with-peanut-dressing.html

I basically follow the dressing recipe as is and put whatever I want in the salad itself, but here's a summarized version with my minor variations:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey 
• 1 tablespoon sugar (double this if you want it sweeter)
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Method:

Throw everything except the cilantro into the blender.  Blend until smooth.  Add in the cilantro and pulse/mix on low just enough for it to get chopped up and mixed in nicely (not so much that the whole thing turns green).

Gado Gado Goodness

This was a hit at a (mostly) meat-free, dairy-free dinner party last night.  A good assemble-your-own type dish for picky eaters and that could mostly be made ahead of time - leftovers will make great lunches!

The basic recipe came from the Moosewood Cookbook.  Basically Gado Gado is a mixture of fresh and cooked and crunchy things all drenched in peanut sauce and from there you can basically make it whatever you want.  This might look daunting, but it was really quite easy indeed and could be simplified or complexified as much as you want.

Here's how you make THE SAUCE:

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 (or more) medium cloves minced garlic
• 1-2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 bay leaf

--> Cook the above in some butter or oil until the onions are translucent then add all the rest:

• 1 cup "good, pure" peanut butter (a great use for that massive jar of peanut butter)
• 1 tbs honey
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
• dash of tamari / soya sauce
• 3 cups water (yes I know it seems like way too much but just go with it)
• 1/2-1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like - I used about this and there was a very very mild bit of spice... I'll probably make it a 1/2 tsp next time)

--> Don't worry if the peanut butter's just in a big glob at first - give it a little time and a whisk and it'll mix in.  Simmer this mix on very low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-------------------

Now for THE REST OF IT.  I put the following ingredients on the table, but you could definitely mix this part of it up and put whatever you want under the sauce.  The Moosewood says that you should make an "artful arrangement of cooked and raw vegetables".  I challenged our dinner guests to make their own artful arrangements on their plates - some took this to heart, and others just piled up the food.

• raw spinach
• cooked rice (this is not in the original recipe but it was much appreciated in the meal)
• fresh bean sprouts
• steamed broccoli
• steamed carrots (you could do raw grated or juliened carrots instead but I didn't have much carrot)
• apple slices
• crispy fried tofu chunks (see below)
• cooked chicken (this was provided for the tofu haters at the table)

And some garnishes:

• fresh mint leaves (my addition - I think some basil would have been really good too)
• toasted sunflower seeds
• roasted peanuts
• lemon wedges (for juice)

---------------------

Moosewood also suggests the following which I either didn't have, didn't want, or completely forgot about:

• a drizzle of sesame oil
• raisins
• oranges
• shredded cabbage
• steamed green beans
• pieces of hard boiled egg

----------------------

THE TOFU

I basically did a variant on http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Gluten-Free-Tofu-Nuggets-1423597?columns=4&position=6%2F43

• Cut the block of tofu in half on the plane with the biggest surface area so that you can squish out a bunch of water.  Squish it with some paper towels if you happen to have them so it dries out a bit. 
• Cut the tofu into little cubes, about 1/2" big
• Marinate the tofu in some soya sauce (or get fancier if you want)
• Meanwhile, prepare a coating with the following ingredients (or something like it):

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• a largish 1/8 cup sesame seeds
• maybe a little flour? (I didn't use any myself and it was still fine)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• I also threw in some marjoram since it was the closest thing I happened to have to parsley flakes, which I would have used instead

• I didn't have any of the other ingredients in the yummly recipe so I just skipped them but you could add things like celery seed, onion powder, etc if you have them.
• Toss the marinated tofu in the coating and fry the chunks in a frying pan with oil (or bake them in the oven if your stove top is taken up with the other stuff.

Beety Taters

One of the perks of working at MEC is discounts on SPUD produce delivery, so I decided to try it out.  I don't know if I would have had beets in the fridge otherwise, but lo and behold I did, and that is how beety taters were born.

Ingredients:

Potatoes, chopped in medium-small chunks
Beets, chopped like the potatoes (I partially peeled mine first)
Boiling water
Garlic, as many cloves as you want, crushed and coarsely chopped
Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
1Tbs Oil
1Tbs Butter

Directions:

Add the chopped potatoes, beets and boiling water to a large frying pan and cook, covered, over med-high heat for about 10 minutes (until the veggies are soft).

Drain potatoes and beets in a colander or in the pan if you have a better lid than I; reduce heat to med-low and add oil and butter to the pan.  Throw in garlic and rosemary leaves.

Fry on low heat to prevent sticking for as long as you can bear before eating them - longer means more browned tastiness, but usually I'm impatient.  About another 10 mins is probably good.

Season with salt and pepper.

Salad with Caramelized Pecans

This is ever-so-slightly adapted from a recipe in a really awesome cookbook that was temporarily residing at my house.

Here's a pretty bad picture of a very tasty salad

Ingredients

Salad

• 12 c lettuce/spring greens (or something like that)
• 1/2 c crumbled feta or (ugh!) goat cheese
• 3/4 c caramelized pecans (see below)
• 1 c fresh sliced grapes/strawberries/oranges (I've been using grapes)
• whatever else you have that fits... eg. carrots, dried cranberries, etc.

Dressing (part of the magic)

• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1 tbs maple syrup
• 2-3 tbs balsamic vinegar (I like a little more)
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp pepper

Pecans (the rest of the magic)

• pecans (3/4 c or more)
• melted butter (~2 tbs)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp white sugar

Directions

First Caramelize the Pecans:

1. Roast pecans (I think about 1.5 c is good for these proportions, but you can do more or less and adjust) on a cookie sheet in a 350 deg. oven until they are "lightly browned" - I have a hard time figuring out when this is, given that PECANS ARE ALREADY BROWN, but just toast them a bit.
2. Toss the pecans in a bowl with some melted butter
3. Mix in sugar and salt and toss together
4. Put them back on the tray and return to oven for a few minutes until they're nicely caramelized-looking - just be careful not to burn them!

Oh and the dressing.  Mix all the dressing stuff together.  You'll probably make more than you need.

Now make a Salad.  If you roasted lots of pecans you'll have extras for the next salad you make!

Mason Jar Salads

I'm not the first to be quite excited about the idea of putting together salads in mason jars for a quick grab 'n go healthy lunch/snack option.  I'm particularly pleased with my latest batch, so I thought I'd share....

Ingredients:
In my latest batch, I made 3 jars full (how big are these.. roughly 500-600mL? They're pretty standard.  For some I used old jam jars instead, although they're a little harder to shake out since the opening is a little smaller) of salad... so the ingredients below were split up between the 3.  Adjust amounts to fit the number of jars you're hoping to fill!

Dressing:

• juice of 1/2 lemon + 1/2 lime
• roughly the same amount of olive oil as the lemon/lime juice
• a small clove garlic, minced
• pinch of salt
• black pepper

Salad Stuff:
Here's my latest creation... but be creative and try whatever sounds good to you!

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked (but then I ate some of it, so probably about 1/3 cup would have been enough... that is, about 1 and 1/3 c cooked quinoa)
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced small
• several sundried tomatoes, sliced (I used about 3-4 per jar - enough for a thin layer)
• 1/2 a yellow bell pepper, diced
• frozen edamame beans, thawed (actually they were still frozen when I threw them in)
• frozen corn, thawed just like the edamame :)
• cilantro, chopped
• chunk of cucumber, diced
• some sliced almonds

Directions:

Mix up the dressing ingredients and distribute it between the jars first (at the bottom).  Then layer the other ingredients in a way that looks pretty/makes sense.  Whatever is at the bottom soaking in the dressing should be resistant to getting wilty or icky when soaked in liquid - I put the sundried tomatoes in first to marinate them and they were delicious!  Since my quinoa was still pretty warm, I put it on top of one of the frozen veggies which wouldn't be badly affected by a little heating.

When you're ready to eat it, just dump it into a bowl and grab a fork!

Kale Chips!

Last of the Kale Chips

There weren't many left by the time I took the picture, and now they're all gone! If you've never tried them, you'll be surprised and amazed. They basically taste like potato chips... just better. My former roommate was making these one day and I never tried them since I was on my way out the door at the time. But I have been meaning to get around to making them ever since.

Ingredients and Directions:

Toss kale leaves in oil & salt and bake.
Or, see the full instructions here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Kale-Chips/Detail.aspx

Notes:

• I used some green chili sea salt that we happened to buy recently at Sous Chef, but I'm sure just plain old salt would make tasty chips too.
• The only complaint I have is that it took a while to separate the leaves from their stalks... but it was important because in the few smaller ones where I left the stalks in, the result was not quite as satisfying - the stalk part is just too tough and chewy.

The Verdict:

Katie's rating: Delightful!
Johnny's rating: Yum+

Easiness: Super easy
Speed: Pretty quick