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.
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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)

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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

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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.

Super-chocolately Sorbet

Here's the link: http://food52.com/recipes/17877-david-lebovitz-s-chocolate-sorbet

Here's a copy of what you'll find at the link - so easy!

• 2 1/4cups (555 ml) water
• 1cup (200 g) sugar
• 3/4cup (75 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt
• 6ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a large saucepan, whisk together 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) of the water with the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring to a boil whisking frequently. Let it boil, continuing to whisk for 45 seconds.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until it's melted, then stir in the vanilla extract and the remaining 3/4 cup (180 ml) water. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend for 15 seconds. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the mixture has become too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have decided to actually write out my edits to the recipe "Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies" from allrecipes.com - one that I've had an old print out of for years now.  Here is my version.  These are great for hiking - they're like granola bars and cookies at the same time!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened (or substitute ½ cup peanut butter + ½ cup butter)

½ cup brown sugar (packed)

½ cup white sugar (or a little less)

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup white flour

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 ½ cups oats

1 cup chopped nuts/seeds of your choice

1 cup chocolate chips

½ cup raisins (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F (165 C)
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth.
3. Lightly beat in the eggs, 1 at a time (use low speed, don’t overbeat).
4. Stir in vanilla.
5. Sift together and combine the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl.
6. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir gently until just blended.
7. Mix in the oats, nuts, chocolate chips, and raisins.
8. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased baking sheet – flatten cookies slightly for more even cooking.
9. Bake for ~12 minutes in the preheated oven. They probably won't look quite done when it's time to take them out, but the centres won't look gooey either.
10. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

** Extra batter can be frozen in rolls wrapped in wax paper so you can simply slice off and bake cookies for fresh, warm, cookie goodness anytime! **

Caribbean Sweet Potato Gratin

I learned about this one from Emily... it's so good!
 http://fatmornings.com/recipes/Caribbean+Sweet+Potato+Gratin
 I had a picture, but it didn't make it from Jen's phone to my email, somehow.
Yum yum yum.
Update: made it again, this time with quinoa instead of rice and yams instead of sweet potatoes. And took a picture or two.

Vegetarian shepherd's pie with Cheddar and lentils

I just have to share this recipe from Jamie Oliver because it is tres delicious.

http://www.jamieshomecookingskills.com/recipe.php?title=vegetarian-shepherd-s-pie-with-cheddar-lentils

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!