What I Learned Today

My hands have gotten quite a beating over the last few weeks. I grated a knuckle, sliced a finger on something mysterious and sharp (and never discovered) in the kitchen sink while doing dishes, and today was quite a doozy. Onto the lazy bloggers' favorite type of post:

1) I'm getting pretty good at sharpening my knife.
2) Under no circumstances should I lose track of my fingers as I dice canned tomatoes (Maybe I should have gone with my original plan of using the pre-diced ones).
3) I'm not as squeamish as I thought.
4) I really ought to look into health insurance plans because if I needed to go to the E.R., I would be in huge financial trouble (Reminder that the health care options in this country are deplorable).
5) Animal-based sources of iron are called heme, veg sources are non-heme.
6) Non-heme iron is absorbed more easily by the body if it is consumed with Vitamin C or white wine.



Lentil Soup with Spinach and Lemon

We had this with whole-wheat (more iron) mustard-cheese toasts and Au Bon Climat 70% Pinot Gris 30% Pinot Blanc 2005. Not only is this crisp, bright wine delicious, it's also super affordable considering its from an excellent winery. If I had the space, I would buy a case of it.

2 TB olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
6 cups stock
1.5 cups brown lentils, rinsed
lots of spinach
3 TB chopped parsley
3 TB chopped cilantro
1 TB chopped mint
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add garlic, Saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add stock and lentils. Bring soup to a simmer and lower the heat. Let cook until lentils are soft, about 25 minutes. Add spinach and stir until spinach begins to wilt. Right before serving, stir in herbs, zest and juice. Taste for salt, pepper and acid. Serve with white wine.

Serves 4 generously

It's Spring! It's Spring! (Boing! Boing!)

I cannot tell you what a boost it is to see things growing and blooming right now. At the market on Saturday, it seemed like everyone was in great cheer and I'm sure the extra sunshine had a lot to do with it. I love these first few tentative steps into springtime. There were the first of the season peas, strawberries and favas. The strawberries still need a few more weeks of warmth but the peas and favas are (were) great. We were also pleasantly surprised to see Barbara with her tomato plants and we spent about 20 minutes at her stand trying to pick out which lucky ones were going to go home with us. In the end, we chose Aunt Ruby's German Green, Royal Chico and a Sweet 100. Yesterday afternoon was spent in the garden, planting our new acquisitions which also included some more herbs and flowers for the rose bed.

Last night, we had a celebration of the changing of the seasons on the table. While my love affair with Bon Appetit is dwindling, they still manage to publish a few interesting recipes in an issue and I had my eye on the grapefruit-avocado salad. So there was that, as well as tagliatelle with favas, homemade ricotta and spring herbs then a meyer lemon-buttermilk sorbet. I was disappointed with the sorbet. It was almost overwhelmingly tart and the elderflower syrup that I snuck into it was totally lost, as was the meyer lemon. Ah well, they can't all be winners. We cracked open a bottle of bubbly some friends gave us and toasted the season. Hurray!

Grapefruit-Avocado Salad with Cassis Dressing, adapted from Bon Appetit

The original recipe calls for sherry vinegar, but we were out, so I subbed in the grapefruit vinegar from TJ's. Any mild vinegar would be fine here, champagne, perhaps, if you have it handy. A Kir Royal is an excellent accompaniment.

1 TB fresh ginger, finely minced
1 TB shallot, fine dice
1 1/2 TB olive oil
1 1/2 TB mild vinegar
1 1/2 TB cassis, black currant liqueur

1 pink grapefruit
1 avocado, sliced into eighths
1 small head of lettuce, or equivalent

Combine ginger through cassis in a bowl. Taste for salt and pepper.

Using a paring knife and working over a bowl, carefully remove all of the rind and pith from the grapefruit. Cut between the membranes of the fruit to loosen the segments. Set aside.

Line plates with lettuce. decorate with grapefruit segments and avocado. Taste the dressing again, if it's too sweet, you can add some of the grapefruit juice. Whisk dressing to reincorporate and drizzle over salad. Salt and pepper

Serves 2

Tagliatelle with Ricotta, Fava Beans and Fresh Herbs

If you decide to make your own ricotta, and I hope you do, you can have the leftover cheese drizzled with honey for breakfast the next day. It's what I eating right now, actually. The picture is what the dish looks like when everything is combined and tossed. The directions below make for a much nicer presentation.

2 lbs favas in pods, shucked, parboiled and peeled, you'll end up with 1 1/2 cups beans
8 oz tagliatelle, cooked, 1 cup cooking water reserved
fresh spring herbs, we used chives and green garlic
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 cups fresh ricotta (we use Heidi's recipe)
pecorino romano

Toss hot pasta with favas, herbs, zest, juice and enough reserved pasta water to help evenly distribute. Salt and pepper. Divide on plates. Dollop each portion with ricotta. Serve, passing pecorino.

Kir Royal

Special bonus recipe! You didn't think that I would hold out on you, did you?

sparkling wine
cassis

Method 1: Place 2 tsps cassis in the bottom of a champagne flute. Gently pour wine into flute.
Method 2: (My favorite) Gently pour wine into flute. Drop 2 tsps cassis into wine. Watch cassis sink to bottom.

Balancing

One of the most useful things I've learned in culinary school is the importance of proper seasoning, or balance. Almost everything one makes should be tasted throughout the cooking process and constantly checked for salt, pepper, etc. Most food can also be punched up with a good hit of acid (no, not that kind), like different vinegars, citrus juices, whatever happens to look interesting in your cupboard...

I've been having some trouble recently, trying to re-balance my life. A few weeks ago, my neighbor told me that her friend was looking for some help for her meal-delivery service. I jumped at the chance and for the last three weeks have been gainfully employed. Being employed is great, if you like what you do. This is the first real job I've had that I genuinely enjoy. Currently, I'm working about 20 hours a week, and going to school full time and trying to be a supportive partner/friend/family member. It is taking me a long time to re-adjust.

I'm slipping on a lot of things. School isn't very interesting right now and my quality of work is pretty sporadic. Yesterday, I got back two quizzes from particularly boring class: perfect score on one and 60% on the other. What a perfect example of how I'm feeling right now, off-kilter. I have this work-thing under control, but everything else feels like it's just out of reach. This corner of the web has been low on content lately too. I'm trying to remedy that. I know that things will get better and that eventually, I will get a good grasp on my straws, it's just taking more time than I had anticipated.

Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

Food from Morocco is all about balancing flavors: spicy, tart, salty, sweet, savory, earthy. All of the quantities in this recipe are variable. Without the couscous, this is gluten-free. Quinoa would make a good substitute.

Olive oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 lbs trimmed, cubed vegetables, I like a combination of sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, cauliflower, butternut squash, parsnips, rutabaga
1 16 oz can of tomatoes, diced (Muir Glen Fire-Roasted are great!)
1 1/2 TB tomato paste
2 cups vegetable stock, or water
Cumin, to taste
Cinnamon, to taste
Ground ginger, to taste
Ground coriander. to taste
Aleppo pepper, or cayenne to taste
Peel of 1 preserved lemon, finely chopped, or zest of one lemon and juice
1 1/2 TB pomegranate molasses, optional
1/2 cup raisins or apricots
1/4-1/2 cup good quality olives, pitted and chopped
1 16 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
toasted almond slivers
chopped cilantro
cooked couscous, or quinoa

Heat enough oil to coat bottom of large skillet with lid. When hot, add onion. Cook until translucent. Add vegetables, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, veg stock and spices. If you have the preserved lemon peel and molasses, add those as well. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer, reduce heat and cover. Cook about 20 minutes, or until vegetables can be easily pierced with knife. Taste for salt and spices, adjust. Add lemon zest, juice, raisins, olives and garbanzo beans. Mix well. Continue to cook until beans are heated through. Serve over cooked grain and garnish with cilantro and almonds.

Serves 4-6

By Request: Halloween in February

This is a very belated request from the fantastic and forgiving(I hope?) Miss N.


Ever since M. Pants and I have been sharing accomodations, we have thrown pumpkin carving parties around the time of All Hallows' Eve. The first one was a fluke, but we've continued to carry out the now-tradition ever since. While I have since tweaked the menu a bit, one thing has never changed, the pumpkin black bean soup. Not only are the colors fitting for the holiday and it's ridiculously easy to make, but it's also nice have a little something to warm you up during a late fall afternoon. We made this recently again after looking in our cupboards and finding them a tad bare. It's good to know that the soup is delicious in the winter time too.

Pumpkin-Black Bean Soup

You can vary this however you like. I like to think of it as having a Carribbean flavor, but what I know about Carribbean food couldn't fill an ant's tea cup. You can add more cumin, cinnamon and corriander for a more Mexican flavor or you can add more curry, ginger and some garam masala for a more Indian flair. It's also possible to omit the dry spices all together for some Thai curry paste... For our party, we like to serve the soup with corn bread.

1 16 oz. can pure pumpkin
1 16 oz can light coconut milk
16 oz vegetable stock
curry powder, to taste
ground cumin, to taste
ground ginger, to taste
ground corriander to taste
ground cinnamon to taste
garam masala to taste
2 16 oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

Garnishes:
chopped cilantro
green onion, sliced thinly
wedges of lime
avocado, diced
sour cream or non-fat plain yogurt (my preference)

Combine all ingredients except beans in a large pot and stir well. Taste for spices, salt and pepper. Add black beans and heat through. Serve and let people garnish their own.

Red Gold

(Full credit for the title of this post goes to the super-fabulous AM, who is my borrowed big sister. I hope you don't mind GG)

Have I told you about my new favorite ingredient? I purchased it at Dean and Deluca when I was in New York and ever since I opened up the tin and took a good whiff, I've been schemeing about how to cook with it. First, I used it in place of the cayenne in this recipe. Then, I tossed it with cauliflower florets, olive oil and salt which makes a deliously spicy, smoky version of cauliflower popcorn. After that, there were the oven fries. Finally, I made Mushroom Paprikash, harkening back to my Hungarian roots. When I first mentioned this particular incarnation though, M. Pants (aka the partner) wrinkled his nose and thought it sounded odd. I made it anyway. And its bloody fantastic. Absolutely perfect for the chilly weather we've been having. I highly encourage you to pick up your very own tin of red gold and start experimenting, then let me know the results. I need to fill my new smoked paprika fix. Perhaps in brownies with toasted almonds and cinnamon?

Smoky Cauliflower Popcorn
1 medium head cauliflower
olive oil
salt
smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 425F. Cut cauliflower into florets and toss in a large bowl with enough olive oil to lightly coat, salt and paprika, to taste. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes then remove from oven and toss gently. Return to oven and roast for about another 15 minutes, or until cauliflower is cooked through and slightly browned. Taste for more salt then devour!


Mushrooms Paprikash, adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

1 oz dried wild mushrooms
1 lb crimini mushrooms
1 TB butter
1 TB olive oil
2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 bunch chives, chopped
1 lb cooked egg noodles

Place dried mushrooms in a bowl. Cover with very hot water. Set aside for about 20 minutes or until mushrooms are softened.

Wash and quarter criminis. Drain mushrooms, reserving soaking liquid. Remove tough stems from wild mushrooms and discard. Chop mushrooms.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add butter and oil. When hot, add criminis and cook until lightly browned. Add chopped mushrooms, paprikas and salt. Stir to combine. Pour in 1/4 cup reserved soaking liquid and sour cream. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Add half of chives and stir well. Taste for salt. Serve mushroom mixture over noodles. Sprinkle chives over and serve.

Serves 3

P.S. I switched over to Blogger 2.0. What do you think of the links? Are there any others that would be helpful?

Southern Comfort

I don't know if you've heard or not, but it's been cold in California, really, really cold. When it gets like this, my body goes into hibernation preparation mode and demands warm, filling foods to prepare me for the long winter ahead. (The readers who live where it snows are scoffing at me now, but I'm a Southern Cali girl, I've only been in the snow once. Freezing cold weather is not good for the citrus, avocados or me)

It's traditional in the American South to harvest green tomatoes before the first freeze or even if you have too many growing during the summer. Because we live in sunny, usually freakishly warm California, we have tomatoes almost year round at the Farmers' Market. However, since the frost a lot of people harvested their tomatoes early and brought the remainder of the crops, still green, to sell. It's a hard job, but someone needs to help those farmers make good on a somewhat disappointing crop.

Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches with Chipotle Spread, adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

While I was making these, I realized that if one, who is of the pork-eating persuasion, added bacon to this it would make a good winter-time BLT.

1/2 cup mayonnaise (if its not homemade, I highly recommend the organic mayo from TJ's)
3/4 cup non-fat yogurt
2 chipotles, finely chopped
juice from 1/2 lime
1 large green tomato, sliced thickly
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
3 TB veg oil
6 slices sourdough bread
lettuce leaves


Combine mayo, yogurt, chipotles and lime juice in a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour cornmeal onto a plate. Salt and pepper. Mix well. Using one hand as your clean hand and the other as your messy hand, coat both sides of the tomato slices in cornmeal. Set aside.

Heat veg oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat, when hot, add tomatoes. Fry until lightly browned, about 6 minutes per side. Line a plate with paper towels. When the tomatoes are done cooking, place them on the plate.

Toast bread. When cool enough to handle, spread chipotle mixture on toast. Line one side with lettuce and place tomatoes on the other. We all understand the mechanics of making a sandwich, yes?

Makes 3 sandwiches

If you're feeling particularly in need of comfort serve with oven fries.

Oven Fries

3/4 lb potatoes (I like Yukon Golds)
olive oil

Preheat oven to 425F.

Slice potatoes into fry-like shapes. Toss in a large bowl with as much olive oil as you can in good conscience consume, with salt pepper and/or any other seasoning that strikes your fancy. I like smoked paprika or seasoned salt.

Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in oven for 15 minutes, or until the side touching the pan is browned to your liking. Very carefully, flip fries over and return to oven for about another 15 minutes. Serve with extra chipotle sauce for dipping.

Gobble, Gobble

Happy T-Day everyone! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I hope this holiday season brings us all much love, peace and happiness.

Quickie Cranberry Sauce (no picture because I accidently deleted it. It was red and chunky.)

8 oz frozen cranberries
1/2 seedless tangerine, rind and all
sugar, to taste
fresh chili pepper, to taste, I used a manzano but a floral habenero would be good too
1-2 TB Triple Sec

Throw everything in a blender/food processor. Blend until it reaches desired texture; I like mine chunky. Taste for sugar. Serve! A caveat, this doesn't make very good leftovers becase the oil from the tangerine rind starts to take over. This makes enough for about 3-4 servings. Multiply or divide as needed.

Practice Makes Perfect, Thrice Over

Whereas, I have a knife skills exam this day and whereas I had a soup making class in which my instructor wanted us to hone our soup-making skills and whereas I promised to bring something to my cousins' baby-naming lunch and was assigned soup... Do you see where this is going?

After spending 45 minutes practicing dicing, julienning and brunoise-ing carrots and parsnips I had a big pile of differently shaped and not very evenly dissected root vegetables. I didn't really measure anything out so the below is an approximation of what actually happened. A few things: I wanted a more traditional autumn soup but I bet some Indian spices (I'm thinking ginger, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, or even a jarred curry powder or garam masala) would be excellent. Also I think that a bit of reduced cream would round it out very well. As it is, it needs a little something something to make it really pop.

For the uninitiated, parsnips are what carrots who've been good and gone to heaven taste and look like. Though you might be tempted to buy the really big roots, don't if you can avoid it. The cores tend to be very woody. I highly recommend that you try them, if not in this soup, cook them with potatoes and mash with some whole milk (or if you are feeling particularly decadent, a mix of milk and cream), salt and pepper. You won't be sorry.

Fall Carrot and Parsnip Soup, from my brain

2 TB butter (or oil)
1 leek, sliced thinly (and evenly)
2 stalks celery, diced evenly
3/4 lb carrots, peeled and cut evenly, one hopes
3/4 lb parsnips, peeled...
4 cups water
2 pinches ground ginger
2 pinches ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch cayenne
salt, to taste

Melt butter in a pot over a medium-high flame. When heated, sweat leek and celery but don't let the veg color, about 4-7 minutes. Add carrots, parsnips and water. Let mixture come to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and let cook until parsnips are soft, about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces.

Remove pot from heat, and in batches so that it is never more than half full, puree in a blender until smooth. Return soup to the pot and add the spices and salt. If you choose to add cream, now would be a good time. Gently heat soup until warmed through.

Serves 4?

SHF #22 K's Birthday Jam

For the past four years, I have gifted K, the partner's mom, with strawberry jam for her birthday. I didn't even realize that SHF (Sugar High Friday) this month and K's day coincided pretty nicely, until yesterday. So here is my second addition to the SHF phenomenon.

In the past, I have just cooked the berries with a smaller then typical amount of sugar my secret ingredient and strongly advised that the jar be kept in the fridge. This method isn't really jam, more like a slightly thickened strawberry sauce. Depending on what I did that year, the "jam" was quite often runny. This year however, armed with my preserving book, I made an actual recipe for jam, complete with the scarily obscene amount of sugar. Then I really and truly canned it. I am slightly paranoid that K will get botulism and die but I don't think that will actually happen,at least I sincerely hope it won't. Without further ado, here is my recipe for strawberry jam with a twist.

2 lbs strawberries, preferably organic/pesticide free
2 lbs sugar (about 4 1/2 cups)
2-4 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-4 tsp orange flower water, or to taste

If you are planning on canning this, everything must be scrupulously clean.

Place a saucer in the freezer. Trim the greens off the berries and cut fruit in half. Combine berries and juice in a very large pot and cook over medium-low heat until fruit begins to break down, stirring occasionally, about 12-15 minutes. When fruit is softened, crush about half of the berries against the side of the pot. Add the sugar and stir until well combined.

Turn heat up to medium and let mixture come to a boil. Try not to stir once this has happened. Skim off the foam that comes to the top. If you ever read M.F.K Fisher's essay, "The Measure of My Powers", you will find this to feel like a slightly Proustian exercise.

After jam has boiled for ten minutes, remove the saucer from the freezer and place a few dabs of jam on it. Let cool for a minute. Poke with your finger, if it wrinkles, remove jam from heat and
let cool. If it does not wrinkle, let cook for another two minutes and test again. Conversely, the jam will be done once it measures 220F (this did not hold true for me, but it might for you). After jam is removed from heat, stir in the orange flower water.

If you plan on canning, which I will not give instructions for because I don't really know what I am doing and I don't want anyone to get sick, let jam cool for 5 minutes and fill jars. If you are not canning, let jam cool to room temp, and pour into very clean jars. The jam will keep in the fridge about six months.

Reason #49 to Have a Garden: Turkish Herb Salad with Fried Eggplant

I don't really know if this is authentically Turkish or not. Unfortunately, I don't have that much understanding of the divisions between Middle Eastern foods. Anyone out there who knows if this is the real deal or not? Even if it isn't, it's still delicious.

We first made this salad last summer when it appeared in the August '05 Bon Appetit. I vowed that we would grow our own nasturtium just for this salad and the partner was kind enough to defer to my culinary wishes. I only wish that we had enough space and sunshine to grow everything else for this salad. The mint, chives and flowers came from our tiny plot, but our basil is being devoured by some caterpillars and everything else will just have to wait until we win the lottery and buy a house.

I realize that I am on a huge eggplant kick lately which shows no signs of abating. Tonight we're having eggplant stir-fry, and sometime later this week we're going to have this pizza again. The partner just pointed out to me that summer is two-thirds over, might as well eat all the eggplant (tomatoes, strawberries, melons and summer squash) that we can to hold us over til next summer.

Turkish Herb Salad with Fried Eggplant adapted from Bon Appetit

Have:
1 shallot, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2" thick
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups arugula
1/3 cup basil leaves
1/3 cup parsley leaves
1/3 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/4 cup chives in 1/2" lengths
Nasturtium flowers, if you have some

Combine shallot and lemon juice in a small bowl.

Lay out eggplant in a single layer on a flat surface. Salt and pepper eggplant slices on both sides. Set aside.

Combine all greens, except for the chives. Wash and spin dry. Transfer to a large bowl. Add chives and toss to combine. Salt and pepper greens.

Whisk 2 TB olive oil and salt and pepper in with the shallot and lemon juice.

Heat 4 TB olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saute pan. When hot, add as much eggplant as will fit without overcrowding. You might have to cook the eggplant in batches. Fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. If the pan looks dry, add more olive oil. Layer a plate with paper towels. When the eggplant is done, remove from pan and place on lined plate.

Toss greens with vinaigrette. Divide salad among plates. Lay eggplant on top of greens. Decorate with nasturtium, if you have them.

Serves 4 people as a starter or 2 greedy people dinner.

SHF #21 Jamaica Sorbet

(For those not in the know SHF = Sugar High Friday)

Participating in my first international blogging extravaganza, I present my very own creation, Jamaica Sorbet (or so I thought until I saw this). Here's what I did:

Collect:
1 cup dried red hibiscus flowers
5 cups water
1/4 - 3/4 cup sugar
1 TB good tequila

Combine hibiscus and water in a pot. Cook over medium heat until misture begins to simmer. Let cook for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Add sugar to taste and mix well. I like my jamaica tart, so I added about 1/2 cup sugar, but I think that was a little bit too much. However, you if don't add enough sugar, your sorbet can be too icy, so proceed with that in mind. Cool for about two hours and let chill in the fridge overnight.

The following day, stir tequila into the jamaica and add to your handy-dandy ice cream maker. Follow your machines instructions. When done, pack in a container and put in the freezer until firm. I put a whole shot of tequila in mine which was too much alcohol and made my freezing time longer than it ought to have been. Consume, even if it's barely 7 am and it has tequila in it, hey it's Friday.

Now that I have conquered this, I believe that it is timew to realize my dream of Latino inspired sorbet trio. Pepino-Chile here I come!

Look here for more SHF entries, as of Sunday 7/30/06 whatever day she feels like. Thanks to Sarah for hosting.

(Any comments for my photo editing non-skills (especially from anyone who knows what they're doing)? I re-discovered Picassa this week and am fooling around with it. Advice is most welcome.)

Techonrati Tags: sugar high friday

RECIPE: Fresh Fava Bean Soup

Adapted from Jack Bishop's Vegetables Every Day

Pretend that there is a picture of a big red bowl filled with a pretty light green colored soup. I was too tired and forgetful to take a picture last night.

Assemble:

3 lbs fresh fava beans
4 cups vegetable broth
2 TB olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped

If you are going to make your own stock, now would be the time to start. Shuck favas. Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil. When ready, add favas to water. Boil 3 minutes. Drain beans and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle. Peel favas. (If you are making your own stock, it will probably be done by now.)

In a soup pot, saute onion until soft. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Pour stock into pot and add favas. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until favas are tender, about 7 minutes.

Puree soup in batches in the blender. Be careful, the soup is hot and if you fill the blender more than half full, you might have a hot soup explosion all over your kitchen and yourself. I have learned this the hard way many times over. Return soup to the pot and reheat gently. Taste for salt and pepper.

This soup is good with some parmesan grated on top. I suspect that a little lemon zest, chopped parsley or basil would also be tasty.

RECIPE: Hoisin Glazed Tofu

A conglomeration of two recipes:

1 lb firm tofu
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch peeled ginger, minced
2 tsp sesame oil
2 TB tamari or soy sauce
1 TB rice wine
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup veg broth or water
2 tsp peanut oil, or more if necessary
2 green onions, sliced thinly
toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Cooked rice

Drain your tofu. Wrap in towels or napkins and place on cutting board with a gentle weight on top (I put the container the tofu came in on top and weighed it down with our dish soap). Set aside.

In a bowl, combine garlic, ginger, sesame oil, tamari or soy, rice wine and hoisin sauce in a bowl. Combine well. Add broth or water and mix again.

Brush a large pan with the peanut oil. Heat over a medium high heat. Meanwhile, slice tofu into 1/2 inch slabs. When pan is hot, add tofu. Let cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip over and cook on other side. You might need to add more oil to the pan, if it is too dry. Cook until brown on the second side. When browned, add the hoisin mixture. Let cook until sauce has thickened and clings to the tofu, about another 5-7 minutes.

Plate tofu with green onions, sesame seeds and any extra sauce sprinkled on top. Serve with rice and steamed veggies.

RECIPE: The Easiest Fruit Recipe Ever!

Usually, I hate superlatives in my recipes or cookbooks i.e. The Complete Guide to Vegetarian Cooking, The Best 100 Italian Recipes, blah, blah, blah. If they're so good, why are they in the bargain bin? However, this one really is that good and easy! I swear!

Buy a cheap cherimoya at the Farmer's Market, otherwise they are ridiculously expensive. Wait a few days for it to ripen. Wash very well and cut into chunks, with skin still on. Place fruit in a pitcher. Pour a bottle of white wine over fruit. The recipe originally called for Chardonnay, but I don't like it so I've used Riesling, Viogner, and Pinot Grigio with great success. I prefer a wine that slightly sweet but my partner doesn't, so use what you like. Let fruit and wine hang out in the fridge overnight. Eat and drink.

The cherimoya sucks up some of the wine and the wine tastes slightly like the fruit. Also, it is very easy to eat a lot without realizing how much wine you've actually imbibed. Umm, not like I would do anything like that.

RECIPE: Rice Pudding with Tropical Flavors

Kitchen experiment today. We had a surprise visit from a friend who's lactose intolerant and our oven was out of commission (our super-fantastic neighbor remedied that later though, thank goodness). Note all measurements are very approximate.

I cooked a cup of basmati rice in 1 3/4 cup low fat coconut milk, with about 2-3 TB sugar, the zest of one lime, 2 TB chopped candied ginger and a pinch of salt. After the rice was done, I let it cool a bit and I added about 1/4 cup chopped fresh pineapple. I set that aside and let it cool to room temp.

Right before dessert, I melted about 2 TB unsalted butter in a pan and added 3 TB brown sugar. I let the sugar melt and sizzle a bit then threw in 2 thickly sliced large bananas. Saute the bananas about 4-5 minutes on each side over a medium-high heat, until they are brown and pour in about 3 TB dark rum and the juice of half of the naked lime. Cook long enough to let the alcohol burn off.

Serve rice pudding in a small bowl with about 1/4 banana mixture and some toasted coconut ribbons sprinkled on top.

Conclusion, it was pretty tasty especially for a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants sort of thing. I think next time, I'll add more sugar in the beginning and some vanilla when the rice is done cooking. Also, maybe dried pineapple instead of fresh? I thought that the pudding would be better with full fat coconut milk, or a mixture of regular milk and coconut. It wasn't really pudding-like, more sticky than anything. The rice needed more liquid and I added water because I was out of coconut milk, perhaps that's part of my problem. The Boy liked it how it was though. The friend who I made it for had to leave before dessert, of course.