96 posts tagged “cooking”
A very happy Thanksgiving to you. Remember the best shopping tip of the week- stay home and shop online!
What about Thanksgiving food, you say? Having failed to find a single can of pumpkin in the entire city, I finally made a sweet potato cheesecake that is cooling in the fridge. In the meantime, here is a light Panang curry.
Ingredients-
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp chilli paste (sambal)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 cup water
3 kaffir lime leaves, chopped ( or use 1 tsp lime zest with 1 tsp lime juice)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
14 oz firm tofu, cubed
2 cups carrots, chopped
1 cup baby corn, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
a handful of thai basil, chopped
salt to taste
Heat oil in a skillet. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add ginger and garlic and saute for a few seconds. Then add turmeric, peanut butter and chilli paste and saute for thirty seconds.
Add the water, kaffir lime, sugar and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer, add coconut milk, carrots, peppers, baby corn and tofu. Cook on medium heat for about twenty minutes until the carrots are cooked through but not mushy. Season and add the thai basil towards the end. Serve warm with rice.
The best one yet.
There are few tricks to a good tofu scramble-
Drain, drain, drain the tofu. The drier the tofu, the better it browns. Same with the veggies.
Use a cast iron skillet if you have one. If not, be generous with the oil. It helps crisping the outside of the tofu while keeping the inside juicy and soft.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika (smoked is better)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 lb firm tofu, drained and pressed
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped (or spinach)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper
Heat the oil in the skillet. Add the onion and saute until softened, a couple of minutes. Then add garlic and saute for another minute. Add the cumin, thyme, oregano, turmeric, paprika and stir around a bit. Then add the mushrooms. Spread them around in the skillet and saute until they brown.
Time for the tofu. I just crumble it in my hands as I add it to the skillet. Both with mushrooms and tofu, stir as little as possible, letting them brown on each side before turning. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chard, nutritional yeast and lime juice towards the end, letting the chard wilt and using the lime juice to scrape all the brown bits off the pan.
Why almost vegan, then? I couldn't resist adding some grated Havarti to the scramble before wrapping it in a tortilla to make the best brunch burrito ever.
There's a certain je ne sais quoi about dumplings. I'm fascinated by dumplings of all cultures, shapes, and forms. From matzoh balls to pierogi, from momos to gnocchi, they are the perfect comfort food.
The fact that they are usually a hundred percent carbohydrate is completely irrelevant.
I always though gnocchi were made with eggs, so the discovery that they don't have to be came as a pleasant surprise. In fact, some traditionalists say that eggs make for a chewier gnocchi, and that is not good. Three large sweet potatoes in the CSA box, some sturdy sage from the herb pot, and we're all set!
What you need:
2 lbs sweet potatoes, roasted (45 minutes in a 450 degree oven), peeled, mashed well
2/3 cup ricotta cheese (throw it in a fine sieve to allow water to drain out, a couple of hours or so)
1.5 cups or more of all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
The idea is to make a dough out of the above, using as little flour as possible. To make that possible, use the firmest variety of sweet potatoes you can find. Roast them in the oven instead of boiling. Dust all surfaces with generous amounts of flour and keep dusting.
Bring a huge pot of water to a boil.
Mix together the mashed sweet potatoes, ricotta, flour, salt and pepper. Don't overwork the dough. All you want is for it to stay together and not stick to your hands. Divide the dough into six pieces (a dough separator/scraper comes in very handy.)
Roll each piece out into a half-inch thick string and cut into gnocchi a bit larger than your thumbnail. Then press a floured fork into the back of the gnocchi to create grooves for sauce. Go here for a technique video.
Cook the gnocchi in three batches. Simply add them to the boiling water and fish out with a slotted spoon as soon as they start to float. Place in a platter.
At this point, you can spread them on a sheet, freeze, then store the frozen pieces in a ziplock bag. Or you can saute them in a sauce of your choosing. I melted a couple of tbsp of butter, fried ten sage leaves in it and added 2 tbsp of maple syrup, before giving the gnocchi a quick saute. Delicious.
I'm trying to quit apologizing for my Vox absences; things are the way they are. Instead, I want to share our brunch recipe for this weekend. Its easy, nutritious, and delicious.
This dish is best made with fresh cottage cheese or paneer. Store brought paneer, fresh Mexican cheese (the kind that does not melt) and tofu will work, but do try it with fresh paneer. Its delicious!
To make about 2 cups of paneer, you will need:
A large 2 quart microwave safe glass bowl/jug
2 quarts 2% milk
1/4 cup white vinegar (Different people use different curdling agents. Using yogurt will give you a milder tasting paneer. My mother always uses fresh lime juice as a curdling agent. It gives a fresher-tasting paneer.)
A large fine-mesh sieve, or a colander lined with muslin/layered cheesecloth
Heat the milk in the microwave until it comes to a boil. In my microwave, this takes about 14 minutes. Alternatively, you can boil the milk on the stove. When it comes to a rolling boil, stir in the vinegar. You'll see the milk start to separate.
Continue heating for another couple of minutes or until the greenish whey completely separates from the curds. Drain this mixture through the sieve, using your spoon to press out the whey.
You can save the whey and use it in other recipes-remember, its a little sweet. I like to use it to make rice and smoothies.
There it is, fresh paneer. Try tasting it with a little seasoned salt or sugar. You can also add salt, pepper and herbs to the curd-whey mixture before draining it to get seasoned paneer.
Other ingredients for the stir fry:
6 cups fresh spinach, chopped
2 cups chard, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp powdered coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 green chillies, chopped
one clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter in a large skillet.
Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and stir until the cumin seeds pop.
Then add the green chillies, garlic. Saute for a few seconds, and add the paneer.
Crumble the paneer with the back of your spoon and saute until nicely browned.
Add the greens and saute until they are just wilted.
Season with salt and pepper and serve hot with naan/garlic toast/rice. Enjoy!
Perfect for the cold rainy-gray weather we've been having.
Adapted from this recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp sumac (optional)
- 3/4 pounds kale, stems and ribs discarded and leaves thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in upper third.
Toss potatoes with oil, salt, pepper and paprika and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Roast for twenty minutes or until golden brown. Spread
cheese and kale on top of potatoes and roast for another couple of minutes until the kale is wilted.
Beat together tahini, water, lemon juice, minced garlic and sumac until smooth.
Toss kale and potatoes with tahini sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Vegetable sizzlers are a family favorite- vegetables and potato patties in tomato sauce spread on a hot cast iron tray, drizzled with a butter-vinegar mixture for that special sizzle.
Enter the I Diet. This is week 5 of the 8 week plan, and I have lost 8 lbs. The diet is great in terms of nutrition, satiety and all that, but it leaves much to be desired in its vegetarian menu plans. I've been tweaking most of the recipes to make them more taste bud friendly. Thus, the spicy tofu stir fry morphs into the quasi-familiar Indo-Chinese sizzler.
You do need some kind of cast iron tray for this. A fajita tray, sizzler tray, or even a cast iron griddle will do, as long as you have a server that you can safely put under it.
Ingredients-
1 package (14 oz) firm tofu, pressed for 30 minutes, cubed
1 lb broccoli, stems and florets trimmed and chopped
1 lb green peppers, chopped into bite size pieces
6 oz carrots, cubed
6 oz mushrooms, sliced thick
1 tsp canola oil
4 leaves cabbage (important- do not omit)
3 tsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chilli garlic paste
1- 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp or more cilantro, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
- Parboil the carrots and broccoli until they are cooked through but still firm. I microwave them on high for 2 minutes with a few drops of water, then quickly dunk them in cold water to stop cooking. Drain.
- Saute the mushrooms in a non-stick pan until they release water. (I didn't use oil.) Then add the peppers and saute some more. Finally add the carrots and broccoli along with 1 tbsp soy sauce. Stir around for a minute or so.
- Remove the vegetables.
- There should be some broth left over in the pan. I added the tofu cubes to this broth and let them steep in it until they absorbed the flavor. You could do that, or cook the tofu your favorite way- pan fry, steam or broil.
- Toss the vegetables and tofu together with the ginger and cilantro.
- Stir together the remaining soy sauce, hoisin sauce and chilli parlic paste. You can add any broth left over in your veggie pan to this, as well as a tbsp or two of dry sherry/water.
Now comes the fun part.
Heat the cast iron pan on the stove. Brush the oil over the pan with a silicone brush/ crumpled up towel. Wait until the oil barely starts to smoke. Lay down the cabbage leaves over the tray, covering the whole surface with a single layer of leaves. Heap the vegetable tofu mixture on top. You should start to hear the sizzle. Make sure your family and friends are at the table before you drizzle the sauce over. Voila..smoke and sizzle!
Carefully transfer the hot tray to the server. Be careful while serving/eating from the tray- hot cast iron is not friendly to the skin. Serve some rice on the side and enjoy!
I wonder who came up with the idea of clover leaf rolls? A playful young hausfrau, rolling little balls of dough and dropping them into muffin tins? A busy baker, snipping off a roll of dough with scissors? No matter how they came by, clover leaf rolls are as fun to make as they are to eat!
Adapted from this fabulous recipe over at Jugalbandi. You can make this recipe without a sourdough starter, too. I skipped the garlic and the sundried tomatoes, and added a generous handful of fresh chopped sage and oregano from my tiny herb garden. Half the recipe makes 6 average sized rolls.
Herbed sourdough rolls go to the Wild Yeast blog for the weekly YeastSpotting.
A peasant salad from Tuscany, made with stale leftover bread. Add tomatoes, basil, olive oil, let the flavors seep in to the bread, and devour. Simple food at its best.
Recipe adapted from that bacon lovin' geek, Alton Brown. :)
Ingredients:
- 4 cups bread, left out overnight, cut into cubes (try to use a dense bread that won't turn to mush when it touches liquid- sourdoughs work well)
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups chopped heirloom tomatoes
- 2 cups chopped cucumber (peel and remove seeds if using big fat ones)
- 1 tbsp finely minced red onion
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- a handful of torn basil leaves
Toast the bread lightly on a griddle. Sear the halved grape tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of oil, cut side down, until caramelized.
Combine red wine vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl, slowly whisk in 2 tbsp olive oil in a thin stream until emulsified.
Combine all tomatoes, bread, onion and cucumber and dress with vinaigrette, toss well, garnish with basil and serve.
The best part in this salad is undoubtedly the bread- it soaks up all the sweet-sour-tomato flavor and becomes juicy and luscious and fabulous. My last advice- use lots of bread. :D
A twitter friend, who just happens to be a fabulous quilter, sent me a lovely quilted tablecloth recently. The quilt smells and looks and feels so good, I've been using it as a throw instead, keeping my feet warm when I do my couch potato impersonations.
I want to send her something I made, but I have no idea what she likes. This is where online friendships suck. You may know a lot about one aspect of someone's life and nothing about the other.
Playing it safe, I decided to make these spring saffron shortbread cookies which I found on Mango Power Girl's blog. The cookies are lightly flavored with saffron, cardamom and nuts, making them Indian enough to satisfy me and American enough to please her (I hope!).
I mostly followed the original recipe, cutting back the butter to 1.5 sticks and skipping the icing, adding the cardamom to the cookie dough itself. I also used walnuts instead of pistachios coz I love them in cookies!
Only after making the cookies did I think about packaging. How do you mail crumbly shortbread cookies? After much trolling of the local megamart, I settled for a tin of peanuts, emptied, washed and re-papered. The packing took much more time than the actual making of cookies- there is a lesson in here somewhere. :)
Adapted from the wonderfully named CheapHealthyGood blog, who adapted it from Nick at Serious Eats who adapted it from Epicurious.
Yeah, its that good.
What you need:
1 cup nonfat evaporated milk
3 cups light vegetable stock
1 cup polenta
1 teaspoon oil
4 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
- Add the evaporated milk, stock, polenta, salt and pepper to a large pot over medium heat. (Be careful with the salt, the stock and the parmesan will both have salt as well.) Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and creamy.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a minute or so. Add the kale, garlic, and saute until the kale turns bright green and wilts. Turn off the heat and add the thyme and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the butter and parmesan to the pot with the polenta. Stir until combined. Spoon some of the polenta onto a plate and then top with the mushroom and kale. Serve warm.
Even though we made it on a Saturday, this is a great weeknight recipe. Easy and soul satisfying. The writers at CheapHealthyGood even wrote an ode to the recipe. Go read. :)
