Dining In: Tofu Fried Rice December 4, 2009

This year I have discovered many things…but, when it comes to cooking, I’ve found that I can cook more than pasta. Asian food at home isn’t too hard, and fried rice has been a fun new dish that I’ve added to my repertoire. For me, there are a lot of similarities with this dish and a pasta meal: carb base, veggies, protein and stock seasonings that always seem to work.

After spending almost a week in the Midwest over Thanksgiving, I had my fill of green beans, potatoes, rolls, more potatoes and some fantastic mac and cheese. I knew that for my recipe this week I wanted to shake my palette up. After only a short time browsing the posts of my favorite food blogs, I came across this recipe from Playing House for Veggie Fried Rice. I was shocked, not by the recipe, but that I hadn’t thought of it sooner. I loved making my crab fried rice, but finding lump crab meat can be challenging (especially the price!). So, adding more veggies and tofu instead of crab seemed like the perfect low, low budget version.

When I actually prepared the meal, I didn’t even reference a recipe. But, I did use Amy’s blog to help find the right ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked white rice (yields about 3 cups prepared)
• 1 package firm tofu, drained, towel dry, diced in cubes
• Vegetable oil
• Sesame oil
• Soy sauce
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 2 tbs chopped pickled ginger
• 1 package mixed frozen veggies (corn, carrots, peas, etc.)
• 1 red bell pepper
• green onions (both green and white parts)

Directions:

1. Cook the rice according to the directions on the box, and set aside to cool. Also, prepare the frozen veggies according to the directions on the bag.
2. Warm 2-3 tbs. vegetable oil and 1tbs. sesame oil in a large saucepan. Once heated, add in half of the tofu to fry. Sprinkle soy sauce on tofu to flavor and be sure to fry each side. Once done, place cooked tofu on a paper towel. Repeat for the other half.
3. Add another 2-3tbs. of vegetable oil to the same pan and warm with the garlic and ginger. Add the rice and soy sauce and fry for 3-4 minutes.
4. Incorporate the cooked veggies and diced red bell pepper, adding soy sauce as needed. Then add the fried tofu to heat up the entire dish. Right before serving, top with green onions.

A Holiday Fritatta for vegetarians November 25, 2009

For the past 8 years I’ve been a vegetarian (specifically a pescatarian because I still eat seafood). I primarily made the choice for health reasons and secondarily because I was quite skeptical of meat not prepared by my dad. Since cutting meat out of my diet, I’ve never looked back. This diet has helped me think more about what food I’m putting in my mouth and strive for better balance in my meals. I can’t imagine ever eating meat again because I don’t miss it…anyway, I digress.

The holidays for vegetarians can be difficult. Sure, it’s a challenge when all the meals center around roasted/fried/brined meats. But, the harder part is convincing the host you don’t need a Tofurkey to feel included. A few years ago, my aunt was hosting Thanksgiving for the family and was nervous about what I would be eating. Most of the time I was fine just eating the sides, but I knew she would feel better if I brought my own protein. After a quick discussion with my mom, I decided to make a fritatta. It’s simple to make, warm, rustic and a veggie-friendly protein that doesn’t make the rest of the world raise an eyebrow. Oh, and it’s really inexpensive to make.

That first fritatta Thanksgiving, my asparagus and Gruyere cheese fritatta was quickly devoured by the entire family. Since then, I’ve just switched out the ingredients each holiday to keep it interesting. This year my family is traveling and won’t be cooking any part of the Thanksgiving meal. So, I decided to celebrate a little early and make my fritatta before we left.

My mission this week was two-fold: create a new delicious fritatta and use up as much food in my fridge as possible. My mother gave me some of her fresh herbs that needed to be used. So, that is where I started my recipe search. Basil. Not a bad place to start, eh? I searched for a recipe on a new site my dad found, www.bigoven.com, for some inspiration. Quickly (cause their search is pretty awesome) I found a fritatta recipe based around basil and tomatoes, two of my favorite things. Using this recipe as a guide, I knew I only needed to pick up some eggs, an onion and a tomato to make this meal happen (talk about recession friendly!).

Ingredients:

• 1 Thinly sliced onion
• 1/2 shalot; sliced
• 1 tbs butter
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 md Tomato; diced (be sure to remove the seeds)
• 1/4 c Fresh basil; chopped
• 1/4 c fresh Italian parsley; chopped
• 1/4 c shredded Parmesan
• 1/2 c shredded mozzarella
• 3 tbs ricotta cheese
• 1 16oz container Egg substitute
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Sauté the onion and shalot in butter and 1tbs of olive oil in a large pan (oven safe) until translucent.
2. Add in the chopped herbs, salt and pepper and tomatoes.
3. Remove the veggie mixture from the pan and set aside. Turn your oven on to a high broil
4. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and once it is heated, add half the eggs and all the ricotta cheese.
5. Cook for less than a minute on low heat, combining the egg and cheese.
6. Add the veggie mixture back into the pan and top with the remaining egg. Cook until the egg is mostly done, just a little liquid at the top.
7. Top with Parmesan and mozzarella and place pan into oven to broil until all the cheese is melted and is slightly browned.
8. Remove the pan from the over and let cool for a few minutes. Slice like a pie and serve!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dining In: Homemade Hot and Sour Soup November 19, 2009

I didn’t always love hot and sour soup. Growing up I opted for egg drop when we would go out for Asian food, but my dad always seemed to order at least a cup of hot and sour soup. If it was on the menu, he would give it a whirl — most often with general disappointment in it. Now, my dad is very particular about his soup…it’s never hot enough for him. Sometimes he may comment on the flavor, consistency, but ALWAYS the temperature. When my mom fixes soup she will often warm the soup bowls and microwave my dad’s portion before serving it to him. Anyone who has shared enough meals with my dad is well aware of his temperament when it comes to soup.

So, back to hot and sour soup. Later in life I decided to give it a whirl and really liked it. Like my dad, I love to order it whenever I get the chance; however, I do not fuss as much about the ‘hot’ part of the soup.

When I came across this recipe for an easy hot and sour soup, I knew it was time to try making this delicious soup myself. I made a few changes to make it vegetarian, but it truly is an easy soup to make. Don’t be intimidated!

Ingredients:

• 3 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 1 package firm tofu, cut into 1 inch strips
• 1 can bamboo shoots, sliced into matchsticks
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Sesame oil
• 1 scallion, minced

Directions:

1. Lightly steam the mushrooms in a bowl of hot water. Cover, and set aside for a few minutes. Remove the mushrooms and slice thinly. Reserve the mushroom liquid.
2. Pour the stock and soy sauce into a large pot along with the salt. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. When it reaches a boil, add the sliced mushrooms, the mushroom liquid, and bamboo shoots. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Toss in the tofu, pepper, and vinegar. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.
4. Whisk together the cornstarch with 4 tablespoons of cold water. When pot is boiling, add the cornstarch slurry and stir well until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the egg. Stir gently until it is incorporated.
5. Serve the soup with a drizzle of sesame oil and a sprinkling of scallion.

As you can tell from the above photo, my wonderful parents joined me for dinner. My dad graciously picked up some spring rolls from our favorite Thai place and a couple bottles of Pinot. He loved the soup (you can see the steam rising from the bowls)!

Dining In: White Lasagna with Spinach and Basil November 12, 2009

I have always loved any pasta dish, especially lasagna. I want to believe that is due to my Italian heritage (thanks Dad!)…but I’m pretty sure I just love carbs, cheese and tomatoes. My best friend’s mother Linda makes the most delicious homemade lasagna for birthdays, holidays and other special occasions filled with fresh veggies and topped with just a little cheese and sauce. The lightness of the dish is truly impressive. When I saw this recipe for Green Lasagna on BrokeAss Gourmet, I thought that this could be the beginning of my own unique homemade lasagna.

• 1 package no-boil/refrigerated lasagna noodles
• 2 cups packed basil leaves (I used the leftover purple basil from last week)
• olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 15-oz container ricotta cheese
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups fresh spinach, cleaned
• salt and pepper to taste
• yellow and red tomatoes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a large rectangular pan with a little olive oil and set aside.
2. In a food processor or blender, combine ricotta, basil, 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Puree until smooth.
3. Saute the onions over medium heat until light brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Spoon a little of the ricotta sauce into the bottom of the pan. top with an even layer of noodles. Spoon on more sauce and half of the spinach and onions. Top with noodles, another layer of sauce and the rest of the spinach and onions. Top with noodles, more sauce, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan.
5. Bake covered with aluminum foil for 30 minutes. Remove foil and add sliced tomatoes. Cook for the remaining 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly.

Dining In: Farfalle with Gorgonzola and Veggies November 4, 2009

After almost a year of cooking from a recipe once a week, I finally felt a bit challenged. For months I’ve been bookmarking and favoriting dishes that sounded good, and I have quite a collection now. However, I blame my indecisiveness more than anything else.

Finally, this recipe from Serious Eats grabbed me. Was it the Gorgonzola? The Zucchini? Well, to be honest, the photo really called me. The pasta dish looked simple and sounded flavorful. I swapped purple basil for regular basil (since they were the same price and the purple looked a lot fresher) and increased the portions of both the zucchini and celery to make it a bit heartier. The recipe below will serve 1-2.

The dish was warm and filling, and next time I think I will include a yellow squash as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 1 large rib of celery, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 pound whole wheat farfalle
• Salt and pepper to taste
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 ounces Gorgonzola, diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 large sprigs purple basil, chopped

Directions:

1. Place 4 quarts of water in a large pot, season with salt and bring to a boil.
2. Wash the zucchini and trim the ends, then grate them on the largest side of a box grater and set aside.
3. In a large saucepan, heat the oil and butter and sauté the shallot and celery over medium heat, stirring, until the vegetables soften and begin to turn translucent. Add the minced garlic and continue cooking for another minute.
4. Add the zucchini to the pan and sauté until the zucchini begins to soften and wilt.
5. In the meantime, add the pasta to the boiling water and stir occasionally as the pasta cooks.
6. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. When the pasta is almost al dente, add the lemon juice, 1/8 of a cup of the pasta cooking water and the cheese to the pan, stirring to melt the cheese. Stir in the parsley and basil and let the mixture simmer gently for a moment or two.
7. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce. Let the pasta cook in the pan for a minute and transfer to a warm bowl and serve immediately.

Dining In: Tomato Lentil Soup with Fancy Grilled Cheese October 29, 2009

After a long weekend in NYC filled with a bit of overeating, fun and fall weather, I knew exactly what I wanted to cook for this week, SOUP! During my college days, my sorority house had the habit of serving tomato soup and grilled cheese on Fridays for lunch. It was the perfect comfort/hangover meal at the end of the week.

So, I decided to do a grown-up version of the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup. Soup from scratch. Whole wheat bread. Fancy cheese.

Ingredients:

• 1 can whole tomatoes
• 1 qt. vegetable broth
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• cayenne pepper
• paprika
• fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup lentils
• whole wheat rolls
• Fontina cheese
• prepared artichoke tapenade (or any other pesto or tapenade you like)

Directions:

For Tomato Lentil Soup – (adapted from this recipe)

1. Rinse the lentils well and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until soft and golden.
2. Add the tomato paste, paprika, and cayenne, and cook an additional two minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the lentils, stock, bay leaf, tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then simmer 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are soft and the tomatoes have broken up.
4. Add the fresh thyme, reserving some for garnish, and simmer for an additional 1-2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve with fresh thyme as garnish.

For the grilled cheese

1. Slice the roll in half and spray each half with olive oil.
2. Add the desired amount of cheese on each half and place on a baking sheet. Broil on low until the cheese melts.
3. Remove from the oven and spread the tapenade on each half. Serve open-faced.

Dining In: Gnocchi with Basil, Tomatoes and Olives October 21, 2009

Last week I discovered, much to my delight, that Central Market is selling their own freshly made pasta. I’m definitely not against boxed noodles or making the pasta from scratch (just need that pasta-making add-on for my Kitchen Aid mixer). But, like their bunches of herbs for $1, the convenience and freshness of the pasta grabbed my attention.

It’s been a while since I prepared some gnocchi and what Central Market had looked tasty. I prepared half of the gnocchi last week with a simple marinara, but wanted to do something more fun with it for this week’s recipe.

I checked out my good friend Foodnetwork.com to see what they could offer up for inspiration. Several chefs had recipes for making gnocchi but it took a while to find a recipe for a good sauce. These two recipes caught my eye for the basil and tomato and the olives, so I decided to fuse them together to make something new.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 – 2 cups of freshly made gnocchi
• 1/2 a lemon
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes
• a couple sprigs of fresh thyme
• a bunch of fresh basil
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
  

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi and cook for 10-15min.
2. Whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Drain gnocchi, leaving some pasta water and add the lemon and oil mixture to the gnocchi
4. Mix in the Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, bail and thyme.
5. Top with a little extra cheese and serve!

Dining In: Asparagus and Rice Soup with Mexican Cornbread October 15, 2009

This week’s meal is an ode to my fantastic mom. She has taught me so many things about life and a ton about cooking. As the weather finally begins to cool off (umm, could this next cool front stick around for more than a few days??), the memories of my mom’s homemade soups are my inspiration.

Last Friday, I fixed a quick and light French Onion soup with a side of pasta salad (sorry, I forgot to take photos). Since it was just a meal for two I had tons of the ‘onion stock’ leftover. Something my mom always did was re-purposing leftovers, so last week’s French onion soup became the base of this week’s asparagus and rice soup.

I used this recipe as a sort of guide for making mine, except no bacon and a few less steps. I reheated the onion soup base in a large saucepan and brought it to a boil. I added just a 1/4 cup of white rice to the soup and cooked the rice completely, adding a little bit of water. In a separate pan, I heated olive oil and butter (to add back some fat that bacon would normally bring) and sautéed the asparagus until tender, seasoning with garlic salt. Once both the asparagus and rice were ready, I added the greens into the soup and served in a tall coffee mug.

For the second part of the meal, I had to make some cornbread. Nothing goes better with soup than fresh cornbread. And, cornbread should always be spicy and savory (not sweet) with cheese! I found a good-looking Mexican cornbread mix at Central Market, prepared it according to the directions (except adding a little more oil and milk and CHEESE). YUM!

Repair those previously fab shoes to be like new! October 13, 2009

When I wear out a pair of shoes, I usually get rid of them. Often they would look dingy, need a lot of help or are now out of style and didn’t cost that much to begin with. However, this fall I decided to get two of my favorite pairs of shoes fixed, so I could get another year out of them.

The first pair are fantastically unique Prada heels. I found them years ago at DSW for a great price, yet within the first few years I wore out the heel and tore up the sole. Since they weren’t cheap, and I’ve never seen any others like them, I’ve refused to get rid of them. They’ve moved with me at least 3 times and I cannot even remember the last time I wore them. So, it was time to bring them back to life!

The wonderful guys at the Austin Shoe Hospital replaced the heel, re-soled them with a little extra cushion, and shined them up. I cannot wait to wear them!

The second pair I purchased at Nordstroms in fall of 2007. These Franco Sarto black booties were not terribly expensive, but for the past two fall seasons I wore them at least twice a week. I knew they were on their last leg when I heard the nail head clink across the bathroom tiles at work after a long weekend of fun in NYC. For at least a month I had them in my car to have them fixed, but I never got around to it. My motivation to repair these came when I saw for the third year in a row that booties and leggings were prevalent in the September issue of Vogue.

For these, just a heel replacement and shine did the trick. Just like new!

Dining In: Spicy Roasted Tomato and Pepper Pasta October 7, 2009

Thanks to my mother, I’ve lately been obsessed with adding red pepper flakes to pasta, pizza, and just about everything to give it an extra kick. These spicy little flakes even inspire me to cook a second meal each week. So, when I saw this recipe for a spicy, roasted pasta dish, I knew I need to prepare it and share it.

I made a few changes to the original recipe to simplify it a bit and use what I already had in my kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes
• 2 bell peppers, 1 red and 1 yellow
• 1/2 pound curly shaped pasta
• 1 tablespoon butter
• fresh basil
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Slice the tomatoes and peppers and place on a roasting pan. Drizzle them with some olive oil and salt and pepper.
2. Roast the tomatoes and peppers under an oven’s broiler, turning occasionally, until the tomato skin soften and the pepper skin blackens (about 10-12 min).
3. While roasting, bring a pot of salty water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, reserving some pasta water.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a medium skillet, and cook the garlic and chili flakes over medium-low heat until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and peppers  and raise the heat to medium and cook until the sauce thickens (mash the halved tomatoes and add a little pasta water to help the sauce form).
5. When the pasta is ready, drain the noodles and melt the butter over it. Then toss with the sauce and chopped basil. Serve with Parmesan cheese.