Summer of Stir Fry

I think it's been years since my big beautiful carbon steel wok came down off the high shelf. When we moved here we found a sad little electric stove -- hardly high enough heat for a decent stir fry and no grates to hold the fully round bottom pan in place.
But look at me now with 18,000 BTU per burner quickly tossing together a dinner of tofu, carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms and peppers. That wok turned what looked like a pretty dismal selection of vegetables, minced garlic and ginger, and a couple pantry staples (soy sauce -- 2 TB, hoisin -- 2-3 tsp, sesame oil -- 2 tsp, brown sugar -- 1 1/2 tsp mixed together into a sauce)into way more than the sum of it's parts all in about 15 minutes. Super fast, tasty, too quick to heat up the kitchen and not a lot of prep to tackle -- its' the perfect summer dinner. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Has This Gone Too Far?

Tofu, bok choy and daikon radish.

Carrie Called It, "Secret Single Behavior"

James is out of town. I'm home doing all the things I don't do when James is around -- catching up on some sewing, wearing pajamas 'til noon, watching "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding", eating Chinese food. Tonight I made a simple tofu and broccoli stir-fry. Delicious and diet-friendly.

Winter Squash

Winter squash, I find, though it is something I love is also -- at least according to Weight Watchers -- diet friendly. Amazing. One of my favorites is the slightly dry but super sweet kabocha, bright orange flesh with edible green skin. No peeling. I decided to roast up slices and build our dinner from there.
Most often I see kabocha squash in Japanese of vaguely Asian "health food" meals. I decided to head down that path and pull out one of my favorite (though I suspect it is more of a good for you chore for James) rice cooker recipes, courtesy of Martha Stewart Living. Brown rice, mushrooms, tofu and spinach steamed together and dressed with just a dash of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil. I steam 1 1/2 cups brown rice, 1/2 ounce dried mushrooms (shitake if I have them), 8 oz cubed firm tofu, and a dash of salt in a rice cooker until done (about 45 minutes). I let the mixture steam for 15 minutes more and then add in about 4 cups of baby spinach, close the lid and let the spinach steam in the rice cooker (about 2 minutes), Just before serving I mix through chopped scallions, chopped cilantro (tonight it was parsley), 2 1/2 TB soy sauce, 1 1/2 TB rice wine vinegar and 1 tsp sesame oil. Very diet friendly indeed.

More Beans With Eric and Shari

It was a cold, rainy night and we started with soup.

Simple zucchini soup.

I put several coarsely chopped zucchini and a few leeks I found in the drawer into a pot, seasoned with S&P and just about covered them with chicken broth. When the liquid came up to a boil I covered the pot and allowed the vegetables to simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. I puréed the mixture (holding back some of the liquid so I could adjust the thickness) along with a good handful of fresh basil and about 1/3 as much fresh mint. Soup course done.

For the main dish I tried two different types of veggie burgers -- attempt 3 of garbanzo bean falafel burgers (same recipe as before with a little oatmeal added to the food processor as a binder, much better) and, believe it or not, flavorful tofu burgers, adapted from a recipe I found online.

Into the food processor went one drained package firm tofu, about 8 ounces chopped mushrooms, a handful of lightly roasted cashews, a handful of shelled pumpkin seeds, 1 TB of soy sauce, 1 TB of mustard, 1 tsp of cumin, a pinch of cayenne, salt, and about 1/2 cup of oatmeal. I pulsed all that together to a chunky paste, formed burgers, and baked -- along with the garbanzo bean burgers, at 350º for about 15 minutes on a side.

As both a salad garnish and a side a chopped salad of red onion, cucumber, parsley, and homegrown tomatoes tossed in a tangy tahini dressing (tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt). Bean diet with friends.