tofu poke lettuce wraps

in celebration of obama's inauguration yesterday we decided to go with a hawaiian theme for dinner. after poking around for a poke recipe (sorry) on the internet we decided on a modifiable tuna poke recipe. though i'm still not entirely clear on what exactly poke is and what makes poke poke. does it have to be raw? or maybe just cold? is it in the sauce? beats me, but i'm calling this tofu poke and if it's not i apologize. the important part is that it was yummy!
ok so maybe it's not the most photogenic dish ever.

tofu poke lettuce wraps
(modified from Emeril's ahi tuna poke)

ingredients:
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (or creamy with a handful of peanuts thrown in...)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more for seasoning
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon sesame oil, plus more for seasoning
16 ounces extra firm tofu, pressed and drained
1/4 cup minced red onions
2-3 sheets nori, toasted and crumbled
5 teaspoons chopped roasted almonds
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 lime, juiced
pineapple (we used one can of pineapple rings, in juice, and chopped 'em up)
1 head butter lettuce (for wrapping)

in the bowl of a food processor, combine the peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce, lime juice, hot sauce, and sesame oil, and process on high speed.

after draining tofu cut into slabs (about 1/2 inch thick). heat a pan (don't oil it) to medium-high heat and cook the tofu for a couple minutes on each side until golden brown and bouncy to touch. let tofu cool a few minutes then cut it into cubes.

in the same pan, quickly toast the nori sheets (just a few seconds on each side).

place tofu in a large bowl. add the red onions, nori, almonds, cilantro, and lime juice.

pour the peanut butter mixture over the tofu mixture and combine. Season with sesame oil, soy sauce, and salt, to taste. to serve, place some pineapple on a lettuce leaf, top with tofu, wrap and enjoy!

-d

black bean burgers

So one of my Christmas presents was this:



And I love it with a passion. If love for inanimate objects is wrong, then I don’t want to be right. Despite it being a Christmas present, I didn’t actually have it until today (what with the holidays, and my traveling, my mom just got around to sending it to me), so of course, I had to use it! I needed to chop things up. I searched through the new February Gourmet, and settled on this, a Black Bean Burger recipe. It is quick and easy and you can easily swap out different herbs and spices. Instead of serving it with salsa – I replaced the cilantro with parsley – I made a smoked paprika mayo.



(Which, by the way, smoked paprika is my new favorite go to ingredient. It has a chipotle-like smoky sweetness, but without the heat. Mark Bittman thinks everyone should have it in their spice cabinet, and I agree!)

So, whether you are a vegetarian or not, make these as soon as you get home! They are tasty and filling. You can easily swap the mayo out for vegan mayo, a thick Greek yogurt, or maybe even tahini. Basically, you need something to bind it all together. But these are delish and will have a permanent place in my repetoire.



Black Bean Burgers
From Gourmet, February 2009

2 (14 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed, divided
3 tbsp mayonnaise (see notes above)
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled (I omitted this)
¼ tsp cayenne
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro (see notes above)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 soft hamburger buns

• Pulse one can of beans in a food processor with mayonnaise, bread crumbs, cumin, oregano, and cayenne until a course puree forms. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in cilantro (or parsley) and remaining can beans. Form mixture into 4 patties. (My grocery had 19 oz. cans of beans, so I ended up making 6 burgers).

• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Cook burgers until outsides are crisp and lightly browned, turning once, about 5 minutes total. Serve on toasted buns (I served mine with spinach and the above mentioned smoked paprika mayo).

awwwww so sweet! (mac n cheese)

yesterday, mlk day, i had to work. kris did not. so what did he do with his day off? he made mac n cheese for dinner! and i'm sure he did one or two other things that were equally exciting, but let's focus on the mac n cheese. i walked in the door yesterday - tired from my long day of watching the clock sloooowly tick - and a warm aroma greeted me. i was starving as usual and could not wait to dig in. it took all my might not to plop down in front of the oven door and peer inside watching this baby turn golden brown and crispy on top. kris was busy doing the dishes but was i allowed to help? no no, i was told to go sit down, relax, and would i like a glass of wine while i wait? awwwwwww so sweet. but sorry. back to the food. obviously, there was no actual cheese involved. i think it's a winner because 1. it was delicious and 2. it was loved by both me (cheese hater) and kris (cheese liker). this dish is a delightful blend of tangy, spicy, creamy but not overly-so, and it was filling but not heavy. it also made a fantastic lunch today as well! the recipe is from VegNews. as i did not help prepare it in any way i cannot really comment on it's ease, time frame, etc. but i can say that whatever it takes it's worth it.

Mac 'n' Cheese

(from Vegnews.com)

ingredients:

4 quarts water

1 tablespoon sea salt
8 ounces macaroni
4 slices of bread, torn into large pieces*
2 tablespoons + 1/3 cup non-hydrogenated margarine
2 tablespoons shallots, peeled and chopped
1 cup red or yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup water
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 tomato, chopped**

1 bunch asparagus, chopped**

In a large pot, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until al dente. In a colander, drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

In a food processor, make breadcrumbs by pulverizing the bread and 2 tablespoons margarine to a medium-fine texture. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion, and water, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft.
In a blender, process the cashews, salt, garlic, 1/3 cup margarine, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne. Add softened vegetables and cooking water to the blender and process until perfectly smooth.

In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta and blended cheese sauce and raw tomato and asparagus chunks (or whatever else you might want to throw in there) until completely coated. Spread mixture into a 9 x 12 casserole dish, sprinkle with prepared breadcrumbs, and dust with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the top has turned golden brown.

*we had panko breadcrumbs on hand and kris used those. i thought it worked just fine. he says he wants to try different breadcrumbs next time.

**as you may have noticed in the picture, there are some non-mac/non-cheese ingredients hanging around. kris added asparagus and tomato and both were wonderful additions.

-d

coconut crusted tempeh...

...with black beans and garlicky ginger spinach. that's what dinner was tonight. i knew we had a lot of little things in the fridge that need to be used but the ones that kept popping into my head were about half a can of coconut milk and shedded coconut - both leftover after making dulce sin leche cupcakes (from "vegan cupcakes take over the world" which are delicious by the way). this was my first time coconut crusting and i do think it was a success! i always get jealous of those coconut crusted shrimp options on menus. i added some chili powder to the coconut for a little extra flavor in there. i cooked the components in the following order and - amazingly! - everything seemed to finish around the same time.

for the beans
15 oz. can black beans
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
salt, pepper and cumin (a generous sprinkling of each)
3 bay leaves
lime zest*
olive oil

heat olive oil in a pan and cook garlic and onion until onion softens. add bell pepper and cook a minute more. add the salt, pepper and cumin and stir to mix them in. add the tomato and beans (juices and all!) and bay leaves. cook over medium heat until bean juices thicken and cook off a bit. meanwhile.....

for the spinach
1 bag baby spinach (or fresh spinach...i was feeling lazy and didn't feel like getting all the grit off fresh spinach)
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 inch fresh ginger finely chopped
peanut oil

heat a bit of peanut oil in a pan and add garlic and ginger. cook for a few minutes before adding spinach (in batches if necessary). cook until wilted. tempeh time!

for the tempeh**
8 oz. tempeh
coconut milk (half a can should do it)
unsweetened shredded coconut (3/4 - ish cup)
chili powder
peanut oil

cut the tempeh into 4 slices and steam for 10 minutes. ok...so really you should do this first while you're getting your bean things ready.

after steaming, cut each tempeh piece in half so you have 8 good sized slices. put coconut milk in a shallow bowl. in another shallow bowl mix together the coconut and chili powder. dip the tempeh first in the coconut milk and then in the coconut mixture.

cook in a pan with a thin coating of heated peanut oil until golden (a few minutes on each side)

*i added the lime zest to the beans near the end of their cooking time. i'd never done this before but thought it might be tasty. and it was. but i'm wondering if maybe it would have been better finely zested and added to the coconut-chili powder mixture. hmmmm.....
**you could definitely replace the tempeh with tofu, but i like the nuttiness of tempeh and think it was a nice combination with the coconut.

-d

basil pineapple fried rice

what i really want to call this is basil pineapple cashew sesame fried rice but that seems just a tad long for a title. anyway, this is an easy fried rice recipe that we whipped up tonight (i know! i can still taste it! such fast blogging i'm amazing myself). this is one of those recipes where you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand and i'm sure it will be delicious with whatever you choose. also fried rice works best with rice that sits in the fridge overnight. i know this, but i didn't do it.




ingredients
1 1/2 cups rice
4 bunches baby bok choy
1 zuccini
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
ginger (1-2 inch piece) peeled and finely chopped
1 hot little pepper, finely chopped
1 can pineapple (make sure it's in it's own juice not gross syrupy stuff)
1/2 cup toasted cashews
1 bunch basil (bonus if it's thai basil)
soy sauce or tamari
chili sesame oil
regular sesame oil
sesame seeds
peanut oil for frying

cook the rice according to package instructions. let cool for a few minutes when it's done.

finely chop the garlic, ginger and pepper. chop the bok choy and onion into 1/2 inch-ish pieces. slice the zuccini

heat a little peanut oil in a wok. throw in the rice for 5-10 minutes to let it get a little crispy (don't stir too much). put the rice in a bowl.

heat a little more peanut oil if needed. cook the garlic, ginger, pepper and onion until the onion softens. add the zuccini and bok choy and cook a few more minutes until they are cooked through.

add the rice back to the wok and season with a couple of splashes each of soy sauce, chili sesame oil and sesame oil. taste and add more as you like. add the basil and stir until wilted. add the pineapple and cashews and cook a few minutes longer. sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

-d

panang tofu curry

a couple of days ago we were trying to decide what to make for dinner. i don't know what put the idea in his head but kris said "we should make a curry!" i was flipping through the latest bon appetit and - ta da! - panang tofu curry greeted me on page 82. it was meant to be. it was an easy recipe to make, a just-some-chopping-throw-it-in-a-pot-let-it-do-it's-thing kind of recipe. we made a few little tweaks that i've noted below.





panang tofu curry
(from bon appetit, february 2009)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons finely grated peeled ginger
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup organic peanut butter
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot chili paste*
1 cup water
1 can light coconut milk (14-ish ounces)
3 kaffir lime leaves or 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime peel (we went the lime juice/peel route)
1 tablespoon (firmly packed) golden brown sugar
2 14-ounce packages firm tofu, drained, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups thick carrot slices**
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. add shallots, ginger and garlic; cook until shallots are tender (about 6 minutes).

add peanut butter, turmeric, cumin and chili paste, stir until fragrant (1 to 2 minutes).

whisk in 1 cup water then coconut milk, lime leaves/juice/peel, and brown sugar and bring to simmer. season with salt.

add tofu, carrots/eggplant and bell pepper; simmer over medium heat until carrots/eggplant are tender, adjusting heat to medium-low if beginning to boil and occasionally stirring gently, about 20 minutes. season to taste with salt.

the magazine photo has this served over rice but we had already had a very rice-y week and decided to plop in on top of a bed of steamed kale instead. it was a yummy, slightly lighter, way to enjoy.

*we didn't, or thought we didn't, have any chili paste and didn't see any at the grocery store so we just used red curry paste and added a pinch cayenne for heat. a couple days later while searching for something in the fridge we found a big ol' tub of chili paste that our neighbors gave us when they moved. perhaps we should organize the fridge more often. perhaps i shouldn't mess it up when kris does organize it so nicely.
**i am not a fan of cooked carrots and used one chinese eggplant instead. sliced. delicious.

-d

christmas squash

happy new year! kris and i did a lot of traveling over the holidays and i have gotten very behind in posting. however, i did take pictures of food along the way and now that they are off of my camera and on the computer i have no excuse...it's catch up time! and in order to stretch out the holiday spirit just a wee bit longer i'll start with the most recent recipe i have which happens to be our christmas recipe (and maybe just maybe it's still fresh enough in my mind so i can actually remember what went into it*).

for christmas we traveled to louisville to spend the holiday at kris's dad's house. he always makes a big christmas dinner so kris and i put ourselves in charge of making ourselves a delicious vegetarian entree (among other things like real mashed potatoes and easy bread). we winged it with a wild rice stuffed squash that turned out to be quite delicious!

Ingredients
1 acorn squash
1 large onion
1 fennel bulb
1 cup wild rice (maybe less, we had a lot leftover. but i'm sure you could find a use for it)
spices/herbs (*nope, guess i don't remember. i know i know....)
olive oil
salt and pepper (to taste)

heat oven to 350 and start cooking rice according to the package instructions.

cut the squash in half lenthwise and scoop out the seeds and stringy bits. drizzle with a little olive oil and place face down on a baking sheet.

cut the onion and fennel bulb into large chunks. toss with olive oil to coat and sprinkle with a couple pinches salt and pepper. place on a baking sheet (if you have room, you can just stick it on the same one with the squash).

roast squash, fennel and onion until squash is soft, about 30 minutes (our squash actually came with a sticker with cooking instructions....i think it said 30 minutes). at this point the onion and fennel bulb should be done too.

once the onion and fennel have cooled off a bit cut them into smaller pieces and mix in with the finished rice. add spices to taste. since we were not in our stocked kitchen our options were limited. i recall throwing in a bit of dried rosemary but i really don't remember what else. i think some sage would have been yummy. or maybe you want to toss in a few red pepper flakes for a little kick. anyway, season to your liking.

fill the squash with the rice filling. before serving heat up in the oven again. garnish with some chopped up fennel fronds and dig in!

kris's dad has a fabulous, big kitchen and it was such a treat to cook in it instead of our teeny tiny one. but the best part? the garbage disposal! later fennel fronds!




-d