orange ginger un-fried stir fry

it is the middle of my (last) spring break as a grad student!  and while the rest of the campus is off to sunnier lands, bronzing themselves under tropical sunlight, i have been content to stay home trying to get some balance back into my life.  i haven't really kept up much with blogging since the semester started off with a bang, so now i finally get a chance to catch my breath.  but enough about school!  this is a blog about food, not about the pitiable existence of a miserable graduate student.

and speaking of balance, i feel extremely topsy turvy, as most of my time this semester has been spent in the library instead of in the kitchen.  so last night jordan and i made a pact to cook a delicious meal together, so this is what we came up with:

lovingly adapted from vegetarian times, behold: orange ginger un-fried stir fry

disclaimer: you all should know by now that i am not an exact-measurements kind of girl.  except when it comes to the delicate art and science that is baking, i say experiment all you want!  the amounts i give are just guidelines, because honestly, i really don't have any idea how much of everything i used. the same goes for the ingredients themselves.  the recipe we used as a guide just included tofu and baby bok choy, but we added some other things we had in our fridge that we didn't want to go to waste.  cooking is about being creative and adapting to your own tastes, after all!

ingredients:
4 head of baby bok choy, chopped, rinsed, and drained
baby carrots, julienned
1 small piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 package extra-firm tofu (i use the pre-cubed kind, as i find it to be a time and prep-space saver)
handful bean sprouts
~1 tbsp coconut oil (or your favorite mild cooking oil)
orange marmalade (we used St. Dalfour Orange Ginger marmalade...it was perfect for this dish!)
soy sauce
water
1 pkg. thin rice noodles


method:
in a small bowl, whisk together marmalade and soy sauce.  cut it with a little sprinkle of water.  adjust proportions to taste.

bring a large pot of water to a boil.

in a wok, heat the coconut oil over high heat (but watch the pan carefully, as coconut oil tends to burn quickly).  add ginger and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes.  add the tofu and saute until brown.  add the carrots and stir well.  saute until carrots begin to soften.

add the bok choy and stir well to integrate.  once the bok choy begins to wilt, add almost all of the soy sauce and marmalade mixture.  continue to stir, over low heat.  add bean sprouts (if using) last.

add the rice noodles to the boiling water.  cook for 1-2 minutes, quickly drain and rinse, then return noodles to the pot.  pour remaining sauce over the noodles and stir well.

serve immediately, plating the noodles first then the tofu and vegetables on top. garnish with sesame seeds.

enjoy!
-molly.

massaged asian kale salad

the day after new years we had our friends, zach and jess, over for supper and scrabble. jordan and i had been dying to make veggie enchiladas that we saw in the holiday issue of veg times. jess offered to bring a massaged kale salad. i had never heard of massaged kale before, but knowing how good of a cook jess is, i was very excited to try it.

there was not a shred of kale left in the bowl when we were done with it. i asked for the recipe, knowing i would want to eat it all the time as i am now in the final 8 months before my wedding ( nutritional crunch time!!)

i made this variation on her recipe last night for a semi- homecooked meal. i put an asian spin on the recipe and ate it with trader joes veggie gyoza. the kale salad is super delicious and ridiculously good for you.

ingredients

method

in a rice cooker/steamer, steam edamame.  shell and set aside to cool.

wash and dry 2 small bunches of kale (i used organic red and organic lacinto).  remove stems and slice into thin strips.  place in a large bowl.

drizzle some olive oil, a couple of capfuls of soy sauce, and a couple of capfuls of rice vinegar over the kale.  mince a clove of garlic (or more, depending on your taste) and a peeled 1inch chunk of fresh ginger, and add to the kale.  drizzle some honey and the juice of a lime over the mixture.

now for the massaging...the idea is to let the acid from the lime and the vinegar and the fats from the oil seep into the kale to soften it.  imagine you're kneading dough.  with clean hands, gently rub the kale for several minutes.  add the shredded carrots and the shelled edamame, mix with clean hands again, then cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

when ready to serve, sprinkle with sesame seeds and chow down!

it's even good left over... on a wrap with hummus and avocado.

autumn earth dinner

when life gives you sweet potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, apples, raisins, quinoa, goat cheese and broccoli...
make this!

preheat oven to 450.
wash all veggies.  peel potatoes and carrots.  roughly chop all veggies and apples.
in a roasting pan, put carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes and onion.  coat with a light layer of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for 10-15 minutes.

while veggies are roasting, cook 2 cups quinoa according to the method you prefer.  during the last 3 minutes of cooking, toss in some raisins so they get plump.


after the veggies have roasted 10-15 minutes, remove the pan and add the roughly chopped garlic.  roast for another 10 minutes.

remove pan from oven, mix in the raw apples, quinoa and raisins in the same pan, and season to taste with additional salt, pepper, and cinnamon.

plate and add a little smathering of goat cheese*, if you feel so inclined.  drizzle with a little lemon juice, and enjoy autumn's bounty.


*optional.

soup-stitute

remember this soup?

last week, as the weather had turned colder and the tips of the leaves began to brown, i craved this soup.  but i was sad to think of potentially sacrificing this, one of my most favorite things to eat, in pursuit of my own personal moral enlightenment (read: not eating aminals).  and i knew that the guilt that would consume me for cheating and making the soup with sausage wouldn't justify its deliciousness.

THANKFULLY, jordan with his keen, ninja eyes spotted soy italian sausage during our last trip to trader joe's!  naturally, we bought a couple of packets, made the soup with soy instead of pork, and consequently devoured two entire batches of the soup like crazy people.

personally, i think it tastes BETTER with the veggie sausage!  hooray for better-than-original substitutions!

mexicali blues

ok.  so this just happened:

mexicali red and white quinoa

then, this happened:

plated with organic blue corn chips, fresh avocado and organic salsa

aaand then, this happened.

clean plate club!!!

here's how you, too, can make this happen.

equal parts red and white quinoa, tomatoes, black beans, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, alfalfa sprouts, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, lime juice.

and that's it.  and then you eat it and it tastes really good and you feel happy.  the end!


ps 
anyone want to get me a sweet new camera for xmaskkah?  thankssssss.

monday night meal.

i have noticed that lately the direction of my blog has strayed from its original intention: to share all things about food: recipes, tips, mishaps in the kitchen.  this is partly due to my eagerness to share other happenings in my life, and also due to the fact that while pursuing other avenues, i honestly haven't had much time to cook a whole meal, take pictures, upload pictures, blog, etc. etc.

i know, blah blah blah.  but the point is, i'm BACK.  with a RECIPE.  that you should make immediately because it is DELICIOUS.

israeli couscous with pine nuts and portobello mushrooms.

ingredients:

-1 package israeli couscous (rounder and fatter than traditional couscous...they look like tiny pearls)
-1 large shallot, diced
-2 tbsp butter, plus maybe a little more
-1 3/4 c. water, chicken or vegetable stock, plus more for mixing
-2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
-handful raisins
-handful pine nuts
-cinnamon, salt, and pepper to taste
-pecorino romano or parmesan cheese, grated to taste for serving

method:

in a large saucepan, slowly melt about 2 tbsp butter.  once the butter is melted, add diced shallots and saute until wilted.  add the couscous, cinnamon salt and pepper (and perhaps a bit more butter if most has been absorbed into shallots) and saute one to two minutes, stirring attentively, until the couscous is golden brown.  

add water (or any kind of stock, either vegetable or chicken...just know it will increase the sodium content) to saucepan, bring heat to high, allow to come to a boil, then reduce heat and cover until the liquid is absorbed.  (it is good to do a few taste tests during this part of the process, to ensure that the couscous is not overly dry or overly mushy).

when the couscous feels like it is getting there, add the box of raisins, the pine nuts, and the sliced portobellos.  continue to mix until the raisins are plump and the mushrooms have begun to lose some of their firmness.

and that's it!!  serve with some freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano, and a salad of field greens, figs, and goat cheese.

we ate outside, on a glorious summer night, with no humidity, no mosquitoes, and no rain!  rare for the east coast in june, but perfectly enjoyable.

buen provecho!!

breaking the rules

only on very rare occasions do i break my no-pork-products-of-any-kind rule.

one is for north carolina pulled pork sandwiches from em-ing's, my favorite hometown spot.

the other is for the following recipe.

tuscan bean soup

ingredients

1 large yellow onion, diced

2-3 large cloves garlic, minced

4-5 tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. sweet italian sausage

2 quarts chicken broth (i use the low-sodium, msg-free kind)

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

3-4 handfuls spinach

oregano

rosemary

fennel seeds

salt and pepper

thyme

(all seasonings to taste)

method

bring a large pot of water to boil.  add sausage links, cook for 10 minutes.

as water boils, in a large soup pot, heat olive oil.  add onions and sweat for about 5-7 minutes.  

remove sausage links from water, slice into pieces, and add to the onions and oil along with the garlic cloves.

continue to saute, stirring regularly, until sausage is cooked through.  add broth and stir over a medium heat.  add drained tomatoes and seasonings.  bring to a boil.

add beans, then reduce heat to low.  let simmer about 10 minutes.  after 5 minutes of simmering, add spinach.  serve hot once spinach has wilted.

ladle into soup bowls and grate parmesan cheese over the soup.  serve with fresh bread.