so, i finally got to go to the grocery store after a long (months!) absence, due to my weekly splurging at the farmer's market. but, i made my way, and stocked back up on some of my bulk items (quinoa, rolled oats, etc). and upon getting home, i decided to protein load. plus, i had a lot of time, so...



Yellow Split peas with Quinoa
1 C water
1/8 C soy sauce
3/8 C pickle juice (from homemade sweet and sour pickles)
1/4 C yellow split peas
1 tsp salt
Bring this up to a boil and then simmer covered for 25 minutes. Add:
1/4 C quinoa
1/4 C shredded carrot
1 tsp cumin
1 T hot sauce
Bring this back to a boil and simmer for another 30 minutes. In a non-stick skillet:
1/4 C yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 C mushrooms, chopped
a minimal amount of oil
Cook over medium until the onion is translucent, and add
1/8 C red wine
Allow the wine to cook down, and then add the split peas over the top of the onions and mushrooms. Cook on med-low for 5 minutes without stirring. Top with diced seitan.

a wok rant and an all veggie stir-fry

So, I really, really like to cook straight ahead like you would get in a quick and dirty Chinese restaurant Chinese food. I wasn’t even really exposed to Chinese food until college, but once I broke my cherry… oh my god. However, generally I feel bad going out and getting Chinese food, since it costs too much and it really isn’t that good for you. But, when I’m at home, and I control all the ingredients…
Five years ago I got a wok for Christmas. Now, it isn’t some designer wok, but it is well-constructed and made of good metal. I seasoned it just like you’re supposed to, and then started cooking with it maybe twice a week. I have been very good to my wok – I use it regularly, I always wash it while it is still hot, I never let water sit in it, I never use soap to clean it, and I polish it with sesame oil after I dry it every time I use it. Because of this, my wok has been very good to me. It makes thinks taste the way you think they should taste. Things rarely stick to the surface, and when they do, the wok deglazes with a minimal amount of liquid. It has stepped outside it’s comfort zone and helped to make some incredible curries and soups. My wok is not just another pan, it is a tool, an extension of myself. We have an amazing cooperative relationship. I know the characteristics, and can respond in kind.
But I digress.
So, I made what you see below. The tatsoi took the place of noodles in this straight ahead recipe. And man, did it step up to the plate. Also, godDAMN I love peppers. When I was thinking about making this today, I realized how many peppers I had in my fridge, and how I really needed to eat them soon… and I wouldn’t have had the shitakes if the mushroom guy at the farmer’s market hadn’t hooked me up. But they really are something special. So, yeah

Stir fried Tatsoi with vegetables
1 head tatsoi, cored, cleaned, and steamed until tender
1 clove garlic, minced
½ yellow onion, sliced
½ orange bell pepper, cut in strips
½ sweet yellow south American pepper, cut in strips (I don’t remember it’s name, but I always get one from the abbondanzas.)
1 very hot chili pepper
¼ cup shitake mushrooms, stems separated, chopped
2 T Soy sauce
½ T Tamarind paste
Canola oil
Sesame oil

Okay, so steam the tatsoi. If any of the stalks are too think, just slit them in half. After you steam them, strain them and get rid of as much water as you can. To a hot wok, add about a teaspoon of canola (gotta get a good omega-3/omega-6 ration somehow…) and the garlic, onion, shitake stems, and chili pepper. Cook until the onion starts changing color, and add the peppers and mushrooms. Once the onions are cooked, push the veggies to the sides of the wok and add about 1 T of sesame oil. Once it heats up, add the tatsoi directly on top of the oil. Allow it to cook momentarily, then stir in vegetables. Add soy and tamarind, and cook until remaining liquid thickens, about 5 minutes.

Okay, seriously. Like whoa. Also, putting the mushroom stems at the spicing time instead of at the cooking time allowed them to give their flavor to the oil. It was really nice. And the tatsoi acts like noodles when it has been steamed; the stalks stay slightly chewy but the whole thing is very tender and takes on great flavor. I think I’m going to try a variation on this tomorrow (I still have more peppers, onions, and tatsoi) possibly with a sweet red chili in addition. Man, I love peppers. Anyway, this was intense, and tasted just like something you’d get from a quick little Chinese take-out joint, but with a) no carb-heavy rice or noodles and b) way more peppers than they would give you. So, yeah.

Wonderful Fall Lentil and Apple Stew

So, its fall, and there is some amazing fresh produce to be had. This rich and hearty stew incorporates apples, onions, and two types of squash. I used a cheap cab sav for the red wine, and it turned out wonderfully. Also, I think the hot sauce adds a lot, but, well, I really like hot sauce. Also, this was the first time I got to use the dumplings I made a week ago – they turned out a little more dense than the last batch I did (I’m assuming because I used high gluten flour for the protein), but they’re full of flavor.

Apple and Lentil stew

1/4 yellow onion, sliced
1/2 golden delicious or supreme apple, chopped
1/2 T shredded ginger
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup of red wine
1/2 can of lentils
6 butternut squash dumplings (see recipe below)
1 sprig rosemary
Salt + pepper
Heavy dash of Cinnamon
1 tsp hot sauce (optional)

Boil dumplings in 1C of salted water until they float.
In a skillet in a minimal amount of olive oil, add onion, ginger, zucchini, and apple - cook until softened. Add cooked dumplings and rosemary, cook until dumplings begin to brown. Deglaze with red wine, and add lentils, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and the dumpling cooking liquid. Simmer until it reaches a stew-like consistency (about 15 minutes), remove rosemary, and serve.

Butternut squash dumplings

1 butternut squash
High gluten flour (or whole wheat flour)

Cut the squash in half, take the seeds out, and roast it at 400 on a sheet pan until it is nice and soft – about 45 minutes. Let it partially cool, and remove the skin. Mash the squash and add flour until it reaches a dough like consistency – somewhere between 1 and 2 cups. Roll the dough out into 1” diameter snakes and chop off ½” dumplings. Put them on a sheet pan and place them in the freezer. Once they’re hard frozen, bag them up. They keep in the freezer for months. Then just toss them in boiling water – once they float, they’re ready.

breakfast tatsoi

so, as a no eggs sort of guy, i can be out of luck when it comes to breakfast. see, more often than not, i like to have a savory breakfast, and so cereal and smoothies just won't cut it. but the key to good breakfast food is that you can make it quickly, so, while the coffee was brewing this morning, i made

chick peas with tatsoi
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1T soy sauce
1 tsp chili sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
2 heads tatsoi, separated and washed well

in a small nonstick skillet on medium heat, drizzle a minimum amount of olive oil and add the garlic. chop the onion and add it to the pan. start the coffee. chop the mushrooms and add them. add the chick peas, ginger, soy and chili. clean the tatsoi. add the tatsoi and stir. take the coffee off and pour a cup. sip while you stir, and take it off the heat once the tatsoi is tender. move it to a bowl, clean the pan while the food is cooling, and eat! the whole process took 11 minuets. a hearty, protein packed breakfast and quick.

p.s. tatsoi - i got it at the farmer's market this week. its a tender asian green with a nice cabbage flavor - check it out.

A Little Nod to the Carnivores in the Audience.

Blogger Jaden over at Jaden's Steamy Kitchen has a really great post about a cheap way to make the cheap steaks that are actually within our price range taste like primo super mega-amazing cuts of sweet, sweet, meaty joy.

How sweet? This sweet.

How is this magic achieved? Salt, and a hell of a lot of it. It's all in the timing, though, as she shows through a series of rather amateur but endearing MS Paint style illustrations.

We do love a good money saving tip, and god knows no one wants to eat a tough, crappy steak.


[Link]

marko hits the blog (with eggplant curry!)

aloha! so, in lieu of starting my own food blog, kate is letting me post on hers. i've got recipes and food pr0n and all that fun stuff. so, here's my creamy eggplant curry with seitan. in the future i'll put up my seitan recipe, but i'm too lazy to do it right now. in the mean time:

Creamy eggplant curry

One onion, sliced
One large carrot, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1T ginger, grated
One sweet pepper, chopped
3 oz seitan, sliced
¼ c soy milk
¼ c seitan broth
6 miniature eggplant, halved
1T vindaloo curry powder
1tsp cumin
1tsp chili sauce
Salt
Black pepper
2 bay leaves
1tsp black mustard seed
1 chunk crystallized ginger

In a non-stick pan with a tight fitting lid, add garlic and ginger on medium heat. Once it makes noise, add onion, carrot, and sweet pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes (until onion starts to soften) and add curry powder, soy milk, broth, chili sauce, bay leaves, a healthy pinch of salt, mustard seed, a few grinds of black pepper, and crystallized ginger. Bring it to a boil, and add eggplant and seitan. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer with the lid on until eggplant is well done – about 20 minutes. Remove cover to reduce liquid slightly, remove bay leaves, and serve on top of rice with chutney and spicy pickle, or however you want.

Note – you may want to add more curry powder, ginger, and salt when the eggplant is almost done. Do it by taste.

Foodzilla #1: Taco Dogs

Warning: The following is an abomination of nature and if you value your stomach, should not be made by ANYONE. Also, it was originally posted over at my old food blog. "Foodzilla" is going to be a semi-regular feature - by which I mean "posted whenever I feel the need to punish people around me with terrifying foodstuffs from days best forgotten".

Without further ado, I give you: Taco Dogs.



It was decided that our first foray into culinary abominations of nature should be a baby step, mostly because it's Saturday night, and my good friend from Boulder ventured herself down to Denver and it's already 8:30 here...so suffice it to say that I don't feel like making something that needs to be chilled.

I got this recipe from "Parties from All Seasons: Adventures in Cooking Series" by Barbara MacDonald published by the Culinary Arts Institute, Chicago, IL in 1976. (ISBN: 0832605492)

Original Recipe:

Taco Dogs
-------------
12 Skinless Frankfurters
12 Taco Shells
1 Can Taco Sauce
1 1/2 c. Shredded Lettuce
1 1/2 c. Cheddar Cheese
1 1/2 c. Chopped Tomato


To assemble Taco Dogs, place frankfurters in taco shells; top with taco sauce, shredded lettuce, cheese, and chopped tomato.

WARNING: SERVES 12.

---

Even though I've lived most of my life in either Texas or Iowa (I'll admit to living in Texas, but only because it was only until I was 5), I have never considered the blasphemy that is the Taco Dog. But I found it in one of the 12 elderly cook books I bought for $10 today, so I decided that it would be a better jumping off point for my newly launched culinary experiment than, say, a lamb and mint jelly aspic. I don't want to scare my guinea pig...er, boyfriend...off quite yet. So we'll start simple, and work our way up.

But since this is an easy one, why don't we jazz it up a bit? I mean, lame taco sauce, lettuce and cheese??? That's all?

No. This will not do.

So, we're featuring our jazzed up recipe.

Funked Up Abominations of Nature: The Hungry Hipster Taco Dog



Step 1: Go get the yummiest hot dog you know of, and prepare it in your favorite way. If it's a beer brat, do it. Whatever. We got some yummy looking "Hot Links".

Step 2: Cut up a roma tomato or two, get together some spring mix lettuce.

Step 3: Cut up an avacado and mash it in a little bowl with some medium Pace picante sauce. I'm biased. I totally love that stuff. I was raised on it.

Step 4: Get out taco shells.

Step 5: Layer tomato and lettuce in shell. Put hotdog in shell too.

Step 6: Add avacado mixture, whatever kind of funky salsa you like (we used a spicy black bean one) and some fat free sour cream.

Step 7: Acquire stomach ache....I'm totally at this step now.

Seriously, this one's at your own risk. Yours, AND your intestines.


Just to be in the spirit of the venture, we took a picture oldstyle; the white balance was messed up. Retro food, here we come.