Tofu Stir-fry with peanut sauce

 Know someone, perhaps yourself, who doesn’t appreciate tofu? This is an awesome recipe for a tofu beginner. The tofu has a nice crispy texture but the real star in this dish is the sauce.  It is complex and you get a whole range of flavors in each bite. Peanut, ginger, garlic, a little spice. YUM!   Don’t be afraid of the fish sauce.  I was afraid of it at first, it smells horrendous in the bottle, but after a few tries it has become a key ingredient in many of our stir-fry recipes and marinades.  Like any stir fry, you can add whatever veggies you want, but I decided this time to keep it simple (shocker, I know).  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and like always modified it to make it mine, but one thing about this recipe that stands out to me is the frying technique… we have always used flour or cornmeal for a frying batter, and this recipe called for cornstarch. I was floored how crunchy it came out! Also- we used a deep fryer to do the tofu but you can do it in the pan too. I’m putting the recipe for the pan since I am guessing some of you don’t have deep fryers. One more thing, I don’t often keep cilantro and ginger around in the fresh form cause they go bad too quickly, but I do keep tubes of the stuff around, and substitute them for fresh, works great! You can find the tubes in the produce section of your local supermarket.

What you need:

1 package firm tofu, drained and cubed (I bought the already cubed tofu)

1 yellow bell pepper cut into strips

4 green onions, chopped

2 cups baby spinach

1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger

1 teaspoon seasame oil for stir-frying the veggies

¾ cup peanut sauce (recipe below)

2 eggs beaten

1 cup cornstarch

salt and pepper

½ cup vegetable oil for frying tofu (or use deep fryer)

What you do:

1.Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet/wok over high heat and add veggies and ginger (except spinach) and cook for about 3 minutes, add spinach and then take out of pan and put on a plate (I put in a Tupperware bc I was expecting leftovers and didn’t want to dirty another plate).

2. Place the eggs in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Dip tofu cubes first in the egg, then the cornstarch mixture to coat.

3. Heat up the veggie oil over medium heat and fry tofu for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally. (Since I used a deep fryer, I’m not sure if there will be excess oil when the frying is done, if so, drain before next step).

4. Add peanut sauce to the tofu and let it simmer for a minute, then add veggies and stir to coat. 

Serve over rice- we served over rice noodles and they seemed to kinda suck up all the sauce.  Also- you can use the premade peanut sauce from the grocery store, but this sauce is AWESOME. 

The Best Thai Peanut Sauce Recipe from allrecipes.com : I doubled it because I wanted to use the whole can of coconut milk – I plan on freezing the rest and  using as needed. Helpful hint, if you freeze in ice cube trays, you can easily portion out how much you want to use. In addition to doubling the portion, I also used crunchy peanut butter to add another layer to the sauce. I barely modified the sauce, so I am posting the link to it.

all recipes thai peanut sauce

* just remembered i did add a little sesame oil into the sauce (abt a tablespoon), and the sauce is even better after sitting overnight.  This recipe makes a LOT.

 my handsome hubby- the fry king!

 enjoy!

-hayden

Salad Dressing & Pack Ratting

A sample of my bottle collection

I save bottles.  Lots of them.  And not because I'm a pack rat, regardless of what Ryan says.  I save them because they can always be repurposed.  Recycling is a great option, but I really like to reuse things if I can.  I use them for things like salad dressing, barbecue sauce and flavored vinegars.  I actually don't buy salad dressing anymore, I make my own.  All you really need is some oil and vinegar, but of course ONLY oil and vinegar wouldn't make a very interesting post for a recipe blog.  So here are a few of my favorite salad dressing recipes (I'll post the barbecue sauce separately).

 Balsamic Vinaigrette

I make this all the time, and almost always have a bottle of it in my fridge.  I put lots of herbs in mine!
1/2  cup olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp white sugar

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp ground mustard

pinch salt

ground black pepper to taste

minced fresh or dried herbs (thyme, basil, parsley, oregano, whatever you want!)

Add all ingredients to a bottle, jar or other container of your choosing, cover tightly and shake well until blended.  Put in fridge for an hour or more before using (I would recommend overnight).  This dressing will tend to get thick when it is refrigerated, which is totally normal.  If you don't like it thick on your salad, just zap it in the microwave for a few seconds and shake well.

Onion-Mustard Dressing

This recipe came from my mom, and goes great with a spinach salad consisting of fresh baby spinach, crumbled bacon, red onion slices, sliced mushrooms and sliced hard-boiled eggs.  SO yummy!

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 medium onion, chopped

2/3 cup white sugar

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp mustard

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor and process until well blended.  Pour into bottle, jar or other container of your choosing.  Cover and refrigerate overnight or longer.  This dressing will tend to get thick when it is refrigerated, which is totally normal.  If you don't like it thick on your salad, just zap it in the microwave for a few seconds and shake well.

Sesame Poppy Seed Dressing

I use this dressing over a spinach salad as well.  This salad consists of fresh baby spinach, sliced fresh strawberries, slivered almonds and feta cheese.  (There will be a photo of this salad in my Valentine's Day dinner post.)

Putting my bottles to very good use with
Sesame Poppy Seed Dressing & BBQ Sauce!

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

a few turns freshly ground pepper

Place all ingredients to blender or food processor and process until well blended.  Pour into bottle, jar or other container of your choosing.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to use.  This dressing will tend to get thick when it is refrigerated, which is totally normal.  If you don't like it thick on your salad, just zap it in the microwave for a few seconds and shake well.

Spicy Cilantro Dressing

This creamy dressing is great for a Tex-Mex style salad with avocados, black beans, corn, whatever you'd like!

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 whole green onions, chopped

2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

salt & pepper to taste

Place all ingredients EXCEPT sour cream, mayo and salt & pepper into blender or food processor.  Process until well blended and smooth.  Add sour cream and mayo.  Process again until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the container as necessary.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.  Pour into bottle, jar or other container of your choosing.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Soy-Sesame Dressing

I love this dressing on any Asian-inspired style salad, add mandarin orange slices, crunchy Chinese noodles, sliced water chestnuts or anything creative you'd can come up with!  It's also great on edamame or as a spring roll dipping sauce.

1/4 cup olive oil

4 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp minced ginger

2 tbsp chopped fresh garlic

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp white sugar

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper flakes

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor, and process until well blended.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to use.

enjoy!

 ~ j

Berry Crisp

YUM. I love love LOVE dessert. Pies, cakes, cookies, ice cream, and anything with fruit. Especially fruit crisps. Crisps are easy to put together, and delicious to eat. It’s a win/win situation for everyone involved. For this particular crisp, I used what fruits I had on hand – blueberries and blackberries (picked last summer at Ichuaway and put into my freezer) but you could use just about any fruit. Some variations may be apple with cranberries, plums and nectarines, peach, pear and blueberry, really the possibilities are endless. Serve this dish with a little whipped cream, ice cream, or by itself.

What you need:
5 cups fruit
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons flour (separate)
3 tbsp white sugar
optional – ½ cup coconut (adds a lil fiber- everyone needs fiber)
dash nutmeg
dash cinnamon
dash ginger
½ cup butter – cut up into small pieces

What you do:
Combine fruit, 3 tbsp flour and white sugar in a square 9x9 baking dish. In a separate bowl, mix up oats, brown sugar, ½ cup flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and coconut. Mix in butter to the oat mixture with a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or your hands until it looks like a crumbly mess (I have found you can either mix the butter in or you can sprinkle it over the top and it turns out fine). Sprinkle this mixture on top of the fruit. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling and the topping is brown.

Enjoy!
-hayden

Note: The sugar and flour mixed in to the fruit in the beginning was to make a bit of a syrup, but its not necessary. If you skip that step, expect your crisp to be more on the runny side when using fruits other than apples.

Light & Fluffy Banana Pancakes

I said we like breakfast in my house, I wasn't kidding!  And I also mentioned that Ryan is typically our breakfast chef...also, not kidding.   ;)   Ryan made these pancakes this morning and they were great, very light and fluffy!  Taking a page from the cookbook of Julie, he found a recipe on allrecipes.com and added his own touches (including the bananas).  We topped with maple syrup (100% real, none of that maple "flavored" corn syrup crap here) and fresh blueberries.  But, after living in Maine for a summer a couple years ago, Ryan has become a total blueberry snob and they don't seem to be good enough unless they're straight off the bush.  So here's the recipe...

Ingredients:

Pancakes are hard to take good photos of,
the syrup sinks in too quickly!

3/4 cup milk

2 tbsp white vinegar

1 cup flour

2 tbsp white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

dash of cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 ripe bananas, mashed

cooking spray

Instructions:

1)  Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour.”

2)  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.  Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk.  Stir in bananas just until evenly mixed.  Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are almost gone (you’ll probably still have some banana lumps).

3)  Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

enjoy!

 ~ j

Potato & Spinach Frittata

Breakfast is probably the favorite meal in our house, and it's not just for morning (although I did make this particular recipe in the morning). In fact, we just had breakfast burritos for dinner that I made a few weeks ago and froze. Usually Ryan is the breakfast cook, but once in a while I get myself in cooking mode in the morning. I usually make random frittata or quiche-type dishes, and just throw whatever I can find into them. I kept track of what I was doing last time, and here’s what I came up with. Oh, and it was a hit, or I wouldn't be posting the recipe!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
3 medium potatoes
½ red pepper, diced
1 cup torn fresh spinach
4 green onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
½ cup shredded mozzarella
1/3 cup feta cheese
parmesan cheese

Instructions:
1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F, lightly grease 9” casserole dish.
2) Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Place potatoes in skillet, cover, and cook about 10 minutes (until tender, but firm). Mix in red pepper, spinach, onions, garlic and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low heat for 1-2 minutes.

3) In medium bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Mix in cheeses, and then potato mixture from skillet. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and cook in oven for about 45 minutes, or until eggs are firm. Remove from oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

enjoy!
~ j