Red Curry Peanut Sauce w/ Tofu and Broccoli

This dish is a-mazing!!! The peanut butter/red curry combo was something I've never had before and the flavor was so new that I savoured this dish long after I ate it.  I have been taking lots of books from the library with a ton of great recipes. I take photos of the recipes and then when I have time I try it out. I don't know which book this one came out of but I think it was about grains. This will knock your socks off if you love peanut butter and curry.

My newest projects involve experimenting with a bread maker I borrowed from a friend, and learning about the ins and outs of pressure cooking.  I'm trying to get away from eating beans from a can.  I just read somewhere that Campbells soup will be starting to use BPA free lining in all their soups. 

You will need:

4 T oil ( separated)

1/2 c peanut butter

2 T red curry paste

1 c coconut milk

2 T fish sauce (go easy on adding this -some fish sauces are VERY salty)

2 T water

2 t curry powder

1 t cumin

1 t freshly ground black pepper

1 large head of broccoli, blanched

large handful of bean sprouts

1 500g pack of extra firm tofu

1/2 c of potato starch, corn starch, tapioca starch, or flour

2 c brown rice (to be cooked according to instructions)

**DO NOT put salt in until the end and taste it first. Depending on which fish sauce you use you may not need it. I made it again putting less salt than the original recipe required and it was still salty. Also you can add in 1 tsp at a time of fish sauce to make sure it doesn't get too salty.

Method:

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 T or less (not 4 T) of the oil over medium heat. Add the curry first and blend it into the oil, then add PB and cook, stirring frequently, until the PB is melted and the ingredients are well combined, 3-4 mins.

Stir in the coconut milk and fish sauce and bring to a slow boil.  Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 5-7 mins.  Add the water, curry powder, cumin, salt and pepper and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened, 3-4 mins.

Dice the tofu and put in a plastic bag with the starch or flour to coat the cubes of tofu. Add the rest of the oil, 2 T, to pan and saute for a few minutes to brown the tofu, 5-6 mins.  If it starts to burn or looks like it needs oil add more.

Set up plate with rice on the bottom, add fresh bean sprouts, tofu and then broccoli. Pour the peanut sauce over and enjoy.  You can also mix the sauce with the tofu and broccoli and then serve on rice.  It was just as good the next day. 

You can substitute the vegetables with red peppers, snow peas, snap peas, kale, spinach, etc. 

Beet, Carrot & Jicama Patty on Greens

Wow I think all of these photos are blurry. Yikes. I just thank my lucky stars that I'm able to find the time to post at all. I cook way more than I post and I have a ton of backed up recipes that need to be posted so I just do what I can and blurry pictures will just have to do.

I started making a beet, carrot, jicama salad and I shredded way too much so I searched online for something to make with the tons of leftovers I had. I googled beet burgers and I found something I really liked. The toasted sesame and sunflower seeds provide a good bang factor. The best part is these are baked, the worst part at first glance is the 1/4 cup of oil. Not sure why its needed so I put in a bit less. The next time I make it I will add less.  I thought a cup or two of mashed chickpeas or another kind of bean would be a nice addition. You can't really go wrong with putting what you like in it. I was worried that they mixture wouldn't stick together when I first put it on the parchment paper but they crisped up just great. I did add an extra tablespoon of flour because I thought it looked a little too wet.  This was really good and we even froze the leftovers and they were just as tasty.  For the dressing, we had some leftover from Perfect Potato and Tomato Salad by Marika.

FYI- Jicama is a crunchy root vegetable. Brown on the outside and white on the inside.  It is a cross between a pear and a potato or a very crunchy water chestnut. Learn about it's health benefits here. 

I sprinkled some fried onions on it and it was even better. Those can be found at Indian stores or other places. Don't buy them in a can- too expensive and not the same.

You will need:

1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups peeled grated beets (1-2 medium beets)
2 cups grated carrots (about 4 carrots)
1/2 cup minced onion (about 1 medium onion)
*2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Butter or oil for greasing the baking sheet.

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2. Place a small, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and stir them on the dry skillet just until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes, watching closely to avoid burning them. Immediately remove from heat and transfer the toasted seeds to a dish to cool.

3. Return the skillet to the heat. Add the sunflower seeds and stir them on the dry skillet just until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes, watching closely to avoid burning them. Immediately transfer them to the dish with the sesame seeds.

4. Combine the beets, carrots, and onion in a large bowl. Stir in the toasted sunflower and sesame seeds, eggs, rice, cheddar cheese, oil, flour, parsley, soy sauce or tamari, and garlic. Add cayenne and mix until thoroughly combined.

5. Using your hands, shape the mixture into 12 patties and arrange them in rows on the baking sheet.

6. Bake the patties until brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Unless they are very large and thick, it should not be necessary to flip them.

Makes 12 patties.
Serve in a burger bun or on a bed of organic leafy greens.

*To replace one egg:

1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
3 tablespoons water (or other liquid)

Stir together until thick and gelatinous.

From: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/beet-and-carrot-veggie-burgers.html#ixzz1nSItB3g2

Asian Basa Baby also known as Catfish

Hmm what to cook? Basa in the freezer- 2 large fillets from Vietnam for $6. Are basa oceanwise? Gulp. Nope.  Found this site that is helpful in identifying fish that are sustainable and good for you and the planet at http://www.oceanwise.ca/seafood/catfish/basa-tra. 

For now though let's pretend it's catfish which is the suggested alternative to basa. Last night I needed something quick and found some kind of soy sauce based creation in a bottle in the fridge and some leftover brown rice, red rice, lentil combination from protein goddess salad as well as a huge box of salad, feta and tomatoes. Viola, dinner is done!

You will need:

2 or more pieces of sustainable fish (if you can)

*Soy sauce mix or make your own (soy sauce, water, ginger, garlic, green onions)

Spring mix

Feta

Cherry tomatoes

**Leftover dressing

Leftover or fresh rice, quinoa, mash potato, etc.

Place rinsed fish in the pan on med heat.

Add about 1/2 cup of sauce- see that fish has enough to cook in at least on the bottom.

Cook on low and simmer on one side for a few minutes, flip cook for a few minutes. No rush.

Spread sauce around.

DO NOT overcook fish. Tender, flakey, juicy. Dried out fish is the worst.

Serve fish with hot rice, salad. Ta da!

*Soy sauce is a great marinade for any kind of fish but only marinade for an hour or so. If you marinade it too long it can get very salty.

**I always have dressing in my fridge.  I usually double the batches and have it on hand whenever I need it. The only dressing we buy is blue cheese which my husband is addicted to. It's how he eats his carrots.

Bean, Cheese and Rice Burrito

You will need:

a bunch of flour tortillas OR for a gluten free option rice flour tortillas, lettuce wraps, Vietnamese rice wraps

tiny bit of oil (I use grapeseed)

A can of seasoned black beans, refried beans, 

Rice- seasoned, or plain

Cheese of your choice

Prepared salsa or chopped tomatoes, lime, cilantro, onion combo.

Sliced avocado

Sour cream

Hot sauce

To prepare the tortillas:

Place a dime sized amount of grapeseed oil in the pan- spread it all over the pan

Dip in 1 tortilla and then flip it immediately once some oil is on one side.

Saute until it is lightly brown in spots then flip and brown.

The reason I have this method is I find the oil dries up after one side is complete and then you would have to add more oil. This way you get the minimum amount on the tortilla.

Once your fillings are ready place them on the tortilla in the order of cheese, beans, rice. Then wrap it like it the picture and brown it further so the cheese gets melted. To make things quicker have the beans and rice already warm.

Pretty easy peasy.

Serve with the fixing or just with tortilla chips or a fresh salad.

Make a few extra and put it in the fridge for lunch the next day already wrapped.

Tahini Protein Power Bowl

Angela over at Oh She Glows (http://ohsheglows.com/)  is an amazing inspiration to me and I often cruise her site to get new ideas for meals to make. I often tend to us a recipe as a base and then throw in whatever ingredients I have on hand. My fridge is usually stocked with a number of things and I don't like going out often to get one or two things that are missing so I just substitute if I can and turn it into something like the recipe. Of course there are some ingredients, such as the tahini in this recipe, that you would not want to substitute.  Please note if you haven't already that I am not aiming to take glorious photos like Angela or most other bloggers for that matter. I take the photos as I go very quickly and I am happy if I have the time to post at all. Maybe some day I will have the time to take better photos :)

The spring mix from Whole Foods on Cambie, in Vancouver is totally worth it. It stays fresh for a while unlike the spring mix from Costco which goes bad in a matter of days.

  

I have an INCREDIBLE rice cooker and if you cook a lot of grains I would highly encourage you to look into the Japanese rice cookers with the fuzzy logic technology. Sounds strange but it has to do with having an intuitive nature to it that cooks whatever you throw into it with perfection. I throw in red rice, lentils, brown rice all together sometimes as I did with this recipe (on the brown rice setting) or I add quinoa and it ALWAYS cooks it to perfection. Measure, add water to the line, press button- cue starting song. Stays warm for over 12 hours! I have a Zojurushi and it is the most used appliance in my kitchen, hands down.

  

I wish I'd had the red pepper but I used swiss chard, snap peas and cherry tomatoes instead.

   Ta da!!!

Reposted from: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/05/12/lightened-up-protein-power-goddess-bowl/

Lightened Up Protein Power Goddess Bowl

Angela adapted this recipe from Protein Power Goddess Bowl, which was adapted from The Coup Cookbook.

Yield: 6 cups
Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked green lentils (yield 2 & 3/4 cups cooked)
• 1 cup uncooked speltberries (yield 2 cups cooked) OR grain of choice, like brown rice
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil, for sautéing
• 1/2 red onion (~1 & 1/3 cups), chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 3 cups spinach or kale, roughly chopped (I used Lacinato kale)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 1 batch of Lightened Up Tahini-Lemon Dressing (recipe below)
• Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
• Lemon Wedges & lemon zest, to garnish

Directions:

1. Cook lentils and speltberries (or grain of choice) according to package directions. I did this the night before to save time. Drain and set aside.

2. Prepare the Lightened Up tahini-Lemon dressing in food processor (see below for recipe).

3. In a large skillet over low-medium heat, add your olive oil and sauté the chopped onion and minced garlic for a few minutes, being careful not to burn. Now add in the chopped red pepper and tomato and sauté for another 7-8 minutes.

4. Stir in the chopped kale or spinach and sauté for another few minutes, just until tender. Stir in the full batch of tahini-Lemon dressing, the cooked & drained grains and lentils, and simmer on low for another few minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the minced parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with lemon wedges and zest. Makes 6 cups.

Once you cook your desired grains and make the dressing, you simply sauté some vegetables of your choice until tender.

Lightened Up Tahini-Lemon Dressing

Adapted from Tahini-Lemon Dressing.

Yield: Just under 1 cup of dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Tahini
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast or a bit more, to taste
• 2-4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
• 1 tsp kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 3 tbsp water, or as needed

Directions:

1. In a food processor, add all ingredients and process until smooth. Makes just under 1 cup.

I only had a half a lemon so I squeezed in a few tablespoons of lemon juice concentrate and water because I thought the lemon amount was too much any way for me and because I didn't have the lemons :). I happened to have the nutritional yeast and I think it gives it a nice nutty flavor. If you don't have it you could through in some chickpeas maybe to round out the flavour.  You can find the yeast in the bulk section. Good to give added nutritional value to meals.

Angela's lovely photos.

Yesterday, I added Lacinato Kale instead of spinach and I loved it! It’s less bitter than regular kale.

 

Mix in your grains and dressing.

 

When it’s all cooked, remove from heat and stir in the minced Parsley for another kick of fresh flavour.

Taste test… Uncontrollably!

Serve with a lemon wedge and zest and you have yourself a protein and fibre packed dinner! It’s creamy & comforting, with a tangy kick that is just irresistible.

This will definitely be my go-to version of this salad from now on. We didn’t miss the 6 tablespoons of oil at all.

Inspirational Meatless Mexican

When my husband and I visited San Francisco we went to a funky Mexican restaurant and for less than $20 were able to stuff our faces with tasty food.  Ok, so my husbands dish here has meat in it but imagine something meatless in place.  This is a nice array of flavors and may inspire a dish to make one evening.

Warm Lentil Salad w/ Mushrooms and Leeks

My friend Marika cooked one weekend while up to a friends cabin and her food was delicious that I came away with a bunch of new inspirations from her blog edible diaries.  This meal was one of them that I have made many times since.  The dressing is fantastic and versatile for other dishes, salads.  I can't get enough of this dish. Thanks Marika and check out her blog for more tasty dishes at http://www.ediblediaries.blogspot.com/.

2 16 oz cans of lentils or --- cups of cooked
1/2 cup of feta
2 small leeks, green part removed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of butter
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups mixed mushrooms (porcini, chanterelle, morels) sliced
Mixed greens (optional) or brown rice or wheat berries,etc.
Poached eggs (optional) 2 heads roasted garlic

Dressing:
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 garlic cloves minced
2 shallots diced
2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

6 teaspoons fresh chives, chopped

Servings: 6

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Wrap 2 heads of garlic in aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes

Make dressing and set aside.

Cook lentils or rinse cans. Combine dressing and lentils in a medium bowl.

Over medium heat add olive oil to a medium frying pan and sauté leeks for approximately 10 minutes or until cooked throughout and soft. Season with salt and pepper. Keep on warm.

On medium heat in a large frying pan heat butter until melted. Add chopped mushrooms. Cook 5-10 minutes or until soft. Try to refrain from stirring too much as they tend to get watery if you do. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large frying pan on medium heat add lentil salad and heat throughout (2 minutes) until lentils are just warm (on low).

Place lentils on a bed of mixed greens (I like to put it on rice to make it more of a meal) and divide evenly on 6 plates. Place leeks and 4-6 cloves roasted garlic around each plate. Top lentil salad with mushrooms, feta and chives. If you like poached eggs I highly recommend cooking them and placing on top.