Stir This Way, Really Fast, And If Something Gets In Your Way, Fry

I love vegetables. Not all of them, but nearly all. I try to eat my daily allowance, but I know that does not always happen. David and I were talking about dinner and that we wanted to eat something lighter than we had and also delicious. Stir fry is a great way to do both of these things. It is also a great weeknight meal as it does not take very much time. I have used hoisin sauce in the past, mixed with some other things, but this time I took a simple approach using broth, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, and some cornstarch for thickening. I don't have a wok, but get by alright with my big skillet.The great thing about stir fry is that it is very adaptable to what you have. Use whatever veggies sound tasty to you. The different oils are also optional, I just happen to have them in the cupboard. I also decided to use tofu for this to have some nice protein. I personally prefer a meat free stir fry. But whatever tickles your fancy. David would say the best thing about stir fry is as a vehicle for soy sauce.

Weekday Stir Fry

canola oil or other high smoke point oil
sesame oil
chili oil
half of small red cabbage, cut into small pieces
small head of broccoli, cut into small florets
5 crimini mushrooms, sliced
white onion, sliced into large wedges
1 block firm or extra firm tofu
ginger, I used about a tablespoon of minced
garlic, I used about a tablespoon of minced
1 cup chicken broth, I used 1 tsp. Better Than Bouillon with one cup of water (can use veggie broth if you want to keep it purely vegetarian)
couple tablespoons of soy sauce
tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
squirt of sriacha
1 tsp sugar
1-2 tablespoons corn starch
Rice or noodles, I used white rice

I first drained my tofu and put it in a tea towel under a heavy pot. I let it sit like that for about 30 minutes while I soaked my rice.

Start cooking your rice.

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium high to high heat. Add a bit of all three oils. Not too much of the sesame oil because that is really strong. Cut tofu into chunks. Sprinkle with some soy sauce and black pepper. Pan fry half of tofu at a time until sides are golden brown. Remove to a plate. I cut my veggies while the tofu was cooking.


Let pan heat back up and add a tiny bit more oil. Choose one of your vegetables and cook, stirring pretty much constantly. You want to get a little color but keep your veggies from getting mushy. Do this one veggie at a time, removing them to a plate as they are cooked and making sure the pan gets hot in between each one.


Mix all ingredients for sauce together well. To hot pan add a bit more oil and cook the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly so it does not burn. Add sauce and wisk around constantly until thickened and glossy looking. Taste and see if you need anything in it. Once it is thickened, add the tofu and veggies back and stir well to coat. Heat everything up and then serve over rice.

Weeknights Call For One Skillet

I make a lot of one pot meals. It is just so much easier and less messy. And since we gave up on eating at our dining room table a long time ago I can just put some food on my plate or in my bowl and call it good. A starch, a protein, and a vegetable all in one place can be a lovely thing. It also encourages eating of vegetables when I don't have to prepare one separately.

We were talking about linguica sausage the other day and the fact that I never use it. We have access to Zenner's sausage, which is a local sausagier. That is not a word but I am making it one. Zenner's makes excellent sausage. I use their andouille sausage all the time. So, I looked at the ol' internets to see what people do with linguica besides eat it for breakfast. Potatoes and kale seem to be pretty popular with it. I like the way those Portuguese people think. This was an easy, relatively quick (if you don't cut your potatoes quite as huge as I did) meal.

Linguisa With Potatoes, Onions, and Kale

1 tbs. olive oil
3 large potatoes, cut into about 1" chunks (peeled if you want, I like the skin)
1/2 onion, diced
1 lb. linguica sausage, sliced
1/2 head kale, torn or cut into small pieces
salt
pepper

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, onions, sausage, and a pinch of salt and pepper and stir to get them all mixed up.

Cover and cook for around 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Add kale and cover for a few minutes so it wilts. Taste for seasonings, I added a bit more salt. Consume!

Alien Flavor Pods From Beyond The Stars or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Use Google Image Search

I made a really good thing but I only took pictures of the end product. I often forget along the way I want to take pictures and then I don't want to post something because I like having photos of the process. These were so good that I decided to plunder Google Images and post it anyway. Since I did all my shopping at Trader Joe's last night I used pictures of those products.

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Last night I wanted something like comfort food but didn't feel like eating a bunch of meat. I saw a recipe somewhere for canned crescent rolls filled with some sort of beef mixture and it sounded good. But I still didn't want a bunch of meat. Enter soyrizo. I have used Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo before in tacos and it is really good. I thought I could make a delicious type of thing with that as my starting point. They turned out similar to empanadas or samosas (which seem to basically be the same thing anyway, just from different cultures). These were a hit, they were very easy, and very inexpensive. When talking about them to our friend Alex over Facebook chat he named them "Alien Flavor Pods From Beyond The Stars" and I said this would be acceptable. Then he drove over to our house just to eat some.

Alien Flavor Pods From Beyond The Stars

oil
1 small onion or half of a larger one, diced small
12 oz. soy chorizo
1 large or two small cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. diced green chiles
2 medium yukon gold potatoes, diced very small (1/4-1/8 inch erring on the small side)
4 oz. cream cheese
cumin
paprika
salt
pepper
2 tubes of canned crescent rolls (8 rolls inside)

Turn on your oven to 350.

Heat up a couple of tablespoons of oil and sautee your onion until soft, 5-7 minutes.

Crank up the heat some and put in the soyrizo. Just cut the tube open and squeeze it out. Stir every few minutes so the soyrizo starts to brown and get some nice crispy parts.

Add your garlic and cook about 30 seconds.




Add all the green chiles and stir around. Add a pinch of salt and a few shakes of cumin and paprika.


Remove to a plate and heat a little more oil. Add potatoes and cook until they are tender and starting to brown. This probably takes 10-15 minutes. If they aren't cooking fast enough you can cover them for a bit. Crank the heat at the end to get some nice color. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper if you want.


Add soyrizo mixture back in and mix well. Heat through and add cream cheese. Stir around until well blended. Taste to make sure you like it.





Open your crescent rolls. You will want to have two triangles per Alien (that is the short version we came up with). Pinch them together in the middle so you have a rectangle shape.


Put some filling in the middle and then seal up like a triangle, corner to corner. Just pinch them all together, it will be fine. You can probably put a healthy couple of tablespoons in there. Put these on a greased (I used foil with a bit of oil on it) cookie sheet and cook in the oven until a lovely golden brown. 15-20 minutes. Turn pan once to ensure even cooking. Let cool for a few minutes and enjoy!


P.S. This made extra filling and I am going to put it in tortillas tonight as that sounds rad.

I Kale Myself!

Leafy greens. So good for you! So full of nutrients and iron and all of that good stuff. Growing up we didn't eat a lot of greens besides lettuce. I ate tons of vegetables as a child and I enjoyed them. Much more than my pickier little brother. Just not a huge emphasis on greens. When beets were in season we would get beets and greens, and sometimes we would have chard. I was never a fan of either of those. I love beets, though! Dirt candy. So, it was not until my adult life that I started eating kale.
I am trying to remember the first time I made something with kale, and honestly I am at a loss. All I know is that I love it, I crave it, and it is delicious. It is a gorgeous plant. It holds up better than spinach. We eat it about once a week at least. I love it in soups, mashed potatoes (colcannon), eggs, and pasta. For some reason I have still not gotten around to making kale chips, but I will be sure to remedy that soon.


This dish is something I happened upon one day browsing the intersuperhigways, and I am so glad I did. We make this almost weekly. My husband adores it. It is easy, inexpensive, tasty as the dickens, and makes a ton. It reheats well the next day for lunch. All you need are some chickpeas, sausage, garlic, tomatoes, kale, and whole wheat pasta. Oh yes, and some cheese. I will tell you that in this dish the cheese at the end really ties the room together. Splurge on a decent wedge of Parmesan for this. You will be surprised how long it lasts in the fridge as you don't need a ton of it due to the strong flavor. You can also keep the rind in the freezer and add it to soup someday.


If you haven't tried kale, or you haven't had it recently, or you love it and eat it all the time, try this. Trust me.

Pasta With Chickpeas, Sausage, and Kale

1/4 C. olive oil
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
12 oz. andouille sausage, sliced - I use Zenner's. It is local and extremely good.
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 head kale, or 5-6 cups, torn into small pieces - Any variety will be delicious!
1 lb. whole wheat pasta - Penne or rotini work well.
Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add chickpeas and sausage. Stir to coat with oil. Cook 8-10 minutes, until chickpeas and sausage start to brown. Throw in the garlic and cook for a couple more minutes.

Add the can of tomatoes and add all of the kale. There will be a lot of kale, so just kind of shove it in there. It will shrink! If there is a lot sometimes I will put a lid on for a few minutes to help it steam down. Cook around 8 minutes or until kale is wilted and tender.



Throw your pasta in boiling water when you put in the kale and tomatoes. This way they will be ready around the same time. Drain pasta and mix with sauce. If it is too dry add a splash of olive oil. Dish up, sprinkle some shredded cheese, consume with vigor!

PRO TIP - Use the colander that you drained and rinsed your beans in to hold the kale while tearing and also to drain the noodles. I only ever dirty a skillet, a pot, and a colander for this.

Popeye (and Ramsay ) Approved Penne

I used to have cable. It was a waste. All I did was end up watching Spongebob (it is on ALL the time) or stay up too late watching crap on VH1. Why yes, I do remember the 90's. Please, tell me more. So, we turned off the cable. And now in order to watch network television you have to have your digital converter box plugged in along with an antennae. So, with our cable went our TV all together because there is not really anything worth watching on network television and if there is the internet will provide it. Far too much hassle to finagle the antennae in such a way that we get decent reception.

There is one exception to this rule. The husband and I turn on network TV one season a year and bask in the glory that is Asshole Chef. I suppose most people would be familiar with its Christian name, Hell's Kitchen. I love this show. My husband loves this show. Unabashedly and apologetically. I love to watch Chef Ramsay whip these little punks into shape. I love to watch them squirm when they think they can pass something by him and he stops them in their tracks. I love to think about how awesome all that food tastes. And I love to hear him shout, "It's RAAAAAW!" In order to not be driven crazy with food lust, we always make sure to schedule dinner during Asshole Chef. This way I can enjoy the show and enjoy dinner and not feel as cheated that I don't get to try that amazing beef wellington. The one I cooked last night was a winner, and I think even Chef Ramsay would have thought it was delicious. Healthy and colorful too.


Popeye Approved Penne

Or, pasta with white beans, tomatoes, spinach, and feta. I wanted something relatively healthy and light and also satisfying. This was delicious. My husband was taking me at my word as he did not think the ingredients I had assembled looked like they went together and he insisted that I remember to write this one down because he loved it. Obligatory apology for picture quality due to fading evening light and a cell phone.


1 medium onion, diced ( I went with red)
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
olive oil
28 oz. diced tomatoes***
1 can white beans
10 oz. spinach, chopped roughly
1 lb. whole wheat penne
red pepper flakes
dried oregano
dried basil
dried parsley
pepper
salt
~ 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
feta cheese

Heat a couple of tablespoons olive oil in a skillet and cook onion until softened, about 10 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and garlic and cook a few more minutes. I would start with around 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes and add more later if you need to. Add about a teaspoon each of oregano, basil, parsley, pepper, and any other seasonings you care for. I also used TJ's 21 Seasoning salute but maybe 1/2 a teaspoon of that (I don't really measure). Stir those around for about 30 seconds and then add tomatoes. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add rinsed beans and stir gently. Turn down to a simmer while you prepare the pasta. I ended up simmering this for about 20 minutes, the last 10 were the pasta cooking minutes. I tasted part way through and added a bit more of each spice and a tiny bit of salt. I added a splash of red wine vinegar in the last 5 minutes or so to brighten it up.


Boil your pasta and when it only has a couple of minutes left, scoop out some of the water and save it. Add spinach to your sauce and stir around to start wilting. When the pasta is almost done, when it just needs a tiny bit more time, drain it. Put the sauce back in the big pot you used to boil the pasta. Add the noodles a bit at a time because you probably will not quite want the whole amount with the sauce. I used almost all of them, but did not want all noodles and no goodies. Maybe an 1/8th were left. Put the pot on low heat. Add a little pasta water to incorporate the sauce and pasta, and also to finish the final moments of cooking in the sauce. When the pasta is perfect and everything is mixed, serve with feta to crumble on top. That really rounds out this dish.

***I went with more expensive tomatoes than I normally do for this (San Marzano). I feel like it was 100% worth it for a dish that is featuring the tomatoes like this. It made a big difference.

I can do so many things...

I cannot play an instrument. I cannot manage my finances. I cannot seem to keep my living room picked up. Here are some things that I can do.