Chinese Tofu, Mushroom, and Jicama Lettuce Cups

The first time I made this, I followed the instructions exactly as written. It involved dragging out the wok and frying each ingredient individually, including the nuts! I remember that it felt a bit ‘fussy’ for Asian food.

Tofu: Before

Last night, I prepped all the veg, fried the tofu and set it aside, and dumped all the rest in at once. Added the sauce when everything was nice and soft and beginning to brown. Returned the tofu, and voila! Dinner was ready.

Tofu: After

Now that I’ve simplified (and modified from all the unusual Asian ingredients, not commonly found in my pantry), this meal becomes easy for a weekday. Don’t hesitate to try this.

Note: these amounts made enough for 3 hungry adults. (2-3 lettuce cups each.) This recipe would be a cinch to double.

Here’s what you need:

1 block extra firm (or firm) tofu

1 T rice vinegar or mirin

1 T soy sauce

2 t cider vinegar

4 T hoisin sauce

2 t chili paste (Sambal oelek….or I guess you could use Sriracha)

1 t corn starch

1 C Portobello mushrooms (shiitakes would be great too!)

3 scallions

3 cloves garlic – minced or pressed

1 inch fresh ginger- minced

½ C jicama (about the size of a small apple)

2 celery stalks

¼ C salted peanuts

Cilantro

Lettuce (prepped for use as a cup. Choose a butter lettuce or a large iceberg)

Here’s what you do: (the easy way)

Cut the tofu in ¼ inch slabs and place on a few clean kitchen towels which are arranged on the cutting board. Wrap them up in more towels and place another cutting board on top of it all. Place a heavy object, like a cast iron skillet, on the top and walk away. Allow liquid to press out. After 30-60 minutes, the tofu will be nice and dry. This process can be done much earlier in the day.

Prepare the sauce by mixing the two vinegars, soy sauce, hoisin, chili paste and corn starch. Set aside.

Prep the veg by mincing it all in ¼ inch dice. Remember, it will be served in a piece of lettuce, so it needs to be a pretty small dice.  You should end up with about 2 cups of veg. Put it all in the same bowl.

Prep the tofu by cutting it in ¼ inch dice.

Chop the peanuts and prepare the cilantro – set those aside. Make sure the lettuce is clean and cold.

Heat some oil in a non-stick pan or pot (or wok if you’re feeling fancy) Fry the tofu. It’ll get really chewy, so take it out when it’s to your liking. I did mine very well and loved it. Remove the tofu and set aside.

Brown all the veg at once and stir and heat until it’s soft and getting a bit brown. Add the tofu and peanuts and reserved sauce (You want to reactivate the cornstarch before adding by giving it a stir). The mixture will thicken up very quickly. Remove to a serving platter and add a liberal amount of cilantro.

Serve in prepared lettuce leaves.

Goddess Nicoise – Isa Chandra

Well, I ended up actually seeing a Snowy Owl the other day – he was just sitting there, looking right down at me. No need to mention that I spent an hour searching for him, drove down every single muddy country road in the county and ended up half-way down some farmer’s driveway just so I could get this photo. Admit it – it was worth it! Isn’t he great?

Mr. Living Cookbook (aka Tim) also spotted some of these gorgeous birds and his photos are spectacular – so I must share them also.

I think spring might be just around the corner *FINALLY* here in West Michigan, so I bet the Snowy Owls will head up north soon.

Warmer weather (that means in the 20s and 30s folks) means my taste buds crave salads. This one comes from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra. She does all things well. The dressing is excellent and can be drizzled on all kinds of stuff.  

Here’s what you need:

16 oz chick peas, drained and rinsed

½ pound of small red potatoes, quartered and steamed until fork tender

½ pound of fresh green beans, stems removes and steamed until fork tender (did you know you can steam the potatoes and beans in the same pot? Start the potatoes first and add the beans when the potatoes are almost done. )

Red onion – sliced super thin to taste (I think I left these out – not a huge raw onion fan)

1/3 C good black Greek olives, pitted – whole or sliced in half

8 C leaf or romaine lettuce

1 C cherry tomatoes

Green Goddess Garlic Dressing

2 average size garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 C fresh chives, cut in 1 inch pieces

1/2 C  fresh Italian flat leaf parsley

2 T tahini

2 T nutritional yeast

1 T white miso

1/3 C water

2 T lemon juice

Arrange the salad on a large platter. Blend dressing ingredients until smooth in a high speed blender or food processor. Drizzle dressing liberally over veg.

Note: Isa likes to smash the chick peas, but I prefer them whole. Isa likes to add capers, but I can’t stand them. Isa also likes more garlic, but I refrain from too much raw garlic. 

Sushi Roll Edamame Salad – Isa Chandra

Even in the middle of the Polar Vortex, I craved salad.

Was it cold last week where you lived? We were way below zero and I still craved salad.

Did you have to shovel out from 4 feet of fresh snow fall? I did, and I still craved salad.   

Schools closed; state highways and freeways closed; I stay in the house for three days straight…. And I craved salad.

The fireplace was on; the car was under two feet of snow; hot tea was constantly in my mug…. And I craved salad. ... and yes, I had nori in my pantry. ..... and edamame in my fridge.

Isa never fails, but.... I think her salad needs MORE nori and LESS green onion. My changes are reflected here. 

Our lighthouse. January 2014 (this is not my photo and there are many more great Lake Michigan Polar Vortex photos on the internet. Actually, it was really beautiful - just too darn cold!)

Here's what you need:

1 C edamame beans

1 t rice vinegar

1 t agave

6-8 C chopped crisp lettuce

2 C cooked brown rice

1 small cucumber, sliced

1 carrot, sliced
4 t sesame seeds
2 sheets nori, chiffonaded - cut into very fine strips
1 avocado

Green Onion Miso Vinaigrette
1/4 C light miso
1 C chopped green onions - green and white parts
3 T rice vinegar
2 t fresh ginger (or more to taste)
1 clove garlic
2 t agave
2 t sesame oil
1/2 C water

Here's what you do:
Mix 1 t rice vinegar and 1 t agave and pour over edamame beans. Arrange all salad ingredients on a large platter. Mix all dressing ingredients in a high powered blender and whirl until very smooth. Add more water if needed. Drizzle over salad. 

Romaine and Sesame Seed Pesto

V is for Variety and R is for Romaine Pesto

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

“You can make pesto from anything!”

“Really? Anything?”

“Yes, just take a green ‘basil-y’ thing, add some type of toasted ‘pine-nut-y’ thing and some seasonings. Plop it all in a food processor and watch what happens. ”

“Sounds too good to be true.”

“Try it! You’ll like it!”

“How about romaine lettuce, sesame seeds, lemon zest, garlic, hot pepper flakes and olive oil. Oh, and salt.”

“Go for it! Add in some sun dried tomatoes at the end for a nice tangy bite.”

asian chicken salad

I’ve been fiddling around with this recipe all summer long…. It’s my feeble attempt at recreating Panera Bread’s Asian Chicken Salad. They have a dressing posted on their website, but it’s not very much like the one in the restaurant. It calls for brown sugar and I bet in the restaurant they use white sugar….. Anyway, I’m obsessed with this salad.

We made this on the last day of summer weather. It was a beautiful evening, sunny and still a bit warm when we started. The only glitch was the wind! Man! It was super windy! We ate on the deck, but our stuff was blowing all over the place… napkins, cilantro, lettuce…had to grab jackets.  I guess when you live where summer is short, you take advantage of every opportunity to be outside – windy or not! And yes, that’s white wine in a red wine glass…..don't tell my dad... 

Another reality from this evening was that when we grilled our chicken, the gas (in accordance with Murphy’s Law) ran out. That’s another sign of the end of summer. We had to swap tanks with an old one from the back of the garage…. The second tank was practically empty too…. Patience….

Here’s what you need:

Romaine lettuce

Cilantro (which I love and can not see omitting)

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – I like to slice mine in half widthwise, so they are thinner.

Slivered or sliced almonds

Sesame seeds

Rice noodles (chow mien type)

Mandarin oranges (sometimes instead of oranges I use shredded carrots)

4 T brown sugar

2 t soy sauce

2 T sesame oil

4 T canola oil

6 T rice vinegar

Here’s what you do:

Make the dressing by whisking together the sugar, soy, oils and vinegar. Use ½ the dressing to marinate the chicken. You only need to marinate it for about half an hour ….. that’s plenty of time. Be sure to throw the marinade down the drain when you take out the chicken.

Toast the seeds and nuts at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes.

(The tripod was blowing around like crazy here.... no kidding!

Hubby is in the garage scrounging around for a tank of gas....no kidding!)

Grill the chicken and slice it on the diagonal.

Toss all together with the remaining dressing. Serve while the chicken is warm…..

As you can see in the top picture, I forgot to add the rice noodles, which was too bad because I love their salty crunch. We were just too stressed out by the faulty grill and the wind by that time;  just wanted to hurry and eat and get inside!

(printable recipe)