Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry February 28, 2009

Shrimp and asparagus stir fry with tofu, so fancy! I am beginning to be a bit more comfortable throwing together a quick stir fry without a recipe. I had some shrimp left over after the Oscars and also had some extra tofu and a bunch of asparagus in the fridge. Perfect!

http://therealpotato.com/2007/09/08/shrimp-and-tofu-stir-fry/

• 1 bunch of asparagus – sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 inch ginger – diced
• 3 clove garlic – diced
• 1/2 package tofu – cut into 1 inch pieces
• shrimp (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 T. soy sauce
• 1/2 T. rice wine vinegar
• 1 T. sesame oil
• cornstarch

In a saute pan, heat a bit of olive oil and toss in the ginger and garlic. After a couple minutes, toss in the tofu and asparagus. Cook for about 4 minutes and then add in the broth and seasonings. Toss in the shrimp and cook until, well, cooked. Sprinkle in corn starch, one tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is as thick as you want it (I used about 2 T.).  Taste to make sure the asparagus is cooked and serve immediately.

Notes: Great! This was a very flavorful and fancy meal (as it had meat/shrimp). So fast too.

Servings: 2 big dinner servings

Swiss Chard with Red Pepper & Sundried Tomatoes February 26, 2009

We got our first box from Fresh Picks today! Instead of doing a CSA this year, I’ve decided to go with Fresh Picks which will deliver us a box of organic, locally grown produce everyweek for the whole year. I’m not totally sure where the produce comes from in the middle of winter, but I’m going to find out. What’s different about this box is that they’ll also throw in eggs, or tofu, or something fun and non produce each week. It’s a box of surprise food every week! Food nerd. Anyway, in the first box we got mustard greens, swiss chard, green onions, cabbage, eggs, carrots and something else I can’t remember. For dinner tonight I made the swiss chard and an egg, along with a bag of mixed grains/couscous I got from Trader Joes and toasted up a slice of almost old bread. Yum.

• I bunch swiss chard – cleaned well and torn into pieces
• 2 cloves garlic – diced
• 6-8 sun dried tomato halves – soaked in hot water and sliced
• 1/2 red pepper – sliced
• salt / pepper
• olive oil

Heat oil in a pan and toss in the garlic, red pepper and sun dried tomatoes. Cook for a couple minutes before tossing in the swiss chard and seasonings. Cook on medium until everything is all wilted. Serve a top the grain or pasta of your choice.

Notes: For us it was kind of a main entree along with the egg, but it’s also a side. Vegetables, so versatile.

Servings: 2 big servings

Blue Cheese and Bacon Dip February 23, 2009

Football! It’s done for the year, but at the end of it all, I made this hot bacon and blue cheese filled dip. Goodness, it was tasty but not an everyday snack. Yikes! You should try it sometime though. Your guests will like you. I found the recipe on Serious Eats.

• 6 thick slices lean smoked bacon
• 1 small onion – minced
• 2 T. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C.  milk
• 1/2 C. lager beer
• 1 t. Worcestershire sauce
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• 1/2 pound blue cheese, crumbled
• sliced bread or bread sticks

In a large skillet, fry the bacon over moderate heat till almost crisp, drain on paper towels, and crumble coarsely.

Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet, add the onion, and stir 3 minutes. Add the flour and stir 3 minutes longer. Whisking, add the milk and beer, then add the Worcestershire and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a low boil, whisking, cook for 2 minutes, and remove from the heat. Add the bacon and blue cheese and stir till the cheese is melted.

Transfer the dip to a small bowl and serve with bread.

Notes: As I said, it certainly tastes good.

Servings: Big appetizer for a group

Bread Soup February 19, 2009

Bread soup. It sounds kind of strange. And it is, actually. But it uses up stale bread and is a soup, two things that worked for me when I made it. I moved this past weekend and was trying to work through some of the things in my freezer and pantry so I didn’t have to move bags of groceries in addition to our furniture. So, out came a loaf of white bread from the freezer. I’ve seen several recipes for bread soup over the winter but this one from everybody likes sandwiches was what looked the best to me.

• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 onion – sliced
• 4 cloves garlic – chopped
• 1 stalk celery – diced
• 1 t. dried hot chili flakes
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 4 C. vegetable stock
• 1/2 small loaf of stale bread – cubed
• 1 small can of diced tomatoes
• 1 bunch spinach
• 2 T. Parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Saute the onion, garlic and celery in the oil over medium-high heat. When softened, add in the chili flakes, oregano and some salt and pepper. Add in vegetable stock and tomatoes and simmer over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add in bread and spinach, stir and cover pot. When the bread is soft and spongy, taste, adding more salt or pepper if necessary. Serve with a little parmesan on top.

Notes: Meh. It was a fine soup, but there aren’t a lot of nutrients in white bread. And if I’m going to eat a somewhat unhealthy soup, I’d rather it taste far better than this. Next time, bread pudding.

Servings: 6 bowls

Whole Wheat Crackers February 16, 2009

My mother used to make homemade whole wheat bread and crackers when we were kids. Coming home to a house filled with the smell of fresh bread or crackers was somewhat of a norm for me.  I’ve made my mom’s bread and her original crackers several times, but I wanted to try a thinner, crispy cracker this time. I found this simple and easy recipe from Baking Bites and gave it a try with much success. Try these with a yummy white bean dip… it’s good stuff for lunches or snacking.

• 2 C. wheat flour
• 3 T. wheat bran
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. sugar
• 2 t. honey
• 4 T. butter, chilled
• 1/2 C. water, plus 1-2 tbsp, if needed
• Sprinkle with salt, black pepper

Combine all ingredients except water in a food processor and process until well combined. Add water and continue to process until mixture starts to come together into a dough.

Between two sheets of parchment or wax paper, roll out the dough into a rectangle of about 1/4 inch thickness. Refrigerate the dough for about 1/2 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out to approximately 1/8 inch or less. Sprinkle dough with salt and/or toppings of your choice. Use a pizza cutter to slice into 1 inch squares, discarding excess dough. Score each cracker with a fork or several pricks of a toothpick. Transfer crackers to a parchment lined baking sheet and space out slightly.

Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes, until edges are brown.

Notes: I doubled the original recipe because I knew I’d want a whole bunch if I was going to all the effort of making crackers. My favorite parts are the edges. So crunchy!

Servings: It’s unclear. Two baking sheets worth? A weeks worth of lunches and snacks? Just making them and eat them.

Rosemary-Lemon White Bean Dip February 13, 2009

Another lunch box special! Bento boxing friend Emily mentioned a white bean dip she made, or maybe I made that up. It’s been a few weeks, clearly. But after having this real (imaginary?) conversation, I decided I wanted to make some white bean dip! Thanks to Mark Bittman, I found an excellent and simple looking recipe to try out. I even made some homemade whole wheat crackers to go with. Recipe coming soon!

• 2 C. cooked white beans, like cannelini, drained but moist
• 3 cloves garlic – peeled
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 C. plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 t. minced fresh rosemary (I used dried and used 1 t.)
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley (because I had it on hand!)
• Grated rind of 2 lemons

Put the beans in the container of a food processor with garlic and a healthy pinch of salt. Turn the machine on, and add the 1/4 cup olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until the mixture is smooth.  Place the mixture in a bowl, and use a wooden spoon to beat in the rosemary, lemon zest and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Taste, and add more salt and pepper as needed. Use immediately, or refrigerate for as long as 3 days.

Notes: I ate this with crackers as well as carrots. It would make a great spread for a vegetable sandwich as well.

Servings: 2 cups or 4 lunches and some snacks in between.

Parsley and Pepper Quinoa Salad February 11, 2009

Okay okay okay. I’m not even going to talk about my blogging absence! It made you sad, I know, but now I’m back and I have a back log of recipes. Prepare yourself!

A couple of my friends make bento box lunches. My friend Emily kept talking about this wonderful pepper and quinoa salad that she made for her lunches and I gave it a try, with the red quinoa I had on hand. Emily forwarded me this recipe she used. It was lovely and makes for healthy lunches that your co-workers are sure to ask about.

• 1 C. dry quinoa (= about 3 cups of cooked quinoa)
• 2 C. water (or vegetable broth, which I used)
• 1 vegetable stock cube (if using water, I didn’t)
• 1 large red or yellow sweet pepper
• 2 small hot chili peppers *
• 1 garlic clove
• olive oil for cooking
• 1 large bunch parsley (about 1 1/2 cups chopped and loosely packed into your measuring cup)

Dressing:

• 2 to 3 T.. lemon juice (start with 2 and add more to your taste)
• 2 T.. extra virgin olive oil
• dash soy sauce
• salt, pepper

“To cook the quinoa: Rinse it briefly under running water, then put into a pot with the 2 cups of water and the vegetable stock cube. Bring to a boil, then put on a lid and lower the heat. Let cook for about 15 minutes until the water is almost all gone. Take off the heat and let rest with the lid on for about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess water (there shouldn’t be much at all) by putting the quinoa in a sieve or colander and shaking. Put into a bowl to cool down.

In the meantime, chop up the sweet peppers; de-seed and chop up the chili pepper*. Finely chop the garlic clove. Sauté the vegetables with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt, until the vegetables are limp. Take off the heat.

Chop the parsley up finely.

Combine the dressing ingredients and mix in well with the quinoa. Add the cooked vegetables. Add the parsley (you should add it when the quinoa is not hot any more, to preserve the bright green color) and mix well.

Taste, and add a little more salt, pepper or lemon juice as you see fit.”

Notes: * I did not have peppers so didn’t add them! This was a great dish to make on Sunday and enjoy for lunch during the week, along with some other things, which you will see soon.

Servings: 4 servings