One of my very best friends just moved back to Minnesota from California. And, since I haven’t started Summer classes, I actually had a little time to spend with him, so I invited him over for dinner and whipped up some green curry. Our beer pairing was Bell’s Oberon Ale, and we followed the whole thing with ice cream from Pumphouse, a little walk, and a long long talk. Perfect!
Green Curry with Tofu and Hon Tsai Tai
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine via Epicurious
1 14oz pkg extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch cubes
3 Tbsp vegetable oil, separated
1 medium onion sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp green curry paste
salt
2 small-medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 14oz can light coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 bunch hon tsai tai, stems removed and coarsely chopped
chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime cut into wedges
1. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add tofu and fry, turning every few minutes until browned on all sides. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in large frying pan. Add onion and cook until softened (about 3-4 minutes).
3. Add garlic, curry paste, a good sprinkling of salt, and cook for 1 minute more.
4 Add sweet potatoes, coconut milk, and water, and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender (about 5 minutes).
6. Add hon tsai tai and simmer until wilted (just a minute or 2)
7. Add cilantro to taste and remove from heat.
8. Serve over jasmine rice with lime wedges.
Sadly, I didn’t get any pictures of our food last week. Nonetheless, it was tasty, easy-to-make stuff, and I did learn an important lesson: turmeric-laden foods are best eaten attentively, especially when one’s skirt is dry clean only.
Recipe 1: Chickpea Curry
I found this recipe over at a blog called Vegetarian Perspective thanks to our awesome local food news blog, The Heavy Table. I was skeptical because it seemed like very little liquid for a whole lot of chickpeas (8 cups!), but it was completely delicious. The mango is an especially good touch.
Recipe 2: Peanut Noodles
A quick & easy busy week standby.
Here’s what I whisked together to make the sauce (based on the Noodle Salad With Spicy Nut Dressing in La Dolce Vegan!):
6 Tbsp peanut butter
4 Tbsp water
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 inches fresh ginger finely grated
I threw this over two packages of cooked soba noodles, some steamed broccoli, and one package of tofu (which I pan fried), and garnished with scallions. Simple and fulfilling (not photogenic though).
Time: 1.5 hours
Hmm. It looks like I’m way behind on my April posts. It’s crunch time for homework these days, so it’s been hard to blog after spending all day at work on my computer & all evening doing homework on my computer. Rest assured, though, that Sara and I have not missed a meal. In fact, here’s what we ate a couple weeks ago.
Recipe 1: Quinoa, Broccoli, and Cheese Casserole
This casserole comes from Nava Atlas’s cookbook, The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet. It’s not a cookbook I use frequently, but I was reminded of this recipe when Sara & I were cooking some wonderful, buttery mac & cheese for a friend, and I was thinking we could use a healthier version for our everyday fare. This totally hit the spot. I couldn’t find the recipe online, but if you’re looking to make this yourself, here’s the quick & dirty recap: cook 1 1/2 cups of quinoa & then mix it together with some steamed broccoli florets, shredded cheese, sauteed onion, and salt. Sprinkle some more cheese on top & bake for about 20-25 minutes.
Recipe 2: Brooklyn Pad Thai
This is another recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance. You can find it online over here. I’ve always liked this recipe a lot even though it’s vegan & doesn’t really taste like pad thai. I think of it as some yummy flavored noodles & tofu. Also, it makes a ton of food, so it’s good for packaging up for the week. I got the noodles too mushy this time which was disappointing — I don’t recommend it.
The much-anticipated festivities for Sara’s birthday begin this week. It’s a pretty big deal, so we chose two dishes that don’t take a lot of time to make.
Up first: falafel
Falafel is one thing I refuse to make from a box/mix, because it’s so easy and tastes so much better homemade. I’ve been trying out some different recipes — this time I used Mark Bittman’s. It was a little dry, but we left out the onions due to a miscommunication, so I’m not ready to make a final judgment yet.
Second, I’ve been wanting to try to make vegetarian pho for a while now, and since I stocked up on noodles recently, this seemed like a good time to go for it. I snagged this recipe via Google and left out the cloves because I didn’t have any. Apparently I’m a little off this week. Let’s hope things go better with Sara’s birthday cake.
Time: 1 hour
Soundtrack: The Moth Radio Hour
This week we’re eating two recipes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan With A Vengeance, plus some extras.
Meal number one is my all-time favorite food ever: samosa filling. The recipe is actually for samosas, but after making them a couple of times I figured why bother with cutting out dough when I can just skip to the best part? I feel similarly about pie crusts/filling although I’m beginning to appreciate crusts more as I age get better at making them. Served with rice and kale mostly because I felt a little guilty about calling a bowl full of potatoes a complete meal.
Second up is mango ginger tofu. You can find the recipe for this over at the Post Punk Kitchen.
The marinade took some extra time, and doesn’t have quite the flavor I’d expected (it lacks the salty flavor I like in a baked tofu), but paired with some simple cabbage slaw (cabbage + oil, vinegar, lemon, salt, & pepper), and delicious bread from the New French Bakery, it makes a very good and filling sandwich.
Time: 2 hours plus 40 minutes in the morning to prepare tofu marinade
Soundtrack: Sara’s painting playlist
