Sesame Noodles with Chili-Lime shrimp

People, I do not claim to be the best cook in the world. But every once in awhile I make something that is pretty epic. Today, I opened my fridge to find it nearly empty. I had some shrimp, scallions and that was pretty much it. I had some tomatoes, but I think I'm going to stew them tomorrow.

Anyway- I was thinking Chinese today- specifically some cold sesame noodles that I ate in Xi'en. They were fantastic and I felt I could recreate a similar sauce at home. I didn't have any rice noodles so used angel hair with spectacular results. Marinate the shrimp for a bit and the dish come together in about 15 minutes.

Sesame Noodles:
1/2 package angel hair
2 tsp natural peanut butter
2 tsp tahini
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce

Mix together all wet ingredients.

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and rinse with cool water. Cover with delicious sesame sauce.


Chile Shrimp:
1 pound deveined shrimp
1 Tbsp finely grated ginger
1 Tbsp lime zest
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp agave
1 Tbsp chinese chile garlic paste
1 bunch scallions chopped into 1 inch pieces

Mix it all (except scallions) together. Mainate in fridge for a bit. After you are satisfied with the marination time - saute the shrimp in the marinade for a a few minutes. Add the scallions and saute for about 2 minutes.

Now, just add the shrimp to the noodles. You can serve with marinade or without- up to you. I did, and I liked it!

Um yum.

That may or may not be a tequila sunrise in the backround. Sundays are best with cocktails.

Ginger baked tofu and Asian mashed potatoes

I bought the Kind Diet book on Amazon after I saw some awesome recipe's on the book's community site, the Kind Life. Some things turn out pretty good- but I've had some pretty big flops, and some things I just couldn't eat because of their sheer saltiness. This tofu is an example of that - it was so salty I couldn't finish one slab - and I LOVE tofu! Especially when it is marinated and baked. Dave liked this - but I did not.



Ginger-Baked Tofu
1 container extra firm tofu
1/3 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup H2O
2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
2 Tbsp umeboshi vinegar (omitted)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (increased!)
1 tsp brown rice syrup
scallions for garnish (optional)

Whisk all wet ingredients. Cut tofu into 4 "steaks" - marinate for at least an hour (I marinated overnight which may be responsible for the overwhelming flavor) Bake at 375 on foil-lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes. Baste with some remaining marinade and flip. Bake 15-20 minutes longer. Garnish with scallions if you feel so inclined.



Served alongside I made some Asian mashed potatoes - since I had boiled potatoes days earlier and never used them - and soba noodles with spinach (an old favorite). We usually don't usually even have one starch, but Dave was off to play in his Adult League hockey game, and I figured he could use the extra energy.

Asian mashed potatoes
5 red skinned potatoes
coconut milk creamer to assist in the mashing
1 Tsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp chopped ginger
Sprinkle yellow curry
Na++ and pepper to taste

I just threw these together and they were very tasty!

Seitan Stroganoff

I was craving this tonight - I made it vegan but it can easily be made dairy. The recipe (from mom way back when) Only with vegan ingredients subbed in:

1 tsp smart balance
1 package seitan
1 white onion
1/2 package sliced white mushrooms
1 Tbsp vegan worchestershire
1 cup veggie broth
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp mustard
1/3 cup red wine
1/3 cup sour cream (I used the better than sour cream stuff- I like it)
Na++ and pepper
Noodles

Saute seitan in smart balance. Add onions and mushrooms and saute until soft. Add worchestershire and saute until all brown. Add flour to broth, then pour into side of pan and stir until thickened. Incorporate into the rest of pan. Add mustard (take it easy, it can overpower) and wine. Let reduce just a bit. Add sour cream, salt and pepper and that's it. Serve over noodles. Yum.

The Stolen Bowl

My friend gave me THIS recipe a little while ago, for stir-fried sweet potatoes. I bought some, planning on making them alongside some sort of food good in the coming weeks. Then I saw THIS post on her blog, and knew that I'd have to go all the way and incorporating it into a Buddha bowl/Harmony bowl/Holy crap I could be a vegan bowl... or as I have now dubbed it, the Stolen bowl. I made it almost exactly as outlined on Erin's blog, but I used tofu rather than tempeh - and somen noodles.

The tofu:
Some mirin
Some soy sauce
Some hoisin sauce
Some agave nectar
Ginger

Press tofu, cut into cute little cubes and toss into the sauce you just pre-mixed. Put in 400 degree oven until you smell burning.


The stir-fry: somen noodles, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, sauteed sweet potaoes, sriracha, tahini sauce. OH dear it was good. Even my massively carnivorous husband ate it up and declared he was taking the leftovers for work tomorrow. YUM.



I have to share my version of the sweet potatoes recipe (based on what I had in my house) in case NY Times ever takes it down and you can not access the deliciousness:

1 tsp grated ginger (jarred ginger is super awesome, not at all like jarred garlic which is nasty)
2 sweet potatoes
2 Thai chiles, seeded
Peanut oil to coat
Na++ and pepper

Put the grating blade on your food processor and grate potatoes (I was a tad worried since my processor is so flimsy, but even my P.O.S. got the job done). Saute in oil with ginger and chiles. It's done in about 10 minutes. Even a non-stick pan became filled with gunk- so beware. I had to deglaze three times and the pan is still soaking in the sink now. But oh my foes and oh my friends, it was worth it.

Szechwan style tofu and eggplant

Back to the tofu - I love it. And I had half an eggplant to get rid of. Another from Vegan Express (155 calories). Dave is gone so he can't complain about all the veggies.

1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 Tbsp Sesame oil
1 small onion, minced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced (I used 1 glove elephant garlic)
2 japanese eggplants or one medium eggplant
16 ounce tub extra-firm tofu
1/4 cup dry white wine (an excuse to drink with dinner!)
1/4 cup H2O
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tsp grated fresh ginger (I had none, so I used curry instead - it worked in the best way)
4 stalks bok choy (I have spinach to use up, so I used that)
Hot chile oil or Thai red curry paste
Soy sauce

Heat oils, add onion and garlic and saute them up. Chop up your eggplant, cube your tofu, and add to the oil/onion/garlic. Add wine, water, hoisin and ginger - cook for about 5 minutes covered, 5 minutes uncovered. Add bok choy and stir fry. Add soy sauce/chile oil/curry paste to taste.

I boiled some soba noodles and had it over those with some sriracha and the wine I opened. Very good and super filling.

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