Jenmenke

Road Warrior

Archives for January 2010

Beef and Peapods

My Favorite Potluck Meal

Yes. You heard me right: Potluck.

Growing up, I was a picky eater. Thankfully, my kids are not picky, aside from their deep (and recently conquered) fear of Sloppy Joes.

However, if you have a picky eater, you will know what a traumatic event the evil potluck dinner can be. You know who you are. You eat before you go, you bring secret stashes of food, make lame excuses, etc.

This recipe isn’t just for potluck dinners though. It just happens to be what my mom would bring to potluck dinners back in the late 70’s that we would eat. Back then, it was pretty darn obscure. Stir fry? Beef and Pea Pods?

It became a big hit. It became well known. It became popular. It became one of the first items to go. And that was a bummer because I had to jockey for position in line to be able to get some.

It’s a recipe I still make today. And it’s only gotten better with today’s availability of fresh pea pods. Back then, my mom had to buy frozen ones. They were actually pretty gross. I use sugar snap peas when they look good, or I have them in the garden. I like them better than flat pea pods.

My parents were in town last week when I made it last time. I don’t think they had had my mom’s old recipe for over 20 years. It’s an oldie AND a goodie. It’s quick to make, leftovers are awesome. And guess what meat I use?

Round Steak.

So it’s really cheap.

Yeah, you can up the ante with a better cut of meat, but if you cut across the grain of the round steak, I actually prefer it. I don’t mind a little chew.

Beef and Peapods

  • 1 lb Round Steak
  • 3T veg oil
  • 1 clove garlic pressed or chopped
  • 1 T grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds toasted in a pan or the oven til just golden
  • 3/4 cup green onions chopped (or substitute white onion if you don’t have and add them after the steak in the beginning of the stirfry)
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 3 cups (approximately) snow peas or sugar snap peas. If using sugar snaps, cut a few of the on the diagonal to expose the peas inside)
  • 1 pkg white mushrooms sliced in halves(optional. My kids hate shrooms, so I skip)
  • 3T soy sauce
  • 1 t sesame oil
  • 1 can chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 T cornstarch.

Heat wok on high. When hot, add oil and wait about a minute. Add meat and stir fry until it changes color, about 2-3 minutes. Add celery (and white onion if using), garlic and ginger. Cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add mushrooms if using along with soy sauce and chicken broth. Cook 5 minutes on medium heat. Mix cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and add to wok, stirring constantly. Add peapods and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle with almonds and serve over white rice.

If bringing to a potluck, put the rice in a separate covered casserole dish.

* I just have to ask: does my wok look gross, or is that scum on the sides normal?

Meatless Monday Four!

Indian Daal, Naan, Fried Rice… HOMERUN!

Well, I finally did it. I spent some TIME and I PLANNED a Meatless Monday meal. And now I know why I didn’t do that before:

It takes a lot of time.

I blew the whole morning looking at recipes. The whole morning. Part of that might be because I got lost in about a hundred YouTube videos by this Indian lady (really, really good videos) who — in order to be very, very clear — talked very, very slow. The videos were very clear and very slow.

I think my hemming and hawing and inability to just pick a recipe and be done with it were due, in part, to my general feeling that vegetarian Indian dishes were not going to truly satisfy our dinner hunger.

That, and — let’s be honest — photos of chickpeas swimming in brownish sauce with chopped spinach really aren’t all that inspiring.

(More on this later)

Anyway, I was WRONG!

Everything was fantastic.

We ate till we were sick.

Indian is the new Beef.

Some things to note:
1) I don’t have photos of the process. It was a mess. Indian cooking is messy. Pouring liquids into oil, cumin seeds popping out of pans like popcorn, hitting me in the face, Garam masala? I don’t have garam masala. What can I use instead? What is asafetida? Someone google asafetida… Is oven on? Oh shit, I forgot to add the lentils… you get the idea. The Canon had no place in the chaos. No place.

2) The photos I have are not particularly appetizing. In fact, the photos I saw and the videos I watched of Indian food were not particularly appetizing in general. At least not to me. It leads me to the conclusion that perhaps vegetarian dishes are not very visually appealing to me at all. Could that be part of my resistance to vegetarianism? Maybe the allure of these ugly photos starts to happen as you fall in love with new tastes and get to know that this awful looking food is actually delicious and the ugly photos start to look beautiful? Like when you look at a pool of chopped spinach and beans you go: “ooooh, yummmm?”

Instead of: “I can’t serve that for dinner.”

That makes sense, I suppose. But consider it a warning. Unless you are already a brainwashed vegetarian, you will probably think my photos look gross. But trust me when I say they are NOT gross. In fact, as I write this, my daughter is eating the leftovers before soccer practice. I asked for a bite and she said no. (And now it’s the next day, as I finish writing this, and I’m actually considering making it again tonight for dinner.)

3) I got my recipes from manjulaskitchen.com. Of course I did a bit of tweaking, because of course I didn’t have everything oh hand. What is asafetida, anyway? Plus, I had gone to the trouble of buying red lentils — why I thought I needed them, I have no idea — and dammit, I was gonna use the stupid things. But in general, my recipes are her recipes. And each of them was so delicious that I can promise I will be going back for more. I encourage you to do the same.

Spinach and Chickpeas with Red Lentils (Daal*)

*Completely unclear on this Daal thing. From what I can gather, anything comprised of beans is Daal. Which makes no sense to me whatsoever, because I think daal is the Indian word for lentil. Anyone?

  • 1 15oz can of chickpea
  • 3/4 cup red lentils (these were my add. Not in her original recipe)
  • 3 cups finely chopped spinach (palak)
  • 2 cups (or more) water (her recipe, without the red lentils, calls for 1/2 cup)
  • 2 medium tomatoes (I used 1 cup chopped frozen tomatoes from garden)
  • 1/2″piece ginger grated
  • 1 green chili
  • 3 tablespoon oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon asafetida WHAT? (I omitted this.)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (adjust to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (I didn’t have this. I used a tiny bit of cumin, chili powder, cayenne, nutmeg & cinnamon. Though garam masal has a lot more spices in it than that, I think)
  1. Drain the liquid out of the chickpeas and rince the chick peas well.
  2. Blend the tomatoes, green chilies, and ginger to make a puree.
  3. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
  4. Add the asafetida and cumin seeds.
  5. After the cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree, coriander, turmeric, red chili powder and cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.
  6. Tomato mixture will start separating from the oil and will reduce to about half in quantity.
  7. Add spinach, and salt, lentils and and water and let it cook covered for 10 minutes on medium low heat covered.
  8. Add the chickpeas and mash a few of them lightly with a spatula so they soften Note: add more water as needed to keep the sauce consistency to your liking, and let it cook on low heat for 7 to 8 minutes until the red lentils are soft.

Yellow Fried Rice with Peas

  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 1/2 cup green peas
  • 2 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • Pinch of asafetida (I omitted)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seed
  • 4 whole red chilies
  • 2 bay leaves
  • About 1inch piece of cinnamon stick
  • 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  1. Wash rice gently and soak it for at least 15 minutes prior to cooking.
  2. After cooking rice expands to about three times in volume, so be sure to use the proper size pan.
  3. Drain the rice and put into the saucepan. Add the water, green peas, 1 teaspoon of oil, and salt, bring to a boil and turn the heat to low, and cover the pan.
  4. Cook about 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the water has evaporated. Turn off the heat and fluff the rice with a fork.
  5. (I used 3 cups of cooked jasmine rice from the night before and frozen peas and started the recipe at the next step)
  6. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready. Add asafetida, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds.
  7. After the seeds crack, add red chilies, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick and stir-fry for few seconds.
  8. Add rice, turmeric, and cayenne pepper to the spices in frying pan. Mix it gently.
  9. Stir-fry for about 5 to 6 minutes.

Indian Naan Bread*

*Amazingly, this is cooked much like my rosemary cracker bread, on a baking stone in a very hot (500 degree) oven. I felt right at home! I’d love to do a video, but am conflicted about it being of someone else’s recipe. Seem’s not cool. Comments?

  • 2 cups of All Purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (I used instant)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Pinch of baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons of oil
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons yogurt (My yogurt expired in June of 2009 — not kidding — I used sour cream w/a little milk as a substitute)
  • 3/4 cup lukewarm water
  1. Dissolve active dry yeast in lukewarm water and let it sit for 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes frothy. If using Instant Yeast, as I did, mix instant yeast with the dry ingredients, not the water.)
  2. Add sugar, salt and baking soda to the flour and mix well. (Add instant yeast here)
  3. Add the oil and yogurt (or sour cream or buttermilk) mix, this will become crumbly dough.
  4. Add the water/yeast mixture (or just plain water if using instant yeast) and make into soft dough.Note: after rise dough will become little softer.
  5. Knead until the dough is smooth. Cover the dough and keep in a warm place for 3-4 hours. The dough should almost be double in volume.
  6. Heat the oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone for at least thirty minutes so stone is hot. Using a pizza stone will help to give naan close to same kind of heat as clay tandoor.
  7. Knead the dough for about two to three minutes and divide the dough into six equal parts.
  8. Take each piece of dough, one at a time, and roll into 8-inch oval shape. Dust lightly with dry flour to help with the rolling.
  9. Before putting the Naan in oven, lightly wet your hands and take the rolled Naan, and flipp them between your palms and place onto your baking/pizza stone into the oven. (yeah. good luck with that. Mine were a wreck going onto the stone, but turned out just fine. She makes it look so SIMPLE in the video!)
  10. You can place about 3 Naan on the stone at a time. The Naan will take about 2 to 3 minutes to cook, depending upon your oven. After the Naan is baked (Naan should be golden brown color on top).
  11. Take naan out of the oven and brush lightly with clear butter or ghee. (yes, you guessed it, I just spread it with regular butter.)
  12. wait 2 to 3 minutes before baking the next batch of naan. It gives oven the chance to get heated again to max.

I am very happy with Meatless Monday Four. The only downside, is that it will be a tough act to follow.

Cuban Sandwich on Homemade Panini Grill

I am a strong advocate of not buying all the kitchen gadgets I believe I want and need for a few reasons:

  • I am a miser
  • I am a martyr
  • I like to look at catalogs and feel repressed

Oh for Heaven’s sake. I don’t have the room. And if I don’t have the room, I can not believe how other people find the room. I have lots of storage! I just don’t get it.

There are a lot of things I think look über cool that I don’t have. Have you seen the Krups deep fryer? INSANE. Not to mention INsane. And, inSANE. No, there’s no hidden meaning in that. I just wanted to stress my point. One: I do not WANT to eat more fried foods than I already do. Two: a huge $400 device for deep frying? (Honestly, it looks SO cool…) Three: I do not have CLUE where I would store it.

Bread machines, pasta makers, toaster ovens, smoothie makers… the list goes on and on and on.

One of the items that I have long-admired from afar is the panini press. I stare at them in Chef’s Catalog. I think about what I would make with them. I procrastinate work for 15 minutes more as I read reviews. Look at them on Amazon. But I have never given in. I know that I won’t use it enough to justify the cost and the space it will take.

And honestly? My current Panini press works just fine.

It consists of two cast iron fry pans and a tea pot full of water. Course, you could use any ol’ thang as the weight. (Sorry. I keep breaking into a Southern accent in honor of the best book I have listened to all year: The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. Amazing narrators on the audible book, but I’m sure the printed book is just as delicious.).

Usually I eat leftovers for lunch, but on this day I didn’t have any. Even the disasterous Meatless Monday One was gone, metered out to Buzz as a pill-delivering vehicle. The pills fit quite handily into the penne tubes and he just loved it!

So I was wracking my brain for some good eats. I’ve been way into Cuban (also known as Cubanos) sandwiches lately and have been getting the WORST insipid, greasy versions of them at even well-regarded local restaurants — the exception being the one I had at Mill City Cafe. Lawdy! that sandwich was a dream! (Sorry.)

Amazingly, I had *most* of the ingredients to sort of duplicate that one version I loved so much. But the best part was pressing. This works amazingly well. There’s no tricks to it, except to be patient and keep your flame low to medium low. I do have a grill pan I could use to get the grill lines like you get on a real panini press, but I hate — and I mean HATE — cleaning that behemoth. So I don’t use it whenever possible. Ironically, it’s the same one The Pioneer Woman uses so frequently in her photos (see the first photo in this post with the shrimp). Makes me wonder ’bout her…

(Last sentence must be read with southern accent.)

Here’s me peeking at my lunch:

…I can’t seem to take a non-blurry picture. Guess I’m too addicted to wide open apertures. I’ve gotta work on that.

It seems silly to post a recipe for this sandwich, but I will, just in case someone doesn’t know what I’m talking about. I think it’s funny to call it a Cuban sandwich, since I’ve been eating something like it for almost ever. But it seems like giving it a name makes it taste even better.

Pressed Cuban — or Cubano — Sandwich*

*For a real Cuban, you’d have ham, roasted pork, pickle, swiss cheese & yellow mustard. Obviously, if you read me very often, you won’t be surprised to learn that I didn’t have exactly those ingredients… though… come to think of it, I bet I do have some roasted pork left in the freezer from the last time I made it..

Anyway, I used:

  • Sliced turkey breast
  • Ham
  • Sliced garlic dill pickles
  • Yellow mustard
  • Manchego cheese, because I was out of Swiss

Heat the cast iron pan on medium low for about 3-5 minutes while you assemble the sandwich. Butter the bread, and layer ingredients to taste.

Put enough olive oil (you can use butter or veg. oil) in the pan, let oil heat a minute and gently place sandwich in pan. Weight down with whatever works for you. I use another cast iron pan and my handy tea kettle filled with water. Cook low and slow, checking after about 3 minutes. Flip and repeat.

Eat and enjoy. Feel smug that you made a great sandwich and saved $100 on a panini grill.

Meatless Monday Three

Ridiculously Simple Miso Soup

This is not the Meatless Monday recipe I had planned to share. It is, I admit, a really LAME recipe to share, given it’s simplicity. And the fact that it hardly constitutes a meal.

I think many would say, “Why even bother posting Miso Soup?”

Well. I’ll tell you why.

Warning: Tangental information approaching.

I love miso soup, but I only ever get it when I go to have sushi. Which isn’t very often. I knew I could make it, but didn’t figure it was that practical, having miso paste and tofu in my fridge when I am the only one who would probably ever eat it. But with the advent of Meatless Mondays, it would make the perfect easy Monday lunch! So I set about to gather up the ingredients to have on hand.

And I looked.

And I looked.

It was not nearly as easy as I was led to believe it would be.

I am spoiled with the availability of ethnic ingredients at even the po-dunk grocery stores I frequent. Twenty pound bags of jasmine rice, real — from Thailand — green curry in a can all ready to go for a quick evening meal, etc. And by the way, I know it’s from Thailand because a good friend of mine lived there for several years and turned me on to it! It’s Aroy-D brand.

Anyway, the miso paste was elusive. Byerlys and Lunds were out of it the two times I was there during December. Cub didn’t carry it. I finally found it at Byerlys after the holidays. I figured the seaweed in the miso soup was just nori, but it could be Kombu (?). Who knows. Nori would have to do because everyone has nori. Dashi, a type of fish stock used in miso soup, however, I STILL can’t find!

Lord knows I am not going to make a special trip to an asian grocery deep in the heart of Minneapolis just for dashi. So, last Monday, I wondered if I could just go ahead and make it without the dashi. I gave it a try, instead giving my miso a dash of fish sauce, which I always have on hand. And threw some other stuff in that isn’t normally found in miso soup. Or at least the miso soup I have had up until now.

It was really, really good!

So, I snapped a picture and attached it to a post on twitter.

I have something to say about twitter. I should probably write a whole post on twitter. (In fact, maybe I will do just that). But here it is in a nutshell:

GIVE ME A TWITTER BREAK.

It is NOT the “oh-so-touchy-and-feeley-connection experience” you keep hearing about. At least it isn’t for me. And I don’t believe for one minute that it is for half the people who are saying it is. In fact, it INFURIATES me because I feel like there is something WRONG with me that I don’t seem to have the success and good feelings about it that everyone else seems to. And I’ve been on it for almost two years! I was way ahead of the curve! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? *pant, pant*  Rant over.

I do have people I follow and who follow me that I genuinely like and have fun little interactions with. A few. Like about 20. That’s 20 people out of somewhere around 350.

People are always saying how “valuable” it is and how amazing it is that you can ask a question and get instant answers.

Really?

Not me.

Two weekends ago I tweeted

“Desperately need new jeans. Used to wear 501’s. Switched to Lucky Riders and Lil Maggie. Need v long inseam but not too tight. Recommend?

Not one reply. Not one. No one even made fun of me, which I surely deserved.

Most of the time I feel like I am tweeting to no one.

So what’s the point?

Oh who the Hell knows. And yet I keep on doing it. Probably some egomaniacal need to blast out personal information. Yet another chance for psychoanalysis, for sure.

(I told you it was an unrelated tangent).

But bringing it back around, like I always do: last monday I tweeted a picture of my miso soup and said

“My first attempt at miso soup ever. So good! Even with no dashi!”

And I got a TON of (well. a ton compared to normal) replies asking for the recipe, which I gave out — in less than 140 characters, because it is that easy:

“2T red miso paste, 2c H2O, 1T nori-flamed, 1/4c diced soft tofu, dash of fish sauce, salt, chili flakes, sesame oil, green onions!”

So I figured if there was interest on Twitter, there would be interest here.

Plus — and this almost never happens — we are not able to sit down to dinner as a family this entire week. And I’ll be DAMNED if Dave is going to miss Meatless Monday again, being that book club was on monday, soccer was on tuesday and he is out of town the next two nights. So I am holding off on a true-blue, full-blown, meatless monday recipe until I can torture us all. Together. As a family. As it should be.

So, without further ado,

Ridiculously Simple Miso Soup (without the Dashi!)

(this makes quite a bit for just one person’s lunch. If you want less, halve the recipe like I did the next time)

  • 2 T Miso Paste (Mine is red, because that’s all they had. I have no idea what the difference is)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 T thinly sliced nori (first “toast” it by running it over a flame (stove burner) a few times until it is bright green)
  • 1/4 cup (or more) SOFT tofu diced into 1/4″ cubes (you can use firm, but I had soft for the first time and it is WAY better than firm in miso.)
  • dash of fish sauce
  • 1/4 t chili with garlic sauce (or a dash of red chile flakes)
  • 1-2 T sliced green onions
  • dash of sesame oil
  • Anything else you might want to add: edamame, rice or cellophane noodles, side of rice…

Add the miso paste to the water and heat, whisking to dissolve the paste completely. I think some recipes call for you to strain the broth after this step, but I didn’t. Because I’m lazy. And it was just fine.

Once dissolved, add nori, tofu, fish sauce and chili (add frozen edamame and noodles here if using). Simmer gently for about 4 minutes. Add the green onion and simmer for another minute. Then drizzle with sesame oil and serve.

Resist the urge to tell your son, when he asks what it tastes like, the thought that immediately pops into your head:

Dirty feet.

Yum. I love miso. But that is, indeed, what popped into my head.

My Brother Reads my Blog

I was afforded this information at a birthday dinner for my nephew on Saturday night. My brother reads my blog. No matter what I write from this point on, it is sure to be:

  1. Misquoted. (I will misquote him)
  2. Exaggerated. (I will exaggerate the actual exchange)
  3. Offensive. (I will offend my mom)

(No, it’s not actually about my mom. I will just somehow end up making her feel bad. I accept this and will make amends as soon as I finish writing it, for all of you concerned.)

Immediately after making the statement “I have read almost all of your blog,” my brother said, “and I have three observations.” I was so excited! What were they? Do tell!

  1. It is weird
  2. It is well-written
  3. It is obsessive

When asked to expound on that, he said “Like cutting boards. Who writes about cutting boards? It seems obsessive.”

I was rather stunned. Cutting boards seemed like one of my more mainline subjects.

I think maybe what he really meant to say is “Who CARES about cutting boards?” Or, “Who READS about cutting boards?”

And then he said — though I admit it was sort of hard to hear inside the raucous restaurant — something along the lines of “Who — I mean what kind of person — decides for their family a New Year’s Resolution as horrible as Meatless Mondays and then doesn’t PLAN for it — at least on the first day?”

Fair.

But then, didn’t this same person grow up with me? Should he not know me better than that? Is it not painfully clear that I create these mini crises for myself? By not planning, by forgetting, by being late, I create these mini dramas that — if conquered — make me that much more awesome?

I’m kidding. Surely there is some deep-seated psychological reason for my actions, but I assure you. I have plenty of self esteem. I don’t need to create more for myself at the expense of bad meals, forgotten meetings and speeding tickets — although I have plenty of those.

The conversation about the blog didn’t really last all that long, though — as much as I was enjoying it — because it unfairly left both my sister-in-law and my husband out of the exchange, being that neither of them read it. Oh, Dave will tell you he does.

But that would be a lie.

And yes. This is a test.

(In fact, when Dave expressed his genuine surprise that my brother actually does, in fact, read my blog amidst his extremely busy days, my brother said “Well. She signed me up for email announcements. I have little choice. They come right to my inbox.” It is true — and ingenious! I should do that for my whole family! I had completely forgotten I did that. And to know now that it works? I’d say that anyone I have emails for is in serious danger…)

So today is Meatless Monday Three. And yet another conundrum confronts me: I have book club tonight. So, do I make a meatless dish for the family before I go? Or do I push it off until tomorrow?

I think I push it off until tomorrow. I would hate to miss it. I’ve got portobello mushrooms in the fridge. Which of course sound delicious to most, but not to the other three in my family. Alternatively, I’m looking at an Indian dish with homemade flatbread. But I need red lentils, which I don’t have. And, of course, I have no idea where I even saw the recipe that looked so good to me…

As an aside, I know this is — to quote my brother — a weird post. I would like to have posted my mom’s famous taco recipe today, or my awesomely healthy raspberry muffins I made this weekend, or even the most bizarre popovers ever to emerge from my oven. But I am always forgetting to take the final pictures! It makes me the worst food blogger ever, I think.

Maybe I still will post those recipes. Who knows. Maybe the final photo doesn’t really matter.

The photo I DO have handy and will share with you today is in honor of my brother. I meant to post it on the New Year’s Eve post, but it didn’t really fit anywhere. And frankly, I think he felt left out.

So here it is. He was terribly ill and this photo makes him look very puffy and is therefore not the very best, but it also highlights my adorable mom and dad. So the photo serves a double purpose. Which of course is: if I haven’t offended my mom by now, this photo will surely do the trick.

Chinese New Year in Hayward Wisconsin!

I sincerely wish I had been chronicling all of my family’s New Years Eve celebrations in Hayward. The fact that I have not, however, isn’t surprising. It’s a madhouse.

We’ve been going up to my parent’s place on Round Lake in Hayward between Christmas and New Year’s as long as they have been up there — probably 15 years now. It has become a tradition for everyone to make a main course for a big meal on New Year’s Eve, eventually narrowing further to always, always be an Asian meal.

So no, it isn’t really the Chinese New Year (which happens in early spring), but a New Year celebrated with Chinese food. We’ve tried other ethnicities, but always come back to Asian.

Now that the kids are getting older, they are also insinuating their preferences. My daughter, for example, insists on making cream cheese puffs. She makes an insane amount — this year it was 60 — assuring me that they are for “leftovers,” and proceeds to eat about 20 herself.

We have never had leftover cream cheese puffs except for the year my dad insisted on adding the fishy crab leftover from Christmas. He was not Morgan’s favorite person that year.

And Jay, in the photo next to her? Well he helped, too. But in this blurry photo, if my champagne-addled mind remembers correctly, he was faking it mostly as an attempt to protest the fact that I was taking pictures of everyone.

Everyone helped. I made my niece actually — eww — touch the chicken that would eventually become her dish of Sesame Chicken. It was epic.

Charlie chopped water chestnuts for P.F. Chang’s Lettuce wraps.

And whilst (sorry, have always wanted to use ‘whilst’) I wish the dishes would be more adventurous, I have to admit: Sesame Chicken is damn good.

…And so is Tempura Shrimp and Vegetables… And so is Mandarin Beef.

(I also have to admit that I’m glad it is not my kitchen that we are deep frying non-stop for two hours straight in.)

Anyway, the recipe that I think was the biggest surprise winner was the Coconut Lime Halibut with Basil (of course it was my dish! This is, after all my blog). It isn’t a very photogenic dish, but I can assure you that even my mom, who is not a professed fish lover, declared it her favorite out of all the other delicious dishes.

The recipe is at the bottom of the post.

After dinner,

which we push off until around 9:30 or 10 pm because, 1) we are sick to our stomaches from various overdoses of appetizers (Morgan); and 2) we think it gives us a better chance of making it to midnight (Dave, Sharon, Mom), we do various things to keep us occupied.

We play dominos, have Wii tournaments, play Shuffleboard, etc. We used to play Taboo, but that game was banned about 10 years ago after a particularly ugly fight between two parties that shall remain nameless.

–Have you played that game? It seems to me that it should say on the box “encourages healthy family discussion” and “Warning: some family members may not appreciate ‘healthy family discussion’.” Anyway. That was YEARS ago. I’m beyond it.

It should be noted that we are long past the years of covertly turning all the clocks ahead by one hour to fool the kids into thinking it was midnight so that we, as exhausted parents, could go to bed earlier –though I suspect the kids might start doing it to us at some point not too far in the future.

..And as much as I want to end this post with the picture that I took of my mom at 11:30pm in the chair, holding her crossword with Pippi/Poopy on her lap sound asleep with her mouth open… well, I’m just not that dumb.

So here’s the recipe.

Coconut Lime Halibut with Basil
(adapted from the Big Bowl Cookbook)

  • 1 can coconut milk (light is fine)
  • 3 T grated fresh ginger
  • 1 T chopped lemongrass (or, if you live in the sticks, grated lemon zest
  • 1 lb fresh halibut fillet, no skin (add more or less as you need. Sauce is flexible and adequate
  • 1 T sesame oil
  • 1 t kosher salt
  • 1 c chicken broth
  • 2 T fish sauce
  • 1 1/2 t sugar
  • 2 T peanut or vegetable oil
  • 1/2 c diced red onion (or thinly sliced if you don’t have kids that are onion detectives)
  • 2 -4 T diced hot pepper (or to taste)
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
  • 2 -4 T chopped cilantro (personal preference depending on level of cilantro addiction)
  • crushed and toasted peanuts (optional)

In a small saucepan, cook the coconut milk over medium low heat until it is reduced in half. You should have 1/2 – 3/4 cup. In the last few minutes, add the ginger and lemongrass or zest. Set aside.

Sprinkle fish with sesame oil and salt. Set aside.

Mix chicken broth with fish sauce and sugar. Set aside. And claim ignorance to the sudden exclamations around you of: “Ahhh. Ohhh…What STINKS?!”

When ready to eat, heat a wok or skillet to hot, add oil and then the fish, searing briefly over high heat. Add the onion and hot peppers, stir fry a minute or two. Add broth mixture, bring to a boil and cover. Cook about 4 minutes until fish is just barely no longer translucent in the middle. Remove fish to serving platter, leaving sauce in pan. Add the coconut milk to the sauce in the pan and cook until hot. Add the fresh lime juice. Then promptly remove from heat and pour over the fish. Top with basil, cilantro, ground black pepper and toasted peanuts. Serve over hot rice.

Meatless Monday Two

Ma Po Tofu!

My second Meatless Monday venture very nearly echoed my first: it was almost 3pm before I was finished with my “chores.”

Yes. I admit it. I was working on this effing puzzle. My mom brought it back from Hayward where we had been working on it over the holidays. Never in all my puzzle-working years have I not finished a puzzle over the course of a couple days. I know this one doesn’t look much different than your average puzzle. But trust me, it was. I’ve even worked puzzles that are practically monochromatic and had better luck. I hung my head in shame as we left Hayward to come home, leaving the puzzle incomplete. I figured my mom would finish it off…

Not so. She and my Dad showed up on my doorstep with it as they left town for Mexico cursing my fate for the next two days.

They also left me with their new (rescue) dog Pippi. Better known as POOPY to me, since all she does is crap in my house.

Well, she keeps Lola happy, too. Which is nice.

Anyway. I digress. I was doing the stupid puzzle, and I was also making boatloads of bread for the people who won it at an auction several months ago. I was also oiling the Paperstone counters and the now-apparently-poisoned cutting boards (see the comments section) with the good Paperstone oil, only wandering into my office and the computer around lunch time to return emails and make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything important. (I’m serious. I really do that. I just don’t always catch things in time.

It was then I saw this tweet from @CaptainMal: “What’s for dinner tonight?” #meatlessmonday

Shit, shit and double shit. Meatless Monday! (Are you picking up on a theme here? Don’t remind me to tell you about the two back-to-back board meetings that took place last week that I forgot about and was late for.)

Foreseeing this exact situation, I had armed myself with a few staples at the grocery store last week. Namely, I had picked up some tofu and fresh broccoli.

I suddenly remembered this recipe I had cut out of Cooking Light years ago for something called Ma Po Tofu. I sifted thru the stack in my recipe folder and found it. (Amazing, in and of itself.) The only problem was that it called for ground pork and chicken broth. Really? You call something Ma Po TOFU and include MEAT in it?

I had to do a fair bit of ad libbing since the recipe didn’t call for much more than the tofu and pork… And? It turned out really good. Charlie wasn’t happy, but Morgan liked it. And… OH, I almost forgot! Dave was out of town! I completely forgot he was gone (!) until he called in the middle of my prep. I reminded him that he couldn’t have any meat because it was ‘his’ New Year’s Resolution. He just laughed and asked me if I thought it was a coincidence that he was gone on Monday.

(I don’t have full control over everyone in the family  yet. But I am working on it.)

Anyway, I fully endorse this recipe, so go ahead and try it!

Slice 1 block of firm tofu horizontally into 6 slices and put several layers of paper towel on top and weight with a plate (I used a pie plate with a bowl of water to weight it down) for at least 30 minutes.

Then drain off any water and dice into 1/2″ pieces.

I happened to have some ancient vegetable bouillon.

…which looked disgusting as it dissolved, but tasted *fine*, I guess. I’m going to have to make some real vegetable stock because I really don’t like bouillon cubes — in any flavor — all that much. I think they are just colored salt.

Mix 1 cup vegetable broth with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon corn starch, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce and 1-2 teaspoons of chili garlic sauce. Whisk together and set aside.

Blanch a half head of broccoli and 1/2 cup peanuts (I just used dry roasted because that’s all I ever have) in boiling water for about 1-2 minutes. Broccoli should still be firm.

Drain and shock in ice water. Then drain again (picking out any remaining ice cubes).

Dice and saute half an onion, three minced garlic cloves and about two tablespoons of grated ginger. Then add 1/2 cup of edamame and the diced tofu. Stir fry over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes. Then add sauce mix, scraping the bottom of the pan well. Throw in the drained broccoli and peanuts and stir until hot.

At the last minute I threw in about 1/8 cup of chopped red peppers for some color. I liked it.

Serve over hot brown rice and promise your 12.5 year old son that you won’t post the picture you snapped of him with a big pouty face as you serve the delicious tofu meal.