Don't-Fear-the-Tofu (and Broccoli Stir Fry)

My (awesome) cousin and her (also awesome) boyfriend came to visit us from Atlanta last year. They graciously offered to cook dinner for us one night. (Yay!) They made tofu stir fry with broccoli. (Huh.) It was delicious, has become a staple in our house, and is one of the few meals I don't have to change, add to, or subtract from while plating for the kids. (What?!) I'd say we eat it at least twice a month. (Seriously?) Seriously. (What's the catch?) ...it's covered in peanut butter.

I will never get the tofu to be so perfect as they did that night. It was perfectly cut (cubes, I think), perfectly browned (odds on this are getting better as I practice), and perfectly seasoned (tofu needs a lot of help in the salt and pepper department).

Here's how I do it:

I always start by cutting the tofu block to get evenly think pieces. (I like firm better than extra firm.) I drain it on paper towels. (A bunch under, a bunch over, press down. Flip. Replace towels. Repeat.) Then I either brake it up into irregular pieces, or cut it into little squares or triangles.

Irregular tofu Geometric tofu

Fry that in some olive oil, at medium to medium high heat, as you would a breaded chicken breast (or veal). It takes about 10 minutes or so to fry it all up.

While the tofu is cooking, I make the sauce. (Or my daughter does - good step for kids!) I have no measurements here. I'm guessing I use about 1/3 to 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/4 c soy sauce, and a few shakes of rice wine vinegar. Stir that up until it's a paste, then add water a splash at a time until it's between spoonable and pour-able. (My cousin liked Trader Joe's organic, salted, crunchy peanut butter with the green lid. We did too, until we discovered Smucker's Natural Crunchy - I think the pieces are bigger, and it's a little saltier.)

Ingredients. Saucy!

I use 3/4 to a whole bunch of broccoli (florets only) and one red bell pepper (quartered, cut in strips, then thirds) for our family, and we usually have one lunch sized portion left over.

In a wok, I heat some oil, put in about a tablespoon of minced garlic and a minced knob of fresh ginger (a few shakes of ground ginger in the oil works in a pinch), and saute shortly. I add the broccoli, then the red pepper, and finally the tofu, just to heat it up again. (Sometimes I'll splash in a little white wine before I add the tofu and let the veggies steam in it while it evaporates.)

I add about 2/3 of the sauce to the wok and stir it around, saving the rest for drizzling and dipping and left overs. I serve it with Trader Joe's Frozen Organic Brown Rice. (Three minutes in the microwave? I'm staying!)

Seriously, my kids eat this up. He, for the tofu. She, for the broccoli. We all, for the peanut butter sauce.

(It's really, really good!)

Coming up with dinner... Again. -or- What's in the Fridge? What's on Sale?

I love to cook. But there are days when I ask, "Really? I have to come up with something for dinner again? Didn't we just eat yesterday?"

When I am at home and this happens, I make really, really nerdy lists of the entire inventory of my fridge, freezer and pantry, and try to come up with something I can make for dinner. If I happen to be at the store when this happens, I look for what's on sale, and see if I can imagine cooking it. This happened twice this week. One of each instance. This is what I came up with.

Meal One: What is in the fridge?

Porterhouse steak, Brussels sprouts , Asparagus, a lot of Corn, and some Cherry Tomatoes.

The only really notable things are the vegetable sides. I used my old standby Corn and Tomato Salad recipe found in the Star Tribune years ago (recipe to follow). It holds for a day or two, and is one of my favorite Summertime sides. So crisp and flavorful!

The other side was the Brussels Sprouts. I, myself, am not really a fan unless there is bacon involved, and it's chopped and sauteed till I can't really tell it's anything but green crunchy stuff in bacon. However, there are other people in my household who would eat them three times a week. So I learned how to cook them. This particular night, I halved them, put them on a plate with some water, cover them with plastic and microwaved them for one minute to soften them. Then I sauteed them in some olive oil with some minced jar garlic (take that, Tony Bourdain!), and when they had a nice color, I splashed white wine on them and let them steam in that some more. Note: Use a dry white like Chardonnay (not my favorite) or Sauvignon Blanc (much better, I'll actually drink that). Do Not Use Pino Grigio, which is what I had on hand this night. It's not great. Even for those who like Brussels sprouts.

Other than that, I salt and peppered a porterhouse, grilled it to medium rare, and steamed some asparagus in the same way I did the sprouts - in the microwave - one minute.

Please enjoy my token portion of Sprouts.

Meal Two: What's on Sale?

Veal Scaloppini over Sauteed Spinach with Red Onion, Garlic, Parmesan and a White Wine, Caper Vinaigrette

This one I totally made up. I was in Super Target and got the "Oh my god, I don't have any idea what to make dinner and have no protein to serve" feeling. I went to the meat section and looked around. Chicken? Not again. Pork? Eh, not feeling it. Steak? Just had it. Salmon? Doesn't look good. I turn around, and what's on sale? Veal Scaloppini. Really? From Super Target? Sure, why the hell not? We actually get our best steaks and burger from there, and I *REALLY* need something different for tonight. Super Target Veal Scaloppini it is. Now what the hell do I do with it?

I get it home, and think about it for the rest of the afternoon. I look at it - it's just eight little strips of meat. I think "I'm gonna dredge and sautee that like chicken". So that's what I do. Breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, rosemary from the garden. Hot pan. Done. Now what?

I look in the fridge and there are two, count them, two unopened bags of spinach in there. I decide one of them is for dinner. I also decide I am not eating a salad. What else is in there? Most of a red onion. Ok. I look in the door. Minced jar garlic (ha ha), lemon juice, capers. Needs something. Parmesan! I have a block. Grab it, I'm ready. In a wide bottomed, high sided saute pan, I heat the olive oil. Then I add a little red onion and let it sweat and carmelize a little. Garlic is next, but just for a few seconds. I don't want it to get too brown. I add the spinach in three batches, letting the first wilt down before the next to leave room in the pan. When it is wilted, I add a tiny bit of lemon juice (like three or four drops) and salt and pepper. I get out a little jar and shake up a vinaigrette of white wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and capers. I shred big pieces of Parm off the block with a vegetable peeler (love the T shaped veggie peelers!)

Just after the third addition of fresh spinach.

The whole 20 oz bag of spinach was just enough for two adult portions.

I set the spinach down on the middle of the plate, a few strips of Parm, top with the veal, and drizzle the dressing all around (I don't want to overwhelm it or soup it up). This was OUTSTANDING! I was so proud of myself. It truly was an all-improvisation meal, and it turned out to be one of those things I'll make again and again.

Luckily I had leftover mac and cheese and asparagus and beets (which they eat!) for the kids this night. They ate the veal, though.

CORN AND TOMATO SALAD:

Corn cut off the cob (recipe calls for 8, I use whatever I have)

2 Tomatoes (I find that halved cherry tomatoes are better. They pop so nicely! I use as many as looks nice with however much corn I have)

2 tsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbs olive oil

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup cilantro

Put all ingredients in a bowl. Combine. Adjust to your taste (I'm a heavy hand with the vinegar)

Golden Summer Squash & Corn Soup.... and then some.

My refrigerator is bursting with fresh, yellow produce.  Seeing so much of this color in my life makes me think of how I ignited my solar plexus chakra (energy center) starting this blog project.  The third chakra is the seat of the fire within, and has an upward, consuming movement like flames.  It supports us in overcoming inertia, taking risks, asserting our will and assuming responsibility for our lives.   The Manipura ("lustrous gem") Chakra is the place of our deep belly laughter, warmth, ease and vitality.  It's element is fire, which I lovingly used to temper and meld the beautiful flavors of my enchanting yellow food.

Tuesday, I made Summer Squash and Corn Soup.  I used some of the chicken stock I made from the bones of my Citrus and Thyme Chicken the other week, and more thyme from my little container garden .

Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Mint and Chives this year.

That chicken made a  lot of stock!  I love having it on hand.  Who needs a carton from the store, when I have this - and I know what's in it!!

Shallots and Squash

   

Add stock

I loved the creamy texture of the pureed shallot and squash mixture and how it played so nicely against the crunchy corn kernels that are left whole.  I tasted my soup as I went, and was ready to be a little disappointed, thinking all the while of how I might improve on it.  Then I garnished it with thyme and added the feta.  Oh. My.  The cheese melted in the center of my bowl, making each bite a little creamy, and that fabulous tang married the sweet, homey corn and squash flavor that I feared might not make anything of itself, and took it to the place on my tongue that makes me close my eyes, it's so good.  It was especially good because it was unexpected.  I love that part the most.  The thyme brought a bright note, and I hardly noticed the few bites where I wished I had been a little more patient separating the tiny leaves from their little stems.  Those little stems go a long way.  I will take the time next time for the thyme.  I loved this soup so much, I planned on having it for dinner that very same night. 

  

SOUP!!

A while later, I noticed a warm, cornbread sort of aroma wafting in from the kitchen.  It was then that I realized that, like every time I try to toast nuts (especially pine nuts, for some reason), I had left the burner on and walked away from my pot.  My delicious soup was now.... reduced. More of a ragu than a soup.  Grateful it was not scorched, burned or otherwise ruined, I decided that "ragu" was how I was going to eat it next.  What the heck.  

I could have thawed more chicken stock.  I could have added plain old water and made it back in to soup.  I could have thrown it out.  But I had seen Michael Chiarello use quinoa pasta the previous week on Top Chef Masters, and had found some at the grocery store that day.  I'd never heard of it before, let alone see it on my grocer's shelf, and I was curious.  It got my risk-taking, creative fire going.  And it's really yellow.  It must have spoken to me on a few levels.  I brought it home that day, and in the moment I saw my concentrated yellow soup, I knew it's fate. 

PS - Quinoa pasta is really really good.  You should try it.  It has a great texture, a bright color, and it goes really well with Golden Summer Squash and Corn Soup...Ragu.

Roast Chicken with Citrus & Thyme, Pesto-Topped Grilled Summer Squash served with Harvest Grains

Monday the kids and I visited our friend Laurel in Owattona to visit her family's litter of ten Springer Spaniel puppies (and 75 chicks!).

While we were there, she gave us a chicken. It was frozen and didn't have any feathers, and I was excited to take a chicken home, knowing where it came from and how it had been raised. Lucky, lucky, grateful us.

So Wednesday I made Roast Chicken with Citrus and Thyme. I also had some zucchini and summer squash from my last trip to the farmer's market, so I made Pesto-Topped Grilled Summer Squash. I served it with a Trader Joe's Harvest Grains.

Getting my mise en place together, I decided to record my musings as I prepped the meal. I found this to be a really great tool and will use quotes in this and future blogs to relay my journey while cooking meals in the most honest way I can.

ME: "While chopping my mise en place, I discovered that my chicken has a neck and must have all it's... gizzards and everything in there. So. I'm trying to Not Be Afraid, and I'm going to learn today how to butcher a chicken for real. And that's kind of exciting and I'm trying not to be afraid of that. So as I was peeling my garlic by hand, instead of using my rolly thing, thinking of Anthony Bourdain saying that if you don't do all of your work to get garlic, you don't deserve garlic, I'm trying to make a plan. So I'm going to look in a couple of my books and see if I can learn to butcher this chicken."

I then continued to get all of my ingredients together, chopping, scrubbing and peeling each ingredient with care and intent. Being mindful of what each thing had gone through to get to me, and grateful for the opportunity of a stretch of time with occupied children in which I could prepare this meal for my family (and, in turn, you). Bill had been away in San Diego for a few days, and I was happy to serve him a home-cooked meal upon his return.

I then set upon my cook books. In addition to the Eating Well cookbooks and magazines, I frequently use Brilliant: Food Tips and Cooking Tricks by David Joachim, The New Basics Cookbook but Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, and How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I left Martha on the shelf, as I was looking for butchering tips, and thought she probably has people for that.

ME: "Lots in my cookbooks about how to take apart a chicken into it's various parts, but nothing really to tell me how exactly how I'm supposed to get this neck off of here and the gizzards out, so I'm going to call the butcher at Byerly's and see if maybe they can help me."

I called the butcher counter at Byerly's because I am under the impression that they are actually butchers and know what they're doing (as opposed to the 20 year old kid I've seen behind the counter elsewhere). He informs me that he more of a beef butcher, and that all of their chickens have come in processed for the past twenty years, and that he can't really help me.

ME: "As I'm talking to the butcher, I realize that all of the guts are out, and it's just the neck that's on there. He told me just to pull on it and it should come right out, so that's what I;m going to try. I'm really grateful that I don't have to deal with, like, lungs and things, but.. I'm also really proud of myself for being brave enough to actually.... I was gonna try that! So, here goes the neck, I guess..."

Here's the stack of cookbooks, topped by the phone book, next to my handiwork.

I got the neck off. It took some doing. I had to use my knife between some vertebrae. I later mused that it reminded me of the chiropractor. It also gave me further appreciation for the thing that I was preparing. That it had a neck - that was once attached to a head. It also had a few feathers. Small, wet feathers, which took my appreciation even further.

I must take a minute here and confess that the reason I thought the chicken had all it's guts, was that I had it upside down, as you can see in the pictures above. I hope you all have forgiveness in your hearts, and this doesn't shake your faith in my cooking ability. I at least have passion, and can say I've never cooked poultry upside down. Something my parents cannot claim. (Their first Thanksgiving turkey was cooked upside down, and my Maimie, bless her heart, told them some people did that to keep the breast meat juicy.)

The rest of the prep went without too much fuss. Here is the chicken, stuffed with orange and lemon slices and garlic. It has fresh thyme from my garden slid between the breast meat and skin. I learned that there is very little help on the internet about any fancy was to truss the legs of a chicken. Mostly it says "tie with a string".

Here it is in the roasting pan with carrots, garlic, onions, and the rest of the thyme scattered about.

One little hitch: the roasting pan is about a half inch longer than my oven. I tied the door shut to keep the heat in.

Chicken out of the oven.

My side was pretty easy. I got basil from the garden and mixed it with garlic, parmesean, oil and lemon juice. I toasted the pine nuts (a close call Every Time I Do It), and put the summer squash and zucchini on the grill. OCD? I have no idea what you're talking about.

In the meantime, I cooked the fabulous Trader Joe's Harvest Grains (Israeli Style Couscous, Multicolored Orzo, Baby Garbanzo Beans and Red Quinoa) and made the gravy.

I love this meal. It had bright, complex flavors, and a comforting array of texture. I immediately dropped some on my shirt. It was so worth it.

The First of Many

Welcome to my blog. I'm a little nervous, so I'll just settle in, breathe and set an intention. One of the best ways I have found to do this is to make an I Want list. Here we go.

With this blog...

IN THE KITCHEN:
I want to write about food and how it fills my life with joy.

I want to share my experiences with cooking from the Eating Well magazine and cookbooks. I will deviate from these recipes, and will tag accordingly, but the ones from Eating Well are really my bread and butter.

I want to use this blog as a way of expanding my Eating Well repertoire, and sharing the experience. I think everyone should have a subscription.

I want to talk about going out to restaurants, whether on Date Night with Bill, with my beautiful Mama Friends at our monthly dinner, with other friends and family, or with my children.

I want to share my experiences of cooking for and eating with my children. They are great helpers, and are developing pretty sophisticated palates for their ages. I try to include them in the every day preparation of meals, but we also have fun cooking "kid stuff" (like recipes from a Sesame Street book, or making our own Play Dough).

IN THE WORLD:
I want to express my gratitude to my family and friends for the joy they bring to my life, and share stories about and with them.

I want to talk about the challenges and joys of motherhood, partnership and friendship. I will be respectful people's privacy.


IN THE MOMENT:
I want to share my experiences with yoga, and the spiritual side of my life. This may get a little out there for some people, but I'm going to put my Whole Self on this blog. I will tag posts, so if readers want to ignore certain aspects of my journey, they can. I think this will help me use this blog as a means of personal growth, and I'd love to share that with whomever is interested.



Sounds pretty close to where I want to be. I reserve the right to hone the purpose and direction of this blog, but I feel like this is a good start.
Thanks for coming on this journey with me. Your presence is appreciated.
V