Category: Uncategorized

Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry

Last week I started a new phase in my journey to be a Registered Dietitian as a full time intern at a hospital. I will still be blogging of course, but right now I am trying to settle into a new routine. And that means new recipes for all of us!

I keep getting menus in the mail for the Chinese restaurant down the street. It’s torture to come home from work hungry and look at a menu filled with crab Rangoon, egg rolls, and pork fried rice. But who needs those little white boxes when you can make Chinese food at home pretty quickly?

This stir fry inspired by this recipe from Eating Well uses mostly standard pantry items plus tofu from the refrigerator and broccoli and peas from the freezer. The secret is coating the tofu cubes with cornstarch before frying them in the pan. That gives the tofu a ‘deep fried’ look without actually being deep fried. When you mix the crispy tofu with broccoli, peas, and a homemade sauce and serve it over brown rice, you’ll forget all about your favorite Chinese takeout place!

Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry

1/2 c. vegetable broth
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T rice vinegar
4 T corn starch, divided
1 T sugar
1/8 t red pepper
2 T canola oil, divided
1 16 oz. block tofu, cut into 1″ cubes
2 T garlic ginger paste
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen chopped broccoli
1 c. frozen peas

Mix together broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, 1 T cornstarch, sugar, and red pepper. Set aside.

Spread remaining 3 T cornstarch on a large plate. Roll tofu cubes in cornstarch, lightly coating on all sides.

Heat 1 T oil in a large pan. Fry tofu cubes in a single layer until all sides are golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

Heat remaining 1 T oil. Add garlic ginger paste, and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add broccoli and peas, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are cooked. Add reserved sauce and simmer uncovered for 7-8 minutes, until heated through. Add tofu pieces, stir, and serve.

-Adapted from Eating Well

Beet Walnut Dip

I was craving beets again already after the delicious ones we roasted on Christmas Day, and then I spotted this recipe for a Beet Walnut Dip. While dips are great for a party, or the occasional casual meal, it made more sense for me to put it in a wrap. So I went ahead and made a wrap on lavash with fresh spinach and fat free feta. FAIL. By lunchtime, I had a purple mess on my hands because it soaked through the lavash.

So, I went back to using it as a dip, and even put a spoonful on a hot bowl of pasta. No matter how you use this, you’ll like the fresh flavor and creamy texture. It’s cheerfully bright, which is quite welcome this time of year!

Beet Walnut Dip

1 lb. beets
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 c. chopped walnuts
Salt
Pepper

Scrub beets, and boil for 45-60 minutes until fork tender. Drain and peel skins. Quarter beets, and place in food processor. Add oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and walnuts. Process until smooth, adding a splash more lemon juice if needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

-Adapted from Disney Family.com

Potato Leek Soup

The color of potato leek soup just doesn’t lend itself to a nice picture, so you’re going to have to use your imagination. But what this soup lacks in visual appeal, it makes up for with an intense leek flavor. It is reasonably low in calories, but with a total of 4 leeks in 6 cups of soup, there’s nothing wimpy about it.

The recipe from Skinnytaste starts out with a roux of flour and butter. I completely messed this up, but forged ahead anyway, and focused on the simpler ingredients: leeks, potatoes, vegetable broth, and milk. The end result was a thick soup that was perfect for the cold snap we got in New England. Leeks will be in season for a while I think, so you have some time to give this recipe a try.

‘Way Better than a Can’ Black Beans

This recipe was originally posted on Beth’s Journey as “Black Beans that will Change your Life“. While I can’t say that these beans changed my life, they did taste far better than any black bean from a can. Simmered on the stovetop with onions, garlic, and cilantro and seasoned with salt, you end up with tender black beans in a flavorful sauce. Yes, you do need to let the beans soak overnight, and yes, they do sit on the stove for about 2 hours the next day. However, there’s very little ‘active’ time required in this recipe and the yield is large, so you can make these beans once and enjoy them for many meals.

I froze part of this batch right away, and think they are going to be perfect for enchiladas, or perhaps a plateful of nachos. They might even make a good base for a dip. But for my first meal using the beans, I settled for an open faced black bean quesadilla. It was simple but delicious, and worth the wait for the beans.

‘Way Better than a Can’ Black Beans

1 lb. dry black beans
1 T canola oil
2 large onions, peeled and diced
2 t minced garlic, divided
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1 1/2 t salt

Rinse beans, searching for any debris. (I found a rock in the bag!) Place beans in a large bowl or pan and cover with several cups of water. Allow to sit overnight. In the morning, rinse the beans again.

Heat the oil in a large pot on the stove. Add the onions, and cook for 5-10 minutes until the onions are soft and just starting to brown. Add 1 t of minced garlic, and stir well for 2 minutes. Add the beans, and enough water to cover the beans by one inch. Cover the pot, and simmer on low heat for 1 hour.

Add the remaining teaspoon of minced garlic, cilantro, and salt. Cover the pot, and simmer on low heat for another hour. If the beans are tender, remove the cover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes to slightly thicken the sauce.

– Lightly adapted from Beth’s Journey

Crockpot Tomato Sauce

Anyone who makes homemade tomato sauce knows that it takes time. The flavor needs to develop and the sauce needs to thicken. But there’s nothing better than a spoonful of freshly made tomato sauce when it’s done.

In this tomato sauce recipe, the crockpot minds the sauce and you get the same rich tomato flavor. If your crockpot tends to allow steam to escape, make sure to add at least half a cup of water to the recipe. In the end, you’ll still have a thick and chunky sauce that’s perfect for pasta, pizza, or a slice of Italian bread. I think this is my new go-to recipe for tomato sauce!

2011 Recipe Review

Happy New Year! It seems fitting that this post is a few days late, since I always felt like I was running behind schedule this year. There were times in 2011 where I had an entire day to ponder recipe ideas, gather ingredients, prepare a meal, and enjoy it leisurely. And then there were times I had about 15 minutes to scour my cupboards and make something for dinner with enough leftover to throw into a container for lunch the next day. So when I sat down to try to make a list of the best recipes of 2011, it just wasn’t a fair comparison. Instead, I offer a set of scenarios I encountered in the past year, and the recipe which fit best.

Best Big Pot of Soup for a Chilly Day – Chard and White Bean Stew
You’ll love this soup when you make it, and you’ll be ecstatic later when you find a container in your freezer.

Best Ethnic Cooking Experiment for a Group – Vegetarian Pad Thai
You don’t need to go out to have good Thai food, and this was a fun group project.

Best Breakfast on the Go – Waffles
To be fair, my mom actually kept my freezer stocked with these waffles. Sometimes I got to enjoy them at home with sliced bananas. But on rushed mornings, they were in my hands as I ran out the door.

Best Grilled Meal for a Crowd – Mediterranean Chopped Salad
Not your traditional BBQ fare, but a delicious way to enjoy grilled vegetables in season.

Best Meal when you’re craving something spicy – Ethiopian Chickpea Stew
You can make this as spicy as you like, but you’ll still want to keep eating it.

Best Replication of a Restaurant Dish – Chicken Taquitos
These taste almost as good as the taquitos served at SolToro at the Mohegan Sun.

Best Crockpot Meal – Stuffed Mushrooms
I made a lot of crockpot meals this year, and it was hard to pick just one. These are not fancy cocktail party mushrooms, but a rich and flavorful dish of mushrooms and tomatoes.

Best ‘Lunches for the Week’ – Zucchini Black Bean Enchiladas
You’ll actually still be excited by Friday to have these for lunch. This not only includes the recipe for enchiladas, but also a fantastic homemade enchilada sauce.

Best Opportunity to use Local Food – Rhubarb Muffins
My Mom and I set out for a walk on the beach and ended up harvesting rhubarb from the yard of a generous neighbor. Then we came back and made these muffins. It doesn’t get more local than that, and the muffins were delicious.

Best way to satisfy a chocolate craving – Red Wine Chocolate Cake
This cake was a hit with everyone who made it. And don’t forget to be generous with the mascarpone garnish.

Thanks for reading, today and throughout the year! I look forward to cooking more new recipes in 2012. Cheers!

Roasted Root Vegetable Megamix

In addition to the Brussels sprouts, Jamie Oliver inspired the roasted root vegetable megamix that we enjoyed on Christmas Day. I figured it would be easy to get local (Connecticut) root vegetables to use in the recipe. Our first stop was the Billings Forge Farmer’s Market in Hartford, where we were able to purchase a nice bunch of carrots. One of the vendors also offered beet greens, but unfortunately did not have beets or turnip available. Our next stop was the Wethersfield Winter Farmer’s Market, which did not really have any produce for sale. We did buy some fresh lemon thyme though, and incorporated the herb into the recipe. After stopping at two different grocery stores, we had turnips, beets, and parsnips and were ready to roll.

First, we parboiled the parsnips, carrots, and turnips for about 7-8 minutes in a large pot. We parboiled the beets for close to 30 minutes in a separate pan. Then, each vegetable was mixed with the ingredients listed below, and placed in a homemade foil compartment.

Carrots: olive oil, salt, pepper, juice of 1/2 orange, dried rosemary
Parnsnips: olive oil, salt, pepper, splash of white vinegar, fresh lemon thyme
Beets: olive oil, salt, pepper, splash balsamic vinegar, dried oregano
Turnips: olive oil, salt, pepper, splash red vinegar, dried crushed bay leaves

Finally, we roasted the vegetables at 375F for about 45 minutes and mixed them together to serve.

The real benefit to this method is that each vegetable tastes unique, but complements the other vegetables. The beets were my favorite, with a nice flavor from the balsamic vinegar and oregano. My second favorite though were the parsnips which were roasted with the lemon thyme. While this recipe was a little labor intensive, it was fun to experiment . Root vegetables are going to be in season for a while, so there’s plenty of time to try some combinations and see what you like best!

Jamie Oliver’s Brussels with hustle

I roasted Brussels sprouts a couple of years ago and I admit I wasn’t all that impressed. But I think part of the problem was texture; I didn’t like eating tiny heads of cabbage. So when I saw this Jamie Oliver recipe for Brussels with hustle, I wanted to give the vegetable another try.

In this recipe, the Brussels sprouts are finely shredded, and then sauteed in olive oil, butter, bacon, and herbs. You could argue that any vegetable prepared this way would taste good, but this method really worked for the Brussels sprouts. They were tender and delicious, and while I wouldn’t prepare them this way everyday, it was a nice addition to our Christmas meal.