Kale and tofu salad

I got this recipe off of Cheap, Healthy, Good a few months ago but just got around to making it. Believe it or not, I had never had raw kale, and I was a bit wary. I didn't think it would taste bad, but I didn't think kale's bitter green virtues would be accentuated by raw consumption. I was wrong. I think I still prefer the just-wilted taste, but the raw kale was a nice change of pace. I was also wary of the combination of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar, but it was pretty good. The only thing is that I found it overly flavored when I made it the first time. I had let it sit in the marinade for several hours. I think just a 30-minute marinade is ideal.

Kale and tofu salad, slightly modified from this post.

1 pound extra firm tofu

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp honey

4-5 cups chopped kale (I just used regular curly kale, but any kind would probably be good)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

3 tbsp olive oil

Juice of 1-2 lemons

Salt and pepper

Cube the tofu. Mix together next 4 ingredients and marinate tofu in them for about 30 minutes. Place tofu on oiled baking sheet and pour excess marinade over it. Cook tofu in 375 oven for about 30 minutes, flipping after 20 minutes.

Put the kale in a big bowl. Mix together next four ingredients and adjust acidity and seasoning to taste. Toss kale with dressing. Add tofu.

Festive salad

This is a salad Jon and I co-invented a few nights ago. Jon doesn't tend to go for salads with fruit in them, but the grapefruit seemed like a nice change of pace for the evening. We peeled all the membrane off the grapefruit for extra fanciness. And I think having the cucumber slices peeled made it seem fancier as well. The fig vinegar was a gift from a friend. It's very thick and syrupy, and we were happy to use it for the first time on this salad. Delicious!

Salad ingredients:

Lettuce (both red leaf and romaine)

Cucumber, peeled

Avocado

Red grapefruit

Sprouts

Feta cheese

Sunflower seeds

Topped with:

Fig vinegar

Extra-virgin olive oil

Black pepper

Salt

Christmas Eve dinner

We decided to make the Persian layered pilafs from Vegetable Heaven by Mollie Katzen for dinner yesterday. The idea is that you make three different rice pilafs, one with beets, one with carrots, and one with onions (to which we added some cooked beluga lentils), and layer them. Your adoring husband, mother, or other guests ooh and aah as they take slices of this spectacular tower of rice. You can eat the layers separately or mix them together. The problem is the layering (and my hubris). Our first idea was to press each layer into a small ramekin and then turn them out onto a plate, one on top of the other. Jon tried to do this. Much to my surprise, the second layer was perfect. I snapped a picture, just in case.

And it was a good thing, because the third layer ended up like this.

Then I, in my hubris, decided that it would be better to layer them all in a large ramekin and turn them out onto a plate all at once. I pressed the rice into the ramekin really tightly, found a big plate, and turned it over. As I slid the ramekin off, I told Jon to get the camera quick. He snapped the first picture mere seconds before the second one.

I tried in vain to scoop up the pink layer as it fell, but it was useless. Then the other side started crumbling. I whisked away the precarious tower of rice and took it back to the stove where it wouldn't continue to get the table dirty. Then I went back and gathered as much rice from the table as possible. My plate ended up looking kind of like Rainbow Brite vomited on it.

(Sorry so blurry. It looked clear on the camera screen.)

After eating, I did my best to separate the rice back into three pilafs. They stacked much better like this.

I think next time I do this, we will put the pilafs into ramekins to shape but have them sitting next to each other on the plate rather than trying to stack them. We think it might make a nice base to some cooked bok choy, or a simple piece of chicken or fish (if we ate that). I have hope for this, but I don't think it's ready for prime time yet.

Tonight we're having friends over for dinner. Jon is making his delicious mac and cheese and kale, our friends are bringing a salad, and for dessert we're having leftover cranberry upside-down cake my mom made for us when we were in Dallas earlier this week.

I leave you with a Christmas miracle.

We had been having a dickens of a time finding a good avocado. The ones that felt right tended to be black and hard inside. Then Jon found this. With hummus, sprouts, and veggies, it made an epic sandwich. Merry Christmas!

Inspiration Soup III

It's been a while since I made inspiration soup, but a recent freezer reorganization reminded me of some neglected chickpeas and their cooking water. We also had some leftover potatoes Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes in the fridge from a previous root veggie roast, and I wanted to get them into something. In case you are unfamiliar with them, Jerusalem artichokes are not from Jerusalem, nor do they resemble artichokes in any way. They are very knobby and kind of look like ginger. The taste is very reminiscent of potatoes, but they are a little sweeter and hold their texture better than potatoes do. The soup itself is vegan, but I like to finish it with a little parmesan cheese or a poached egg, as pictured above.

Inspiration soup III (Return of the inspiration):

Makes about 4 servings

Vegetable oil

1/2 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 new potatoes, diced

1/2 pound Jerusalem artichokes, well scrubbed and diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 quart chickpea cooking water

1 1/2 tsp salt

About 2 tsp total of dried basil, oregano, rosemary, and other such herbs you've got lying around

Big pinch cumin

Big pinch smoked paprika

Black pepper to taste.

1 cup cooked chickpeas

4 kale leaves, washed and coarsely chopped

Saute onion in vegetable oil for about five minutes. Add garlic, potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, and carrot and saute a few more minutes. Add chickpea broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes are tender. Add cooked chickpeas and kale, and heat until kale is wilted.

Asian Risotto

This idea came to me when I added some of Ev's wonderful spicy spiced oil to leftover mushroom risotto. We don't do much fusion food, but here is our contribution to the genre.

Just a warning: all ingredient measurements are approximate.

Risotto ingredients:

1/4 cup dried shiitake mushrooms

1/2 cup white mushrooms

2 oyster mushrooms

1 small onion

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 Tbsp oil

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cup arborio rice

Broth ingredients:

5 cups water

2 tsp Better than Bouillon mushroom base

2 star anises

1/2 tsp whole szechuan peppercorns

1/4 tsp black pepper

3 slices dried ginger

For serving:

Sauteed kale or (baby) bok choy

Spicy spiced oil

Soy sauce

Combine the broth ingredients in a stockpot. Bring to a simmer and keep on low heat.

Reconstitute the dried shiitakes in about 1 cup of hot water. Drain and put the liquid in the broth.

Dice the onions and mushrooms. Heat the oil over medium heat in a wok or deep pan. Add mushrooms and salt. Cook until they have given up their water. Add the wine and rice. Cook until the wine is absorbed. Add broth to the risotto. Cook until the broth is mostly absorbed and add more broth (1/2 a cup at a time). Repeat until the desired consistency is reached.

Finish with some spiced oil and serve on a bed of greens. Season with salt or a little soy sauce to taste.

10 and 10

I picked this idea up from Cheap, Healthy Good. Here are two lists: one of ten things we spend (almost) no money on, and one of ten things we are willing to splurge a little on. Neither is in any particular order.

10 things we don't spend money on:

1) Bottled water. We just drink tap water.

2) Restaurant meals. We go out very rarely (less than once a month on average when we're not traveling), although when we do, we don't worry about trying to get the cheapest things on the menu. Not going to restaurants much

3) Coffee/tea from coffee shops. We make it at home, although occasionally we go someplace with friends, and this year I have occasionally gone to a local tea place to spend the day working and studying.

4) Books. For the most part, we utilize libraries. We are both fortunate to be affiliated with universities with well-stocked libraries and generous lending time frames, and we take advantage of it.

5) TV and internet. We use the internet at school, but we do not have it or TV in our home. In addition to costing money, we find that it can be a huge time suck. We are able to have our attention undivided when we are together at home, and that is very important to our relationship. It is sometimes inconvenient not to have internet access at home, but we have gotten used to it.

6) Shoes. We do, of course, buy shoes, but we make do with just a few. I wear my trusty Birkenstocks most of the time (with socks in the Houston "winter"-I am a mathematician, after all) and have a couple nicer pairs for church or going to concerts.

7) Shampoo. Once again, I do buy shampoo (I go for mid-range brands), but I only wash my hair every five or six days, so it goes a long way. I think my hair is healthier, and it cuts down on my shower time.

8) Jarred spices. When possible, we buy spices in bulk at Central Market. Every once in a while we go to Penzey's for a treat or gift for someone, but it's pretty cool to see how 20 cents of something will fill a jar that originally cost $4.

9) Fancy phones. I am using a friend's old one, and Jon got the cheapest model he could when we switched phone companies in August. We also don't have text messaging or data plans, and so far we are pretty happy with that.

10) Meat. Well, I don't spend money on it. Now that Jon lives on his own, he eats it a little.

10 things we splurge on:

1) Air travel. We live apart right now, and seeing each other is a big priority. When we do live together (only 6 more months, hopefully!), we enjoy going on trips, and we usually try to get more convenient itineraries, even if they cost a little more. We also live far away from many family members, and we like to see them.

2) Good cheese. Ever since going to France in the summer of 2009, I have been willing to buy the really nice imported blue cheese because I realize that the difference in quality is worth it. An added bonus, however, is that I only need to eat a little bit of the expensive cheese to feel satisfied, so it goes a long way.

3) Good olive oil. Central Market has some nice stuff that isn't super-expensive but is a lot more than the cheapest we could get.

4) Good gin. I enjoy my Gordon's cups and Tom Collinses, so we keep Hendrick's and Bombay Sapphire on hand.

5) Fabric stores. I can't help myself. When I go to a fabric store, I invariably leave with patterns I didn't plan on buying, remnants I don't need, and fabric that was too pretty to pass up. I am trying to cut back on my fabric buying, at least, and just use my stash, but it is hard to resist.

6) Concert tickets. We are lucky because as a student I often get good discounts, but I enjoy going to the symphony, theater, and opera, and I am willing to get nice tickets when I go. I don't let money be the reason I don't see a group perform a piece of music I really like.

7) Rent. I am still living in the two-bedroom we have been in for over two years, and Jon has his own apartment in Chicago. We didn't want to go through the hassle of moving, and emotionally, I think it's nicer for Jon to be able to come home to a place that is both of ours.

8) Good chocolate. Self-explanatory, I think.

9) Grapefruit juice. Whole Foods has some absolutely amazing fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. It's $7.50 per half gallon, but I love to have it with breakfast. I rationalize it by noting that it is less expensive than wine (a half gallon is more than two bottles) but gives me more happiness.

10) Painting with a Twist. It is one of those places where they have canvas and paint for you, and an instructor walks you through a particular painting. I feel a little embarrassed, but I really love going there and coming home with a pretty picture. Jon and I have gone together twice, and it's fun to see the similarities and differences between our paintings.

Probably the splurges outweigh the frugalities right now. Splurges 1 and 7 are pretty big but should decrease when I graduate and we are living together again.

Braised tofu in caramel sauce

This was one of those recipes that seemed so unusual that I just had to try it. It comes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I am not very familiar with Vietnamese cuisine, but he says that this sauce, which is caramel with lots of black pepper, is typical Vietnamese fare. It is really good! The caramel is sweet but a little bitter, and the salt from the soy sauce balances out the sweetness. 1 teaspoon of pepper is quite a lot. We aren't used to pepper being so integral to the taste of the dish. It's really nice.

The one thing I plan on changing next time is to add some vegetables. I am a vegetarian in part because I love to eat vegetables, and a meal of rice and tofu with brown sauce is not veggie-laden enough for me. The first time I made this, I made a side of kale, and it was really good. We had some spinach on the side last night when we had it, but while we were brainstorming, we decided that next time we're going to add some cubed eggplant to the sauce itself while it's cooking. I also think carrot and broccoli might stand up well to the sauce and be good additions. We'll let you know how it turns out.

Braised tofu in caramel sauce

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tsp dulse, optional (makes the soy sauce taste a little more like fish sauce)

1/2 cup diced onion

1 tsp ground black pepper

Juice of 1 lime

1-2 lbs. tofu, pressed if you have time, and cut into 1-inch cubes

Cooked brown rice for serving

Put a large, deep (we used a Le Creuset pot) skillet over medium heat. Add the sugar and 2 tbsp water. Cook, occasionally shaking the pan and/or stirring with a wooden spoon, until the sugar liquefies and darkens. Turn off the heat.

Combine soy sauce, dulse, and 1/2 cup water. Very carefully, add the soy mixture to the caramel. It will bubble furiously. Don’t let your skin be too close to it. It’s a little scary. When it has stopped bubbling, turn the heat up to medium-high and cook, stirring, until caramel has all dissolved into soy sauce liquid. It should only take a minute or so.

Add the onion and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add black pepper, lime juice, and tofu. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tofu is heated through and seems to have taken in a lot of the caramel mixture. If you can’t tell, five minutes should be about right.

Serve over brown rice with a side of kale or other veggie.