Best Ever "Fish Fragrance" Eggplant

This dish has no fish in it.  The name comes from the flavorings that are traditional used with fish in Chinese cooking.  It is a sichuan style recipe is often called Yu Xiang in restaurants.  This particular recipe comes from delish.com.  It is one of the best that I have used, bar none. 

The dish is simple, but if you don't cook Chinese food often you will need to get a lot of ingredients.  I was looking for a recipe that could use up the mountain of eggplants that my CSA gave me.  

Ingredients

3 Chinese eggplants, about 1.25 lbs, halved and cut into thick diagonal strips
2 t kosher salt

3 T cornstarch

Oil, divided

1 t ground sichuan peppercorns

6-12 dried sichuan chilis, stems/caps removed, cut in half and deseeded

1 T chopped pickled chili or sambal oelek or freshly sliced Thai chilis

3 T fermented chili bean paste, Pixian if possible

1 head of garlic minced, or equivalent cloves, divided

1 T minced ginger

1/2 t ground white pepper

3 green onions thinly sliced divided

1.5 T low sodium soy sauce (I used chinese light soy)

1.5 T rice wine vinegar

2 t Chinese Black vinegar

4 t granulated sugar (I used 3)

1/2 t MSG

1/2 c water or broth

2 t toasted sesame oil

Rice for serving

Method

1.  In a large bowl toss eggplant evenly with salt.  Let sit for 20-30 minutes, then gently squeeze out as much moisture as possible.  Drain and pat dry with paper towels.  Transfer to a dry bowl and then add cornstarch and toss to coat eggplant evenly.

2.  Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat and add 2-3 T oil.  Heat until smoking.  Working in batches add some eggplant slices to the pan and fry until lightly brown on all sides, about 3-4 minutes.  Transfer to a clean bowl and set aside.  Finish the rest of the eggplant in the same manner.  Adding more oil if necessary.

3.  After frying the eggplant, remove the oil from the pan and add wipe with a wad of paper towels.  Heat pan again and add 2 T fresh oil to the pan.  After the oil is hot, add Sichuan ground pepper, chilis, bean paste, half the garlic, ginger, white pepper and half the green onions, stirring constantly until fragrant and the garlic is golden.  About 1 minute, do not burn.

4.  Return eggplant to pan, add soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, MSG, and water or broth.  I mixed all of these ingredients together in a single bowl ahead of time making sure that the sugar was dissolved.  Stir occasionally until the mixture thickens and becomes glossy, only a few minutes needed.  Stir in sesame oil, and remaining garlic and onions in final minute of cooking.  

5.  Serve with rice.

This dish was spicy but very well balanced.  There was the mala heat but it was tempered by that small amount of sugar and vinegar.  Absolutely delicious recipe and my thanks to the originator on delish.com,

I had a few strips of cucumber, onions, and carrots left over from a noodle dish the night before.  Perfect accompaniment.

I have made this subsequently from publishing here and I had a couple of red bell peppers that I stir fried with the ginger prior to adding the hot pepper paste and seasonings.  A welcome textural change.  I also had a ton of zucchinis that I treated exactly like the eggplant and it too was a lovely twist.  

Dateline: June 21, 2021 Grilled Veggie Bowl

 

I felt a definite need for something other than meat and veg for dinner tonight.  I wanted the veg, but not the meat.  So I thought about this, and came up with this veggie bowl.  I raided the fridge and pulled out things that could easily be grilled and were flavorful. 

The fire was lit, the black rice, black quinoa, black lentil mix package was opened and I followed the directions for the stovetop.  The rice mixture cooked while the veg grilled.  

It was a delightful dinner.  The grain mix was hearty and the veggies offered a lovely contrast in texture and taste.  A good one to have in the rotation.

Dateline: May 18, 2021 A Produce Drawer Goes to Korea

I had a lot of produce that needed to be used up.  Several bunches of collards and Tuscan Kale, as well as a couple of small beets and an unidentified root veggie that came with a Misfits box.

This was an experiment.  And it turned out great!  We both couldn't stop eating it.  There was a bit of heat, but not too much, just enough to satisfy and the crunchiness of the beets and scallions went a long way toward that end as well.

A definite keeper in the rotation!

Ingredients

2-3 bunches of collards and kale or any other leafy veggies, cut into ribbons

1 large red onion, cut into thin wedges through the root end

1 bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 small yellow beets, peeled and sliced into thin half moons

1 bunch scallions, sliced into 3" pieces

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly

1 jalapeno, halved, seeded, and sliced

2 T gochujang

2 T Korean soybean paste

1 heaping T Korean Chili flakes

1 T rice wine vinegar

1 T Mirin

2 T white wine

1/2 lb Korean rice cakes

Vegetable Stock, as needed

Method

1.  In a small bowl, put the gochujang, soybean paste, rice wine vinegar, mirin, and white wine.  Mix well.  Should have the consistency of oatmeal.  Add water or vegetable stock if necessary.  This is the sauce that will be added into the stir fry later.

2.  In a sauce pan, bring salted water to a boil.  Boil rice cakes for about 3-4 minutes, then drain and rinse.

3.  Heat a wok up, add some oil and fry the rice cakes until they have a few dark spots on them.  This will take longer than you think!  You need to evaporate the water off them before they will start to brown.  When browned to your liking, remove from wok and hold in a bowl.

4.  Add more oil to the wok, and add the garlic and ginger.  Then add beets and bell pepper and fry them until they soften up a bit and the beets lose their hard crunchiness. Add the onion and collards and coat with oil and cook until the collards wilt a bit.  Add the sauce and mix well.  If needed, add some of the vegetable stock to facilitate the coating of all the veggies in the sauce.  Add in the rice cakes and scallions.  Mix well.  When veggies are cooked to your liking and rice cakes are nicely coated in the sauce, serve.

 

Dateline: February 14, 2021 Ravioli with cheese and truffle filling

For my birthday, Bill promised me that he would make me a meal.  Today was the day!

I supervised, but he chopped onions, garlic, salad fixings, stirred the sauce and everything.  The meal was really great.  So great, that we ate all of it!

Sauce

1/4 a large onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic smashed, and chopped

2 t dried sage

1/2 t red pepper flakes

2 oz cream cheese

2 oz butter

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

truffle oil, for finishing

Method

1.  While pasta boils, melt butter and oil in a pan large enough to hold the cooked pasta.  When melted, add in the onions and sweat for a few minutes, then add in the garlic, sage, and hot pepper flakes.  Add in the cream cheese and stir to incorporate.  If needed, add about 1/4 c of pasta cooking water to emulsify the ingredients.  Taste, and add salt and pepper.

2.  When pasta is finished, drain a bit, and dump into the pan along with any pasta water that is clinging to the pasta.  Mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce, then drizzle truffle oil over top and serve without stirring the oil in.

Nota Bene:  This was SOOOOOO good, I was deeply impressed with Bill and myself for coming up with the sauce recipe.

Dateline: January 31, 2021 Baked Salmon and Mushroom Risotto

I had about 1 lb of cremini mushrooms that needed to be used up.  Thank God I had stored them in a paper bag, or they would have been mush!

I cleaned and sliced the mushrooms, shopped up the shallots and garlic and soaked some dried cepes.  For the risotto stock, I used the mushroom soaking liquid and some mushroom powder that I used in addition to some hot water for some vegetable base.  

Mushroom Risotto

1 lb sliced mushrooms, your own choice or mixture

small handful of dried cepes or porchini mushrooms

2 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 large shallots, chopped fine, divided, one shallot will be used to top the salmon

2 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped fine

2 T white wine

1 cup arborio rice

3.5 cups water, divided

1 T vegetable soup base

1/2 package frozen peas

1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

2 T butter, divided

2 T half and half

truffle oil, optional

Method

1.  Heat 1/2 C water, I used the microwave and soak the dried mushroom using a spoon to keep as many of them below the water level as possible.  Heat the remaining 3 cups of water in a large measuring cup in the microwave and add the vegetable base to the very hot water.  Stir to dissolve the base completely.

Keep warm, or reheat in microwave.

2.  Heat a large casserole pan up and when hot add the olive oil and 1 T of the butter.  Add the shallots, salt and pepper and saute until translucent then add the smashed garlic.  Remove cepes from soaking liquid and add soaking liquid to the vegetable base.  Add cepes and mushrooms to saute pan.  Cook the mushrooms until they start to give off their water.  Add a splash of white wine to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

3.  When the wine has evaporated, add the rice and saute until the grains become translucent.  Add a pinch or two of salt and start to ladle in 4 oz at a time the heated vegetable stock.   Only add additional stock when the previous one has been completely absorbed.  Stir constantly.  Add stock as necessary and take your time.  Risotto is an act of love, do not rush it.

4.  When most of the stock has been used, taste the rice, is it still crunchy, keep cooking, if it has softened, but is still al dente, then you are very close to being finished.  When the rice is cooked to your liking, add the reserved T of butter and the frozen peas.  Stir to melt them both into the rice.  Add the half and half along with the cheese, in parts, combining into the risotto.  

5.  Just before serving, drizzle with truffle oil.

Ah, risotto

A beautiful Chablis

Baked Salmon with Shallots

Ingredients

2 center cut salmon fillets, pin bones removed

1 finely chopped shallot

salt and pepper

Method

1.  Set oven to 400°F.  Prepare a baking dish by coating with cooking spray.  Dry off the fish and place skin side down in the baking dish.  Use olive oil or cooking spray on the fish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with the chopped shallots.

2.  When oven is hot, put the pan into the oven and set a timer for 5 minutes.  When time is up, rotate the pan and set timer for another 5 minutes.  Depending on how thick your fillets were, you may need some more time, or if you prefer your salmon more well done.  Then set the timer for another 3 - 5 minutes.  Remove and serve.

 

Dateline: January 27, 2021 Vegetarian/Vegan Indian Night: Chana Masala, Sambar, Vegetable Masala

I runneth over with cauliflower and cabbage these days, so I must make something with them that will be tasty and satisfying, and of course, spicy.  I also decided that I didn't want meat tonight.  I can hear Bill saying, "What did you do with Clarissa?" 

All of these recipes come from Vegetarian Indian Cooking with Your Instant Pot by Manali Singh.

Sambar

For the sambar, I will use as many veggies as I can squeeze into it, certainly using up the cabbage, celery, carrots, etc.   

Chana Masala

For the vegetable masala, I used the recipe on the back of the Shan Vegetable Masala package.

Here is the Sambar....it turned out really nice, a very comforting soupy/stewy consistency and a nicely spiced taste.  Not quite what I loved about India, but pretty darn close.

Vegetable Masala

500 g mixed vegetables, I used mostly cauliflower, cabbage, and parsnips, chopped in large pieces

2 T oil

1 large red onion, sliced through the root

2 T garlic/ginger paste

2 tomatoes, pureed

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

3-4 T masala powder

1 c water or stock

Method

1.  Heat instant pot on saute and add oil when hot.  Add onion slices and jalapeno peppers, saute until onions lose raw smell.

2.  Add garlic/ginger paste and stir to combine.  Add spice powder and stir to combine.  Add pureed tomatoes and the can of the tomatoes.  Stir to combine.  Add vegetables and stir to coat with spices.  Add water and stir to combine.  

3.  Close lid, and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.  Use quick release and stir and adjust spices, if necessary.

Here are the 2 curries, chana masala on the left, why is it so dark?  I used green chickpeas, which as far as I can guess, are under ripe chickpeas.  They take a little longer to cook, but do not have as much of the, err, after effects of eating beans.  On the right is the vegetable masala.  I used too much water in my version so it was too soupy for my taste.  The flavor was quite good.  I added 2 cups of water, plus there was also the juice from the can of tomatoes, and it was just too much.  I keep thinking that it might burn if I don't add more water.....you need a minimum of 1 cup of water in the pot for it to come to pressure, the ingredients also will supply water/juice as they cook....I've got to learn that lesson!

Dateline: January 14, 2021 Cauliflower Puttanesca

Saw this recipe on Food52 and thought I'd give it a try.

I had all the ingredients and just felt in the mood for pasta.  Didn't want linguine, so I went with gemelle instead.  Bill, who doesn't like olives or anything brined, picked out the oil-cured olives and happily ate.

I decided to add riff a bit and threw in some collards and orange bell pepper and some butternut squash.  I did this for 2 reasons, for color and for disguise factor considering there were olives in the dish.  I also had some nutritional yeast that I threw in for a bit more umami.

The finished product was more than satisfying and down right comforting on a cool winter night.  I would make again with minimal changes.  Those changes being I would double the amount of cauliflower that I used.  I used 1/2 head instead of a whole head, and perhaps less pasta.

October 23, 2020 Dal and Vegetables

I was jonesing for indian food.  It was getting late, and we had a zoom call at 6.  Instant pot to the rescue!

I grabbed some moong dal, and cleaned out the fridge of veggies: 1/2 a head of cabbage, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, onions, garlic, ginger, jalapenos and a can of tomatoes.  Dinner!

I first rinsed the dal and held on the side.  I chopped the veggies into large pieces so that they don't disintegrate.  Even with my large pieces, most of the veggies were now sauce!

Spices:  cumin seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, and veggie masala powder.

0

Method

1.  Make garlic ginger paste by putting equal amounts of garlic and ginger into a mini processor and grind to a paste.  Hold on the side

2.  Heat instant pot on saute and when hot add 1-2 T of ghee (or olive oil) and then add cumin seeds and mustard seeds.  Let sizzle until they start to pop.

3.  Add garlic ginger paste and let sizzle a bit.  Then add turmeric and chili powder and stir to combine.  Cancel saute.

4.  Add dal to the pot and mix well, add veggies and try to mix as best you can.  

5.  Sprinkle 1 - 2 T of the vegetable masala mix along with ground cumin and coriander.  Dump 14 oz canned tomatoes over the top, try to stir and rinse can 1/2 can  left over wine and 1/2 can water and add that to the mix.  

6.  Close lid, set pressure for 8 minutes.  Let pressure release naturally

7.  Taste.  It may need salt depending on your masala mix.  Adjust and enjoy.

Dateline: September 29, 2020 Grand Experiment With Too Many Ripe Tomatoes, Not Gazpacho

Yesterday was blustery and rainy.  Turning on the oven was a comfort.  I thought about all of the ripe heirloom tomatoes that I had sitting in a box on the counter and what could I do with them?  I was inspired by the idea of tomato pie, or tart but didn't want the hassle of a crust and blind baking.  I then thought, I could do a sformato of cheese and tomatoes, too much fuss, but the idea of cheese and tomatoes hit the right tone.  Put it on a savory waffle....YEAH.  I have been obsessing over savory waffles for a while, seems like this was the time to see if they can work.

So I made a ricotta tomatoes no crust layered creation.  

Ingredients for Cheese-y Tomato-y Thing-y 

2-3 lbs of ripe juicy tomatoes

1 large leek, cleaned and cut into quarter rounds

4 cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed, and chopped

16 oz ricotta cheese

4 eggs

2 cups shredded cheeses of your choice, plus more for top

6 slices cooked bacon

handful chopped parsley

2 sprigs of thyme leaves

2 T torn or chopped fresh basil

nutmeg

hot pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Method

1.  Set oven at 350°.  Slice the tomatoes parallel to the top and bottom and place on a plate, or plates, in a single layer, and salt.  Let sit for 30 minutes or longer.

2.  Saute the bacon in a skillet until crisp.  Drain on paper towels.  Drain off all but 2 T or so of the bacon fat.

3.  In the same skillet heat remaining bacon fat and saute the leek until it starts to soften, add the garlic, salt and pepper as well as hot pepper flakes.  Line a bowl with some paper toweling and pour in the sauteed vegetables.  Spread out the veggies as much as possible so that most of the residual oil is absorbed.

4. Remove the paper toweling from veggies and add ricotta, eggs, parsley, basil, and nutmeg.  Mix well to combine.  Add the shredded cheeses of your choice.  I used manchego and tarentaise (an alpine type, washed rind cheese) because that is what I had in the fridge.  

5.  Prepare a baking dish that will hold everything.  Spray with cooking spray to make clean up easier.  Don't forget the rim of the dish!  Blot the tomatoes dry on the side facing up and put a layer of the not so nice looking ones on the bottom dried side down.  Blot the side that is now facing up.  Add a layer of the vegetable and cheese and half of the crisped bacon crumbled.  Add another layer of tomatoes, blotting and then putting that side down and blotting the upward facing side, top with cheese mixture and bacon.  Top with the best looking tomatoes, blotted again, and sprinkled the reserved cheese on top.  

6.  Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and put oiled side down on top of the casserole dish and seal enough to stay put.  Put casserole on a sheet pan to catch any overflow and bake for 40 minutes, remove foil and bake until browned and a little crusty on top.

7.  Allow to cool so that it firms up.  Make the waffles at this point.

                                            

Waffles

I used Aunt Jemima's pancake and waffle mix.  Doubled the recipe.  To make them savory, I topped the batter once in the waffle iron with chopped herbs.  I used rosemary, parsley, and thyme.

 

Bill tried a double waffle, had promise, but was too unwieldy to be recommended.

Would I make this again?  Probably not.  Why?  The tomatoes were excellent on their own, and they lost their essence of summer.  Would I tweak it to make it better?  Probably not.  Why?  Because the end result was not worth wasting good tomatoes.  However, the waffle was really good.  I'd make savory waffles again and again, heck, maybe even sweet ones!

Dateline: September 25, 2020 Vegetarian Indian Night With Friends

 Menu

Chana Masala

Saag

Achari Vegetables

Aloo Jerra

Rice

Meyer Lemon Chutney

Coconut Cilantro Chutney

I am so up for this!  I have been cooking up a storm this morning because I have to go out for about 1.5 hours and wanted to be sure that dinner would be ready for the 6 PM kick off.

The Chana Masala is from Urvashi Pitre as is the Aloo Jeera, I couldn't find on line the recipe that I used, but this one is very, very close.

Achari Vegetables recipe was one by Manali Singh.  I had never made it before, but love Achari chicken, so thought I'd try it.  It is fabulous!  I also used her saag recipe, with a few changes.  I did not use the corn flour, and I used collards, curly kale, and chard as the greens.  I did not have white radish, so I used a thick slice of jicama instead.  It turned out really well.  That's another keeper.

The Meyer Lemon Chutney and Coconut Cilantro Chutney are from Urvashi Pitre, as well.  I must say, they were easy and the meyer lemon is spectacular.  Reminds me of the tamarind chutney that is ubiquitous in Indian restaurants, but chunkier and thicker and soooooo much better.  The green chutney fresh from the blender was very garlicky, but mellowed with time in the fridge.  I used only 4 cloves instead of the 6.  It was also much better than what you get in restaurants!

Now, once again, I did not take photos.  Photos on the websites are so much better than I could have taken.  

The evening was lovely.  We started on the deck with Gwen and Tony, with the chutney's and papadum (which Bill made).  We moved inside for dinner and had a lovely time talking about everything and anything over the course of the evening.  The beer and wine flowed freely and Gwen and Tony seemed happy with their to go bags!

Dateline: September 18, 2020 Trying out Beyond Meat Burgers with Gazpacho

I am so curious about these meatless burgers.  From reading the package, I have to be extra careful not to overcook, but at the same time it needs to be brought to temp....conundrum!

In these waning days of summer, we want to spend as much time eating outside as we can.  Pretty soon, it will be either too cool, too windy, or both.  And then, the idyllic days of summer are over and we will be hunkering down until spring.  Given this covid situation, it may be spring 2022 before we emerge from this world wide nightmare.

I am going to forage through the veggie bin to see if there are veggies that can be grilled along with the burgers for a little more heft on the plate!

Ok, my opining begins:  They nailed the texture.  The color was not very appetizing, however that may have been due to the grill not being sufficiently hot to char-broil them on the outside.  The flavor was meh.  Don't know if I will ever purchase again as this was an experiment.  But, if someone comes for dinner and we are eating burger and they are vegan or vegetarian, then I will go with them.  Personally, I find the veggie burgers on the market that are grain based much more satisfying than these were.

Didn't take photos as they were quite unappetizing.  

However, the gazpacho was great!

 

Dateline: August 31, 2020 Cleaning out the Fridge! Vegetarian Red Curry with baked Spicy Tofu

I realized that the situation in the fridge had become untenable.  I had veggies in all corners of it, and each at a different level of "goodness".

Out they all came, and those close to their maker were set aside, those that already were shaking hands with their maker were tossed, and those still on this side of heaven were put back for another day.

What I had to work with:  a very small head of cabbage, 3/4 of a yellow bell pepper, a couple of hot peppers, onions, scallions, and a tomatillo.  Bingo!  Red curry with veggies and rice noodles.

Red Curry Vegetables and Rice Noodles 

Ingredients

1 14 oz container of firm or extra firm tofu

1 cup homemade or store bought spicy bbq sauce

1 large onion, sliced into thin quarter moons

1 tomatillo cut into small chunks

1 yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips

1-2  hot red peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 small head of cabbage, cored and cut into thin strips

1 bunch of scallions, sliced cross-wise into rings

1 small jar of red curry paste

1 can coconut milk, chilled without shaking

fish sauce

1 T shrimp fry paste  (Indonesian ingredient, optional)

1 T coconut oil

2 servings of rice noodles, I used a fresh brand, but any rice noodle will do, just prepare according to directions on the package

Method

1.  Press the tofu to remove as much water as you can.  I find wrapping it up in lots of paper towels and pressing down on it gently with my hands several times does the trick.  Unwrap from paper towels and turn the block on its long side and divide into thirds, so you have 3 one-half inch blocks.  Cut the blocks into 1/2 cubes.

2.  Pour 1/3 of the sauce into a plastic bag, add 1/3 of the tofu cubes.  Be gentle, do not break up the cubes.  Add 1/3 more of the sauce and another 1/3 of the tofu, followed by the last third of each.  Gently distribute the sauce all around the tofu and put into fridge for at least an hour.

3.  After an hour pre heat oven to 400° F and line a sheet pan with sides with either a teflon cooking mat or parchment paper.  I used a mat.  Gently tumble the tofu cubes onto the paper or mat and spread them out in a single layer.  Put pan into oven for 15 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 15 minutes.  There should be no watery residue on the paper or mat.  If there is, put back into oven for a bit.  Remove from oven and if any residue has burned, gently pry away from the cubes.  Take those burnt bits, if they are NOT bitter, you can stop fussing and just all burnt bits and all in later.  

Crispy tofu bits separated from burnt bits

4.  I used my instant pot but not for pressure cooking, just for saute and slow cook in the pot.  Melt the coconut oil and add the ENTIRE jar of the red curry paste along with the shrimp fry paste.  I used Roland brand curry, which is not very spicy, to my taste buds, if you are using a Thai or Indonesian brand, use smaller amounts and add more to your liking.

5.  Mix the curry paste with the coconut oil until well combined.  Allow to cook on low until the fat separates from the mixture.  Spoon in the coconut cream from the can of coconut milk trying not to take any of the liquid beneath it.  Reserve what remains in the can of coconut milk.  It will get added later.

6.  Mix well and allow to cook on low until the oil separates again.  When that happens, add the vegetables and mix well and cook until softened.  

Veggies on their way to being softened up

7.  Add coconut water from can and mix well.  Taste.  If too spicy, add a bit of sugar to cut the spice.  If not spicy enough, add some more hot peppers.  Add fish sauce if the salt level is too low for your.

8.  Prepare the rice noodle according to the package, and then add to the curry.  Mix well.  If more liquid is needed, add water or broth to get the consistency you like.

9.  Put cooker on slow cook for 30 minutes.  Serve with tofu bits and thinly sliced cucumbers on top.

Just before adding the noodles

For Bill and I this had a perfect spice level, enough to get us both sniffing and reaching for tissues, and not so spicy that we couldn't eat more!

 

Dateline: August 17, 2020 Vegetable Thai Curry

I made vegetable stock the other day, and there was no room in the freezer to put it, I had to use a good deal of it up.  Vegetable Thai Curry will take care of that with quinoa on the side.

Ingredients

Lots of assorted veggies, some can be raw, some can be cooked.  The cooked ones will go in after the curry is finished.  Raw: Italian eggplant, cabbage, fresno pepper, hot pepper, serrano pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, garlic scapes.  Cooked:  broccoli, potatoes, green beans
1 can coconut milk, put in fridge about 1 - 2 hours before starting to harden up the coconut solids (they will become your cooking fat), DO NOT shake the can, you want the solids on top
2 T or more to taste Thai curry paste, I used red, but green, yellow, panang, all would be good choices, I would not use massamun, but that is a personal choice    
1 - 2 T fish sauce
1 t brown sugar, or palm sugar, or jaggery
3 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1 T julienned ginger

kaffir lime leaves

thai basil

2 cups vegetable stock

Method

1.  There is no need to peel the eggplant, however, if aesthetically, you want the peel off, go ahead and peel.  Cut Italian eggplant up into 1 - 1.5 in cubes and put into a colander in the sink.  Salt the eggplant generously and mix will with your hands to be sure that the salt has contact with all sides of the cubes.  

Core and cut cabbage into bite sized pieces.  Cut the fresno peppers into slabs between the ribs, and then stack and slice crosswise into strips.  Do the same with the hot pepper.  I used a very skinny hot pepper, so I did not cut into slabs between ribs, I just cut it in half, seeded it, and then stacked and cut into strips.  Cut the serrano pepper into thin rounds.  Cut the onion into pieces and slice the garlic scapes into thin rounds, they can be thicker than the serano pepper.

2.  Heat sauce pan or wok over medium heat.  Add the hardened coconut cream from the top of.  You should be able to get about 4-5 T of the solids out.  Try to get as much out as you can without taking too much of the coconut water.  A little is ok.  Set the coconut water aside, you will use it later.

3.  When the solids have melted, add the curry paste of your choice.  Stir until combined with the melted solids.  Reduce heat to medium low and cook stirring occasionally until the fat separates.

3.  Add garlic and ginger and stir.  Add onions, garlic scapes, fresno, hot, and serano peppers.  Stir around to coat.  Rinse the eggplant thoroughly to get most of the salt off and to rinse away the bitter juices. Shake off the water and add to the pot.  Stir to coat.  If you use asian eggplants, no need to peel, no need to salt, just slice in rounds and add with onions.

4.  Add coconut water and veggie broth and stir.  Add fish sauce and stir.  Taste.  If not spicy enough, add more curry paste, if too spicy, add the sugar and stir and taste again.  

5.  Cook until the veggies are softened and have absorbed the flavors.  Taste again, adjust to your spice level.

6.  Add kafir lime leaves and thai basil and allow to cook until the eggplant is soft and yielding.

7.  Add cooked veggies and stir and heat until they are warmed up.  My potatoes were small whole ones that I had steamed the other night.  Use a spoon or ladle to smash them up a bit while you are waiting for them to warm up.  They will also supply a bit of thickener to the brothiness.

I cooked the quinoa in the microwave using the veggie stock.  The stock was quite a dark brown color.

8.  Serve over quinoa and mangia

This is a great way to use up bits and pieces of veggies that you have hanging around the crisper bin.  

Dateline: August 13, 2020 For Alan and Lyn, Tofu Baked with Stir Fry Fridge Left Overs

 I discovered baked or grilled tofu quite by accident.  I mistakenly ordered from FreshDirect and found I loved their lightly baked cubes.  I expanded on their idea and tried slabs.

Ingredients

1 14 oz box of tofu

The marinade can be taken in any direction you wish.  I went in the Chinese direction marinading in grated ginger, soy, sesame oil, garlic and Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp condiment, heaps and heaps of it.  This Chinese condiment is the greatest thing in the world.  It is spicy, salty, crunchy and just plain DELICIOUS.  I buy this in big jars and it sits on my counter to be thrown into anything that needs a little salt, crunch, spice, etc.

You could take it in any direction, slather it with a Thai Chili paste of your choice, a mole sauce from Mexico, any thing you can think of will be just great. 

Tofu is basically flavorless and easily absorbs the flavor of the marinade that you use.  

Method

1.  Mix your marinade together.  Components that are necessary:  acid, salt, fat, spice.  Taste your concoction, is it balanced?  Does it lend itself to flavor something that just brings texture to the party?  If not, keep playing until the marinade is to your liking.  It will be THE major component that you are tasting at the end, make it please you.

2.  Cut the block of tofu into thirds along the long side edge of the block.  Each slab should be about 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch in thickness.

3. Pour your marinade into a resealable plastic bag.  Add your tofu slabs and gently massage the marinate into them without breaking them apart.  They are tender little things and can fall apart easily if your are too rough.

4.  Put bag into frig until dinner time.  The longer it sits, the better.

5.  Ready to bake?  Preheat oven to 350°F .  Put a tiny bit of oil on a baking sheet, and put the three tofu slabs onto top of the oil.  Any marinade that remains in the bag, divide among the 3 pieces.

6.  Put baking pan in oven and bake for about 45 - 60 minutes or until the edges of the slabs are nicely browned or even charred all around.  Turn pan half after about 30 minutes for even cooking.

7.  Serve.

I served this with a stir fry of collards, bok choy, onions, sweet peppers, and anything else that was hanging around in the frig.

Soften collards and bok choy

Add sweet peppers and sauce ingredients

Final product after adding a small amount of corn starch slurry to tighten up the sauce.

A most satisfying meal.

Dateline: August 7, 2020 It's a crappy day here, so Let's Eat Indian Food

I have been cooking for about 2 hours,  and dinner is ready, way too early for us to eat.  I will make myself a drink after writing this up and sit and relax and ponder the downright English weather we are experiencing today, 75° F and cloudy.  Our British friends are experiencing 100° F weather.... no fun.  

On the menu is Turkey Tenderloin Achari, Sweet and Sour Bhindi (Okra), and red lentils with cabbage and onions.

I am totally psyched about dinner tonight.

Recipe for Achari

Recipe for Bhindi

Recipe for Lentils and Cabbage

Bhindi

Turkey Achari

Red Lentils with Cabbage and Onions

Lordy, we are eating good tonight!

Dateline: August 2, 2020 Had a Hankering for Pasta, Found the Perfect Recipe

I had a bunch of cherry tomatoes, gobs of mint and a hankering for pasta.  As I was perusing the NYT Cooking App, I saw Melissa Clark's "Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes"

This is a gem of pasta dish.  Everything was on hand or in the freezer, pasta, pancetta, tomatoes, ricotta, scallions, garlic, and mint.  The dish is easy, quick and so tasty.  Strangely enough, I did not vary from the written recipe.  So glad I did not.  Both Bill and I were very pleased with the results and it will go into regular rotation.

Here the sauce is being created, after the pancetta has rendered its fat, remove to a dish lined with paper towels.  Then add garlic, hot pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant.  Add tomatoes and cook until they are collapsing.  I threw in the largest slices of scallion after the tomatoes had burst.  Drain and add pasta, some pasta cooking water, if it looks dry, I used about 3 T, and finish cooking the pasta.  Add the mint and scallions.  Lower the heat, mixing until the mint has wilted.  

Dress with a drizzle more of oil, and flaky salt.  Plate and add a dollop of ricotta on top.  

Enjoy!  It really is a true winner!  I could see swapping out the mint for basil but the mint was not overpowering, it was just a slight hint in the background.  Yummers!

Dateliine: May 9, 2020 So much time, I'll make kimchi

I had some cute tiny bok choy, some broccoli, and some regular cabbage. Kimchi can handle them all.

I have a favorite kimchi recipe.  Luckily, I have almost all ingredients on hand, so making kimchi is not an issue.  I did have to improvise some, I didn't have daikon, used regular globe radishes, didn't have asian pear, used granny smith apple, carrots, onions, and scallions all good to go.

schmearing mixture

salted greens waiting to be schmeared

The schmearing mixture smelled great!  So I tasted a little radish moon.  Yummy, but quite a kick.

The greens have been salted and are waiting for their 2 hours to be up before the paste gets schmeared all over and in between the leaves and all around the little broccoli heads.  I've got about 45 minutes to wait.

now just wait 4 - 7 days

Dateline: May 3, 2020 Salads and fridge clean out

We had drinks with our neighbors on the deck and after 2 negronis I no longer had the burning urge to cook dinner.  So I raided the fridge.  There were 2 left over stuffed artichokes.  I made a shepherd's salad and a beet salad to go with the artichokes.

I have parsley growing in the garden and it was beginning to bolt, so I gave it a shearing and with the handfuls of parsley I made a salad of 3 mini cukes, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, red onion, chives, and a white wine vinegar and olive oil dressing.  Salt and pepper were added at table side.

The beet salad was a little more time involved, but just as easy.  I steamed the beets in the instant pot on high for 28 minutes.  3 large beets on a trivet with about 1 cup or 1.5 cups of water in the inner pot.  Let the pressure drop naturally.  Remove the beets and wearing gloves, cut off top and bottom and the skin will slide off easily.  Each beet was cut into a 1/2 inch dice and mixed with 1/2 a vidalia onion cut into similar sized dice and 2 small mini cukes cut into quarter moons.

This is the stuffed artichoke that was made in the instant pot.  I was never a huge fan of stuffed artichokes, but boy, oh, boy, these were good and sitting in the fridge for a few days did not dampen their appeal.

Over all this was a quick and pretty satisfying meal.  Not bad for a total left turn from what I had been considering up until 5:30 pm!

Dateline: May 1, 2020 Wanted a stir fry, but had salmon...

Friday started with a delivery from Fresh Direct, a very rare occasion indeed!  I have been unable to get a slot for delivery for weeks, and suddenly, one popped up on Tuesday!  I love the salmon that I get from FD.  I know, I hear the voices in your head, 'fish bought online, you can't see it'.  Yes, I thought that way too, at first, then I tried them for fish.  Oh, baby, oh!  Their fish is excellent, I have never gotten a piece of fish, or a whole fish, that I was unhappy with, period.

So, my dilemma, I had these beautiful salmon fillets, and was planning to cook them.  The weather cleared, and I was itching to get to the grill.  But, my problem was what to have with them.  Did I want to grill veggies along with the fish?  No, I wanted a stir fry. 

First problem, was the smoker/grill going to work right?  This process was started before the 45 minutes.  Actually, it began once the weather cleared.   I removed the drip pan and cleaned off the gunk that had accumulated, pulled out the heat shield and decided that I needed to get all of the saw dust out of the bottom of the grill.  I got the hand vac and went at it.  I think that I will get a second one just for the grill.  The dump slide was working properly, the auger was working, no excuse not to fire it up.  In about 10 minutes I had tons of smoke, and as I checked the the temperature gauge it was where it should be.  My hypothesis of old pellets was correct.  With the fresh pellets, it was working great.  I shut it down and went into the house to chop up veggies for the stir fry and sat down to read as it was way to early to start cooking.

We had a deadline of 6:30 for a dinner zoom with Katie, so I had to work two cookings into the 45 minutes that I had to cook.  Fired up the grill again, and ran back into the house to get the glass noodles boiled and ready to be added to the stir fry.  Noodles done, dump water, dry wok, hit it with some oil and start with the aromatics, then dump in all the rest of the veggies.  Add in the sauce ingredients, stir, add in a cube of frozen chicken stock and some tangerine peels, and noodles.  Voila!  Stir fry done, lidded, and off the heat.  Now to the salmon.

Got grill up to temp, put the salmon on a grill mat and closed the lid.  I only used salt and pepper on the fish as the stir fry was hot and spicy.  The fish skin stuck to the mat and I couldn't turn the fish.  Close the lid and go get a thermometer.  I like my salmon cooked to about 122° - 125° because it keeps the flesh very silky and moist.  Above 125°, the fats and proteins start to ooze out of the fish and coagulate into white blobs, ick!

Noodles

2+ servings of glass noodles, boiled according to package directions and drained

Vegetable Ingredients

3 cloves of garlic, thickly sliced

1 inch of ginger, julienned

1 bunch of asparagus, snapped, and if thick stemmed, peel the bottom half

about 8 mini sweet peppers, seeded and cut into quarters

1/4 head of cabbage cut into 1 in chunks

1 head of broccoli, florets cut off, stem trimmed and cut into rounds

a couple of swiss chard leaves, striped and cut into thick ribbons

1 leek, white and light green part only, quartered, then sliced into 1/2 inch chunks

2 nice size pieces of dried tangerine peel, broken up into small bits

handful of chopped cilantro

use whatever vegetables you have in your fridge cut into stir fry sized pieces.  

Sauce Ingredients

2 T Shaoxing rice wine, or dry sherry or dry vermouth

1 T chili oil

2 t light soy sauce, not less salt one with green cap, asian light soy

1 t dark soy sauce

1 t rice wine vinegar

1 T pixian chili paste

2 oz cube of frozen chicken stock

Heat up the wok and add in 2 T of oil that can take the heat.  I used safflower, but you can use anything except olive oil.  Once oil is hot, add the garlic and ginger and push around in the oil for a bit.  Don't let it brown.  Add in the rest of the veggies and tangerine peel and toss them in the hot oil for a bit until the broccoli gets that beautiful dark green color.

Add the shaoxing wine, chili oil, soy sauces, vinegar and chicken stock cube.  Stir around a bit and make a well at the bottom of the wok and add the pixian chili paste, incorporating it into the saucy stuff on the bottom.  Mix well and coat all the veggies with the sauce.  Add the drained noodles and mix well into the cooking vegetables.  The noodles may stay together with each other, but using tongs work them around the pan to ensure each bite will have noodles and veggies.

Lid, and pull off burner.

Fish

2 salmon center cut fillets

salt and pepper

Heat grill too 350-375°.  Salt and pepper the fish to your liking and place on grill mat, skin side down.  I am not going to turn the fish.  The skin will stick to the mat.  When up to temp, place mat on grill.  Close the lid.  Wait about 5 min and check on the fish.  It should start to look a little opaque on the sides and be bubbling around the skin.   Thickest part of the fish should still be too raw looking.

Close the lid.  Another 3-4 minutes, check fish again, the center should be a bit more opaque and check the temp with a thermometer.  When the fish hits your favored temp, remove fish from the mat leaving the skin behind.

The lighting doesn't do the fish any favors, but this is perfectly cooked to my liking, 125° internal temp.  The flesh flakes and is moist and delicious.

Dateline: April 28, 2020 Indian food again! YEAH!

I do love Indian food, there are very few dishes that I don't like or wouldn't eat a second or third time.  Tonight's menu is Rasedar Jinga, or shrimp in dark sauce, from Madhur Jaffery's Indian Cooking.

I really like this recipe because it is tasty, first and foremost, but it is also easy and relatively quick to make.

To go with it, I am making jeera aloo, cauliflower with cabbage, and a relish/salad, with beets, yogurt and spices.  I had some frozen naan so that will stand in for some rice.

spices and ginger garlic paste browning

tomatoes and tumeric now in

finished with shrimp and cilantro

We had a zoom happy hour with some friends prior to dinner and in order to not over cook the shrimp, I let the sauce come to a boil, then added the shrimp and turned off the heat during the call. Worked great.  I just brought the pot up to a simmer before bringing to the table.

Little potatoes were steamed in the instant pot then spiced up in a cleaned inner pot and lightly fried.

finished taters

cauliflower cooking down

I cut the cauliflower up into tiny florets, sliced the cabbage into ribbons, and cut a jalapeno up into thin strips.  Into the pot went some ghee and cumin and mustard seeds and a pinch of asafetida.  When the seeds started popping, in when the veggies.  Stir around and then I added a cube of chicken stock and let them mingle until cooked

beets, ready to eat

The 2 beets were steamed in the instant pot as well and then after 25 min or so, the skins will slip right off when cool.  I cut into little cubes, added 1/4 c plain yogurt and a tsp of salt.  In a sauce pan, I heated up some ghee and added mustard seeds, cumin seeds and some asafetida and then poured it over beets. Mix and serve.

Note:  I think without the happy hour interruption, the sauce would have been thicker, but in the future, I would hold the shrimp for the duration of the hiatus while the sauce was left uncovered on simmer.  I'd add the shrimp and cook for an additional 5 minutes until cooked through.  I would have a clinging sauce and perfectly cooked shrimp