Recipes as Inspiration (Tomato & Thai Basil Relish)

I recently found myself needing something quick for dinner, so I turned to my beloved cookbook, Vegetarian Suppers. I found a recipe for Skillet Seared Tofu with Tomato and Thai Basil relish. I had tofu in my fridge, gorgeous tomatoes from the farmers market, and thai basil in my garden. Sounded perfect. Then I looked at the rest of the ingredients and I only had about half of them. I took the ingredient list as mere suggestion and got started anyway. The result was pure heaven.

Here's the list of ingredients in the recipe and then what I used instead:

2 medium tomatoes - I had this. Great!

1 small shallot or a few scallions - I used 1/2 sweet onion from my fridge

small handful Thai Basil - I had this. I threw in the amount that looked right.

dozen small mint leaves - I had this in my garden

1 t. roasted peanut or sesame oil - I used garlic-infused olive oil

juice and zest of 1 lime - I had this.

2 t. freshly grated ginger - all I had were dehydrated ginger bits. I rehydrated them in some boiling water and chopped them up. I also chopped up a dried red chile and put it in the boiling water to rehydrate as well.

1 garlic clove - I was out of garlic, so I used a little garlic powder

sea salt - yes

small splash of soy sauce - I only had Hoisin Sauce, a sweet, thick Asian sauce. I used it anyway.

I put everything in a bowl and mixed it up. The soy sauce is really intended for deglazing the pan while you cook the tofu, but I put it in the bowl with everything else. When it came time to deglaze the tofu, I just used some of the juice from the bowl (super yummy).

Here's the basic method

Slice 1 carton of tofu into 6-8 pieces and blot it with a paper towel. I cut it in half long way to make thinner slabs, and then cut the 2 slabs into triangles.

Heat some oil in a skillet and add the tofu. Sprinkle with salt. When it stops twitching around, check to see if it is browned on the cooking side. If it isn't, leave it a little longer. Turn and cook the other side, about 10 minutes in all. Shake on some liquid (like soy sauce or the juices from your bowl of tomatoes and other goodies) and continue cooking until it evaporates and the tofu is seasoned and glazed. I sometimes turn the tofu during this process and sometimes don't. I just try to get the tofu coated with the sauce.

Remove from heat, top with tomato salsa mixture and serve. I served this on a bed of arugula, which was fabulous.

"Oh Wow" brussels sprouts

That's my name for them. They are unbelievably delicious and they only took a few minutes.

Tonight was leftover night at my house, but as I was going through my box of veggies from the farm, I saw a bunch of brussels sprouts on the stalk. There was a recipe in the box, too, that sounded pretty easy, so I decided to cook some up to go with our leftovers. They were unbelievable! You definitely should try them.

Here's what you do

Rinse a half pound of brussels sprouts and cut them in half lengthwise. I only used 5 large sprouts which was probably about 1/4 pound. That gave us 10 halves total, though in the end we would have eaten more. Slice 2 garlic cloves and have 2 T. pine nuts standing by.

Melt 2 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil together over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring until the garlic is pale golden. Lift the garlic out with a slotted spoon and put them in a small bowl. Put the sprouts in the melted butter, cut side down. Sprinkle with salt and pine nuts. Cook over low heat without turning until sprouts are golden on the bottom (10-15 minutes).

Transfer the sprouts to a platter, cut sides up. Add 1/2 T . butter to the pan. Return the garlic to the pan and let the pine nuts and the garlic brown more evenly. Pour the butter, garlic, and pine nuts over the sprouts and add a few grinds of pepper. Delectable.

Mushroom and Tofu Saute with Rice Noodles

I made this for my family on Thanksgiving weekend. The asian flavors were a welcome break from the usual Thanksgiving fare that everyone had the day before. I loved it and everyone else seemed to enjoy it, too. This would make an excellent weeknight meal. I used very skinny rice noodles because that was all I could find. I think it would be better with wider rice noodles, or maybe even soba or udon noodles. This was fairly simple to prepare and it only took about half an hour.

Let's get started

• Cook the rice noodles in boiling, salted water according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking, and set aside.
• Cut one block of firm tofu into bite sized cubes. Simmer in boiling water for 2 minutes. Lift cubes out of the water and set them in a colander to drain.
• In a small bowl, combine 2 t. tamari or mushroom soy sauce, 3 T. naturally brewed soy sauce, and 2 T. brown sugar.
• Chop together 2 cloves garlic, 3 T. fresh tarragon, 1/2 t. salt, and freshly ground pepper. (I know 3 T. sounds like a lot of tarragon, but it blends beautifully into the dish. Don't be shy about using the full 3 T. of tarragon. This is almost a full bunch if you buy it at the supermarket.)
• Clean and trim 1 pound mushrooms, including some shiitakes, if possible. Cut into quarters or thick slices.
• Finely dice one large shallot (about 1/2 cup total)
• Heat a little peanut oil (or vegetable oil) in a skillet. Add the garlic mixture and stir fry for 20 seconds or so, then add the mushrooms and shallot. Saute over high heat until the juices have been released and then reabsorbed and the mushrooms have started to brown, (7 - 10 minutes).
• While that is cooking, finely slice 4 green onions and set aside.
• Add the tofu, followed by the soy mixture and the cooked noodles.
• Mix gently, taste for salt, transfer to a platter and serve garnished with green onions.

Things I'd do differently next time: Use wider rice noodles, or experiment with other types of noodles. This would also be good over rice.

Cost to prepare

3/4 pound mushrooms (white and cremini mix) - $3.75

1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms - $2.50

3 T. chopped tarragon - $1.50

3 T. chopped garlic (2-3 cloves) - $.30

1 carton firm tofu - $1.50

soy sauces - $1.00 (?)

1 large shallot - $.75

4 scallions - $.25

6 ounces dried rice noodles - $1.00

TOTAL - $12.55 for 4 people

Suggested wine - a spicy, dry Gewurztraminer