Red Curry Noodles

Here I go talking about Hawaii again.  I miss it.  One of the things that I miss the most is the amazing food.  I'm so glad that I've sort of mastered the art of Thai cooking so at least one of our cravings are satisfied.  Our absolute favorite dish at our favorite Thai Place was this red curry noodle that is totally amazing and I'm literally drooling just thinking about it.  After leaving Hawaii, I absolutely had to mimic this dish or I wouldn't survive.   Well, one night I was trying to make a Vietnamese brothy dish, and it turned into something very close to my favorite Thai dish.  So I had to experiment a few times and I think I've gotten very close to the actual amazing dish in Hawaii.  I'm so excited to share this and I think I'll have to put it on the menu this week. yum!

Red Curry Noodles

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of red curry paste (more or less depending on your preference)

1 can coconut milk

1-2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon Braggs (or soy sauce)

1 tablespoon fish sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 cup of chopped broccoli

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 pkg extra firm tofu

1 handful of thai basil

1 handful cilantro

1 cup chopped, toasted peanuts

1 lime

1 pkg small rice noodles

grapeseed oil

Directions:

Soak tofu in hot salt water for 15 minutes.  Drain and pat dry.  Slice in thin slices and pat dry again.  Fry the tofu in a little grapeseed oil until crispy. Set aside.

In a large wok, bring the garlic and about a tablespoon of grapeseed oil to medium heat, add the curry paste and stir with the garlic and oil for about 2 minutes or until foamy.  Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the coconut milk, broth, Braggs, and fish sauce and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and add the broccoli, red pepper, and rice noodles.  Cook until the noodles are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the tofu towards the end and serve up in bowls with a little bit of broth over the top.  Finish off with thai basil, cilantro, peanuts, and a lime wedge. Enjoy! And p.s., it's okay to lick your bowl clean!

Vegetarian Burritos

I decided to do a comparison between Chipotle's vegetarian burritos and mine.  I don't know if it was just that they were having a bad day or something, but mine totally won, hands down.  They did win for wrapping though.  I can't wrap a burrito for the life of me.  Probably because I stuff them way too full.  I always end up eating it with a fork.  

These burritos are an easy weeknight meal that don't take much thought or skill.  We always buy bulk black beans and soak and cook them ourselves, but if you want to save time, or don't plan ahead, you can always use canned.  And... if you must... you can add meat (but they are super filling without).

Vegetarian Burritos

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 large burrito tortilla shells

1 cup black beans (or one can)

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup rice (I use basmati, but jasmine would work well too)

1 lime

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 TBS. grapeseed oil (or oil of choice)

salt and pepper

Directions:

Soak your beans over night and rinse.  Place them in a small saucepan and fill with water until it reaches about an inch over the beans.  Bring them to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 1-2 hours (depending on how mushy you like your beans).  Rinse and drain.

Zest and juice the lime and set aside. 

If using basmati rice, rinse with warm water at least 3 times (basmati tends to be very starchy so you must rinse it).  Put rice in a small saucepan and fill with 1 1/2 cups water.  With the lid on, bring rice to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, pour the lime juice and zest into the rice.  Add the chopped cilantro and stir. Season with salt.

Over medium heat, heat the oil and add the red pepper, onion, and garlic.  Saute for about 15 minutes.  Season with pepper.

To assemble.  Place the tortilla on a plate.  Add a scoop of rice to the middle, followed by the beans, followed by the red pepper mixture.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.  May top with guacamole or salsa of choice.  Cross your fingers and wrap into a burrito.  Or, if you're like me and overfill, just grab a fork.

Enjoy!

Vietnamese Bun

What a way to start the New Year! This fresh Vietnamese Bun (pronounced "Boon") is always a hit in our house.  We were feeling kind of heavy after all of the Christmas and New Years goodies and wanted something light and fresh.  This noodle salad is perfect! Plus it really makes us feel like it's summer and we're on the beach!  I have made this a few times in the past after trying it at a Vietnamese restaurant in Hawaii.  The first time, I used hoisen sauce, since they use that in Pho.  Ummm... pretty much the nastiest thing I ever ate.  Second time, I used a soy sauce remedy.  It was okay, but still not perfect.  This time, I made the sauce using fish sauce.  YUM!  If you're completely vegetarian, I think they sell a Shitake mushroom substitute for fish sauce.  Enjoy! And Happy New Year!

Vietnamese Bun

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

 1 bundle of small rice noodles (about 2 cups cooked)

1 Tbs. grapeseed oil

1 package of extra firm organic tofu (or protein of choice)

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

1/2 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1 cup fresh mint, chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup peanuts

Sauce:

2 Tbs. fish sauce

 juice from a small lime

1 tsp chili garlic paste

2 Tbs. brown sugar

2/3 cup water

Directions:

Soak your rice noodles in hot water for 30 minutes until cooked. 

Soak the tofu in hot saltwater for 15 minutes.  Slice into strips or cubes and pat dry.  Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the tofu until crispy (15-20 minutes). If using chicken, cook chicken breast and slice into thin strips. 

In a small saucepan, combine the water, fish sauce, lime juice, chili paste and brown sugar. Heat to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat.

Place the noodles in the center of a large bowl. Top with tofu, carrots, cucumber, onions and mint. Pour the dressing over the dish and toss to combine.

Serve the salad garnished with peanuts and cilantro leaves.

Martha's Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I'm just gonna put it out there, I was the cool kid in school.  Don't believe me? Listen to this...

While in college, I roomed with my best friend Anja for a semester.  We were pretty awesome.  We would sit in our room on the weekends and knit while watching Gilmore Girls and eating easy mac and Cheetos all day long.  Jealous?

Then one weekend, we heard that Martha Stewart was going to be in Minneapolis signing books.  And because we were so amazing, we got up at 3:00 on a Saturday morning, drove to Barnes and Noble, (I had Anja parallel park my car.  Nope, can't do it at 3am when nobody is around either) and sat outside for 4 hours in the freezing cold, waiting to get an autograph. 

When we got into the store and out of the cold, we bought our Martha Stewart cook books, which happened to be all about baking, which I was thrilled about.  We waited around the store for a few more hours and finally Martha arrived.  She is more beautiful than I thought.  Very lean and tall.  We got our autographs and I mumbled something to her about how I want to open a business and she said she was proud of that and that was the end of my meeting with Martha Stewart.  We drove home and went back to bed. 

Oh you know that scarf was hand knit!

Later on, I looked through my new signed cookbook and let me tell you, for a college student in a dorm, these recipes were intimidating.  The book got put in my "special things" box and put away for 7 years.

While unpacking all of my totes after moving to Cincinnati, I stumbled across this bright orange book.  I studied it for a while looking through and trying to find the easiest thing to make.  I've been getting in to making my own bread, so I wanted to try a bread recipe.  Nick loves cinnamon raisin bread so I decided I'd give it a shot.  I honestly studied the recipe for about a day before I tackled it.  Bread is just one of those things that are truly depressing when you ruin, because you put hours of labor into it.  This particular recipe takes me about 4 hours to make.  But it is totally worth it!  This cinnamon raisin bread is soooo delicious!  We just got two big tubs of coconut oil from Amazon this week and I'm just dying to try it on this bread.  I think we'll skip dinner tonight and just have toast! haha Just kidding... maybe. Enjoy!

I had to take the bread outside and capture it's beauty in good lighting.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Makes 2 Loaves

Ingredients:

For Dough:

1 envelope of active dry yeast (I just use about a tablespoon, if you buy in bulk)

2 cups warm (110 degrees F) organic milk (I use whole)

About 6 1/2 cups of organic all-purpose flour

1 stick (1/2 cup) organic butter

1/2 cup organic sugar

2 large organic eggs, plus one more egg, lightly beaten

2 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

1 cup organic raisins

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

olive oil for bowl and plastic wrap

For Filling:

1 cup organic sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Make the dough:  In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk, whisk to combine.  Add the flour, butter, sugar, 2 eggs, and salt.  Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Mix on low speed until all of the ingredients are well combined, about 3 minutes.  Raise the speed to medium-low, and continue to mix until the dough is uniformly smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 more minutes.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  Pat out dough into a 9-inch round, about 1 1/4 inches thick.  Sprinkle with raisins and cinnamon, and knead until they are just incorporated.  Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.  (If you don't have a nice sunbeam to put it in, just preheat your oven to the lowest setting, then turn it off and put the dough in the oven.  It'll raise.)

Pat dough into a 9 inch round and top with raisins and cinnamon

            After you knead the dough                                    

Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface and pat into a round.  Fold the bottom third of the dough up, the top third down, and the right and left sides over, tapping dough after each fold to release excess flour, and pressing down to seal.  Return the dough to the bowl, seam side down, and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.

Make the filling:  Combine sugar and cinnamon with about 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl.  return the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and divide in half.  Roll out one half to a 12-by-10 inch rectangle; brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with half of the filling.  Repeat with remaining dough and filling. 

Rolling your rectangle into a loaf.

Generously butter two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans; set aside.  With the short end of the rectangle facing you, fold in both long sides of the dough, about 1 inch.  Then roll the dough toward you, gently pressing as you go to form a tight log.  Gently roll the log back and fourth to seal the seam.  (it is important to seal the seam) Place the loaf in a prepared pan, seam side down.  Repeat with remaining rectangle.  Cover pans loosely with oiled plastic wrap, and let rest in a warm place until dough rises just about the rim about the pan, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 (unless using it to raise the bread!).  

Rising the bread in the loaf pans.

Brush the tops of the loaves with the beaten egg, and transfer pans to a baking sheet.  Bake, rotating pans halfway through , until loaves are golden brown, about 45 minutes. (If tops begin to brown too quickly, tent with foil)  Turn out the bread onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.  The bread can be kept, wrapped in plastic, at room temperature for up to 4 days. (We put ours in the fridge and it lasted for 2 weeks.)

All finished!

This is why you want to make sure your pan is sprayed and your dough is sealed.

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  Go out and buy yourself this lovely book. 

Beautiful Classic Farmhouse Bread... Just Like Grandma's!

First off... Happy World Bread Day!

Secondly, I've been making my own bread for nearly a year now.  Simply, it's just so much tastier than store bought bread and when you make it yourself, you know exactly what you put in it.  We went to the store looking for an Italian loaf and every single "bakery" bread had high fructose corn syrup in it.  It's quite sad.  But not really, because home made bread is quite simple.  And this recipe is great! So easy to make on a Sunday while watching football.  It's super fluffy and I can't wait to have a piece tomorrow morning.  Really delicious. 

I wish more people would make their own bread like the old days.  I remember going to my grandma's as a kid and there would always be homemade bread around, or bread rising in the sunbeam, or bread baking in the oven.  Yum... 

Amish White Bread

Makes 2 Loaves

Ingredients:

2 Cups of warm water (110 degrees F)

3 tablespoons organic white sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons of active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

1/4 cup olive oil

6 cups of organic all purpose flour (or bread flour)

Directions:

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam, about 10 minutes.

Mix oil into the yeast. Mix salt into flour and mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Cool on racks. 

Note: If making in a KitchenAid mixer, dissolve sugar in water, add yeast and proof.  Mix in oil.  Put dough hook on and add flour one cup at a time, mixing on low speed.  (Another note: I add the salt to about the 3rd cup of flour.  Salt can kill yeast so its important to mix it in with the flour).  After flour is incorporated, turn speed to medium for about 5-6 minutes.  This will kneed the bread.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface.  Then follow the next steps in the directions. 

Chicken Gyros with Baked Fries

Mmmmm, I love traditional Greek gyros! However, I also love cute little fluffy lambs, which is why I don't eat gyros anymore.  We actually made these gyros with the fake "Chik'n" strips that you can get in the freezer/vegetarian section of the store.  This is my first time cooking with "Chik'n" and you know, it's wasn't the greatest.  I'm always weary of fake soy meat products and don't eat them often (only on taco night! Yum!), and I probably won't ever purchase the fake chicken anymore.  That's why I made the recipe using real chicken.  If you want a really good Greek vegetarian dish that's similar, try stuffing these gyros with my Falafel.  It's delicious.

Chicken Gyros with Baked Fries

Serves: 4

For the Chicken:

1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into strips

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons Greek Seasoning (I just used oregano and thyme)

juice of 1 large lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except chicken, and mix well. Place in a Ziploc bag, and add chicken. Shake to ensure the marinade is covering chicken. Allow to marinate in refrigerator for at least an hour to overnight.

Remove chicken from marinade, and toss leftover marinade. You may grill the chicken at this point, but if you don't have a grill, just pan fry in a skillet with some olive oil until cooked completely.  

For the Tzatziki Sauce:

6 oz Greek Yogurt

juice of 1/2 of a medium lemon

1 med cucumber, peeled and minced

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried dill

Directions:

Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, minced cucumber, garlic, and dill.  Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

For the Gyros:

4 pitas cut in half.  Microwaved for 20 seconds in between two pieces of damp paper towels (this will make them warm and easy to handle).  

1 tomato, chopped

2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 medium onion, sliced

1 cucumber, sliced

Directions:

Place lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber and chicken into pita and top with tzatziki sauce

Don't forget the fries!!

2-3 large russet potatoes

2 tablespoons of salt plus 1 teaspoon

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder (or a couple cloves of minced garlic)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Slice the potatoes into fries, I always like the skins on. Fill a large (and I mean large) bowl with hot water and add 2 tablespoons of salt.  Soak the fries in the saltwater mixture for about 15 minutes. 

Dump the water out and pat the fries dry. 

Add the fries back to the bowl and add 1 tsp. salt, seasonings, and olive oil.  Toss to completely coat the fries.  Spray a baking sheet and spread fries evenly.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until fries are nice and brown and crispy, flipping once halfway through.

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks!

I love eggplant Parmesan.  It's so delicious!  However, sometimes I just don't have the time or energy to bread and fry all those eggplants.  So, while watching my new favorite daytime television show, "The Chew,"  my friend Mario Batali gave me an awesome recipe that cuts my eggplant Parmesan making time in half... and is a bit healthier too!!

When I made these, I set off the fire alarm.  I was toasting my homemade bread crumbs... that I made from homemade bread and all of a sudden they were burnt! So the fire alarm went off and I was totally off my game man.  Note, lightly toast your breadcrumbs over medium low heat.  It was just one of those crabby nights when I wanted everything to turn out perfect and they didn't.  These still tasted amazing, next time I make them, I'll make my sauce beforehand so I'm not doing 10 million things at once.  Sometimes that's what you get when you make everything from scratch.  Making things ahead of time is probably a good thing. 

Anyway here is the recipe that I got from the Chew website. Delicious!

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 large purple eggplants (sliced in 1 inch rounds)

1 head of garlic cloves (peeled and thinly sliced)

1 cup basil leaves

2 cup tomato sauce

1.5 balls of mozzarella (sliced into 1/4 in rounds)

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 tablespoons chili flake

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus 1/4 cup)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Lay out eggplant rounds on cookie sheets in single layers. Cut 2-3 slits per round, large enough to stuff a garlic slice into each slit. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Roast until soft and cooked completely, about 10-15 minutes.

Mix bread crumbs, thyme and chili flakes together. Heat saute pan over medium heat and add 1/4 cup olive oil. Once hot, add bread crumb mixture and toast until golden brown. Remove bread crumbs from pan onto a paper towel lined plate. (make sure not to burn like me!)

Remove eggplant from oven and let cool just slightly, enough so you can handle. Reuse a cookie sheet and build stacks of eggplant parm. Begin with a slice of eggplant and layer with 2-3 leaves of basil, smear with a couple tablespoons of tomato sauce and top with a slice of mozzarella and pinch of parmesan. Build two layers tall and top with breadcrumbs.

Increase the temperature of the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the eggplant stacks back into the oven and cook 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bread crumbs are toasted.

Adapted from Mario Batali's Eggplant Parm Stacks.