homemade tofu?

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It’s been awhile. And that’s because … I’m in culinary school! I enrolled at The Institute of Culinary Education as a student in the health supportive culinary arts program. It’s amazing, except for the four-hour daily commute. I’ve learned so much (see my IG account @adailydip for details and photos).

One of our classes was “Tofu and Tempeh” (since it’s a mostly plant-based course) and we made tofu from soy milk— and we made that soy milk from soybeans. As I watched chef Jay do his demo I thought to myself, how can I make this easier for myself at home? Now that I’m away from home all day and when I get home there is snack, homework, soccer, dog, dinner, dog, homework, bath and “please go to bed already!” So I asked, “Chef, can you make this with store-bought soy milk?” To which chef Jay answered “Great question!” Cut to me, beaming with pride. “Why don’t you try it at home?” Cut to me, distraught with an extra assignment.

The chef gave me some nigari (the coagulant/chemical which makes soy milk curdle into tofu curds) and told me to report back. I’m sure there are students who would have smiled, pocked the nigari and let it go at this point. But I am a lifelong nerd and so I immediately bought soy milk and started experimenting.

The first two batches were bunk and when I casually reported this back to Chef Jay (who scares the shit out of all of us) he responded in such a way that suggested that 1. he had completely forgotten about giving me the assignment; and 2. he had potentially completely forgotten who I was.

But I persevered. Because, well, see above. I threw out gallons of not-curdled-enough soy milk until I stumbled upon a recipe that clicked. It was an obscure website and yet there were two post-recipe comments that hit home, both of which alluded to the cook failing multiple times (as I did) and then finding success with this particular method.

It worked. I don’t know if it was the amount of nigari, the stirring configurations, the heating method or the fact that the pot was covered during the process. But the store-bought soy milk formed curds big enough to sequester into my tofu mold, and those curds actually formed a rectangle of delicious (creamy, rich!) tofu.

I’m not necessarily saying that I will make my own tofu from now on…but I’m happy that my experiment finally worked and that I can continue being the nerd that I’ve always been.

easy poke

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I’m going to tell you a secret—making tuna poke is easier than tuna salad. Seriously. If you can buy some decent raw tuna, you can make this in 4 minutes and it will blow you, and others, away. I made it for the first time from Sam Sifton’s easy recipe but quickly realized it’s basically just raw tuna with some soy sauce and hot sauce. You can throw in some onions, or scallions. Adding a little vinegar or lime juice is nice. A little oil especially sesame oil is great. And then something to add crunch—sesame seeds, crushed nuts, seaweed. You can also add some diced avocado. Taste it and see if you like it. Add salt and pepper. Mix it all up and throw it in the fridge for an hour. You will be happy every time you open the fridge and find that bowl of deliciousness waiting for you. (You can serve it over salad or rice—or just shove some in your mouth as a snack. ) And you’ll have me to thank. You’re welcome.

finally a decent tofu dish

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So we’ve been quarantined for…forever now, and I’ve made every recipe you can imagine. In terms of meatless, I’ve enjoyed The New York Times’ tofu with green beans and chili crisp. And their Indian Butter Tofu is incredible but a lot of work. Last night I found a new recipe for Meatless Monday—it’s a sort of sag with tofu and I added roasted cauliflower to it and it was delicious, and healthy and filling! It’s this recipe but I changed it a bit: I sauteed shallots and ginger for 5 minutes then added all the spices. After about a minute, I added baby spinach until it wilted and then pureed that mixture in a food processor. Then I added in roasted cauliflower and the sauteed tofu. See recipe below!

Saag Tofu and Veggies

1 onion, chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp tumeric
12-16oz baby spinach
1 package firm tofu
1/2 cup greek plain yogurt mixed with 1/4 tsp cornstarch
Optional: roasted vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

  1. Heat 1 tbsp canola oil in large pot over medium high. When hot, saute chopped onion and minced ginger (or used store-bought minced ginger in a jar). Cook until soft, then add all the spices. Cook for 5 minutes until fragrant, stirring often.

  2. Add spinach in bunches. (If pan starts to scorch add a few gulps of chicken broth.) Cook until spinach is all wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  3. In the meantime, heat frying pan over high heat and add 1 tbsp canola oil. When hot, add cubed tofu and cook shaking pan until tofu cubes are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

  4. Puree spinach mixture in food processor until smooth. Add back to pot. Then add yogurt-cornstarch mixture and stir. Add browned tofu cubes and taste for salt/pepper seasoning. Optional: add roasted vegetables.


dave’s gazpacho

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From Dave Herman: This is one of my summer go-tos. I got the recipe from the wife of an ex-girlfriend's business associate we visited outside of Sevilla on a trip to Spain in the late '90s & she told us in Andalusia everyone always has a pitcher in their refrigerator there to sip from in the heat of the afternoon. It's also about the easiest thing you could make.

Ingredients
2 pounds ripe tomatoes*
8 ounces cucumber, peeled  (1 regular cucumber, or approx. ½ English cucumber)
3 ounces green pepper, seeded (approx. ½ “normal” bell pepper, but size varies widely)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Roughly cut all vegetables (make sure to save all liquid from the tomatoes). In a blender, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, garlic and sherry vinegar and blend until liquefied (putting tomatoes in first helps). Taste for acidity. If it's not balanced enough, add a little more vinegar. Add the olive oil, season with salt, and blend again. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Can be made & refrigerated a day in advance.

It’s most traditional to strain the gazpacho into a pitcher and serve in juice glasses for sipping, but I prefer to leave the pulp even to sip it from a glass. And with the pulp you can serve it in a bowl (great with the addition of croutons & a drizzle of olive oil).

*Because it’s all about the tomatoes, I prefer to use heirlooms & never make it unless I have great tomatoes.

Day 93, or something like that

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I’ve lost count. I’ve cooked so many damn meals they would be melting together if I didn’t keep this photo diary of my daily restaurant specials. I’m quite proud of myself for cooking every meal but burnt out at the same time. Last night Michael grilled veggie burgers and hot dogs and it was a relief not to be in charge. So one night a week should be daddy’s night, I think. The problem is we’re making the most of limited supplies so creativity and skill is crucial. Michael did make this lentil soup this week, and made it entirely on his own—super impressive. So we’re both reaching out of our comfort zones.

I actually think this quarantined time has an advantage in that we are spending more quality time together as a family doing things I like to do—being at home, cooking, watching movies, reading. There’s no soccer or baseball or neighbors yelling in our playroom. Today with video games allowed since it is Sunday, I’m feeling a bit lonely—the kids are doing something that doesn’t involve me, nor that I get any pleasure in. But strangely that isn’t normally the situation these days.

I’ve read a lot about how this time befits introverts (Larry David) and even depressives….which is interesting. There are no social plans or run-ins and we’re all supposed to feel a little bad. Plus we’re at home, where some of us like to be, doing quiet activities. So yeah there are some positives. One of them being: bread. We made this bread—which is something we would never ordinarily do. But it was crazy easy and yummy—it makes a ton so you can keep it in the fridge and bake off a loaf when you feel like it.

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day 13: more soup

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Finally Saturday when I don’t have to homeschool! We started the day with cleaning, which was supposed to be a family affair but was mostly me and Michael, plus a little help from the kids. Mack was in charge of Vacuuming his room and he asked: Do I have to Vacuum everything, or just the floor? Clearly these kids don’t do enough chores.

Well, we got plenty of time for that now.

After cleaning I moved on to…cooking! I made an easy broccoli and cauliflower soup but substituted gouda for cheddar. I think it turned out really delicious but Mack said it was “smelly and hot.” My kind of soup. And then I had some leftover broccoli and cauliflower so I decided to make a stiryfry which meant that I basically didn’t leave the kitchen for like 6 hours. On the other hand, not much else to do. Strange times.

Broccoli and Cheese soup

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp butter 

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • 1 cup chopped carrots (about 2 medium)

  • 4 cups chicken broth

  • 4 cups broccoli, roughly chopped (about 1/2 lb)

  • 2 cups cauliflower, roughly chopped (about 6 oz)

  • salt & pepper, to taste

  • 1 1/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or gouda)

  • 1 tsp sherry vinegar

  • 1 TBSP heavy cream

Instructions

Instant Pot Directions: 

  1. Turn on the saute function, melt the butter in your pot and cook the onions and carrots in the butter until they start to soften .

  2. Next, add the roughly chopped broccoli, the cauliflower, 1 tsp salt and the broth. Put the lid on and set on manual for 3 minutes, quick release when it's finished.

  3. Blend in batches in a blender and return to pot. Add cheese, salt and pepper to taste, sherry vinegar and cream.

day 8: pizza with nate

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Today was a long day. Struggling through home schooling plus working—conference calls and kids at home don’t mix. I wound up working in our big closet. Today’s specials were weak (one was frozen pizza) and one of my customers complained about eating pizza and pasta all the time. Welcome to covid-19. You’re punished.

I did do a desperate cooking “elective” with the kids. They were fighting non-stop so I just screamed: Who wants to do a cooking project and who wants to do TypingPal? Cooking was suddenly very popular. I quickly thought of a recipe while they wrestled on the floor—one I wrote about on this blog when Nate was about four. When I made Nate read the post aloud, he realized I’ve been writing about him for years. (Is this me? he asked incredulously.) We made the amazingly easy two-ingredient dough (which is a great quarantine kid-cooking project by the way!)

Then Nate had a Zoom call with a buddy. (Two 10-year-old boys trying to chit-chat can be painful but also cute. And also just shows us how strange this whole period is: when is the last time two fifth grade boys asked each other about their kitchens?)

And who hasn’t been outside or showered in 3 days, raise your hand!

day 7: no rest for the chef

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Photo from the New York Times

Photo from the New York Times

Washing dishes this morning for the nth time in days I realized how much my kitchen feels like a restaurant. I basically don’t leave it for large parts of the day—cooking, eating, cleaning, repeat. So today I wrote some specials on the chalkboard: egg tacos for breakfast, cauliflower soup for lunch (there was actually some left!), and plant-based bolognese with spaghetti squash for dinner. I also badmouthed some recent customers who asked for and then didn’t eat a buttered bagel—and then left a lovey on the table. Unfortunately the same customers are coming back today, and tomorrow, and…

Last night I dug into the forgotten drawer of weird asian noodles and seaweed that I don’t really know what to do with but they never go bad. I found a package of dried shiitake mushrooms and reconstituted them in some water to make a recipe I made years ago and still had in my Paprika app: The New York Times version of vegan MaPo Tofu. I prefer the meaty pork version, I think, but this is way healthier and did I mention that Michael recently became a vegan? (We were trying to eat more plant-based and then he saw the movie Game Changers and boom, he hasn’t had meat or dairy in over a month. It’s a bummer.)

Anyway, I used dried instead of fresh shiitakes and a fermented black bean paste that I had from Hmart, along with a little Gochujang It was tasty and filling, and I served it over quinoa just to hippy-ify it even more. We ate it with wine in front of candles—and a laptop on which six of our friends were having their dinner and wine. A Zoom dinner party! The new normal.

day 6: soup

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Who woke up this morning thinking, OMG another fucking day?! What are we going to do? Without our homeschool schedule (It is Saturday after all), we are more at a loss than ever. Right now the kids are fighting over a video game. And that’s probably how it’s going to go for the next 4 hours.

I got up this morning and looked in the fridge to find a giant cauliflower that was about to lose its life. So I proceeded to try to teach Mack how to make cauliflower soup, the easy way. I think a lot of parents are taking the quarantine as an opportunity to teach their kids how to do things they normally wouldn’t—cleaning bathrooms, for example. It’s the new version of homeschool or as a friend recently put it “home, work.” See my recent article for some ideas.

So here’s what I told Mack: cut up cauliflower in small florets and add to a big pot of half water, half chicken broth. Cook until cauliflower is soft, about 20 minutes. Puree cauliflower plus about 3 cups of liquid in blender and add back to the pot. Now the fun part: flavor. I usually add some combination of milk/cream, parmesan cheese, 1 tsp of sherry vinegar, onion and garlic powders and salt. Keep tasting until it’s delicious. Then leave on the (turned off) stove all day for everyone to help themselves. *You can reheat in a bowl in the microwave.

It’s not even 11am and half the soup is already eaten.

day 5: shrimp & grits

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Okay, I’m ready for this whole thing to be over already. My kids are driving me crazy. I’m bored and depressed and out of shape. So tonight I’m making a fancy dinner, a dinner party recipe, inspired by our trip to New Orleans. A taste of something fine and foreign.

It’s funny how this new reality is forcing us to both be in our extreme comfort zone, and leave it. I’m spending more quality time with my kids than I usually do—going on walks, doing writing projects, seeing films. Today I got out the bike that was my my mother-in-law’s and took a 2 hour bike ride on the path that runs though Westchester. I made it from Ardsley to Hartsdale. I’d never normally do that.

Tonight’s recipe however is not new, I made it a few weeks ago when the world still seemed like a steady place. But I learned a couple tricks so tonight’s version will be simplified. It’s shrimp and grits but I’ve tailored it to be able to be mostly made-ahead.

Quarantine Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients

·       5 3/4 cups chicken broth divided

·       1 pound large shrimp, shelled (shells reserved)

·       3/4 pound mushrooms chopped up

·       1/4 teaspoon baking soda

·       1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

·       1 cup grits, preferably stone-ground

·       1 cup grated cheese

·       4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and divided

·       4 slices bacon, diced

·       1 medium shallot, minced

·       2 medium cloves garlic, minced

·       1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

·       1 tablespoon fresh juice from 1 lemon

Directions 

1.    In a large saucepan, combine 5 cups stock with reserved shrimp shells. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Strain and return stock to saucepan. Trash shells.

2.    Whisk grits into stock, set over medium-high heat, and bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Lower heat to a bare simmer and cook, stirring and scraping bottom frequently with a wooden spoon, until grits are fully softened and cooked and have thickened into a spoonable porridge, about 1 hour. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter and cheese until fully melted. Season with salt and pepper and keep grits warm. (A piece of parchment pressed against the surface will help prevent a skin from forming.)

3.    In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp then move bacon to towels to drain. (Bacon is optional; you could just add some oil to a pan). Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms release their liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in shallot, garlic, and cayenne and cook for 2 minutes. Add baking soda and cornstarch and ¾ cup stock. Cook until thickened. Whisk in butter until emulsified. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. (At this point you can turn it off and reheat it right before serving time.)

4.    Right before you want to serve, quickly salt shrimp and cook in a little oil in a frying pan, then add them to the hot gravy to finish cooking.

5.    Serve grits in a bowl with shrimp and gravy on top. Finish with herbs if you want to get fancy.

 

 

sprouts

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Wow it’s been quite a while since I last posted, so long in fact that ALL my many readers may have assumed this blog dead and gone. Not yet! While I am one of the few holding on to this antiquated form, I persist. Which brings me to Thanksgiving. I did the dry-brined Judy Bird, plus Food 52’s Challah Stuffing and Mark Bittman’s make-ahead gravy, per usual. But this year I did fewer other things and tried to relax a little more and enjoy the festivities.

It also allowed me to take in my mother in law’s beautiful decoration which included a mantle wreath made out of brussel sprouts and radishes—real food!

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And after having seen the film Wasted and because I’m helping to plan this year’s inaugural Irvington Theater environmental festival, I felt the need to use those beautiful vegetables in something we could actually consume. So Friday morning I gathered them up and dragged them home. And then thought: what am I going to do with 8 pounds of brussel sprouts and 3 lbs of radishes?

After a few hours in the kitchen, I had brussel sprout soup, roasted sprouts and roasted radishes (plus a few raw ones to use in a salad.) Roasted sprouts with lots of salt and oil is maybe one of the best fall dishes. Plus the soup, with some adjusting, was delicious, freezable and healthy. Bet you never heard of sprout soup! We hadn’t either but it can and should be done!

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Sprout Soup

Adapted from The Spruce

1 pound brussel sprouts

2 ribs celery

1 small onion

1 to 2 tablespoons butter

3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

1/4 cup cream

1 tsp sherry vinegar

1 tsp fish sauce

salt/pepper

Heat the butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Once it is melted, add the celery and onions. Sprinkle with the salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, about 3 minutes.

Add the chopped sprouts and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally until the Brussels sprouts turn a brighter shade of green, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and bring everything just to a boil.

Reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer, cover partially, and cook until the Brussels sprouts are completely tender about 10 minutes.

Use a hand-held immersion blender or regular blender to completely purée the soup as smooth as possible.

Add cream, and season to taste with salt and pepper, vinegar and fish sauce.

Happy 2019

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So while the rest of the world is observing a Dry/Vegan/Meatless/Paelo/Whole 360/Gluten-free January, I seem to be eating more sugar and drinking more alcohol. It could have something to do with the fact that our heat is broken – that means OFF—for a week now while they find a new part for the motor. Happy 2019!  

I now know how those southern people feel when they move to New York. I’m writing this in a winter coat and dreading taking a shower because the second floor feels like Canada. So I’m blaming the cold on my inability to give up the satisfying things in life. I need those things. I’m cold.

Michael and I did resolve to give up meat this week which was going well until I made a pork shoulder. This is the recipe for Momofuku’s Bo Ssam that I made for a dinner party of 6, and it’s amazing and surprisingly easy. We also ate it for three days after the dinner party because the leftovers were so good.

Picture (obviously) from the New York Times

Picture (obviously) from the New York Times

So aside from that….we’re practically vegan. It is a good challenge though and has inspired some new dinners: fish tacos, Instant Pot Shakshuka (from Melissa Clark’s book Instant Dinner), shrimp with cauliflower puree. In other words, we’re not just eating pasta with the kids.

I also made my chocolate peanut-butter balls which aren’t particularly healthy but aren’t particularly unhealthy either (and this version included hemp seeds which are nutty and camouflage nicely). It’s a good snack for the ravenous 6-year-old that gets off the bus every day. I suspect that instead of eating lunch, he just says “poopy” and “fart” until recess. When he gets home he needs a snack the size of a meal. These balls are a good filler-upper for him and unlike the store-bought stuff, they are from real ingredients.

 Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup coconut flakes
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
1/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup peanut butter (or other nut/non-nut butter)
1/3 cup honey or agave

DIRECTIONS
1. Grind oats, coconut, hemp seeds and chocolate chips in mini food processor.
2. Mix peanut butter and honey, then stir in oat mixture.
3. Roll into balls (add a few drops of water if too dry). Sprinkle with powdered sugar (for effect) and refrigerate.

 

it's better in the burbs?

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Well, I don't know about that yet but I'm trying to be optimistic and focus on the positives of our new life. Like, for example, more counter space! On which I can safely perch my instant pot and plug it in without moving ten other things. As a result, I’m using it more. For example, I figured out how to make ricotta cheese after many failed tries.

It's super easy— just pour a half gallon of milk (at Costco they comes in threes) and 1.5 teaspoons of salt in the IP and choose the "yogurt" function. When the IP beeps, add 1/3 cup lemon juice, stir and let it sit for 10 minutes. Finally, strain with cheesecloth for anywhere from 10-30 minutes until it's to your liking. It makes a nice gift if you put it in a jar with a ribbon.

I’ve also used the IP to steam veggies and it made the best chili we’ve ever had.

Another positive happening: I met a friend —one of my few neighbors who have not already covered their houses in inflatable spiders and faux tombstones. She told me about a peaceful shady pond within walking distance, which I found to be desolate and beautiful. As I looped around it, I even started to appreciate this quieter life. (I apparently got so dreamy though that I took the wrong path and had to use Google Maps to get home.) Still, I was pretty proud of my nature walk, and shared it with the kids when they got home from school, along with my pictures of floating geese. Or were they ducks? Wait, what’s the difference? 

magic mac

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For anyone who has followed my multi-year search for the perfect mac and cheese recipe, I'm sorry. It's not exactly the cause I thought I'd champion when I finished grad school. The good news is that I finally found it: an easy, no-powder mac and cheese (slightly tweaked from Dad Cooks Dinner) that both boys loved on two separate occasions. I can make in the Instantpot—it's even easier than a stovetop version, And I can pack it in thermoses for their lunch boxes. And here it is:

MAGIC MAC

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried elbow macaroni
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt 
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 16 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

    Directions
  1. Stir the macaroni, butter, mustard, hot pepper sauce, salt, and 4 cups water in the pressure cooker pot. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
  2. Stir in the evaporated milk and the cheese one handful at a time, stirring constantly.

    ***This makes a ton so feel free to half it or store it in the fridge for a week or two and scoop out as needed. Heat up with a splash of milk or water.

 

 

instant pot: breakfast

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So far there has only been one Instant Pot failure—steel cut oatmeal, from a recipe I found on a random blog. That's one of the problems with the IP--there just aren't that many trustworthy recipes yet. With a lot of ad-libbing I finally got the oatmeal to be oatmeal and with a better recipe, it can be done.

Unfortunately just the idea of tasting the somewhat unusual looking oatmeal sent Nate running into the other room. "You win some you lose some" I said aloud which Mack and Michael turned into a song about tornados and dragons called "The worst hike ever." So at least the creative juices were flowing and eventually Nate came out and joined us. 

A better turnout (not that Nate ate it but the rest of us loved it) were these egg muffins which were softly steamed and juicy. 

the everyday and the dutch baby

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Most weekends we make pancakes which are our everyday pancakes. I use a healthy-ish dry mix and we add eggs, milk and oil. The kids know the "recipe" by heart and love to help and the pancakes, which I make on our griddle, are pretty good. 

But this was a different kind of weekend. We had three birthday parties lined up, plus dinner with friends and a date night. And of course at birthday party number 1 on Saturday morning, a lovely pool party on a rooftop in Brooklyn, Mack slammed his face into a wooden planter while running from a water gun fight. 

We spent the next few hours in Urgent Care waiting for a doctor to look at his swollen bleeding eye. It turns out he is fine, just beat up, but anyone who knows Mack will probably feel more compassion for the doctor in this scenario. The very nice doctor in training who had never met Mack and didn't realize what he was in for or that the last time this boy had a medical procedure, the hospital security guards were called in to help hold him down. Not kidding.

After the crying, screaming, thrashing, begging and whirling insults, we finally got a drop into his eye. Six lollypops later, we were on our way home with a prescription for more drops (god help us) when Mack realized he wasn't returning to the lovely rooftop birthday party (since it was long over) and that he would not in fact be eating cake. You can imagine the rest. 

Anyway, this was no weekend for everyday healthy pancakes so we made this recipe from 1966 that blew us all away: creamy and buttery, custard-like with crispy edges. All it needs is a little powdered sugar on top. 

DUTCH BABY

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Pinch of nutmeg
4 tablespoons (one half stick) of unsalted butter
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the flour, milk, eggs, and nutmeg in a bowl. Beat lightly. 
Melt the butter on the stove in a cast iron skillet with a heatproof handle. When it is very hot, (be careful not to burn!) pour in the batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake is golden brown.
Sprinkle with the sugar.

a cheesy meatless monday

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The kids were fools and declined to even try this creamy deliciousness which I made last night. It's pretty close to Alfredo and fun that you can keep scraping strands out of the "bowl" after it's all over.

Also this coincided with the kids eating scrambled eggs so we had a Yellow Dinner party and invited the following guests:

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium-sized spaghetti squash
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon cream cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tablespoons extra for topping
salt/pepper

DIRECTIONS:

There are several ways to get the spaghetti out of the squash but the easiest is the microwave. You can put the whole squash in for 5-10 minutes until soft and then cut, or cut first then microwave for 5-10 minutes until soft. Either way let it cool a bit before you use a fork to shred out the strands and put them in a bowl. Keep the empty shells.

The sauce: melt butter and flour in a small pot over medium-low heat while whisking until you have a pasty brown mess, then add the milk and keep whisking. You’ll feel it get thicker. Once hot, add cream cheese. Take off the heat, add parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

Mix sauce into spaghetti squash then scoop back into the empty shells. Add more cheese on top and broil for 3-5 minutes until warm and slightly brown on top. 

the spiralizer

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Okay I know this is has been trending for some time and I've nobly resisted the marketing and culinary media pressures but I finally gave in and just bought the damn thing: The Spiralizer Tri-Blade Vegetable Spiral Slicer. The one everyone says is the best including Cooks Illustrated so if you're gonna do it, this is the one. Not terribly expensive ($30) and actually super easy to use and clean (I wish someone were sponsoring this but they're not.)

I watched a short video of how to use it (you can make curly fries!) then experimented on three zucchinis. It looks really cool but how does it taste? If you cook it properly, it's actually really tasty and not so far from the real thing. I think it's best not to think you are replacing spaghetti but inventing a new dish altogether. And with that in mind, I have to say I kind of loved this one way more than I thought I would. The "noodles" held up to the sauce and it was creamy but not mushy--really satisfying for a healthy dish. I didn't force it on the children yet but I"m already thinking about ways to trick Nate into eating it. (Green spaghetti for St Patrick's Day?) I think I could also peel the veggies and the result would look more like pasta. Hmmm....

Zucchini "Alfredo"

3 zucchinis
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp cream cheese
1 tbsp sour cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated

Spiralize the zucchinis. Sprinkle with salt and sautee in hot oiled pan for 5 minutes. In the meantime, microwave other ingredients in medium bowl for 30 seconds. Add "noodles" to bowl and stir. Add extra cheese. 

meatless mondays

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One of my first cookbooks was the Moosewood Cookbook. I was in high school and a sudden vegetarian and someone, maybe my mom, bought me Mollie Katzen's book. It was a revelation at the time--one of the first collections of only meatless meals. 

I have since lost that book and I am no longer a vegetarian but lately we have been trying to abstain from meat one day a week. Meatless Mondays is part of our attempt to structure weekday dinners (ie Taco Tuesday). At first Nate protested this rule. Then he found out that pasta is not a meat. Now he's cool with it. But it does remain a challenge to come up with new and filling veggie dinners. I think Michael is secretly hoping I get stumped and he can just eat cheese.

While googling what to make with the bag of green lentils that I bought on a whim at a health food store, I came across one of Katzen's humble recipes from the Moosewood Cookbook. It seemed odd that such a relic was even online. But the simple lentil chili was a perfect starting point, and with a few flavor additions, turned out a hearty, meat-like chili that satisfied us omnivores and even became lunch for the next few days. The trick is lots of creative seasoning and a heavy dose of toppings. Mack even turned the toppings into a meal in itself and Nate, of course, had pasta. 

Moosewood Lentil Chili (modified)

2 cups dried lentils–any kind
3 to 4 cups water
One 8 oz can tomatoes
1 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cups chopped onion
2 to 3 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 can kidney beans
1 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp Yeast flakes
Fresh black pepper and crushed red pepper

Optional Toppings:
yogurt or sour cream
feta
grated cheddar
minced fresh parsley and/or cilantro

1.   Soak lentils in water to cover by an inch for 2-3 hours. Drain. (optional)

2. Place lentils and water in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, partially cover, and lower the heat to a simmer for about 30 minutes.

2.   Add tomatoes, cumin, paprika, thyme, garlic, and onions. Stir, mostly cover again, and let it cook for another 30 minutes or so. Check the water level as it cooks, and add water as needed, to prevent dryness. Stir from the bottom every several minutes during the cooking.

3.   Add salt and tomato paste. Stir and continue to simmer about 10 minutes.

4.   Stir in the vinegar, beans, hot sauce, yeast, black pepper, and crushed red pepper, adjusting the seasonings to taste. Serve hot, with some or all of the optional toppings.