Basic Stir Fry, and then tonight's not so basic stir fry....

Many, many moons ago, in a land far away, my darling in laws gave me my first wok, with Sandra's fool proof stir fry recipe. This is it, the whole kit and kaboodle.

1lb protien of choice, cut into strips and soaked in marinade

1/2 cup thin sliced onion

2 cups vegetables of choice(pick at least 2), cut on the bias or into matchsticks

1 can oriental veggies- ie bean sprouts or water chestnuts, drained.

2 TBS of sesame oil

Easy marinade- 4 TBS soy sauce, t tsp flour, 2 tbs water. Mix with fork, toss with protien, and drain off before cooking.

To cook- heat oil over med high in a heavy wok until hot, but do not allow to smoke. Add protien, and cook through, remove to a plate. Add onions to the wok, and toss, then veggies, keeping them moving at all times. Once heated through, add the protien back, and the oriental veggies, and just heat through. Serve over rice.

Tonight was my first night back on my diet, so I wanted something light, delicious, and filling. I used brown rice- very filling, and then went a little veggie crazy.

1 lb tofu, dry fried (see somanynoms.blogspot.com for directions), then brushed with Hoisin sauce and cut into cubes.

onion

celery

purple carrots

shitake mushrooms

sugar snaps

Up until this point- this was prepared and cooked like the stir fry above. Just before serving, I tossed in a handful of pea shoots in, for additional crunch, and it was delish!! Very light in calories too- my guess is between 250-400 calories per serving, rice included. Enjoy

Tofu Dill Salad

So on the weekend, I like to make at least one thing in bulk that is good for lunches during the week. This is one of those recipes. It is nice and light- great for spring and summer, keeps and travels well, and super easy to make.

This recipe is a bulk recipe- so it can easily be halved. You will need to start with pressing your tofu well- you want it pretty dry.

2 lbs extra firm tofu, pressed dry, and crumbled.

2/3 cup chopped green pepper

2/3 cup chopped onion

2/3 cup chopped celery

1 cup veganaise

2 TBS dill

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together, and serve. Great with lettuce, tomatoes, and and crusty yummy whole wheat bread....... yummer!!!

The world's most underrated food......

Tofu. That wonder of nutrition and energy, is probably one of the blandest things this size of... well, grits. Now I love me some grits, mind you- add some buttery spread and salt and pepper, maybe some cheese, mmmmmmmm. They taste like whatever you put in them. So to our hero today, tofu. You can change it into a pretty good substitute for a lot of animal products, or just add goodies to make it taste yummy on it's own. My next few entries will be kind of an ode to tofu.
It is important to remember that if you expect meat free versions of your favorite meat dishes to taste exactly the same, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Whatever you make is never going to "taste just like chicken", or whatever. It is important to great flavor, in the style of the dish that you are trying to copy.
One of the first steps to transforming tofu into something wonderful, is to remove extra moisture. I use a lot of extra firm in most of my recipes, and after draining off all the liquid, you should press the block to remove more. The simple way to do this is between layers of papertowel, and under several heavy books, changing the towels and adding weight, for about an hour. Slightly more high tech and much more effective- use a vise, and pieces of plywood. Wrap the tofu block with papertowels, and sandwich between 2 pieces of plywood. Place in vice, and slowly tighten over about 30 minutes.
At this point you can season, cook, or for added texture, freeze. Freezing tofu gives it a chewy texture.
Case in point..... adding nori flakes and sea salt to crumbled pressed tofu will give it a sea food like flavor. Most yummy. Just food for thought for tonight.... recipes to follow!

So..... the first daffodil of spring is in bloom, and in honor of this momentous occasion I bring you the perfect spring supper. Light, bright, and it will warm your soul- Carrot Lime soup with Cilantro. If, like the first time I made this, you happen to dig up a bucket of old forgotten carrots out of the garden that have all gone woody, this is a great way to use them up. Alternatively, the juicing carrots sold at most organic food stores are cheap way to get your bulk carrots as well. But really, how expensive are carrots, anyway? Especially when there is yummy soup to be had!

So..... pull out the soup pot- and get chopping.

8 cups chopped carrots 1-2" pieces

8 cups veggie stock (I like Imagine brand) or no-chicken chicken broth

the zest and juice from 2 limes

4 TBS fresh cilantro, chopped

sea salt to taste

vegan sour cream- 1/2 cup, plus some to garnish

Combine the carrots and veggie stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for about 20 minutes until tender. Add lime juice, zest, cilantro. Using a hand blender, blend until smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream. Adjust seasoning as necessary. Add to bowl, and add a dollop of sour cream. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy.

And away we go!

My daughter Heather has been encouraging me to start a blog so that I could share some of my recipes and food love with the rest of the world. For better of for worse- this is it. I LOVE food.... probably a bit too much, but I love making good food for people around me. If I can make it healthy, even better.
My mom was an amazing gardener, and could grow anything. You would go to see her in February and she would be asking if wanted some carrots or jeruselem artichokes she had just pulled out of the garden. I have not gotten to that point, but my garden did very well last summer. The seed catalogs are coming in, and I am beginning to get excited about spring, now that the snow is finally melting.
Sooooo- Coming posts will have pictures, and recipes. I hope you enjoy.