Last May, I spent a weekend down in San Francisco.  I really love that city.  I have been to SF more than any other city, somehow making it there at least once a year for as long as I can remember.  On that particular trip, I made a trek to Omnivore Books – a charming cookbook shop.  In my mind I was picturing Books for Cooks, a truly incredible cookbook shop in the Notting Hill neighborhood of London, where I spent many an hour gazing and drooling.  Omnivore is decidedly less grand but still filled with incredible treasures.  I had been reading about the new Ottolenghi book Plenty and was thrilled to see it at Omnivore.  It had not yet been released in the States so consequently, I paid $60 for it.

Now I see the book everywhere in its American (and $35) version.  I don’t regret buying mine for a second.  I had it for months longer than most people stateside and I also love all the British-isms in my book.  Aubergine, coriander, courgette, rocket, swede, mangetout – all words I had to get used to when we lived in London.  (Side story.  I went to the grocery store one day in search of a swede having no idea what it was.  When the produce guy pointed it out to me, I laughed.  “What a funny name for that vegetable”, I said.  He asked what we call it.  Rutabaga was my reply.  “And that is not a weird name?”  Good point.)

In addition to having charming names for vegetables, my copy has all the metric measurements.  There was a time when I could rapidly double a temperature and add 32 to get Fahrenheit out of Celsius but sadly, these days I just use my Kitchen Pro app most of the time.  But checking a phone repeatedly while cooking is not very efficient and so I wing it much more with this book than I would if the measurements were more “American” (read: antiquated and ridiculous).

It feels almost sacrilegious to tinker with Ottolenghi’s recipes.  Both of his books have imaginative, well-spiced, interesting, and delicious food.  I tend to do things more by feel and taste with his books and I have a sneaking suspicion that he would approve.

This is one of those “if you think you don’t like brussels spouts then try this!” recipes.  I kind of like those smurf cabbages (my brother’s term).  I loved them here.  Be sure to let them get nice and brown.

One Year Ago: White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
Two Years Ago: Garlic Ciabatta Bread and Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

Brussels Sprouts and Tofu
Adapted from Plenty
Serves 3-4

I served this with brown rice and plenty of hot chili sauce.  I used a large cast iron skillet to make the whole dish and was able to cook the sprouts and the tofu in one batch.  If you have a smaller pan, I would do each of them in two batches.  You want to make sure tofu and the vegetables have plenty of contact with the pan and don’t end up steaming.

2 tbsp. sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. maple syrup
12 ounces extra firm tofu
1 pound brussels sprouts
Kosher salt
Canola oil
3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 red chili, seeded and finely diced
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

First marinate the tofu.  Whisk together in a shallow dish the chili and soy sauces, the sesame oil, vinegar, and the maple syrup (I used a Pyrex pie plate).  Cut the block of tofu into ½-inch thick slices and then each slice into 6 squares.  Add the tofu to the marinade and gently toss.  Allow to marinate, turning the pieces occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Trim the bases off the sprouts and cut each from top to bottom into three thick slices.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add just enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Add the sprouts along with a large pinch of salt and cook for about 3 minutes without stirring.  You want them to brown a bit.  Then stir them occasionally until they reach your desired degree of doneness (I like mine soft and not crunchy).  Remove to a bowl.

Add just a bit more oil and toss in the scallions, chili, and mushrooms.  Again, allow to cook and brown, about 6 minutes in all, and add to the bowl with the sprouts.

Carefully add the tofu to the pan and allow to cook for 3 minutes without stirring.  Using tongs, turn each piece of tofu over and allow the other side to brown, about another 2-3 minutes.  Add the contents of the sprout bowl, along with the remaining tofu marinade and the cilantro.  Toss everything together gently and turn off the heat.  Taste, and add salt as needed.

Moving on.

It has been a busy couple of weeks in my kitchen.  Since the beginning of the month, I have taught three classes, cooked a yoga dinner for 24, made a birthday cake for my younger son, and baked cupcakes for my older son’s class.  When typing that out, it doesn’t look like all that much.  But it was a lot, especially coupled with regular old everyday life.

At the end of a long stint of cooking, I sometimes feel like I am done with it.  The thought of chopping anything, turning on a burner, bringing butter up to room temperature, cracking an egg – just too. much. effort.  But then my husband goes out of town and a friend brings her kids over for dinner, and I realize what I really want to eat for dinner is not take-out but my cooking.  And so, back into the kitchen I go.

This Asian-noodles-in-a-broth-with-tofu idea is not new on this site.  It is one of my favorite things to eat in the world.  Each time I make something like this, it is a little different.  I glanced at a recipe from Deborah Madison to get me going in a slightly different direction than I would have if left to my own devices.  Then I totally made it my own.  As with most Asian noodle dishes, soups or otherwise, I would eat this every night without complaint.  If it is still frosty in your part of the country, a bowl of noodle soup warms you like no other.  But this is light and fresh enough to taste right even if your city is thawing.

One Year Ago:  Holly B’s Favorite Cornbread
Two Years Ago:  Vegetarian Caesar Salad and Red Curry with Winter Vegetables and Cashews

Somen Noodle Soup with Spring Vegetables and Baked Tofu
Dana Treat Original
Serves 3-4

This recipe might look a little complicated but it is actually quite quick to make.  You can always double the broth and freeze half for next time. Somen noodles are very thin wheat noodles found on the Asian aisle of your supermarket.  Feel free to use different vegetables in the mix – snow or snap peas would be great.

For the broth
Zest of 1 lime
3 stalks lemongrass, bruised lightly with a knife, then sliced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2-inch piece ginger, cut into coins
½ of a large red onion, sliced
10 sprigs cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. light brown sugar

For the tofu
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. dark sesame oil
2 tsp. hoisin sauce
2½ tsp. light brown sugar
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated or finely minced
1 pound extra firm tofu, blotted dry and cut into small cubes

For the soup
6 ounces somen noodles
Vegetable oil
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and very thinly sliced (use a mandoline if you have one)
Small handful green beans, trimmed and cut into thin slices
5 spears asparagus, ends trimmed and thinly sliced on a diagonal

Garnish
1 lime, cut into small pieces
Cilantro leaves
Jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced

Make the broth
Put all ingredients except for the soy sauce and brown sugar in a large saucepan.  Pour in 8 cups of water and add a large pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.  Cool slightly, then strain out and discard the solids.  Stir in the soy sauce and brown sugar.  Adjust seasoning as necessary.  Keep warm over low heat.  (Can be made two days ahead.  Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate.)

Make the tofu
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Mix together the marinade in a medium baking dish.  Taste, making sure the balance is to your taste.  You want it to be salty, sweet, and slightly sour.  Stir in the tofu, coating well with the marinade.  Allow to sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes, tossing occasionally to make sure the tofu is coated with the marinade.  Place in the oven, uncovered, and allow to bake until all the marinade is absorbed and the tofu is getting a slight crisp to it, about 35 minutes.  Toss the tofu once or twice in the baking process so that all the pieces come into contact with the pan.  Remove tofu from the oven and allow to cool.

Make the soup
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the somen noodles and give a good stir.  Watch the pot so it doesn’t foam over.  Cook the noodles until they are almost done, with just a slight bite, and drain.  Rinse well with cold water, drain, and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add just enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Add the red onion and sauté until starting to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, jalapeño pepper, and ginger and cook for another two minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the green beans, carrots, and asparagus and continue to cook, stirring often, until the green vegetables are crisp tender, about 5 minutes.

Place some noodles in the bottom of a deep soup bowl.  Ladle on the broth.  Add tofu and vegetables and garnish with cilantro, lime, and jalapeño pepper slices.

I can tell you a sure-fire way to have your spouse/partner/significant other/friend tell you that your food is absolutely delicious.

Have them do a cleanse.

Randy has been talking about doing a cleanse for about 6 months now.  I have been wary.  He tends to be a bit hypoglycemic, meaning if he does not eat when he is hungry, he is not all that pleasant to be around.  I have been in more than one restaurant frantically waving down someone to bring bread as he turns pale.  So, the idea of him basically eating just fruit or vegetables all day was a little frightening.

Every cleanse is different and the one he is doing allows him to eat a “sensible” meal at night.  This basically means vegan and gluten free which is not a stretch for me at all.  It took me about five minutes to come up with several dinners for the week.  I have made some tasty meals the past few nights but you would think I was a Michelin three star chef based on Randy’s reactions to the food.  So there is a good tip for you, starve your partner all day and they will think you are the best cook around!

Here is a dish that totally pushed me out of my tofu-with-Asian-food rut.  I know people have strong feelings about our little bean curd friend, but I have always liked tofu and welcome the opportunity to use it more.  When people ask me about tofu, I always give them two suggestions – make sure you buy extra firm and don’t expect it to taste like steak.  It might sound obvious but I do think that people are looking for a meat replacement and tofu is not that.  Tofu is tofu, a relatively tasteless brick of protein.  Using extra firm helps with that texture issue (it is not mushy) and making a dish like this one allows something tasteless on its own to become super tasty.

So rather than the flavors of coconut milk, soy sauce, and sesame oil, this tofu soaks up the flavors of white wine, olives, and red wine vinegar.  I took this idea from Deborah Madison and made some changes.  I streamlined some of the baking, lightened up the sauce and added a bed of quinoa for the vegetables and tofu to sleep on.  If you look at this and think, “Tofu?  Quinoa?  Why not just put me out in a field and let me graze?” I beg you to give it another thought.  I thought this made for a very tasty dinner and Randy thought it was the single most delicious thing he had ever put in his mouth.  Thank you cleanse!

One Year Ago:  Black Bean Chilaquile
Two Years Ago:  Milk Chocolate Frosted Layer Cake

Baked Tofu with Peppers and Olives
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Serves 4

The Tofu and Vegetables
1 pound extra firm tofu, cut into thin triangles or slabs
Olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. dried marjoram
¼ cup chopped parsley
3 bell peppers – red, yellow, and green – thinly sliced
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup dry white wine
20 Niçoise olives, pitted and halved

The Sauce
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. warm water

¾ cup quinoa
1¼ water

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve (if you buy Bob’s Red Mill brand, you don’t need to do this).  Add the rinsed quinoa and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to low, cover, and allow to cook for 20 minutes.  Fluff with fork, then replace cover and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom, then add the onions along with a large pinch of salt and sauté enough to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the herbs, peppers, tofu, mushrooms, and garlic and cook until the onions are very soft and the tofu starts to sear a bit on the outside, stirring occasionally, about 14 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the wine and olives and simmer until the vegetables are coated with a syrupy sauce, about 8 minutes.

Spread the quinoa in an 8×11-inch baking dish.  Spread the vegetable and tofu mixture over top.  Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce and pour the sauce over top.  Bake, covered, until heated through, about 25 minutes.  Serve with Sriracha if you like things spicy.

Several months ago, I had lunch with a friend at a relatively new local restaurant called Nettletown.  It has been getting a lot of buzz lately and I took precious babysitting time to go check it out.  I am not a restaurant reviewer but I can tell you that within a very modest space, very exciting über-local and sustainable food is happening.  If you want more information, Tea wrote a great post about Nettletown here.

From the specials list, I chose a dish that turned out to be one of the most interesting and delicious dishes I have eaten in a long time.  I don’t remember everything exactly but I know for sure that my shallow but well-filled bowl contained fresh rice noodles, very firm and perfectly flavored tofu, sea beans, mizuna, and shiitake mushrooms.  There may or may not have been other delicacies in there.  I was pretty hungry that day and I still only made it through about half of my dish.  I dislike leftovers but I loved my noodles so much that I took my unfinished portion home with me and ate them later that night.

Since then, the dish has haunted me.  I have been back to Nettletown twice and have been dismayed to find it absent from the specials menu.  So, I have attempted to re-create the dish.  Three times.  The first two times I was so hungry and distracted by the time the dish was done that I didn’t have the energy or patience to take a photo.  (Fellow food bloggers, can I get an amen?)  I just figured I would make it again.  These are flavors and ingredients I love so why not use “no photo” as an excuse to repeat?  Each time I refined the dish a little more.  Some things stayed constant, others changed.  All three times I hoped to use fresh rice noodles and was never able to make that happen in spite of looking for them at my local Asian market.

So what is going on here?  First I made a marinade/sauce.  I cut the tofu into pieces, put them in a small baking pan, and poured about half the marinade over top.  I sautéed up some shiitake mushrooms until they started to brown and added just a touch of soy sauce at the end.  I rinsed sea beans, pre-cooked and then rinsed the rice noodles, and I allowed the tofu to bake long enough to absorb the marinade and develop a bit of a crust.  I assembled the whole dish together, poured the remaining sauce over top, and quickly seared bok choy halves to put on top.

This is not exactly the dish I had at Nettletown.  I’m still going to keep tweaking it and I am going on a fresh rice noodle quest.  But I’m getting close.

One Year Ago:  Zesty Tofu Wraps

Rice Noodles with Marinated Tofu and Shiitake Mushrooms
Dana Treat Original
Serves 4

I tried both the angel hair thickness rice noodles and the more fettucine thickness and preferred the latter.

For the marinade:
2 inch pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 garlic clove, minced
2 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves removed, minced
6 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1½ tbsp. mirin
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 tbsp. water
½-1 tsp. red pepper flakes

12 ounces extra-firm tofu, blotted dry and cut into 1-inch cubes
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed and cut into thick slices
4 baby bok choy, sliced in half
Large handful of sea beans, rinsed and drained
Mizuna leaves (you can substitute spinach)
1 pound rice noodles

To make the marinade/sauce, mix together all the ingredients in a medium size bowl.  Taste for flavor balance and add more soy, honey, or lime juice to taste.  Put the tofu in a shallow baking dish (an 8×8-inch pan is perfect) and pour about 1/3 of the marinade over top.  Allow the tofu to sit for at least half an hour, turning the pieces periodically.  You can also refrigerate the pan, covered, for up to one day.  Reserve the rest of the marinade.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Place the baking pan in the oven and bake until the marinade is absorbed and the tofu is developing a bit of outer crunch, 30 to 40 minutes.  Turn the tofu once during baking.  Set aside.

Heat a medium non-stick pan over medium heat.  Add just a bit of canola oil and then the mushrooms.  Allow to cook with out turning too much so that they get a bit browned.  Once they are soft and have released all of their liquid, add about a tablespoon of soy sauce.  Stir until the soy sauce is absorbed and set the mushrooms aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add the rice noodles and cook until just tender.  Check the package for how long they need to cook and be sure to taste them to make sure they are done.  Drain and immediately rinse them with cold water until they are cool.

Heat a bit more oil in the same skillet in which you cooked the mushrooms.  Add the bok choy halves and cook just until softened a bit, about 3 minutes.

To assemble the bowls, place a small handful of mizuna at the bottom of a wide shallow bowl.  Top with ¼ of the noodles.  Pour ¼ of the marinade/sauce over the noodles.  Top with some tofu, sea  beans, mushrooms, and a couple bok choy halves.

Lately, I have been doing a fair amount of catering.  Some of it has been real official catering and some of it has been making food for lots of people on behalf of friends.  Either way, I am always faced with the challenge of how much food to make.  Working as a personal chef for three years and also catering lunches, dinners, and parties – not to mention all the entertaining we do ourselves – has made me a pretty good judge of portions.  I have no formula, I just kind of guess.  (Very scientific, I know.)  If I’m not sure, I err on the side of too much food because leftovers are nice but being hungry because the hostess/chef/caterer didn’t make enough food is not.  Once in a while I am off but thankfully not very often.

My parents came over for dinner last night along with my brother Michael.  Both of my brothers have incredible appetites and if they like something, you had probably better duck for cover.  My brother Alex once went to a wedding where he ate 99 skewers of shrimp with each skewer holding three shrimp.  I do know he did not get sick.  I do not know if anyone else got any shrimp that night.

Anyway, Michael, the baby in the family, also loves food and I always like to send him home with leftovers.  Keeping that in mind, and knowing I was cooking for five last night, I decided to one and half the recipe for these Spicy Peanut Noodles.  Just a pound and a half of noodles.  That should be right for five hungry people with a few leftovers, right?  If I were making this pasta or this one, I wouldn’t hesitate to use a pound and a half of pasta.

I’m not sure what happened to my nice Barilla whole grain spaghetti, but I could have fed about ten people with this dish.  As I said, better too much food than not enough.  Especially if it is a savory dish like this one.  I love Asian noodles of all kinds and these are no exception.  Peanut-y and smooth with terrific bite from the lightly pickled vegetables.  After we all ate our portions, I sent both my brother and parents home with some, and the boys and Randy ate the rest of them tonight.  That is a lot of noodles.  (By the way, my boys – the little ones – inhaled this dish.  Both of them had two huge plates-ful and Graham even had a second helping of tofu.)

I usually scoff at using spaghetti in Asian dishes, but I had some on hand and I like that the Barilla noodles have quite a bit of protein in them.  Their nutty flavor was most welcome in this dish, I just cooked them past al dente so their texture would be right.  No tofu was in the recipe originally, but I liked it here.  I held back a bit of the peanut sauce, brushed both sides of the tofu with it, and baked it in a 375º oven for about 25 minutes.  I also added the slightly pickled carrots because I thought the dish could use an extra bite and a bit of color.

One Year Ago: Greek Pasta Casserole

Spicy Peanut Noodles
Adapted from Food & Wine
Serves 6

1 pound spaghetti
¾ cup smooth peanut butter
½ cup + 2 tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
3 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. sugar
6 tbsp. soy sauce
½ cup water
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
One 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large garlic clove
12 oz. extra-firm tofu, cut into ½-inch thick wedges
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
2 carrots, peeled and grated

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

In a blender, puree the peanut butter with 6 tablespoons of the vinegar, 3 tbsp of the sugar, the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, crushed red pepper, ginger and garlic.  Remove about ½ a cup of the dressing and place in a pie dish.  Put the tofu slices in the dish and turn them to coat with the dressing.  Place dish in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove and turn the slices over.  Bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a pot of boiling water, cook the spaghetti until tender.  Place the remaining dressing in a large bowl.  Using tongs, scoop the spaghetti out of the water and into the bowl.  Toss to coat the noodles with dressing.  Ladle in some of the cooking water if the noodles seem too dry.

In another bowl, toss the celery with the cilantro and 2 tbsp. of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Do the same in another bowl with the carrots and remaining vinegar and sugar.  Drain if they seem too wet, but allow them each to sit in their liquid for at least 10 minutes.

Serve the noodles in bowls and top them with the celery and carrots.

Today – a story and a question.

But first a disclaimer.  This story has to do with me drinking.  Those who know me can tell you I love my wine.  I drink it often but I don’t usually drink too much of it.  I love the way it tastes with food and a glass at 5pm can really help me through the boys fighting/fixing dinner/bathtime/stories/teeth brushing/bedtime part of the day.  Okay, maybe two glasses.

Remember we went to Whidbey Island for New Year’s Eve?  What I didn’t tell you is that I drank a lot that night.  A lot of red wine and then toasted the New Year with a large glass of champagne.  Friends, my advice to you is do not ever end the night with champagne.

I took Advil before going to bed and woke up feeling a little rough but not terrible.  Here is the thing with me and hangovers though.  I usually wake up feeling as described above but as the day wears on, things get worse.  I start feeling more off and by the late afternoon, I am a bit of a mess.  On Whidbey, we all ventured off to go to the park, only to find it closed for renovation, so we went into the darling town of Langley.  All ten of us (four adults, six kids) piled into a coffee place.  I drank water.  We walked around the town.  I eyed lots of benches longingly.  No one would notice if I just laid down, right?  Jen steered me in the direction of a new gourmet food shop which, because of the holiday, was closed.  I peered in the window at all the gorgeous food and thought, “I must feel really bad if I’m thankful this place is closed”.

Why am I telling you this story?  Well, because eventually we ended up in this adorable shop which is part grocery, part clothing, part toy, and part kitchen gear store.  (It doesn’t sound like it would work, but it does.)  They always have an eclectic selection of cookbooks and, even in my state, I pulled down a new-to-me one called New Vegetarian.

Because I have so many, a veg cookbook has to have some really innovative and interesting recipes for me to want it.  With this book, I immediately saw three or four recipes that I was dying to try.  So, of course I had to buy it.  If I was in the middle of one of the worst hangovers in my life and was moved to want to cook – this had to be a special book.

I brought it home, put it on my overflow shelf and promptly forgot about it.

End of story.

Now the question.  Why do they only sell buttermilk in large quantities?  Yes, once in a while I can find a pint of it, but usually I am stuck with a quart.  Just about any baking recipe that calls for it uses somewhere around ½ a cup.  That leaves you with 3½ cups.  Yes, I could make pancakes but I don’t really like pancakes (don’t tell anyone).  Yes, it’s inexpensive so I could really just pour it down the drain but – ugh! – I hate that kind of waste.

And here is where the story and the question magically weave together to make perfect sense in this post.  While paging through my fun new book that I forgot about, I found this recipe.  Not only did it include some of my very favorite spices, it calls for a full two cups of buttermilk.  Because I seem to have misplaced my brain lately, I can’t remember why I had an almost-full quart of buttermilk in the fridge, but there it sat – just waiting to be used in this delicious and unusual entrée.

This is one of those “use what you have on hand” recipes.  I bought the cauliflower and zucchini because I happened to be at the store anyway, but really any vegetable you love would be great here.  The only advice I’m giving in this post is to drink champagne as your first beverage of the evening, not your last.

Is this post weird?  I just went to type the name of this recipe which is “Tofu-Cabbage Karhi” and realized that I added no cabbage to my recipe.  I know I can be absent minded in the kitchen, but did I really leave out a title ingredient in this dish?  But no, on closer inspection, the recipe was wrong – no cabbage was called for.  So I changed the name.

Tofu-Cauliflower Karhi
Adapted from New Vegetarian
Serves 4

I had some toasted coconut on hand from another recipe, so that is what is garnishing this dish.

12 oz. extra-firm tofu
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tsp. black mustard seeds
1 medium shallot, chopped
1 small zucchini, julienned
1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
2 large red jalapeños, seeded and diced
1 tbsp. chopped fresh ginger 2 cups buttermilk
½ cup chickpea flour 1 cup vegetable stock
1 tsp. tumeric
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
½ cup chopped cilantro

Cube the tofu and set aside.  Place a large cast-iron skillet over high heat and, when hot, add the oil.  Add cumin and mustard seeds.  Be careful as the mustard seeds will start to pop.  Immediately and the shallot, and stir.  Add the tofu to the pan and cook until golden on each side, then turn over.   Add zucchini, cauliflower, jalapeños, and ginger and stir, cooking until the vegetables are slightly softened and golden in spots.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk ½ cup of the buttermilk into the chickpea flour to make a paste, then gradually whisk in the rest of the buttermilk.  Whisk in the vegetable stock, tumeric, coriander, and chili powder.  Pour the mixture into the pan of sautéing vegetables and tofu.  Bring to a simmer, stirring, and cook oer low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, adding water or stock if the sauce becomes too thick.  (DT: I probably added at least another cup of liquid.)  Add the salt and brown sugar and stir well.

Just before serving, sprinkle in the lemon or lime juice and the cilantro.  Serve over rice.

When people ask me what kind of food I cook, the first thing I say is “vegetarian”.  Then I usually say something like, “I make healthy food but not spa food.”  What does that mean exactly?  I think I mean that yes, the food I cook is healthy in that I use a lot of vegetables, whole grains and plant-based proteins.  I cook with a minimum of oil.  I make a salad almost every night.  But my food can also be hearty (see: lasagne) and have more cheese than anything you would ever see in a spa.  If I’m going to make enchiladas, I do soften the tortillas in oil – I just don’t make them very often.

I think this dish kind of sums it up.  If you are a meat and potatoes person, this soba noodle dish might look like spa food to you – there is tofu in there after all.  But the fact that you brown the tofu in oil and that you add sesame oil as a flavor enhancer might get you kicked out of a spa.  I don’t know for sure – I don’t frequent spas, although I would like to.  So in a nutshell, “healthy food with lots of flavor and mostly good for you”.  How does that sound?

Soba Noodles Previously on Dana Treat: Soba Noodles with Bok Choy, Shiitake Mushrooms, and Ginger
One Year Ago: Lemon Bars

Soba Noodles with Vegetables, Crispy Tofu, and Toasted Sesame Seeds
Adapted from Gourmet
Serves 4

8 oz. package soba noodles
1 Asian or Bosc pear
Vegetable oil
12 oz. package extra firm tofu, patted dry, cut into ½-inch cubes
4 carrots, cut into 1½-by ¼ inch sticks
1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced thin
4 scallions, sliced thin
2 tbsp. finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp. Tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted lightly

In a large pot, bring salted water to boil for noodles.

Peel and cut pear into matchstick pieces.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil over moderately high heat.  Brown tofu on all sides, working in batches if necessary.  Transfer tofu to paper towels to drain and season with salt and pepper.

Add carrots to skillet and sauté, stirring, until just tender and start to brown.  Transfer carrots to a bowl.  Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet and then add mushrooms, scallions, ginger, and pear and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender.  Remove skillet from heat and add carrots.

Cook noodles in water until al dente.  Drain noodles in colander and immediately rinse with cold water.  Leaving them in the colander, toss the noodles with 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil.

Return skillet to moderate heat and add ¼ cup water, tamari or soy sauce, vinegar, and remaining teaspoon sesame oil.  Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring, until hot.  Add noodles, tossing to combine and adding more water if necessary, and cook until heated through.  Season noodles with salt and pepper and serve warm topped with tofu and sesame seeds.

And now, a break from all the sweets.

The scene: My birthday, July 26th.  The year: 2003.  The setting: London and environs.

We had moved into our little flat just weeks before and were still figuring out life in a new country.  Cooking for me was a real challenge because all of our kitchen equipment (including all my cookbooks) were 6 weeks behind us on a freighter.  Without my recipes, and without a computer in the flat, I was unmoored in our little kitchen.  Night after night I would attempt to make things for us drawing on my not insignificant experience.  But there was a lot of pasta boiled in the three tiny saucepans available to me at the time.  I am a much better and more innovative cook now and I would be much better off these days in that same situation.  But I have to say, I would still be lost without my cookbooks for a significant length of time.

For my birthday that year, my 33rd, we decided to do a bus tour and see some of the sites nearby the city.  There was a hotel that hosted these tours within walking distance of our flat and we chose a day touring Stonehenge and Bath.  I remember, quite clearly, that I was wearing a wool sweater and a jacket (in July) and thinking that Seattle had nothing on London in the weather department.  I remember being truly awed by Stonehenge, in spite of the fact that you are no longer allowed to get too close.  I remember being utterly charmed by the lovely town of Bath with its ruins of Roman baths.  Would you think the cultural experience wasted on me if I told you what I really remember was the restaurant where we had lunch?

Demuths is a vegetarian restaurant and, even if the food had been bad, it was a most welcome site for sore eyes.  Is is quite possible to eat extremely well as a vegetarian in London, but you have to know what you are doing and the places to go (three words – Middle Eastern food) but I hadn’t figured all that out yet.  And so, a menu of unlimited choices was enough to make me emotional.  And then the food was delicious.  Everything was light and fresh with none of the heaviness that I had already wearied of.  Best of all, they had a cookbook which I snatched up in 14.5 seconds.

Our meals at home dramatically improved after our day away.  Just days later that unbelievable heat wave hit – the one where so many people died in France.  For the first day or so, our flat was tolerable but it soon became torture to do anything but sit, and even that induced sweating.  Sandwiches and salad were the only things we wanted to eat and I was so thankful that this new treasure of mine had so many choices.

Smoked tofu was something I had never tasted before our year in London but I found it everywhere there, even in the most basic grocery stores.  I put it in everything and even just ate it by itself.  As I was doing my shopping in a very veg-friendly store the other day (PCC for the Seattle people), I was shocked to find some from a B.C. company.  The first thing I thought of was this salad.  We’ll see how things go this week, but I may even credit this super nutritious and flavor packed salad with breaking me out of my cooking funk.

For many of you, the coming week brings turkeys, and roasts, and hams.  It brings mashed potatoes, gratins, and green bean casseroles.  It brings puddings, cookies, pies, and cakes.  And next week brings champagne and big dinners, and possibly even things like chips and onion dip in front of back-to-back football games.  I won’t blame you if you put this salad away for now.  But January resolutions are right around the corner.  If eating healthier is on your list, bookmark this recipe.  No deprivation here.  Lots of flavor, lots of protein, and lots of texture.  I made up my own dressing because the original was too “spa” for me.

One Year Ago:  Holiday Cookies and Ultimate Ginger Cookies

Smoked Tofu, Le Puy Lentil, and Spinach Salad
With Thanks to Green World Cookbook
Serves 2

I encourage you to make this salad your own by finding the right balance of ingredients.  Below is how I made mine.  If you can’t find smoked tofu, any of the flavored types of tofu you find in your store would taste great.  Just be sure they are very firm.  Wasabi paste is something I always have on hand in my refrigerator.  It comes in a toothpaste looking tube and keeps forever.  The dressing will still be delicious without it, however.

For Salad:
1/2 cup Le Puy lentils
1 bay leaf
2 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves
10 cherry tomatoes, each cut in half
2 small handfuls bean sprouts
1 small avocado, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. roasted and salted sunflower seeds
4 ounces smoked (or other flavored) tofu, cut into fingers

For Dressing:
1/3 cup apple cider
1 tbsp. Tamari or other soy sauce
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. Wasabi paste
4 tbsp. Grapeseed oil or other neutral tasting oil

Place the lentils in a small saucepan and cover with at least 2 inches of water.  Add the bay leaf and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender to the bite but not mushy, about 25 minutes.  Drain and cool.

Meanwhile, in another small saucepan, bring the apple cider to a boil and cook down until it has reduced to about 2 tablespoons.  Set aside to cool.  Once cool, pour into a bowl along with the soy sauce, ginger, and wasabi.  Whisk well and then slowly add the oil, whisking the whole time.  Taste and adjust balance of flavors to your liking.

Place a bed of spinach down on each of two plates.  Scatter some of the lentils over top.  (You will have some lentils left over.)  Add the tomatoes, bean sprouts, tofu, avocado and sprinkle the sunflower seeds over the plate.  Lightly pour the dressing on to taste.

Sometime in my past, early childhood, I fell in love with noodle soup.  It was Campbell’s of course because that’s what noodle soup was in the suburbs in the 1970′s.  My mom would make me a bowl and I would eat it very carefully: broth first, then chicken, then the beloved noodles.  I thought it was the most delicious thing in the world.

Then I discovered Top Ramen.  More noodles and none of that pesky chicken!  (I never liked meat, even as a child.)  It was the first thing I ever made for myself and I would make it as often as my mom would let me.  I ate Top Ramen and Cup of Noodles into my early 20′s when I realized how unhealthy and fattening those two products are.  There was a noodle soup lull in my life until I met Randy who introduced me to pho.

Pho is a Vietnamese soup that uses rice noodles and various cuts of meat.  In the Northwest, most places will have vegetarian option made with tofu and often various vegetables.  Pho is the only food that Randy introduced me to rather than vice versa and I am eternally grateful.  A bowl of pho comes to your table relatively plain.  It is up to you to flavor it up with lime, chiles, cilantro, Thai basil, bean sprouts, Sriacha, and other types of hot sauce which are usually provided for you.

I have tried without success to make my own pho at home – I just can’t get the flavor of the broth right.  I have a terrible sneaking suspicion that the broth at my local joint isn’t actually vegetarian in which case {plugs ears with fingers} la la la!  I can’t hear you!

Ahem.  Anyway, just because I can’t master pho doesn’t mean I don’t make noodle soups.  I make lots of them actually and this is a favorite.  Sweet potato may seem like an unlikely ingredient in an Asian soup but it’s sweetness and texture is most welcome here.  The original recipe calls for a whole head of Napa cabbage which is just too much for me.  I just put in a bit and add tofu to make the soup even more filling and healthy.

One Year Ago:  Some talk about weight and Fruit and Spice Granola

Asian Coconut-Cabbage Soup with Lemongrass
Adapted from Food and Wine
4 Servings

Ingredient notes:  Napa cabbage is the elongated one with the ruffle-y leaves.  For this soup you will want thin rice-stick noodles, the ones that are about angel hair width, not the Pad Thai noodles.  5 tablespoons does sound like a lot of soy sauce, but you will want at least that much and possibly more.

About 14 cups water
6 oz. dried rice-stick noodles
1 tbsp. peanut or canola oil
1 tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
2 stalks lemongrass – top third discarded, tough outer leaves trimmed, minced
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
10 oz. extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch dice
5 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
6 leaves Napa cabbage, thinly sliced cross-wise
1 -14oz. can “lite” coconut milk
Juice of one lime, plus lime wedges for serving
1 large bunch cilantro, tough stems discarded, tender stems and leaves chopped

1.  Bring 8 cups of water to a boil.  Remove from the heat, add the rice noodles and let soak until the noodles are softened, about 4 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

2.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan.  Add the ginger and lemongrass and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add the remaining 6 cups of water, cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Add the sweet potatoes, tofu, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper and season with salt.  Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 7-10 minutes.

3.  Add the cabbage and coconut milk and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.  Stir in the lime juice and cilantro.  Add the noodles and stir until heated through.  Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with lime wedges.

I’ve just returned from the most fun weekend.  Friday evening I flew down to San Francisco for BlogHer which was a food blogging conference.  There were interesting panels and highly successful panel participants but most fun for me were the terrific people.  You see people write frequently that food bloggers are the nicest group of people and, having spent the weekend with a bunch of them, I have to agree.  Open, warm, funny, generous, and interesting.  I met a few people who I hope will become true friends.  And any of them are welcome to come visit me in Seattle.

(On a side note, if you follow anyone on Twitter who was there, or you read the blog of someone who was there – yes, the food was THAT bad.  Here is a terrific account of how things went wrong and where they should have gone right.)

Speaking of friends, I cooked for a good one last week.  I have mentioned Deb here before several times.  She used to be my neighbor and now lives just a few short blocks away.  We try to get our kids together once a week at least to play since they are similar ages and they love each other.  We also love to have our happy hour wine and catch up.  Usually dinner is something really casual.  It’s a break for her because she loves to eat vegetarian but is married to a meat and potatoes guy, and it’s a break for me because I get to not cook a big meal.  Our standby is baked potatoes with toppings and a big salad but last week my mom was joining us and I had a full box of vegetables from our CSA.

I decided to make this soba noodle dish because, well, it just called to me.  I was scrolling through the index of my much beloved Fields of Greens looking for recipes starring bok choy (yes, I got more bok choy) and of course this jumped out at me.  Asian noodle dish?  Yes please.  The three of us loved this and with a little advance prep chopping, it came together incredibly quickly.  I added tofu because I almost always do so to Asian food for the added protein.

Buckwheat Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms, Bok Choy, Ginger and Scallions
Adapted from Fields of Greens
Serves 4

1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/2 large or 2 small heads of bok choy
Salt
12 oz. soba noodles
2 tbsp. light vegetable or peanut oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. dark sesame oil
3 tbsp. mirin (sweet cooking sake)
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. sesame seeds

Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil.  Remove the mushroom stems and cut the caps into 1/2 inch thick slices.  For small heads of bok choy, slice the stem lengthwise, leaving leaf and stem together.  For a large head, slice the stems diagonally, 3/4 inch thick, and slice the leaves into 2-inch -wide ribbons.

When the water boils, add 1 tsp. salt.  Add the noodles and cook as directed on the package, about 8-10 minutes.  While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large saute pan; add the shiitake mushrooms and 1/4 tsp. salt.  Sauté over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic, ginger, chiles, and bok choy and sauté for 2 minutes.

Drain the noodles in a colander when they are just tender.  Reduce the heat under the sauté pan and add the scallion, sesame oil, mirin, and soy sauce.  Quickly add the noodles, taking care not to overcook the bok choy.  Remove from the heat, toss the noodles with the vegetables and cilantro, and season with salt to taste.   Sprinkle with sesame seeds.