The Kitchen of Procrastination

But NO!  Here is another recipe!

The sad thing is that this recipe has been sitting in my email box, already typed out for the most part for over a month.  I’ve just been in a guilty spiral about not posting, so I haven’t posted.  Makes so much sense, yeah, I know.

Anyway, this here is my favorite summer/early fall soup.  It can easily be served either hot, warm, or chilled.  It can be a complete meal in a pot, and goes great with snacks you probably already have around the house like tortilla chips and salsa.  It is gluten-free, and can be vegan if you leave out the cheese on top.

“Creme” of Broccoli and Lime Soup
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp cumin seed
1/4 tsp dried red chili flakes (or more to taste)
1 small onion, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, diced (or more to taste)
1 cup diced fresh pepper (such as poblano, anaheim, bell, etc)
2 stalks broccoli, chopped, with stalk and florets separated
1 tsp dried Mexican oregano (may omit if not available)
1 box soft silken tofu
1 bunch cilantro leaves
juice and zest of one lime (or more to taste)
3-5 cups water or vegetable broth

Heat the oil on medium heat, in a heavy-bottomed, large soup pan with the cumin and
dried chili flakes. Add onions and saute until just translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add peppers, toss to coat, then add garlic. Continue to saute on medium heat for approximately 5 more
minutes.
Add broccoli ends, mix into aromatics. Add approximately 1 tablespoon lime juice and saute until broccoli is cooked, but still crunchy (will appear a slightly darker green). Add broccoli florets and mix in thoroughly. Turn up to medium-high heat and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with lime juice, salt, pepper, and Mexican oregano.
Add approximately 3 cups of water or broth, or enough to barely cover the vegetables. Using a
hand-blender, puree the vegetables to a bloodless pulp (my husband’s words). As you are blending, crumble in the tofu and a big handful of cilantro. Adjust the amount of water to your tastes — more for a thin summer soup, less for a thick and creamy version. Turn down to low temperature and add the rest of the lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste.

Finished Product

Toppings Options: diced avocado, hot sauce such as Cholula or Valentina, crumbled queso fresco, sour cream, coarsely chopped cilantro

Serve with: corn tortilla chips, roasted corn on the cob, barbeque

Yes, another salad.  This one is one of my absolute favorites though.  It’s another very flexible recipe that depends on only two solid components: the peanut tofu mix and a triple herb and lime topping that when sprinkled on top of the rest of the salad brings it to life.  The peanut tofu is super simple!  All it takes is some sautéed extra firm Chinese style tofu (in this instance I used the Trader Joe’s extra protein tofu, which worked especially well, as it’s rather low moisture) and a peanut sauce that can be made in a single mixing bowl.  Now, my Thai salad must include cabbage and carrots, but you can use whichever vegetables you like best; I also love sugar snap peas when they are available.

Peanut Tofu

1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs toasted sesame oil
1 tsp red chili flakes
1 box extra firm tofu, drained
salt and fresh pepper

sauce
3/4 cup light coconut milk, well shaken
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs tahini
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp red chili flakes
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 inch ginger root, peeled and finely grated
juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste
thin hot sauce such as sriracha or Cholula, to taste
Optional: a few sprinkles of vietnamese fish sauce, 1-3 cloves of minced garlic, 1/4-1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Triple Herbs and Lime
2 parts finely chopped basil (Thai basil is especially good)
2 parts finely chopped cilantro
1 part finely chopped mint
zest of lime
squeeze of lime juice

In a separate bowl mix together all the ingredients for the peanut sauce. Blend together with fork until nut butters are smooth and well incorporated with the liquids. Add the salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste.

Heat the oils and chili in a high walled sauté pan. Crumble the tofu over a colander in the sink, squeezing out any excess liquid. Add the tofu to the pan. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Stir around on med-high heat until the tofu is a nice golden brown, like below.

Golden Brown Tofu

At that point, turn down the heat to low/med-low and pour on about 2/3 of the peanut sauce, enough to coat the tofu. Continue to stir and cook the sauce. Remove from the heat after about 3-5 min.

In another small mixing bowl, mix together the three herbs and the lime zest. Add a little lime juice and stir. Set aside.

Serving: Scoop some tofu onto some salad. Sprinkle with the herb blend, extra lime juice, and a little sesame oil. If you like, you can use the extra peanut sauce as salad dressing.

Finished Product

Comment: Except for the sugar in the peanut sauce this recipe is quite low carb, and as such might not be as filling as some might desire.  In that case, you can always add some rice noodles tossed or lightly fried in toasted sesame oil  to the mix.

Salad and popsicles (and the occasional salad masquerading as a sandwich).  That’s pretty much all I can manage to eat during the summer; the heat just kills my appetite.

Now that I’m finally settled in on the West Coast (sorry about the hiatus) and my pots and pans have arrived I thought I’d post something that takes full advantage of the summer produce all around me.

Farmer's Market Frittata Salad

This frittata  works well on its own as a savory breakfast, maybe served on top of some toast, or wrapped in a tortilla.  It’s like hashbrowns and scrambled eggs all rolled into one! But, I wanted to “beef” it up for lunch, adding in some crunchy lettuce and sweet grated beets and carrots.  I thought the beets were a perfect accompaniment (beets and eggs are often seen together in mediterranean cooking!)  But, I encourage everyone to only use what you like to eat, so if that means a salad of just lettuce, or tons of tomatoes and radishes, more power to you!  For dressing, I just sprinkled on a little olive oil and black cherry balsalmic vinegar, but again, I imagine just about any dressing would work.

Farmer’s Market Frittata

2 Tbs olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes
4 small yukon gold potatoes, grated
6 eggs
3 Tbs milk
1 big handful fresh basil, well chopped
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper

salad fixin’s: your choice of – chopped romaine lettuce, grated beets, grated carrots, chopped tomatoes, chopped red bell peppers, cucumbers, etc

Heat the oil in a high walled sauté pan, preferably non-stick for your own sanity. Add the chili flakes and garlic and sauté for 1 min, then add potatoes and a little salt and stir till well coated. Cook on med-high heat with lid on for several minutes until potatoes are starting to get brown on the bottom and tender. Stir them up and continue cooking.
In a mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, a little salt and beat well. Add chopped basil and feta.
Add egg mixture to the potatoes when they are tender, stir around in the pan to loosen the potatoes into the mixture. Turn heat down to med-low and put on the lid. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the frittata starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Put the pan into the oven and broil until the top is a nice light brown.
You can either let the frittata sit and reach room temperature, at which time it will settle and set further, or you can choose to eat it hot out of the pan. Just be warned that hot out of the pan will not be as firm as you might expect.

Assemble your salad in individual bowls and scoop a heafty serving of frittata on top. Sprinkle with dressing and more feta, if desired.