Dragon Noodles

This is my latest discovery, and I've been making it often because it satisfies all my cravings for takeout, is fairly quick to make, and is easily adaptable to whatever ingredients I have on hand. The sauce is sweet, tart, and spicy.

Dragon Noodles

1 pkg tofu (or cooked chicken, shrimp or beef or ground meat or skip it and add more eggs)

1/2 lb cooked noodles (spaghetti, angel hair, rice noodles -- whatever you've got)

2 cups (about) chopped vegetables (any mix of the following: carrot, celery, broccoli, snap or snow peas, shelled edamame, cabbage, onion, green onion, mushroom, bell peppers)

2 eggs, beaten

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbs. ginger, minced

Sauce:

2 Tbs. chili paste

2 Tbs. brown sugar

2 Tbs. soy sauce

1-2 Tbs. fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

optional garnishes:

1/4 c. chopped peanuts

1/4 c. chopped cilantro 

2 green onions, thinly sliced

If I have the time and energy, sometimes I fry or bake the tofu to give it more texture.  To fry, just cut in cubes or strips and fry until golden and crispy.  To bake, stir cubes with a little soy sauce and sesame oil (1-2 tsp each), then bake at about 425, stirring occasionally, until they're a little golden on the corners.

Mix together the sauce.  

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil (vegetable, canola, peanut) in a wok or large frying pan.  Saute the vegetables (start with carrots, celery, onion first, because they take a little longer to cook), adding the garlic and ginger about a minute or two before the rest of the vegetables will be crisp-tender.  

Push the vegetables off to one side and pour the beaten eggs into the pan.  Let them cook until they're cooked about halfway through, then give them a little stir and let them finish cooking before mixing into the vegetables.  

Pour the sauce into the pan and stir in the noodles and tofu.  Serve quickly, garnishing with peanuts and cilantro or green onions if desired.

Chinese Egg Noodles with Five-Spice Pork (or Turkey)

We really like this recipe and it's pretty easy.

Serves four.

Adapted from recipe by Tony Rosenfeld, Fine Cooking, Issue 104

1/3 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts

1/3 cup precooked real bacon bits (I use the ones from Costco)

2 medium cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 2-inch piece ginger, coarsely chopped

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

3/4 lb. ground pork or turkey

1/2 tsp. five-spice powder

3 scallions, trimmed and sliced (white and green parts kept separate)

3 cups shredded cabbage and a bit of shredded carrot or a bag of coleslaw mix (no dressing)

2 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs. Asian sesame oil

1 tsp. white vinegar

1/2 tsp. granulated sugar

3/4 lb. fresh Chinese-style egg noodles

Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, coarsely chop the peanuts in a food processor. Transfer to a small bowl.

Heat the oil in a heavy-duty 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the bacon crisps up a bit, about 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.  Cook another minute.  Raise the heat to medium high and add the pork or turkey, five-spice powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until it loses all of its raw color, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the cabbage and cook a couple minutes until the cabbage begins to wilt. Stir in the scallion whites, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, and sugar. Keep warm over low heat.

Cook the noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and put in a large bowl; toss in the pork or turkey mixture. Portion among 4 bowls, sprinkle with the peanuts and scallion greens, and serve.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 820, Fat (kcal): 50, Fat Calories (g): 450, Saturated Fat (g): 11, Protein (g): 32, Monounsaturated Fat (g): 24, Carbohydrates (mg): 61, Polyunsaturated Fat (mg): 10, Sodium (g): 1560, Cholesterol (g): 130, Fiber (g): 4,

Pasta Georgina

I've been working lately on assembling a binder full of our favorite recipes - the ones that we eat and say to each other, "Why don't we eat this every week?" My hope is that if I have them indexed in one location that I'll remember them better when I'm doing my meal planning, but the problem is that there are so many of them. I also have a binder of recipes I want to try, and a third binder of recipes I like well enough to keep... The "Foods We Eat" project is taking much, much longer than I imagined it would.

I have the recipes organized by categories that I have listed in my four week menu plan. My menu plan has general headers for each day of the week, like Mexican on Thursdays or leftovers on Wednesdays, then within each I have slightly more specific ideas like for Italian I have pasta, pizza, and polenta. Then when I'm planning my menu for the week, if the idea is pasta, I choose a pasta recipe based on what sounds good and what produce is seasonal and what I happen to have on hand. I haven't much stuck to the days of the week thing - I tend to switch the days around based on what ingredients need to be used before they spoil and what our schedule is and how long the meals take. In general it has helped me a lot with my meal planning and has worked better than any other system I've tried because of its flexibility.

Z is in Hershey right now for a big cross-country meet. They got a hotel suite and cooked their dinner last night. Her coach recommended a dinner of pasta on Thursday, so we had Pasta Georgina - one of our last chances to have it this summer, as the season of fresh tomatoes and basil is coming to an end. I got this recipe from Kretschmanns, our CSA farmer and I can't find the recipe right now, so I'm going to write it from memory. Sorry no photos lately - our camera is getting repaired.

Pasta Georgina
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger (this is the surprise in the recipe)
4 large summer tomatoes, chopped (about 4-5 cups)
1/2 lb cubed mozzarella
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the garlic and ginger in olive oil until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and simmer until most of their liquid is gone (I've also added 2 cups chopped kale with the tomatoes, and it's good). When you're ready to serve the pasta, stir in the mozzarella and basil, add salt and pepper to taste, and toss it with about a pound of your favorite pasta, then serve. This is a recipe that is strong enough to work well with whole grain pasta.

morels!

I'm not sure what's better about hunting morels - eating them or walking in the woods. Morels are nearly impossible to find commercially, but in the spring you can find these flavorful mushrooms in the damp woods (often near elm trees). They're easy to identify and are not easily confused with any toxic mushrooms, so they're a fairly safe bet for inexperienced mushroom hunters like ourselves.

C, whose friend took him morel hunting a couple of years ago, scouted out a good location, then took Z and her friend L one Saturday, then took me again the next week. We got to eat a batch of this simple morel pasta each time.

I tried to keep it simple so that the rich earthy flavor of the morels dominates the dish. The leeks and asparagus came from our garden. I just eyeballed everything, so the amounts here are just estimates. When I made it a couple of years ago, I didn't add any alcohol, and I didn't have as many morels, so I stretched them with regular mushrooms. There's really no substitute for morels, but this pasta would probably be good with other kinds of mushrooms, but you'd need to use more because their flavor is not as intense.






Morel Pasta

1 Tbs. butter
1/4-1/2 cup leeks, chopped
a handful of asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces (optional)
1 clove garlic
1/4 c. dry vermouth, dry white wine, or sherry
1/2 lb. pasta, cooked
1 lb. fresh morels, cleaned and chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt to taste

Start the pasta water boiling while you prepare the ingredients. About the same time that you throw in the pasta, start cooking the sauce. Saute leeks in 1 Tbs. butter. After a couple of minutes, stir in the asparagus. When those are almost done, add the garlic and cook another minute, then add the morels and cook until they release most of their juices. Add the vermouth and cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated, then stir in the cream, salt to taste, and stir it into the cooked pasta. Serve!




I've finally posted some of the photos, but it turns out I don't have shots of the hunt in the woods - those are on Z's friend's camera. Sorry!

A Lighter Macaroni and Cheese

No bunless hotdogs this week. I even tried some new recipes and started replenishing my freezer stash.

You'd never guess this recipe from Ellie Krieger has a substantial amount of butternut squash in it. It has all the comfort of homemade mac and cheese without being so heavy. It is lightened up a bit with ricotta cheese and the butternut, which adds to the orange color. It's actually easier than traditional homemade mac and cheese (if you don't make the pureed squash from scratch like I did) because you don't have to make a roux for the white sauce base. I didn't have the jack cheese, so I substituted sharp cheddar. I would use extra sharp cheddar in the future for a stronger cheesy flavor, as directed. I put it in two 8 in. square pans, baked one and froze the other (lined with foil so I can pull it out and put it in a plastic bag in the freezer) to bake and eat another week. Broccoli makes a great side dish.

Macaroni and Four Cheeses

16 oz. elbow macaroni
two 10 oz. packages frozen pureed winter squash
2 cups lowfat milk
1 1/3 cups grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
2/3 cup grated monterey jack cheese (2 oz)
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbs. plain dry bread crumbs
2 Tbs. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375. Coat a 9x13 inch (or 2 8x8 in) baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook the macaroni according the package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk in a large saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until it is defrosted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until almost simmery, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar, jack, ricotta, salt, mustard, and cayenne. Pour over the macaroni, stir to combine, and transfer to the prepared baking dish(es).

Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake until the cheeses are bubbling around the edges, about 20 min, then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned.

Garlic Scape Pesto

I was all set to take some awesome pictures, but I can't find the camera.

So: garlic scapes. I never heard of them until a year or two ago when I started getting them in my veggie box. They're the curly shoots of the garlic plants that have a flower bud at the tip.

Easy recipe: I just chopped them (about 6 shoots) roughly in 2 inch bits and threw them in the food processor with some almonds that I toasted in the microwave (2 minutes for 1/2 c., but I only used about 1/3 cup - you could also use pine nuts), some freshly grated reggiano parmesan (about 1/4 cup), and extra virgin olive oil (maybe 3 Tbs?). I put it on some angel hair pasta, served it with some sliced tomatoes and sauteed spinach on the side.

It's kind of got a bite to it, but it's bright and fresh tasting, with a little richness from the nuts and cheese. And the leftover pesto can be frozen.

Thai-inspired Peanut Sauce

March is finally here, but somehow it looks just as snowy as it did yesterday. I take hope in a few difficult things coming to a successful conclusion: Zoe got an A on her last English essay (the first from a very demanding teacher) and Clay finished reviewing the portfolios of hundreds of student applicants. He's almost done with his latest commission, a dramatic, large painting for the remodeled Renaissance Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.

I'm trying to pull myself together and get things done in spite of the mood all these gray skies and white landscapes have gotten me into. Last night I actually planned today's lunches in advance and made some yummy peanut noodles with vegetables. It helped this morning go more smoothly. Ok, I have to admit it's almost 11 and I'm still not fully dressed, but at least they both got off on time with a good lunch. I got this recipe years ago from Vegetarian Times. It's very easy to make, it makes a good school lunch, and we all love it.

Thai-inspired Peanut Sauce

1/4 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. tahini
1/4 c. rice or cider vinegar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. orange juice (or lemon or lime)
a dash of hot pepper sauce, to taste
2 Tbs. apple juice to thin as needed
1 Tbs. fresh minced ginger (optional, but I always add it if I have it on hand)
1/2 Tbs. fresh minced garlic (optional)

Combine all but apple juice in blender. Puree on high until creamy and smooth, at least 1 min. Add apple juice as desired to thin the consistency.

Serve over: 1 lb. cooked pasta and your choice of vegetables (thinly sliced carrots, green onions, fresh sweet peas, lightly steamed green beans and broccoli, cooked yams, edamame, etc.). Sometimes I add some broiled tofu as well. This is a good recipe for using a whole wheat pasta, because the flavors go well together.

I've never tried freezing it, but I think it would probably work well to freeze any of it but raw veggies. If any of you try that, let me know how it goes.