Black Bean Asparagus with Tofu

Asparagus must have hit its second wind here in New England (maybe the greenhouse crops?), but I've been seeing it on sale for quite a decent price lately!

This yummy Chinese dish cooks up really fast, and is low in fat and high in protein. What it lacks in authenticity, it makes up for in Sheer Tastiness.

Aunt LoLo's Black Bean Asparagus with Tofu
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/2 block firm tofu
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 pound asparagus
1/2 tsp. black bean and garlic sauce (available at asian markets)
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. oyster sauce
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
water
1/4 cup Szechuan Preserved Vegetables (in the canned pickle aisle, at asian markets)

1) Prepare the asparagus. Rinse the stalks and snap the woody ends off. Cut the asparagus into 1" pieces and set aside.
2) Prepare the tofu. Cut the 1/2 block into 1/2" slices, and then cut those slices into 1/2" stripes, and then those strips into 1/2" pieces. (Did you catch all that? Just chop it up, ya'know?)
3) Prepare your seasonings. Rinse the Preserved Vegetables, and roughly chop. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup water with the cornstarch, black bean sauce, soy sauce, sugar and oyster sauce. Set aside.
4) In a small pot, heat up your olive oil until it starts to shimmer. Add in your preserved vegetables and cook until fragrant. Add the tofu and stir. Add the asparagus and 1/4" of water. Cover and steam until the asparagus is just barely tender, about 3 minutes.
5) Remove the lid and add your cornstarch slurry. (Be sure to give it a good stir before you pour it in.) Stir and continue cooking until the sauce comes to a boil and starts to thicken, about 1 minute.

Serve over rice.

Review: Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix

The other day, I found out rather last minute that a friend suddenly found herself free, the night before a new-state move, and could she pop over to see us?

Of course! I love visits...especially when I can cook for my guests.

This guest is gluten-intolerant, and so has always presented a special challenge. (I've known her for 11 years.)

And I do love a good challenge.

I knew she loved chocolate, and I had recently seen that my Stop n' Shop was carrying a new line of gluten-free Betty Crocker baking mixes. Score!

I decided on the Devils Food- definitely the right choice!

I really didn't miss the wheat flour. The crumbs were so tiny and tight, and the taste was spot on. Lo Gung doesn't like frosting (and I'm lazy), so I left these little beauties unfrosted. We each ate two, and I sent the rest home with my friend. They're a bit more expensive than the "normal" mixes, and it's a good thing. Otherwise, I would be tempted to keep a plate of these on my counter At All Times, just in case my friend decides to drive the 5 hours up to my place for a surprise visit! (It could totally happen...)

I give the Betty Crocker Gluten-Free mixes a definite thumbs up!

Aunt LoLo's Shrimp Coconut Curry

This dish came about by sheer force of will - I had shrimp in my freezer, slowly making everything else in my freezer shrimp flavored...so they had to go.

I had made curry before, with chicken, but knew that it could be delicious with shrimp as well.

Aaaaand, that's usually all the nudging I need to turn on the stove and start throwing things at the pot!!

This recipe got a thumbs up from the family, but for me it was maybe a B. If I had replaced the spinach with basil, then it would have been an A+++++! (Of course, that would require my basil in the garden to get taller than 1"...)

LoLo's Shrimp Coconut Curry
Serves 4-6
Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
2 carrots, washed and sliced
1 1/2 heaping tsp. curry powder (I used an Indian curry blend. It's yellow, but spicier than the Chinese yellow curry blend.)
water
1/2 half can (about 3/4 c.) coconut milk
1 lb. raw shrimp, shelled and de-veined
6 handfuls raw baby spinach
sugar and salt

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then throw in your onion. Cook until soft. Throw in your carrots and potatoes. Cook for about two minutes, stirring constantly. Add the curry powder, and continue to cook (and stir!) until the curry is fragrant.

When the curry is smelling nice and spicy, add in enough water to cover the veggies by about 1/2". Cover and simmer until the carrots and potatoes are fork tender, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, clean and de-vein your shrimp. (Nobody wants a mudvein in their curry!) My shrimp were shell on, so Cleaning for me was peeling the shell and tail off, then using a sharp Santoku knife to make a small slit in the back of each shrimp. To take the tail off, hold the peeled shrimp in your left hand, and use your right hand to pinch the shrimp just above the tail "flippers." Carefully pull the two hands apart, and voila! To take the vein out, I used my fingers, and wiped them off on a dry paper towel to get rid of the vein.

When the potatoes are done cooking, take the lid off and check your consistency. Is it too thin? Boil for a few minutes to reduce it. Is it too thick? Add a little more water. The potatoes will begin to fall apart and thicken the sauce as well.

About 5 minutes before it's time to eat (maybe while your three year old is setting the table), throw your shrimp and spinach into the pot and stir it up. It should take about 3 minutes for your spinach and shrimp to cook - the spinach will wilt down to nothing, and the shrimp will turn a nice shade of pink.

2 minutes before serving time, add your coconut milk, plus sugar and salt to taste. (Note - do not bring the mixture back to a boil once the coconut milk is in.)

Serve over rice.

Enjoy!

Jaimie Oliver's Butternut Squash Muffins

I saw a blog post about these muffins, and just had to give them a whirl - literally. The recipe calls for 14 oz. of seeded butternut squash, cut into smallish chunks, skin left on. Whirl that around in a food processor, then add your eggs, oil, vanilla, spices, sugar, flour...the usual suspects.

What comes out is a super tasty, super light and moist little muffin. He makes a frosting to go with it, but we're not really Frosting People 'round here.

I have to say, though - I much preferred these cooled off, out of the oven. The edges were crispy and sweet, and the insides and top were moist and sticky. After a night in the cookie jar, the crispy bits were gone.
Also, the recipe says that it makes 12 muffins. I'm not sure what size tin Mr. Oliver was using, but I (and several other reviewers) found that the recipe yielded considerably more than 12 standard-sized muffins. (And that was after I had filled the muffin liners nearly to the brim! Not a lot of lift in these guys.) My batch made 12 muffins, plus one medium-sized loaf.

The original recipe can be found here.

PB&J Smoothie

If you love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, this smoothie is for you!  (And if you're the only peanut-butter-lover in your family, as I am, then it's ONLY for you!  Luckily, it makes 1 breakfast serving.)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

3/4 cup frozen grapes

1 Tablespoon ground flax seed

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

Blend until smooth- I use an immersion blender.  Adjust ingredient amounts if the consistency isn't to your liking.

Macaroni De-Luxe

Yes, De-Luxe is a word. Why? Because I say so. And because I tweaked this recipe out of a Southern cookbook that my grandmother found for my sister and I ages ago. (I think she actually stole it off one of her sister's shelves...but I could be wrong about that. Heh.)



I had volunteered last week to make some dinner for a friend who was expecting a baby. (As luck would have it, she had her baby right at dinnertime, on the day I had volunteered to cook. Her husband called from the hospital and said their doctor would like me to deliver the food there - lobster and steak please, with a good bottle of champagne. Pff. As if!)



However, the dinner was already made, so now...it sits. In my freezer. Awaiting the day when my friend no longer has enough food in her refrigerator to feed an army, and hasn't the will to cook anything. For, my friends, that day will come. And when it does, I'll be ready. Why?



Because I have the largest pan of macaroni I've ever seen, waiting for her in my freezer.



I wanted enough for my family, as well as hers, so this recipe makes two 9x13 pans. Please don't laugh at the ingredients. And please don't make the same mistake I did - if you serve this as a main course, it will serve 4-6 people, and you'll gain about 19 pounds.



Don't say I didn't warn you!



Macaroni Deluxe
(Adapted from "Macaroni and Cheese Deluxe", out of The Energizers' Powerful Good Cooking: a collection of recipes from retired employees of Alabama Power Company)



Ingredients:

2 pounds macaroni noodles, cooked and drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can evaporated milk

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided



In a large bowl, whisk together the cream of mushroom soup, evaporated milk, mayonnaise, minced garlic and black pepper. Stir in 2 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese. Stir in your cooked macaroni, folding to coat.



Divide the macaroni between two 9x13 pans and sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese on top of each pan.



Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until the noodles are heated and the cheese is melted.



Alternately, this can be covered well with tin foil and frozen.



*The thing I love about this recipe is that it I can make it at a moment's notice, because these are all ingredients that I generally have in the pantry. So, when someone needs a dinner...I can whip this out and have it on their doorstep within 45 minutes.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Food stylist I am not, but this was some GOOD soup! I can only give you guidelines, because this was created from what happened to be in my crisper drawer, but give it a go- I promise you won't be disappointed (and I think it will freeze well, too.)

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

Hard winter vegetables (sweet potatoes, potatoes, beets, onions, carrots, squash)

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Chicken stock or broth

So. Take all your winter vegetables- I used:
two sweet potatoes
two russet potatoes
six beets
one large onion
five carrots
one acorn squash

Scrub them well, and chop everything but the squash into large cubes- mine were about 1 1/2 inches. Throw all the veggies onto rimmed cooking sheets ("jelly roll pans") and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. (My vegetables filled 2 pans.) Make sure they're not crowded, and everything is in a single layer- you want these to roast, not steam. Oh, and skin-sides down, please.

Roast at 400 degrees, giving the pan a good shake or stir every so often. You want the vegetables slightly caramelized at the edges, and knife-tender.

Meanwhile, cook your acorn squash. If you have a big oven, go ahead and poke the squash all over and throw it in there. I microwaved mine for about 20 minutes.

When everything is cooked and soft, throw it in a big pot. Cut the squash in half and discard the seeds, and scoop all the flesh into the pot. Add enough chicken stock to almost cover the vegetables and bring to a simmer. Puree (I used an immersion blender) and thin with more broth if needed.

Serve with cheese and croutons. (Mozzarella is nice. So is cheddar.)