Browsing Category

Vegan

Dinner, Japanese, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Cucumber & Carrot Namasu

December 5, 2012

Pickles are addictive.  Crunchy, tangy goodness in every bite.  Namasu is a simple Japanese pickle that’s ready in an hour.  Not only is it quick to make, there are just 6 ingredients.  It can double as a refreshing tangy-sweet salad.

The first 3 ingredients – Cucumber, Ginger & Carrot.

It’s easy to make attractive carrot florets with a knife and steady hand.

Grated ginger adds a refreshing flavor to the vegetables.

Beautiful pickles, Japanese style.

Cucumber & Carrot Namasu (Japanese pickles)

Ingredients

1 large English or 2 Japanese cucumbers

1 medium carrot

1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons grated ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Cut the cucumber in half diagonally and peel thin strips of skin off of each half.  Cut each piece of cucumber in half, lengthwise.  Remove seeds.  Slice the cucumber into 1/4 inch pieces and set aside.

Peel the carrot and cut into thirds.  With a small, thin knife cut narrow lengthwise grooves in the carrot to make a floret shape (about 5 cuts if the carrot is thick, 4 if the carrot is very thin).  Using a mandoline or sharp thin knife slice the carrot into florets.

Peel ginger and finely grate, set aside 2 teaspoons.

Mix 1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt until sugar and salt has dissolved.  Add 2 teaspoons grated ginger.

Combine cucumbers, carrots and vinegar mixture in medium size bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Cucumbers and carrots will become delightfully crispy when chilled.   The pickles will keep well in the refrigerator for a couple of days.  These pickles go well with tofu or grilled teriyaki chicken.

Beef, Chicken, Dinner, Japanese, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Granny’s Teriyaki Sauce

November 20, 2012

 

A recipe named after “Granny” might not sound all that exciting but if you love homemade teriyaki sauce this is really delicious. My mom gave me her recipe card for this sauce a long time ago and she made a note on it “the best.”  She was right. It’s the best teriyaki sauce I have ever had.

The secret ingredient that makes this sauce so tasty is sherry.  So go ahead and buy a bottle of sherry.  Not the cooking sherry they sell in the condiment aisle, decent sherry like Hartley & Gibson’s Amontillado sherry which you can find at a full service grocery store or liquor store.  Stash the bottle in your cupboard until your next craving for really good teriyaki sauce, it will last indefinitely.

You can use this marinade for chicken, tofu, fish and beef.  I use part of the sauce to marinate whatever I’m cooking and simmer the rest of the sauce until it becomes thick and syrupy.  I drizzle this on grilled chicken, tofu or fish and finish with a few sliced green onions before serving.  Really good.

Granny’s Teriyaki Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce (Kikkoman recommended)

4 tablespoons sherry (Hartley & Gibson’s or similar quality)

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 large garlic cloves chopped

green onions, sliced (use a good amount since they tend to shrink quite a bit once mixed into the sauce)

Preparation

Combine sugar with soy sauce and sherry until the sugar has dissolved.  Add oil, garlic and chopped green onions.

Use to marinate boneless chicken breasts chicken thighs, or your favorite cut of steak for about 3 hours.  For tofu and fish such as salmon or ahi marinate for just one hour or so.  Turn pieces occasionally.

Note: Prior to marinating your chicken, fish, beef or tofu reserve part of the sauce and simmer until syrupy, about 10 minutes on medium low heat.  Watch so the sauce does not boil and burn.  You can do this in advance, the sauce will thicken as it cools.  Drizzle over grilled chicken, fish, beef or tofu.  Sprinkle on green onions and roasted sesame seeds before serving. For a larger quantity of meat double the recipe.

Dinner, Italian, Pasta, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

30 Minute Fresh Tomato Sauce

October 29, 2012

When your garden crop comes in droves it can make you feel overwhelmed.  The stories you hear about people who grow zucchini come to mind. Suddenly they have baskets full of them and they start dropping them off at their friend’s homes, and sometimes homes of people they never even considered to be their friends.  There’s the hilarious story I heard on NPR of zucchini growers leaving them in unattended cars just to get rid of them.  Anyhow, this is a story of tomatoes and I’m happy to say people don’t make fun of them like they do zucchini.  With that being said, we have lots of tomatoes in the garden and I’ve been making salsa, tomato sandwiches, roasted tomatoes, and today, a quick tomato sauce that is as good as those simmering for hours.  I was searching for a recipe and stumbled upon this one from Chez Pim.  The idea of removing the tomato pulp from the juice then adding it back once the juice thickens up caught my attention.  It works quite well and it’s quick.

The easiest way to peel tomatoes is to dunk them in boiling water for about 10 seconds and transfer them to an ice bath.  The skins will come off effortlessly and you won’t waste a bit of the tomato.  It works like a charm.  Just make a cross at the bottom of the tomato before plunging them into boiling water.

Reduce the sauce until it clears the pan with your spatula. 

The tomato pulp has been added back to the sauce and simmers briefly, becoming luxuriously thick and flavorful.

30 Minute Fresh Tomato Sauce

4 generous servings

Adapted from Chez Pim’s recipe

Ingredients

5 pounds ripe tomatoes peeled, seeds removed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 heaping tablespoon fresh chopped basil

Preparation

Prepare the tomatoes by removing the skin, cut them in half and remove the seeds.  Place halved tomatoes in a large bowl and crush with your hands to break up the tomatoes into very small chunks.

Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium low heat.  Add onions and sauté for about 5 minutes until softened but not browned.  Add minced garlic and sauté for another minute.

Turn the heat up to medium high. Add the crushed tomatoes to your pan, give everything  a stir and cook for about 10 minutes.

Transfer the tomato pulp to a bowl with a slotted spoon.  Continue to cook the tomato sauce for another 10 minutes until it has reduced and is fairly thick.  Test by scraping the pan with your spatula.  If the sauce clears the pan it’s time to add the tomato pulp back to the pan.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the salt and dried oregano to the tomato sauce.  Simmer for another 10 minutes.  Add the fresh basil, give the sauce a stir and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese.  The sauce freezes well and provides a quick and delicious meal on a busy work night.

 

 

Korean, Recipes, Tofu, Vegan, Vegetarian

Korean-Style Fried Tofu with Green Onion Sauce

October 25, 2012

I have mentioned before that I love tofu in many forms.  Either frozen, defrosted, then baked with herbs or straight from the package with green onions, ginger and soy sauce.  Or even cut into cubes, baked  and tossed in nutritional yeast.  Here’s another tofu recipe that’s quick and easy. A friend at work adores this sauce.  He waits patiently for any leftovers I might have and drizzles it on his rice. It has the perfect balance of salty, garlicky, spicy kick to it.

Firm or extra firm tofu works well for fried tofu.

Tofu Xpress

I discovered an ingenious tofu press on a food blog one day.  This simple gadget works great.  Put your block of tofu in the container, press the spring-loaded top on it, place in your refrigerator for a half hour or so, and in no time most of the water will have been pressed out.  The days of wasting paper towels are over!

Slice tofu block into 8 pieces, about 1/4 inch thick.

Korean-Style Tofu Sauce

Korean-Style Fried Tofu with Green Onion Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 block firm or extra firm tofu (12 oz.)

canola oil for frying

Sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon Korean chili powder flakes – optional (I bought Whole Spice Korean chili flakes in Napa Valley and it’s quite mild though it gives the sauce a splash of color).

1/3 teaspoon red chili flakes (more or less depending on how spicy you want the sauce to be).

2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions (or more if you prefer).

1 teaspoon ground sesame seeds (I use an electric  Zojirushi sesame grinder though for a few dollars you can purchase an inexpensive hand grinder at most Asian markets).

Roasted sesame seeds for sprinkling on the fried tofu (optional).

Preparation

Combine soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, Korean chili flakes if using, red chili flakes, green onions and ground sesame seeds in a small bowl.  Mix ingredients to combine well.  Set aside.

Press tofu in Tofu Xpress for 1/2 – 1 hour in the refrigerator (alternately slice tofu and place between several layers of paper towels then put a cutting board on top and weight with a few cans or a large book on your counter for 15 – 30 minutes).

Remove tofu from Tofu Xpress and slice into 8 pieces (about 1/4 inch thick).

Place a skillet large enough to hold all of the tofu on medium heat with 2 – 3 teaspoons of canola oil.

Fry tofu for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned.  Flip tofu over and brown the other side for about 5 minutes.  Remove to a plate and drizzle sauce over the tofu.  Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds (optional).

I make this the night before and take it for lunch the following day.  Gently reheat the tofu, drizzle with sauce and serve with rice.

Japanese, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Kobocha No Toroni

October 7, 2012

Kabocha No Toroni (Japanese squash simmered in rice wine and soy sauce) is a simple side dish that is healthy and delicious. Some cooks prefer to create a marbled effect (above) by paring off patches of the  skin.  Although this is not necessary, it makes for a beautiful design.  This is easily done with a vegetable peeler.  The skin of the squash seems very hard, however, as the squash simmers the skin softens and becomes tender and edible.

Kabocha No Toroni

Serves four as a side dish

Adapted from Japanese Vegetarian Cooking by Patricia Richfield

Ingredients

About 1 pound Kabocha (Japanese squash)

2  cups water

1 tablespoon super fine sugar

1/4 cup mirin (sweet rice wine)

1/4 cup soy sauce

Cut the squash in half and remove seeds.  You can double the recipe if you want to use the entire squash.  The squash I purchased weighed about 2 1/2 pounds so I saved the other half for later use.  Peel off patches of skin to create a marbled effect if desired.  Cut into 2 inch cubes.

In a 3 – 4 quart sauce pan add water, sugar, mirin and soy sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Add squash and return to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer until just tender (al dente) for approximately 10 minutes (cooking time depends upon the size of the cubed squash).  Check doneness with a thin knife, don’t over cook!

Remove the squash to a serving bowl, reduce the sauce a bit then drizzle it on the kabocha just before serving and sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds.

Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Green Beans with Olive Oil & Tomatoes

September 24, 2012

This recipe comes from The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.  I bought this book many years ago  (published 1994) and it sits on a low shelf where I can easily reach it.  Though there are many recipes in the book I have yet to try, I found a few favorites, this being one of them.  What’s so special about this recipe?  It’s easy to make with only few ingredients that are easily found at your local grocery store.  It’s ready in an hour.  It is simply delicious.

Fresh green beans cut into 1 1/2 – 2 inch lengths.

Green beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic and olive oil simmer for 40 minutes.

Green Beans with Olive Oil & Tomatoes 

Serves four as a side dish

Adapted from Nancy Harmon Jenkins ~ The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook

Ingredients 

1 pound green beans, ends trimmed and cut into  1 1/2 – 2 inch lengths

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup finely diced onion

1 1/2 cups peeled and finely chopped tomatoes

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Wash the green beans and cut into 1 1/2 – 2 inch lengths and rinse in a colander.

In a saucepan large enough to hold the beans, cook the onion in the olive oil on medium heat for about 8 minutes.  Once the onions begin to brown, add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the green beans and stir them into the onion mixture.  Add the tomatoes, sugar and salt and mix the ingredients together.  Turn the heat down to medium-low and cover the pan.  Check the heat after a few minutes. If it seems too high turn the heat down to low.  Let the beans simmer, covered for 40 minutes.  The beans should be soft but not falling apart.  Stir in the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt if necessary.

Though the beans lose their vibrant green color after simmering, their flavor is not compromised.  In fact the  tomatoes, onions, garlic and olive oil provide a luscious sauce that is very satisfying with an accompaniment of brown rice.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers: