Hot Tofu

There's just something awesome about making stir fry dishes. They're fast, have tons of flavor, and somehow exciting, but I can't explain how or why. Rob thinks it's the peanuts.

Tonight I decided to make Cooking Light's Szechuan-Style Tofu with Peanuts. You broil the tofu (gotta love that whole roasting/broiling/carmelizing thing), while the rest is cooking on the stovetop. The recipe doesn't have rave reviews on the site, but I thought it was pretty good. It's not something I'll probably make again (or at least I'll add some garlic), but I like the idea of broiling the tofu, which is new to me. It also calls for a full tablespoon of sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste), not that I'm complaining (YUM).

Tofu. It used to scare me. Tofu is fairly harmless, though. It takes on whatever flavors you throw at it, which is handy since it won't interfere or clash with anything else. I've come to love the firm variety, and I especially love tofu in stir fry dishes. It almost seems like tofu was made for a stir fries (maybe because it's Asian, but maybe not). I hear that it might originate from cheesemaking in Europe (source).

At any rate, this week it seems that the cooking bug has bit (note photo). Library books that I just wanted to 'take a little look at.' Gah! Looks like my reading schedule is booked up (HAHAHA) for awhile (oh, come on.. I'm a former librarian, so I'm allowed one or two awful book-related puns).

Cooking at the Kasbah

Every month or three for the past 4 years, Rob and I meet up with our friends Dave & Melissa to cook an extensive feast. I say 'extensive' because over time we've met earlier and earlier in the day since it takes hours to construct an entire meal. This is due, in part, to our abundant ingest of wine. We like wine. A lot. One time we didn't eat dinner until 10. I don't really remember it, but the ones sitting and waiting for the meal definitely do and remind us of it regularly.

Usually it's Dave & I doing the cooking, while Rob & Melissa eat and drink and discuss god-knows-what (most likely what hill they're going to tackle next in skiing or biking), or maybe they wax their skis. It seems to me that they're just buying time until we bring them something more to eat. Melissa, being a planner like myself, wants to eat on a regular schedule and preferably before bedtime, and therefore has been cracking the whip ever since the 10pm fiasco. Dave & I clearly need time limits (or wine limits). I really love these times together. Dave & I have cooking zen (except when drunk and cooking), and it's an opportunity for us to make something more advanced since we share a love of Cooks Illustrated (which is how this all started). Rob & Melissa are excellent tasters and critics - and easy to cook for, even when they're hungry and ornery.

Last night they came over and we made 4 dishes, 3 from Cooks. Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Lemon (chicken tagine, but don't tell Rob) and Couscous Pilaf with Raisins and Almonds. We also used this moroccan recipe from Cooking at the Kasbah: Carmelized Carrots with Sweet Paprika. The chicken and the couscous were especially tasty, and they were all fairly easy. I'm not sure how much better toasting the couscous made for its dish, but toasting the almonds was definitely a good thing. Anyway, we ate at a reasonable time - 8pm. Progress is good.

Then came the bread pudding. As a kid I wouldn't even think of eating something that resembles soggy bread. That all changed when Jo, my roommate in Madison, introduced me to cinnamon-toast-bread. Then she cleverly paired the bread with cream, eggs, chocolate, coffee and sugar, and baked it. How can anyone resist that? I actually remember the first bite: creamy (not soggy at all!), sweet and unlike what I had expected. I have been hooked on bread pudding ever since.

So this version includes rum and raisins. Yeah, I think I can handle a forkful of that (or 3). It's from Cooks - Rum Raisin Bread Pudding with Cinnamon. This isn't the healthy version, if one actually exists. We're talking about 2 cups of cream, milk, 9 egg yolks, challah bread, sugar, etc. Nothing wrong with that. It was pretty good - we all had it for breakfast. It was agreed that the challah made for an overly creamy bread choice, and it needed more crispy topping, but I'd make it again.

Catch Up

It's been a busy week and while I have been still cooking at home, I haven't posted about it. Some of my cooking has bee via a short cut. I went to Trader Joe's on Monday and picked up some Tokyo Style Soba Noodles. They were good -- different -- but good. It was funny that earlier last week my friend and I were e-mailing back and fourth about soba and how yummy they are. Then when I bought them, the cashier started up similar conversation about soba. I think what makes them so good is how light they are. Not nearly as dense as semolina pasta. I am not sure I would get the Trader Joe's soba again, but I am definitely getting more soba soon.

I also made my herb roasted carrots again. This time, I used local carrots. We belonged to a a CSA a few years ago that is out of Evansville, WI. It was called Tipi Farms and their signature product was carrots - and for good reason. They were great. When I was at Sentry I saw their carrots and immediately bought them. I cut them up and drizzled olive oil over along with some thyme and some kosher salt. The first one I had was good, but it didn't scream "YUM" to me. but then a minute later, I wanted another, and another and another. They were really good. Different that most carrots. They had a lot of flavor. Here's a picture of them roasting!

I have some good recipe ideas for the weekend. I am really looking forward to dinner tonight!!!

Garlic Parmesean Risotto, Herb Roasted Carrots & Kebobs!

Sounds expensive right? Nope. Hard? Nope. Risotto is one of my most favorite dishes and it's very easy. Many people seem to think it's hard - because you to have to stir it a lot - or some excuse like that. Typically, I am in the kitchen doing something else - whether cooking doing the dishes or cleaning, so I am there and it's not that hard to stir every once in a while. The risotto recipe is heavily modified from the recipe on the back of the bag.

Herb Roasted Carrots :

About 6-7 carrots, sliced
Olive Oil
Dried Thyme
Kosher Salt

Preheat the oven to about 400 degrees. Slice up the carrots. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with dried thyme. Sprinkle salt over carrots too. Roast for about 35-45 mins. Done! Cost ~$1. I already had the olive oil and thyme, but if I broke down the cost for it -- maybe 25 cents.


Garlic Parmesan Risotto

chopped onion
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup Arborio rice (rice for risotto)
5 cups of vegetable stock
4-5 cloves of garlic
grated parm

Melt the butter over low heat, add the olive oil and onion. Brown until the onions are golden brown. Add the risotto. Stir for a min or 2. Add just enough vegetable stock until it covers the rice. As the rice absorbs the stock, continue stirring and adding stock little by little, just covering the rice. This will take about 20 mins or so. Add the garlic as you add the vegetable stock - little by little. Add the cheese towards the end of cooking and stir in. Once all the liquid has been absorbed, the risotto should be done and ready to serve!

This cost a little more. I had the risotto already. The bag originally cost about $3 and each bag is good for 3 batches - so about $1. The stock did cost about $3.50. All of the other little thing would probably be about 50 cents - so $5 for the risotto. It does make a TON. Plenty for dinner and enough for left overs. My son loves this.

Now, a note about the ingredients. Most recipes include chicken stock. Since my son is a vegetarian, I have been making it with vegetable stock. I will admit it's much richer with chicken stock, but he really likes risotto!

The last thing we had were kebobs from a store here in Madison called My Menu. I went there around the holidays to pick up some appetizers for the visiting family ($5.99 chicken wings, if you must know!) and I was given a total of 8 kebobs - for free! So, even though they were free with a purchase, I do consider them free because it was like 40 chicken wings, so $6 was a great deal even without the free kebobs. My son had a veggie burger (~$1) as his "protein" instead of kebobs.

So.... the meal was about $7.25 total for all 4 of us. Provided lots of leftovers and was DELICIOUS!