Recipe: Thai-Style Tofu Curry

When I lived in Germany, one of my favorite things to eat (aside from actual German food, which I love, the awesome pizza everyone over there can make but no one in the US can seem to even come close to replicating, and the mounds of Caprese salad I devoured) was Thai-style tofu curry. Several years ago I attempted to make it myself with disastrous outcomes. So I was terrified to try again last night, out of fear that it would, again, be disgusting, and my dreams of tasting that delicious meal would forever be dashed. I started working off a recipe online, but it didn't seem exactly right. I improvised a bit, and I'm not entirely sure this is exactly what I did, but hopefully it'll be close enough that I'll be able to replicate it again in the future. Probably on a weekly basis, because it was awesome. Probably not as good as what you could get in Germany, and certainly not authentic Thai, but still pretty great for homemade, in a white, Midwestern girl's kitchen.

Thai-Style Tofu Curry:

2-4 Tbsp canola oil

1 (12 oz) package of extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp butter or margarine (I used dairy-free "butter" and it worked fine)

1 small onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups coconut milk

2 cups water (you could easily use 3 cups coconut milk and 1 cup water - I just happened to only have 2 cups of coconut milk on hand (I make it myself), so I used water to make up the extra liquid I needed. Maybe you could even use 4 cups of coconut milk? I might have to try that next time. But you can easily add more water if it doesn't look like enough liquid after you throw in all the other ingredients)

2-5 Tbsp curry powder (I started with about 3 Tbsp, then just shook a bunch more in. Probably 4-5 Tbsp total)

1 tsp salt (or more, to taste - I thought it definitely needed more after cooking - but some ground sea salt on top after dishing it up was perfect)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste (optional)

1/2 tsp chili powder, or to taste (optional)

1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 green bell peppers, chopped

8-12 oz mushrooms, sliced (I used 12 oz)

8 oz (or so) chopped cauliflower florets

2-3 cups cooked Thai jasmine rice

Directions:

Drain and dice tofu - I put it in a paper towel-lined colander for an hour or so to try and drain out as much liquid as I could - the more water in it, the more it's going to splatter and pop while cooking and burn your arms.

In a large skillet (or wok), heat canola oil over medium heat. Add tofu cubes, sprinkle over the 1 tsp of salt, and fry, stirring occasionally, until golden on all sides. Remove from the pan onto paper towels to drain, and set aside (it can wait for a while like this, so don't worry about time).

In the same large skillet, melt the butter or margarine over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until tender, about 5 min. Stir in the coconut milk, water, curry powder, salt, peppers, chili powder, and cilantro. Add the tofu, bell peppers, mushrooms, and cauliflower (at this point, assess how much liquid there is - it should be enough to look kind of like soup, but not so much that it covers all the ingredients - if it doesn't look like enough liquid, add more water 1/2 cup at a time). Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to a simmer. Taste to test ingredients, and add more curry powder, chili powder, or peppers, to desired spice level (the measurements I listed were perfect for me, but Husband added about another 1 tsp cayenne pepper to his, and some crushed red pepper, because he's kind of insane about spicy foods). Cover and simmer for about 15 min, then uncover and continue to simmer another 10-15 min. Times aren't specific on this, because it's not really going to hurt it to simmer a bit longer.

Serve over cooked Thai jasmine rice. And, like I mentioned before, I added some ground sea salt on top just before eating, and it made it the perfect flavor for me.

Serves probably something like 4-6.

Sorry everything is so inaccurate on this one. That's what you get when it's actually my own recipe, and I've only made it once. :D Enjoy!!

Recipe: Genoese Fish Soup

This is a seriously awesome soup. I used to think I didn't like fish, but I could eat this soup every day for the rest of my life and be happy. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it was astoundingly good. It is from my most favorite soup cookbook ever. As far as I know, the book, Soup Bowl, is out of print, but there are still plenty of used copies for sale on Amazon.com. Out of the two dozen (at least) soups we've tried from this book, I think we've only not loved three of them. If you cook at all, you need this book. (There, does that justify sharing their recipe on my blog? I did make some minor adjustments, and, like always, the actual text is my own words.)

Genoese Fish Soup (like as in "from Genoa, Italy"):

2 Tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 oz rindless bacon, fried and diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

14oz canned, chopped tomatoes (I think the cans actually come in 14.5 oz - also, you could easily substitute in 3-4 peeled, diced fresh tomatoes)

2/3 cup dry white wine (I use vermouth)

3+ generous cups fish stock (I used vegetable stock)

4 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

2 Tbsp chopped, fresh parsley leaves, divided

1 lb whitefish fillets (I used cod), skinned and chopped

4+ oz cooked, peeled shrimp, tails removed

salt and pepper to taste

Fry up some bacon.

Melt the butter in a stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the fried bacon and celery and cook, stirring frequently, for another 2 or so minutes.

Add the tomatoes (undrained), wine, stock, basil, and 1 Tbsp of the parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.

Add the fish and cook (on the same simmering temp) for at least 5 minutes, or until all the pieces are opaque. Add the shrimp and heat through, for about another 3 minutes (I then turned the heat to low and let it cook for a little bit longer while I got the table ready, etc). Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.

Serves 4

Recipe: Dinner Rolls (Bread Machine)

I'm not a big "dinner roll" fan. I would always prefer biscuits to classic dinner rolls. Until I met these. I could eat these, plain, for every single meal for the rest of my life. I love these so much. Tons of melted butter on the top makes them deliciously-fattening. I've also tried these with dairy-free substitutions, and they turned out great. Thankfully.

This is a bread machine recipe (dough cycle only). If you don't have a bread machine, but you still really want to try these, let me know and I'll write out a hand-kneaded conversion recipe, too (but if no one needs it, I'm not going to waste my time with it). :)

Dinner Rolls:

Makes 16 (delicious) rolls

Estimated Total Time: around 2.5 hours (but they can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours - which will increase the total (active - not counting the refrigerated time) time to around 3.5-4 hours)

1 cup warm (100 -110 degree) water

2 Tbsp margarine, butter, or dairy-free butter-like spread, at room-temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

3 1/4 cups bread flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

3 tsp bread machine or quick active dry yeast, at room temperature

2-3 Tbsp melted margarine, butter, or dairy-free butter-like spread (don't melt it until dinner rolls have only 1 minute left of baking time)

Place all ingredients in the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer (usually: water, egg, sugar, salt, margarine, flour, and then make a small "bowl" in the top of the flour to hold the yeast).

Use the "dough" cycle on the bread machine. Do not use a delay cycle.

When dough is finished (mine takes 1.5 hours in the machine), remove dough from the pan with floured hands, place it on a lightly floured surface, and cover it with a damp (with warm water) towel for 10 minutes.

Grease a large cookie sheet (I use crisco to grease it, but a spray grease, like PAM, also works, I believe). Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces (tear it in halves repeatedly until you end up with 16 equal pieces). Shape each piece into a ball (I've found you can get the prettiest rolls if you wrap the ends all under and pinch them on the bottom, then place the roll down so the pinched side is on the bottom and the top is smooth and pretty - they will bake and look exactly like how they do when you put them in the oven - they don't smooth out on their own). Place the balls around 1-2 inches apart on the greased cookie sheet (I usually put them about an inch from each other - so when they rise/bake, they bake into each other. This gives them softer sides. If you'd prefer them to have a "crust" on all sides (not just the top), place them 2" apart).

At this point, you can cover the rolls (on the cookie sheet) with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for up to 48 hours. When you're ready to use them, take them out of the fridge and let them rise in a warm place (covered) for 2 hours before baking. If you want them right away(ish), skip this step and continue:

Cover with the damp towel and let them rise in a warm place for 30 -40 minutes, or until an indentation remains when touched (I always put them on top of the dryer and turn it on - this also motivates me to actually remember to do laundry some days).

Preheat oven to 375. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. When they have 1 minute left of baking time, melt the 2-3 Tbsp of butter/margarine/butter substitute (depending on how much butter you like - I like a lot) in the microwave. As soon as you take the rolls out of the oven, brush the tops with the melted butter (use all of it - I usually go over them each about twice, making sure to get all the sides). Serve warm.

These are so buttery and delicious, they don't need any more butter spread in the middle, I've found. They also work great as sandwich buns for leftovers. Or just to eat plain when you want a snack.

Recipe: Fiesta Chicken with Tomato-Avocado Salsa

This recipe is a Betty Crocker one, with very slight alterations on my part, and in my words. It was delicious!! Husband really liked it, giving it the highest of compliments by stating, "even my burps taste like I just at on the Riverwalk [in San Antonio.]" Can't get much better than that!!

Tomato-Avocado Salsa:

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 medium avocado, pitted, peeled and chopped

4 medium green onions, sliced

2 Tbsp lime juice

1-2 seeded, finely chopped jalapenos

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt (or a little more - I added more to mine on my plate, but Husband thought it was fine. I'm a bit of a saltaholic, though...)

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until dinner time (at least 1 hour - try to avoid eating it all on tortilla chips beforehand - it's definitely good enough to eat plain!).

Chicken:

2-4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

Place chicken in a medium-sized bowl. Mix together lime juice, vegetable oil, ground cumin, and salt in a small bowl, and pour over chicken. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour (I'm not sure if you could marinate them overnight, or longer than an hour, but I imagine you could without much problem - just be sure to flip them every now and then to marinate evenly - but they were plenty flavorful marinating for just an hour; I'd be concerned they'd get too strongly flavored if you marinated them much longer).

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken skin-side up in a shallow glass baking dish in a single layer. Pour left-over marinade (from the bowl they were just in) over top. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove tin foil and bake for another 20 - 30 minutes, occasionally spooning the marinade over the tops until the chicken is thoroughly cooked (I probably checked/spooned the marinade over every 5-8 minutes or so - I also baked them for closer to 30 minute uncovered to try and get a crisper skin).

Tortilla Strips:

4 flour tortillas (8")

2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil

While chicken is baking, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Cut the flour tortillas into 1/2" strips (I cut them in strips long-ways, then cut across the middle to make about 16 small strips per tortilla) and then put them in the hot oil. Stirring frequently, cook them over medium-high heat for around 5-10 minutes, until they are crisp and golden brown. Keep a close eye on them - they can burn easily. I turned the heat down to medium for the last couple minutes, because they weren't crisp enough yet, but I didn't want to burn them. Also, we love tortilla chips, and this was enough for just two of us - I'd definitely make a lot more if we had more adults eating (at least 8 tortillas).

Betty suggests serving them together (like salsa on the chicken and tortilla strips on the side), which was good, but they would also make excellent "fajitas" if you sliced the chicken and used it with the salsa on regular flour tortillas (omitting the tortilla strip part of this recipe). We're certainly going to eat it like that for all the leftovers!!

Serves: 2-4 (depending on how much chicken you make - you can use the same amount of marinade regardless)

Estimated Total Time: 2.5 hours

Recipe: Turkey, Mushroom, and Sage Soup

This is easily one of the best soups I've ever had, plus it's a good way to use up some left-over turkey after Thanksgiving! This recipe is with my modifications (which probably only serve to make the soup more fattening - and delicious).

Turkey, Mushroom, and Sage Soup:

5 Tbsp butter

1 large onion, finely chopped (or 2 medium onions)

2 celery stalks, chopped

30 large fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

5 Tbsp all-purpose flour

7 cups chicken or turkey stock (I usually end up just using broth, since half the time, I can't find chicken stock in the store)

3/4 cup uncooked brown rice

16 oz sliced mushrooms

16 oz chopped cooked turkey

2 cups heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper

shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large stock pot, melt half the butter (2 1/2 Tbsp) over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and sage, and cook about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the flour and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring to combine the ingredients well.

Gradually add about 1 cup of the chicken stock while stirring, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides to mix. Pour in the remaining stock and stir to combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil.

Stir in the rice and reduce the heat to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste, partially cover, and gently simmer, occasionally stirring, for around 30 minutes, or until rice is just tender.

While soup is simmering, melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook the mushrooms for about 8-10 minutes, until golden brown, stirring occasionally at first, then more frequently as they start to brown (I stir them with a rubber spatula to keep them from getting bruised, like they would with a wooden spoon).

After the soup has simmered for 30 minutes, add the mushrooms, turkey, and cream, stirring after each addition. Simmer for another 10 minutes, or until soup is heated through. Adjust seasoning, if necessary. After serving into bowls, generously sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese

Serves 8-10