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The Kitchen Recessionista

So, here we are, in a recession. Let's eat!

Vegan Chik’n Fried Rice.

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Hello, friends!  I’m back from the half-Ironman and somewhat recovered.  It was a hot day on the course, so the run portion was a bit of a slogfest, but that’s OK.  A finish is a finish!  And three days later, I finally have my appetite back to some extent, so it’s time to get back into the kitchen!
Tonight I worked on resupplying my carb stores by whipping up a main dish of vegan chik’n fried rice.  I’ve made this meal with seitanand, I think, tofu, but never with chik’n strips!  Tonight I used Gardein’s teriyaki version (only I didn’t use the sauce), and the final product was no worse for wear, that’s for sure.
This is one of those dishes that looks complicated to make but in actuality couldn’t be simpler.  I use Christy Jordan’s recipe over at Southern Plate, and it’s never let me down, even with a few modifications!  Tonight, for instance, I omitted the egg, and I used two packets of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice to hustle the rice-making portion of the evening along.
First, I heated up the chik’n strips, and once they were warmed through I added the rice, peas, carrots, garlic powder, and soy sauce (actually, I used Braggs Liquid Aminos, a new-to-me ingredient I’ve been playing with lately).  Then, once everything was heated through, I stirred some chopped green onions in, and dinner was done!
I mentioned up above that I’ve managed to find my appetite again – I always lose it for a few days after a big race, even though common sense states that I should be ravenous.  Well, my appetite’s resurgence made itself known with a vengeance tonight, and I mowed down half the pan’s worth of dinner!  LeeLee Hoovered up most of the rest, and now we’re both feeling fat and happy.  (But in fairness, he was in a meeting all day and had a tiny lunch.  So we both were due for a feast.)
This is by far one of my favorite “Chinese takeout” meals!  And I’m sure we’ll enjoy it again in very short order.  I can’t wait to experiment with another protein to see how we can change the flavor profile a bit next time!  Stay tuned.

:)

Vegetarian “Beef” Lo Mein.

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We haven’t made an Asian meal in awhile!  Tonight, I decided we were well past due at Chez Recessionista and dove right in to one of my favorites – lo mein!  (For the record, fried rice is also a fave around these parts.)
When LeeLee called to say he was on his way home, I sprung into action.  I knew he was about 40 minutes away, which gave me plenty of time to get everything together!  First, I boiled a package of lo mein noodles in my trusty French oven, determined to keep this a one-pot meal.  Once the noodles were finished, I drained them and left them in the colander, which I carefully placed atop my dinner plate so as not to dirty up another bowl or pot (again, bound and determined!). 
As the noodles rested, I added some sesame oil to the bottom of the pan and threw in a package of Gardein “beef” tips.  As they began to heat up and brown, I added several handfuls of snap peas (a favorite snack during football games, by the way), and several more handfuls of shredded carrots.  Next I tossed in a can of water chestnuts and another half-can of bamboo shoots.  I specify a “half-can” because I confess I don’t really care for bamboo shoots, but LeeLee likes them, and so we split the difference.  All in the name of a happy marriage, you know!
Once the vegetables and beef tips were heated through and tender, I added the noodles back in, along with another splash of sesame oil, a half-cup or so of veggie broth, some rice vinegar, and some chipotle powder.  I tossed the vegetables in with the noodles thoroughly with my trusty tongs and brought the whole French oven to the table!
And then: We ate.  And we ate well, friends.  Each of us put away a couple of helpings apiece and there was still plenty left over for lunch tomorrow!  We loved the diversity of textures, from the crisp-tender snap peas to the chewy, hearty beef tips to the slight bite of the lo mein noodles.  And the flavors were powerful yet not overpowering – a wonderful example of Asian takeout made at home!

:)

Vietnamese-Inspired Veggie Dogs With Peas and Potatoes.

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Sunday Cookout Day cometh yet again!  Over the past few weeks, we’ve gotten onto a bit of a veggie-dog kick on Sunday nights, and that’s A-OK with both LeeLee and me.  Tonight, we pulled another recipe from Tablespoon.com – their Vietnamese-inspired hot dogs – and vegetarianized it for a great feast!
First, though, I prepared the side dishes.  To start, I peeled and diced several potatoes and placed them in a foil packet with several pats of butter, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a generous helping of vegetarian bacon bits.  This packet went on the grill first and cooked for about 40 minutes in all. 
Next, I prepared a grill pan and placed a can of English peas in it, seasoning them with pepper for some extra kick.  After about 10 minutes of cooking for the potatoes, I added the grill pan to the grate and let it cook for about half an hour in all!
Finally, with about 10 minutes left in the process, I put a package of veggie dogs on to cook, and within minutes they were ready to go.  Then I heated up two buns, and we got ready to eat!
But before we eat, a lamentation.  Tonight was gorgeous — the weather was cool and crisp, our first hint of autumn.  But the mosquitos haven’t quite abated yet, and with Alexandria’s first case of West Nile virus on the scene just two weeks ago, LeeLee and I decided to dine inside.  It’s a shame – we would’ve loved to have soaked in some cool air for a change!  But soon, I know, the coast will be clear.
Anyway, on with dinner!  I transferred the potatoes to a serving bowl, took the foil off of the peas, and served the veggie dogs with all the fixins – some fresh spicy pepper rings, the Sriracha ketchup and honey mustard dressings that the Tablespoon recipe recommended, and, for extra flair, a hearty helping of Clean sauerkraut from No. 1 Sons.  It was all such a hit!  We both wolfed down everything on the table and went back for seconds on the potatoes, peas, and sauerkraut.  (LeeLee even went back for thirds on the sauerkraut!)
As usual, the cookout was a great way to wind down our weekend and kick off a new workweek.  Here’s to happy, productive Mondays everywhere!

:)

Vegetarian Koreatown Dogs With Corn and Grilled Edamame.

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In journalism, editors stress one key point above all else: Don’t bury the lede.  With that in mind, let me cut right to the chase and then work backwards.  Tonight, for the first time, I grilled edamame pods – and they were glorious!
Great Country Farms sent us a great big bag of edamame in this week’s CSA box, and at first I was at a loss as to how to prepare it.  Sure, there’s the traditional method of steaming them, but I wasn’t sure when I would get a chance to do it, and I had no idea what meal I’d pair them up with.  This afternoon, as I concocted the final menu plan for tonight’s cookout – I’d already settled on the Koreatown hot dogs from over at Tablespoon.com but was perusing my fresh veggies for good side items – it hit me: Why don’t I cook the edamame in a foil packet?
And so it came to pass that I washed each pod thoroughly, laid them out on a sheet of aluminum foil, doused them with just the slightest hint of olive oil and gave them a little taste of salt.  Then I wrapped the packet back up and put it in the fridge until Go Time.
While I was there at the sink, I pulled two fresh ears of corn out of the fridge and prepared them in foil packets as well, adding a pat of butter and a dusting of garlic powder to each ear before wrapping them up in foil.  Then I paraded outside to light the grill and get the party started!
First I put on the corn, followed five minutes later by the edamame packet.  After they cooked for about 25-30 minutes, flipping every 10 minutes or so, I added the veggie dogs to the grill as well, followed closely by two buns for toasting purposes.
Mother Nature kept up her running commentary throughout tonight’s cookout, letting loose with a rumble of thunder every few minutes just to let me know she was on her way.  But thankfully, we made it through our barbecuing time before the rain came and the lightning show began!
As the sky darkened, I hustled everything off the grill and brought the plates into the house for serving.  The veggie dogs were great!  Per the recipe, we topped them with a Korean spicy sauce and a tangy kimchi.  Then we unwrapped the ears of corn from their foil – glorious!  The kernels were sweet and juicy and pleasingly soft.  Then, as the piece de resistance, we opened up the pouch of edamame, and I held my breath for the verdict.  The first soybeans emerged from their pod just perfectly – success!  Thankfully, all the others followed suit as LeeLee and I worked through them.
Every component of this meal worked out beautifully, both together and separately!  I’ll definitely grill edamame again; it added a great flair to an already wonderful vegetable.  Hooray, Sunday cookouts!

:)

Vegan “Shrimp” With Chili Noodles.

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Over the past few days, I’ve found myself craving the vegan “shrimp” that I’ve come to know and love recently, and tonight I could stand it no longer!  I decided to use them in an Asian-inspired dish, served atop rice noodles that I’d sautéed in a chili sauce.
The shrimp, as usual, couldn’t be easier to make.  We used Sophie’s Kitchen breaded shrimp again, and they baked up just as well as they normally do!  This time around, I tossed some spring rolls onto the baking sheet as well – may as well do double duty! 
As the shrimp cooked, I boiled some water to heat my rice noodles in.  Once the water was rolling nicely, I added the noodles, gave them a hearty stir, and prepared the sauce.  Unfortunately, I don’t have decent measurements to give you – I used equal parts chili sauce (think Sriracha) and soy sauce, then blended in some honey and rice vinegar for sweetness and tang respectively.  I whisked all of the above in a bowl and set it aside until the noodles were fully cooked and drained.
Once they were indeed drained, I put the noodles back into the pan and added the sauce, stirring to coat every strand evenly.  As I stirred, I kept the heat at Low, allowing the sauce to warm up quickly.  Within a minute or two, the noodles had a lovely reddish hue, and it was time to eat!
Now, let me tell you – this sauce was spicy.  LeeLee and I happen to enjoy spicy, however, so that was OK with us.  Also, the sauce seemed to be lacking a complexity in flavor that I was expecting; I’ll have to play around with the seasonings next time and see whether that makes a difference (I know it will, but I’m hopeful it will make a positivedifference!).  That said, we loved this meal – the shrimp paired nicely with the spicy noodles, and the spring rolls of course served as a wonderful side item!  A few more tweaks of the chili noodles and we’ll be in business!

:)

Vegetarian “Beef” With Broccoli.

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Another night, another CSA vegetable taken care of!
Tonight, I took a page out of Diana Kuan’s The Chinese Takeout Cookbook (not literally, of course – c’mon, this is a library book!) and whipped up a batch of “beef” with broccoli.  Of course, Ms. Kuan uses the real thing, but being a vegetarian household, we were only too pleased to substitute Gardein’s “beef” tips in its stead.  The broccoli, as you might have guessed, arrived via last week’s CSA box from Great Country Farms, and I was only too happy to put it to work!
I won’t give away the whole recipe here – Ms. Kuan has a book to sell! – but I will say that I used the florets from two heads of broccoli, plus a good amount of the stalks, and gave them a three-minute head start in the pan before adding the beef tips in.  I’d set the rice and spring rolls on to cook (and bake, respectively) prior to getting the pan heated up, and by the time the broccoli, beef, and sauce mixture was ready, the rest of the meal was too!
I tell you what, I don’t think there’s a single recipe I’ve tried out of this cookbook that I’ve even so much as disliked.  Every one of them has been fantastic!  And this one was no exception.  We loved the beef and broccoli, and the sauce was wonderfully “meaty” in taste (primarily because of the soy sauce and broth blend).  Served over rice, it was a complete meal that filled us both up but didn’t leave us overstuffed.  And we paired the main course with a side of two spring rolls apiece – a perfect combination!

:)

Orange Seitan With Rice and Spring Rolls.

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The other day, I visited our local library branch to retrieve some books I had on hold, and while I was there, I spied (OK, actually, I searched high and low, and thenI spied it) one of my favorite cookbooks, The Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Diana Kuan.  I knew it had to come back home with me for another go-round, and immediately upon its arrival I began to plot out what I was going to make and when.
Tonight’s selection?  Orange Seitan!  In the cookbook, Kuan uses chicken, but I find seitan to be a wonderful veggie substitute.  And it was!  I won’t give away all of Kuan’s recipe, because she has a book to sell, but suffice it to say, while the rice cooked I marinated the seitan, then stir-fried it (the recipe calls for battering and then frying, but I skipped that step), then added the orange sauce and heated that through until it was reduced by about half. 
As the seitan and rice both cooked, I warmed up four spring rolls in the oven, and they hung out waiting for the rest of the meal to finish up, keeping warm all the while.
I tell you what, this cookbook can do no wrong!  We ate every morsel of the seitan (and almost all of the rice), and we both loved the mingling of flavors.  The sauce wasn’t overly orangey, nor was it overly sweet – but it had a wonderful hint of both attributes, which we both really appreciated.  We’ll definitely make this meal again!

:)

Seitan Fried Rice With Spring Rolls.

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Every time I make fried rice, I’m shocked at how very easy it is to cook!  And it’s finished, from stovetop to table, in about 10 minutes.  A miracle of modern cooking, indeed!
Tonight, I brought out my most wok-like frying pan, heated some Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice in the microwave, popped four spring rolls into the oven, and got to work.  Once again, I used Christy Jordan’s recipe from her Southern Plate Classics magazine special (she now has it posted on her website, as well!), and once again, it was simple and quick, and turned our kitchen into a Chinese restaurant in short order!
As usual, I made a few modifications to her recipe.  Our grocery store was fresh out of instant brown rice (who ever heard?), so I used two packages of white Ready Rice instead.  Also, as you might have gathered, I substituted seitan for chicken as usual, and this time I omitted the eggs, primarily because I didn’t have any on hand.  And for one final substitution, I used a small can of sweet peas instead of the frozen variety, and found the end result no worse for wear.  I found that when using the frozen peas, I always found myself with about half a bag left over – which would be fine, if I remembered to use the remainder in a timely fashion, but I never did, which meant we had half-bag after half-bag stuck at the back of the freezer, forgotten until they were well and truly freezer-burned.  The small can?  A perfect size!
To top off the meal, we added a bunch of green onions from last week’s CSA box from Great Country Farms.  We’ll get a new batch of goodies tomorrow, and I just can’t wait to see them!
By the time the spring rolls were fully cooked, the fried rice was, too, and we loaded our plates high (in much the same way we’d do at the all-you-can-eat buffet) and chowed down.  As usual, it was fantastic!  Light, flavorful, hearty – a great meal, all the way around.  The only sad part is that we both came home hungry and mowed down the pan, so there aren’t any leftovers for tomorrow.  C’est la vie!

:)

Vegan Pad Thai.

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On the heels of my adventures in Pad Thai Soup a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try out the more traditional version of the dish tonight.  And so, armed with a recipe from the great Robin Robertson’s Vegan Planet, I got home and went straight to work in the kitchen.
Thai and Asian dishes are always very daunting for me – they have a ton of preparation steps – but once you get right down to the cooking, they’re really not difficult at all.  The same was true for this Pad Thai recipe!  Once I got through the prep work, I was home-free.
As the rice noodles cooked, I sautéed the tofu in peanut oil, and then stir-fried some bell pepper, garlic, and scallion.  Then I added a diced tomato along with some seasonings – soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and the like – and tossed the tofu back in.  By this point, the rice noodles were also finished, so I added them in and tossed everything around, dousing the pan with a little more peanut oil for good measure.
The end result was good, but “just” good – it lacked a bit of the peanutty taste I’ve come to know and love about restaurant-style Pad Thai.  I’m certain I read the directions properly and followed suit in my cooking; the peanut oil just didn’t add enough of that nutty flavor for my liking.  But LeeLee and I solved that tableside!  We just went into the cabinet, pulled out a jar of peanut butter, and added a spoonful to each of our plates, blending it in with the hot noodles.  Voila!  Extra peanut flavor in no time.
Even with our dinnertime hack, though, this wasn’t the best dish I’ve ever made.  I was glad to try it – and I love Robin Robertson! – but this just wasn’t my favorite.  It was edible, it was even enjoyable, but it wasn’t quite up to par.  Oh, well.  Not every recipe can win the Michelin Five Stars! ;)

:)

Vegetaran Pho. Very, Very Hot Vegetarian Pho.

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With all the craziness we’ve had, schedule-wise, the last couple of weeks, I completely forgot to tell you a story about our latest round of vegetarian pho!  It’s a cautionary tale, so beware.
I’ve made this pho recipe a hundred times, all with great success.  When you get right down to it, it’s an easy meal to make – the only time-consuming part is the hour spent baking the tofu strips to add in at the last!  And this instance was no exception.  The tofu baked beautifully, the noodles cooked up as they should, and the broth was as tasty and flavorful as ever.
The problem, we learned too late, came with our mix-ins.
Upon serving the pho, LeeLee and I always add lots of fresh vegetables to the top of the dish.  Basil, bean sprouts, jalapenos, and Sriracha are mainstays, and last Sunday was no different.
What was different – again, we learned this much too late – was the spiciness of our jalapeno. 
Without thinking twice, LeeLee and I each put four or five slices of the pepper into our bowls, then (and this was another mistake) doused the whole dish with a liberal helping of Sriracha sauce.  Then we dug in … and that’s when we saw, crystal-clear through tear-streaked eyes, the error of our ways.
The HEAT!  The SPICE!  The cough-inducing, grabbing-for-water, can’t-breathe PAIN!
This was perhaps the hottest jalapeno either of us had ever eaten in our lives.  It was so hot, in fact, that after a few more minutes of attempting to gamely choke down spoonful after spoonful, we threw in the towel, threw out the pho, and served ourselves some leftover noodles from the colander, topping them with more baked tofu and vegetables – but not the jalapeno.
So our planned pho became an unplanned tofu-with-noodles dish, with a sinus-clearing intermission.  It could’ve been worse!  And we’ve learned a valuable lesson: Always, ALWAYS check the heat of your chilies, even those you’ve used a thousand times.  You never know when a pepper will jump up and slap you in the face.

:)