Here is a recipe for Sunomono...a tasty cucumber salad!
Ingredients:
-2 medium sized english cucumbers--they should be nice and crisp
(or you can get 1 small daikon radish and 1 english cucumber)
-2 1/2 TBSP of rice vinegar
-2 1/2 TBSP of marin
-2 TBSP of sugar
-1 tsp of salt
Prep:
Peel the cucumber or radish and slice into thin slices. This is where a mandolin is helpful! Salt the cucumber/radish and wait for 5-10 minutes. Wash off the cucumber/radish slics and drain the water through a strainer. Mix the vinegar and marin in a cup. Pour the liquid mixture over the cucumber and daikon slices. Set aside at least 15 minutes before serving.
Domo arigatou gozaimasu! (thank you very much!)
Friday, February 19, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
More from the archives and IT HAS MEAT!!!!
This was from back in the day when I justified eating PORK (faints) for one day. I really wanted to try using prosciutto in a dish for a party I was hosting. I'll admit--it was awesome.
The sinful recipe:
8 Black mission figs
1/2 blue cheese, cut into cubes
8 prosciutto slices (get 1/4 lbs of this stuff, have it thinly sliced, cut 4 of them in half lengthwise)
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Prep:
Preheat grill. You will need medium to high heat. The key is to crisp the prosciutto quickly and leave the blue cheese just melted with the inner part of the fig cool in temperature.
Cut the figs in half and place a piece of blue cheese on each fig half. Wrap the prosciutto around each fig half, covering the cheese. The ends of the prosciutto should overlap.
Grill each piece until the prosciutto begins to color and crisp, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from grill, lightly dizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Serve warm.
The sinful recipe:
8 Black mission figs
1/2 blue cheese, cut into cubes
8 prosciutto slices (get 1/4 lbs of this stuff, have it thinly sliced, cut 4 of them in half lengthwise)
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Prep:
Preheat grill. You will need medium to high heat. The key is to crisp the prosciutto quickly and leave the blue cheese just melted with the inner part of the fig cool in temperature.
Cut the figs in half and place a piece of blue cheese on each fig half. Wrap the prosciutto around each fig half, covering the cheese. The ends of the prosciutto should overlap.
Grill each piece until the prosciutto begins to color and crisp, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from grill, lightly dizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Serve warm.
From the archives....
Melon Salad--12 servings
Yes....I know MELONS....they are grossly out of season right now but I managed to dig up this recipe from long ago. Enjoy!
1/3 c honey
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 c orange juice
3 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP chopped fresh mint leaves
4 c. cantaloupe balls
2 c. honeydew melon balls
2 c. watermelon balls
Prep:
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine honey with sugar. Microwave on high power for 30 seconds; remove and stir. Microwave 30 seconds long until sugar dissolves.
Stir and let it stand for 10 minutes (why I don't know)
To sugar mixture add OJ, lemon juice, and mint leaves and mix well.
Place melon balls in large serving bowl and pour honey mixture over. Toss gently to coat and serve immediately or cover and refrig. until serving time.
MMM so refreshing on a hot day! :)
Yes....I know MELONS....they are grossly out of season right now but I managed to dig up this recipe from long ago. Enjoy!
1/3 c honey
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 c orange juice
3 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP chopped fresh mint leaves
4 c. cantaloupe balls
2 c. honeydew melon balls
2 c. watermelon balls
Prep:
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine honey with sugar. Microwave on high power for 30 seconds; remove and stir. Microwave 30 seconds long until sugar dissolves.
Stir and let it stand for 10 minutes (why I don't know)
To sugar mixture add OJ, lemon juice, and mint leaves and mix well.
Place melon balls in large serving bowl and pour honey mixture over. Toss gently to coat and serve immediately or cover and refrig. until serving time.
MMM so refreshing on a hot day! :)
Recipe after hiatus
Holy cow it's been nearly a year since I contributed to this blog--what have I been doing?!
Anyhow the other night I decided to cook something inspired by a recent Portland trip. So without further ado here is the recipe.
Cornmeal Crusted Tempeh Meal: cornmeal crusted tempeh, served with pinto beans, corn, black lentils on a bed of sauteed greens and dressed with Tofu-Cilantro "sour cream". Phew what a mouthful but it will be worth it! The dish in Portland also had quinoa but I didn't feel like making that this time. Additionally the dish had a "pumpkin seed relish"--I didn't think that would be a hit with James (I was already pushing my luck) so I omitted that--point being, do whatever you like!
The "sour cream" can be made any time because it's delicious and can be put on everything. I recommend making this a day in advance--one less thing to worry about, right?
Vegan Sour Cream Recipe with Cilantro
Makes about three cups
* 1 pound silken tofu (Isa says – not the vacuum packed kind!)
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from one lime)
* 1 tablespoon of agave nectar or 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 cups loosely packed FRESH cilantro, with leaves and stems (you can half the amount if you’re not a cilantro fiend like I am)
1. Remove tofu from packaging and squeeze gently to remove any excess water. Place in a blender or food processor along with the lime juice, agave, and salt. Blend until smooth.
2. Heat a small pan over medium-low heat, and add garlic and olive oil. Cook gently for three minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not burn the garlic… you want a nice, blonde-brown color. Add to tofu mixture and blend again. Add cilantro and blend until “smooth and light green with some flecks of dark green.” Don’t forget to scrape down the sides.
3. Add more salt and lime to taste, then transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill for at least thirty minutes.
Now the Cornmeal Crusted Tempeh. This will take 1 hour and 10 minutes of your time. Plan accordingly.
Serves 4
2 8-ounce packages tempeh, each cut into four triangles
1/3 cup wheat-free tamari
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1 clove garlic, minced
3 slices of fresh ginger
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried cumin
pinch of sea salt
coconut oil (or olive oil)
Preheat oven to 350 F
Place tempeh triangles in baking dish. In small bowl, whisk together the tamari, 1/2 cup water, agave nectar, garlic, and ginger and pour over the tempeh (you can also do this the day before). Cover and bake for 1 hour, turning tempeh halfway through. While this is going on, you can make the sour cream recipe or you can get prepped for the kale, beans, rice, quinoa, whatever. After an hour remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
In a large shallow bowl, mix together the cornmeal, red pepper flakes, thyme, oregano, cumin, and sea salt. Dip the tempeh pieces into the cornmeal mixture to coat. At this point I would put on the beans, rice and lentils onto the stove because you're almost done.
In large skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until hot. Cook the cooked tempeh until golden brown, about a minute on each side. Add additionally oil if necessary.
Remove from heat.
Now the beans, corn and black lentils
-All supplied from Trader Joe's (blushes) so just reheat per directions on can or bag. Who said I had time to make everything from scratch?
The kale (or chard or spinach...go nuts!):
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup diced, onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 cups kale, washed
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon
Directions
1. Heat the olive oil in a 10" skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Add the onions and cook until tender but not brown, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
3. Add the kale, salt and pepper and toss with the olive oil and garlic until the kale begins to wilt, about 2 minutes. Squeeze the lemon juice over the mixture. Remove from the skillet.
Kale is your bottom layer, beans, rice and black lentils and whatever you decide to throw in is your middle layer, and finally the tempeh is popped on the top (I put 4 triangles) and dressed with the sour cream. MMMM....yummy!
And yes, this is vegan! Now go cook you hippy!
Anyhow the other night I decided to cook something inspired by a recent Portland trip. So without further ado here is the recipe.
Cornmeal Crusted Tempeh Meal: cornmeal crusted tempeh, served with pinto beans, corn, black lentils on a bed of sauteed greens and dressed with Tofu-Cilantro "sour cream". Phew what a mouthful but it will be worth it! The dish in Portland also had quinoa but I didn't feel like making that this time. Additionally the dish had a "pumpkin seed relish"--I didn't think that would be a hit with James (I was already pushing my luck) so I omitted that--point being, do whatever you like!
The "sour cream" can be made any time because it's delicious and can be put on everything. I recommend making this a day in advance--one less thing to worry about, right?
Vegan Sour Cream Recipe with Cilantro
Makes about three cups
* 1 pound silken tofu (Isa says – not the vacuum packed kind!)
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from one lime)
* 1 tablespoon of agave nectar or 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 cups loosely packed FRESH cilantro, with leaves and stems (you can half the amount if you’re not a cilantro fiend like I am)
1. Remove tofu from packaging and squeeze gently to remove any excess water. Place in a blender or food processor along with the lime juice, agave, and salt. Blend until smooth.
2. Heat a small pan over medium-low heat, and add garlic and olive oil. Cook gently for three minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not burn the garlic… you want a nice, blonde-brown color. Add to tofu mixture and blend again. Add cilantro and blend until “smooth and light green with some flecks of dark green.” Don’t forget to scrape down the sides.
3. Add more salt and lime to taste, then transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill for at least thirty minutes.
Now the Cornmeal Crusted Tempeh. This will take 1 hour and 10 minutes of your time. Plan accordingly.
Serves 4
2 8-ounce packages tempeh, each cut into four triangles
1/3 cup wheat-free tamari
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1 clove garlic, minced
3 slices of fresh ginger
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried cumin
pinch of sea salt
coconut oil (or olive oil)
Preheat oven to 350 F
Place tempeh triangles in baking dish. In small bowl, whisk together the tamari, 1/2 cup water, agave nectar, garlic, and ginger and pour over the tempeh (you can also do this the day before). Cover and bake for 1 hour, turning tempeh halfway through. While this is going on, you can make the sour cream recipe or you can get prepped for the kale, beans, rice, quinoa, whatever. After an hour remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
In a large shallow bowl, mix together the cornmeal, red pepper flakes, thyme, oregano, cumin, and sea salt. Dip the tempeh pieces into the cornmeal mixture to coat. At this point I would put on the beans, rice and lentils onto the stove because you're almost done.
In large skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until hot. Cook the cooked tempeh until golden brown, about a minute on each side. Add additionally oil if necessary.
Remove from heat.
Now the beans, corn and black lentils
-All supplied from Trader Joe's (blushes) so just reheat per directions on can or bag. Who said I had time to make everything from scratch?
The kale (or chard or spinach...go nuts!):
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup diced, onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 cups kale, washed
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon
Directions
1. Heat the olive oil in a 10" skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Add the onions and cook until tender but not brown, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
3. Add the kale, salt and pepper and toss with the olive oil and garlic until the kale begins to wilt, about 2 minutes. Squeeze the lemon juice over the mixture. Remove from the skillet.
Kale is your bottom layer, beans, rice and black lentils and whatever you decide to throw in is your middle layer, and finally the tempeh is popped on the top (I put 4 triangles) and dressed with the sour cream. MMMM....yummy!
And yes, this is vegan! Now go cook you hippy!
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