Rice Noodles with Broccoli and Tofu

My sister has a phobia of tofu, I think she has had some bad experiences with it that have seriously turned her off from it. I am going to do two tofu posts to try to inspire her to give it a try again.








The most important thing to do when cooking firm tofu is to press the excess water out of it, so don't skip that step! Lets gather up our ingredients and start prepping.




I have never worked with these before but there is a first time for everything!




You need fish sauce and soy sauce. Obviously the fish sauce is not vegetarian but you can substitute with some vegan worcestershire sauce or a little rice vinegar, both would be tasty.




You have to soak the rice noodles in water for a while before you cook them. I had no idea!




Just let them hang out while you prep the other ingredients.




You will need some extra firm tofu.




I only used half of the brick and stored the other half in a bowl of filtered water in the fridge. You can store the tofu in the fridge in water for a couple of days, but I have heard its best to change the water everyday.




Cut it into slices and lay it on some paper towels or a nice clean dish towel.




Cover it over with another towel and weigh it down with something heavy so the excess moisture gets pressed out.




While that presses and your noodles soak chop up some broccoli.




Mince some garlic




Defy those crazy media nuts and use some fresh jalapeno.




Slice up some shallot.




Mince up some fresh ginger.




After all of that prep your tofu should be nice and drained. Cube it up.




Get a wok going with some peanut oil.




Drop in the tofu and get it frying.




Fry it until its just browned and then get it out of the wok.




Get the shallot, garlic, jalapeno and ginger into the wok and stir fry for just a couple of minutes.




Add in the broccoli and fry it up as well, you can put a lid over the veggies to steam up the broccoli also.




When it is done to your liking add in the noodles. Do not be alarmed if the noodles still feel really firm, they will soften as you stir fry. Get the tofu and the sauce in the pot and get it all nice and combined.




This is a delicious way to make tofu and might even a turn a tofu hater into a tofu lover!! The next entry will also be tofu and will also be delicious!

Spinach and Potato Salad with Citrus Cumin Dressing

This is called a salad, but it is eaten warm. I really liked the flavor of the citrus and cumin vinaigrette on this. I adore cumin, it is one of my favorite spices. I put it in my guacamole, my salsas and all of my rubs.








I cut this recipe in half.




I didn't have fingerling potatoes, so I used red potatoes.




I also did not grill my potatoes, I roasted them in the toaster oven for about a half an hour. The first thing you want to do is cut them into bite sized wedges.




Season them up with some salt and pepper and coat them in olive oil.




Put them on the grill or a roasting pan and lets get our other ingredients.




Put your spinach in a bowl with a tight fitting lid that is big enough to hold all the potatoes.




Apricot preserves, white wine vinegar, tomatoes, lime and ginger.




Don't forget these guys, your cayenne and your fabulous cumin seed.




Put the cumin seeds in a dry, hot pan. Keep them moving in the pan until they toast up, you will see them begin to darken and more importantly you will smell them.




Get those into a bowl where you will assemble your dressing.




Grate in your ginger.




Add in the other dressing ingredients and whisk them together. Don't forget to add a touch of salt and pepper also.




When your potatoes are done, put them on top of your spinach and get the lid on tight so the potatoes steam the spinach.




Add in the tomatoes and the dressing and give it a toss to coat.








This is hearty yet it is low fat and delicious.

Thank you to all the readers who answered the bok choy question, you guys are the best.

Stir Fried Chicken with Baby Bok Choy

This recipe comes from my "Serves One" cookbook that I love.








Do seek out the oyster sauce and do not make an icky face like ewww oysters. This sauce has a 'fishy' note but it adds great flavor and I guarantee you will find it in a lot of Asian sauces and you never even knew it.




I used some breast meat, but would have preferred thigh meat.




Chop it up into bite sized pieces.




cover it minced garlic.




Grab some ginger that if you read my blog and use my tips, should be in your freezer.




Get the chicken all combined with the ginger and garlic.




Here is your star, the Oyster sauce. I used chicken stock instead of water because I wanted to use it before it went bad. A reader commented asking how I like Rachael Ray's stock and I have to admit that it is not that bad! I am no huge Rachael fan, I can't really handle watching her shows but I LOVE her magazine.




I also added in a little sweet chili sauce because I really like a little sweetness in my food. I do love my savory with a little sweet.




Mix the broth with the oyster sauce.




I don't know if this is Bok Choy or Baby Bok Choy? I didn't even know what part of this thing to eat. I looked around on the internet and saw that you can eat all of it pretty much? Can anyone tell me for sure which part of this tasty thing I am supposed to use?




I used mostly the white crunchy part.




Get the chicken in a wok with some oil. I prefer peanut oil for stir frying.








When the chicken is looking cooked, toss in the sauce.




Add in the bok choy and let it cook for just a minute so it stays crunchy.




Once it is done to your likeness, plate it up!








This was tasty, fast and easy. I will definitely use the sauce again as a basic stir fry sauce.

Swimming Rama

The name of this recipe is Swimming Rama and comes from a Thai cookbook I recently picked up. I don't know what Swimming Rama means, but I will translate it to chicken in the most delicious peanut sauce EVER. This meal is a little bit more involved than others, so I made it over the weekend when I had plenty of time to cook. I made the full recipe of the peanut sauce but only 1 chicken breast.

















Get a sauce pan of water boiling and lets gather everything and get it prepped to cook!




You will need some spinach.




A chicken breast.




Chop it into nice bite sized pieces.




grab a bright red pepper




Chop some up into small pieces.




You need some shallot or onion, you know I will prefer shallot.




Chop it up nice and fine also.




Mince some garlic.




This Pampered Chef measuring cup is MADE for measuring out peanut butter. No scraping required!




You need some delicious brown sugar. As I have mentioned before, I keep mine in the freezer and it is always nice and soft after just a few minutes on the counter.




Some fish sauce.




You can use cayenne, sriracha, or any chopped red pepper flakes. You will also need some Paprika, which is hiding behind my cayenne.




You can be pretty sure that anything with coconut milk is probably going to be amazing.




you also need a little bit of water and corn starch. I think we have everyone assembled so lets start cooking!




This is the lazy steaming method I use when I don't feel like dragging out my steamer. Wire basket on top of the boiling water. It works! Once the spinach is done, toss in the chicken and pop on the lid. It will poach in the hot water.





Meanwhile, get another pan going with a little oil.




Add in the shallots and garlic.




Once the shallots and garlic are softened add in the other sauce ingredients except the coconut milk. Mix it up.




After it is combined, slowly stir in the coconut milk.




while the sauce cooks, get your spinach down on the plate.




Add in the corn starch mixture and some lime juice.




Stir in the poached chicken and get it all nice and covered in the sauce.




Plate the chicken on top of the spinach and garnish with the red peppers.




As you eat this, imagine swimming in rivers of this peanut sauce. It is so rich and peanutty and delicious I could have slapped it on pretty much anything and been happy. I am glad I made a full batch!

So here is a question for my readers, do you have any idea why this is called Swimming Rama??

100th Post! Hungarian Pepper Stew

I can't believe I am at my 100th post already! This has been so much fun, the posts just fly by! I can't thank you guys out there enough for reading and for all of the wonderful comments and emails. I used to not get excited about cooking but now I really look forward to it because I get to share it with so many wonderful people! I have met so many nice people through this blog and found so many cool sites to read. Thank you all for spending a few minutes with me so I don't feel like I am "Dining Alone".

For the 100th post I am making a fantastic Hungarian Stew. I adore paprika so this stew made my mouth very happy. The recipe comes from the cook book Going Solo in the Kitchen by Jane Doerfer. It is a fabulous cookbook for cooking and eating alone.




I know a hearty soup may not be the best for summer, but I can't live without soup!




This coincided with BACON DAY!




Dice up some onion while the bacon cooks.




I reserved some of the bacon drippings (sounds so much better than bacon FAT) to cook the onions.




Into the dutch oven it goes.




You also need some peppers. I used red and green, you can use whatever color/flavor combo you want.




Dice those guys up also, but not too fine, you want some nice big bites of pepper.




You need some diced tomatoes also. Nowhere in the recipe does it mention putting any bacon into the stew, but forget it, I am adding some in!




Don't forget the star, delicious sweet Hungarian Paprika. I just love this stuff.

Lets start cooking now that we are all prepped.




Get the onions in your bacon drippings and get them cooking.




Drop in the paprika and give it a stir.




Keep stirring this and swoon because it smells so absolutely delicious.




Add in the peppers, tomatoes and BACON. Don't forget to season with some salt and pepper also. Cover this up and let it cook for about 20-30 minutes depending on how much crunch you want your peppers to have.




The flavors combine so beautifully and you end up with a delicious stew. If you want to do this vegetarian you absolutely can, just use olive oil and maybe just a dash of brown sugar or molasses to give it a little oomf that you lose with the bacon and the drippings.




Thank you all for dining with me 100 times!

Broccoli Salad

This is one of my most favorite salads EVER. My sister first made this for me many, many years ago. She had a rough week this week so I am posting this in her honor as things now seem to be looking good.

As with everything I changed the recipe, why not just leave well enough alone, right? Well, when you are cooking for one you can do whatever in the heck you please!

I don't have a written recipe for this, but it is super simple.




Broccoli. Cut the florets into nice bite sized pieces. Save the stems to feed to your dogs.




Some diced onion or shallot. This is sweet onion.




Oh yes, BACON! Not all of that bacon, I assure you, but you will want a few pieces. I cook bacon like this once every couple of weeks to satisfy the hubby's BLT cravings. In the 8 years I have been with him I have probably cooked more bacon than I have eaten in my entire lifetime of bacon consumption.

This is where I stray from my sister's original recipe...




I add raisins and omit cheese. I like savory and sweet, I have probably said this a million times. Sometimes I also add pine nuts. If you want to do it the old school way and pay true homage to my sister, ditch the raisins and grab some nice grated cheddar.




Get all those guys in a bowl and lets make the simple dressing.




I told you it was simple. I use about 1/2 cup mayo and a half of a teaspoon of sugar. You can also use some rice wine vinegar for sweetness instead of the sugar.




Pour the dressing over and mix it up.




I didn't bother to plate this and take a million pictures because this salad is one of my most favorite things to eat EVER, made for me the first time by one of my most favorite people EVER! The salad did not survive but a few moments for me to snap this one photo!

Cucumber and Red Pepper Salad

It is still very hot here in Arizona and will be for a few months. Some days I just can't eat a warm meal, but a nice salad hits the spot! I found this recipe on Cooks Recipes.com and thought it looked like a nice update to my usual cucumber salad I love so much. The surprising thing about this is the Hubby actually liked it and is bugging me to make it for him again soon!

1 large cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In medium shallow serving bowl, toss cucumber slices with onion slices and diced red bell pepper.
2. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Drizzle salad with a dressing. Let stand at room temperature, up to 2 hours, until ready to serve.




This is so simple but has a unique flavor that even picky husbands like! Gather up your ingredients and lets make some salad!




I used sweet onion as they are in season and as I said before, I love them.




I peeled the cucumber...




And then sliced it up nice and thin.




I then diced some red pepper.




I put the red pepper, onion and cucumber in a bowl and made the dressing.




I have only recently discovered how much I love rice vinegar. Pour some out and add in the sugar.




sprinkle in some red pepper flakes and some cilantro if you have it, if not use some basil or parsley.




Once everything is in the bowl pour the dressing over it. I like to make these kinds of salads in bowls with tight lids as I just pour on the dressing, pop on the lid and shake shake shake! The colors in this are just gorgeous.




After a few hours the flavors combine and it is ready to serve!!




This was the small serving I gave to the Hubby to try, he finished it right up!

Boneless Pork Cutlet with Summer Squash

This recipe comes from my favorite cookbook, Serves One. Summer squash is in season right now so its a great time to give this a try.








I used sweet onions because those are available right now and I just love their flavor.




Dice it up. I think I have shared this video before, but there is the link again. It is a quick tutorial on how to dice an onion. I don't want to assume anything with my posts so if you are a beginner, go watch that video! I think the most important thing about dicing or slicing anything is having a SHARP knife that you are comfortable with.


My awesome hubby got me this AMAZING Shun knife for Christmas and I just love it. You don't need an expensive knife, just make sure it is sharp, well balanced, and most important, make sure you feel comfortable using it!




Slice up the summer squash.




Seed and dice your tomato. My favorite way to seed a tomato is just cut in half and use the knife to just sort of loosen the seeds then I dig them out with my fingers.




You need some corn, I prefer frozen over canned for sure.




You also need some seasonings. This is parsley, chives and marjoram.




Finally, your boneless pork cutlet.




Get a large sauce pan or small dutch oven going on the stove with some oil.




Pop your cutlet in and get it browned.




Once it is browned, pull it out and wrap it in some foil.




Drop in your onions and squash and cook it up for a couple of minutes.




Add the tomatoes, corn, and some salt and pepper. Stir it up and then get your pork out of the foil.




Put it back in the pot and add your herbs. Cover and cook for 5-8 minutes. While this cooks you can pour yourself a nice glass of chilled white wine, you earned it!




Plate it up and get ready for a tasty dinner.




The pork was delicious, but the star for me were the tasty, sweet veggies.

BBQ Beef Short Ribs with Veggies in the Crock Pot

I think I have talked about my love for the Crock Pot before, but I will continue to sing its praises today. I love potatoes and carrots from a crock pot, and I love potatoes with BBQ sauce, so this recipe was perfect for me.

Ingredients:

* 4 to 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in 2-inch chunks
* 1 cup baby carrots
* 1 large onion, cut into 8 to 12 wedges
* 3 1/2 pounds beef short ribs or beef chuck pot roast cut in chunks
* 1 cup ketchup
* 1/4 cup water
* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon paprika, regular or smoked paprika
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
* dash garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* ---
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1/4 cup water

Preparation:
Put the potatoes and carrots in a large slow cooker; top with the onion wedges then the beef. Combine the ketchup, 1/4 cup water, vinegar, paprika, chili powder, mustard, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Pour over the beef. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.

Transfer the juices to a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. Combine the cornstarch with 1/4 cup water, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Pour into the simmering juices and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minutes. Serve the beef and vegetables with the thickened sauce.
Serves 4 to 6.




Gather up your ingredients and a cutting board. The carrots were late to the photo session and didn't get included.




You need some potatoes, whichever kind you like best!




I like red potatoes. Chop them up into wedges.




Here are the carrots!




Toss them into the crock pot!




Grab some shallots or onion and get them chopped up also.




Into the crock with them as well. Season this first layer with salt and pepper and lets get saucy!




One cup of ketchup.




Red wine vinegar.




chili powder, paprika (smoked or sweet will do), mustard and garlic




You also need some worcestershire sauce, which I LOVE. I didn't like it so much growing up but now I really have become fond of it.




Get all the sauce ingredients in a bowl




Mix it together. I also added about a tablespoon of Molasses because I like a subtle sweetness in my BBQ sauce.




Finally we need our beef.




Layer that over the veggies and season it with salt and pepper also.




Pour the sauce on the ribs.




Turn on the crock pot on high for 4 hours or low for about 8. If you are lucky enough to be home while this is cooking, you are going to love the smell of your kitchen.

After it is all cooked you want to take out the meat and veggies and pour the sauce into a pan.




Get it heating to a boil.




Add a mixture of corn starch and water to thicken the sauce.




Let it boil and thicken up. When it is thick and bubbly you are ready to plate.




The Beef was tender and great, but the star for me is...

The Veggies!



This is pure comfort food.

Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Chicken, Peppers and Cucumber

It is ridiculously hot here in the summer so I like to make a lot of salads. This one was very filling and has a great bright flavor.




Put some water on to boil and lets grab our ingredients!




You need some soba noodles and some oil. I ended up switching to olive oil instead of regular vegetable oil.




Sesame Oil, Rice Vinegar and a Lime




You need some cucumber, I prefer English cucumbers, some red pepper and some basil.




I had made a roasted chicken and had some leftover in the fridge. This would be just as tasty with tuna or with no meat at all!




Chop up the red pepper








Peel your cucumber




Seed it by running a spoon along the inside and just scrape away the seeds. English cucumbers have a small amount of seeds compared to the regular cukes, so I like working with them for dishes like this.




Slice them up after they are seeded. By now you should be able to get your noodles cooking.








While those cook, grab your lime and cut it in half.




I juiced it right over the chicken.




Add the other dressing ingredients right on top of the chicken in a bowl.




Then add the veggies




and finally your cooked noodles. Keep an eye on those things, they cook up fast! Don't forget to add a little salt and pepper here too.




I simply put the lid on the bowl and gave it a few shakes to combine it.




Garnish with some lime slices and enjoy! This salad is very refreshing and perfect for a hot summer day!

Gemelli Pasta with Squash, Peas and Basil from Everyday Food

I am really on a pasta kick and this dish turned out looking and tasting great! Summer squash is in season right now so you should be able to get some that is tasty and cheap.








It is quite simple as you can see.




Grab your ingredients. You need pasta, cheese peas, lemon, squash, butter and seasoning. Get that water boiling!




Chop up your squash. Give some to your dogs if you have any, its good for them as it has lots of good fiber.




When your water is boiling...




Drop in your pasta!




Don't forget to reserve some pasta water to make a little sauce action.




When the pasta is almost cooked drop in your squash...




And when that is almost done, drop in your frozen peas.




Get your butter cut up and ready to go. If you can, use real butter, if not use olive oil but don't use PLASTIC butter :)




Stir it all up to combine with the cheese, lemon and herbs. Don't forget to season with salt and pepper too!




Yum!




This is fast, easy and DELICIOUS! The lemon and the cheese give it great flavor with the sweetness of the peas and squash.

Pasta Salad with Corn and Peas

I don't know if you have the salad buffet restaurant called Souper Salad near you, but they have a tasty fettuccine and corn salad that I like and get cravings for. I found this recipe online and decided to make a batch for my lunch this week.

SOUPER SALAD FETTUCCINE SALAD

8 ounces fettuccine
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Salt to taste

The Process:
Cook fettuccine according to directions. Drain. Mix pasta and corn in a
bowl. Mix the mayonnaise, cheese, garlic powder and pepper. Combine the
pasta and mayonnaise mixture and mix well. Salt to taste. Refrigerate for a
couple of hours before serving.




Get some water boiling while you gather your other ingredients. I didn't have fettuccine but I did have some Soba noodles.




I didn't have much corn so I added...




Some Peas!




You need some good grated Parmesan cheese, not that strange powder in a can stuff.




Get your noodles in the boiling water.




These guys cook up fast so keep an eye on it.




I defrost frozen veggies by running them under warm water.




Add the veggies to the cooked noodles in a bowl.




Grab some garlic powder and sprinkle that on as well.




Add a nice handful of cheese




I love this gadget, if you do not have one of these they are so useful for measuring out mayo and peanut butter and other things that are a pain to scrape out of a measuring cup.




Add the mayo to the bowl and some fresh ground pepper. You also want to add some salt to season it.








This would be a great salad for the 4th of July. Whether you make this or not I sincerely hope you have a wonderful weekend with your friends and family!