it's hot, but these noodles aren't the answer

My love of miso & soba noodles led me to this dish, but unfortunately it was a complete "never again" for us. It's possible that our choice of vegetables (there were a lot of radishes) or the previously-frozen ginger were to blame, but the dish was bitter and not very interesting. I could see something similar working, perhaps with some herbs (thai basil and mint?) and with 'sweeter' veggies (carrots and snap peas?).

Bittman's Pad Thai

I've never made a homemade pad thai that made me as happy as a truly good restaurant one, so every time I make it, I "audition" a different recipe. I started out with this recipe from Serious Eats, but the amount of liquid in the sauce gave me pause. A quick look at the comments confirmed that something was off there, and suggested the pad thai recipe on Bittman's own site instead. I loved the idea of the shredded cabbage from the first one, so I constructed a mash-up of the two, basically following Bittman's original recipe but adding the shredded cabbage from the Serious Eats one in step three (with the bean sprouts... which I had forgotten to buy). I also omitted the proteins, because I wasn't in the mood for tofu and didn't have any shrimp. Pad thai's all about the noodles for me, anyway.

It was... okay. Better than a made-with-ketchup restaurant version by far, but also far short of awesomeness. I think part of the problem was that, at basically the last minute after everything was done cooking, I panicked about the lack of any "sour" flavor and threw in some lime juice. The extra liquid + cooking time may have been a mistake - after all, I *could* just have added a squirt or two of lime juice at the table. Even after the lime juice, I ended up adding some rice vinegar while I was eating, because it just didn't have the right "tang". Victor and I both thought it needed more sweetness as well. In general, I felt like it was missing that perfect balance of sweet-sour-salty that pretty much defines Thai food for me.

The search continues.

winter in the PNW curry

Wednesday: Red Curry with Winter Veggies; brown rice

This recipe ended up being a lot more work than I initially thought it would. I made some changes to cut down on that, and am changing the order of preparation around a bit so that it's easier to have everything ready to go at the right moment. Beyond that, I feel like, if I'm going to put this much time into making a curry, I should probably make the curry paste from scratch. Live and learn. It was tasty, though not amazing.

Red Curry with Winter Veggies
adapted from Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen
time, start to finish: about 1 hour

• 1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 1 carton firm tofu in water, drained, patted dry, and cut into 1" cubes
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 C water
  
• 2 tsp Thai red curry paste
• 1/2 C chopped cilantro, plus some sprigs for garnish
• 2 tsp peanut oil
• salt
• 2-3 tsp soy sauce
• 6 large shallots, peeled and sliced into rounds
• sugar
  
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
  
• small handful roasted peanuts, chopped

Steam sweet potatoes & kale until the potatoes are softened (10-20 minutes over boiling water, or about 10 minutes in the microwave).

Meanwhile, cook the tofu: heat a large nonstick skilled over medium heat with a little cooking spray in the pan. Let them sit for about 5 minutes without moving them, then turn them over (I do this one at a time carefully using my fingers - YMMV). Cook for another 2 minutes or so, until they're starting to look like a lot of the water has been cooked out. Turn again, and cook for another minute. The sides that have been cooked should be golden brown. Sprinkle salt and soy sauce over them, and cook for another few minutes until the soy sauce is pretty well evaporated and the tofu cubes have a soy sauce glaze.

In a large saute pan, heat the coconut milk, water, and curry paste. Whisk the mixture to fully break up the curry paste. Once it's come to a simmer, stir in the (drained) sweet potatoes and kale, the chopped cilantro, and the tofu cubes. Continue to simmer over low heat while you prepare the shallots.

Wipe out your nonstick pan and heat it again over medium-high heat. Heat the peanut oil and add the shallots. Sprinkle with a little salt and sugar and caramelize them slightly (about 8-10 minutes). When caramelized, mix into the simmering curry.

Serve over rice, with lime wedges, a bit more cilantro, and more salt and/or sugar, to taste.

serves 4

freezer-clearing ribollita

Sunday: ribollita; rye bread

Heidi's post about her ribollita recipe touches on the "kitchen ecosystem." I'm comforted to see other people who have an ecosystem similar to mine, and it was especially useful here, as the ribollita ended up being essentially a "pantry meal" for me.

The only changes I made to her recipe were to use chicken stock in place of the water (although some day I aspire to have a pressure canner and have lots of homemade stock in the actual pantry, it instead came from the freezer) and to amp up the umami with a parmesan rind, 2 Tbsp of tomato paste, and a sprinkle of fish sauce.

We took it to a pot-luck game night at a friend's house, and it seemed to be a hit. It didn't quite do it for me. I thought it still was somewhat bland even after my additions; I probably won't make it again.

I also made a loaf of the rye bread from the new Artisan Bread in Five Minutes book. Yum!

Lentil Salad

This recipe was something of a gamble, both because I wasn't sure it would be good and because I was going to mess with its ingredients. Unfortunately, it wasn't a gamble that paid off... From the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook, it basically called for cooking the lentils with some chopped onion and garlic, and then mixing them with chopped bell peppers, red onion, and celery. The salad has a "Curried Mango Yogurt Dressing," which was where I made some substitutions. I used the curried rhubarb, date, and apricot chutney I made earlier this summer, but otherwise followed the dressing recipe pretty exactly. I also added some salt. And then a bit more salt, in the hopes of making it less dull. No dice. I'm not even going to bother typing up the recipe - it DEFINITELY wasn't a keeper.

To cheer myself up, I chopped up some nectarines from the market this morning, tossed them with some blueberries, and made a fruit crumble. Now that? Completely made up for the so-so entree.

ETA: Actually, after allowing the flavors to meld overnight in the fridge, this recipe wasn't too bad. Still not likely to make it again, but it made an ok lunch.

Because, Really, What ELSE Would You Want To Do In The Middle of A Heat Wave?

My rhubarb haul from Veggie Trader was enormous. What was initially supposed to be 5 lb became 10 lb... and then when I actually weighed it at home, was closer to 12 lb! So, in the middle of Seattle's hottest week this year (the week which contained Seattle's hottest-ever-recorded day), I canned. And canned. I am a crazy person. Because I'm not completely mad, I did this over several days:

"Victoria Sauce"
aka Rhubarb Chutney
adapted from the Ball Blue Book

• 2 qts chopped rhubarb
• 1/2 C chopped raisins
• 1/2 C chopped onion
• 3 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1/2 C vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
• 1 tsp each allspice, cinnamon, ginger, salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine rhubarb, raisins, onion, sugar, and vinegar in a large pot. Cook over medium heat until very thick, at least 25 minutes. You'll need to stir it more as it thickens to keep it from burning. Add the spices and cook for another 5 minutes. Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4 in headspace. Process in boiling water canner for 15 minutes.

yield: about 8 half-pint jars

Rhubarb and Cinnamon Jam
adapted from Sensational Preserves

• 2 lbs rhubarb, sliced
• 2 lb sugar
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• juice of 1 lemon

Stir the rhubarb and sugar together in a nonmetallic bowl, cover, and let macerate in refrigerator overnight. Transfer to a saucepan and add the cinnamon and juice. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring to a boil; boil for 15-20 minutes until the setting point is reached (220F). Remove the cinnamon sticks and ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4 in headspace. Process in boiling water canner for 15 minutes.

yield: about 4 half-pint jars

Rhubarb, Date, and Apricot Chutney
adapted from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving

• 4 C sliced rhubarb
• 1 C chopped dried dates
• 1 C brown sugar
• 1/2 C chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 C cider vinegar
• 1/4 C finely chopped onion
• 1/4 C finely chopped candied ginger
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp pickling salt (or a little more than 1/4 tsp kosher salt)

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for at least 10 minutes, until thickened and fruit is soft. Ladle into hot jars to within 1/2 inch of rim (headspace) and process 10 minutes (half-pints) or 15 minutes (pints) in a boiling water canner.

yield: about 4 half-pint jars

I also put up some Rhubarb, Apple, and Vanilla Jam. Although the recipe doesn't suggest doing so, I let the rhubarb macerate overnight for this, just like the cinnamon jam I'd made previously.

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ETA: bleh. That Victoria sauce is slightly gritty and weird. It's now 9 or so months later, and I've managed to use two jars. Even that was a struggle - I think I might just toss the remainder so that I can re-use the jars. I can't believe I'm even contemplating doing that, but it's definitely a sign of how much I disliked that chutney. (5/27/10)