Citrus Glazed Tofu

Serves 2-3
Preparation time 30 minutes

1 block extra firm tofu, cut into slabs
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 cup OJ
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup cilantro, minced (plus a little extra for garnish)
2 tsp orange zest
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp paprika (or chili powder if you like it hot!)
Salt to taste

Whisk the OJ with all the ingredients except the tofu and the onion
In a bowl dip the tofu in the marinade and layer. Pour over the remaining marinade. Let it sit in the fridge for about an hour.
Heat a grill pan and spray with a little cooking spray. Place tofu slabs and onion and grill each side for a couple minutes
Stir the marinade in a sauce pan and cook on low heat until it has reduced and becomes a little sticky
Place the tofu in a baking dish and pour the sauce over the tofu
Bake in a preheated oven (350F) for about 10 minutes
Garnish with cilantro and grilled onion and serve.

(This dish can be served along with coconut rice)

Turmeric Potatoes with Cumin seeds

Turmeric has antiseptic properties. For this reason, it was used in India a long time ago to 'disinfect' vegetables in a way that simply washing them with water could not do. Decades later we still use turmeric more out of habit than anything else. However, if used alone this yellow spice has quite the kick. And a very unique flavor!

Every weekend my Dad would cook us a meal. I have fun memories of time spent in the kitchen with him. His flair for cooking was different from my Mom's. His was more of a- add-taste-repeat kindof method which I think I've inherited. (So in a way, this blog helps me keep track of my tested recipes- both in method and measurement!) One day he was making a curry that called for turmeric (most curries do by the way!). In his usual fashion, he opened the jar and tilted it over the pot, tapping it in a little at a time. And yep- a huge lump fell in! (If you've ever used turmeric you know how excessive this is!) Long story short, we had upset stomachs the next day ...

Word to the wise- Measure out your spices carefully. ;)

Serves 3 as a side
2 medium potatoes (yukon gold or red will work), diced with the skins on
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp jalapeno, minced
2 tsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp canola oil

Heat the oil over medium high heat
Add the cumin seeds and let them splutter for a few seconds
Add the potatoes and stir well
Cover and cook, sitring occasionally until potatoes are cooked through and nicely browned (about 10 minutes)
Season with salt, ginger and jalapeno. Stir well and cook uncovered for a couple more minutes.

Whole Wheat Penne with Basil Pesto

In my book, Pasta = Comfort Food. Fun tubular shapes with nooks filled with fresh basil pesto. Let's try to make this healthier shall we?

Serves 3
Preparation time 30 minutes

Basil Pesto:
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese, shredded or grated
1 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper or to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
Process the ingredients above in a food processor or blender until desired consistency is achieved (Pulse just a few times if you like your pesto chunkier)

Pasta Assembly:
4 cups whole wheat penne, cooked
(Cook the penne according to package instructions)
3-4 sundried tomatoes
Couple basil leaves, torn
Parmigiano cheese, shaved (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts
Place the cooked pasta in a large bowl.
Mix in about 1 cup of pesto or to taste
Dice the sundried tomatoes and mix it into the pasta
Serve topped with basil, walnuts and a little shaved parmiagiano if desired

Basil Garlic Fried Rice

To cheer up H today; I decided to make one of his favorite dishes- Fried Rice. A few flavor packed ingredients (sesame oil, garlic, vinegar and fresh green chili) give the rice a lot of oomph.

Serves 3-4
Preparation Time 30 minutes

1 cup jasmine or basmati rice (or any other long grained rice)
2 cups water
1 red or green pepper, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
2 cups green peas
3 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups tofu, crumbled
2 cups tightly packed fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp green chili, minced (or to taste)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar (or to taste)
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Fresh cracked pepper

Cook the rice with the water in a rice cooker (use a little less than 2 cups of water, so the rice is firm when cooked)
Heat a wok or a large saute pan over medium high heat.
Add the oil and the onions. Saute for a few minutes.
Add the garlic and saute for about a minute
Add the cumin and green/red pepper, mix well.
Mix in the crumbled tofu and season with a little salt. Saute for a couple minutes or until the tofu is browned
Add the rice and gently stir fry so as not to break the grains of rice
Season with the soy sauce, vinegar, green chili, salt and fresh pepper.
Mix in the green peas and basil

Sesame Garlic Beans

My Mom grew up in Singapore and whenever she talks about her childhood; food was always the highlight of her stories. (Yes, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree) 30 years later and here I am talking through my days about what I eat, cook and dream about cooking! :-)

Now that I think about it, a lot of what my Mom cooked reflected her love of the South East Asian cooking flavors and techniques. She loved to stir fry instead of saute, sear instead of brown and julienne instead of dice! Her favorite spice was red chill and garlic, and her cant_do_without_condiment was soy sauce. She also introduced me to the magnificent flavor of toasted Sesame oil early. A drizzle of this stuff will get you to the orient quicker than any pan asian flight!

Here is the simplest of all her dishes- a stir fry of green beans and garlic. The dish is flavored with garlic and sesame oil- that's it!

Serves 3 or 4 as a side dish
Preparation time 30 minutes

8 oz french green beans
4-6 large cloves of garlic, slivered (the more the better!)
3 tsp ginger, minced
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
4 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
3 tbsp water
1 tsp red chili flakes or 2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
Salt to taste

In a large hot saute pan or wok, heat the oil.
Add the onions and garlic, saute for about 2 minutes
Add the green beans, water and the soy sauce. Turn down the heat and cover. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the beans are almost done (they should have some bite to them)
Turn the heat back up, season with salt, pepper/chili flakes and the sesame seeds. Stir well.

Serve as a side or along with hot rice.

Omelette Station

(Pictured here is the Pesto-Red Onion-Arugla Omelette)

There is no other food more versatile than the humble egg. With recent press releases on how "good for you" this little protein package is, there was never a better time to start cracking! :-)

Last weekend we tried a couple different omelettes based on our favorite flavors from Portage Bay Cafe. (Which btw, you HAVE to try if you're ever in the Seattle area!)

So back to the beaters. We tried a goat cheese-fenugreek-red onion combo as well as a basil pesto-red onion-arugula combo. Both were scrumptious to say the least. We didnt even miss buttered toast with all the flavorful ingredients in this substantial breakFEAST!

Serves 2, Preparation Time 30 minutes

4 large eggs
A couple pinches of flour
1 tbsp milk
2 tsp, olive oil
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 cup fenugreek leaves or *1 cup arugula (See foot notes)
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup olives, sliced (optional)
1/2 cup goat cheese or *1/2 cup pesto (See foot notes)
1 tsp, Crushed red pepper (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a saute pan, add the red pepper, onions and garlic. Saute until soft. (about 3 minutes)
Add the fenugreek leaves, season with a little salt and pepper (Remember, the goat cheese/pesto is pretty salty too)
Remove this mixture and set aside
In a large bowl beat 2 of the eggs with the flour and milk until light and frothy.
Pour immediately into the hot saute pan
Cover and cook for a few minutes on medium-low heat
Flip and cook for a few minutes until both sides are almost done.
Layer half the onion mixture on half the omelette in the pan, crumbled half the goat cheese and add the olives and black pepper. Fold and transfer to a serving plate.
Repeat with the remaining 2 eggs to make the 2nd omelette.

*If making the Arugula-Basil Pesto combo-
Dont add the arugula to the onions in the saute pan. While assembling the omelette in the pan, spread the pesto on the omelette, layer the onions and then add the fresh arugula before you fold the omelette and serve. The heat from the omelette will cause the arugula to wilt.

Are you starving?

I knew it was time to post an update when a friend asked me if we were starving ourselves; and hence the lack of blog posts!

Rest assured we're alive. And kicking ourselves for selling our old kitchen range before fulfilling my whim of buying a better one. When we finally narrowed down on which range to buy- a decision powered by indecision, a budget and whether I wanted my cookies browned or soft- we ordered it. Hallelujah! I used the time spent away from the range to organize our kitchen.

2 weeks later and the new addition to our kitchen is still not here! It was on a freight truck coming to us from New York and I can only assume that it got buried in a snow storm along the way! The tracking website says it should be at our door this weekend, so look out for an update soon. I've got quite a few culinary tricks up my sleeve for my shiny virgin range. Stay poised to pick up your fork!

In the meantime, try out the latest recipe I posted on Quinoa. I wont go into how good it is for you and the like but since I do like healthy yet tasty treats, I can say this treat is simple and satisfying. My Mom used to say, "If it (tastes) too good, it cant be good for you!". She's prooved herself wrong time and again by coming up with dinner ideas with the simplest ingredients- I'd like to think that I've inherited some of that talent.

Happy Hunger pangs! :)

Curried Quinoa

Being vegetarian, H has been trying to find new sources of protein. There's only so much tofu and lentils he can eat in a week! Since we love trying new foods; we ventured into the outer corners of the internet and dug up quinoa! It is rich in protein while also providing carbs of the good kind. Quinoa is more of a seed than a cereal but when cooked, it has a nutty flavor and a texture similar to couscous or brown rice.

Enough of the encyclopedic dribble. Onto the good stuff! H doesnt mind me stealing his thunder by posting his recipe here! :)

Serves 2
Preparation time ~ 30 minutes
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 tomato, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch stick ginger, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 cup carrot, diced
1 cup red pepper, diced
Garnish:
Cilantro/Basil
Lime

Bring the water to a boil, add the quinoa and cook uncovered for a few minutes on medium heat until the water is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
In a saute pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add the onion and saute until transluscent.
Add the ginger, garlic, spices and stir for about 2 minutes.
Add the vegetables and quinoa, mix well.
Season with salt.
Garnish with cilantro or basil and a squeeze of lime.