It has officially become Asian week in our house! I have had a yen for oriental spices and seasonings of late. Maybe I've watched too much Ming Tsai--not complaining at all--he can throw down some great food! Being so inclined to keep the Asian theme, yesterday I bought a bundle of lemongrass at our local global market. Have you ever seen this? If you didn't know it, you'd think someone had just cleared out their back yard and bundled this stuff up as a quick veggie sale. I mean, as a vegan, I will eat just about anything from the good earth, but this one baffles me. I have plenty of recipes calling for lemongrass (quite a departure from my tomatoes and green beans of late)--I am not sure how to use it, so this should be fun. So, with this meal, I was inspired by the cookbook, Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. I love this book, it is beautifully photographed, has some really yummy recipes and, if you are unfamiliar with her, you can check out her blog: 101cookbooks--it is well worth the diversion. She is not wholly vegan, but her recipes allow for a bit of vegan expression.
As a quick aside--a few weeks ago, we jumped into the cable abyss. I was reluctant, and with just basic TV for the past six years, we decided to try it on for size. When you call in, they ask, What would you like, as a sort of tease, I suppose. I said, Food Newtork, PBS Create, and Syfy--with maybe Bravo so I can watch Top Chef. Well, sixty dollars later, I got what I wanted but a ton more. Not sure if this will remain with us for a long time, we shall see as I am amazed at the amount of junk out there. I asked the "installer person" when he thought we'd be able to self-select our channels and he said, Well, not anytime soon, because who would select C-Span? Truer words had never been spoken! So, on our really spiffy cable was last night's Top Chef. Quite the panel of chefs for the final tasting. I know they were all agog over Chef Robuchon and all--and yes, the French can cook--but not for me, thank you. We like the bunnies in our yard, not on our plates. And as for snail quickfire challenge, that was just like watching a car accident, I wanted to look away, but couldn't. At one point I turned to my husband and said, Do you think the French chefs here would be under pressure if they were made to do a quickfire round of vegan dishes? Hmmmm.
Peanut Lime Sauce (with steamed veggies and Soba noodles)
1/2 cup peanut butter--use all natural
juice of one lime--you can add some zest
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 tablespoons shoyu sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 green onions--white and green parts chopped
2 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon red pepper paste or crushed red pepper flakes--use sparingly, like 1/4 tsp.
roasted peanuts for garnish
1 head of broccoli
1 cup snap peas
Soba noodles should be cooked according to package directions. I used about a half a package of the noodles for two of us. Drain twice with cold water, then set aside in a large bowl. The veggies should be steamed for about five minutes--that should do it--try retain their brightness and keep them crisp. Place the ingredients for the lime peanut sauce in a blender and process until smooth. This also can be served as a dipping sauce as well as a tossed with the soba noodles.
Spring Rolls
1 package extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed, then crumbled
1 package egg roll wrappers
2 tablespoons sesame oil or peanut oil
2 cups chopped mushroom (I used baby bella)
2 cups chopped spinach
2 cups chopped Swiss chard (stems removed)
1 large shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons shoyu or low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup minced water chestnuts *optional
Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Saute the shallots and mushrooms and garlic in 2 tablespoons of sesame oil for about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and let cook for about ten or 15 minutes. I like mine to really be cooked down. Add the crumbled tofu, spinach, chard and shoyu and cook for another 10 minutes--remove from heat. I thought that some minced water chestnuts sounded good for this, too--you can substitute with celery if you'd like. To roll the egg rolls, place the wrapper in front of you in a diamond shape. Plop about 2 tablespoons of the filling on it, roll up once, then grab the two corners, tuck in, and finish rolling away from you. Dab a bit of water to seal the end. Place seam side down on parchment paper. Brush with sesame oil. Bake for 15 minutes. (Turn a few times during baking to ensure crispy rolls).
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