sake marinated tofu in shitake broth

This semester has kept me incredibly busy at CMU, and (lucky me!) all that stress reacted badly on my immune system a week or two ago. I wanted a flavorful, gingery soup to take care of my sore throat and help me feel better, and this did the trick. Since I haven't seen my kitchen much this fall to do any real cooking, it was very nice to take the time to make a fiery soup on a cold fall afternoon.
I used instant bonito shavings for the dashi stock (I'm no expert in this field, but I read that this is what many Asian households use since it is very easy to prepare.) And it was easy to make with the individual packet of Bonito, all you need to do is boil it for a minute or two in water and then strain though a cheesecloth.

As for the shitake mushrooms, I'm normally not a fan of eating members of the Fungi kingdom, but I have to say these were pretty delicious. I got these at Whole Foods, they have a pretty nice selection of mushrooms.

I could see this soup being good with the addition of some soba-type noodles.

Sake-Marinated Tofu in Shitake Broth
Recipe from Gourmet Traveller.

250g medium-firm tofu
8 shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 small carrot, julienned
50g baby spinach

sake marinade:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sake
1/4 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 garlic clove, minced

broth:
500ml dashi, vegetable stock or water
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp mirin
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
shichimi togarashi (japanese 7 spice powder), to serve (I didn't have this, I used a little hot sauce instead)

Pat the tofu with a kitchen towel to remove excess moisture, then cut into 1-cm thick slices. Combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and marinade the tofu pieces for at least 2 hours (or overnight).

Lift the tofu pieces from the marinade and place on a heatproof dish. Steam on a medium heat for 6-8 minutes, until heated through. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Place all the broth ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the shitake and carrots then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes. Add spinach and cook for a further minute, until the leaves have wilted. Taste and season.

Arrange the warm tofu in large flat bowls, then pour over the broth. Serve with a dash of togarashi for a little heat.

Garlic Tofu Broccoli Stir Fry

Being in college, I'm always on a quest to find quick/easy/cheap/somewhat healthy meals to prepare when I get home from a long day in studio. Especially this month, after rather expensive series of events.

Stir-fry is a great answer to this problem— and this one turned out awesome!

Start by cooking the tofu. Add firm or extra firm tofu, cut up, into a dry nonstick pan and fry while pressing down until you get a nice browned color. Remove and set aside.

Fry up some onion and garlic (two big cloves) on low heat in olive oil. Add some red pepper flakes (I made this one pretty spicy.)

When the onions are clearish add a bunch of broccoli, cut into florets. Add some water to the pan and cover with a lid for a minute or two to steam them. They should turn bright green.

When the water's gone, add the tofu and lightly brown everything. Add some more olive oil if you need to. Finish it off with a bit of soy sauce and sesame seeds. Serve with rice, or maybe pasta?

Cilantro Pesto Pasta

I want to mention the awesome cilantro-flavored pasta I had for dinner. It's very easy and used up lots of things that were sitting around in my refrigerator. I basically followed Heidi Swanson's recipe with a few adjustments: I had a bunch of kale so I chopped that up for the greens in the dish, adding it to the boiling pasta water; also I practiced trying to make my tofu more flavorful by dry-toasting it in a nonstick skillet and pressing down to let the water cook off before putting sauce on it.


The result was delicious- though I wouldn't put so much garlic in next time (I used around twice what was called for). I also topped it with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese which was a great addition.
Boiling the noodles and kale together. I used rotini instead of soba noodles because it's what I had on hand. Quick and easy.
Cilantro "pesto"- it's pretty awesome.

First post & my favorite hummus recipe

I've decided to dork out and create a food blog. I spend enough time on Tastespotting nowadays that I catch myself writing posts in my head as I'm cooking or deciding what the best way to photograph my cooking would be.

Besides doing this, I am a design student at Carnegie Mellon University and I've discovered that if I'm frustrated and tired of working on visual projects, the only thing I can do to clear my mind is cook.

I cook a lot.

So here is my first post— a recipe for a variation on Hummus. Hummus has always been one of my favorite foods, since I was a little kid. Everyone has their version. Since I have a citrus allergy, I use white wine vinegar in place of lemon juice, and I think it works out pretty well.
I enjoyed some here with the crusty bread I baked yesterday.


Makes a good amount. (I'm not one for exact measurements)
Ingredients:
2 cans chickpeas, drained (organic, if you can find them)
2-3 tbs. tahini
extra virgin olive oil
white wine or champagne vinegar, a few splashes
a small handful cilantro
5 or 6 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
smoked paprika, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor— either grate or press garlic cloves so you don't get lumps. This recipe is super flexible, so I usually just start out with a small amount of olive oil and vinegar and keep adding things until it is the consistency I like. Process until smooth and fluffy.

I've found that I love the flavor of fresh cilantro in this, and you'll end up with a green-flecked hummus that's so much nicer than the beige stuff you get from the store.