I had every intention of following a recipe and making sweet potato empanadas. Every intention. But, after work and being pretty tired, I got a little lazy and decided to wing it. I did try making the empanada dough, and it came out ok, but it needed some definite chilling time to help make it flaky. The filling, however, I decided to just see what I had, and go with instinct. I sort of wanted pizza for dinner, and mildly hoped this would not work so we would have to get pizza for dinner, but I ended up really liking this. The filling also became quesadillas later in the week.

I stared with one sweet potato and did a small dice on it. I also chopped one shallot and a little garlic. I added all of these to a pan and cooked for a few minutes before adding about 1/2 cup vegetable broth. I cooked this, covered, for about twenty minutes while I tried to figure out the dough and tried to figure out exactly what I wanted to do.

To the potato filling I added some spinach, pinto beans and cooked just until the spinach wilted. I did end up making empanadas with this – a little cheese, a little dough – but I had too much dough for each one. But the filling.  Oh the filling was good.

Recipe:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 shallot
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. adobe sauce (from chipolte pepper)
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 bunch fresh spinach
• Mozzarella cheese (as topping)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• olive oil

Dice sweet potato into small pieces. Slice shallots and mince garlic. Rough chop spinach after cleaning well.

Heat a teaspoon olive oil in pan and when hot add garlic and shallot. Cook, stirring frequently, for a few minutes until shallot begins to soften. Salt and pepper lightly then add sweet potato. Cook, stirring for a few minutes, then add broth and adobe. Mix together and cover. Lower heat to low and cook for twenty minutes or until potatoes are done.

Uncover pan and return heat to medium. add pinto beans and cook 1 minutes, then add spinach and cook, stirring until spinach is wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine with cheese and some dough like substance (tortillas, wonton skins, empanada dough, a pie shell, etc) and bake.

Every now and then I miss Chinese takeout. I miss the pork fried rice and that great salty taste of it. I miss the sesame chicken and the sauce that coats the rice perfectly. While Sarasota has a lot of good places to eat, good Chinese take out isn’t here. Or at least I haven’t found it.

To combat this issue, I decided to make my own fried rice the other day. I call this “leftover fried rice” since it was made entirely of things I had in the pantry (rice and sauce ingredients) and leftovers in the fridge that I needed to do something with (tofu, scallions, carrots, peas).

I did consult my usual internet sources – NY Times Cooking, Minimalist Baker, Two Peas and Their Pod, Oh My Veggies, etc., but I just didn’t see anything that was exactly what I wanted, or that didn’t require me to go to the grocery yet again.

So … leftover fried rice.

Recipe:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1/2 contains firm tofu, pressed
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1/3 cup diced carrot
• 3 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon peanut or almond butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• cornstarch
• olive and sesame oils

Cut the tofu into pieces, about 1/3 inch or so. Press to remove water, then coat in cornstarch.

Heat 1 teaspoon sesame and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. When pan and oil is hot, add tofu and fry until crisp on all sides. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and return pan to heat.

Beat eggs and add to pan with remaining oil. Cook, stirring constantly until you have soft fried eggs (under cook these a little since you will be returning them to heat at the end). Remove eggs and put aside with the tofu.

Heat another 1 teaspoon sesame and 1 tablespoon olive oils in pan over medium heat. Add carrots, scallions and garlic to pan, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for three to five minutes, then add peas and cook 1-2 minutes more.

While vegetables (or tofu) are cooking, make sauce. Combine, peanut butter, honey, chili garlic sauce and soy sauce. mix well. Adjust seasoning as needed – I added a little more soy for salty.

Add 1 tablespoon of sauce to pan with vegetables and mix. Add rice and stir together so vegetables are distributed through. Add 1/2 of the sauce and mix to coat the rice. Let sit over medium heat for a few minutes to get the rice crisp on the bottom. Add tofu and egg, mix again, and the add remaining sauce and mix one more time. Allow to heat through 1-2 minutes.  Taste and add salt or pepper as needed.

I was in the mood for pasta, but I didn’t want spaghetti or ravioli. When I first thought about making lasagna I contemplated a regular spinach one, but that didn’t appeal either. I finally settled on a cheese lasagna. Yes, this is mostly cheese and noodles, not a particularly inspired concoction, but it worked.

I started with the sauce. Instead of buying a jar of sauce (which, I admit is easier) I pulled the crushed tomatoes from the freezer and decided to make my own sauce. I wanted some vegetables in it, so I finely chopped some carrots and grated a zucchini. I wanted to grate the carrots too, but I only had baby carrots on hand and those are a pain to grate.

After cooking the aromatics and vegetables, I added the tomatoes, a touch a sugar and some red wine and let that cook fora few minutes. The final touch to the sauce was a little grated pecorino.

The layers – I kept this simple. Lasagna noodles, sauce, ricotta cheese and repeat. On the top I sprinkled shredded mozzarella and some more grated pecorino. It looked pretty.

Lasagna is a pretty simple dish and done right, it is everything a good comfort food should be – filling, satisfying and something you want seconds of.

Recipe (Sauce):

• 1 can or box crushed tomatoes (~15 oz)
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano (I used fresh, but dried is ok too)
• 1/4 -1/3 cup grated carrot
• 1/2-2/3 cup grated zucchini
• dash of wine (optional – whatever you have on hand will do)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• small handful grated pecorino cheese (<1/4 cup)
• oil, salt and pepper

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion, garlic and oregano and cook, stirring, until soft – about 3 minutes. Add carrots and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add zucchini, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and cook about two minutes.

If using, stir in wine to deglaze the pan and scrape any browned bits. Add tomatoes, sugar and a pinch more salt. Stir and raise heat to medium high. Cook until bubbly, then reduce heat and cook through another 2 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Lasagna:

• 9 lasagna noodles (I like the no bake kind)
• sauce (see above)
• 1 15 oz container ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper
• 1/3-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cop grated pecorino

In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, salt and pepper and a small amount of mozzarella. Stir to combine.

In a 8 in square pan, spoon a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place three noodles on the bottom of the pan. (two will fit – I place a third in the middle over the seam because I like noodles, you can leave this one out if you want.) Layer on about 1/3 of the sauce. Layer 1/2 of ricotta over sauce and spread into thin layer. Top, in the opposite direction of the first noodles, three more noodles. Repeat sauce and cheese layer and top with another three noodles. Pour rest of sauce over the top and sprinkle mozzarella and pecorino over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting and service. (If you want browned cheese, uncover for the last ten minutes).

I was in a weird place this weekend. I didn’t know what I wanted to make for dinner this week and I was having trouble thinking of something different. I wanted to try something new, but I also knew I had a lot of school work to do. Part of me wanted pork steam buns, but I really didn’t want any meat. I decided to try a vegetarian version using tofu instead of pork, but with the same hoisin sauce mix that is just perfect with steam buns.

I started with pickling vegetables – carrots, red onion, cucumber and kale. Wait, kale? Yes, kale. I am still working through the last of the kale from the garden and decided to try picking it. It isn’t bad, but not my first choice.

I did try to make steam buns again, in large part because I can’t find them in a store around here. I used a different recipe than the last time I made them, and refined the steamer just a little. It worked, but the buns didn’t rise the way I wanted them to. I’m getting closer on the buns, but they still aren’t perfect. (Taste was good, but they didn’t rise enough and were pretty dense.)

So tofu. I know what you are thinking – how is this going to work. Soft tofu on a soft bun … the texture should not work. But … cornstarch. Cornstarch is my best friend when it comes to frying tofu. Light coating of cornstarch and into hot oil – the result is a crispy, crunchy tofu with a soft, silky center. And the tofu took the sauce beautifully.

So how did it turn out? I can’t wait to have this tomorrow for lunch. I’m skipping the buns and just using the pickled vegetables with the tofu as a salad. It’s tangy, sweet and really satisfying.

Pickled Vegetables:

• Vegetables of choice – cut (about 1/4 cup)
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• pinch salt

Mix together vinegar, sugar and salt. Add chopped vegetables and coat. Let sit at least fifteen minutes, up to an hour. If not using in the hour, drain the pickling liquid.

Hoisin Tofu:

• 8 oz. extra firm tofu, cut and pressed
• 1/4 cup corn starch (probably could use less, but I like to make sure there is enough in one go)
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (or sub whatever soy sauce you have on hand)
• 2 tablespoons vinegar (I used sherry vinegar because that I what I had, but rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar or white vinegar should do fine too.)
• Mix of sesame and olive oil (about 1 tablespoon sesame and 2 tablespoons olive)

Cut tofu into strips about the size of the buns. Place between paper towels and press for about ten minutes. (I find a baking sheet over the tofu works pretty good)

Mix together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce and vinegar until well combined.

Heat pan with oils over medium high heat until hot enough to crisp the tofu. Toss tofu in corn starch and add to pan. Allow bottom to crisp (don’t turn) for a few minutes until lightly browned. Flip and crisp/brown the other side – about 7 minutes total. Reduce heat to medium and add hoisin sauce mix. Toss tofu in sauce over medium heat until well coated and the sauce begins to thicken, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place one piece of tofu on the bun and top with pickled vegetables of choice.

After harvesting all the kale, I made batches of kale pesto. Batches of kale pesto.

I am not sure if I make kale pesto the “correct way or not” but in general I use kale, walnuts or almonds, garlic, a little salt, pecorino cheese and olive oil. I sometimes add lemon juice , honey or basil to it to cut some of the kale taste, but I try to keep it pretty simple. I think I ended up making about eight cups of pesto on Saturday and I know I used a head of garlic and a bag of walnuts along with most of the harvested kale. (Still have enough for a large kale salad.)

But what to do with all that pesto. Well, we have a nice ravioli and pesto lunch and for dinner I tried a modified version of a NYT recipe I found that looked really good. I wasn’t going to make regular pesto, and I wanted to make my own tomato sauce using the tomatoes I picked (so they wouldn’t go to waste).  I wasn’t sure about this since Bob doesn’t like peppers all that much, I decided to try it.

General thoughts were that I loved the sauce (I was actually really, really impressed with the sauce) and the filling, but didn’t think the peppers added much to the dish. I think it can be much simpler – leave out the peppers, fold the pesto and the tomato sauce into the couscous and toss with a little mozzarella cheese. That, I think would make a perfect dish.

Kale pesto:

• 1 large bunch kale
• 2 large or 3 medium cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese
• 1/2 cup olive oil (+/- depending on consistency preference)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• basil leaves, lemon juice, or honey (optional)

De-stem the kale and break into small to medium-sized pieces. Rough chop the garlic and walnuts. All kale, walnuts and garlic to food processor process for a few seconds, just until everything starts to break down. Add in olive oil, salt and any extras (basil, lemon or honey) and process again. You may have to do this two or three times, scrapping the sides in between each round. You may also have to add olive oil in batches if you like a more sauce like consistency. (I tend to make my pesto dry and add more oil right before I use it if needed.)

Tomato sauce:

• 1 cup heirloom tomatoes, chopped
• 8 oz crushed tomato
• 1/3 cup pasta water
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. When hot, add the tomatoes and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until the skins become soft. Add crushed tomatoes, garlic powder, sugar, salt and pepper and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Stir to combine everything and allow to reduce a little. Add pasta water and mix. Reduce a little more – the sauce should thicken a little – and taste to adjust seasoning.

Couscous:

• 1 cup pearled or Israeli couscous
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Heat olive oil in a small to medium pot over medium high heat. When hot, add couscous and stir to coat all the pearls. Cook, stirring, for about two minutes. Add two cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Cook about 15 minutes. Drain 1/3 cup of the liquid and reserve for the tomato sauce. Drain the rest of the broth and return the couscous to the pan.

To combine:

Add pesto (about 2/3 cup is what I used) and mix well.

Here is what I didn’t do, but will be doing next time:

Add couscous with pesto to the pan with tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Mix in about 1/3 cup mozzarella pearls (or chunks of fresh mozzarella) and combine. Plate.

Last weekend Bob and I had my friend (who is also my boss) over for dinner. I wanted to do something snack-type food to keep the evening really causal as the main reason was to catch up and drink some good wine. … Ok we wanted to drink wine and catch up, but it sounds better the other way.

I have raved about Dana at Minimalist Baker before, and sure enough, her spring roll recipe was what I turned to for these. I didn’t follow her recipe exactly, but for the most part, these are hers.

I have an issue with using rice noodles in spring rolls. They are difficult to cut and bite into and always seem to pull out of the roll, which leaves a good mess. Given this, I went with rice instead. Basic, white, jasmine style rice. I also ditched the mint since I’m not a fan of mint in food.

As I started making these, I was actually super proud of myself for making them look like a spring roll. Usually my attempts end up a mess with maybe one roll that looks right. These … I don’t know what happened but they looked pretty perfect – all of them (ok, one I messed up on a little, but you can barely tell).

Best part of this – they were fantastic and I had lunch for Monday. Yes, I took tofu spring rolls for lunch on Monday, comments about my eating habits be darned.

I’m not going to list the recipe here, if you want it, head over to Dana’s site – and check out the quinoa taco meat while there.

After the Wine Walk last week, I really wanted a good strawberry dessert. I didn’t necessarily want shortcake (ok I did, but it didn’t seem creative enough) and wanted something light. I decided to try my hand at a strawberry fool.

I found some beautiful strawberries at the farmer’s market. Plant City strawberries are still in season (getting to the end of the season, I think) so I decided to go for it. I love Jersey strawberries, but Plant City does strawberries right also – unlike tomatoes which Jersey still does best. With pretty, sweet, ripe strawberries ready, I set about trying a new dessert.

A fool is apparently a mock mousse. There are no eggs or gelatin in it, which is good. it also does not involve adding heat, so technically it is a no cook dessert. I read a few recipes and read the comments from a few recipes and decided to just wing it.

So … start with a pint of fresh strawberries. Slice down and set aside in a bowl. Add about 1/4 cup sugar and toss to coat. I also added a dash of vanilla extract just because I like the flavor. I set this in the fridge and went to run errands. When we got back, I took about 2/3 of the strawberries and blended them to a puree. The puree was surprisingly smooth.

Next came the base. I took one 7 oz container of Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, two teaspoons powdered sugar and about 2/3 of a cup of whipping cream and blended them together using a hand mixer. I tried to get the mixture to whip up like whipped cream, and it pretty much did. To the cream I added the strawberry puree and mixed again. This made the mixture a little softer, but a little more beating had it at a good consistency. I folded in the remaining strawberries and divided into four serving glasses. I could have made five or six smaller desserts, but it’s strawberry. I let them chill in the fridge for a few hours.

The result was a light, strawberry dessert that didn’t feel like it added weight to the meal. Bob said it reminded him of strawberry yogurt, but I didn’t get too much yogurt taste in it. It was sweeter than yogurt and had less of the acid tang that yogurt is known for, but still had a little tang to it. I love the little bits of fresh berries in this, and can see it working with blueberries, raspberries or even really ripe mangos. (Val, mango palooza this year?? Mango fool??)

Recipe:

• 1 pint fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• vanilla extract
• 7 oz Greek yogurt
• 2/3 cup whipping cream
• 2 tsp powdered sugar

Wash and slice the strawberries and coat with 1/4 cup sugar (dash of vanilla is optional). Toss well and refrigerate at least 20 minutes.

Puree 2/3 of the strawberries in a blender until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine yogurt and cream. Mix on medium speed until it begins to stiffen. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and mix again. Add pureed strawberries and mix to incorporate. Fold in remaining strawberries and divide among serving glasses or dishes. Chill at least one hour.

I’ve been a little lazy the past week. I did some work for school, and am a little ahead, but I didn’t do the crazy schedule I planned because I just decided I didn’t want to. Nice thing about being an adult, sometimes you can decide you don’t want to do something and that is all the reason you need to not do it. It doesn’t always work that way, but every now and again, it does.

But.  Since I wasn’t driving myself nuts trying to complete a class that has a month left to it, I did decide to try a recipe or two that I’ve been meaning to try. One was a vegetable paella from Plenty. I didn’t follow it exactly since I didn’t have the correct rice, don’t really like artichokes and didn’t have the required amount of sherry on hand, but I figured for a dish like this, it really was about the flavors and a little about the method, so I didn’t stress about it to much.

Amazingly I did have saffron in the house and I think that really makes the flavor of the dish. I didn’t have the short grained rice I thought I had (I have risotto rice, but apparently I was really running low so I didn’t use it) so I used a regular basmati rice. The texture was definitely different than the short grain rice would have given it, and it wasn’t as creamy as I anticipated, but it was good. We had leftovers so it also became lunch the next day, and it was even better.

Recipe can be found here and it’s worth trying if you want something a little different.