Cilantro-Avocado-Lime dressing

So I am obsessed with Trader Joe's Cilantro Dressing. I LOVE it on fish tacos (which we've made on the blog before). Unfortunately Trader Joe's is an hour away from our house, so I don't get to go as often as I'd like. This past week we were wanting to make fish tacos without driving an hour, so I decided to try and make my own cilantro dressing. Lucky for us, it turned out great. This is super yummy and I think would be great on salads, as a dip, sandwich spread, and so on. And of course it's awesome on fish tacos.

Ingredients
-5 oz container non-fat Greek yogurt
-juice of 1-2 limes
-2 T EVOO
-1 garlic clove, chopped
-2 large handfuls of cilantro (just trim the bottom stems off)
-1/2 avocado
-salt and cayenne to taste

Steps
1. Blend all of the above in a blender! If you'd like it a bit thinner in consistency, add more lime juice and/or EVOO.

Hot & Sour Soup with Cilantro Noodles

I can't believe it's been 3 months since my last post! Fall semester was...crazy...but crazy in a good, busy way. Although I haven't been posting, we've still been cooking, and we have hit upon a couple awesome new recipes, so I'll try to get those up in the next coming weeks.

To start out the new year right, though, I wanted to post this recipe. It has quickly become my husband's and my favorite soup recipe. The broth is incredibly complex and flavorful and packs just the right amount of heat. This is the type of soup that will totally warm you up on a cold winter night. There are several ingredients, but because we cook a lot of Asian inspired food, we tend to have many of these on hand. But besides some chopping, this recipe is actually surprisingly easy, and with two people cooking it comes together in about 30 minutes.

(makes about 5 servings)
Ingredients
-8 C chicken broth (sub vegetable broth if making vegetarian/vegan)
-2 T brown sugar
-2 inches of ginger (~3 T), grated
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 T Sriracha
-4 C shredded green cabbage (about 1 whole small head)
-1 package sliced shiitake mushrooms
-1 package extra-firm tofu, diced
-1 red bell pepper, diced
-1 serrano chile, sliced
-1/4 C rice vinegar
-juice of one lime
-1 T cornstarch

Noodles
-3-4 package ramen noodles
-2 T minced shallots
-1/2 C fresh cilantro
-1 T sesame oil
-1 T canola or vegetable oil
-2 T soy sauce

Steps

1. Combine broth, brown sugar, ginger, soy sauce, garlic, and Sriracha, serrano in a large pot. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.
2. Bring another medium to large sized pot to boil with water, and cook ramen noodles for 3 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.
3a. Add cabbage, mushrooms, tofu to soup and simmer for about 5 minutes.

3b. While the soup is simmering, add sesame and canola oil to the pot you boiled the noodles in. Get the oil hot, then add your diced shallots and saute for about 2 minutes. Then, deglaze the pot with the soy sauce, and add the noodles, tossing to combine. Once the noodles are done, add the cilantro, turn the heat off, and put a lid on the pot and set aside.

4. After the soup has simmered for 5 or so minutes, whisk together the rice vinegar, lime, and cornstarch. Add this to the soup to thicken it a bit. Boil the soup for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Serve soup with cilantro noodles and garnish with diced red bell pepper (my picture of the big soup pot shows the red pepper already added, but we've learned adding it in last keeps it nice and crunchy).

Easy Quinoa Salad

I made this super easy salad over the weekend. I'm planning on serving it over a bed of baby spinach along with a hard-boiled egg and I think it will make for some yummy lunches this week.

Ingredients
-1 C quinoa, cooked as directed
-1 red pepper, diced
-1 large handful of walnuts, roughly chopped
-1 handful of raisins
-2.5 oz of dried cherries
-1 bunch of green onions, diced
-Juice of one lemon (about 1/3 C)
-1/4 C EVOO
-1/2 tsp salt and pepper

Steps
1. Cook quinoa as directed.
2. While quinoa is cooking, dice your pepper, green onion, and walnuts. Add to a large bowl and throw in raisins and cherries.
3. Once quinoa is done, add to the bowl.
4. Whisk your lemon juice, EVOO, salt and pepper and pour over salad. Toss well to combine and chill for 10 minutes before serving.

Roasted Corn Salad

I keep forgetting to take pictures of this, so this is just a shot of the left-overs, but you get the idea. Corn has been super cheap and in abundance at the grocery store recently. Couple that with awesome summer weather and basically we've been making this salad/salsa about every week. It's super easy and very fresh and flavorful. If you're not grilling, you can boil the corn (which we've done when rain cancelled our grilling plans). We have combined it with black beans and served the bean/corn mixture over lettuce as a light supper.

Ingredients
-4 ears of corn (in husks if grilling)
-1 red pepper, diced finely
-1/2 red onion, diced finely
-1 bunch cilantro, diced finely
~1/3 C feta cheese (optional if making vegan)
-2 jalapenos, diced finely (optional)

Dressing
~1/4 C EVOO
-juice from 2 limes
-salt and pepper to taste

Steps
1. Run corn (in husks) under running water for a minute.
2. Grill in husks for about 15-20 minutes, rotating at least once. Our internal grill temperature was about 350, and we did direct/semi-direct heat. If boiling, you'll want to clean the corn and boil for about 20 minutes.
3. Slice corn off husks and combine with other salad ingredients. Whisk dressing together and toss with dressing.

Tofu Banh Mi

I LOVE banh mis, so when my friend Liz posted this vegetarian version on Facebook I got super excited. The original recipe is from here, but I have slightly adapted it, and I like to serve broccoli slaw on top and on the side. These sandwiches are so yummy that we've been making these almost once a week.

(makes ~3 sandwiches)
Ingredients
Marinade
-2 T soy sauce
-1 T sesame oil
-1 T rice vinegar
-2 T maple syrup
-pinch red pepper flakes
-pinch of sea salt

-1 lb extra firm tofu
-sriracha sauce
-1 large loaf of French bread

Optional toppings
-Broccoli Slaw (minus the cherry tomatoes)
-red pepper
-avocado slices
-red or white onion slices

Steps
1. Slice your tofu into six pieces (i.e., slice in half along the longer edge, then slice those two halves in thirds). Place your tofu slices in between a dish towel or paper towels and set something heavy on top for about 30 minutes to remove some of the excess water from the tofu.
2. While you're waiting for your tofu to drain, you can make the broccoli slaw (though I left out the tomatoes for this and smashed the avocado slices on the bread as a kind of spread).
3. Make your marinade by combing all marinade ingredients in a dish (I just used the empty tofu package).
4. Dunk your tofu slices in the marinade and slosh them around so they get well coated.
5. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray some cooking spray on the foil. Place your tofu slices on the foil and baste the tops with a bit more marinade.
6. Cook tofu slices for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, flipping once after 15 minutes. At the 15 minute point, baste tofu slices again with remaining marinade.

7. Once your tofu is cooked you can assemble your sandwiches. You can put anything in them, but we have been enjoying: red pepper slices, broccoli slaw, avocado slices, and sriracha.

Massaged Kale Salad

Huge thanks to my good friend, Amy, for making this salad and turning me on to its deliciousness! Also, big thanks to Amy for showing me that by "massaging" raw kale you can make it taste just like quickly blanched kale. I didn't have all the ingredients on hand to make this the way Amy did, so I'm posting both her version and mine, which I improvised with what we had on hand. Both were great and I'll definitely be making the her version soon. Basically I think you can take the base of this salad and add all types of different toppings (e.g., cranberries, seeds, nuts, etc.).

Ingredients (Amy)
-1 bunch kale
~3 oz feta
-1 apple, chopped into bite size pieces
-handful of walnuts, roughly chopped
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-2 T red wine vinegar
-1 T EVOO

Ingredients (as pictured)
-1 bunch kale
~3 oz blue cheese
-1 apple, chopped into bite size pieces
-handful of pecans, roughly chopped
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-2 T red wine vinegar
-1 T EVOO
-Quorn Chik'n Tenders (you could use real grilled chicken if you prefer)

Steps
1. Start cooking Quorn Chik'n Tenders as directed.
2. Remove spines from kale, wash kale, and dry kale thoroughly.

3. Tear kale into small pieces and place into a large bowl. Sprinkle kale with 1/2 tsp sea salt and massage kale with your hands for about 2-3 minutes, or until reduces in volume by about half.
4. Whisk EVOO and red wine vinegar together in a small bowl and pour over kale.
5. Add in chopped apple, blue cheese, pecans (or walnuts and feta if making Amy's version) and toss well.

6. Top with sauteed Quorn tenders.

Maple glazed baked tofu, garlic baby bok choy, and cashew rice

I've done variants of recipes involving tofu, bok choy, and rice a few times before (e.g., here and here), but this was really good so I thought I'd post the newest incarnation. The most novel part of this recipe is the way I cooked the tofu. I used a new marinade and tried baking it, and I thought it turned out great. The other nice thing about this recipe is that it comes together in 30 minutes.

Ingredients (makes 2 servings)
-1 package extra firm tofu
-2 packages baby bok choy
-boil in bag rice
-handful of cashews, roughly chopped
-4 cloves of garlic, sliced
-1 T butter

-1 T sesame oil

-2T soy sauce
Marinade
-2 T soy sauce
-1 T sesame oil
-1 T rice vinegar
-2 T maple syrup
-pinch red pepper flakes
-pinch of sea salt

Steps (Preheat oven to 400)

1. Make your marinade by combing all marinade ingredients in a dish (I just used the empty tofu package).

2. Slice your tofu into four equal pieces (i.e., slice in half along the longer edge, then slice those two halves in half). Place your tofu slices in between a dish towel or paper towels and set something heavy on top for about 5-10 minutes to remove some of the excess water from the tofu. 

3. Dunk your tofu slices in the marinade and slosh them around so they get well coated.

4. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray some cooking spray on the foil. Place your tofu slices on the foil and baste the tops with a bit more marinade.

5. Cook tofu slices for 30 minutes, flipping once in the middle.

6. While your tofu is cooking, slice your garlic cloves and chop the ends off your baby bok choy.

7. Once you've flipped your tofu after 15 minutes (and basted again with more marinade), get your pot going for your rice (the kind I use has to boil for 10 minutes).

8. When your tofu has about 5 minutes left, heat a large skillet to medium-high. Add 1/2 T sesame oil and saute your garlic for about 30 seconds. Add the baby bok choy and then drizzle with 1/2 T sesame oil and 2 T soy sauce. Saute your baby bok choy for 4 minutes (or less...it starts to wilt very quickly).

9. Hopefully your rice is done about now. Add in 1 T of butter and the handful of cashews and stir.

10. Take your tofu out of the oven. Serve the tofu and bok choy over the cashew rice and drizzle any remaining marinade over everything.

Tomatillo and Sweet Potato Soup

I had never cooked with tomatillos before, and then a friend made us some amazing enchiladas with a homemade tomatillo sauce. Soon after, I found and tried a store bought version of this soup that was so good I decided to try to recreate it at home. The end product was I think even tastier than the store bought version.

Ingredients
-10-12 tomatillos, husked and halved
-8 large cloves garlic
-6 large cherry tomatoes, halved
-1 red onion, chopped

-2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1" cubes (I recommend using Japanese sweet potatoes, which are sweeter than regular ones, if you can find them)
-4 C vegetable broth

~3 T EVOO

- 1-2 C water (depending on how thick you want soup)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
-1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped 

-creme fraiche (optional, leave out if making it vegan)

-homemade cheesy croutons (optional, leave out if making it vegan)

Cheesy croutons

-Toss 4 slices of bread, roughly torn into bite size pieces, with 1 T EVOO. Toss again with shredded cheese and garlic powder. Toast at 350 until golden brown, stirring periodically.

Steps

1. In a large roasting pan, combine the tomatillos, garlic, and tomatoes and drizzle with about 2 T of EVOO. Then roast in the oven at 450° for about 35-45 minutes. 

2. While those are roasting, peel and chop up the sweet potatoes. Put the 4C broth in a large pot, and then boil the sweet potatoes in the broth for about 45 minutes. 

3. As your sweet potatoes and tomatillos are cooking, sauté onion in a little bit of EVOO for about 5 minutes or until golden. 

5. Once the tomatillos, garlic, and tomatoes are done, quickly blend in a blender or food processor. 

6. Add the blended tomatillo mixture and the sautéd onion into the pot with the sweet potatoes, and and season with salt and pepper. Let mixture simmer for about ten minutes, then mash up the sweet potato in the pot with a potato masher. At this point you can add more water if you'd like a thinner consistency. Additionally, if you'd like a smoother consistency you can blend everything with an immersion blender or transfer everything to a regular blender. I used an immersion blender. 

7. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche and top with cilantro and cheesy croutons. 

Broccoli Salad

Thanks to my good friend, Lauren, for this fresh, delicious, and easy salad recipe! You know it's good if my husband, who proclaims to hate broccoli, goes back for seconds. This was still really good two days later.

Ingredients
-1 package shredded broccoli slaw (pre-packaged)
-1 chopped cucumber (I used an English hothouse cucumber)
-1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
-1 chopped avocado
~1/2 bunch roughly chopped cilantro (I just cut the top leaves off with a scissors)
Dressing
-fresh squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon or about 1/3 C)
~little less than 1/4 C EVOO
-1 T dijon mustard
-1-2 cloves garlic, finely diced
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-1/4 tsp pepper

Steps
1. Toss everything together in a large bowl!

Mango Guacamole

Need a last minute Super Bowl snack? Let me suggest this recipe. Guacamole was already pretty much my favorite dip ever, but then I tried a version with mango added in, and it took guacamole to the next level. The sweet, tangy mango is the perfect accompaniment to the creamy avocados. Thanks to Aaron and Liz for sharing this recipe with me!

Ingredients (Super Bowl sized)
-4 ripe avocados
-2 ripe mangoes, diced into small pieces
-1 lime, juiced
~1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
-3 jalapenos, de-seeded and finely diced
-1 white onion, finely diced
-salt, pepper, garlic powder (all to taste)
-chips for dipping

Steps
1. Mash your avocados in a large bowl.
2. Stir in diced onion, mango, cilantro, and jalapeno.
3. Add juice of one lime.
4. Season with salt (I used about 1 tsp), pepper (I used about 1/2 tsp), and garlic powder (I used about 1 tsp)

Tip: Save the guacamole seeds and keep them in the dip until your ready to serve; the seeds help stop the dip from browning.

Vegan Peanut Tofu with Baby Bok Choy

This super yummy recipe came from my friend and colleague, Elise, and she originally got the recipe from This Can't Be Tofu! by Deborah Madison. I modified the recipe just slightly and served it with steamed baby bok choy; my recipe for that can be found here.

Ingredients (makes 3-4 servings)
-1 pkg firm tofu (pressed)
-2 T canola or peanut oil
-2 scallions, sliced diagonally

~1/4 C chopped cashew

-Rice (I used the 10 minute boil in bag kind) or noodles

Peanut Sauce
-1/4 Cup soy sauce
-1/4 Cup peanut putter (I often use a little more)
-2 T rice wine vinegar
-2 T sugar
-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 

-1 clove garlic, minced
-2 scallions, chopped (I forgot these)
-1/3 Cup water

Steps
1. Press your tofu for about 30 minutes. I do this by cutting it into about 6 slices and then sandwiching the slices in between a dish towel. Next I place something heavy (like a stack of books) on the tofu to press out the water. Once drained, cut the tofu into bite-size pieces.
2. While tofu is draining, make the peanut sauce. To make sauce, put all sauce ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend.
3. Heat oil in skillet. Fry until golden, then flip over and fry until golden on other side
4. Pour peanut sauce over tofu. Simmer until the sauce thickens to desired consistency. Don't let it get too thick because it will thicken a little after you take it off the burner.

5. Scatter scallions and cashews over top. Serve over noodles or rice and with a side of baby bok choy.

Zucchini Boats

I have to thank a friend from work, Pam, for this quick, easy, and delicious recipe. It works great as a side dish; we've served it with pasta or burgers, or even just a salad if you wanted a light meal.

Ingredients
-4 zucchini
-4 cloves of garlic, minced
-1/2 C mozzarella (any kind of cheese that melts will work)
~1/3 C bread crumbs
~20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
~2 T EVOO
-salt and pepper to taste

(Preheat oven to 350)
Steps
1. Cut your zucchinis in half, lengthwise; scoop out seeds with a spoon.
2. Lightly grease a large pan. Lay out your zucchinis and lightly baste them with EVOO and the minced garlic.
3. Add the tomatoes, then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Salt and pepper everything.

4. Cook for about 25-30 minutes, then remove and top everything with cheese and cook for broil until cheesy is browned and bubbly.

Lemon Dill Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup

I've always liked the idea of chicken noodle soup, but I hate overcooked celery and carrots. Given these two mushy culprits generally prominently feature in chicken noodle soup I typically stay away from it. However, a friend was under the weather, and I do think there is something comforting about chicken noodle soup, so I decided to reinvent it with ingredients I like (leeks, shiitakes, and dill). The lemons and dill really brightened the flavors and resulted in one of the most flavorful (and celery free!) chicken noodle soups I've ever had. Blog win!

Ingredients (makes 8-10 servings)
-1.5 package meatless "chicken" tenders, such as Quorn 
-8-10 C vegetable broth (I used a mixture of vegetable broth and water + vegetarian bullion cubes to save $)
-1 red onion, diced
-1 sweet yellow onion, diced
-2 leeks, chopped into thin rounds up to the light green part of the leek
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 package (about 4 oz) fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced
-1 head of fresh dill, finely diced
-juice of two lemons
~8 oz of noodles (I like rotini)
-1 C chopped carrots (optional)
-2 T EVOO

-1/4 C white wine (optional)
-2 bay leaves
-salt and pepper

Steps
1. In a large pot or dutch oven, saute your red onion with EVOO for about 3 minutes. Then add your garlic and saute for another 30 seconds.
2. Add your leeks and saute another few minutes.
3. If you have some white wine, you can add about 1/4 C to deglaze the pan.
4. Add the shiitakes, and saute a couple more minutes. If you're using carrots you can add them in here.

5. Slowly add in 8 C of water and 8 bullion cubes. Add in your bay leaves (don't forget to take them out at the end).
6. Add in your meatless chicken and bring pot to a boil.
7. Add in noodles and cook for about 8 minutes or until al dente.
8. Add in lots of dill (I put in over 1 C), the juice from your two lemons, and salt and pepper to taste.

9. Let simmer for a few more minutes, tasting and adjusting spices as you go.
10. Enjoy (this is great with some crusty, buttered bread)!

Note 1: This will make a lot of leftovers, but the soup seems to get better the next day. However, the noodles will soak up most of the broth so you will probably have to add some water when you reheat. If you want extra flavor you can add in another bullion cube when reheating.

Note 2: My eyes have become increasingly sensitive to raw onion the older I've gotten. I've found that wearing swimming goggles while chopping onions is not only a style statement ;-), but also an eye-saver. 

Vegan sweet potato burgers

Someone posted about making these on Facebook and they sounded so good I thought I'd give them a try. When I made them I used 2 sweet potatoes and 2 cans of white beans and added a bit more peanut butter and maple syrup...however, that made about 8 burgers so I reduced the recipe below, which I think will make 4-5 burgers. However, if you want a lot of left-overs you could make the amount I originally did. I froze my left-overs, but have yet to eat them so I can't say how they held up.

Ingredients
-1.5 sweet potatoes
-1 can of white beans
~1-4 to 1/2 C flour
-1.5 T tahini or peanut butter
-1 T maple syrup
-salt & pepper, to taste
~2 C panko
-buns
-2 T EVOO
-avocado (optional)

Steps

1. Cook sweet potatoes. I first poked holes in mine with a fork and then baked them in the oven at 375 for about 40 minutes (I turned them half-way through).2. Remove the skins from the sweet potato (being careful not to burn yourself from the steam).

3. Mash together 1 sweet potato, 1 can of white beans, 1/4 C flour, 2 T of tahini or peanut butter, 1 T maple syrup, and seasonings. Add more flour and/or sweet potato as needed to get a slightly firm consistency. Note: the mixture will be pretty goopy.

4. Form patties and coat with panko. Put the patties on foil/wax paper and let firm up in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
5. Add EVOO to a medium-hot pan and fry patties for about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and heated through. Top with avocado and serve with a toasted bun.

Beet and Quinoa Salad

I used to think I hated beets...turns out I love them! This was a really quick salad to make (though I cheated by using pre-cooked beets) with a lot of great flavor. Big thanks to my friend, Liz, for the recipe.

Ingredients
-1 C dry quinoa (cooked according to package instructions)
-3 beets (or 2 packages precooked baby beets from Trader Joe's)
-1 medium-large cucumber
-8 oz feta cheese crumbles
-1 can white beans
-1/8 C EVOO + 1/4 C red wine vinegar (I used some blood orange EVOO and white pear vinegar I got from this store)
-1 shallot, diced
-fresh pepper (to taste)

Steps

1. If cooking your beets...Wash beats, place on pan (foil lined), with oil/salt/pepper. Roast beets in the oven, 45 mins at 375 degrees.
2. Once beets are cooked and have cooled for about 10 minutes, peel them and dice them.
4. In large bowl, toss cooked quinoa, beets, cucumber, shallot, beans, and feta.
5. Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, and pepper in separate bowl. Pour over the quinoa salad and toss to combine.