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.

The ODB Grilled Cheese

Little known fact: I used to be a big Wu-Tang fan---in fact, my 21st birthday was spent at a Wu-Tang Clan concert---hence the inspiration for the name of this sandwich. However, in the case of this sandwich, ODB stands for Onion-Dill-Bacon. This sandwich was incredibly flavorful, thanks to the caramelized onions (cooked in bacon grease :), and it was great paired with a bow of tomato soup.

Ingredients (makes 3 sandwiches)
-6 slices good bread (I recommend oatmeal)
-15 slices Dill Havarti cheese (5 per sandwich)
-6 slices bacon
-1 red onion
-Tomato soup (optional)
-3 T butter
-3 T mozzarella

Steps
1. Cook your bacon until crispy. Remove bacon slices and set aside, reserving bacon grease.

2. Thinly slice your red onion. Using your bacon pan with reserved bacon grease, saute the red onion for about 6 minutes on medium. Once the slices start to brown, turn down the heat to low-medium and cook onion slices for about 20 minutes or until caramelized. You'll want to watch them and stir them about every 30 seconds.

3. Butter the outsides of your bread. Layer the sandwich with the dill Havarti, bacon, caramelized onions, and 1 T mozzarella.

 4. Grill in a panini press, George Foreman, or large skillet until golden brown.

5. Enjoy with a bowl of tomato soup.

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. 

Grilled Pork Chops and Baby Bok Choy

This was my first time grilling either of these, but the meal turned out great. If you have another person to help you cook, have that person be in charge of the rice. If you don't want to use a grill, I'm sure you could cook the pork chops in a skillet and then you can follow these instructions for sauteed bok choy.

Ingredients
Pork chops
4 boneless pork loin chops
1/4 cup olive oil
3 T soy sauce
1 T steak seasoning
1 clove minced garlic

Baby Bok Choy
-6 heads of baby bok choy
-1.5 T sesame oil, divided
-3 T soy sauce
-3 T mirin (you could sub 2 T sugar and 1 T wine or water if you don't have mirin)
-1 clove minced garlic

Cashew Rice
-1 bag instant brown rice, cooked as directed (I used the 10 minute boil in bag kind)
-1 T butter
-4 T chopped cashews

Steps
1. Mix olive oil, soy sauce, steak seasoning, and garlic in a small bowl and pour into a one-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the pork chops and set the bag in a baking dish. Marinate in the refrigerator for 3-8 hours (no more than 8). Flip the bag half-way through marinating.

2. Light your coals (I put enough down to get the temp up to 400).
3. Slice the bok choy heads in half vertically, from leaf to stem. Chop the leafy tops off (so they don't char on the grill). Chiffonade the leafy tops and set aside. Put the bok choy in water in a large bowl for about 10 minutes, to get any dirt off and also to help them steam on the grill. Pat dry. Drizzle with about 1 T sesame oil.

4. Put a pot of water on to boil for the rice.
5. Once coals are ready, put the pork directly over the coals and cover. Cook for about 5-6 minutes (more for thicker chops...mine were about 1/3 inch thick).
6. Flip your chops and put the bok choy on the grill, cut side down. Cover grill.

7. Let chops and bok choy cook another 5-7 minutes.
8. Take chops and bok choy off. Place chops in tented foil and let chops rest 5 minutes. Place bok choy in a serving dish.
9. Go back inside. Your rice should be done now. Put rice in small sauce pot on low; stir in the chopped bok choy leaves, butter, and cashews. Stir until melted.
10. Make bok choy dressing by mixing 3 T mirin, 3 T soy sauce, 1/2 T sesame oil, garlic. Pour bok choy dressing over bok choy.
11. Serve chops and bok choy over rice.

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.

Stay Tuned!!

Well a lot has been going on the past few months! I wrapped up my internship and accepted a faculty position at a university in the Midwest. I think I'll continue to call the blog "Grad Gastronomy," but I'm technically faculty and no longer a grad student :). Given all this I haven't had much time to post, but I have continued to cook and will be getting some new recipes up in the next week.

Some things to look forward to: We got an awesome new grill as a house warming gift from my mom (thanks, Mom!), and we've already made beer marinated brats with grilled corn and red onion, and blue cheese burgers (recipes coming soon). Also forthcoming are a few new vegan recipes, like sweet potato burgers, which were awesome!