Peanut Noodle Salad

This was a leftover salad from our pho extravaganza. I made about 2x too many rice noodles-- I made 15 ounces of rice noodles (I instructed you peeps to make 7 ounces) and had the rest in the refrigerator--- they needed to turn into something! So I was inspired to make this dish.

What you will need for this dish:
Rice noodles, already cooked (about 7 ounces)
Fried tofu (mine was leftover, you don't need this, but its nice)
A handful of shredded cabbage
Half of a cucumber, grated
Two grated carrots
Two green onions, chopped thinly
A handful of cilantro, chopped
A handful of tat soy greens or romaine, chopped
1/3 cup of tomatoes, chopped

Dressing:
Three tablespoons of peanut butter (chunky or not, or almond butter will do fine too)
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons of tamari
1 tablespoon of srirachi
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 "thumbnail" sized piece of ginger, peeled
A few sprigs of fresh basil

Toss your rice noodles with any vegetables you would like sans the tomatoes (save those for putting on top last), tofu if it isn't already, fry and then toss into our vegetable-noodle mix.

Blend all ingredients for your dressing together, and then taste. If you like it sweeter add more maple syrup, spicier add more sriachi or garlic, tangier add more vinegar, etc.

Top your salad with the dressing and stir.

Add all greens so your salad if you haven't already and stir.

Top with tomatoes and serve!'

Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (from scratch)

AJ AND I MADE COOKIES AND THEY MADE EVERYONE REALLY HAPPY

1 1/2 cups of rice flour

1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum 

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1 cup of brown sugar

3 cups of old fashioned oats

8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. 
• In a big bowl, mix the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt and cinnamon: I whisked mine. 
• Add the sugar and light brown sugar to the large bowl of dry ingredients, continue whisking to combine well, breaking up any lumps in the brown sugar (AJ loved this part, he used a big wooden spoon and took his aggression out on the lumps). Add the oats, stir well!
•  Add the butter(I transferred everything to my Kitchen Aid, **thank you Grammy** at this point) and mixed on low until the butter moistened all of the other ingredients. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla, and mix until the dough comes together on low. It was very thick!!
•  Add the chocolate chips!! Mix for another minute on low.
• 
  
• Use your hands to press together cookie dough into equal size drops onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Place the baking sheets in the freezer for about 10 minutes, making the dough cohesive. Once chilled, place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven, and bake for about 14 minutes, or until lightly golden brown all over (and a bit browner on the bottoms). Remove the cookies when they seem like the appropriate color, they will be soft because these are a chewier, denser cookie.

Allow them to cool on a cooling rack. Then eat them until you can't fit anymore in your mouth.

:) Makes about 48 tablespoon sized cookies!

xoxo

Vegan Pho

Pho.
It's a trendy food right now, and to most it seems rather complicated...and we're all willing to pay nine dollars a pop for a bowl? Well, you need not, my friends. You can make this entire soup for less than nine bucks, I betya

The broth:
7 or 8 cups of your homemade** veggie broth :)
Pho seasoning: clove, coriander seed, fennel seed, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, licorice (You can get a packet that makes 6 cups of broth at any Asian grocery for about $1.95)
2 carrots, chopped coarsely
1/2 onion, chopped coarsely
3 cloves of garlic, chopped coarsely
1 "thumb" size piece of ginger, chopped coarsely
1/2 a lime, cute into pieces
3 tablespoons of tamari
Salt, to taste, after it has simmered

Toppings:
7 ounces of rice noodles
7 ounces of cubed tofu
1/2 cup of shredded red cabbage
sprigs of cilantro
sprigs of basil
1/2 lime, cut into wedges
One handful of bean sprouts

Prep all of your broth ingredients and put them in a pot, turning them on high to bring them to a boil. Once boiling, cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

While your broth is simmering, prep your toppings.

I fried my tofu in a cast iron pan with some cilantro, salt and pepper.

I then chopped my green onions, shredded my cabbage and readied the cilantro, lime and basil (the bean sprouts are not pictured, because it seems if you leave your bean sprouts in the fridge for longer than 6 hours, they turn into complete mush...)

At this point, your broth should start looking like this:

Taste your broth and see if you might like to add some more salt, tamari or lime juice

Next, boil your rice noodles. Your rice noodles may have varying directions, I put mine in boiling water for about 6 minutes and then drained them. Rinse them with mild temperature water after draining them, or they will stick together. 

Once your broth has simmered for at least 45 minutes, strain out the solids.

You are now ready to serve!

Portion out a large amount of rice noodles into a bowl, followed by tofu, green onions, cabbage, bean sprouts, cilantro, basil and lime juice. Ladle your broth over the top and serve! You may like srirachi or extra tamari at the serving table.

XO

Italian Antipasti Chop Salad

YUM YUM YUM YUM, I was craving a really hearty salad. So was AJ. We brought this to a dinner party and it was a big hit. So many colors and full of crunchy veggies and protein too!

You will need:
1 cup of quartered artichoke hearts
1 1/2 cup (or a 15 oz can) of garbanzo beans, drained
1 cup of chopped green or black olives (I tend to prefer green!)
1 cup of chopped baby tomatoes or diced big tomatoes
4 chopped green onions
1 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 of a cucumber, skinned and diced
A big head of romaine lettuce
1 cup grated parmesan cheese**(optional for omnivores) (I got pecorino romano because I prefer sheep cheese)
1 cup diced salami** (optional for carnivores)

For the dressing:
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup red wine winegar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
A pinch of salt, oregano, basil and marjoram

First, prep all of your veggies:

Now--  toss your vegetables.

Next, mix your olive oil, vinegar, garlic and spices altogether to make your dressing. Taste-- if you like your dressing saltier, add more salt (or grated parmesan cheese) and if you like it tangier add more vinegar, etc. I tend to make my dressings mellower with salads like this, since there are already so many flavors going on...

Chop your salami-- I bought a fancy kind so I also peeled the casing off before I cubed my salami. Then grate your cheese and top your salad!

Dress as you like. You may want to serve this hearty salad with a crusty piece of bread. YUM.

Love-- the Woo's

Coconut Milk Custard

This is one of my favorite, FAVORITE dessert recipes. It is full of protein and extremely versatile.

You will need:
1/3 cup of sugar 
2 teaspoons of corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 can of coconut milk (14 oz.)
6 egg yolks, beaten
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract


First, split your egg yolks and eggs whites-- I used my egg whites the next day in an omelette.

Next, combine sugar, corn starch and salt in sauce pan on stove. 

Add milk, mix completely and turn onto medium heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. (I use a whisk for this recipe!)

Once boiling keep it at a boil for 1 minute (still stirring). 
Add the egg yolks into the sauce pan full of the hot milk mixture on the stove. Stir constantly (and vigorously!) over medium heat for 10 minutes. 

Finally, add the vanilla and immediately remove from heat. Let cool.

This makes lovely parfaits in cups with chopped bananas, berries, nuts, or cookie crumbles. I like eating it in martini glasses with bananas and raspberries on the top and bottom. With this last batch, I used it as a filling between four layers of gluten free vanilla cake, and topped with with chocolate ganche to make a Boston cream cake. 
ENJOY.

Bibimbap (Warm Korean Rice Salad)

The first time I had bibimbap I was absolutely sold that it might be my new favorite peasant rice bowl. It is versatile and flexible depending on what vegetables are in season and can be made for vegans, vegetarians and carnivores alike. The seasonings are very very very simple, so this dish can be really nurturing and easy on the stomach as well.

This recipe looks complicated, but it is actually quite simple it just has a few steps because all of the veggies are prepared separate from one another. Fear not!

What you will need--
The Rice:
1 and 1/2 cup sushi rice
2 cups of water
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons of sugar
Sesame Oil
Black sesame seeds
One sheet of nori seaweed

Toppings***(Pick and choose your toppings, you don't need them all, if you want just pick four or five):
7 ounces of firm tofu
2 carrots, grated or shredded
Two summer squashes (for color variation I did a yellow and green), quartered
A handful of bean sprouts
1/4 of a small red cabbage, chopped and slivered
1/2 Napa (or another fancy) cabbage, chopped and slivered
4 small green onions, chopped
Two handfuls of baby spinach or three small heads of bok choy, chopped

Sesame oil** is your main flavor constituent in this dish. You can get it at most grocery stores and at Asian markets
Tamari (or soy sauce)
Salt
Kimchi
Srirachi

First: Start your rice. In a small pot add rice and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn down, cover and let simmer for twenty minutes. After twenty minutes remove the covered pot from heat and let it sit for another ten minutes undisturbed. You'll have to keep an eye on the timing of your rice as you continue through the next steps.

Second: Get the water out of your tofu by taking a paper towel and squishing it between your hand and a chopping block. Then dice your tofu and put them in a frying pan with a scant amount of olive oil. My pan was recently used to make turmeric-potatoes so it turned my tofu a yellow color (though it both tasted good and looked nice). Fry your tofu until they are golden brown and then put to the side in a bowl.

Third: Prep all of your veggies and keep them in separate containers. The beauty of this dish is how it is served, each item separate on the rice. It makes a beautiful rainbow of colors on a plate. The problem is it creates a little more hassle when prepping.

Fourth: In another small frying pan, saute each veggie (except your delicate greens-- spinach or bok choy or whatever you chose) separately in a scant (!!) amount of sesame oil. Saute them for only a minute or two on high, keeping their color and some crunch, but cooking them enough to soften them. As each veggie is cooked, return to its separate container until you are ready to dish up. The main requirement for this dish is that even though it is a salad, each veggie is lightly cooked.

Fifth: Blanch your delicate greens--- boil a small pot of water. Add the greens to the boiling water and let sit for a moment, and then drain immediately. Add a little sesame oil to coat the greens and then keep separate until you are ready to serve.

Sixth: Once your rice is complete, whisk the rice vinegar, sugar and a generous drizzle of sesame oil together and pour over steamy rice, with a dash of black sesame seeds and chopped up nori seaweed. Mix together.

Seventh: You are now ready to build your plates. This is also traditionally served with a single fried egg on top, however we were out of eggs tonight. I highly recommend the egg, in that case, fry an egg before you begin your plate-building. 

Have all of your ingredients out in front of you. Pile a heaping scoop of rice in the middle of your plate and add each ingredient neatly around covering the rice so that each ingredient stands alone and beautifully. Top with chopping kimchi, and a lovely swirl of Sriarchi, you can serve with tamari or soy sauce on the table for additional condiments.

YAY BIBIMBAP!!!!

Play with this one by changing what toppings you include-- you can make a mildly seasoned meat for it or try other veggies such as mushrooms or other greens your find in season. Enjoy!

:)