Saturday, November 29, 2008

Broccoli Shiitake Somen

Wow, I'm just now coming up for air. I was working 12 hour days right before the holidays. I still have to post my Thanksgiving feast, but first try this light (as in not how heavy Thanksgiving food can be) dish that's simple and easy to make. Good especially if you're tired of cooking and eating Thanksgiving leftovers. Or if you just want a break from rich food. All you need are a few ingredients.

Ingredients:
Shiitake Mushrooms
Broccoli
Somen Noodles
4 Tbsp Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
1 Cup Vegetable Broth
1 Tbsp Canola Oil or Sesame Oil

Boil somen noodles in vegetable broth. Prepare broccoli and shiitake mushrooms. Slice and chop. Take a pan and sauté mushrooms and broccoli in oil. Sauté until broccoli has soften and turned bright green. Mushrooms should soften as well. Cover for a few minutes while you drain the somen noodles. Make sure to keep about 1/4 cup of vegetable broth to add to the noodles once you are finished with the vegetables.

Uncover veggies and add oyster sauce. Stir until ingredients are mixed well. Place noodles in a bowl, stir in veggies, add in broth. Add additional amounts of oyster sauce as needed.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Thai Green Curry with Mint

With all of the family stuff I had to do the last couple of weeks and Halloween, I have been remiss in my regular cooking habits. But, I'm back today. The night before Super Tuesday is a chilly one in Los Angeles and it inspired me to make some warm yummy curry. All you need here are a few ingredients to get you going.

Ingredients:
10 Baby Carrots, sliced
5-8 Mint Leaves, chopped
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, sliced
1/2 of a Ginger, minced
1 Tbs of Canola Oil
1 Package of Thai Baked Tofu from Trader Joe's, sliced
1 Jar of Green Thai Curry Sauce from Trader Joe's
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Black Pepper
Dash of Garlic Powder
Rice

If you want to serve your dish over rice you can save time by cooking it before you start preparing the ingredients. When you're ready, place the sliced carrots in a pan with some water. Boiling the carrots first will soften them enough to be able to sauté them with the peppers. Poke the carrots with a fork to make sure they are soft enough. You want your carrots to still be a bit crunchy so don't boil them for too long. Next heat a pan with oil. In the meantime, drain your carrots. Throw in the salt, pepper, ginger, garlic powder, peppers, mint and carrots into the pan. Stir. Keep cooking for a few minutes until the peppers soften a little. Now you can put the tofu in. Stir. If the ingredients start to dry out stir in a little curry sauce. Keep stirring. Once the mint looks a little cooked. Pour in the rest of the sauce to finish. Place lid over pan to let the steam heat the sauce and cook the vegetables a little more.

The sauce from Trader Joe's is a bit tangy so it's perfect over rice!