So, I'm back from Honduras, and can now continue on my culinary adventures. I've been cooking a lot with my sister, which has yielded some fabulous results and has inspired me to pick up this blog again. However, before really getting back to blogging individual recipes, I just want to document a few things I've made lately which are super delicious and begging to be made again (and perhaps photographed and turned into a real blog entry later on).
The first food worth mentioning is beet burgers. I got the recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen, and they were really delicious. I made a few modifications to the burgers to accommodate certain ingredients I didn't have on hand, but in general I followed the recipe. Find it here. Also, I made mine with melted cheese on top, but I bet some kind of mayonnaise or yogurt sauce would be really good too.
The next food I'd like to acknowledge is lentil tacos- my sister's recipe. Basically, cook lentils in veggie broth, then mix in a taco seasoning. Top with roasted red peppers, roasted sweet potato, fresh corn kernels, cheese, tomato, and devour. Good job, Becky.
I also made some asian lettuce wraps recently which were quite delicious. The sauce was approximated and changed quite a bit, and I'm sure the next time I make them it will be a little different. But I'll try to get the gist of it here.
Sauce Ingredients (all approximated- just add stuff and taste constantly):
- 4 Tbs Hoisin Sauce
- 2 Tbs Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Vinegar (preferably rice vinegar, but I used apple cider as a substitute. It probably doesn't really matter.)
- 1 tsp Minced garlic, or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbs peanut butter (maybe more)
- 1 tsp of turmeric, if you have it
- 1/2 cup veggie broth
Filling ingredients:
- 1 block of extra-firm tofu
- 2 carrots
-1 green zucchini
-1 can of water chestnuts
- 1 small floret of broccoli
-1 yellow onion
- 3 or 4 scallions
- Chopped peanuts
Directions:
1. First, start the tofu pressing (place the tofu between 2 plates, put a heavy book on top, and leave it for about 20 minutes).
2. Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Note: Normally a lot of sauces call for adding in salt and sugar, but here the salt comes from the soy sauce and the sweetness comes from the hoisin sauce. So don't add any of that other stuff.
3. Start chopping all your veggies and the water chestnuts. You want them to be in really small cubes, so this will take a while.
4. Take a break from chopping (you deserve it) to deal with the tofu. Slice it pretty thinly (maybe 1/4- 1/2 inch. Not that I measured.) and slather each side with a mixture of hoisin sauce and soy sauce. Lay the pieces on a tin foil lined baking sheet, and bake for about 20 min at around 350 degrees. After 20 minutes, flip the pieces and bake for another 20 min. Note: You can skip this step and just cook the tofu with the rest of the stuff, but baking it ahead of time gives it a denser, chewier texture which makes it much less threatening to people who don't like the texture of tofu. Once the tofu is cooked, chop it into little pieces like everything else.
5. Heat up a little oil in a large pan or wok on medium heat. Throw all the filling ingredients in (including the peanuts and scallions) and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Add in the sauce, turn head down to medium-low, and cook for another 5 or 10 minutes- taste it as it cooks, and see when the veggies are cooked through.
6. Wash some big lettuce leaves (I like Romaine).
7. Once the filling is cooked through, spoon some of the mixture into a lettuce leaf. Roll up like a burrito and eat. By the way, this will be messy. You will drop food. Turns out lettuce is NOT a burrito. But you can still try. Just don't say I didn't warn you.
Alright, I think I'm all caught up for now. Until next time!
