Tofu and Shrimp Thai Noodles

So this dish was originally supposed to be pad thai, but any time I make it it never quite comes out the same as what you order at a Thai restaurant. On top of that, when I started cooking I realized I didn't have the right kind of noodles, but that's okay - you make the best with what you have! I'd say even though it wasn't pad thai, it still came out good and while it looks like a lot of ingredients - if you do any sort of asian cooking in your home you probably have a lot of these on hand already anyway!

Tofu and Shrimp Noodle Stir Fry
1/2 container of tofu (firm)
9 med size shrimp, shell removed
rice noodles
1 egg, beaten

vegetables of your choice - broccoli, bell pepper, pea pods, carrot
1 TB fresh ginger
garlic
3/4 cup bean sprouts
scallions, chopped
1/2 cup orange juice
sesame oil
Sauce:
1 TB fish sauce
1 TB brown sugar
2 TB soy sauce (reduced sodium)
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 TB rice wine vinegar
1 TB sesame oil
1 frozen cilantro cube

Cherries galore this summer!

You may have noticed, like me, that the cherries have been on sale an awful lot this summer. You'll hear no complaints from me as they're one of my favorite fruits that I don't usually splurge on because of their high price per pound. With all the recent sales I've been experimenting with new cherry recipes - and not just sweet ones!

I tried making a cherry relish - the original recipe I looked at didn't call for any cooking - just chopping and mixing, but I thought the flavors might come together more if they were slightly cooked. I made this Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry with Cherry Relish and Asparagus and the flavors worked pretty well together. I just tossed the shrimp and vegetables with a pretty basic mix of olive oil, salt and pepper - put on the grill and served with the cherry relish. A very healthy summer meal with lots of flavor!

You don't have to be too accurate with the ingredient amounts in a relish because you don't really have to worry about the consistency changing. I was surprised to see that a relish is defined as simply "a condiment, appetizer, something savory or appetizing added to a meal." In my cherry relish I had diced fresh cherries (of course!), diced red onion, fresh ginger, garlic, salt and pepper, and maybe a little olive oil and juice - like a citrus, lemon, lime or orange. The biggest part of the process is pitting the cherries, which is not fun and dyes your hands red.

Just goes to show that cherries can be used for cooking savory dishes, and not just sweet ones!

Sesame Ginger Grilled Shrimp

After going to the grocery store, I made the mistake of assuming I would have fresh ginger at home - I hate when that happens! So what follows here is the modified version using dried ginger instead of fresh. It still came out good though - loved the ginger and the grilled flavor, and I served it over rice. I also made the mistake of not informing my family that I had planned out dinner, so when I returned home from the grocery store there was a steak marinating, oops. Easy solution - Surf and Turf night!

Sesame Ginger Grilled Shrimp
with grilled steak, vegetables and brown rice

Sesame Ginger Marinade:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 TB lite soy sauce
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 TB toasted sesame seeds*
1 tsp ground ginger
1-2 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped

*Toasting sesame seeds: Use a nonstick pan over med heat, add just the sesame seeds - no oil or liquid, and toss the seeds pretty frequently until you notice them turning a light brown. Be careful to watch the seeds and stir them around a lot so the seeds don't burn, which will happen fast if you're not careful.

Why go out for Asian, when you can cook it in?!

My cousin and I had been planning to go out for sushi, but in the end thought it might be more fun to cook Asian in! My dad had been asking me to make sushi again and I wanted to take a stab at Pad Thai again. So I took a look through my little Chinese cookbook, looked through my sushi notes to refresh my memory on making that, searched around online to find an improved Pad Thai recipe to try out and sent my dad to the grocery store in search of rice noodles, a lime, pea pods and a few other key ingredients. I even tried making up a batch of scorpion bowls so we could have the appropriate fun drinks with our dinner!

Sunday Asian Night: Salad with a Carrot Ginger Dressing, Shrimp Parcels with a Peanut Hoisin Sauce, Lobster and Shrimp Sushi Rolls, and Vegetable Pad Thai


Carrot Ginger Dressing

1 large carrot (I used 8 baby carrots) - peeled and roughly chopped
2 TB red onion, minced
1 heaping TB of chopped fresh ginger
2 TB miso paste
2 TB rice vinegar
2 TB sesame oil
1/4 cup oil (not sesame oil, more basic/plain)
2 TB hot water

This salad dressing is very similar to the dressing on the salad you get at a Japanese restaurant with your sushi, which I love! It's also very simple - all you have to do is put all of the ingredients (except the 1/4 cup of oil) in a food processor and blend together well. Then at the end, add the 1/4 cup oil through the hole on the top of the food processor and add gradually while the processor is running. The salad part consisted of romaine lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, mushrooms, cucumber and diced tomato!

Kubota Squash, Kumquats and Shrimp!

It's been a much busier couple of days than I expected on the apartment search front (kitchen pictures to come!), so I wasn't able to get this post up until now! But it will be worth the wait, I promise! This meal was definitely one of the ones that I said would make its way on my restaurant menu if I ever opened one.

I came at this food challenge thinking about similar types of foods to those ingredients given to me. For example, I thought about other recipes I've made with squash - butternut squash soup, roasted squash; or with citrus, because kumquats are in the citrus family. This helped me to come up with the dishes I made on Friday night!

Friday Night "Chopped" Challenge: Roasted Squash and Citrus Spinach Salad; Kubota Squash Ravioli with a Citrus Butter Sauce, Seared Shrimp and Asparagus; Citrus Shortbread Cookies with Candied Kumquat!

I will admit that this meal was a lot of work. It definitely wouldn't be a good meal for a simple weeknight dinner, but it would be great if you're looking for a special occasion or entertaining menu. I started cooking around 3pm and we were eating by about 7pm, though I had made the cookie batter earlier in the day and didn't get to baking the cookies until after dinner.

Gone East for dinner Friday night ...

I love trying new, exotic recipes - and this one definitely counts. When asked what we were having for dinner, my answer - "African Stew." Despite the concerned looks I got, I went for it and in the end, everyone loved it. I am so appreciative that I have open-minded foodies in my life to cook for! For a while now I've been totally in love with eating Asian cuisine - though cooking it is a completely different story. I can never seem to get the right spices and flavor to the dishes I've tried, but one recipe I've gotten down is the fresh summer rolls you often find at Thai and Vietnamese restaurants.

Friday: Fresh Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce, African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew over Couscous and for dessert - Tropical Crumble