main course – Page 5

summer greens vichyssoise + spicy mint sauce

Published on June 21, 2016June 20, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach6 Comments

we lasted 12 days on the Whole30.
technically, shorter than that,
because we had peas a few days prior.
a diet that has something against
fresh, in season peas is no diet for me.

bitterness aside,
i do appreciate the
blank slate that was this experience,
no matter how brief it was.
we introduced rice back in a few days ago,
a little bit of sugar
but i think we’ll maintain the
mainly protein + vegs thing
WITH RICE EVERYDAY LIKE A GOOD ASIAN
awhile longer.

meanwhile, pea season is
around for another week or so
and we’ve made variations of this soup
2 times already.
i’m doing everything i can to
break the rules of Whole30,
there is no way i’m gonna let this
season go by without trying to at
least get sick of it.

summer greens vichyssoise with spicy mint sauce
makes enough for 4, OR, 2 really hungry wannabe Whole30ers

soup
2 leeks, sliced and cleaned (i like to soak them in a bowl of cold water and let the dirt fall to the bottom)
2 garlic scapes, sliced/diced
1/2 pound of FRESH PEAS, rinsed
handful of kale
1/2 can of coconut milk
splish splash of olive oil
1 seedless english cucumber
half a avocado
salt/pepper to taste

spicy mint sauce
bunch of fresh mint, aim for 1 cup
bunch of parsley, aim for 1/2 cup
1 garlic scape, diced
1 TBL spicy brown mustard
1 thai green chili pepper
1/4 – 1/3 cup of olive oil
juice of 1 lemon

to make the minty sauce, put everything into a vitamix and blitz it till completely smooth. can be kept in clean container for up to a week.

to make the soup, in a large saucepan head up the olive oil. add in the leeks and garlic scape and season with salt/pepper. saute til the leeks are soft. add in half a can of coconut milk and bring up a gentle simmer. turn off heat and add in the peas and kale, mix through til the kale is wilted and lid it.

allow the soup to cool sufficiently before blitzing either with a handheld immersion blender or in the vitamix until smooth. add in the cuke and avocado, and blitz it some more. depending on how thick you want the soup, it may be fine as is, or you can add a ladleful of water/veg stock. season to taste.

serve the soup chilled and topped with a spoonful of the spicy mint sauce.

BAM!

3 years ago: PB & Chocolate Cakelettes
2 years ago: diy sperm cornhole
1 year ago: pulled pork taco

Somen Noodle Bowl

Published on June 7, 2016June 6, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach9 Comments

i finished two books recently,
which isn’t very remarkable
when i think about the period of time
in high school when i was able to knock out
a book a day.
sure, school work likely suffered,
but damn if i couldn’t just open
up a book at 1:38pm after 7th period
and lose myself.
if i find myself in a particularly
engrossing story
i tell dw it’s his turn to make dinner
or i throw something very
quick and easy together
and call it dinner.
either way,
i’m able to put my nose back into the pages.

fyi, for those interested,
i read:
me, earl & the dying girl
me before you
i know, so depressing
but they’re fast reads
and available as movies as now.

somen noodle bowl
makes enough for 2

*note: the way japanese noodles are packaged makes life easier. it’s usually already been divvied up into servings so i can tell dw how much to cook up. in this case: 2 servings. somen noodles also don’t clump, i’ve only ever used them cold and they are still really good the next day.
**note: this is ridiculous fast and easy, i may have been reading while i was making this.

2 bundles of somen noodles, cooked according to package instructions

sauce:
2-3 TBL tamarin or soy sauce
2-3 TBL rice vinegar or mirin
2 TBL sesame oil
splash of maple syrup, optional (just for taste)

seaweed dressing:
2 sheets of nori/seaweed, shredded by hand
2-3 TBL toasted sesame seeds, very important to toast!
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
pinch of salt

topping options:
sliced cucumbers
fried or boiled egg
kim chi or shredded cabbage
2-3 scallions, sliced thin
sesame seeds
nuts, like crushed peanuts or cashews
carrots, matchsticks
WHATEVER YOUR HEART DESIRES

essentially, for every component of this recipe: the noodles, the sauce and the sesame dressing, make/mix ingredients accordingly.

divvy up the noodles into two bowls. you can either pour the sauce and mix throughout the noodles and then top with whatever.

or you can assemble your bowl with the noodles and topped with whatever and then pour in the sauce.

either way, it works and it’s easy.

BAM!

3 years ago: strawberry sweet biscuit
2 years ago: strawberries & cream pavlova
1 year ago: yarn cupcakes

herby cauliflower salad + chili roasted tofu

Published on April 25, 2016April 24, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach2 Comments

this last week has been beautiful,
on the cold side of warm when the wind
is acting up
but in the sunlight,
bliss.
we’re heavily in the middle of
a massive abode cleaning,
as well as painting.
doing at-home chores is never
my idea of time well-spent.
but these things hafta occur,
and to balance all that nonsense
i dragged dw out for a picnic.
an afternoon better spent
than doing home improvement, methinks.

hope you’re enjoying spring, friends!

thanks to Mastro Co for sponsoring this post. large casserole can be found here.

herby cauliflower salad + chili roasted tofu

*note: this isn’t a hard a dish to prepare and all measurements are guesses. i would recommend adding the herbs according to your preference, you may like mint more than parsley. the dressing is the standard dressing that i usually make for salads, and i never measure, i kinda just throw it together. you can use any vinaigrette dressing you want. finally, i used the very last pomegranate of the season, i would imagine dried cranberries would be a nice sub, though fresh strawberries or raspberries would be good too, just be gentle when mixing.

seed from one pomegranate (dried cranberries when off season)
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 cup spring onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, rough chopped
1/3 cup fresh mint, rough chopped
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

dressing
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 TBL dijon spicy brown mustard
1 TBL maple syrup

chili roasted tofu
1 package of extra firm tofu, drained & pressed of water
juice of 2 lemons
1-2 tsp of chili powder, depending on how spicy it is
generous drizzle of maple syrup
1 TBL olive oil
salt to taste

prepare the cauliflower by working in batches, pulse it in a food processor until they’re pea-sized, aka riced. move to big mixing bowl. add in the pomegranate seeds, spring onions, mint and parsley. set aside.

make the dressing by mixing the ingredients together. set aside.

prepare the tofu by first wrapping the tofu in a towel and putting something heavy on top. this step is to extract the water out and can be done in advance as long as a day, or short as 30 minutes.

preheat oven 425F and prepare a baking sheet with foil.

in a bowl mix together the lemon juice with chili powder, maple syrup, olive oil and salt. cut the tofu in squares or if you’re feeling fancy, triangles. add the tofu to the chili marinade and coat it through. this particular step can be as long as overnight or as short as however long it takes your oven to heat up, up to you.

lay the marinated tofu on the baking sheet. bake for 30 minutes, the edges will get all golden brown and crispy.

when ready to serve, drizzle desired amount of dressing over the herby cauliflower. mix thoroughly, adding more dressing if needed. transfer salad to serving platter or dish. sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

serve alongside the tofu.

can be served when the tofu is hot straight from the oven, or at room temp.

BAM!

other delightful salads:
crunchy celery salad
lamb larb
spicy cantaloupe salad

stuffed cabbage casserole (gf + df)

Published on April 18, 2016April 22, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach12 Comments

i’m sitting here
watching pbs
watching dw paint our living room wall
watching the chocolate banana bread cool
spring is being a tease
but we’re moving on like
it’s not messing with us
i watched a few youtube videos
on how to re-pot plants
then i went crazy
re-potted 3 plants:
2 cyclamens and a jade
AND
planted 2 pots
of some blue flowers
and sweet basil.
we’ll know in a few weeks
if i have a knack for these things.
in the meanwhile,
i made a warming casserole
to counter the winter-like weather outside.

thanks to Mastro Co for sponsoring this post. large casserole can be found here.

stuffed cabbage casserole (gf + df)

1 head of savoy cabbage (any cabbage will do, though i think red would be quite messy as the color would bleed), leaves peeled and cleaned. shoot for 15 leaves
1 lb ground pork
1/2 lb sausage, we used spicy italian
olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt & pepper
1 jar of dice tomatoes (our local grocery store has them now!) (1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes would be fine)
2 TBL tomato paste
1/4 brown sugar
3 tsp sherry wine vinegar
1/2 cup of day old, cooked rice
1/4 cup nut milk, i used oat

preheat oven to 350.

on the stove top, bring a pot of water to boil. if you have a steamer, this step will be easier. steam the cabbage leaves for anywhere from 5-10 minutes, until pliable. if you don’t have a steamer, blanch the leaves, a couple at a time done in batches. you’re looking for translucent leaves that are pliable.

in a pan, heat up some olive oil. saute the onions and garlic. add in the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg. season with salt & pepper, be generous. transfer half the mixture into a big mixing bowl. set aside.

in the pan with the remaining onion mixture, add in the diced tomato, tomato paste, brown sugar, and sherry wine vinegar. season with salt & pepper. warm through, turn off heat and set aside.

in a food processor throw in the rice and nut milk. pulse until a combined. add in the reserved onion mixture, ground pork and sausage, salt & pepper and PULSE to combine. you don’t want the mixture to turn to mush, but all the ingredients need to be thoroughly mixed together.

using one leaf at time, with the hard ribs removed, roll about 2-3 TBL of the meat mixture. here’s a very amateur video of how to roll something. arrnage the rolls seam-side down in a heat proof casserole dish. pour tomato sauce over the rolls, cover with foil and bake for about 40-45 minutes. remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.

serve with side of braised radishes.

BAM!

2 years ago: chocolate babka rolls

creamy polenta and roasted mushrooms

Published on March 28, 2016March 27, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach8 Comments

this spring has kinda crept up on me
but i feel like i’ve made a valiant effort
at catching up —
winter clothes were packed up,
dressing room tidied up
and garbs not touched for ages
were given up.
i feel lighter already.

i start a new job this week,
one i didn’t even know i was looking for
but one that i fought very hard for.
while the warmth makes its way
into our days,
and i’m figuring out my way,
you can follow along over on IG.

happy spring!

creamy polenta and roasted mushrooms – gluten free
inspired by yotam ottolenghi and america’s test kitchen

*note: i have made ottolenghi’s mushroom and herb polenta, sans the cheese, and it’s delicious. but rather than frying the shrooms i wanted to try roasting them. enter america’s test kitchen with their scientific brine action. this entire dish was all about prepping and getting the mise en place in place, but once that was all done, it was quick to throw together.
**note: rather than grate parmesan over top the entire dish, i made a smoked egg yolk bottarga, that might be my new fave ingredient.

mushroom brine
1 lb white button mushrooms, stems removed, quartered or halved, keep sizes relatively the same
5 teaspoons kosher salt
6 cups water

in big bowl combine the salt and water. stir to mix. add in the cut mushrooms and keep them submerged with a heavy plate. ignore for 15 minutes.

mushroom seasoning
generous drizzle of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
thyme, amount to your liking
4-5 sage leaves, rough chopped

preheat oven to 400F

remove mushroom from brine and dry on kitchen towel. clean and dry the bowl that had the brine water. in that bowl add in the oil, minced garlic and herbs. toss the brined mushrooms in the bowl and then spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet.

roast for 30 minutes. they will shrink down significantly, fyi.

remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

*fyi: an alternative way: roast the mushrooms, without the herbs and garlic but coated in olive oil immediately after dried from brine. roast for 20 minutes, remove from oven and then toss with the herbs and garlic with another drizzle of olive oil. roast for remaining 10 minutes.

polenta – made according to package instructions, enough for two hungry people
2 TBL grated smoked egg yolk bottarga
(parmesan cheese can be used instead)
2 TBL chopped parsley, garnish

assemble:
on serving platter or in a bowl, pour the creamy polenta. top with the roasted mushrooms, get as much of the herbs and garlic goodness as possible. grate the egg yolk bottarga or parmesan cheese over top and garnish with the chopped parsley. serve immediately.

BAM!