TBP Stir-Fry

Here's another lovely large batch meal that you can make and serve yourself from for a few days. Tofu for protein. Portobello mushrooms for texture, protein, selenium, copper, potassium, and phosphorus. Broccoli for vitamin C, A, folic acid, calcium, and fiber. Broccoli and portobello mushrooms are also both  carriers of super-useful phytochemicals that serve to help fight cancer and provide helpful antioxidants. Yum, yum, yum. I like it by itself, but you could serve it with rice if you're looking for something more filling than it already is. And if you're looking for extra protein and fiber, serve this with quinoa.

TBP (Tofu-Broccoli-Portobello) Stir-Fry

1 tbsp sunflower oil
8 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 inches fresh ginger, minced
4 portobello mushroom caps, chopped
1.25 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 14-oz package extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 cups broccoli, steamed and chopped
sliced almonds, for garnish
3 tbsp Gokutan Shiro Dashi (This is a Japanese seasoning sauce I use that is excellent. It is a combination of soy sauce, bonito extract, mushroom extract, seaweed extract, sugar, salt, and sweet sake. You can find it at a Japanese grocer pretty easily. If you choose not to go with this, I recommend the following: in a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tsp agave nectar, 1/4 tsp salt. Mix well and allow to sit for a couple minutes.)

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring them, until they are fragrant. Add the vinegar, stir, then add the chopped mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have withered and the liquid has evaporated (takes about 5 minutes). Add the broth, shiro dashi, brown sugar, tofu, and broccoli, bring contents of the sauce pan to a simmer and lower the heat to about medium low. Continue to simmer contents, stirring occasionally until the liquid has evaporated (this takes about 15 minutes).

Serve warm. Enjoy!

Garlic Ginger Dressing

Everyone is always telling us to eat more veggies, but a lot of people don't like the taste of some of the things that are best for them. Here's one of my favorite homemade dressings and a few recommendations for how to use it.

Garlic Ginger Dressing
2 tbsp minced ginger
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp agave nectar
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup water

Mix all in an empty pickle jar, close the lid, shake, and store in the refrigerator. Shake well before serving each time.

The salad I usually make with this dressing contains 4 stalks asparagus (grilled and then chilled), thinly sliced carrots (about 2 handfuls), romaine lettuce, mixed greens, and a handful of cherry tomatoes. Sometimes, I add bean sprouts (if they're fresh) or the "tree top" parts of broccoli. Pour about 1/2 tbsp of the dressing over top in a lidded, plastic carrier and shake to combine well with all elements of the salad. Pour out into a nice shallow bowl (or whatever you choose to serve in). Sprinkle sesame seeds on top for a garnish.

Go on, have a peace. Have a mouthful. :)

Bento 6: Tri-Color Bento

Today's bento was a tasty treat. Eat each part separate or mix them all together. It tastes great either way. Good hot or cold. Which is good, because you'll end up with leftover soboro for days (I am already eagerly anticipating this...).

Turkey and Beef Soboro
(makes too many servings to count)

1 lb ground lean turkey meat
1 lb ground lean beef
1-2 tbsp sesame oil, divided
1/2 cup green onions, chopped, green and white (~2 stalks)
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp thai fish sauce

Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil in pan and stir fry green onions. Add meat; brown. Add sugar; caramelize. Add mirin; evaporate. Add soy and fish sauce; simmer. Taste for seasoning.

Now you can end there, and just enjoy it. It's very tasty at this stage. Or you can go a step further if you have a meat grinder (I used my attachment to my mixer):

Pour contents through a strainer, saving the juices in a large bowl. Then put all the meat/garlic/green onions through the meat grinder until it comes out in teeny tiny mushed up bits. Collect these bits in the bowl with the juice, stir well to coat, and refrigerate.


Carrot Brown Rice
1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup carrot juice
water

Using a rice cooker, put 1 cup brown rice in with 1/2 cup carrot juice and then fill to the 1 cup line inside the bowl. Cook like normal brown rice. It will come out orange and mildly flavored. So good!


Asian Pickles
(This recipe was donated by Abby Palanker, who made these delicious pickles and kindly agreed to give me the recipe when I begged.)

2 boxes persian cucumbers (TJ's)
1 tbsp salt
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar

[Note: I made a half of this recipe and it's still a lot. I replace the sugar with brown sugar, halved the salt, and left out the crushed red pepper. Very tasty both ways.]

Slice cucumber 1/4 inch thick. Mix with rest of the ingredients.
Leave on counter for several hours, stirring now and then. Refrigerate.


And that is it. All together, it was so good! Yum yum yum. Nom nom nom.
Go on! Have a peace!

Easter Snacks

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you're having a beautiful holiday. This Sunday is a day about rebirth, no matter how you slice it. New life, the balance of day and night and the balance in our lives.

And yet, Easter is also a day full of processed stuff that leaves your body completely UNbalanced. Why?

My parents sent me an Easter basket this year as they do every year - my parents are ridiculously awesome.
This year, they sent me an incredibly soft, snuggly bunny and some delicious sugar free snacks. One of the things they sent that was not sugar free was a yummy, yummy chocolate from 3400 Phinney Chocolate Factory.

Here's my rule about candy - you have to recognize and be able to picture all the ingredients and you have to eat it in moderation, as a treat. This bar is dairy free, gluten free, soy free, and vegan. The ingredients include and are limited to cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter, almonds, figs, fennel, and ground vanilla bean.

Now. If you're like me, you've probably hardboiled and dyed a boatload of eggs. But what do you do with all those hardboiled eggs once you're done admiring them? Personally, I love just munching on hardboiled eggs as a snack. But if you want to do something else with them, here's a few ideas:

Deviled Eggs

Avocado Eggs
1 avocado
8 hardboiled eggs, peeled
~1/8th of a small red onion
1/8 cup lemon juice, to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the hardboiled eggs in half. Scoop the yolks out into either a bowl or a food processor. Lay out the remaining egg whites on a plate.

Cut your avocado in half, throw away the pit. Again, if you have the food processor, add the avocado to the yolks there. If not, add it to the yolks in the bowl. Mash it all together.

Take 1/8th of a small onion and chop it into tiny, tiny bits. You might not want to use all of the onion, it's up to your personal taste. Add as much as you like to the mashed up avocado and yolk. Now add a tiny bit of fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Sprinkle in the lemon juice - again to taste. Mix it all together.

Scoop the mash up into each of the hardboiled egg whites and serve immediately. :) That's it! It's creamy, delicious, and tastes like guacamole!

Yum yum yum!

Tea Eggs - I made these with Good Earth green tea bags, 2 cups of boiling water, and a 1/2 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce and they were delicious!

Irenic Salad
This is my go-to lunch when I'm short on time. It's filling, delicious, and healthy.
8 leaves romaine lettuce, broken into bite-sized pieces
1 hardboiled egg, sliced in half and then diced into little bits
4 grape tomatoes
2 stalks of celery, sliced in half lengthwise and then into bite sized slices across
1/8 cup edamame or fresh green peas (optional)

For dressings, you'll want to use something that isn't cream based. You won't need it. You can make a simple dressing by drizzling a tiny bit of olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar over the salad. Or you can make my personal favorite dressing.

Irenic Dressing
This dressing is easy to make and very tasty.  
1/4 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried basil
4 leaves fresh basil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
black pepper to taste

Take the olive oil and put it into a small skillet, heat it over medium high and throw the garlic into it until it browns and smells delicious, about 1-2 minutes. Pour the olive oil and garlic into a blender or food processor, then add all the other ingredients. Blend it all together. You can triple or quadruple this recipe and save the remainder in your fridge to use for the next couple days. :)

I hope you all enjoy this beautiful day! Happy Easter; have a peace.