Vegetarian Pho

Around here, Pho is something you get for lunch or dinner. Apparently it's meant to be a breakfast food. The things you learn. I had no idea! I started snooping around for the origins of Pho, and I didn't find much, except that although it is Vietnamese, it carries with it distinct French and Chinese influences. One of the main cross-cultural features is the french onion soup tradition of charring the onions to both add a sweet flavor and brown color to the broth, something that is different than other Asian noodle soups. Also, the name Pho, though no one seems to know where it came from exactly, could quite possibly be french. Pho as in 'feu' (fire, from pot-au-feu), pronounced almost identically.

So, with this new knowledge I decided to take on the challenge of making Pho. The soup as a whole is easy, rice noodles that just need to be soaked, gently steamed or sauteed vegetables, lots of lime and chile garlic sauces that can regularly be found in my fridge. The base - and hard part - is the broth. The important detail seems to be the charring of onions, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. As garnish, the mint, basil, and lime were frequent ingredients. The rest all varied by recipe. I'm sure this is not properly traditional, but what I put together sure made me very very happy.

Being a breakfast food, I decided to add egg. I did that japanese style with a sliced omelet. I need to look up if that's normally an option in Pho for breakfast or if that is simply me blending my food cultures.


Ingredients
(for 2)

For Broth:
1 sweet onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves, whole
4 star anise pods
4 cloves
4 green onions, cleaned
1 cinnamon stick
1 one inch fat piece of ginger, thickly sliced
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce
4 cups water or mild vegetable broth (here I didn't use my normal boullion since it is herbed)

For Soup:
rice noodles (one handful per person)
2 tsp grapeseed oil
2 eggs
2 tbsp scalllions, chopped
1 zucchini thinly sliced
1 carrot thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped bitter green (like dandelion green)
1/4 cup basil and mint leaves, fresh
1 lime, sliced into quarters
bean sprouts (I didn't have any but I would use them next time)
chili paste, such as sriracha

Directions
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place the rice noodles in a metal or ceramic bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let sit for 15 minutes (or less, following the instructions on your noodle package). Drain.


In a thick bottomed medium pan, char the first 7 broth ingredients over medium high heat, stirring occasionally as they turn dark brown, about 5 minutes. Once well charred, add the remaining broth ingredients, bring to a boil and then turn the broth down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Strain solids out of broth (tossing the solids, keeping the liquid - some mornings I need this spelled out for me!).


While the broth is simmering, make the omelet. Heat 1 tsp oil in an omelet skillet over medium high heat. Add scallions and gently wilt for 30 seconds. In a bowl, whisk eggs together and then pour over the scallions. Cook for 2 minutes until the edges become solid enough to put a spatula below. Flip over and cook top half for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and slice into 1cm thick slices.


Take the carrots and zucchini and saute in 1 tsp oil until they begin to get tender. Remove from heat.


Assemble the soup. Place noodles in the bottom of 2 large bowls. Spoon broth over the noodles. Portion out the remaining ingredients between the two bowls, laying each in their own section above the noodles. Squirt lime juice and chili paste over top.

Cornbread Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

I made cornbread the other night. Fresh cornbread, right out of the oven with the butter still slightly bubbly and drizzled with honey is simply a transcendent experience for the taste buds. However, once cornbread is 3 days old, it looses it's excitement. So, the other night I went looking around for what to do with leftover cornbread that wasn't a dessert. I found my answer at smittenkitchen.com (my favorite foodblog that I'm a little scared to share, since it is so incredible and well done). She made croutons out of cornbread and paired it with a buttermilk-lime dressing over a salad. I did my own salad base, but followed her notes on how to crisp the cornbread and dressing. And it turned out as one of the best salads I've ever had.

Ingredients
(for 2)

For the salad:
2 large slices of cornbread, cut into 1 inch cubes.
1 small head green leaf lettuce, washed and ripped into bite size pieces
1 handful dandelion greens, thinly sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
2 small zucchini or summer squash
1 roasted red bell pepper, thinly sliced

For the dressing:
1/2 cup buttermilk
Juice of two limes
1 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp finely minced fresh basil
2 tbsp finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp cup finely minced green onions
1/2 teaspoon salt


Directions

Make the croutons:

Preheat the oven to 450F. Spread out the cut pieces of cornbread on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

Make the dressing:
Mix together all of these ingredients. Shake well. Refrigerate until use.

Make the salad:

Over medium high heat, saute the yellow squash, stirring frequently, until the sides are golden, about 10 minutes. While sauteing, assemble the rest of the salad. Add squash on top of the other vegetables. Add croutons. Dress as you like. I used a lot more dressing than normal here. But at the same time, I was so flavor satisfied at the end, that I didn't need to each anything more.

Green Tonic Soup

Modified from spring tonic soup in The Savory Way (one of my favorite cookbooks).

I've been craving nettles. Yes, those things that sting. That plant I was taught to avoid in my grandparents farm fields. In The Netherlands, it is a common edible green. Nettle Gouda (oh, so yummy). Nettle soup, the endless cause of many of my cravings. Yet, it is not easy to find around here. So I started to look for soup recipes that might have the same kind of flavor and I worked my way into this one. It was super easy and exactly satisfied the craving. I recommend working with a bitter as well as savory greens (the list I've included is based on the greens in the original recipe - I used dandelion and beet greens for this soup). I didn't have any sweet greens in my fridge tonight, but I'm sure it would be goo, too. Don't be shy with the garlic and make sure to add that splash of sour dairy - I added about 2 tbsp of buttermilk to my soup (if you use cream, be sure to add the vinegar - it's not as needed if the dairy is already sour).

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 leeks, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled, smooshed with the side of a knife.
1 bunch flat leaf parsely, chopped
2 cups chard leaves chopped (chop and reserve stems)
Greens to select from: beet greens, watercress, mustard greens, broccoli rabe, escarole, arugula, dandelion greens, radish greens
2 quarts vegetable stock
cracked pepper
white wine vinegar
buttermilk, cream, or sour cream to garnish

Directions

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, leeks, chard stems, parsley and cook covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add 6 cups of any of the greens. Once well wilted add broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Once all cooked, transfer to a blender and puree. Serve with a splash of cracked pepper, white wine vinegar, and cream.

Fresh Tomato-Basil Pasta

This is a simple summer dish I've been doing for a long time. I'm still amazed that years later I've yet to tire from it. Which is good, since tomatoes are an overabundance right now. The best part is, it offers such an aesthetic presentation that it makes for a great dish to prepare for guests. the proportions really are based on likes. I've estimated what I do for 2 people here.

Ingredients:

1 pint grape tomatoes or one very large heirloom tomato, room temperature
(grape or heirlooms are the best so that they have extra flavor)
2 tbsps pine nuts
1/4 cup sliced fresh basil
1 tsp olive or avocado oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to garnish
2 handfuls whole wheat penne

Directions:

Bring water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, slice the tomatoes and divide between 2 bowls.
Add garlic, basil, nuts, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to tomatoes and toss together.
Add cooked pasta and toss together.
Serve with parmesan to taste.
It's that easy.

Summer Vegetables, French Tian Style

Summer means lots of zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes. Lots. Bags and bags of them. They make for a great challenge as I try to figure out what to do with them beyond the typical marinate and roast or zucchini bread. Here's one idea I had. This is a baked summer dish. It does require kitchen heat, sadly. I ended up baking it late at night once the day's heat had subsided. But it is worth it. The layered yumminess of vegetables flavors mixed together is good hot right out of the oven or cold the next day for lunch.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
3 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
4 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 onion or 2 leeks (including greens), sliced into very thin rounds
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smooshed
1/4 cup walnuts
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Grated parmesan
Herbs de provence (fresh is best, but there is enough moisture to use dried)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Lay the eggplant on it. Generously drizzle with salt and vinegar. Bake for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, heat enough oil over low heat in a thick skillet to cover the base. Slowly saute the onions with the garlic until their sugars start to turn brown. If you've got time to properly caramelize, that would be even better.

Take a bread pan and spread the onions along the base. Now, layer the eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes on top of each other. With each set of 3, sprinkle walnuts, herbs, and grated parmesan. For the top layer, alternate everything to make stripes of color. After it has baked for 25 minutes, top with a little more parmesan, herbs, and walnuts. Continue to bake until the cheese begins to become golden.

Bake for a total of 30-40 minutes.

Chard with Cherries and Lemon

I never used to cook chard or collard greens. I knew they were good for me, but didn't like their bitter taste. But as soon as I began subscribing to a vegetable CSA, I started to get a ton of these in my boxes, so I had to figure out something to do. I finally figured this recipe for a side dish out, and I love it. It's very flexible, any jam or dried fruit will do. But the key is lemon and garlic along with the sweetness of the jam.

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil (or even better, avocado oil)
1/2 red onion or 2 shallots
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 bunch chard (stems removed and thinly chopped, leaves thickly chopped)
Juice (no more than 2 Tbsp) and zest of 1 lemon
a quarter cup (really a handful) of dried cherries or cranberries
1 tablespoon berry jam

Directions:
Heat oil in small wok over medium heat.
Saute the onion and garlic until garlic begins to become golden.
Add chard and stir occasionally until it wilts and becoems bright green.
Stir in lemon juice and zest, dried cherries and jam. Cook for 1 more minute so flavors can mix.

Sweet Potatoes with Lime Reduction

I think this is going to become one of the staple side dishes in my house. I made it for a friend who came to dinner paired with a greek lemon-marinated grilled chicken, and a basic marinated roasted vegetable salad. I found the inspiration for this recipe on epicurious.com, and I will say, the core: the sweet potatoes, the lime, and the chives are a threesome that made a very solid base - the sweet, the sour, and the bitter/savory.

The funny thing is that this dish has lead to three separate conversations on the difference between chives and green onions (including one with my dentist!). The answer (I had to look it up) is this: they are both of the onion family, but difference species. a good explanation is here at The New Cook.

Ingredients:
for potatoes:
3 large sweet potatoes, cut into 1 to 1/2-inch cubes
3 Tbsps olive oil
salt
black pepper

for reduction:
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp sugar
juice and zest from two limes

2 Tbps chopped fresh chives

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Toss potatoes with oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl until coated well, then spread in 1 layer on a

shallow baking pans. Roast until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
While potatoes are roasting, mix water, sugar, and lime juice and zest to a simmer in a very small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves (about 30 seconds). Reduce to a simmer and let cook until the liquid is reduced to half (about 3-4 Tbps), which will take about 3-4 minutes.
Toss potatoes with syrup and zest in a large bowl, then sprinkle with chives and serve immediately.

Garlic and Greens Soup

I've recently been down, sick with a cold. This soup is a mixture of a few recipes (which, really, is what all soup always is), made with what I had in my fridge. I think it is now my new favorite soup for when I'm sick. It was so easy, so perfect for low energy cooking. And so flavorful that even my deadened-by-a-cold tastebuds were completely satisfied. In general a mixture of bitter, spicy, and sweet greens I think is what will make this soup stellar.

Ingredients:
2 tbsps olive oil
1 large head of garlic, all cloves pealed and thinly sliced
1 large potato, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 head bok choy, chopped
1 bunch collard greens, chopped
1 bunch rainbow chard, chopped
1 bunch beet greens, chopped
any other greens, really such as spinach, watercress, or dandelion greens.
6 cups water
2 bouillon cubes (as usual, I highly recommend Rapunzel brand sea salt and herbs)

Directions:

In large heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden.
Add potatoes and greens and cook until green wilt. It can be good to add these in batches, to make stirring easier.
Add water and bouillon and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer until the collard greens are cooked through and bright green and the potatoes are just soft. If the greens start to become faded or the potatoes start to fall apart, stop cooking.

Serve while steaming to get all the benefits of a garlic filled steam.

A Quick Egg Dinner Pie

I'm not sure what to call this. It is not a quiche, not enough egg. Nor it is a tarte, as it has no crust. Nor is it a frittata, as it is too thick. So it's just colorful egg yumminess in a pie pan.

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, chopped
handful of fresh herbs, chopped - such as parsley, dill, and basil.
2 colored peppers, sliced thinly
1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped off and cut in half.
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese - preferably gorgonzola (don't by the pre-crumbled - it's got too many preservatives to melt well)
6 eggs
2 tsp tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.
Butter and flour a ceramic pie pan.

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat until onions go clear. Add bell peppers and saute for another minute or so, until peppers go soft. Place as a bottom layer into pie pan. Put asparagus in pan and saute for 5 minutes until it begins to brown.

In the mean time, place herbs as second layer in pie pan.
Put cooked asparagus as third layer.
Spread crumbled cheese over top.
Whisk together eggs and tomato paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over top of all the vegetables in the pie pan.
Bake until firm, 40-50 minutes.

Tofu with Asparagus in Garlic Sauce

This is a variation of a dish that I do often when I cook for myself. It easily expands for others and is very forgiving, but I usually just make enough for one dinner and a lunch (the portions for which are below). I cooked the tofu on a grill plate, but it can be done in a normal pan.

Ingredients

for the Tofu:

1 package Firm Tofu, drained and sliced into 8 pieces
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp mollasses
1 tsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp hot sauce (something flavorful and smoked is the best)


for the Asparagus:

1 bunch asparagus, ends removed.
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp crushed garlic
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sesame seeds

Directions:

Heat oil for tofu in pan on medium high heat. Add tofu. leave sit for a couple minutes until the bottom side begins to crisp. (I often end up with a bit of tofu sticking to the pan, especially if it is not drained enough or if I didn't add quite enough oil).

Mix together remaining tofu ingredients and spoon half onto top side of tofu. Then flip the tofu. Spread remaining sauce over tofu. Let cook until second side becomes slightly crispy.

As the tofu is cooking, saute the asparagus in the sesame oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. remove from heat.

Once the asparagus is cooked, put it aside. In the same pan, turn the heat down, add the garlic and gently cook until it becomes golden. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 30 more seconds. Pour sauce onto asparagus to serve.

Morrocan Vegetable Couscous

This stew is based both in moroccan spices and the moroccan tradition that a dish made with seven vegetables is good luck. I've combined about 4 recipes to make this one. It is really easy but takes a few hours. It is one of those dishes that you do a little then let it rest, do a little, let it rest, again and again. If done properly, it is cooked in a covered clay pot, known as a tagine. In the end, the stew is full of depth with very blended flavors. As a result, I think it is best if cooked with a couple ingredients saved for the very end or served with simple spicy salsas to balance the blended flavors with some that stand out.

Ingredients:

For stew base:
6 tbsp butter
1 onion, peeled and minced
Pinch saffron threads
1 small green cabbage, quartered
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 small chili peppers, such as serrano, seeded
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

for the vegetables:
2 large red potatoes, cut into large pieces
3 carrots, cut into large pieces (about 4-5 pieces per carrot)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into large triangles
1 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into large triangles
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1 inch squares
2 zucchini, halved and quartered
2 small yellow crookneck squash, halved and quartered
1 can chickpeas, rinsed

late added ingredients:
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 cup oil cured black olives, cut in half
juice and zest of one lemon
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 cups couscous

Directions:

In very large heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add ingredients for stew base and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add enough water to cover the vegetables, about 4 cups, and let simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
Add potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and butternut squash. cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add zucchini and yellow squash. cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add late added ingredients and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Drain the cooking liquid and serve on the side.

Couscous variations:
instead of just cooking the couscous normally, you can soak it in water for 10 minutes, then strain and place in sieve over the cooking vegetables, sealing the strainer and pot with tin foil so all the steam has to go through the couscous. cook for 1 hr, breaking up the couscous with a fork every 20 minutes.

or, one of the side salsas is a tomato salsa that needs strained tomatoes. reserve the juices from the tomatoes and cook the couscous in the tomato juices.

Side Salsas:
tomato: chopped and drain 3 tomatoes. mix with 1/2 cup each chopped mint and italian parsley, and 1 tsp each salt, and cumin, diced green chili, white vinegar, olive oil.

carrot: lightly steam thinly sliced carrot. toss with 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 tsp each cumin and paprika, lemon juice, olive oil, 1/4 tsp each cayenne, cinnamon, and salt.

really, take any vegetable, cook slightly and toss with an variation of cumin, paprika, cinnamon, parsley, mint, lemon.

Pot Pie

This is one of my favorite dishes to make with leftovers, especially after a meal with a whole bird, gravy, side vegetables, and roasted potatoes. Everything can then just be thrown in together with hardly any prep. But if you feel like making it all from scratch, here's how.

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry dough or enough homemade savory pie dough for a double crust.

4 cups vegetables, chopped. any mix of broccoli, carrots, celery, peas will do.
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, pealed but left whole
2 cubes vegetable bouillon (with herbs - again, my favorite is Rapunzel sea salt and herbs)
1tbsp (rounded) red miso
1 tbsp french mustard
4 red potatoes, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 Tbps flour (can use stale bread crumbs or corn bread instead)
1/2 cup nuts, such as walnuts or chestnuts

for vegetarian pot pie
1 cup cooked french lentils

for meat pot pie
1 cup chopped chicken or turkey (great with the left over pickings from the bones of a whole bird)


Directions:

Roll out dough into two rounds for pie. Place one into a buttered and floured pie pan. Make sure the edges drape over. Cover other pie round. Chill both while preparing remaining ingredients.

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Saute vegetables until tender, about 10 minutes.

In a pot, bring two cups water, vegetable bouillon, garlic cloves, miso, potatoes to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are tender, 5-10 minutes. Stir in flour and mustard and let simmer for 5 more minutes to thicken.

Preheat over to 350F. Mix together lentils, potato mixture, carrots and broccoli. Pour into pie crust. Cover with second pie round, pinching edges over to seal. cut slots into top crust to let steam out.

Bake for 35 minutes.