Steele (the Day)

Functional Foodie Friday: Spicy Peanut Noodles

// July 29th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Functional Foodie, My Fabulous Life

Tofu alert! Tofu alert! But the good news is you can use chicken or shrimp or beef or anything else with a mother. In all seriousness, this recipe is better with tofu. And if you like to have prepared ingredients on hand for a quick meal like I do, you’ll have some roasted Honey Sesame Tofu in the freezer, ready to toss in this dish. OK, maybe not. Have you looked in the neighbor’s freezer?

Spicy Peanut Noodles

7-14 oz brown rice noodles (depending if you want this more noodley or more veggie)
1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame
1/3 recipe honey sesame tofu or 1 cup other protein
1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts,  chopped
2 scallions, sliced thin

Sauce:
1/2 c. peanut butter, smooth or chunky (the kind with one ingredient: peanuts)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili garlic paste (more to taste)
1/4 c. Tamari sauce
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
1/3 c. warm water
2 T. sesame oil
red pepper flakes or sriracha to taste (I like mine HOT)

Prepare the tofu, or take out of freezer and allow to come to room temp. Or cook whatever other protein you have chosen. Chances are, that’s in the freezer, too.

Mix sauce ingredients in a food processor (or you can whisk them all together in a bowl if you forgot to clean it and it’s still sitting in the sink). Warm in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Add tofu and heat for an additional 10 seconds.

Boil water and cook the noodles.They only take about 5-6 minutes to cook, or a little more if you like them soft. I like mine chewy. Throw edamame right in with the noodles for the last 5 minutes. Drain in colander, toss with peanut sauce immediately and garnish with chopped peanuts and scallions (which I also forgot in the picture above).

Tea today: Trader Joe’s organic green

Functional Foodie Friday: Massaged Kale Salad

// July 15th, 2011 // 6 Comments » // Functional Foodie, My Fabulous Life

This photo obviously doesn’t even highlight today’s recipe, mainly because I had no intention of posting about it. It’s back there – cleeear in the back. After I tweeted my dinner the other night,  my friend Marni had the audacity to mock my kale on Facebook, so I decided I’d share it here. Nobody puts my kale in a corner. She later admitted to eating a bowl of Raisin Bran, to which I say “Meh.”

This picture just doesn’t do it justice because it was the most beautiful bunch of kale I’d seen in a long time, fresh from the the Farmer’s Market in Harperville. I thought the shrimp were the star of the show. Until now.

Now kale may strike you as being stiff, bitter, and ornery, and thus somewhat in need of a massage, but this is really a delicious and nutritious side dish that’s really a no-brainer. I’m told by a local chef and TV celebrity Dan that the salt “cures” the kale, which sort of sounds a bit like bacon, no? Those of us who prefer not to nosh on meat can get our cured foods right in our own kitchen. Now go. Eat.

Massaged Kale Salad

1 large bunch kale, washed, large stems removed, spun dry
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I used fine grind)
1/3 cup fresh cherries, pitted and sliced in half
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
About 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Big glug of balsamic vinegar
Fresh ground white pepper
1-1 1/2 ounces goat cheese

Wash your hands. Please. Put kale in large bowl and sprinkle evenly with the sea salt, massaging it into the kale for about 2-3 minutes. I wear vinyl gloves because the salt really scrubs your hands, sometimes a little raw. The kale will gradually break down, soften, and become darker in color. Keep working the kale with your hands until it’s moist and well softened.

Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and mix well. Add cherries and walnuts and stir. Top with a couple of grinds of white pepper and crumbled goat cheese.

The sweet cherries, sharp vinegar, and velvety cheese make this a wonderful salad.

I could eat in for breakfast. Like, you know, instead of Raisin Bran.

Oh, and just in case you wanted to see Harper hiccup to a song that has become an earworm….  you’re welcome.

Tea today: Trader Joe’s Jasmine

Functional Foodie Friday (leftovers): Toasted Walnut Pesto

// July 8th, 2011 // 5 Comments » // Functional Foodie, My Fabulous Life

Yeah, yeah. Haven’t been around these parts for a while. So long, in fact, that I have six updates to load in my admin page! Whoa, bad blogger, bad blogger.

Today we have leftovers from back in September since these fresh ingredients are available now. I’m loving Harperville for a couple of days, and helping with $ome wedding detail$. I’ll be back with some fresh fare next week. Until then, enjoy the leftovers!

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Have you ever bought fresh basil at the grocery store, or even at a Farmer’s Market? If you have, you know how pricey it can be. Last spring I purchased 4 tiny basil plants for 59 cents at our local grocery store’s garden display. They were pathetic plants, but there’s something purposeful about resurrecting the near dead. (I also bought cilantro, which was brown and buried about a week later).

The result of my meager purchase was so much basil, I can’t even give enough away. I put it in salads and pasta sauce, but the more I trim it, the faster it grows. I was seeing pesto in my future. One trip to the grocery store to purchase pine nuts sent me into shock – they were almost $15 a pound! Undaunted, I turned to trusty Google and found recipes for pesto with walnuts, combined a couple of the recipes, and here’s what I came up with. (Yes, all measurements are estimated. You really can’t go wrong). I really loved the extra-nutty flavor the walnuts provided here, and may never go back to pine nuts. Use as many of the tops of the plants as you can; those leaves are more tender and sweet.

Pesto makes a great sandwich spread or tossed with warm pasta. You can use it as a vegetable dip, a marinade for chicken or fish, or throw a dollop on a salad. Spread it on French bread or use on pizza in place of regular pizza sauce. The possibilities are endless! I freeze it in zip lock bags, but you can also use regular containers or ice cube trays. There’s nothing like fresh pesto on a winter vegetable!

Basil is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, just like any other leafy green. In this picture, I cooked some black pepper fettuccine and tossed it with fresh chopped tomatoes, leftover shredded chicken, and topped with fresh grated asiago cheese.

Toasted Walnut Pesto

2-3 cups packed, fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, rough chop
½ cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
About ¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (prevents browning)
Sea salt and pepper

Toast walnuts for 10 min in 350° oven. Let cool, chop. Place walnuts in food processor and pulse until fairly fine. Add garlic and basil, pulse to combine. Slowly stream in olive oil and blend until mixture is the consistency of paste. Add more or less depending on how thick you like it. Add cheese and lemon juice, and continue blending until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tea today: whatever bag is in my purse but first I need to change Harper