RECIP(e)ROCITY

Two ladies sharing meals across the miles

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I made this incredible fish tonight

It was a fresh filet of salmon, roasted with the last 2 potatoes from Imperfect produce. Here’s what I did:

Roast the potatoes first. Cut them into thinnish half-moons and toss them in olive oil with salt and pepper. Easy peasy. Roast at 450 for 10minutes, flip and repeat. Meanwhile, prep the fish.

In that same olive-oil-tossing-bowl, add more olive oil, more salt, more pepper, and then, importantly: some generous shakes of smoked paprika and like 3TB of a diced shallot. Add around 1/4 cup of what you could call black beans in aquafaba or just “canned beans with the juice.” This will serve as the primary liquid for the marinade.

I say marinade, but really I just oiled a pan, put some of this chunky bean-shallot sauce on the bottom, added those largely-already-roasted potatoes around the edges, and the fish in the middle, skin side down. Pour the rest of the sauce over the fish and bake immediately, still at 450, for what I’d say came out to around 20min.

So the ingredients were, in order::

Fresh salmon, 2 potatoes, fresh shallot, black beans in liquid, smoked paprika, olive oil, salt, pepper.

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I finally did the thing where you marinate jackfruit and pretend it's pulled pork! My easy mode: 1 can green jackfruit in brine, shredded by hand; 6 cloves black garlic (the deliciously stinky fermented Trader Joes one); a shake of cumin; a shake of liquid aminos. Put it in the fridge while you live your life. Then microwave that and put it in tacos. How easy is this for a quick & dreamy summer meal?

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Photos from Edamame Crab Bisque creation

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Edamame Crab Bisque

Last week I started using fish sauce and made a variety of dairy-free seafood chowders. The one I actually photographed was this edamame crab chowder--yet another soup recipe that may have fared better with an immersion blender, but what is my soup making if not full-on challenge mode? (Hint: I’m still doing all my soup cooking in a rice cooker.)

My secret weapon of every soup I’ve loved is mushroom broth--the flavor is initially imperceptible but leaves an incredible richness in aftertaste that is always welcome. So for this soup, I used

1 carton mushroom broth About 2/3 container of firm tofu because it's what I had, so certainly silken would work as well) 1 bag Trader Joe's frozen shelled edamame Olive oil Garlic (Several cloves, diced) The mixed greens leftover from a salad tub--I had spinach and chard 1 box of Trader Joe's frozen cooked crabmeat, thawed Fish sauce until you're dancing with joy

For my one-pot rice cooker method, lightly cook garlic in olive oil as the pot warms. Add all but a handful of the edamame, and the shredded greens. Drain the tofu, but save the liquid in ice cube trays for aquafaba. Let the nearest adult or child mush the tofu with their hands; dump it in when they’re done. By now the pot’s probably hot, so add in that mushroom broth!

Here’s where my one-pot method strays from the premise--you’ll definitely want to blend this one. I ladled it into a regular, upright, non-immersion blender; and if you do, too, be sure to avoid scalding yourself and ruining your kitchen with exploding liquid as the heat builds up. I avoided this by draining off the liquid and ladling in the solids--4 heavy ladles full that blended beautifully and quickly and then reincorporated with the remaining liquid into a flawless bisque consistency. And, more importantly, the most lovely shade of green in all the world.

Then, add the crab. You could eat this soup hot or cold--chilled, you might add heaps of crab on top with a garnish of reserved edamame and fish sauce to taste. But I found that I liked it best with the crab and edamame warmed and stirred into the bisque (again, with fish sauce--I’d recommend about 5 drops per bowl). Enjoy that dairy-free creamy greenness!

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Astounding healthy vegan popcorn

I have recently perfected homemade popcorn: olive oil, nutritional yeast, and truffle salt. It is pretty much the only flavor that matters in life now. I suggest you use Amish hulless popcorn, and a good, recently pressed extra virgin olive oil. Add a little oil and seeds to a Pyrex bowl with a plate over it to microwave, then toss with more EVOO while it's hot. Then shake on the seasonings and toss again -- the trick is to go crazy with the nutritional yeast but be judicious with the truffle salt. Just a light dusting and you'll get a savory masterpiece that isn't too salty. IT IS HEALTH FOOD AND I LOSE MY MIND OVER IT.

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The easiest, tastiest, healthiest homemade ranch dressing

6 tablespoons kefir

2 cloves garlic

1/2 lime, juiced

1/4 cup olive oil

Nutritional yeast until you feel silly adding nutritional yeast (idk, 4 tablespoons?)

salt to taste

blend in a magic bullet

it’s even better the next day, and the day after, as the garlic mellows and infuses; and its consistency comes to rest as nice, whipped, pourable, thick. no shaking needed!

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Cardamom pumpkin pie

L! A coworker learned of my affinity for cardamom (thanks for that intro) and shared this recipe from his Thanksgiving pie repository. Still lacking an oven, cooking a pie is not in my immediate future, but I have heard great things!

Ingredients: ● 2 cups of pumpkin pulp purée from a sugar pumpkin* or from canned pumpkin purée (can also use puréed cooked butternut squash) ● 1 1/2 cup heavy cream or 1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk ● 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar ● 1/3 cup white sugar ● 1/2 teaspoon salt ● 2 eggs plus the yolk of a third egg ● 2 teaspoons of cinnamon ● 1 teaspoon ground ginger ● 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg ● 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves ● 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon ● 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest ● 1 good crust

Method: 1 Preheat your oven to 425°F.

2 Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the sugars, salt, spices, and lemon zest. Mix in the pumpkin purée. Stir in the cream. Beat together until everything is well mixed.

3 Pour the filling into an uncooked pie shell. Bake at a high temperature of 425°F for 15 minutes. Then after 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 350°F. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes more, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (About halfway through the baking, you may want to put foil around the edges or use a pie protector to keep the crust from getting too browned.)

4 Cool the pumpkin pie on a wire rack for 2 hours. Note that the pumpkin pie will come out of the oven all puffed up (from the leavening of the eggs), and will deflate as it cools. 

Serve with whipped cream.

Source: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/suzannes_old_fashioned_pumpkin_pie/

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The Richest, Fudgiest Brownies It Is Possible to Make

Can a brownie to be too rich? I suspect that many brownie-lovers would answer with an immediate—and perhaps slightly defensive—no. Historical chauvinists might disagree. The exact origin of the brownie is hazy, but the first published recipes, from 1906 and 1907, contained less chocolate and fewer eggs than most contemporary...

L’s go-to end of the semester treat for her students!

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K definitely just made homemade playdough using the leftover juice of beets cooked in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Just added that, some water, and salt to 1 cup of flour, and feels like a wizard.

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The tiny bottle of Thai Kitchen green curry paste—of Green Curry Tofu fame—has endeared itself to me as a staple. Here, I added a generous dollop to an even more generous dollop of peanut butter, two takeout packets of soy sauce, and a drenching of olive oil to create creamy, savory sauce for fettuccine and broccoli (i.e., the pasta and fresh vegetable I had onhand). Red chili flakes as you like, and garlic would intensify but if, like me, you find yourself lacking (and incredulous about this), know that your dish is not lacking without it! Inspired by Bittman noodles, and the things I had in my fridge last night.

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L!

Yesterday, I made a game-changing discovery: the world's best two-ingredient milkshake. It tastes like caramel or butterscotch but with no added sugar or spices! And as I make it, it's vegan, low cholesterol, and lactose-free. Yet RICH and amazing!

The secret? Trader Joe's medjool dates. Pit them, soak them in house milk (I let them soak all day while I'm at work), and pour the swollen date/sweetened milk mixture into a blender. I also FREEZE some house milk in ice cube trays and add a few. Blend, and DEVOUR.

Seriously, I can't recall a better milkshake, even one made with ice cream at a restaurant. The flavor is so complex and perfectly sweet without being cloying. I want to make this every day after work for the rest of my life.

I imagine that cow's milk would be good also, with regular ice cubes, if you'd like to try!

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Carrot cake steel-cut oats. Lightly modded from the recipe below: - with an extra cup of shredded rainbow carrots, - only as much spice as looked good, - thrown in the rice cooker, stirred occasionally, with - all ingredients in Step 1 added at the very start, and then - topped with walnuts and kefir. I was startled to find this sweet enough from the apples and raisins! But you could enjoy a swirl of honey and find yourself an unexpectedly easy and decadent breakfast for your sweet tooth. http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/217922/carrot-cake-oatmeal

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Turmeric take two

L,

While I love the fresh turmeric-ginger tea, I also love convenience. So when I didn't feel like pressing roots, I bought some powdered turmeric for $2 from Trader Joe's and tried the paste method.

What I do is mix turmeric powder, ginger powder, coriander powder, and a few whole peppercorns, stirred together with honey and a special addition--coconut oil! I make plenty and keep it in the fridge, stir a spoonful into hot water whenever I like. The coconut oil gives it this pleasant creamy smoothness without having to add actual cream. I think it is the right thing!

K

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Check out @animaldrumss's Tweet:

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2 pinky-fingers of ginger + 6 pinky-fingers of turmeric, shaved and put through garlic press 1 peppercorn 4 coriander seeds Honey (Steeped in hot water at right) (Added to almond-coconut milk at left) Profoundly delicious. Best chai of my life. So good, L might sip it despite the blasphemous nondairy milk...