Tom Kha Gai Soup

Tom Kha Gai Soup

I think I may have managed to perfect my at-home version of the popular Thai dish Tom Kha Gai Soup.

This soup is one of my absolute favorites. The richness of the coconut milk and the combination of salty, sour and savory with the gorgeous perfume of lemongrass makes this dish a heavenly comfort.

I almost didn't make this because I was missing one very important ingredient - the limes. 

And unfortunately, because I substituted lemon for the lime I didn't write down the recipe((

Go figure that it turned out amazing. But, no fear, I loved it so much I am going to be making another batch tomorrow and I will include the recipe then!

 
 

Shepherd's pie tacos

The Shepherd's pie experiment left me with a ton of leftovers.

So, this morning I decided on Shepherd's pie tacos. They were not really a Shepherd's pie taco since I left out the mashed potatoes but I did include the Shepherd's pie meat mixture.

The assembly:

Red cabbage, Shepherd's pie meat mixture, avocado and white corn tortillas.

A spoonful of the Shepherd's pie meat mixture.

A little bit of shredded red cabbage.

A slice or two of avocado.

A bit of sour cream.

A generous sprinkle of fresh chopped cilantro.

At this point I realized I had a tomato on top of the fridge that was on the verge of being over ripe.

The dogs got to enjoy some chunks of the avocado (great for shiny coats!) and the surprising event of the morning centered on the tomato.

Connor loves tomatoes (for who knows what reason) and while I always offer Abby a piece, she inevitably turns her nose up in disgust.


This morning I handed her a piece of the tomato and she sniffed it delicately. Then her ears swung forward like rotating satellite dishes. She immediately gobbled it down and asked for more.

That got me interested in the tomato. I tried a piece and it was the sweetest, most full flavored tomato I have ever tasted.

Apparently, Abby does like tomatoes she just has incredibly high standards:-)

Oh, and a certain someone (brace yourself for a fuzzy dog photo)-

The smart boy.

-figured out how to unscrew the top to the dog food bin last night.

And I took that shot of him this morning. He has a stomach ache but he looks supremely proud and a little pissed off because I strapped down the lid with duct tape so the endless food supply was cut off.

Think he will ever forgive me?

 

Mole soup

Mole soup.

I promised you mole soup and here it is.

It was earthy, rich and redolent of chocolate. Not in a sweet way, of course, but in a deep satisfying kind of way.

Oh, yeah, and it had espresso in it.

Yup, espresso.

I know, I am more interested at this point too!

No formal recipe here because I think this soup should be altered to your particular taste.

I will tell you the ingredients (a dish for 1):

- 1/4 cup of canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup of black beans, rinsed and drained 
- 1/4 of a yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup of chopped tomatoes with some of the juice
- 1 clove of garlic, minced


Oh, wait I should stop here and show you the star of the show:

- little less than 1/2 a cup of the mole paste
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1/2 a teaspoon of instant espresso

Put that all into a soup pot and let it get all friendly and comfortable (ie. let it simmer for a good 30 minutes). 

Ladle into your favorite bowl, top with some sour cream and cilantro and enjoy!

Tofu + Bacon??

I have seen a lot of recipes for tofu bacon running around the internet and I was curious to try it out.

Thin strips of tofu marinating in soy sauce, liquid smoke, mirin and nutritional yeast.

When I read the tofu bacon recipes most of the comments rave about how it tastes just like bacon. This I find hard to imagine.


I pan fried the tofu until it was crispy and it ended up looking like this:

While the tofu had a bacon-like look to it, it in no way tasted like bacon. The only way you could think this would taste like bacon is if you never ate any pork product your whole life - including bacon.


It just tasted like crispy tofu with seasoning. 


So, I am still perplexed by the whole tofu + bacon thing.


I ended up having a bowl of veggies.

Ignore the tofu bacon - I didn't even bother to eat it.

This was one of my 'toss everything together and see if it works' meals.

 
I put 1 chopped tomato, corn kernels cut fresh from the cob, mushrooms and black beans into a skillet to simmer.

I also added 2 tsp. of taco seasoning to the pan.

While the vegetables simmered I put a corn tortilla in another pan to get crispy.

When the tomato started to release its juices and the mushrooms had started to brown, I plated the veggies.

I sprinkled the chopped up tortilla on top and added some diced avocado.

Fresh chopped cilantro adorned the top.

 A very delicious breakfast but now I am behind on protein for the day.

I sense a protein bar in my near future.

Easy no-cook meal

Last night I really didn't want to cook. Even though the weather had cooled off a bit, my cement patio was still giving off a lot of heat.

Tuna fish and black bean tacos.

I know this sounds like an odd combination but it was incredibly delicious and I didn't have to turn on the stove.

I mixed one packet of chunk-lite tuna with 1 tsp. of Veganaise, 1 Tbsp. of mustard, a pinch of garlic powder and lots of fresh ground black pepper.

Since I didn't want the tuna fish to make the bottom of the taco soggy, I started with layer of shredded lettuce.

On top of that went a handful of black beans (drained and rinsed), tuna fish, some chopped green onion, a slice of avocado and lots of fresh chopped cilantro.

And you won't see any pictures of what I made this morning because I had the exact same meal again for breakfast.

With coffee, of course.

This afternoon I am turning on the stove and making a recipe I have been trying to perfect. 

Happy Thursday!

Chicken salad with coconut and apples

I have been craving a chicken salad sandwich lately.

This morning I was thinking about it and realized all of the recipes I could think of were too high in fat and/or had dairy which does not fit into my current eating plan.

Since I didn't feel like cereal or other traditional breakfast fare I made the chicken salad sandwich for breakfast.

I started by simmering cubed pieces of chicken breast in a bath of lite coconut milk, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, powdered garlic and some chopped fresh cilantro.


No amounts provided because this is a recipe in progress and this is just the first attempt.


I let the chicken simmer until it was cooked through and then I chopped it into small pieces.

And 1/2 of an apple.

All mixed together.

Then I toasted up a couple of the sandwich thins and piled the chicken mixture on top. 


I was going to eat this like a regular sandwich but I ended up with more filling than expected so it became two open faced sandwiches.

There was still some braising/stewing liquid in the saute pan so I whisked it smooth and spooned it over the filling.

I wish the sauce had turned out a lighter color - more like a traditional chicken salad sauce but it still tasted great.


And I also had a non-traditional breakfast drink - I made hot tea and then later added some lemonade.

I am off to (hopefully) have a very non-traditional day!

Buffalo chili

So, I went to the store and all I could think about was turkey chili.

But then I saw what amounts to seeing a Passenger pigeon in the middle of Safeway. Something you think is extinct and you will never see again.

Antibiotic free, hormone free ground bison.

And the plan got changed.


Bison chili it would be.


And it all started with a pot of beans.

Then queue the bit players.

I would include a recipe but you can find a billion recipes for chili on any internet search and they are all essentially the same and everyone tweaks them to their tastes.

And it is Friday and I am feeling lazy.


The whole batch simmered for an hour and was incredibly delicious.

A dollop of greek yogurt and fresh chopped cilantro.

I am very full and it is getting late. I think all I will have for dinner is some flavored popcorn with a movie on TV.

Happy Friday everyone! Night all!

Breakfast parfait

On my last trip to Target I picked up a very cute parfait glass.

So this morning I pulled out some leftover rice I had in the fridge and put it in a pot with some salsa and heated it on low.

The rice was the first layer of the parfait then a spoonful of black beans.

I mashed 1/2 an avocado with a spoonful of greek yogurt.

I have a bunch of cherry tomatoes to go through so I pan roasted some in a pan with olive oil.

The last of the beef went into a hot pan.

I topped the beef with cilantro and green onion.

And a big mug of coffee.

As far as savory breakfasts go this one was a winner.

And I really like the parfait glass because it is a great portion size. 

I am on a mission to find some Zout which is supposed to work wonders on stains.