Spicy peanut noodles

Spicy peanut noodles with tofu.

I was busy organizing my closet today. It makes an amazing difference when you have cubbies, shelves and shoe racks to organize everything.

I still have a couple loads of laundry left to do and then I will have everything done.

And I am finding it weird to live in a clutter free place. I am working hard at resisting the urge to fill it with stuff.

So, to keep myself distracted from the 'urge to create chaos' I made some noodles in peanut sauce.

The noodles were topped with a generous amount of green onion, red bell pepper and sesame seeds.

The best part of the dish was the tofu. I let the cubes of tofu hang out in the peanut sauce while the noodles cooked - they soaked up the sauce - Yum!

 

Spicy peanut noodles with tofu

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 servings of the pasta of your choice cooked al dente
1/3 cup of peanut butter
1/3 cup of soy sauce
2 tsp of hot chili paste
2 tsp of low sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp of rice wine vinegar
1 tsp of sugar (if using a sweet peanut butter you may want to omit this)
1/2 tsp of freshly grated ginger
1/3 cup of unsweetened soy milk
1/2 cup of firm tofu, cubed
1/2 scallion, diced
1/3 cup of chopped red bell pepper
sesame seeds
sesame oil


Instructions:

In a sauce pan over low heat combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, chili paste, chicken broth, rice wine vinegar, sugar, ginger and soy milk. Whisk until well combined.

Drop the tofu into the peanut sauce and make sure it is well coated. 

Boil your pasta in another pan and when it is al dente drain it and return it to the pot. Drizzle a small amount of sesame oil over the noodles and toss. When they are well coated they should have a nice slide.

Spoon the peanut sauce over the noodles - being careful to not disturb the tofu or it will become mushy.

Toss the noodles till they are well coated with the sauce. Place the noodles in a bowl and scoop out the tofu and place on top. Garnish with liberal amounts of diced green onion, red bell pepper and sesame seeds.
 

Spicy peanut noodles

Spicy peanut noodles.

This morning I wanted peanut butter and honey on toast. Unfortunately, the baguettes I made two days ago have already hardened up like cement. 

I feel a crouton recipe coming soon...

While I recovered from my crushing disappointment, I stood in my usual spot in front of the open cupboard and stared. 


The less you concentrate and stare with a kind of unfocused stupor (the kind that is only brought about by being in a pre-caffeinated state) - the more creative you will get.

At least that is what I tell myself.

No recipe for this because it is a really basic peanut sauce and you should tweak it any way you want. 

I also steamed up some broccoli and asparagus to go with the noodles.

I will tell you what I put in my sauce this morning:

- soy sauce
- peanut butter
- sesame oil
- water
- brown sugar
- chili paste
- ginger
- white vinegar

The whole key to the sauce is knowing what spice level you want and the level of sweet or savory you desire.

I make mine heavy on the soy sauce and lighter on the sweet.

 Happy Tuesday everyone!!

Early morning farmer's market

Crispy bread with mashed avocado and nectarines.

I am very lucky that I have a family owned produce stand in my neighborhood that is just like having a farmer's market just few blocks away.

It was one of those early mornings and I headed over to the market just as they were opening. It was slightly foggy out and all the guys were loading the fresh fruit and produce into the bins. 

It was a very relaxing and slow way to start the day. They have fresh bread delivered daily and I was there when they unloaded the bread for the day. I rarely have cravings for bread in the morning but with the luscious smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the air, I ended up succumbing to the charms of this lovely thing:

Since this was too much bread for me, I shared it with the dogs. I sliced the mini loaf in half lengthwise and put it in a pan with some olive oil till it was nice and crispy.

The dogs enjoyed a piece of the crispy bread with some peanut butter. I would have a picture of this but Connor was keening at such a high volume in hysterical anticipation that I just gave them their pieces immediately. The boy does love his peanut butter.

Mine looked like this:

This is a simple dish of toasted bread with mashed avocado and some chopped up nectarines. I have made this combination before but it keeps getting better and better as the nectarines are reaching their peak of flavor.

I was doing some research into the dry saute technique. It turns out the cooking technique is essentially deep frying the beans. That would be way too high fat for me so I am going to work on lower fat version of the dish. More on that later.

Happy Tuesday!

A jam of a find

I picked up some new jam to try.

It wasn't very sweet which I liked. It tasted like you were eating black raspberries out of a bowl.

Very yummy.

And I liked that it came in a clamp lid jar so that when I finish the container I will have a new jar!

Happy hump day everyone!

Guilt-free day

I woke up today thinking about the huge list of things I needed to do today. And I was suffused with guilt over things I should have done yesterday.

Keep in mind that these to-do lists are never realistic. I would need a 30hr day and no sleep in order to finish all of them. 

And for some reason, this morning, it occurred to me what a ludicrous and useless emotion guilt is. I suppose it has its place in a wider social sense. But when guilt is turned inwards?? It is a very bad thing.

So, today is going to be a guilt-free day. 

I don't have many feeling of guilt towards food and this probably why (ironically) I had a breakfast very few people would feel guilty about.

Oatmeal, coffee and scrambled eggs.

The eggs turned out to be more of a chopped crepe since I left the pan unattended when I should have been stirring them gently.

I added a scoop of peanut butter and a drizzle of maple syrup to the oatmeal.

And because I might need to feel energized on my guilt-free day:

A large mug of very strong coffee - 

It will be interesting to see where the day will take me :-)

My go-to breakfast

On mornings when I want something quick and easy (or it is a Monday, like today) I always tend to go with this breakfast:

Toast with peanut butter and honey, orange juice and coffee.

This breakfast is filling and I love the combination of the savory peanut butter along with the flowery sweetness of the honey.

And the blast of Vit. C from the orange juice and, of course, the kick-start I get from the caffeine in the coffee? A perfect combo.

The dogs will be getting a treat at lunch and dinner today. They have been lacking in the treats department.

What is your go to breakfast?

Now, I must head back into the fray.

Happy Monday everyone!

Things are looking up

A positive sign that things are looking up.

Yup, that is PB&J for breakfast. I was so happy when I woke up actually feeling slightly hungry this morning.

And I am definitely in the mood to cook something up for lunch! 

Oh, I forgot the tea:

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!

Preserves and insomnia

I had another one of those odd nights when I wake up at 3am and there is no hope of getting back to sleep. Even warm milk didn't help.

By 6am I was starving so an early breakfast it was.

Blood orange slices, strips of toast with butter, slices of a Cortland apple and in the center - nectarine and blackberry preserves.

If you have never tried a Cortland apple you should. I grew up in Massachusetts and I have fond memories of going to the apple farm every November and picking up bags and bags of McIntosh and Cortland apples. My mother preferred to use the Cortland apples for baking. They are firm and have a nice tart taste that hold up well to cooking. 

But I think they are delicious any way you can get them. 

I gave up on falling back to sleep at around 5am so this is my third mug of tea. I will be vibrating by noon time...

The dogs were especially interested in the toast this morning so they got this as a snack:

Connor gobbled down pieces of toast with apple, a juicy wedge of blood orange and a drizzle of Udo's oil.

Most dogs don't enjoy citrus fruits - in fact citrus scent is used in dog repellents - but for some bizarre reason Connor enjoys the occasional nibble of orange. 

Abby munched on apples and toast drizzled with Udo's oil.

The dogs have gone back to sleep with contented and full tummies. Sigh, I wish I could do the same.

Strawberries and mochas

Ugh, it is Monday. I am sure it is all in my head - but Monday mornings are tough ones. I feel like the effects of gravity are tripled and centered around my bed. It is very difficult getting vertical on a Monday morning.

Cue the mocha:

If I am going to have chocolate - I go for the good stuff. This E. Guittard drinking chocolate is dark and more bitter than sweet - a flavor profile that is right up my alley.

I put together 2 tsp. of instant coffee + 2 tsp. of the drinking chocolate + hot water and milk to taste.

And I picked up some gorgeous, plump strawberries at the market yesterday so I paired that with some doctored-up toast.

Toast with peanut butter and honey.

A very bright, cheerful breakfast with a triple shot of caffeine on the side. It was just what I needed to start off my Monday just right!

Exactly what you want

I wanted exactly what I wanted tonight - so the dogs got the same.

I enjoyed:

Popcorn with blue cheese

 
This is not microwave popcorn. Nope. If you have never popped your own popcorn in a pot - try it. As a kid - if we had popcorn it was either Jiffy Pop (only on special occasions) or popcorn popped in a pan. I put in 1 1/2 Tablespoons of coconut oil in a pan on medium high heat. As soon as the oil was hot - throw in a couple kernels - if they burn or pop right away - turn down the heat. If they slowly turn a caramel color? Throw in the rest of the kernels and pop the lid on pot (keep it a bit askew to let the steam out).

As soon as the kennels start popping with gusto - turn down the heat just a bit. With oven mitts - give the pot an occasional shake while the kernels are popping. When there is a 2 second or more delay between pops - take it off the burner. 

A little bit of salt and blue cheese.

Connor enjoyed this:

Peanut butter and popcorn.

Abby was drooling over this:

A hearty portion of tuna and a smidgen of popcorn. 

Yeah, Abby could care less about the popcorn - but she feels left out if Connor gets it and she doesn't.

Cravings and surprises

I was craving oatmeal this morning. For me, the only proper oatmeal is McCann's Irish Oatmeal - but I am probably biased :-)

Oatmeal with a dollop of peanut butter, banana and drizzled with honey.

People tend to shy away from their cravings. But I am of the firm belief that a craving is your bodies way trying to get you to take in the nutrients it needs. Now, I am not speaking about emotional eating - that's a different kettle of fish.

For example, if I suddenly have a craving for potato chips - I don't run out and eat a whole bag of Lays. I stop, think about it, and usually decide I am low on healthy fats or trace minerals (which for me usually results in a craving for salt).

And speaking of cravings, the dogs were a surprise this morning. You'll notice that I have peanut butter on my oatmeal. This usually results in Connor having apoplectic fits of anticipation. 

But not today. He didn't even notice when I made that dish. 

To my shock, BOTH dogs started getting really excited when I started making this:

I used a seasoned strip of nori - wet one edge with water and sealed in into a tube. I carefully removed any chestnut nuggets from some of the leftover chestnut and mushroom quinoa from last night (I know I am a good doggie mom :-)).

I filled the nori tube to the top with quinoa and topped with a tiny dollop of yogurt. 

At this point the dogs were following me around like sou chefs. Little hairy sou chefs that don't help with anything and only want to eat...

I am still trying to figure out what part of this concoction they were craving??

Maybe some caffeine will help get the brain cells working.

Rainy days and prosciutto

It is overcast and rainy here today. I had some prosciutto in the fridge which I did plan on using later in the week - but this morning I could not resist the call of hammy goodness. 

Breakfast started with this.

A little bit of leftover spaghetti and prosciutto.

The prosciutto went into a dry pan and cooked till crispy. Then I added in the chopped spaghetti and sauteed till everything was warmed through. And for good measure I added in a crispy apple on the side.

What did the dogs have for breakfast? Well, I did have the rest of the apple hanging around so they got - 

Apple slices with peanut butter.

And this is how Connor felt about having peanut butter for breakfast - 

'
Yup, that is him - bug-eyed and vibrating with glee:-)

Connor is still bug-eyed. Abby is barely feigning interest.

I did have a long walk planned but I think I will wait and see if the rain lets up.