Tofu piccata

Posted on by initialfriend

Tofu piccata with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables

  • 1 block of extra or super firm tofu
  • 1-2 tsp salt or bouillon powder
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1-2 tbsp oil (for frying)
  • 2-4 tbsp capers, drained
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced or rough chopped
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 3/4 cup stock
  • 2oz died porcini mushrooms
  • cornstarch (optional)
  • salt and pepper, obvi

Cut the tofu into whatever shape you prefer, ideally a thin cut—I did biz card-sized “cutlets”. Sprinkle with salt or bouillon powder (believe me, tofu needs this), then coat with mixture of flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and garlic powder.

Heat nonstick pan and 1-2 tbsp of oil on medium heat. Fry tofu on both sides until golden brown, set aside.

With the heat still on, add half of the lemon slices and 2 tbsp of capers to the pan to caramelize. Once a little charred, add garlic and cook until fragrant. Then, add stock (or water) and dried mushrooms and allow it to reduce for a few minutes. Once reduced, drop heat to low and add in butter. You may need to add salt to balance the flavors at this point, so salt to taste.

If you would like a thicker sauce, make a slurry of 1 tbsp water to 2 tsp cornstarch and stir into the sauce. Crank the head back to medium and let it boil until it starts to thicken, shouldn’t take long.

Serve drizzled over crispy tofu cutlets with some fresh capers or just drink it from a cup!

New Years’ black-eyed pea soup

Posted on by initialfriend
New Years' Black-Eyed Pea Soup
New Years’ Black-Eyed Pea Soup
  • 1.5 cups dried black-eyed peas
  • 2 tbsp oil or butter
  • 1.5 cups chopped cabbage
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 celery stick, sliced
  • 2 carrot sticks, sliced
  • 5 dried porcini or shiitake mushrooms, rinsed in warm water
  • vegetable bouillon, enough to season 4 cups broth
  • 1 bunch of collard greens or kale, well washed, stemmed, and chopped

Pick through beans, add to pressure cooker with enough water to cover by at least two inches, and pressure cook on high for 13 minutes. Allow to release naturally while you prep the rest.

In a large pot over medium heat, add oil, cabbage, garlic, bay leaves, celery, carrot, and bouillon (no water yet**). Cook until fragrant and cabbage has become translucent (I like to brown it a little). Add dried mushrooms and four cups of water and bring to a boil.

Add chopped collard greens or kale, and simmer until greens have softened. Stir in the cooked and drained black-eyed peas and season with salt to taste. At this point, you can remove the bay leaves. Mushrooms should be edible by this point as well, but you can remove them if you’d like.

Serve with cornbread and wish for a good year!

** This is to caramelize/enhance the flavor of the bouillon, but if you only have prepared vegetable broth, add with the mushrooms after vegetables have cooked and turned translucent. Also this one from Edwards & Sons is literally the best.

Literally the best breakfast potatoes

Posted on by initialfriend
The literal best potatoes
The literal best potatoes
  • 5 medium to large potatoes
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 oil or butter
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp chipotle powder or chili flakes
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450* and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Dice potatoes and boil them with baking soda and salt until cooked through (you want them to even be on the edge of overdone). Drain.

In the same pot you used to boil the potatoes, add the oil/butter, smoked paprika, chipotle, and garlic. Allow residual heat to melt the butter and then stir all to combine. Add potatoes back to the pot and toss to coat.

Spread into a mostly single and even layer on the baking sheet—don’t forget the starchy clumps in the pot! Those will crisp up.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes, until super crispyyyy.

Notes:

You can add diced bell peppers, fresh garlic (only in the last 10-15 minutes), or any other veggies to the sheet pan—just be mindful of the water content to prevent steaming.

Sichuan potatoes: toss boiled potatoes with salt and butter/oil and roast for 30 minutes (tossing after 15), then add 1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 diced jalapeño, 1/2 cup sliced scallions, 1 tbsp minced garlic, and 1 tsp minced ginger; roast until crispy. 

Sheet pan gnocchi with roasted garlic

Posted on by initialfriend

Sheet pan gnocchi with roasted garlic

  • 1 lb cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tsp herbs (I like rosemary, oregano, and thyme)
  • 1 head of garlic
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 cups massaged kale
  • 1 can white beans (I use great northern)
  • 1 packet of gnocchi
  • salt, pepper, and additional olive oil to taste

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a sheet pan with foil and then parchment paper.

Halve cherry tomatoes and toss with olive oil and herbs on the prepared sheet pan.

Cut the head of garlic in half—cutting across the cloves—and place inside foil packet. Drizzle with olive oil. Place on the sheet pan.

Roast the tomatoes and garlic for 30 minutes.

Carefully remove the pan from the oven and mix in massaged kale and rinsed white beans. Toss to coat, adding more oil if preferred.

Return pan to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes, until beans start to crisp up.

Carefully remove the pan from the oven and use tongs to move garlic packet to a cutting board. Remove half the garlic head to the cutting board. Press out the softened garlic and mash it into a paste. Add garlic paste and gnocchi to the pan. Toss to coat and combine all. (You could also do this at the end!)

Return pan to the oven and roast for another 10 minutes until gnocchi is soft in the middle with a little crisp on the outside and cooked through.

Lemon tahini cashew sauce

Posted on by initialfriend

[Originally shared May 19, 2020]

Lemon Tahini Cashew Sauce on roasted chickpeas, eggplant, and cabbage

  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 2 tbsp tahini 
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
  • Water

Beginning with 2 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp water, blend all of the ingredients with an immersion blender until smooth. Add more soy sauce to taste or water loosen to your preference.

Kabocha sopes

Posted on by initialfriend

[Originally shared May 14, 2020]

Kabocha sopes on a plate with eggs, avocado, and salsa

  • 1 cup steamed kabocha squash, no skins, mashed (pumpkin, squash, or sweet potato prob fine)
  • 2/3 cup masa harina
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Mix everything in a bowl. When it comes together into a dough, form into smallish balls. Just under ping pong ball size, maybe. Heat a griddle over medium. Place ball on grill and press out (carefully) to desired thickness/shape. Brown on both sides and enjoy!

Crispy Sichuan potatoes

Posted on by initialfriend

[Originally shared April 25, 2020]

Crispy Sichuan potatoes

  • 2-3 lbs potatoes
  • 1 tbsp chili oil
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 medium jalapeño, halved, seeded, and sliced
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorn
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 450*. Cut potatoes into cubes. Place in a pot with cold water over medium heat and cook until fork tender. Drain and toss in strainer to rough up the edges a lil. Add oil to a sheet pan, then add potatoes and toss to coat, leaving in a single layer on the pan. Place the sheet in the oven and cook until potatoes are crisp enough to release easily from the pan. While potatoes crisp up, mix salt, cumin, Sichuan peppercorn, and cayenne, set aside. Add ginger, garlic, jalapeño, and spice mix to potatoes. Toss to combine and return to the oven until crispy all over. Can be cooked stovetop in a cast iron skillet, but I don’t think it gets quite as crispy since it’s hard to limit to a single layer.

Quick red sauce

Posted on by initialfriend

[Originally shared April 27, 2020]

Quick red sauce

  • 2 dried chipotle (smoky) or guajillo (not smoky) peppers
  • 1 ancho pepper
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 3/4 to 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup cashews (optional)

Toast peppers in a hot pan until fragrant. Then add to a pot with water enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until softened, then turn off heat. Remove tough stems. You can remove some of the seeds before processing for less heat. Blend garlic, peppers, salt, cashews, and water until puréed. I use the cashews to thicken the sauce but you can omit and thicken with a roux before cooking as my grandma used to. 

Eggs in creamy greens

Posted on by initialfriend

[Originally shared April 28, 2020]

Eggs in creamy greens

  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 cups lacinato kale, torn into pieces
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp grated parmesan
  • 2 eggs
  • Salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, heat olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes until fragrant. Add kale, spinach, and water. Wilt down, then add salt and pepper to taste. Add in heavy cream and parmesan, stirring until creamy and mixed through. Make little wells leaving a thin layer of greens (not all the way to the pan), and add eggs to the wells. Cover with a lid and cook on low to your preferred level of doneness. Salt and pepper. Throw a little extra parm on top. 

Honey garlic tofu

Posted on by initialfriend

[Originally shared April 29, 2020]

Honey garlic tofu

  • 1/2 block firm or extra firm tofu, pressed
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp chili crisp (optional)
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1-2 cups quick cooking vegetables
  • 1 tsp sesame gomasio (optional)

Cut tofu into cubes and toss with cornstarch, salt, and garlic powder. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and dry fry until crispy and lightly browned. While tofu cooks, stir together garlic, ginger, sesame oil, honey, chili crisp, vinegar, soy sauce, water, and cornstarch (whew!). When tofu is cooked, move it to the side of the pan and add veggies, stirring until cooked and/or heated through. Add in the sauce and stir it all together. Remove from heat when sauce starts to thicken slightly. Garnish with gomasio and enjoy!