Mu Shu Wraps

A nice stir-fry served with tortilla or mu-shu wraps, instead of rice. I first made this with thin-slice hickory smoked tofu, but I didn't like it very much, so I'm leaving it out from here on.

Mats:
2 eggs
2 Tb oil
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms (5 large)
4c baby bok choy
1c carrots
3 green onions
2 cloves garlic
1 Tb rice wine vinegar
1 Tb soy sauce
tortillas, or mu-shu wraps
Hoisin sauce

Heat a large pan or wok. over high heat. Spray the bottom with nonstick cooking spray.
In a small dish, scramble the eggs. Pour into the hot wok and swirl around, coating the bottom of the pan in as thin a layer of egg as possible. Cook for 2 minutes.
Loosen the egg pancake from the pan with a spatula and flip. Cook another 1 minute
Slide the egg out onto a cutting board and slice into thin ribbons - 1/4 inch thick and 2 or 3 inches long.
Slice the mushrooms into thin strips, 1/4 inch thick
Slice the bok choy into bite sized ribbons, cut the carrots into thin strips (matchstick size), chop the green onions into 1/4 inch rounds.
In the wok, heat 2 Tb oil. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often for 6 minutes.
Add the sliced bok choy, carrots and onion, stir fry on high for 3 minutes or until they bok choy starts to wilt.
Add the eggs and stir until well mixed
Add the vinegar and soy sauce and toss until everything is coated. Remove from heat
In a separate pan, warm the tortillas or mu-shu wraps so they don't crack when bent.
Spoon the stir fry into the tortillas, add Hoisin sauce as a garnish.

Summer Tomato Salad

This one is good for summer picnics - the dressing is effectively a vinaigrette, which travels well and doesn't spoil in the heat, like cream or mayonnaise based dressings. Try to pick up some different varieties of tomatoes if you can, grape tomatoes are all well and good, but if you can find Campari or yellow 'Summer poppers' (as my mum calls them), your salad will be prettier and taste delicious.

Mats:
1/4c lime juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tb lime zest
1 tsp ground cumin
5c tomatoes (cut into bite-sized pieces)
15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2c fresh basil
9 oz farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 1/4c corn kernels

Combine lime juice, olive oil, lime zest  and cumin in a large bowl.
Add tomatoes, chickpeas and basil, then toss so all the pieces are coated with dressing
Cook pasta 8 minutes or until 'al dente'. Add the corn to the water 2 minutes before the end of cooking time.
Drain, toss with the tomato mixture.


I like to chill the salad in the fridge and serve it cold, but room temperature is fine too. And yummy.

Mexicali Chop

This one gets listed in three parts - it's a salad with lots of parts.

Tortilla strips:
Mats:
1tsp oil
3 6-inch tortillas
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.
Brush oil on tortillas, then slice into 1/4 inch thick strips.
Spread strips onto a baking sheet
Mix the spices together, then sprinkle them on the strips
Bake 15 minutes or until crunchy

Dressing
Mats:
2/3c olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3c lime juice
1/4c chopped green onion
1/4c fresh cilantro

Heat oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, sugar and salt in a saucepan for 2 or 3 minutes, or until the garlic begins to sizzle.
Move oil mixture to a food processor/blender.
Add the rest of the Dressing ingredients and blend on low for 2 minutes

Salad
Mats:
1 head red leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
2 medium tomatoes, chopped to 1/2 inch
1 avocado, peeled and diced to 1/2 inch
3 celery stalks, sliced to 1/4 inch
1 cucumber, diced to 1/4 inch
1 cup corn kernels (thawed if you're using frozen ones)
1 can pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jarred, roasted red pepper, sliced to 1/4 inch
1/3 cup red onion, chopped to 1/4 inch

Toss all salad ingredients in a large bowl with dressing. Top with the tortilla strips and serve.

Corn and Quinoa Salad

Quite light and an interesting, tart flavor. Use real maple syrup if you can get your hands on it. Most pancake syrup for sale is just colored corn syrup, which tastes vastly different from the good stuff. You can use either fresh corn on the cob or frozen corn kernels. If the corn is very fresh, you can skip the blanching and just use raw corn instead.

Mats:
1c quinoa (Red if you can get it)
1c red cabbage, sliced very thin
1c cucumber
1 1/2 c grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 1/2c corn
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

In a small pot, combine the quinoa with 1 1/2c water and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. When time's up, remove the cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add the corn kernels and cook for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse with very cold water.
In a large-ish bowl, mix the corn, tomatoes, cucumber, cabbage and cooked quinoa together.
In a small bowl (or a blender/food processor), combine the oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, Dijon mustard and 1 tsp salt. Whisk well (or process for 1 minute).
Pour the dressing on the quinoa mixture and chill in the fridge. Serve cold.

Jazzed up Ramen

Ah ramen - the super-cheap staple of life. This recipe takes a product about as exciting as cardboard and makes it a decent, easy meal. It doesn't matter what 'flavor' ramen you choose, you'll be ditching the seasoning. Have you looked at the ingredients in those packets? It's mostly palm oil, salt and MSG. Even in my most desperately hungry college days, I never could put the whole pack in my cup'o'ramen.

Mats:
1 pack ramen noodles, seasoning packet discarded.
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into very thin ribbons, 1/4 of an inch thick or less
1/2 c broccoli, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1/2 c onion
4tsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 Tb unsalted nut of choice - almonds, cashews and peanuts work equally well.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Turn the heat off, add the block of ramen to the pot and let it sit for 2 minutes. Drain and set noodles aside.
In a small bowl, whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar with 1/2c water.
In a medium sauce pan, heat 2 tsp oil on high. Add the onion and garlic, stir fry for 1 minute.
Add the pepper and broccoli, stir fry for another minute.
Add the soy sauce mixture, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.
Remove from heat.
Add the ramen noodles and mix thoroughly.
Top with your nut of choice

Pasta-less lasagne

This came out rather well, though initially a bit undersalted when I first made it. I've adjusted the recipe to give it a bit more of a kick.

Mats
12 Cabbage leaves (Napa or Savoy)
1 1/2 tsp oil
3 leeks
1/2 c veg. broth
3 slices lemon
1 1/2 tsp oil
3 cloves garlic
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
3 Tb parsley (fresh)
8 oz ricotta cheese
3 Tb pine nuts

Heat oven to 350. Coat the bottom of an 8-in baking dish (Pyrex) in cooking spray.
Bring a medium pot of water and 2 tsp salt to a full boil. Add cabbage leaves and boil for 5 minutes.
Remove the cabbage from the water and rinse under very cold water. Set aside on paper towels and pat dry
Slice the tough upper green parts off the leek, and the little root part at the bottom. Cut in half lengthwise. Rinse the leeks under cold water - they often have grit and sand between the layers of leaves, so fan them out to get all the dirt off.
Place the flat side down and slice into 1/2 inch chunks
Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in a small saucepan
Add the chopped leeks, vegetable broth and lemon slices.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. When done, the liquid should all be absorbed. Discard the lemon slices.
In a small pan, heat the other 1 1/2 tsp oil. Crush/finely mince the garlic and add to the oil
Saute for 3 minutes, then add the canned tomatoes, basil and oregano.
Cook on medium-low for 10 minutes or until most of the liquid is gone.
Take 3 of the cabbage leaves and lay them flat in the bottom of the Pyrex. Top with 1/3 the leek mixture, 1/3 the tomato mixture and 1/3 of the ricotta cheese. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. Snip 1 Tb fresh parsley over the cheese. Sprinkle 1 Tb pine nuts over top.
Layer another 3 cabbage leaves over the mixture, making sure the stems are at the opposite end as the first layer.
Gently press down to squish the filling.
Repeat the filling process, then the layering.
Overall, you should have four layers of leaves and 3 layers of filling.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until top begins to brown.

Hoisin Chicken with Green Beans and Cashews

This one definitely gets the seal of approval (unlike several other recipes this week, which were disasters).

Mats
4tsp Hoisin sauce
2 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 Tb soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 Tb fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic
8 oz chicken, cubed
12 oz green beans (frozen work just as well as fresh. Just defrost it first)
1/3 cup roasted, unsalted cashews. If you can't get them, raw cashews toasted in a dry pan for 10 minutes works perfectly

Whisk together the Hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl until there are no lumps left from the cornstarch.
 In a large skillet, add 1 Tb oil and heat on medium high heat. Crush the garlic and ginger into the hot oil and stir-fry for 30 seconds
Add the cubed chicken and cook for 6 minutes, making sure to move the chicken around constantly.
Add the whisked Hoisin sauce to the chicken and stir so all the pieces are coated
Add the green beans and continue to stir-fry for 2 minutes

Serve over rice (brown rice is especially yummy)