DDD # 44 – Vegan Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Brown Sugar Tofu & Chili Oil

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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Vegan Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Brown Sugar Tofu & Chili Oil

Serves 2 very well

INGREDIENTS

for the chili oil

1/2 cup oil

3 star anise pods

1-2 TBS chopped fresh ginger

2 TBS crushed red pepper

2-4 garlic cloves – minced

3 scallions – chopped

for the dressing

2 TBS sesame oil

2 TBS rice vinegar

2 TBS low sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos or tamari

2 TBS brown sugar

for the soba salad

7 oz soba noodles – cooked & drained

1/2 – 1 pound tofu (I used pressed tofu)

2 TBS brown sugar

1/2 tsp S&P

1 TBS sesame oil

Mixed chopped vegetables.  I used:

1/2 cucumber

4 radishes

1/4 red bell pepper

1 cup purple cabbage

2 scallions

(you could use edamame, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, snow peas, green beans or whatever you like)

Cilantro

Sesame seeds

Lime wedges

DIRECTIONS

Cook the noodles & set aside.

Whisk the dressing together & set aside.

Heat the oil for the chili oil in a pan.  Add the star anise & crushed red pepper.   Add the ginger & scallions.  When the scallions are soft & just starting to brown – add the garlic & heat for one minute.  Put the oil in a storage container to cool.  You won’t need all the oil for this recipe & the leftover should keep in the fridge for several days.

Heat 1 TBS sesame oil.  Add the brown sugar & salt & pepper.  Add the tofu & heat until the sugar caramelizes onto the tofu.  Set aside.

In a bowl – toss the noodles with the tofu & veggies.  Add some dressing (not all of it) and a drizzle of the chili oil.  Start very light with both the dressing & the chili oil & add more to taste.

Garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro & serve with lime wedges.

 

Cold Vegan Soba Noodles & Spiralized Cucumber Noodles with Avocado & a Light Peanut Sauce

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

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Ugh – I am just having a shit couple of weeks.  The details are all, individually, mainly minor annoyances, disappointments & slights but – combined – they pack a wallop.   Add this to the triple-digit heat & the fact that I have no AC & you get a very despondent girl, thick with over-indulgence, self-pity & slimy sweat.  Ugh.

So – at 7 am – I decided to get cooking – before it got too hot to do so.  My first effort was a mushroom & baby kale tofu frittata.   It looks OK there in the pan but it was, ultimately, very thin (less than half an inch deep) and would not have photographed well – so I ate some & saved the rest to add to my dogs’ dinner tonight.

Next up, I wanted to use some stale French bread I had – so I attempted 4 little vegan maple-walnut bread puddings.  They started off looking promising – no?  But, even though I cooked them for nearly an hour – they never got crusty & when I let them cool, they collapsed in their centers & looked as defeated as I feel.  I tasted one.  Tasted good but they were definitely a no-go for the blog.

By this time is was officially sizzling outside & I still wanted to make a blog entry – so – cold noodles!  These are really easy, really fast, customizable & light.  I added only 1 TBS of peanut butter to what would make 2 good-sized servings.  You can see that the noodles are not heavy with sauce – critical in weather like this.   I also added a good portion of spiralized cucumber noodles to lighten it up even more.   You can get these together in ten minutes.  I reviewed two different spiralizers in my Vegan Sweet and Spicy Spiralized Cucumber Salad with Arugula and Cherry Tomatoes post but I recommend the less expensive hand held version seen below.

Cold Vegan Soba Noodles & Spiralized Cucumber Noodles with Avocado & a Light Peanut Sauce

Serves 2 very well.

INGREDIENTS

8.8 oz soba noodles – cooked & drained & run under cold water (drizzle with sesame oil to keep them from sticking)

Sesame oil

1 hothouse cucumber – spiralized (or cut into think matchsticks)

1 TBS tamari

2 TBS rice vinegar

2 TBS ponzu sauce (or 2 TBS tamari & juice of 1/4 lemon)

1 TBS peanut butter

1 tsp sriracha for heat (optional)

GARNISH OPTIONS – sliced scallions, sliced avocado, sliced jalapeno, sliced cucumber, sliiced red cabbage, black and/or white sesame seeds, lime wedges, cilantro, basil, chili flakes

DIRECTIONS

Spiralize (or slice up) the cucumber.  Cook the noodles.  Drain & run under cold when done (drizzle with sesame oil to keep them from sticking).

Meanwhile, whisk the tamari, rice vinegar, ponzu sauce, peanut butter & sriracha (if using).

Toss everything together & garnish with your selections.  Serve.

Spicy Sriracha Vegetable Ramen with Homemade Noodles (Vegan or Vegetarian)

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

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I have been wanting to make ramen noodles from scratch for a long time but, apparently, the recipe requires something called “kansui” – an alkaline mineral water that gives the noodles their yellow color & chewy texture.  I don’t have a Japanese market nearby but I found a recipe to make a version of it myself with just water & baking soda – so that is what I used.  I was not completely satisfied with the texture of the noodles (they were a bit gluey) and I am not certain why they came out that way.  Maybe I really needed kansui or maybe they didn’t rest, drying on my counter for long enough.  Maybe I overcooked them.  Maybe I should have made a recipe for the noodles that used egg.  I do not know.   What I do know is that I will try again.

The recipe below is really just for the spicy broth.  The vegetables you chose & quantity is entirely up to you.  And, obviously, if you are vegan – skip the egg.  🙂   If you like poached egg in your soup, try poaching them THIS way.  I did & it worked great. And you can even cool them for use up to 8 hours later.

Also – making the noodles is so not necessary.  Use packaged noodles (throw away the flavor packet), or spaghetti or soba or any kind of noodle.

Homemade Ramen Noodles

serves 2

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 275 degrees.  Put some baking soda (I used half a box so I would have more of this for future ramen efforts) into a pie dish & bake for one hour.

In a bowl (or in a bread machine), mix 2 tsp of the baked baking soda into the flour & salt.  Add the water & mix until a dough forms.  Once it is mostly together, use your hands to knead it a bit more.   Press flat & wrap in plastic wrap for an hour.

Using a pasta maker , roll the dough out flat & then into noodles.  This can be done by hand but, criminy, that would be a pain in the arse.  I used the awesome attachment you see below on my Kitchenaid mixer.

Lay out on a counter & toss lightly with rice or other flour & let dry an hour.

 

Spicy Sriracha Vegetable Ramen 

INGREDIENTS

3 TBS sriracha (more if you like it very spicy)

2 TBS sesame oil

2 tomatoes – chopped

1 onion – diced

1 TBS ginger – minced

6 garlic cloves – minced

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp celery salt

1 TBS soy sauce (or tamari)

6 cups vegetable stock

Vegetable ideas: edemame, corn, sliced mushrooms, snow peas, bok choy, carrots, zucchini, spinach, bamboo shoots, sliced onion, scallions, bean sprouts, peas, water chestnuts etc etc…

Garnish: cilantro, basil, poached egg, hard-boiled egg, tofu cubes, lime wedges, shredded nori or this mix of nori & sesame seeds below.

 

 

 

DIRECTIONS

Slice up your vegetables.  Boil water & blanch them by putting them in the boiling water for about a minute & then plunging them into cold water.  Drain & set aside.

Poach your eggs – if you are using them.   Plunge into cold water, drain & set aside.  Careful you don’t break them!

In a large stock pot, heat the sesame oil & the sriracha.  Do not get burned by splatter.

Add the onion & tomatoes & saute until soft.  Add the ginger, garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt and saute another minute.

Add the soy sauce and one cup of the stock.   Stir it together.  Using an immersion or regular blender – puree this & return to the pan.  Add the rest of the stock & bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer until you are ready to assemble the ramen.

Cook the ramen noodles you are using according to the package.  Homemade ones are ready when they float to the top of the pot.  Drain & rinse under hot water.

Put some noodles into a bowl & ladle the broth on top.   Arrange some blanched vegetables on top & a poached egg (if using) & whatever garnish you opted for.

Mix it all up to heat the ingredients through & slurp it up!

Cauliflower Noodle Lasagna with Herbed Goat Cheese Bechamel and Garlicky Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms and Arugula Pistachio Pesto (No Carb – No Pasta)

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014

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Did you happen to miss my appearance on Nicole Richie’s show –#CandidlyNicole @VH1? No worries! Here it is! I show up HERE after the break – about 16 minutes in!

AND – if you missed my hour-long Oh, Mary! Show appearance this week – well – you are in LUCK! Here are all four segments! LOTSA dirty talk! Many laughs!

Here you go!

http://jlcn.tv/shows/oh-mary/mary-episode-26-segment-01/

http://jlcn.tv/shows/oh-mary/mary-episode-26-segment-02/

http://jlcn.tv/shows/oh-mary/mary-episode-26-segment-03/

http://jlcn.tv/shows/oh-mary/mary-episode-26-segment-04/

OK – in all fairness – this recipe has a lot of steps.  Without a food processor – it might be too much of a pain in the ass to attempt.  If you have a food processor & an afternoon to kill – this might be a fun project.  It is pretty delicious – though not particularly healthy – despite the no-carb noodles made from cauliflower.  This could be made vegan by subbing out the animal products with vegan alternatives but I will leave that to the motivated vegans out there.  I don’t think I have to say “or vegan alternative” after every egg, butter or cheese ingredient for the vegans to work it out.

I used leftover arugula & pistachio pesto that I still had from my Arugula Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Goat Cheese and Ricotta Salata.

You can make this or any other pesto – or use a store-bought one.

Arugula Pistachio Pesto

This makes enough for at least a pound or two of pasta but it keeps well in an air-tight container in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS

6 oz fresh arugula

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup Parmesan

1/4 cup pistachios (or other nuts)

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

DIRECTIONS

I used 1/4 cup olive oil & 1/4 cup of water to thin the pesto.  1/2 cup of oil just seems crazy to me – but you can go all oil if you want to.

Blend into a pesto in a food processor – starting with just the 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Drizzle more (or water) in as it purees until you get the consistency you like.  Set aside.

I made a homemade bechamel but you could use a store-bought alfredo & get much the same results.

I used chopped mushrooms, leeks & Brussels sprouts – but any mix of sauteed vegetable would work.

I used this pink Himalayan salt that I have become obsessed with but any salt will do.  And I used the Dash Onion & Herb seasoning but any Italian seasoning (or mix of onion & garlic powders) would be fine.

I used cauliflower “noodles” in this but real lasagna noodles work, too.

No-Carb Lasagna Noodles

INGREDIENTS

1 large head cauliflower – riced (about 10 cups)

3 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 TBS seasoning (see above)

1 TBS oregano

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

I used a silicone cooking mat treated with cooking spray but greased parchment paper should work, too.  Know that this stuff STICKS  – even to the greased silicone mat – so – slather your cooking shit up.

Take the cauliflower & grate it up with the grater blade of a food processor – or with a manual grater – or get to chopping by hand until it has a rice-like look.

You can zap this in the microwave in 2 minute increments – stirring in between – until it softens but I loathe nuking things.  I submerged the cauliflower in boiling water for about 5 minutes & then drained it in a colander under cold running water.

Once it is cool, in small batches, twist the cauliflower up in a kitchen town & wring as much moisture out of it as you can.

Then simply mix it up in a large bowl with the other ingredients & press it onto your well-greased cooking sheet (see images above).  Bake it for about 45 minutes or until it begins to brown & is cooked pretty dry.  Set aside & allow it to cool.

Garlicky Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, Mushrooms & Leeks

I made the mushrooms & leeks first & then decided to add Brussels sprouts so my photos might show a different cooking sequence but it can be done as I will outline now.

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil

2 leeks – white sections only – chopped small

1/2 lb mushrooms – diced

1 lb Brussels sprouts – chopped or sliced fine

1 tsp each S&P

2 garlic cloves – minced

1/4 cup fresh parsley – chopped

DIRECTIONS

It is important to cut the leeks & mushrooms & Brussels sprouts small so they do not stay too chunky & impede clean slicing of the lasagna.

I chopped the mushrooms & leeks & ran the Brussels sprouts through the slicer of my food processor.

Heat 2 (or so) TBS olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat & saute the Brussels sprouts until they begin to brown a bit.  Add /4 water & steam them soft.  Once the water is absorbed or evaporated – add the leeks & mushrooms & saute until tender – maybe 5 minutes.  Stir in the S&P & the minced garlic and the parsley.  Saute another minute & remove from heat.  Set aside.

Herbed Goat Cheese Bechamel

INGREDIENTS

2 cups almond (or other) milk

3 TBS butter

3 TBS flour

2 garlic cloves – minced

8-10 oz goat cheese – room temp

2 TBS chives (or other herb) – minced (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Melt butter in a soup pan over med-high heat.  Add the flour & garlic & whisk constantly until it thickens, begins to brown & becomes aromatic – maybe 2 minutes.

Add the milk in 1/4 cup increments & whisk it in until it incorporates & thickens before adding more milk.  This should take maybe 5 minutes.

Add the goat cheese & chives & whisk until the goat cheese melts.  Set aside.

Cauliflower Noodle Lasagna with Herbed Goat Cheese Bechamel and Garlicky Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms and Arugula Pistachio Pesto

INGREDIENTS

Cauliflower “noodles” (recipe above) or real (cooked) lasagna noodles

1 cup pesto (recipe above) – or any pesto you prefer

Garlicky mushrooms, leeks & Brussels sprouts (recipe above) – or any cooked veggie mix you prefer

2-3 cups grated cheese (I used mozzarella)

Several hunks of fresh (packed in water) mozzarella (optional)

Parsley – chopped (as garnish)

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

My photos show this lasagna cooked once & photographed & then reheated for a new photo session – hence the paler & more golden cheesy tops.

Prep your ingredients.  Cut the cauliflower “noodles” into three equal portions – or however you can to get some layer-able “noodles.”  Never fear if they break apart & stick a lot.  Patch the pieces in & nobody will ever know the difference.

Assemble the lasagna.  I started with a layer of bechamel (whisk it smooth if a skin has formed while it waited).  Then I added the layers in this order:

1/3 of the cauliflower noodles

1/2 of the pesto

1/2 of the veggies

1/3 of the bechamel

another 1/3 of the cauliflower noodles

the other 1/2 of the pesto

the other 1/2 of the veggies

another 1/3 of the bechamel

Grated cheese – in an amount that looks good to you – I used about 1/2 – 3/4 cup

the final 1/3 of the cauliflower noodles

the rest of the bechamel

More grated cheese & some fresh mozzarella – if you are using it

 Bake that son-of-a-bitch fr 25-45 minutes or until the cheese is melted & bubbly & looks the color you want it to look – whether JUST starting to brown at the edges – or a bit golden all over.

Let it rest for 10 minutes or so.  Garnish with chopped parsley & eat it up!!!!

Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Made From Scratch

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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I do not eat meat.  No poultry, beef, lamb, pork or otherwise.  And I recently gave up seafood because of reports about what the Fukishima disaster is doing to sea life.  Call me crazy but I do not want to eat a fish that has such terrible radiation poisoning that it is bleeding from its gills & eyes.  And there are so many other carcinogens we are exposed to every day over which we have no control – I just think avoiding seafood seems smart from now on.  Freshwater fish – I might still sample.  We shall see.

So – no – I do not eat chicken soup but I did back in the day.  And my badass boyfriend, Miles, exists on a nearly 100% animal protein diet.  He is here in LA this week & arrived with a terrible cold – so – I made him this soup.  Though I was not able to try it, it smells outrageously good & is truly easy.  The key is getting a cooked chicken.  Or roast your own but that adds a whole procedure that seems more work than it is worth.

The cooked chickens at Ralph’s were $7 and anemic-looking compared to the Flintstones-sized, ginormous $5 roasted chickens at Costco.  Having purchased the Costco chickens in the past for my dogs – I can also report that they are juicier & far less greasy than the Ralph’s jobby I picked up yesterday.  So – if you live near a Costco – get the chicken there.

Like lots of my recipes, the ratio of ingredients here is just a suggestion.  The size of your chicken will determine how much you need of the other things.  Yes, people.  Size matters.  So – if you have a glorified Cornish game hen-sized chicken – this ingredient list will work.  If you get the whopper chicken from Costco – you might want to ratchet up the veggie quantity.  Also – this is a very traditional chicken soup (because Miles is an old-school kinda guy) but you could add chopped kale or diced zucchini or whatever the fuck you want in it.  Go crazy.

Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup From Scratch

INGREDIENTS

1 roasted chicken

2 onions

10 celery stalks

1 bunch parsley

5 garlic cloves

4 bay leaves

5 carrots

Several sprigs each of fresh thyme & fresh sage

1/2 lb noodles ( I used egg noodles)

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Extra parsley as garnish

DIRECTIONS

In a large soup pot, add a glug or two of olive oil.  Quarter ONE onion & roughly chop FIVE celery stalks.  I added the base of the celery to my pot, too.  Cut the garlic cloves in half.  Saute the onion, celery & garlic for about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile – remove all the nice meat from the chicken & set aside.  If there is liquid in the COOKED chicken packaging (NEVER add raw chicken “juice” to anything!)  – feel free to add that to the stock.  Put everything else from the chicken (skin, bones, wings & icky bits – ALL of the rest) into the stock pot with the veggies.  Add the parsley, sage & thyme whole.  Add the bay leaves.  Add enough water to cover all the ingredients in at least an inch of water.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer for at least thirty minutes.  Get another large pot & put a colander over it.  Pour the stock through the colander & throw away all the bits the colander catches.  Return the fresh chicken stock to the stove. Dice the remaining onion & add it to the stock.  Add the reserved chicken pieces.  Dice the celery & add that.  Chop the carrots & add them.  Add the noodles.  Bring to a boil & simmer until the noodles are cooked & the veggies are tender.  If the soup needs more stock, just add water.  Add salt (at least 1 tsp – maybe as much as 3 or 4 – but TASTE IT after you add each quantity of salt).  Add pepper.  Serve it up with some more parsley & let the healing begin!!