Friday, August 27, 2010

Eggplant, Bok choy and Tofu Stir Fry with Coconut Basmati Rice


I love asian food. Love. I can stuff my face like no other when it comes to vegetables, rice and noodles mixed with yummy sauces. I'm generally a fan of brown rice, but sometimes white rice is okay. In my opinion. So tonight we went with the white basmati rice and it was freaking delicious. Here we go:
~recipe adapted from 'Curries' by Susanna Tee.

3-4 tbl vegetable oil or olive (used in two parts)
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, sliced thinly, diagonally
2 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
4 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
1/2 jalepeno, chopped
1 tbl ginger, chopped
1 medium eggplant chopped in 3/4 inch ish chunks
8 oz pressed tofu (put between two plates with something heavy on top), cubed
1 bunch baby bok choy, chopped

sauce-
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 cup vegetable broth
3 tbl soy sauce or tamari
3 tbl rice vinegar
2 tbl peanut butter
1 tbl sweetener
freshly ground black pepper

garnish-
chopped cilantro and basil
bean sprouts
lime


Heat half the oil over medium high heat and add the onions, stir fry for 1-2 minutes, then add the celery, carrots and garlic. Continue stir frying for another 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Heat the rest of the oil over medium high, add the tofu and eggplant and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the jalepeno and garlic and continue to stir occasionally for 4 minutes, letting the tofu get crispy.

Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and add to the eggplant with the onion, carrot, celery mix. Add the bok choy and let simmer, slightly covered, for 4 minutes.

Serve over rice and garnish


Coconut Basmati Rice
2 tsp oil
1 1/2 cup basmati rice
1 cup water
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oil over medium heat and add the rice. Stir for 2 minutes. Add the water and coconut milk and salt, cover and bring to a boil Simmer, with the lid slightly open for 12 minutes. Turn off, wait 3 minute and fluff with a fork.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Peanut Butter Potato Chip Cookies


This recipe is adapted from "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch" by Rory Freedman. She's rad, as are her books. Here's what you'll need:

2 1/2 cups flour (I do whole wheat pastry or split it with white and wheat)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup refined sugar alternative (I used turbinado, a natural brown sugar)
3/4 cup oil (I used a combo of olive, safflower and melted Earth Balance)
1/3 cup finely chopped and pitted dates
1 cup chunky or smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 cup ice water
2 tbl ground flax seed (you can omit this if you don't have it)
1 tbl molasses
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 cups crushed potato chips (something natural.... whatever that means)


Preheat oven 375.

In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Blend the 1/4 cup water with ground flax seed in a blender for 30 seconds to a minute. Set aside.

In a large bowl blend peanut butter, sugar, dates and oil for 2-3 minutes. Add flax seed mixture, vanilla and molasses and mix until combined. Add the flour and potato chips in 3 equal-ish parts and mix in by hand. Mix each part in until almost all combined. Don't over mix. I try to fold in the ingredients. Mixture will be dry. Form into 3 tablespoon balls and place on cookie sheet. Use a fork to slightly press down the cookies in a criss-cross pattern. .

Bake for 8-9 minutes. I'm a big fan of rotating the cookie tray mid oven time. Also, don't over cook, they'll settle up nicely.

Dig in!