Kung Pao Tofu!

I give vegan food a hard time, but it's actually pretty nice. I really like tofu, and the best nachos I ever had were vegan nachos from the spiral diner. I made this kung pao tofu without even realizing it was vegan until the end. It was really nice. I've got to stop giving vegan food a hard time.

I pretty much followed the recipe but I made a few substitutions. I couldn't get purple sprouting broccoli, so I replaced them with mushrooms. I didn't have rice wine vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar instead. I have no idea what Sichuan peppercorns are so I just used black peppercorns. I didn't make a separate stir fry, I put some thinly sliced bok choi in with the broccoli near the end. I severed with with a few egg noddles because my son is a growing boy who needs his carbs, so un-vegan-ified it, but I'm not a vegan, so that's fine.

I had to chop everything before I started cooking, which I have never in my life done before, because once you get going, it's a fast and furious recipe.  The crushing of peppercorns,  chopping of many vegetables, mixing of sauces and making of emulsions makes this a pretty labor intensive recipe for a mid-week supper, it was ready in about 30minutes, was very healthy, and very delicious.  I already owned the sherry and vinegar, so the total cost of ingredients for this meal was only $15!

Note: I burned the cashews - don't have the pan super hot when you throw them in. They were still good enough to eat but not ideal.

Sweet Potato and Kale Medley

My husband and I are trying again to exercise more and to weigh less. We have been going to the gym every week day, but our meals have not been great.  Yesterday,  our housemate and good friend took us out for hibachi dinner to celebrate a promotion in work. It was very exciting, I've never eaten Hibachi before. It was very delicious but it was a huge meal that contained a lot of fried rice, and it was followed by a tempura cheese cake which is really not a thing anyone needs to consume. I think if a starving survivor from the battle for Stalingrad ate a tempura cheesecake, they would immediately develop type two diabetes or die from shock.

The upshot of all of this is that we're not very good at taking care of ourselves and it makes me feel guilty.  I resolved to make a healthier meal this evening. I made a kale and sweet potato hash with chicken, cloves and lemon juice. I followed this recipe but doubled all the quantities so it would be enough food for four hungry people. I added a sliced chicken breast to make it more hearty for my growing boy. I used the juice of half a lemon and a few red pepper flakes in place of chilli powder.

It didn't look as green as the one in the recipe.  The kale wilted and shriveled but the sweet potatoes kept their volume so it was a very orange looking dish instead of a green one. I also had more liquid on my meal than the pictures in  the recipe. I was a little disappointed with the look of it. I was not disappointed with the taste. I've never used ground cloves for anything. It reminded me of putting cloves into oranges at christmas when i was a girl. The overall flavor was very interesting and rich with the lemon juice and the cloves. It was also a fast and easy after work meal that is very healthy. Everyone liked it. I would certainly make it again

Butternut Squash and Turkey Bake

The squash was a little too orangry, the turkey was a little too winey, and it didn't really fill us up. Everyone seemed to enjoy it but I thought it was weird.

I followed this recipe.