Thai Noodles with Peanut Sauce

I've said it before, but I absolutely love Thai food. Unfortunately for my wallet-friendly lifestyle, Brooklyn is not lacking in Thai restaurant choices; Thus, I retire to the kitchen. I have come across many variations of peanut sauce but haven't been particularly blown away. I always felt it was lacking something that I could not quite put my finger on. Playing around with a few ingredients the other day, I think I may have found the missing piece to my Peanut sauce puzzle: Agave Nectar. This dish gave my neighboring Thai eateries a run for their money - without having to spend any of mine. And what's better than that?


Ingredients:
1 pack of Thai rice noodles/sticks
1 zucchini, diced
1 russet potato, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 cup of peanut butter (chunky works well)
1 cup of water or chicken stock
1/2 Tbs soy sauce
1/8 ts of cumin
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 Tbs Agave Nectar, or honey
1/2 Tbs Thai hot sauce like Sriracha

What to do:
1. Bring a saucepan to a boil, add in Thai noodles and cook according to directions
2. Saute potatoes in a little olive oil for 10 minutes in another skillet
3. Add in the zucchini and 1 garlic clove to the potatoes and cook over a medium-low heat
4. Drain the rice noodles, rinse, add to vegetables and toss together
5. In another saucepan, heat the water over a low-med heat
6. Add in the peanut butter and whisk well
7. Add in the lemon juice, soy sauce, cumin, and the rest of the garlic
8. Add in Agave nectar
9. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and noodles to combine

Italian Benedict

 

To me, Eggs Benedict is synonymous with brunch. The toasted english muffin and perfectly poached egg with a creamy, rich hollandaise sauce seals the deal for the end of a great weekend. I was feeling a little adventurous this morning [coughafternoon] and decided to explore my new love of eggs and marinara sauce. A while ago I came across a wonderful recipe for parmesan risotto topped with a fried egg and a dollop of marinara sauce. The flavors worked so perfectly together that I knew another combination had to be concocted. There are other variations of an "Italian Eggs Benedict" such as poaching the eggs in marina sauce or as a hollandaise replacement. In my opinion you can't have an eggs benedict without hollandaise sauce, so here is my take on a classic brunch dish!

Ingredients:

5 eggs with 3 of the yolks separated and put aside 

2 Tbs Marina sauce of your choice

1 English Muffin, sliced

1 Tbs lemon juice

1/2 cup [1 stick] firm butter (I cut this in 1/2 and is tasted just fine)

1 Tbs grated parmesan cheese

What to do:

1. Heat oven to 300 F degrees, put English Muffins on a baking sheet and toast until eggs are poached

Bring a medium sized sauce pan filled half-way with water to a boil

2. Reduce heat to med-low and crack eggs one at a time into a deep ladle

3. Slowly and carefully place the ladle with the egg into the hot water and gently tip to the side so the egg slide into the water. Repeat with 2nd egg

4. While eggs are poaching for the next 4-5 minutes, remove English Muffins from the oven and spoon 1 Tbs of Marinara on each toasted English Muffin on the baking pan

5. Remove poached eggs with a slotted spoon and gently place one on each English Muffin

6. Turn oven temperate to "WARM" and return the baking sheet to the oven to keep muffins and eggs warm.

7. Place the 3 separated yolks into another smaller saucepan and whisk together with the lemon juice

8. Once combined, turn the heat to low and add in the butter 1/4 cup at a time (or 1/8 at a time if cutting in 1/2 = 2 Tbs) 

9. Continue whisking the butter into the egg and let it melt gradually - you want the eggs to cook all the way through

10. Keep adding the butter in gradually and whisking until the sauce has become thick and creamy.

11. If curdles appear in the mixture, remove pan from heat and add a Tbs of boiling water to smooth it out

12. Once sauce is done, turn off heat, remove muffins from oven, pour sauce over each and sprinkle with the grated parmesan

Red Quinoa with Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Black Beans

To start 2011 off the right way, I am making more of a concerted effort to eat better. Cue spotlight on: Quinoa. This power-grain is loaded with protein, takes less than 20 minutes to make, and can be added in to many dishes for additional nutrition. I like to keep it in the fridge ready to throw into a pasta dish, toss in with sauteed vegetables, or sprinkle on a salad. Quinoa's mild flavor makes it incredibly versatile.

Ingredients:
Red or regular colored Quinoa
1 medium sweet potato, diced
1/2 or smaller can of diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 clove of garlic, minced

What to do:
1. Prepare the Quinoa as directed
2. While it's cooking, saute the sweet potatoes in a little olive oil over a medium heat
3. After 10-12 minutes the potatoes should be tender, so add in the tomatoes, black beans, and garlic
4. Let simmer together until beans and tomatoes are heated through, then add the quinoa once it finishes cooking.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Zucchini Cakes

 

This is probably one of my favorite things to make. Not only is it really simple, but it's quite healthy with wholesome ingredients. It's also easy to adapt the recipe to ingredients that you have on hand such as sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, squash, asparagus, etc! 

Ingredients: Yields 6-8 pancakes

2-3 Medium Zucchini 

1/2 onion

1 egg

2-3 Tbs flour

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

What to do:

1. Shred the zucchini and onion with a hand grater or food processor

2. Add in the parmesan cheese

3. Mix the egg in with the rest of the ingredients, salt and pepper if desired

4. Add the flour in one tablespoon at a time mixing well

5. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat and add in the zucchini mixture one spoonful at a time, flattening it slightly with the back of the spoon

6. Let cakes cook for 7-8 minutes on the first side and 5-7 minutes on the second side

7. As the cakes finish, you can keep them warm on an oven sheet in the oven while the rest cook!

**If you choose to use a more porous vegetable like potatoes, make sure to absorb some of the liquid after shredding with a paper towel. Otherwise the cakes will be mush!

Vegetable Yellow Curry

 

I LOVE Thai food - especially curry. Although not a "spicy" fan, I tend to favor milder curries such as Yellow or Massaman. This dish was made using bare-minimum ingredients, and therefore probably overlooking an addition or two...but still turned out great! Coconut milk is a must on-hand ingredient for me to be used for anything from curries to dairy-free soups and sauces. 

Ingredients: Yields 2-3 servings

1 can of coconut milk

1 large potato, diced

2 carrots, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips

1 broccoli head, cut into small florets

1/2 cup of frozen peas

2 medium garlic cloves, chopped

3 Tbs curry powder

1 Tbs soy sauce

Rice of your choice

What to do:

1. Prepare rice as directed

2. Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes, then add the potatoes and carrots to cook for 8 minutes. 

3. Add the pepper, garlic, and broccoli to cook for 8-10 minutes

4. Add in the peas, lower heat

5. In saucepan heat the coconut milk, soy sauce and curry powder over low-medium heat until steaming

6. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and let simmer for 2-3 minutes longer. 

7. Pour over rice