Praise Baby Bok Choy Jesus

We have a vendor at our farmers market that has some of the strangest things I've ever seen. I can't even describe all the stuff... spiney looking cucumbers, greens that I've never seen or smelled in my life, peppers of varying sizes and unknown scoville units. We've hit up the okra a few times, which kinda scares me because of its sliminess, but this week we picked up a vegetable that doesn't scare me at all: baby bok choy.

I present to you, dear reader, baby bok choy stir fry.

VEGETARIAN!

Garlic Ginger Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry


Ingredients

• 1 bottle Sesame Soy Ginger Vinaigrette/Marinade (or any other similar marinade)
• 1 package extra firm tofu, cubed
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 3 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 yellow onion, in large slices
• 4 heads of baby bok choy, halved

Directions

At least two hours ahead of time, prepare the marinade:

In a large bowl, carefully toss tofu, ginger, garlic, sesame soy ginger marinade and soy sauce. Try to submerge the tofu so it soaks up all the flavor. Fridge it until ready to cook.

When ready to cook, pick the tofu out of the sauce (keep the sauce!) and place tofu pieces on a baking sheet. Broil on high for 10 minutes, then turn pieces and broil on high for another 10 minutes. 

While all that oven magic is going on, heat EVOO in a saute pan or wok. When oil is heated, add in mushrooms and onion and saute until slightly softened.

Reduce heat to medium, place bok choy on top of onions and mushrooms, and pour the marinade over the bok choy. Cover and cook until bok choy is tender, about 3-5 minutes.  

When the tofu is done, it will lightly crispy on the outside and golden delicious, but not like the apple variety.

Serve with brown rice and plenty of sriracha! I like the tofu on the side, but you could definitely toss it in before the bok choy if you so desire.

 Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

Wimp.

The employed folk might call today "the day before Friday" and say something like "yay tomorrow is Friday." For me, everyday is Friday. Or Saturday, really. BOO PITY PARTY. I'm not taking to unemployment well. I'm realizing just how much a job defined me for the past four years! I think that's a good and a bad thing. Good in the sense that I had so much commitment (FOCUS?) to my job. Bad that I didn't carve an identity otherwise. Good thing I have another three quarters of my life to fix that!

Happy eternal Saturday to all and to all a good night!

Why I Probably Shouldn't Be a Blogger

Because I cook a super yummy dinner and think to take pics after I've taken a bite ... And I only have my cell phone handy ...

Woops!

I'll tell you about it anyway.

We're eating meatless more often here in the Roady hood. It's actually rather easy! In the last two days, the only meat I've had is 2 ounces of chicken. I could never give up cheese though. Neeeevvvverrrrr..

Creamy White Bean Pasta with Crispy Kale Chips

serves 6+ (trust me, we have left overs coming out of our ears)

Ingredients

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 2 heads of kale, spines removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
• Package of whole wheat pasta
• One can of white beans (canellini) 
• 1-2 cups pasta water reserved from cooked pasta
• 2 tbsp. Shaved parmesan/romano/whatever you like and more for topping
• Sea salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• On a baking sheet, spritz kale with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with sea salt
• Mix the kale around so all of it is covered with the oil and salt
• Bake in the oven for 12 minutes, turn, then bake for another 10 minutes
• Meanwhile, boil water to cook pasta according to instructions (salt the crap out of the water, that's the ticket)
• Add oil to a large saute pan over medium high heat
• Once heated, add garlic and saute until just starting to brown
• Add cherry tomatoes and stir occasionally for about 5 mintes (basically don't let them stick/burn)
• Season lightly with sea salt and plenty of black pepper (don't go too heavy on salt, you will be adding cheese and pasta water, which will be salty)
• Once cherry tomatoes are super soft and have given up a lot of their juices, add the can of beans (with liquid) and cup of pasta water
• Stir well and let simmer for 1-2 minutes
• Add 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese, stir until melted
• Dump the pasta in the saute pan (oh, ps, make sure to use a big pan) and toss
• You may need to add more pasta water depending on the shape of noodle you choose (I used spaghetti shape and only needed 1.5 cups of pasta water total)
• Serve with kale chips on the side so people can crumble them over the noodles along with more shaved cheese

This was so decadent and tasty and BONUS: vegetarian!

Whole wheat (fiber!), protein (for your gigantic muscles!), garlic (good for your heart! my dad said "good for your breath!") , tomatoes (lycopene! antioxidant!)

The kale chips won't really keep unless you leave them out uncovered, so plan ahead. 

I have a job interview tomorrow. And I will say no more as to not jinx it.

Tomorrow I'm cooking out of a very old and once super popular cookbook. (70's... hippies... my mother)

I promise to take pics!

Back in the Saddle Again

Greetings Earthlings!

Today started like this:

About damn time. That's right, It's back to Weight Watchers with me. I had huge success with WW in middle school, and again after the freshman 15. And I'm bacccckkkkkk. Between sixth and seventh grade I lost about thirty pounds. Thirty pounds!  Most sixth graders only weigh thirty pounds, right? (I have a really hard time judging kids' ages...)

After my first year of college (read: binge drinking, cafeteria, no mommy) I lost twenty pounds over summer. The only problem was I wasn't done growing and maturing so my habits didn't stick. I didn't know what it meant to cook for myself or what healthy living meant. I really didn't know how crucial fueling your body right and exercising is to your longevity.

My philosophy is that we were given this one body and we only have one lifetime to treat it right. Don't get me wrong, I have done many many terrible things to my body (including starving it with diet root beer and carrot sticks then binging on cookies the next day for an entire summer in high school).  I still occasionally do terrible things to my body like eating processed food and drinking too much diet coke. However I now have the maturity and sensibility to understand that when I eat pure, whole foods I feel better! When I exercise, my head is in the right place and I sleep better at night.

My goals are to relearn healthy habits, especially in terms of portion control. I don't think I will ever look at food purely as fuel... I see cooking and food presentation as an art, really. My relationship with food is a little abnormal, and I know I have room for improvement. I already have healthy food habits and decent exercise habits, but it's time to hone in on them, put my nose to the grindstone and drop the extra pounds I'm carrying around. I dug through old family pics this morning to find some of me at my chunkiest in the last ten years. Trust me, some were a lot worse, but so much that I refused to even look twice at them.

Don't mind Leah, my sister, in the right picture. She must have been in a Posh Spice phase. Ps my momma is a lifetime weight watcher and she looks nothing like this anymore. She's svelte and buff as shit these days (she's my inspiration!). These pics are circa 2004/2005, right in the midst of the freshman 15. I don't want to go back there.

Remember when I mentioned mascarpone cheese the other day? Let me follow through with a promise! Now you're probably thinking, HOLD IT THERE SISTER, I thought you were on a diet?! The great thing about WW (weight watchers) is that nothing is "off-limits", you just have to budget for it. And my dad took care of all the leftovers for me, so really, the best tip is to have a human garbage disposal in your home to eliminate any temptations for overeating. 

Ginger and Fig Mascarpone with Puff Pastry

adapted from Fig and Gingered Mascarpone Napoleons, Gourmet, 2001

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. Mascarpone cheese
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp candied ginger, diced
• 1 large or 2 small fresh figs, stems removed and chopped 
• Puff pastry cookies
• Pretty fig, sliced for topping cookies

Directions

• Mix together mascarpone, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, candied ginger and chopped figs

• Chill in fridge for 20-30 minutes at least
• When ready, dollop 1-2 tbsp of cream on top of cookie and a slice or two of fig, like below

If you stopped reading this a bit ago because you don't like figs, I understand. Texture is gross. Replace figs in the recipe with nectarines, peaches, plums, strawberries, or mango. Also the sugar could be easily replaced with agave or honey to taste if you are watching your sugar intake. It's probably a better choice anyway!

That's what I love about cooking. You can never be wrong. If it tastes good to you, then it's good.

Here's something that's never good:

The number of bruises on my body. 

Moving totally wrecked me. Always does. Gotta stop moving so much. Good thing unemployment is so low-impact. (Bitter).

 And on that note, Monster.com awaits me. 

Blog One.

I have a lot of anxiety about writing my first blog post. To be honest, I have a lot of anxiety about a lot of different things, some even more trivial than the content of my first blog post. I suppose a reader could assume my propensity for trivial anxiety by simply reading this blog's title: Recipes for a Quarterlife. I'm at one of those points in life where you need to make some serious decisions. This particular juncture happens to be right at my quarterlife (assuming I make it to 100, minus a few months, though really I'd prefer to make it all the way to 100 if I happen to make it to 99 and some change).

It's not as dramatic as this quarterlife. Not even close.

At this point, I need to really decide what it is I want to do with my life, or at least which highway I'm merging on to next. I'm starting business school this fall, moving to my hometown, and performing a hard restart on all systems.  I don't know where I'm going to end up, but I suppose that's part of the fun and I will just need to let go of that anxiety here and now. Easier said than done.

Though my life is undoubtedly changing professionally and socially, there are two things I know about myself that are not changing. Those are my love of food and fitness. (Most likely not in a clinically recommended ratio!) My therapy is standing in the kitchen and cooking an extensive meal that nonetheless leaves a giant pile of dishes. Exercise takes a very close second to the satisfaction of cooking and sharing a healthy home cooked meal. Finishing a thorough and challenging workout is an accomplishment that cannot be taken away (unlike overcooking chicken).

And that's what this blog is all about: sharing my favorite recipes, my kitchen and culinary adventures with you, whoever you may be. My foodscapades might be sprinkled with workouts, or with whining, or with ranting, or with annoying recaps of my day. Or none of the above. They might be ugly cell phone shots of my cat, a rough draft of a term paper, or a simple list (I do love lists). Let's just play it by ear.