Grilled Summer Vegetables & Sushi Rice with Fish-Sauce Vinaigrette

Looks good right?

Ok then.

I can't even pretend to have not noticed, so I'll just be upfront: fish sauce is gross. Like.. gross gross.

Like, when you open the bottle you instantly release a pungent aroma slightly reminiscent of putrid milk and gym socks. That kind of gross.

Like, I was too afraid to taste it on its own, so I used exactly the amount required for this recipe and mixed the whole dressing before I dared to taste. I still have no idea what it tastes like. That kind of gross.

Like, when you spill a little on your chest (yea, I don't know.. don't ask me how that happened) and then wipe it off, it will still smell funky for hours (too close to your nose for comfort). That kind of gross. 

Like, the bottle asks that you not refrigerate; it might congeal. That kind of gross.

And trust me, I was really worried about this dish once I opened that bottle. I thought for sure it was going to be a flop. I was pretty confident that I was about to make the dressing, hate it and then improvise a new one. I lacked confidence. 

But, damn this was good. So please, don't live in fear of fish sauce. Just be sure not to get too close, don't let anyone else smell it, put the cap back on tightly and hide it in the back of your pantry.

Soundtrack: 




Grilled Summer Vegetables & Sushi Rice with Fish-Sauce Vinaigrette
Serves 4-5
Adapted from Bon Appetit


Salad
Vegetable oil
15 okra pods
3 ears of corn, shucked
2 large zucchini, halved lengthwise, centers scooped out
1 small eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1" slices
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce (such as nuoc nam or nam pla)
1 tsbp fresh lime juice

2 dried mild or hot chiles, rehydrated (I used Ancho)
2 c (loosely packed) coarsely chopped mixed fresh tender herbs (I used basil, cilantro & mint).
4 cups steamed sushi rice

Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Brush grill grates with oil. Lay okra, corn, zucchini, chiles, eggplant out on a baking sheet. Using a basting brush, apply a light coating of oil to the vegetables, then lightly salt. Grill vegetables, turning every 2 minutes, until crisp-tender and lightly charred (total time is about 8 minutes).

Remove the corn kernels from their cobs and place in a large bowl. Cut the zucchini and eggplant into irregular 1" pieces and place in bowl with corn. Trim the tops from okra and cut into small tubes (about 2 cuts per orka pod) and add to bowl. Set aside.

Combine in the bowl of a food processor or small chopper the garlic, brown sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and chiles. Process until pureed.

Drizzle dressing over warm vegetables. Toss in the herbs until thoroughly combined.

Scoop steamed sushi rice onto a platter and top with salad. Either serve in this manner over the sushi rice, or toss together until combined.

Spicy Thai Tofu

It's has been brought to my attention that I seem to concoct a lot of recipes with tofu. (Liiiike here and here... that's right, taking over the world, one tofu dish atatime!). I like tofu, sorry if you don't. A lot. Like, a lot, a lot. I'm a huge fan of the consistency. Yum, mush! No, I'm serious. I eat it cold sometimes, right out of the package. Is that so wrong? You would do it too... because I know you eat peanut butter out of the jar. And it's not that much different.

OMG! Look how awesome this picture is! Thanks for the camera lend Jer!

I've come a long way in my relationship with tofu. Let's go back in time here for a minute. Long, long, ago (probably about 1 year) in a galaxy far, far away, (Newtown, PA) to a time when I was naive to the mysterious ways of the tofu. I needed a little help. Afraid to cook with tofu, aside from using it in place of chicken in the occasional stir-fry with the best Teriyaki sauce ever, I needed a little help. I got this recipe from Adam's (you've met him, my Sue) mom.


She's an amazing cook. Amazing. I aspire to be more like her (I'm not sucking up, I swear. Ok, I am a bit, but I really do mean that!). She always has a stocked cupboard full of baking supplies (including vanilla...and other things that I run out of), which I consider to be pretty impressive in itself! She taught me to make bread. She roasts a mean tomato (great for omelettes!). She introduced me to Penzey's, which... no, on second thought I won't get started on that again. And the list really does go on and on. 


But, I got this recipe from her. And I know I can always trust a recipe from her. And you can definitely trust this recipe from me. I made one tiny change, adding in some eggplant, well, mostly because it was going bad in my fridge.


Soundtrack: After that last uber-nerdy post about my not-so-secret-anymore love of spices, I sort of feel a need to share with you folks that I do have a life. I swear, it's real! I have real life, tangible friends. And I went to visit them last Friday and we did real life things. Like shake our shit on a boat and booze until all hours of the AM and eat delicious bbq. And I also want to share with my small, but OH SO appreciated, audience the talented and amazing sounds of Simon Green (aka Bonobo) who rules, dates one of my best friends, and is slowly becoming a great friend of mine. No embed code, so you'll have to click the link, but you should. Bonobo - Last FM


Spicy Thai Tofu
Recipe very slightly adapted from Bon Appetit (viewed on Epicurious)


2 tbsp olive oil
2 large red bell peppers, seeded, thinly sliced
1 c eggplant, cut into cubes
3 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 package extra-firm tofu, pressed for 20 minutes, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 scallions, thinly sliced
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
6-8 oz baby spinach leaves (just about 1/2 a 1 lb bag)
1/3 c fresh basil, chopped
1/3 c sesame seeds


Heat oil over medium heat in a saute pan. Add bell pepper, eggplant, garlic and ginger and saute until the eggplant begins to soften (about 4 minutes). Season with salt & pepper. Add tofu and scallions and cook another 2-3 minutes. 


Add soy sauce, lime juice and pepper flakes and toss to coat. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Add spinach leaves in small additions. Stir to combine until just wilted. Season to taste with salt & pepper.


Remove from heat and toss in basil and peanuts. Serve over rice or with stir-fry noodles.

Step uno 

The dish!

Soba Noodle Salad with Mango and Red Pepper

This is the point in the summer where, if I'm going to be completely honest with you, I'm over it. I'm done. Throwing in the (beach!) towel, if you will. I can't be the only one. Seasonal ADD? Is that such a disorder? Will they ever find a cure?


I'm just ready to buy new jeans and cozy up in a sweatshirt. I want crisp leaves and pumpkins. I want to buy fall scented candles (OMG). Pumpkin beer? AND it's just about time for apples and that means apple desserts. See what I mean? You're totally agreeing with me, I can see it in your face! That's right... I can SEE YOU. Just kidding. Actually, I used to get nervous when I was a really little kid that people might be able to see me through photographs. Sometimes I tried real hard to see others through pictures of myself. Creepy kid stuff.


But back to my sudden preoccupation with all things autumn. It's unfortunate, because there is still some summer left. The more level-headed of us have not yet given up on it! Barbecues are still happening all around us! I know this, because I had a barbecue-type event at my home last Friday. This was in fact a "barbecue-type" event, due to serious lack of grilling that occurred after our resident deck-squirrel chewed a hole through the propane tube. The deck-squirrel has been hanging around all summer, I guess just waiting for the timing to be right.


But what does one make a side dish for a barbecue-type event, when even one more thought of pasta salad just seems unreasonable?

Confession. I STOLE this from the original recipe. I wanted you to see how delicious this looks.
I didn't get a picture of mine. I was too busy drinking beer and eating these things.

Soba noodles.


Well, soba noodle salad to be exact. Type that into Google! What comes up? This recipe. So I had to try it. I will say, I found there to be way too much dressing, so I would suggest making the dressing, tossing everything together, and then adding to your taste. A bit more advice: I'd say the lime was the strongest, so definitely don't overdo it. Cut the mango into decent sized pieces; mine got lost in the mix. But other than that, the flavors were great and pretty complex. They don't muddle together and remain fairly distinct.


Soundtrack: Pure, unadulterated, disco funk. Old school status. Spun by Greg D

Greg D. - Live at Triumph Brewery, Philadelphia, PA 08.20.2011 by Greg D.




Soba Noodle Salad with Mango & Red Pepper
Made with slight adaptations from Garrett McCord's original recipe found on Simply Recipes
(Serves 12 as a side)


3/4 c rice vinegar
1/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
zest of 1 lime
1 tbsp sesame oil
12 oz soba noodles
2 large red bell peppers, chopped
1 large mango, cut into pieces
1 c fresh basil, chopped
1 c fresh mint, chopped
1 c roasted, salted peanuts, chopped


Cook soba noodles, to al dente, according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside.


Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the rice vinegar, sugar and salt for 2 minutes, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in garlic and jalapeno. Set aside and allow to cool. Once cooled, whisk in lime juice, zest, and sesame oil.


In a large bowl, combine sesame noodles, mango, and red pepper. Begin to toss in dressing slowly, until noodles are flavored. You may not use all of the dressing.


Toss in basil, mint and peanuts (unless storing overnight, then add basil, mint and peanuts immediately before serving) and serve.

Easy prep

Squeezing the life outta some limes

Brain!

Just add mango. To everything.

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

Like I said, I love carbs. So here is my serving suggestion for this sauce (served over spaghetti with kalamata olives and tomato-basil chicken sausage):

OH BABY!

You can also use pesto to grill or top chicken or fish (shrimp? eh? yum!), in dips, on eggs, instead of garlic bread, in burgers, on sandwiches.. ON POTATOES etc. So don't think this is strictly for pasta. 


This recipe combines the sweet taste of fresh basil, with the tang of sun-dried tomatoes and olive oil to create delicious and fragrant sauce. Fresh basil is a great thing to have on hand; it has an amazing aroma that is very enticing. Basil grows pretty out of control (and by that I mean FAST), so if you don't have a lot of space to plant (like me!) it's a good choice. Maximum benefit, minimum space, effort, etc (like a pet goldfish, but more delicious. And it's not going to die overnight and get flushed down the toilet. Ok, bad example). 

Fresh basil, just cleaned. Can you smell it??

Pesto is a fairly easy sauce to make, as long as you own a food processor. Pretty much just combines a few simple, ingredients in a way that they all shine. If you're not a confident chef and you want to impress people with your "skills," make this. This is the recipe for you. Hint, hint. (Subtlety? Not a strength of mine. I lean more towards awkwardly blurting things out.)

My recipe makes about 4 servings (or really 2, if you're like Adam and I, which I've already said, not enough people are). So adjust accordingly. You can also multiply this (just leave out the cheese) and freeze it (then add the cheese and a little extra oil after you defrost it).

Soundtrack: Amazing Baby - Rewild

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

1 to 1&1/2 c. fresh basil leaves (yea, they gotta be fresh)

1 clove fresh garlic

1/8 c. pine nuts (yea, they're expensive, but this amount will probably cost you $1 or 2)

10 sun-dried tomatoes (not the kind in oil)

1/2 c. olive oil

1/4 Pecorino Romano cheese (freshly grated, preferred! You can add more, to taste)

Salt & Pepper

Combine basil, garlic, pine nuts and tomatoes in a food processor. Run until pureed (you'll have to scrape down the sides, etc). Add cheese and olive oil and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add a little salt n peppa.

Yep, that's easy.

Looks like a weird flower!

What the moon is made of!

Finished sauce, should be a little chunky.

Nom!

Hope you enjoy!