Cabbage, leek, and potato soup

We tried this NYT recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12371-cabbage-potato-and-leek-soup?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share Our modifications: first, instead of trying to caramelize the cabbage in the pot, we followed a tip from a commenter and oven-roasted it. After preheating the oven to 425, we quartered, cored, and julienned the cabbage, then tossed in a little olive oil, with some salt and black pepper.… Continue reading Cabbage, leek, and potato soup

Celery and potato soup

We tried this recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016498-celery-and-potato-soup?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share For the 7 cups liquid, we used 1 quart (4 cups) unsalted chicken stock, 1 cup chicken broth (salted), and 2 cups unsalted beef stock. We found straining the soup challenging, and we found the broth lacked viscosity afterwards. We garnished each serving with julienned celery, some celery fronds, and… Continue reading Celery and potato soup

Vegetarian dan dan noodles

We adapted our beloved meat-based dan dan noodle recipe to create a vegetarian version. We kept the noodle seasoning the same, but we changed the topping from minced pork (or minced turkey) to freeze-dried tofu crumbles and dried shiitake mushrooms. Here’s a breakdown of the topping and the noodles. 1) The topping: Inspired by Andrea… Continue reading Vegetarian dan dan noodles

Winter vegetable soup

We tried this NYT recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017928-winter-vegetable-soup-with-turnips-carrots-potatoes-and-leeks?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share Our modifications: first, we added 3 small shallots (cut into ½ inch cross-wise rings) and increased the garlic to 4 cloves. Second, using a low-walled Dutch oven, we sauteed the following ingredients in 2 Tbsp unsalted butter and 1 tsp olive oil: leeks, shallots, garlic, and celery. Third, once… Continue reading Winter vegetable soup

Peanut butter and jelly roll-ups

This is a recipe from my childhood: a home economics class in middle school. I tracked down the same recipe here: https://dancingthroughtherain.com/peanut-butter-and-jelly-rollups/ We used leftover slices of whole wheat bread, room temperature unsalted butter, smooth peanut butter, and homemade Concord grape jam. Because we didn’t have toothpicks, we placed the roll-ups seam-side down and slightly… Continue reading Peanut butter and jelly roll-ups

Roasted sweet potatoes with smoked paprika

We were looking for a way to use up our leftovers - two raw sweet potatoes already peeled and cut into large, uneven chunks. We cut the potato chunks to make as uniform cubes as possible, and then we tried this recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018993-roasted-sweet-potatoes-with-smoked-paprika?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share The recipe called for 4 sweet potatoes, so we halved the ingredient… Continue reading Roasted sweet potatoes with smoked paprika

Frozen tofu chunks for later use

When defrosted, these will become tofu crumbles - and good vegetarian substitutes for ground pork - in recipes such as vegetarian ma po tofu or vegetarian dan dan noodles. We tried this method by Andrea Nguyen: https://www.thekitchn.com/leftover-tofu-freeze-it-for-later-167830 We used Whole Foods extra firm tofu. After handpressing the 14 oz tofu brick with paper towels, we… Continue reading Frozen tofu chunks for later use

Quinoa spinach breakfast bowl with fried egg

We made this recipe: https://www.wholefoodbellies.com/garlicky-quinoa-and-spinach-brunch-bowl/ At the end of cooking, we found the quinoa-spinach mixture a little flat, so we added 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (white vinegar or white wine vinegar also would work), ¼ tsp sugar, ¼ tsp each coarsely ground Aleppo pepper and black pepper. We also accompanied each serving with a… Continue reading Quinoa spinach breakfast bowl with fried egg