Fridgg: What's For Dinner?

Roasted Broccoli

The yummiest roasted broccoli!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I am not a vegetable fan. I was the girl who would never eat her vegetables, and everyone knew it.

Now that I’m older, things are changing. Lucky for me (well, for my health) Son won’t take any nonsense when it comes to me eating healthy, so I don’t have much of a choice. To make life a little more enjoyable for myself, I’ve tried to find vegetable recipes that I actually enjoy, rather than having to force them down.

The credit for finding this recipe goes to my sister. She’ll randomly send me links to recipes that she wants me to make for her, and this was one of the better ones… in fact, just plain amazing! Sure, broccoli used to be one of the only vegetables I’d eat, but I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way to eat some when I was younger. Who would’ve ever known I’d crave broccoli?

Recipe adapted from Amateur Gourmet.

Ingredients

• 4-5 lbs broccoli
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Wash broccoli and dry extremely well (or don’t wash it and hope the heat kills any germs.)
3. Cut broccoli into florets.
4. Toss all ingredients together.
5. Spread the broccoli evenly on a cookie sheet.
6. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the tips of the broccoli are browned.
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Hugs and Tuna Cakes

More beautiful virtual flowers…

One hug is never enough. Especially when times are difficult, you can always use another hug. So though I already gave Barbara from Winos and Foodies a hug over on Sushi Day, I felt that I should do what little I can, and give her another virtual hug (and several more virtual flowers) here on Fridgg.

… from Son’s dad’s garden…

Barbara is currently battling cancer. Though I am lucky to have never had to go through the trials of having cancer, and I can’t possibly know how it feels, I do know that it sucks. A lot. I have two immediate family members who have dealt with three separate occurrences of cancer, and I know that calling life with cancer “unpleasant” is a grave understatement. Thus food bloggers from all over the world have come together to give Barbara a HUGE virtual hug, all brought together by the genius of Bron and Ilva.

… just for you, Barbara!

Even if sushi is too much effort with the way your body feels from the effects of both cancer and chemotherapy, these tuna cakes are much, much easier. For me these are the perfect comfort food - easy to make, warm and filling, delicious and even good for you. For you Barbara, many, many hugs from Southern California!

Tuna cake sandwich…

Ingredients

• 1 can tuna
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 large egg
• a handful of breadcrumbs
• vegetable oil

  Cooking Directions

  1. Wash the zucchini.
  2. Cut off the ends of the zucchini, then shred.
  3. Pat zucchini dry with several paper towels.
  4. Drain the can of tuna well, then scoop tuna into a bowl.
  5. Mix with zucchini, egg, and breadcrumbs.
  6. Form into two disks.
  7. Heat oil in a frying pan.
  8. Once the oil is hot, fry the tuna cakes until browned on both sides.
  9. Drain on paper towels.
  10. Enjoy by themselves, or in a sandwich with mustard and mayonnaise.
  
  … on roasted garlic bread wheat rolls.
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Vietnamese Curry

Vietnamese Curry

As I mentioned when I went to Hawaii, I’ve recently fallen in love with curry. All types of curry. To the point where I’ll randomly have major cravings for curry - any kind of curry.

Such was the case earlier this week. All of a sudden, on Tuesday, I wanted curry, but I didn’t have any S&B Golden Curry around - so no quick way to soothe my craving. However that wasn’t a problem - it was easy to make my own.

This recipe is for Vietnamese curry. Though similar, it has a very distinct taste - different from Japanese, Indian, or Thai curries. Depending on the curry you buy, the taste varies, and can range from mild to quite spicy, so make sure to check your curry package for ingredients and/or spice level before you buy!

Here is the recipe I used, adapted from RecipeZaar. My curry craving has been satisfied - for now.

Oh so flavorful…

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, cut bite-size pieces
• 1 tsp salt, to taste
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp good curry powder
• 3 large potatoes, skinned and cubed
• 2 large carrots, skinned and sliced
• 1 (13 1/2 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 (13 1/2 ounce) can chicken stock

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and fry the onions and garlic for 1 minute.
2. Add the chicken, cook for three minutes.
3. Add the salt, pepper, and curry powder.
4. Stir in spices, let cook for a few minutes, or until the chicken is tender.
5. Add the remaining ingredients.
6. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 30-60 minutes, or until the vegetables are at your preferred softness. We like the veggies soft, so we cooked the curry for an hour, but if you prefer harder/crunchier vegetables in your curry, then cook it for less time.
7. Serve over a bed of rice or with quality bread to dip in the curry.

…and incredibly addictive.

Tofu Stir Fry

Tofu Stir-Fry

Ask anyone who knew me growing up, and they’ll tell you I’m a meat-and-potatoes girl. Who (*gasp*) refuses to eat her vegetables. Give me a big slab of steak and some sort of potato side dish, and I was happy. Of course, that was long ago, in my pickier years. I wouldn’t eat sashimi or most more exotic ethnic foods at that time either.

The rich tofu…

Nowadays, though I am by no means vegetarian, I’ve started to lean the other way. No longer does a big honkin’ piece of steak sound like the perfect meal - now I tend more towards fish (sashimi, anyone?) or even vegetarian dishes. Just a change in tastes, I suppose.

…the soft vegetables…

Recently we were at Son’s parents’ house for a Buddhist holiday where they couldn’t eat meat, and his mother made a vegetable stir-fry with this fried tofu. The old me would have turned up my nose at the dish but tried to choke it down to be polite, but nowadays? Well, needless to say, I loved it. So much, that I had to ask his mom for the recipe. She didn’t have actual measurements for anything, but I’ve tried my best to approximate the amounts that I used when I made the dish for dinner just a few hours ago… it was a success.

…all on a bed of rice.

Ingredients

• 1 container firm tofu
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3 large zucchini, sliced
• about 20 mushrooms, quartered
• olive oil
• 1 cup shoyu
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce

Cooking Directions

1. Slice the tofu along the short side into slices at least 1 cm thick.
2. Pour a little bit of olive oil into a frying pan or wok, heat over medium heat.
3. Place the half of the slices of tofu into the pan in one layer.
4. Pour about 1/4 cup of shoyu over the tofu.
5. Sprinkle about 2 tbsp sugar over the tofu.
6. Spread about 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce onto each piece of tofu.
7. After about a minute, flip the tofu using a pair of tongs. (I find that it’s really difficult to flip the tofu using chopsticks without breaking the tofu slices.)
8. Spread about 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce onto the second side of each piece of tofu.
9. After another minute, flip the tofu again. Continue flipping every minute or so, until the tofu begins to brown and the sauces/sugar begin to caramelize.
10. Remove the tofu from the pan onto a plate.
11. Repeat with the remaining tofu.
12. When you have cooked and removed all the tofu, place the onion slices into the pan.
13. Sauté the onions until translucent, then pour 1/2 cup shoyu and 1/4 cup sugar over the onions.
14. Add the zucchini and mushrooms to the pan.
15. Add in the chili garlic sauce. If you want your stir-fry spicier, then you can add more, but 1 tbsp is just enough to give it a kick without being very spicy.
16. Sauté the vegetables until they are soft, about 5-10 minutes.
17. Serve the vegetable stir-fry over a bed of rice or noodles, topped with a couple slices of fried tofu.

Does it get any better?
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The Most Fantabulastic Pancakes

The Most Fantabulastic Pancakes

For many, many years, my family was a Bisquik family. Pancakes and waffles were always made from Bisquik mix. That is, until my sister came home with a pancake recipe from one of her friends, and insisted on using that recipe instead of our old stand-by. That was the day our pancake breakfasts changed forever.

The great thing about these pancakes is that they are open for interpretation. Want strawberry pancakes? Just press strawberries into the pancake after you pour the batter onto the griddle. Want chocolate chip pancakes? Mix chocolate chips into the batter. Want pumpkin pie pancakes (which I really recommend, they were delicious!)? Mix half a can of pumpkin puree into the batter, sprinkle a little nutmeg, ginger, and a bunch of cinnamon in, and enjoy!

Yummy, yummy pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 3/4 tbsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 1 1/4 cup milk

Cooking Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together until just blended, but do not over-mix - it’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy.
2. Heat a griddle or pan over medium heat.
3. Spread melted butter around the griddle, or spray with cooking spray.
4. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle, depending on how large you want your pancakes.
5. When the bubbles begin to set on the pancake, check the underside for doneness (if it’s burning, the heat is too high). If it is at your preferred doneness, flip the pancake.
6. When you can easily slide a spatula under the flipped pancake (about 20-30 seconds after flipping it), remove the pancake from the griddle, onto a waiting platter.
7. Enjoy with butter and syrup, or jam, or peanut butter, or even whipped cream!

Ready to dig in!
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