As Local as Thai Gets in MN

I've been on a mission the last few days to get some really flavorful, awesome Thai food.  My seemingly simple goal was thwarted on Friday when Mango, the delicious-smelling Thai place on Selby Ave. didn't have any dishes without fish sauce (except a curry and that didn't fit the craving).  I suppose it's for the best, as I would eat there every day for lunch if it was really good.

Then last night I took myself out to dinner at Supatra, a great Thai place on W. 7th street.  I was thrilled when they said the hot & sour soup was vegan, but disappointed when I was served a bowl of plain vegetable broth with mixed vegetables in it.  Not hot.  Not sour.  I had this item removed from my tab.

Luckily, the Spicy Noodles with Thai Basil (without the egg) were delicious, rich, and plenty filling- although not spicy.  I left only partially satisfied.  

So tonight I'm trying to quench the craving myself.  I have lemongrass, jalapenos, and tomato from my garden, plus tons of onion, broccoli, and yams from local farms.  Surely I can pull this off... You can't expect anyone else to please you if you can't please yourself, right?!

Thai Tofu & Yams

First, get the tofu and sauce ready:

2-3 stalks of lemongrass, minced

1 jalapeno or other hot pepper, minced

1 large red onion, thickly sliced

4 Tbsp. lime juice

4 kaffir lime leaves

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

1 large tomato, peeled and seeded, diced

1 12 oz. pack of extra firm tofu, drained and cubed

Combine all ingredients in a sealable container and mix thoroughly.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  It'll look like this:

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 F and prepare the yams:

2 large yams, cubed

1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. lime juice

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. ancho chile powder (or other chile powder for more spice)

1 tsp. dried lemongrass

1 tsp. kosher salt

Half of the onions picked out of the marinade

Toss all ingredients in a glass baking dish.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until yams are tender and lightly browned.

Pick out the tofu cubes from the marinade and place them on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.  It's okay it bits of tomato, garlic, peppers, etc. stick to the tofu.  Bake for 20 minutes, then stir and bake for 10-20 more minutes, or until browned.

While this is baking, steam up some broccoli or something else that's green and good for you.

Then prepare the sauce:

Remaining marinade

2 Tbsp. jam (I used peach)

1 Tbsp. cornstarch, mixed with 3 Tbsp. cold water

salt to taste

crushed red chilies to taste

Put the remaining marinade in a small saucepan and add the jam.  Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer until remaining onions are tender.  Then add the cornstarch and water mixture and stir until the sauce has thickened.  Carefully taste the sauce and adjust salt and spiciness to taste.

Serve the yams, broccoli, and tofu mixed together or separately, but be sure to drizzle the sauce over everything.  Garnish with minced fresh Thai basil.

While this is clearly not a traditional Thai recipe, it has the lemongrass, chilies, and lime that I crave from Thai food.  I'll give it an 8 out of 10 on satisfying my Thai craving.  

By the way, if Thai style yams freak you out, just make the tofu and sauce.  It's good all on its own or over rice.

Soup and Pasta

Just when I thought Spring had come, we got a cold front. And now we are expecting a foot of snow tonight. So my diet will continue with wintery warming foods a bit longer. This soup is perfect for a cold rainy/snowy day.


Black Eyed Pea-Nut Stew

1 cup dry black eyed peas
4 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oil
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp. tamari
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup hot water
1 medium yam, cubed
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
salt to taste

Combine peas, water, salt, and oil in a pressure cooker. Bring up to pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Allow to cool slowly until pressure is released. (You could also cook these in a regular pot). In a bowl, whisk together the ginger, lime juice, peanut butter, tamari, and hot water until smooth.

Add the peanut butter mixture, yam, and carrot (and jalapeño, if using) to the cooked black eyed peas and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until yams and carrots are tender. Add salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro and serve with corn chips for dipping.

This week I received my Teese! True to their promise, this cheeze tastes like real mozzarella and melts well. I mixed up a casserole full of Cashew Ricotta, gluten free penne, broccoli and marinara sauce. Then I topped it with the Teese and baked it until it melted.
As you can see, we dug in right away!

Tonight I really wanted pasta and cheese, but I also needed to use up a free eggplant that was about to go bad. So I simmered the eggplant with olive oil, cumin seeds, salt, red pepper, coriander, and canned tomatoes. For the pasta, I used Eden Organic's kamut pasta. How can you resist pasta that gives 10 grams of protein, 15% of your iron, and 6 grams of fiber in 1/2 cup of pasta?!

And since it is distantly related to wheat, I get to eat it all myself! Sorry Mike!

Kitten Yoga

When Crystal and I were doing yoga on Sunday, the kitten decided to do yoga with us. Trouble's approach is to try to absorb the benefits of yoga through osmosis- by laying on people doing yoga. Here we are in savasana:
And on the meditation cushion:
Then tonight I was in Viparitta Karani on a block when Trouble jumped up on my belly and started to knead!
I think she's really into this.

And because this is a food blog, not a yoga blog, I'll post up a picture of a great classic macrobiotic dinner we had last week. This is brown rice, adzuki beans cooked with kombu and kale, and a mix of roasted yams and carrots. The leftovers were great in my lunch all week and I felt very virtuous.

Meemaw's Saffron and a Chipotle Omelet

Tonight I made the Revolutionary Spanish Omelet from Vegan with a Vengeance, but with some great variations. Instead of potatoes, I used a mixture of garnet yam and sweet potato. In addition to saffron, I added a chipotle pepper with some adobo sauce. Then instead of the roasted red peppers in the almond sauce, I used chipotle peppers and a little soy yogurt. I used firm silken tofu, not soft regular tofu because that's what I had on the shelf.

Now technically these two varieties are really sweet potatoes. The "yam" variety of sweet potato isn't a yam at all, it's an orange-fleshed variety of sweet potato that is different from the true yam that is native to Africa. The USDA requires that all "yams" also bear the name sweet potato. Names aside, they're both delicious!

Now this recipe calls for saffron threads and in the past whenever a recipe calls for saffron, I omit it... but not because I don't have any.

Years ago, (perhaps 15...oh, jeez...) my meemaw gave me some spices she got in Grenada. She saw I had an interest in cooking and knew I would appreciate these fine and (then) fresh spices. I treasure these spices. I treasure them so much that I have not used them in 15 years. Instead of appreciating them by using them, I've hoarded them and carted them from Texas to Minnesota, taking them out only to look at their faded labels and imagine how my meemaw also treasured these little bags, including the valuable saffron. But today I used it! After all these years, the saffron still has a great scent, rich flavor, and beautiful color. Amazing.


I sauteed some red chard to go on the side of the omelet and dressed it with salt, pepper, and some lemon juice.The little chipotle pepper in the omelet is very mild so that the other flavors (including the saffron) can sing through. The Chipotle Almond Sauce, however, has a good spice and zing to it.

I'm baking a Mulberry Pie for dessert, but it's still in the oven. I'm trying out an oat crust, so I'll post pictures if it's any good. I've got to use up all the mulberries in the freezer before the tree starts to bloom again!