Thai Basil Eggplant with Tofu

Since I have been home from my vacation in New Orleans, I have been craving vegetables.  However, since I am still having a hard time coping with the death of Crookers, I am just not up to cooking.   Therefore my lunches consist of black bean veggie burgers (soo good for being pre-made) and eggs and rice for dinner.  Sad, but thats all I can manage right now.  I know he was just a pet, but his death left a hole in our home.   There is no one walking around meowing, sleeping next to me when my husband works late at work, or trying to steal the turkey out of my husband's sandwich while he is eating it.  My other cat, Little Kitty, has been sick too.  Last night when I opened up a can of food, she took a sniff and then walked into the other room and threw up.  Since it was the same exact thing that Crookers did the day he died and she had never done it before, I became convinced that she was going to die too.  Totally irrational, especially since it was 11pm and I had to be up at 6am, but I really lost it.  This morning I woke up at 4 am and she wouldn't eat.  6 am and she finished off a handful of treats.  Thank goodness.  I think the next few weeks are going to be touchy but hopefully I can move past this.

This recipe idea came from one of my favorite take out foods.  Whenever I go to my mom's house she orders tofu and eggplant for me.  I went through different recipes and this is the closest I could find to the takeout dish.  Well, if I can't cook right now, at least I can look at good meals!

Thai Basil Eggplant with Tofu

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients
4 asian eggplants or 2 Italian eggplants
3 Tbs oyster sauce
3 tsp sugar
3 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs olive oil
1 container with tofu
2 tsp garlic minced
1 red bell pepper
1/4 cup green onions chopped
Handful of thai basil

Set the oven for 400 degrees.  Press the tofu by wrapping it in a few paper towels, putting on a plate, and putting another plate on the top.  Let it sit for 30 min.  Then blot off moisture with another paper towel and cut into 1 inch cubes or strips.  Toss with 1 Tbs olive oil and put in oven.   Cook for 30 minutes until browning, flipping halfway through.

In a bowl, mix oyster sauce, sugar, and sesame oil and put to the side.  Put the olive oil in a large pan and heat over medium-high heat.   Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add bell pepper and eggplant and stir fry for 10 - 15 minutes until soft.  Add oyster sauce and stir.  Then add tofu and green onions.  Take off heat, add thai basil, and serve.

Stir-fried Cucumbers

So today I began my outdoor spring cleaning... putting away the shovels in the common areas, vacuuming the stairs, washing the floors, hooking up the hoses, sweeping outside, raking dead leaves, fertilizing the grass and planting grass seed... Wouldn't you think, since I live in a three flat, that someone else would help? Or at least say thank you?  Nope.  This is why I dislike the city (or at least living the same building as other people).  I do not get paid for taking care of the grounds outside of my building or the common areas.  I am not the building manager.  I am the person that gets annoyed when things start to look dirty or worn down, when there is trash sitting around the building, when the grass starts getting really tall, etc and am the only one who takes care of it.   I rake, sweep, mop, mow, paint, etc and the people downstairs cant even say thank you.  They own this place too, don't they want to protect their investment?  Then I start feeling awkward because they come in and out with their friends (they are my age) and just stare at me while I am cutting the grass or trying to keep up the place.  I am the one that feels like a dork while they do nothing... what's the problem here?

This dish is one of my favorite.  My dad has been making it since I was in high school and usually it has finely diced chicken in it, but for my new diet I have to go with just cucumbers.   Cucumbers are not the first thing you think of when talking about stir fry but they turn out very tender.  This dish works out really well for those of us who love cucumbers but cant digest them raw.   Since my husband was having dinner with me and wanted some meat (but I wanted my cucumbers meat free) I marinated some chicken breast in char siu and grilled it on my grill pan.  Meat as a side order, I've come a long way since October!

Stir-fried Cucumbers

Ingredients
2 large cucumbers (I use seedless)
2 tsp salt
10 cloves of garlic chopped coarsely
2 dried hot red pepper
4 Tbs of soy sauce
1 Tbs sherry
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbs of peanut oil
3 scallions chopped

Peel the cucumbers, seed them if they have seeds, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.  Put the cucumbers in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss.  Set aside for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, pour the cucumbers into a colander.  Quickly wash with fresh water then use your hands to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Heat up your oil in a wok.  I do not have one, so I use a large pan.  Add in the garlic and stir fry for around 15 seconds.  Add the hot red peppers and stir fry for 15 more seconds.  Add the cucumbers and stir fry for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.  Mix the soy sauce, sesame seed oil, sesame oil, sherry, and sugar together in another bowl.  Pour onto the cucumbers and cook for another 1 - 2 minutes stirring occasionally.   Remove before the cucumbers become mushy and mix in scallions.

Thai Spicy Eggplant

I have to say that there is power in vitamins.  With gastroparesis comes gastritis and heartburn medicines such as Prevacid, Omeprazole, and Ranidine.  I have done the full gambit and have been on them for continuously three years.  Lately I have been really negative... every time someone asked me "how are you?" I couldn't say anything positive.  Work hasn't been effected, you can't be negative around my students, but everything else has been.  Then two days ago I took medicine and wasnt able to sleep all night.  You really can't work at my job without sleep so I drank a bottle of 5 hour energy.  It didnt give me more energy but it really improved my mood.  Suddenly I didn't have anything bad to say, it was great.  I looked up proton pump inhibitors and and vitamin B and found that they lead to to vitamin B deficiency.  For the last few days I have been taking large amounts of vitamin B12 and have been feeling so much better, its great!  If you have GP and have been struggling with your mood, check it out.

Back to recipes and food.  I think eggplants have been one of my main ingredients this winter.  I have made many dishes with them because they are so versatile.  This recipe is great because it allowed me to use the rest of my thai basil cubes that I froze in the fall.  Then there was a great recipe in this month's Bon Appetit that had me use the rest of my chives while combining them with potatoes, butter and grated lemon peel yesterday.  I only have a few more cubes of oregano pesto then I am ready for the fresh herbs in spring!  

Thai Spicy Eggplant

from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients
2 Tbs of oil
1 tsp of crushed red pepper
2 large eggplants, cut into bite size chunks
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbs of nam pla
3 Tbs of soy sauce
2 Tbs of dark brown sugar

3 Tbs of chopped fresh thai basil
1 tsp of sesame oil

Heat a skillet over high heat and add oil, crushed red pepper flakes and saute for 10 to 15 seconds.  Add eggplant and stir fry 2 - 3 minutes.  Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and stir fry for another 3 minutes.  Add the soy sauce and nam pla.  Then sprinkle the sugar and toss for 2 minutes.  Take the pan off the heat and toss with basil and sesame oil.  Serve over jasmine rice.

Lettuce Wraps and Asian Cucumber Salad

Well, we made it through snowmageddon and for the first time in 13 years my work was closed. Woo hooo! Well, not really. I thought I would enjoy snow days more, but instead of relaxing I spent it shoveling for 5 hours so I could get my car out just in case I had work the next day. My brother and I (with my husband supervising since he cant move his back still) shoveled the sideway, our cars, and our part of the alley out. Then we realized no one else was shoveling so we shoveled 4 more houses to the left. On the right was a 10 ft hill that a bulldozer created early in the morning cutting off one side of the alley. Once we shoveled 4 houses down, we realized that there were around 4 more houses to go. By this time two other guys from other houses had come out and suggested we take on the hill instead. So we did the hill and every part of me still aches... plus I was really angry with our neighbors who live under us. When we first came out, they came by (from a friends house) and laughed. When we asked for help, they said they had a snow blower and we asked that they bring it. They left and didn't came back until we finished everything. We even texted them while shoveling and no help. The next snow day I spent the whole day working on an IEP and I would like to complain about that too, but you never know who reads things on the Internet, so all I have to say is that I find some people's work ethic disgusting.

The day before the snow I went shopping and wanted something that tasted fresh. I had looked at a lettuce wrap recipe from This Week For Dinner and kept it in mind when shopping. My husband hates tofu (I have no idea why, it is so bland and sucks up any sauce that it is) so I had to make a vegetarian and a meat option.

2 Types of Lettuce Wraps

Adapted from This Week For Dinner

Ingredients

1 pound of pork chops (sliced up into small bits) or ground chicken, pork, turkey, etc

1 container of tofu, cubed

1 onion, chopped into small cubes

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbs of fresh ginger, minced

1 can of water chestnuts, chopped

1 container of fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped into small cubes

1 Tbs of soy sauce

1/4 cups of hoisin

1 Tbs of sherry

1 Tbs of Asian chili pepper sauce

1/2 cup toasted cashews, chopped

1 bunch of green onions

2 tsp of sesame oil

1 - 2 heads of butter or bibb lettuce

1 Tbs of hoisin sauce

3 Tbs of plum sauce

If Making Both Types

Add a Tbs of oil in a large skillet and saute garlic, onions and ginger over medium heat until soft. Add mushrooms and bell peppers and saute for a minute or two. Then add soy sauce, hoisin, sherry and chili pepper sauce and simmer for a few more minutes. Stir in chopped water chestnuts and then remove from heat. Put into two bowls. Cook the pork by sprinkling with salt and pepper sauteing for a few minutes until no longer pink. Mix in with ingredients in one bowl. Put a Tbs of oil in pan for tofu and wait till hot. Put in tofu and cook until it is as browned as you like. Put tofu in other bowl and mix with other ingredients. Add 1 tsp of sesame oil, half of the cashews, and half of the green onions in each bowl. Serve with lettuce leaves and dipping sauce.

If Making Just Pork

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add pork (seasoned with salt and pepper to taste), onions and garlic and cook until pork is cooked through. Then add mushrooms and bell peppers and saute for a minute or two. Add soy sauce, hoisin, sherry and chili pepper sauce and simmer for a few more minutes. Stir in chopped water chestnuts and then remove from heat. Add 1 tsp of sesame oil, cashews, and green onions and mix in a bowl. Serve with lettuce leaves and dipping sauce.

If Making Just Tofu

Add a Tbs of oil in a large skillet and saute garlic, onions and ginger over medium heat until soft. Add mushrooms and bell peppers and saute for a minute or two. Then add soy sauce, hoisin, sherry and chili pepper sauce and tofu and simmer for a few more minutes. Stir in chopped water chestnuts and then remove from heat. Add 1 tsp of sesame oil and green onions and mix in a bowl. Serve with lettuce leaves and dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce

Mix together hoisin and plum sauce and serve!

Asian Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

1 large seedless cucumber, peeled, sliced in half then cut in 1/2 inch slices

2 Tbs of chopped onion

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup rice vinegar (unseasoned)

Toasted sesame seeds

Put the cucumber in a bowl and mix with onion. Heat the vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan on low heat until sugar is dissovled. Pour on top of cucumber mixture. Cool in refrigerator for an hour or more. Tastes great the next day. Sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds.

Long Beans with Peanuts and Korean Glazed Potatoes

It is so weird. I just noticed today (or finally thought about it) that my garden is still green and it is November... November! Usually everything is cut down, packed up, and I am starting to winterize my windows by now. However, I feel bad cutting down all my green plants. My parent's gardens were dead and I cut and bagged 350 lbs of plant material on Saturday but I don't know if I can do the same to mine. My Black Eyed Susans are at full bloom. I just don't want to wait until too late and do it in the freezing cold...

I did, however, cut my herbs this weekend. Again, fresh herbs in November is nuts. In the city we haven't even gotten a frost yet. I had tons and tons of chives along with thai basil and some oregano left at the end of this season. I worked late last night washing them then combining the chives and then the thai basil with olive oil in the food processor and made herb ice cubes. Then I made more oregano pesto that my brother, who likes very very few foods, really likes.

Earlier on in the day, I decided to cook Asian. I love this Asian market, that is around 20 miles away, because it had fun vegetables that I cant find any where else. Case in point, long beans. I really don't like green beans, but I love long beans. Does that make any sense? I don't know what the difference in the taste is. For me I feel like the long beans are dryer. I also found some more Korean corn syrup, which unlike all the clear corn syrups I find in the regular grocery store, does not contain vanilla flavoring. So, I decided to make these awesome potatoes that I experimented with on a picnic during the summer. Enjoy!

Spicy Stir Fried Long Beans With Peanuts

(Pa-O Long Beans)

From Epicurious.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb long beans

1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

2 tsp soy sauce

2 to 3 small fresh Thai chiles or 1 Tbs chili paste

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 Tbs oil

1 Tbs chopped garlic

1/2 cup of green onions, chopped

2 tsp lime juice

Cook the beans, untrimmed, in a pot of boiled salted water. Stir and remove when tender, around 4 minutes. Put in bowl of ice water to stop cooking then drain and pat dry. Trim the ends and cut into 3/4 inch pieces.

Use your food processor to grind 1/2 of the peanuts into small pieces, leaving the rest to be large.

Mix soy sauce, chiles or chili paste and salt together in small bowl.

If you have a wok (I don't, my kitchen can't fit anything more) make sure it is on high heat. Same thing for large pan. Oil the pan and add garlic until it turns pale golden. Then add the peanuts and stir fry until they are golden. Add the beans and stir fry until hot, around 2 minutes. Take off of the burner and combine in soy sauce and green onions. Add in lime juice and salt to taste.

Korean Glazed Potatoes (GamJa JoRim)

From Aeri's Kitchen

Ingredients

2 cups of potatoes (I use small golden ones) diced in 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 cup water

2 Tbs oil

2 1/2 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs clear corn syrup

1 1/2 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs minced garlic

1 tsp of toasted sesame seeds

In pan on medium heat add in the oil and let heat. Then add in the potatoes. Fry the potatoes for until they are half cooked. Then add the water, soy sauce, sugar, corn syrup, and garlic. Cook for 5 more minutes on medium heat. Add salt to taste and continue to cook until the liquid is a paste (be careful, it can turn into paste quickly without you noticing it)

Reduce the temperature and fry until the potatoes are cooked. Add sesame seeds and serve!

Asian Tofu Salad with Seasoned Spinach

I just spent 4 days in Kansas City on a BBQ trip. Great trip, one that 4 years ago I would have talked about for weeks, but for me and my gastroparesis... rough. 4 days of meat 2x a day. Meat that tasted great but made me very sick, oh well. We went to Arthur Bryants, Oklahoma Joes, Gates and Jack Stack.

So back home and back to veggies. I have been waiting for them. The best I could do in KC was baked beans, which I think are absolutely the best. I dont know what they do in KC but their baked beans, especially at Gates and Zarda, but they are unbelievable. My first meal back is from the Moosewood Restaurant's Low-Fat Favorites. It has a crisp taste. However, next time I would press the tofu first so it was less watery. I wanted some spinach also so I made my favorite korean spinach for the bottom.

Asian Tofu Salad

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant's Low-Fat Favorites

Ingredients

Salad

2 cakes of tofu

1/2 cup of diced red bell peppers

1/2 cup of diced scallions

Dressing

4 minced garlic cloves

4 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger root

1 teaspoon chili paste

4 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Put the tofu on a plate that is lined with paper towels. Place some paper towels on top of the tofu and then another plate. If it is balanced, you can place a bowl or something heavier on top. Let sit for 1/2 hour. While letting the tofu sit, create the dressing. Combine all the items in the dressing and whisk it together.

Crumble the tofu into a bowl using your fingers or a fork. Combine with green onions, red bell paper, and the dressing. Serve at warm temperature or cold.

Seasoned Spinach

1 pound of baby leaf spinach

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons of sugar

Blanch the spinach in a pot or in microwave. Rince spinach in cold water and squeeze to remove water. Mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and sugar and mix into spinach.