Tofu Soup

Looking for appetizer recipes the other day, I picked up a Korean cookbook. The ingredients in Korean food are very different from my comfort food favorites: cheese, cream, butter, sour cream, cream cheese. All high in fat and calories!

I always gain weight over the winter. I blame the historical need to be prepared for a long hard winter - gain a little weight, kind of like hibernation strategy. :-)  I am looking to avoid comfort food!

Although Costco has been in the area since 2004, we joined a few weeks ago. It took so long to join because I was never impressed with Sam's Club. It just wasn't a nice place to shop, and there were very few items I could use.  I assumed Costco was similar. It's not. Costco has very nice produce and good prices on things we often use. We stocked-up with groceries from Costco last weekend including: broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, mini-peppers, onions.  Too much for the refrigerator. Luckily, it is winter. A table in the garage works. So, how to use all the food before it goes bad? Soup! There was half a block of tofu in the fridge left from Zucchini Tofu Patties last week.

Then I remembered the delicious miso soup at Fusion Japanese.  It was the best, most balanced, flavorful Asian soup I had ever eaten.  A delicious clear broth with a few tofu cubes and green onions. Well, I thought, I can do that.  

Cotehele's Tofu Soup

1/2 block tofu, drained and pressed dry.  Cut tofu in 1/4 inch cubes.

Make a marinade of:
soy sauce
garlic
chili oil
olive oil

Combine tofu and marinade.

In the meantime, make the soup base:
1/4 cup diced onion
8 cups water
2 packets George Washington Golden Broth
1/2 - 1 tsp McKays Chicken Style Seasoning
Bring to boil and simmer while cutting up the veg.

Vegetables:
1 small carrot, slivered
1 each yellow and red mini peppers, slivered
6 thinly sliced brussel sprouts
6-8 finely chopped bella-mini mushrooms

Add vegetables and tofu to soup base.
Simmer a couple of  minutes.

Add Korean Pasta 2-3 minutes before serving.
Sprinkle a little hot chili flakes in soup before plating.

This goes in my keep file. It was very good! This made enough for supper (two of us) and a bowl left for lunch.

New Recipes

I love the ease of finding inspiration online. 

A few key words in Google search and up pops a plethora of recipes. 

 My sister-in-law gave us a few cans of vegemeat for Christmas.  

It is kind of like getting a box of Sees candy, a treat that is not easy to come by where we live.  Google "scallops and rice" and there are not as many recipes as I'd thought there would be. But, I don't know anything about using scallops. Looking over some of the recipes, I discovered ingredients that go well with scallops and made up this dish for supper.

I started the rice first with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. It flavored the rice just a bit and made it easier to scorch. I would leave it out next time.

Onions, garlic and mushrooms were sauteed in olive oil. Scallops added as well as 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 1 Tbs. honey.  Simmer until reduced.  

Served over flavored rice with a carrot and rasin salad.  

 The dish was a nice blend of flavors. 

Carrot and raisin salad was a good compliment.

The remaining half can of Scallops were used for tonight's dinner.  A lot of dinners begin with sauteed onion, garlic and mushrooms, to which I added diced red pepper and spinach, salt, pepper, marjoram, cayenne pepper and white wine.   While the pasta cooked, I finished the vegetables with a sauce of half-and-half, asiago and provolone cheese.  This was really good. I love anything with butter, cream and cheese.

Sorry for the picture. There really is a difference 

between a camera phone and a camera! 

Mushroom Soup Take Two

Things happen so gradually it is hard to realize a change has taken place. It takes a new eye to notice. My son drives my car when we go someplace.  About a month ago, he noticed the car steering wheel was shaking. Well, I had noticed too, but it didn't shake all the time. I thought it was rough road. Nope. The rear summer tires were worn through the rubber and a bit of the steel belt. So off to the shop my car went get the wheels aligned. Mr. C followed me down and we spent the day Christmas shopping. All of the cookware at Williams Sonoma was 20% off. I couldn't pass up the chance to get the Staub dutch oven I've been hoping to find on sale for months. The other two Staub pots don't match. They were purchased on sale at different times. This dutch oven is Mr. C's favorite color, a gorgeous blue.

We thought we found the last of the Christmas gifts until we got home and discovered Sweet Girl raided the stocking stuffer bag. All that was left of the cappuccino truffles was the bag. Cheese ball mix covered the hall carpet. She is okay thank goodness, but she had plenty of energy that evening.

My new blue dutch oven was meant to be cristened with mushroom soup. The good kind. Bella Mini mushrooms were buy 10 get 1 free at the market. I loaded up the vegetable crisper with mushrooms.

The soup is a little of this and that made up as it went along: mushrooms, onion, rice sticks, GW golden broth, salt, pepper, butter, thyme.  Cream is added at this point, but Mr. C was still recovering. He didn't want cream in the soup. It was very good without cream, I would make it without again.

I am very happy with the new pot!

Black Beans and Pasta

1 container of frozen pasta and broccoli
(made earlier in the week), thawed

2 carrots, grated

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1/3 can black beans, throughly rinsed

1 veggie hotdog, finely chopped 

Saute until carrots and celery are tender.

Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. Savory leaves to mixture.

3 oz. tomato paste

Add enough water to make sauce 

Add chicken seasoning to taste

Serve with cheese on top if desired.

Cotehele's Recipe

Pasta with Broccoli and Cheese

1 box of small size pasta (I used mini-penne)

Make a white sauce using

2 Tbs butter 

2 Tbs flour  

1-1/2 cup milk

3-4 garlic cloves, minced, softened in butter

1/3 cup onion, finely chopped, softened in butter

 6 oz. sharp cheese

1 cup broccoli flowerettes, cut into small pieces

Boil until crispy tender.

Mix cooked pasta, white sauce and cooked broccoli together. Serve.

Yield: 6-8 servings.


Cotehele's Recipe