Spicy pineapple cashew stir-fry

This is one thing I'm always ordering out, but always need or want it tweaked exactly to my specifications; no egg please / no fish sauce, right? / can you make this with brown rice? / extra pineapple/ extra cashews (I wish I could get raw cashews...) / with extra veggies too! / oh, and make it spicier, and add some garlic... and some ginger! Obviously I don't subject the waitstaff at local Thai restaurants to all those demands, so ...

Finally when some leftover takeout rice (uh, yeah, the irony) presented itself, I finally made it myself, just the way I wanted it.

Disclaimer: I have no idea if this is the proper way to make a stir-fry, or Thai food, or really anything. Further tips are appreciated!

Spicy pineapple cashew stir-fry:

*About 2-3 tablespoons of safflower oil
*About 1/2 teaspoon of dark sesame oil
*1 clove garlic, minced fine
*1 inch ginger, minced fine
*1 large carrot, grated
*4-5 mushrooms, sliced
*Large andful of green beans, trimmed and cut in half
*Large handful of broccoli florets
*About 3 cups leftover cold rice (I used a combination of brown and white)
Tamari to taste
*Sriracha to taste
*Black pepper to taste
*1/2 pinapple (or one can, drained) cut into chunks
*3-4 scallions, green and white parts chopped thinly
*Large handful of cashews (roasted or raw,) crushed lightly

*Heat your oils in a large wok. Remember, the key to a good stir fry is moving quickly!
*Add garlic and ginger, as soon as they sizzle, add your carrots, mushrooms, broccoli and green beans and cook briefly until slightly, slightly softened.
*Add the rice, tamari, srirach and pepper, letting the rice get toasty by spreading it out on the wok and not stirring for a bit.
*Add pineapple onto an open well in the bottom of wok and allow it carmelize slightly, then stir it together.
*Toast cashews slightly in a well in the bottom of wok.
*Stir, make sure everything is warmed, slightly browned and veggies and just tender.
*Serve immediately, enjoy!

More yummy optional ingredients:
*Smoked or bbq baked tofu, cubed
*Chopped cilantro
* a Spoonful of curry powder

In which global warming confuses my taste buds...

The random warm days apparently now sprinkled here and there this January made me seriously crave salad. It's a nice change from all the roasted root veggies and brown rice I've been consuming lately. (Truly, has there ever been a more vegan-er-ish comment than that?)

Peanut-Sesame covered Rabbit Food:

Salad: romaine, purple cabbage, shredded carrot, cucumber, scallion, chickpeas.

Dressing: peanut butter, tahini, tamari, sesame seeds, sesame oil, tangerine juice, agave nectar, sriracha, dijon mustard, black pepper, water.

Oh, and while the title is (kind of? hopefully?) a joke, I'm linking to one of the many meat = bad for the environment articles right here.

Have it all cookies <3

Ok, I'm still working on the recipe, but I promise to post it eventually:

*coconut lime shortbread raspberry jam thumbprint cookies with dark chocolate drizzle*

(whew!)

They're pretty awesome right now, but since I've never posted an original baking recipe before, I want everything to be juuuust right.

More festive foods

I saw a recipe for something like "maple mustard glazed potatoes and green beans" in VWaV while I was planning my x-mas dinner contributions and spending time with the family. I thought it looked pretty yummy, but we ended up going with the standard amandine preparation anyway. I knew I'd make it for myself eventually, but alas, when I returned to my apartment I realized I had left the cookbooks at my parents house. Arg! Anyway, I decided to improvise my own recipe and it was *awesome.* It included: maple syrup, dijon mustard, olive oil, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, black pepper and sea salt. You whisk it up (the mustard makes the whole thing emulsify perfectly). I poured the mixture over some veggies in a casserole dish and baked until tender at 375 degrees. I've already made this again using brussels sprouts and I think the monster butternut squash on my kitchen table awaits a similar fate. Maybe also beets...or sweet potatoes. These are great on their own, but some leftover veggies/sauce + cranberries + pecans + baby spinach = best...salad...evvvver.



New Years Eve food included some store bought taro and red bean steamed dumplings and massive amounts of fried veggies (onion rings, sweet potato fries, whatever else was in the crisper...?) for no especially good reason other than perhaps a latent desire to give all of my otherwise healthy young guests some early coronary events. Anyway, my friend Momo and I created a very effective deep-fried assembly line and the best dish of the night was really his idea: champagne tempura batter! We dipped some baby bella mushrooms and some green beans in it and I have to say, the mushrooms were really the star here. I mean seriously, perfectly puffy, golden, fatty, little mushrooms. Nom. Nom. Nom. Everything was served with an impromptu aioli (roasted red pepper, vegenaise, white beans, garlic, basil, sea salt, pepper).

Champagne tempura:

*1-1 1/3 cups liquid: we used almost all cold champagne, but you can use water too. If you use champagne you'll probably need more liquid.
*1/2 cup AP flour
*1/2 cup rice flour
*2 tbs ener-g egg replacer powder
*pinch salt
*pinch sugar
*pinch red pepper powder

*mix egg replacer with liquid, whisk until frothy, add rest of ingredients.
*dip your veggies (mushrooms strongly suggested,) and roll in panko if desired.
*fry in canola or safflower oil.
*remove veggies from fryer, drain.
*finish with lots of black pepper.

Enjoy! And happy new year!