Another Soba Bowl: Marinated Tofu, Mixed Greens and Cilantro-Cashew-Coconut Pesto

Over the last weekend, while doing our weekly clean, my husband and I finally put away our winter boots. April had been so cold and wet, I just kept holding off on putting away the boots, but it seems like now, maybe, just maybe it's time to pack it all away.

Yesterday's pesto got me thinking. Along with the winter boots, mitts and jackets, it also feels like it's time to put away the cast iron dutch oven and to get out the salad spinner.

It's spring and I feel like eating my weight in vegetables.

Also, I'm in a wedding this summer AND going back to Hawaii and a man wished me a happy mother's day as an expectant mother last Saturday, which tells me that the belly fat has got to go because I'm not even vaguely pregnant.

Not hot.

And, what better way of plowing through some delicious greens than doing that than another gigantic vegetable-noodle bowl?

Tamari Marinated Tofu

(from More.ca)

Ingredients

1 block tofu, cut horizontally into 8 pieces, each piece then cut diagonally into triangles.
3/4 cup tamari
½ cup apple cider vinegar (I love the Eden organics brand)
¼ cup water
1½ tsp canola oil

Directions

1. Mix together all liquid ingredients in a non-reactive container (I used a glass container with a lid), then layer in the tofu. Cover and refridgerate for at least 1 hour and up to 5 days. Obviously, the longer you let it sit, the more marinade the tofu will absorb.

2. Grill tofu for 1-2 minutes per side.

Easy as pie... erm... tofu.

I like this served with soba noodles that have been tossed with the Cilantro-Cashew-Coconut pesto, topped with steamed broccoli, rainbow chard, bok choi and bean sprouts. A tablespoon each of cashews and toasted pumpkin seeds pumps up the crunch.

Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli with Sesame Tossed Soba

The other night, my husband and I ate dinner at Fresh, a tasty vegetarian restaurant here in Toronto. The one at Spadina and Bloor is always packed, but turnover is fairly quick, and most of us in the waiting area weren't kept longer than 10 minutes. Truthfully, the last time I was there was more than two years ago, when I was in teacher's college.

My favourite things there? The fantastic smoothies (I'm such a sucker for smoothies), and the noodle bowls. I had the Green Goddess last night which consisted of a mountain of steamed bok choi, kale and broccoli on top of tahini dressed soba with barbecued tempeh. It's gorgeous.

Plus, last time, we're pretty sure we ate dinner beside Trish Stratus, of WWE wrestling fame (and a yoga studio).

So for dinner tonight, I decided to riff off of the Fresh dish.

invisible: soba noodles beneath the toppings

Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli with Sesame Toasted Soba


Ingredients

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
3 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1½ tsp sriracha
1 tsp sesame oil
1" piece ginger, peeled and minced
zest of one lemon
6 oz soba noodles
your favourite sesame dressing*
pickled ginger to top


* this is my favourite sesame dressing: Kewpie Deep Roasted Sesame

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425º. In a large pot of boiling water, cook broccoli for 1 minute, or until bright green. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.

2. In a large bowl, mix together dressing ingredients (vinegar through zest). Add two tablespoons sauce to broccoli, stir in shrimp and toss to coat. Dump mixture on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 8 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked and broccoli is slightly browned. Place cooked shrimp and broccoli into the dressing mixture and toss with red pepper.

3. While broccoli and shrimp are cooking, bring another pot of water to boil and cook the soba noodles for 6-8 minutes, or until cooked. Drain and rinse under cold water. Toss with sesame dressing and place soba in bowls. Top with broccoli, shrimp and pepper. Garnish with pickled ginger.

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake with Pesto

Once the choice pieces of a roast are used up in salads or sandwiches, what's left often doesn't amount to much. The casserole has long been the go-to for the budget cook who has limited key ingredients and needs to stretch them as far as possible.

Heck, it's the go to for many who aren't budget cooks because they're easy and comforting. Really, it's a win-win situation for all parties concerned.

What I struggle with when I look for casserole recipes is the number that call for processed ingredients. I'll be honest, we don't keep cans of soup in our cupboards. So, I'm often left not having those ingredients that are deemed staples.

Thankfully, I remembered this recipe from Cooking Light from about a decade ago that had a homemade cheese sauce base! With the exception of the pesto I threw in, there's no processed ingredients here!

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake with Pesto

(inspired by an old recipe from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1 head broccoli florets, cut into bite size pieces
3 cups (give or take) cubed roasted chicken
4 cups cooked pasta (about 8 oz uncooked)
½ yellow or red pepper, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
¼ cup pesto, plus additional for serving
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Spray an 8"x8" casserole dish with cooking spray.

2. Steam broccoli florets briefly (4 minutes or so), or until vibrant green. Toss with chicken, pasta, pepper and basil.

3. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté shallots and garlic for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Sprinkle flour over top and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Grab a whisk, and begin to pour the milk in slooooowly, whisking constantly. Doing this will prevent lumps. Once all milk is incorporated, cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove pan from heat and stir in cheese and pesto. Let melt and then pour mixture over pasta-broccoli-chicken mixture. Toss to coat and place in casserole dish.

4. Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with an additional dollop of pesto.

Nostalgia and Cooking

I think I've mentioned this before... but when I was a kid, I was one of those awful children who refused to eat vegetables.

I would tolerate the following: cooked broccoli and carrots. Occasionally cooked cauliflower.

This is probably one of the reasons my Mum was so fond of the recipe I'm about to post today. It originally comes from the 1995 Milk Calendar, which, incidentally, includes another of my favourite childhood recipes: a smoothie consisting entirely of milk, ice and orange juice concentrate.

Ah, the '90s. It even looks like a '90s style casserole, doesn't it?

Whatever, it was still delicious, though next time I'm going to pep it up with some more garlic and whole tomatoes.

This meal was capped off by my watching PBS show the Les Misèrables's 25th Anniversary Special. Les Mis could have been the soundtrack to '93/'94. I caught myself having flashbacks to my bad 15 year old self.

Alright. I was nerdy and bookish and not at all bad. At least not in the causing trouble outside the house sense.

My parents and brother probably have a different opinion about this.

Tortellini Casserole

(adapted from Milk Calendar 1995)

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup puréed tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp each dried thyme, basil and oregano
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
350g - 1 lb (500g) tortellini (meat or cheese)
1 bunch broccoli, trimmed and cut into chunks
1½ cups  grated marble cheese
½ cup  grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Have I ever shown you how I write directions down for myself?

Not particularly useful for those of you who live outside my head!

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. Over medium heat, melt butter in large, oven proof pot (this will save you dirtying a casserole dish). Sauté onion until translucent, then add in garlic. Sauté 1 minute, or until fragrant. Do NOT let the butter brown. Stir in flour and let cook for 3 minutes, until well incorporated with fat.

3. Whisk in milk slowly, until you have a paste. Continuing whisking and add strained tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, basil, salt and pepper.

4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. If using fresh tortellini, pour into pot, cook for one minute and then add broccoli. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until broccoli is bright green and tender crisp. Drain tortellini and broccoli and toss with sauce.

5. Stir marble cheese into sauce. Sprinkle Parmesan over top.

6. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and golden. Serve hot with a green salad and garlic bread.

Feel free to jazz up this recipe with whatever pleases you most - sundried tomatoes would be an excellent touch, I think. It's much better suited to kids' palates than adults!