MONDAY RECIPE POST - THAI PEANUT RAMEN NOODLE SOUP

This is one of those recipes I don't remember where I got it originally.  It has been stored away in my folders for a long time and we finally made it on Thursday, February 9th, 2023. We enjoy Thai food very much and we were long overdue since the last time we made this type of recipe.  

The one thing I shouldn't have done, was bite down on the Thai Chili Pepper (at times I really should ignore my curiosity).  I have eaten Jalapenos without a problem and enjoyed them, but this smaller pepper was new to me and the hottest I have ever had.  I don't mind a little heat but found myself reaching for anything that would cool my mouth down.  So, my advice is enjoy the peppers but if you are not used to eating them, take them out before you serve up.  The soup itself is not too spicy hot and delicious!

Spicy Thai Ramen Noodle Soup

2 teaspoon avocado oil or olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

1 cup grated carrot

1 or 2 teaspoon green curry paste

4 cups vegetable broth

1 can (13 oz to 14 oz) full fat coconut milk

½ cup creamy peanut butter, brought to room temperature

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Agave syrup - *see note on Agave below recipe

Juice of 2 limes 

plus

1 extra sectioned lime (for squeezing juice over finished soup at the table.)

1 packet Udon noodles

Shrimp (optional) already cooked - **see note below.  Use as many as each of you think you would eat

Sliced white onions, sautéed earlier for a few minutes in a frying pan.

Tofu would be a nice addition also.

Any favorite protein can be added.

We chose the following to put on the top of our soup:

Gregg sautéed the shrimp in a frying pan for a few minutes, only long enough to heat through, along with a few sliced onions.

Thai basil (we bought ours at a local Asian Supermarket not too far from us. We have a hard time getting Thai basil at our local supermarket.  If I couldn’t find Thai basil, I would be happy to substitute cilantro which we have often done).

Chopped Peanuts

Green onions, thinly sliced

Grated carrots

Lime sections

Or

Your own favorite toppings

On medium high heat add the avocado oil until hot.

Add prepared garlic and ginger, sauté for 1 or 2 minutes, reducing heat so as not to let the garlic burn.

Add curry paste mixing into the garlic and ginger, also the Thai chili, and sauté for another minute.

Add the vegetable broth and coconut milk.  Stir to combine thoroughly.  Reduce heat to a simmer.

Stir in peanut butter until thoroughly combined.  A whisk helps.  

Stir in the soy sauce, agave and lime juice.

Simmer on low for 5 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings; more soy if needed, more agave if needed, more lime juice if needed (we didn’t feel the need to add extras but everyone’s taste is different).

For the last few minutes of cooking add the grated carrots.

Before serving, add the noodles (we used Udon that we cooked to package directions just before putting into the soup.  This was done in a separate pot but you can add yours to the broth and just follow what the directions say on your noodle package.

Also add the cooked shrimp to heat through.  Won’t take long.

Serve immediately.  

I put small dishes on the table, one with sautéed sliced onions, another with the sliced green onions, chopped peanuts and sectioned limes.  I thought the lime added a lot to this soup, both in the cooking process and for squeezing the sections onto the soup at the table.

I gave our meal a 10 out of 10 and Gregg a 9 out of 10, which is still excellent.  However, he thought it was a bit bland, I did not because there are times when I prefer it this way, and I am not saying I found it entirely bland.  

* There is an interesting article on Agave Syrup at this link.  It gives substitutions, one which is Maple Syrup and we have used that before when we didn't have Agave.

** Adding shrimp. You don’t need to add any as it is delicious without.  However, Gregg picked up a small tray already cooked from the refrigerated counter at the supermarket (the kind you eat cold as an appetizer).  We have bought them often, used as many as we thought we could eat in our meal. Later that day we eat the rest using the small container of cocktail sauce for dipping, which is always included.  

You can also of course buy raw shrimp, peel and devein them, and sauté a few minutes until cooked through.  For those who are starting out and have never cooked them before, you can see how at this link.  

At the table I added lots of extra lime juice to my meal.  

Gregg thought he would like to add oyster sauce in the cooking process.  I thought it was fine without.  Gregg is more adventurous than I am, which is great because thanks to him I have had many adventures over the years, not only in travel but in the kitchen.

This is all a bit wordy but I add all these notes for my own benefit for next time.  Hopefully you will find them useful if you decide you would like to try the recipe.  If you have any questions let me know in the comment section.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - VEGAN 13-BEAN SOUP - SERVES 4

Not so long ago I was at a farmer's market and I picked up a 13-bean soup mix.  We wanted a vegetarian meal, and I found this one at Herbivore's Kitchen hosted by Kate.  Her recipe is actually vegan and can be found at this link. I always recommend looking at the original.  All Kate's recipes look delicious, as was this one.  Kate's instructions are for what she used, a Kitchen Aid Multi Cooker, which you can see here at Amazon. I don’t have one of these, but do have a slow-cooker.  However, I used my old tried and true Dutch Oven instead, cooking the recipe the old-fashioned way, on the stovetop.  I brought things to a boil and simmered until everything was cooked through.

Vegan Thirteen Bean Soup - Serves 4

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 yellow onion diced

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp fresh garlic minced

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 stalk celery washed and sliced into 1/4" pieces

2 carrots washed and sliced into 1/4" pieces

1 sweet potato or garnet yam washed and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup dried bean soup mix (our host used Bob’s Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix)

1 14 oz can unsalted diced tomatoes

1 14 oz can full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk

3 cups water + additional water as necessary

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the extra virgin olive oil on low-medium heat until shimmering. 

Add the onions and salt and sauté, covered, for about 10 minutes, until the onions become translucent.  

Continue to cook the onions uncovered on low heat for another 10-15 minutes until they are nicely browned, caramelized.  Stir occasionally.

Add the minced garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes more.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the rosemary, thyme and oregano. 

Sauté until herbs are fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

Add the tomato paste. Sauté, stirring frequently, until paste turns a dark red. About 2-3 minutes.

Add the celery, carrots, diced sweet potato and the 13 bean soup mix. Stir to coat. 

Add diced tomatoes, water and coconut milk.

Bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer by setting the multi-cooker on slow-cook low for 4-5 hours. The soup is done when the beans and potatoes are soft.  

This is where I brought the soup to a boil after preparing everything as directed in a Dutch Oven, and then put on simmer for two to three hours.  I checked at two hours and wasn’t sure if the beans were cooked enough, so I tried it for an extra hour.  You can be the judge on how tender you want both veggies and beans but check every now and again.  I ended up using regular potatoes, the red ones. They were perfectly cooked and not at all mushy.

Check periodically as you may need to add water to the broth. 

Use an immersion blender if you would like a more blended, thicker consistency.  

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The changes I made:

I used a large Dutch Oven instead of the multi-cooker.

I thought I had coconut milk in the pantry but did not.  Instead, I used the same amount of 2% milk.  If you want to keep this recipe vegan, make sure you have the coconut milk in stock.

I substituted white potatoes instead of the sweet potato, and added extra.  Gregg isn’t a sweet potato fan as he finds them too sweet and prefers a more savory taste.  I only mention this just in case you feel the same way.  This soup still came out a 10 out of  10.

I also added extra carrots and celery, plus more broth. It gave us extra servings and we have been enjoying it for a couple of days now.  We will eat the last of it tomorrow.  The flavor of the soup gets better and better.

I will also add another can of diced tomatoes as we both enjoy them.

I was going to emulsify the soup before serving, but it looked so good without, and decided not to.  If there is any one in the family not too keen on beans or certain veggies, emulsifying makes good sense.

Next time I will soak the beans overnight to reduce the cooking time.  I usually do but often recipes are decided on impulse and I use what I have.

The next day I made cornbread.  Crusty rolls would also be great  

For a bit of fun, below you can see the biggest potato my dear other half brought home as a joke.  I gave the right reaction. I think a “Good grief!” was in there somewhere.   He also said the cashier showed surprise. My mother used to buy these huge potatoes from our local greengrocer.  It’s been years since I saw their like.  This one was as big as my foot and I turned it into a still life of sorts, along with my grumpy bear mug and the unopened packet of 13-bean soup mix. Grumpy Bear was not amused as I did not put this potato into our bean soup.  It will be used shortly in another meal.  Anyone have any favorite recipes using potatoes? 

MONDAY RECIPE POST - VEGAN CAULIFLOWER SOUP

I wanted to do a vegan meal this week and we had a cauliflower in the fridge.  When looking for a recipe we would both enjoy, I put vegan and cauliflower soup in the subject line - because we always want to make soup.  Several good recipes popped up but this one was the one that spoke to both of us that day.  I found it at Loving It Vegan hosted by Alison.  Thank you Alison!  

She has a lot of good tips about this dish, which are a big help when making it, and I always enjoy the professional looking photos of the meals.  Her recipes looked very yummy, enough to interest the vegan obviously but also the non-vegan.  For us we are interested in putting more meatless meals into our weekly menu, and this one was a definite winner.

Vegan Cauliflower Soup - serves 4 to 6

This recipe comes together fast, and tastes very creamy.  

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme 

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 large head cauliflower, chopped

2 cups (480ml) vegetable stock

1 14oz (400ml) can Coconut Milk

Salt and Pepper, to taste 

Add the olive oil, onion, crushed garlic, thyme and rosemary to your soup pot.  Sauté until the onions are softened.

Add the cauliflower and combine thoroughly. Then add the vegetable stock and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, cover the pot and simmer until the cauliflower is softened.

Take off the heat, and carefully use your immersion blender until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can pour soup into your blender in stages and blend until smooth.   

Add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with a sprinkle of ground black pepper and a sprig of fresh thyme. 

One portion has 186 calories, presumably if you are serving six people and not four.

From Alison: 

"Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for three to four days days and can be reheated either on the stovetop or in the microwave as needed. 

This soup is also freezer friendly, just allow it to cool completely before freezing. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating and serving."

What did we think of this soup?  Delicious!  

This is a very mild flavored but tasty soup.  You can always add at the table after serving up.  Gregg chose a tablespoon of sour cream, also Siracha and Thai sweet chili paste, which he mixed in. 

Towards the end of the cooking we added a handful of Cilantro roughly chopped.  

We're thinking corn would be a nice addition to this soup, cream-style or regular.  

Another vegetable I like the idea of is sliced mushrooms which I would sauté with the other vegetables at the beginning of this recipe.  You could probably add a lot of your favorites.

When I came to use my immersion blender, which I have had for many years, it chose this time to stop working.  Instead of using the blender, which we have done for other soup recipes, we got a potato masher and mashed the veggies really well.  It made it a more chunkier soup but was still very creamy and delicious.  

We both gave this soup a ten out of ten.  Thanks again Alison!

And thank you all for stopping by.  I hope your week is a great one.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - VEGAN LEMON SPAGHETTI WITH SPINACH

My daughter-in-law sent me this recipe.  So glad she did and I want to thank her yet again.  She is wonderful in many ways, and on top of everything else is an excellent chef.   

Gregg and I gave this recipe a ten-out-of-ten.  It comes from Vegan ❤️ Vegan hosted by Sina, and can be found here.  I would also like to thank Sina for such a delicious recipe.  I can highly recommend a visit to her blog to see other equally delicious recipes.



Lemon Spaghetti with Spinach 
2 servings
497 calories per serving

Lemon spaghetti with spinach is the perfect recipe for busy weeknights.  It is a one pot meal, super delicious, comforting, and 100 % vegan!

Course: Entrée

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: lemon spaghetti

Prep Time:5 mins

Cook Time:15 mins

Total Time:20 mins

Servings:  people

Calories: 497kcal

Author: Sina

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup canned coconut milk (full fat)

9 oz spaghetti

3 cups fresh spinach

lemon juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon lemon zest

salt

pepper

red pepper flakes

Instructions

In a large pot, heat some oil and sauté the onion for 3 minutes until it becomes translucent. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the uncooked spaghetti, the vegetable broth, the coconut milk, and the lemon juice. Stir a couple of times and gently push the spaghetti in the liquid when they're soft enough (this might take a couple of minutes. Try not to break them when they're still too hard). Cook for 15-18 minutes.

When the spaghetti is al dente, stir in the spinach and the lemon zest. Cook for an additional 2 minutes and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Enjoy!

Sina's Notes:

"I usually cook my one pot lemon spaghetti on medium heat. Just make sure that the spaghetti are not sticking to the bottom once in a while. If this is the case, turn down the heat a bit. 

Don't be surprised that the cooking time is a bit longer than usual (15-18 minutes). The spaghetti won't be over-cooked at all. They just need more time as they don't have as much liquid as they would when you cook them in water. However, they will have a much deeper flavor this way!

It will take some time until all of the spaghetti are covered with liquid. Don't worry that's normal! Stir a couple of times and gently push the spaghetti in the liquid when they're soft enough. This might take a couple of minutes. Try not to break them when they're still too hard. 

I usually use full-fat coconut for my lemon spaghetti to make it extra creamy. However, I had some readers try it with light coconut milk and they said it still turned out very creamy."

You can find all the nutritional values underneath Sina's recipe.

Denise's notes:

Absolutely delicious, full of flavor.  This is the first time I have not cooked spaghetti in a separate pot.  The spaghetti absorbs all the flavors and made it extra special.

A meal with two servings but we found it more than enough and have set aside leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.  Might add a salad.

This is a vegan recipe but we garnished with a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese.  If you want it entirely vegan you will leave that off .

Gregg decided to add the whole can of coconut milk, and it worked out well, very yummy.  Of course the calories change and you'll have to factor that in if you are counting.

I added extra fresh spinach leaves on top, just because I'm always trying to pretty it up, and I like raw spinach.

Sliced green onions would have been nice also.

I would have no trouble leaving the Parmesan off next time to go totally vegan.  

This recipe is now added to our favorite recipe folder and can see making this again many times.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your week.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - CRISPY PEANUT TOFU AND CAULIFLOWER 'RICE' STIR-FRY

I have been looking for meatless meals to put into our weekly meal plan.  As we are both Thai food fans, I chose this one.  

We found the meal at Minimalist Baker at this link, hosted by Dana.  I recommend reading her information and advice while making this recipe.  She also has a great food blog with many delicious recipes.  Thank you Dana for adding to our list of favorite meals.

Crispy Peanut Tofu and Cauliflower Rice Stir-Fry

The tofu is baked not fried, served over cauliflower rice with sautéed vegetables.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Serves 2

Freezer: sauce only, nothing else

Ingredients:

Stir-fry:

12 ounces extra firm tofu (organic and non-GMO if possible)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 small head cauliflower

2 cloves garlic (minced - 2 cloves yields 1 tablespoon or 6 g)

Sauce:

1-1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce (tamari for gluten free eaters)
1/4 cup light brown sugar (or honey if not vegan)
1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
2-1/2 tablespoons peanut butter or almond butter (natural, salted)

Optional extras:

Vegetables: baby bok choy, green onion, red pepper, broccoli

Toppings: fresh lime juice, cilantro or Thai basil, sriracha

Instructions:

First step, drain tofu for 1-1/2 hours before you serve up your meal.  The instructions say that if your block of tofu is larger than 12 ounces, trim it down, that you don't need a full pound for this recipe, though truthfully we added the whole 16 ounces.

Roll tofu in a clean, absorbent towel several times, and then place something heavy on top to press.  Our blog host used a pot on top of a cutting board, and occasionally added something to the pot to add more weight.  Do this for about 15 minutes.

Near the end of draining, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (204 C.) and cube tofu.  Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (I used non-stick aluminum foil) and arrange in a single layer.  Bake for 25 minutes to dry/firm the tofu.  Once baked, remove from the oven and let cool.

Prepare sauce by whisking together ingredients until combined.  Taste and adjust flavor if needed.  Our blog host often adds a little more sweetener and peanut butter (we felt it was fine without the extras.)

Add cooled tofu to the sauce and stir to coat.  Marinate for at least 15 minutes to saturate the tofu and infuse the flavor.

In the meantime shred cauliflower into 'rice' by using a large grater or food processor.  You don't want it to be too fine, just somewhere close to the texture of rice.  Set aside.

Mince garlic if you haven't already done so, and prepare any vegetables you want to add to the dish (this is optional).

Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, and if adding any vegetables to your dish, cook them now in a drizzle of sesame oil and a dash of soy sauce.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Cover to keep warm.

Using a slotted spoon, put the tofu into preheated pan.   Drizzle a few spoons of sauce to coat.  Cook, stirring frequently for a few minutes until browned.  It will stick to the pan a bit, but don't worry.  Remove from the pan and set aside.  Cover to keep warm.

Rinse your pan under very hot water and scrape away any residue.  Place back on oven top.  Add a drizzle of sesame oil to the pan, then add garlic and cauliflower rice and stir.  Put cover on to steam the 'rice'.  Cook for about 5-8 minutes until slightly browned and tender, stirring occasionally.  Next add a few spoons of sauce to season and stir.

In two individual plates or bowls, divide equally the cauliflower rice, top with your vegetables and tofu.  Serve with any leftover sauce.  

Leftovers reheat well and will keep covered in the fridge for up to two days.  

This is approximately 524 calories per serving.  

What did we think?  Delicious!  Not much here that we would change.  We enjoyed it just as the recipe said.

There were leftovers for the next day and as often happens, the meal tasted even better.