recipes for a sick day
Aug. 18th, 2012 01:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rushthatspeaksI have a terrible cold. I have had it for way too long. And we have a Sassafrass concert tomorrow, at which I devoutly hope I will be in good voice. (The concert is at Pi-Con, in Enfield, CT, 7:00 pm; Norse stuff and some old favorites; come if you've a mind to.)
So tonight I wanted to cook something that would go down easy and be light on the throat.
Sweet and Sour Tofu with Tomato
1 lb. multi-use tofu (i.e. middling firm)
1 tablespoon salt
2 very ripe tomatoes
1 green onion, white and green parts, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
a thumb of ginger, chopped fine
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon tamari
1/4 cup redcurrant simple syrup (this is easy to have around if you have dried redcurrants-- soak them in hot water for half an hour, strain, reserve currants for another use, boil water with equal volume of sugar and let cool; makes good lemonade, can be brushed on cake, drink mixer, sweet-sour addition to sauces; keeps forever; probably just as good with dried cranberries)
1 teaspoon fermented black bean paste or oyster sauce (strong umami is the goal here)
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
Set about 4 cups of water to boil. Dice the tofu into 1/4-inch blocks and put it in a heatproof bowl. Dissolve the salt into the boiling water (not beforehand-- you want the higher boiling point of unsalted water). Pour the water over the tofu to cover and let it sit for fifteen minutes while you start the sauce. This will improve the texture of the tofu and salt it slightly.
Dice the tomatoes fine (you can skin them if you feel like it, you have hot water right there, but I actually like tomato skins). Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat and then mix in the sesame oil. Fry garlic, ginger, and green onion until the garlic is golden and the onion is soft.
Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to break up. Add the simple syrup, tamari, and bean paste, stirring till combined. Raise heat and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer, breaking up the tomatoes further.
Drain the tofu in a strainer and blot it with paper towels. Spread in a single layer on an aluminum-foil-covered baking sheet and put under the broiler for six minutes.
The sauce should have reduced by about half. Blend in the cornstarch/water mixture and let it thicken. The texture I was aiming for would not quite nap a spoon but wasn't watery.
Blend sauce and tofu gently together in bowls and serve hot.
This is more complex and savory then regular restaurant sweet-and-sour objects and texturally hits the sweet spot between solid dish and soup; if you've done it right the tofu won't break up but will be tender and silken, pleasant if you're not swallowing well. The same sauce would probably go nicely over crispy fried tofu, when it would be another dish altogether. Also, this was a pretty fast weeknight meal for two sick people.
Since I've now done the following thing twice and modified it in the same way each time:
Not Quite Julia Child's Clafouti
1 1/4 cups milk (I use 1 cup 1% and 1/4 cup whole)
1/3 cup white sugar
3 eggs
vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
3 cups pitted and diced stone fruit (I have done cherry and peach and would like to try plum)
about 1/4 cup brown sugar
strong honey
cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Put milk, white sugar, eggs, salt, flour, and vanilla into a blender or food processor and blend thoroughly but not long enough to inflate the eggs. How much vanilla? Usually with vanilla I put in a good splash and then double it. Break up any lumps of flour.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round baking dish.
Pour a quarter-inch layer of batter into the bottom of the baking dish and put it in the oven. You want it to firm up a bit but not set. If your oven is anything like mine start checking it at about three minutes, and note that you may need to rotate the dish to get an even layer if your oven slopes in any direction.
Take the pan out but leave the oven on. Add the fruit to the pan in an even layer, and drizzle with a light latticework of honey. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar and then shake on cinnamon to taste. Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake 45-60 minutes or until a tester comes out either clean or smudged only with fruit juice. Serve hot, cold, or chilled.
The Divine Julia wanted twice the quantity of white sugar, no cinnamon or honey, and thinks you need only a teaspoon of vanilla. Bah.
You can comment here or at the Dreamwidth crosspost. There are
comments over there.
So tonight I wanted to cook something that would go down easy and be light on the throat.
Sweet and Sour Tofu with Tomato
1 lb. multi-use tofu (i.e. middling firm)
1 tablespoon salt
2 very ripe tomatoes
1 green onion, white and green parts, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
a thumb of ginger, chopped fine
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon tamari
1/4 cup redcurrant simple syrup (this is easy to have around if you have dried redcurrants-- soak them in hot water for half an hour, strain, reserve currants for another use, boil water with equal volume of sugar and let cool; makes good lemonade, can be brushed on cake, drink mixer, sweet-sour addition to sauces; keeps forever; probably just as good with dried cranberries)
1 teaspoon fermented black bean paste or oyster sauce (strong umami is the goal here)
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
Set about 4 cups of water to boil. Dice the tofu into 1/4-inch blocks and put it in a heatproof bowl. Dissolve the salt into the boiling water (not beforehand-- you want the higher boiling point of unsalted water). Pour the water over the tofu to cover and let it sit for fifteen minutes while you start the sauce. This will improve the texture of the tofu and salt it slightly.
Dice the tomatoes fine (you can skin them if you feel like it, you have hot water right there, but I actually like tomato skins). Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat and then mix in the sesame oil. Fry garlic, ginger, and green onion until the garlic is golden and the onion is soft.
Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to break up. Add the simple syrup, tamari, and bean paste, stirring till combined. Raise heat and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer, breaking up the tomatoes further.
Drain the tofu in a strainer and blot it with paper towels. Spread in a single layer on an aluminum-foil-covered baking sheet and put under the broiler for six minutes.
The sauce should have reduced by about half. Blend in the cornstarch/water mixture and let it thicken. The texture I was aiming for would not quite nap a spoon but wasn't watery.
Blend sauce and tofu gently together in bowls and serve hot.
This is more complex and savory then regular restaurant sweet-and-sour objects and texturally hits the sweet spot between solid dish and soup; if you've done it right the tofu won't break up but will be tender and silken, pleasant if you're not swallowing well. The same sauce would probably go nicely over crispy fried tofu, when it would be another dish altogether. Also, this was a pretty fast weeknight meal for two sick people.
Since I've now done the following thing twice and modified it in the same way each time:
Not Quite Julia Child's Clafouti
1 1/4 cups milk (I use 1 cup 1% and 1/4 cup whole)
1/3 cup white sugar
3 eggs
vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
3 cups pitted and diced stone fruit (I have done cherry and peach and would like to try plum)
about 1/4 cup brown sugar
strong honey
cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Put milk, white sugar, eggs, salt, flour, and vanilla into a blender or food processor and blend thoroughly but not long enough to inflate the eggs. How much vanilla? Usually with vanilla I put in a good splash and then double it. Break up any lumps of flour.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round baking dish.
Pour a quarter-inch layer of batter into the bottom of the baking dish and put it in the oven. You want it to firm up a bit but not set. If your oven is anything like mine start checking it at about three minutes, and note that you may need to rotate the dish to get an even layer if your oven slopes in any direction.
Take the pan out but leave the oven on. Add the fruit to the pan in an even layer, and drizzle with a light latticework of honey. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar and then shake on cinnamon to taste. Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake 45-60 minutes or until a tester comes out either clean or smudged only with fruit juice. Serve hot, cold, or chilled.
The Divine Julia wanted twice the quantity of white sugar, no cinnamon or honey, and thinks you need only a teaspoon of vanilla. Bah.
You can comment here or at the Dreamwidth crosspost. There are
