Thai Purple Pasta

Ever since I stumbled upon black bean noodles, I've been absolutely dying to try them. It's like my life wish, these noodles. Is this normal? Anyways, I finally found some at a health food store in Anchorage along with Beyond Meat (OMG!). I knew exactly what I wanted to make with the both of them. 

When I opened up the noodle package, examining it, I realized they were not in fact my irrationally sought after black bean noodles but instead black rice noodles....whoops. I'm almost ashamed to admit how devastated I was, but alas they turned out to be fantastic.

On purpose, I normally don't buy gluten-free things, so I was surprised to discover that they had a wonderful texture. If you have celiac disease, are gluten-sensitive, or just avoiding the stuff for some reason you give these noodles a try. I think you'll enjoy them. 

“Animals never worry about heaven or hell. Neither do I. Maybe that’s why we get along. ”

— Charles Bukowski

I joined Full Circle a couple weeks ago and received my first box this week. In it was absolutely the most adorable tiny purple pepper, which you'll see in my next post. There was a lot of gorgeous stone fruit, some sturdy kale, and silky chard too (that guy's in the next post as well!) I ordered two bunches of beets because I must have them in excess and a little head of purple cabbage. 

Half of that little purple cabbage, you'll see found it's way into our purple pasta today. Good thing the noodles were already purple I guess! Feel free to use soba noodles in this recipe, I think they'd work beautifully. Black rice noodles probably aren't lingering around your local grocery store, so don't feel bad.

My cilantro has been showing off these sweet and delicate little white flowers now that the autumn leaves are falling and the mornings are windy and chilly. I'll be sad without my little herb garden in the coming month.

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Thai Purple Pasta

by Katie @ Produce on Parade September-12-2014

A beautiful purple pasta with sauteed purple cabbage and plant-based meat, laden in a sweet, Thai sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ small purple cabbage head, chopped
• 12 oz. plant-based meat strips (I used grilled “chicken” strips), thawed and halved
• 9 oz. black rice noodles (soba work too!), dry
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
• -- Sauce --
• 2/3 cup water
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. vegan sugar
• 1/2Tbsp. sweet chili sauce
• dash of crushed red pepper
• dash of sesame seeds

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the noodles. Once boiling, parboil the noodles according to package but deduct a few minutes. You want the noodles to be a super al dente. Mine only needed three minutes, so place them in the water when prompted below. In a large rimmed frying pan, heat the oil over medium low. Add the garlic and sauté for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add the cabbage and meat strips. Increase the heat to medium and cook for about 8 minutes, until the cabbage becomes wilted and tender and the strips are heated thoroughly.Meanwhile whisk together the sauce ingredients, ensuring that the sugar has mostly dissolved. Place the noodles in the boiling water to cook. Drain when super al dente and add to the frying pan. Next, add in the sauce and stir well to coat. Turn the heat to medium-low for a few minutes, until the noodles have soaked up most of the sauce. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Serve hot and topped with sesame seeds and additional cilantro.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 25 mins Yield: 5

German Word of The Day

Purple --> Violett (vee-o-let)

Good Deed of The Day

Don't take my word for how great being vegan is. Check out Bustle's, The 7 Best Health Perks of A Vegan Lifestyle.

Asian Glass Noodles with Tofu & Wild Greens

“Introversion - along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness - is now a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology.”

— Susain Cain from her book, "Quiet - The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking"

Have you read the book above? It's really a very interesting exploration into introversion. As a profound introvert myself, I am learning quite a bit. It'd be impressive what an extrovert could learn from reading the book! Take my word for it and get it. Tell me what you think. Acquiring a more complete understanding of the ones you love and just everyday people in general (especially the wallflowers that often can be difficult to get to know and understand) is always a good thing. In fact, I recommended the book to my supervisor at work!

However, I haven't had much time to read lately. Nor cook, sleep, snuggle, or just in general kick back. I seem to need an uncustomary amount of the stuff. You know, just be alone. I'll decidedly lose my shit if I don't get to be by myself for just a little while within the next few days. It's been a full month of non-stopness (it's a word) and it's got to stop. Someone please put me in solitary confinement, or at least a timeout. Take me to my doctor's office so I can sit alone for two hours in that cold, tiny room while waiting for her to come in, you know what I'm talking about. Anything! I'll do anything! My battery is almost dead!

When life swings into full gear with intense social activities, triple-threat car problems, serious work changes, jury duty, and just general life quandaries...I tend to retreat into my shell of calm. Irish exits (minus any drunk insinuations) become my norm and in an effort to quiet my life, I quiet myself instead, and become almost mute. This can be misinterpreted as "grumpy" and/or "moody", so I do try to rein it in a bit. I couldn't actually be mute in real life. That probably wouldn't go over very well. Does anyone else have these problems?

Yesterday was the beautiful rehearsal dinner for my best friend's wedding. Todd and I had to eat before we dashed over there #lifeasavegan, so while he was commuting home I whipped up this scrumptious glass noodle dish and took advantage of some chickweed before the frost comes!

That, my friends, is chickweed. Which I adore with all my little heart. The flavor is devilishly earthy and green, and eating it makes me feel like a real wild woman!

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Asian Glass Noodles with Tofu & Wild Greens

by Katie @ Produce on Parade August-1-2014

This quick asian dish is infused with ginger, garlic, lime, and sweet chili. Studded with browned tofu, kale and wild greens are strewn throughout the chewy, flavorful glass noodles.

Ingredients

• 6 oz. dry glass noodles (mung bean thread noodles)
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 10 oz. extra firm tofu, pressed and diced
• 2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 2 Tbsp. sweet chili sauce
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 1 Tbsp. minced ginger
• 1 lime, juiced (scant ¼ cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Dash of crushed red pepper
• ½ bunch of kale, de-stemmed and torn
• 1 large handful of wild greens, washed well and chopped (chickpea, arugula, purslane, lamb’s quarters, spinach, etc.)
• 2 splashes of soy sauce
• sprinkling of sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Bring about 6 cups of water to boil for the glass noodles. Place the dried noodles in a large bowl and cover with the boiling water. Allow to rest about 10 minutes, then drain the noodles and set aside.Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil over medium in a large frying pan. Add the diced tofu and sauté about 8 minutes, until browned.In a small bowl, whisk together the hoisin sauce through and including the crushed red pepper. Set aside.Now, add the torn kale to the tofu. Throw in a splash of soy sauce and cover. Cook for about 3 minutes, until the kale has wilted. Transfer the kale and tofu mixture to a large serving dish.Add the wild greens to the now empty frying pan along with a splash of soy sauce and sauté for one to two minutes, until wilted. Add to the tofu mixture.Pour the sauce into the frying pan and bring to a slight boil, then remove from heat.Mix the glass noodles into the tofu and greens mixture along with the sauce. Toss with tongs to combine.Serve hot with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 20 mins Yield: 6

German Word of The Day

Overwhelmed --> überfordert (uber-four-dort)

Good Deed of The Day

Read this article on 30 Things You To Stop Doing To Yourself from Lifebuzz. 

Teriyaki Mint Soba Noodles

“My body will not be a tomb for other creatures.”

— Leonardo da Vinci

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Soon, Todd and I will be departing to the states for a wedding. This translates to a mishmash of catch-all dishes forged together with the idea of using up any food items that could potentially fall victim to neglect and rot while we're gone. I'm also on a self-inflicted store embargo, per pre-departure protocol. The days spent before a trip are always woeful, due to my particular affection for the grocery store...and food in general.

Instead of just roasting random, forgotten, lurking vegetables to make Buddha bowls, I decided to make a proper dish. There were two specific food items in our fridge that had been...somewhat forsaken. Tofu and broccoli. It's funny, I always have these two guys on hand (I like to sort of stash them away), because I use them so often that I know I'll need them for a recipe eventually. 

Alas, from time to time this can equate to limpy wimpy carrots, yellowing broccoli, and seriously questionable, rather funky-smelling tofu. Luckily, I got to them before that. Well, not the tofu. The tofu was kind of past it's prime, but I used it anyway. And the carrots had seen better days.

Hey, I'm not sick so there's that! Waste not want not, is what my Grandma always says. But honestly, don't be like me. Use legit, happy carrots, broccoli, and tofu. 

I also have an epic bounty of herbs right now. Our Alaskan summer thus far has been alternating blisteringly hot weather, with a hearty dousing of rain. My plants are loooving it. Oh yea, and take a gander at that strawberry. I've been pining to eat that little bastard for a month! Note to self: Buy more than one strawberry plant next spring. I might get four strawberries, if I'm lucky.

This is an especially fitting dish to introduce to picky vegetable haters, tofu skeptics, and boring, bland food conformers. An Asian teriyaki sauce coats sauteed broccoli and carrots, baked tofu, and soba noodles. Garden-fresh mint lends green, vibrant, earthy notes. This is an easy noodle dish that will impress and satisfy...and maybe even rescue some insipid veggies (or tofu) from your fridge!

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Teriyaki Mint Soba Noodles

by Katie @ Produce on Parade July-8-2014

Asian teriyaki sauce coats sauteed broccoli and carrots, baked tofu, and soba noodles. Garden-fresh mint lends green, vibrant, earthy notes. This is an easy dish that will impress and satisfy.

Ingredients

• 2 small broccoli heads, chopped florets only
• 7 medium carrots, julienned
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 20 oz. extra firm tofu, diced
• 1/4 cup liquid amino acids or soy sauce
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. finger ginger, minced
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 1 Tbsp. corn starch
• dash crushed red pepper
• 6-9 oz soba noodles, dry
• handful fresh mint, chopped
• sprinkling sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Chop the broccoli and carrots.Heat the sesame oil in a large rimmed saucepan over medium-low. Add the broccoli and carrots. Saute about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, pat the tofu dry and dice. Scatter evenly on a baking sheet and roast at 400 F for 30 minutes. Whisk together the remaining ingredients except for the mint and sesame seeds. Pour over the vegetables and continue to saute for about 5 minutes. Then cover, reduce to low and cook for about 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender. Remove from heat. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the noodles. Add the soba noodles and boil for 4 minutes. Then strain and stir into the vegetables. When the tofu is done, stir into the vegetables along with the fresh mint. Serve hot, topped with additional fresh mint and sesame seeds.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 6

German Word of The Day

Mint --> Minze (mins-eh)

Good Deed of The Day

From The Simpsons

Did you read this New York Times article about the depression and anxiety of zoo animals? "Scientists often say that we don't know what animals feel because they can't speak to us...But the thing is, they are reporting their inner states. We're just not listening."

 I've always hated zoos. Please don't support zoos.