Garlic Soba Noodles

If every vegetarian recipe I made tasted this good, I would honestly consider forsaking meat. Quite possibly one of the best noodle recipes I have ever prepared. Astonishingly tasty. However, it is kind of a pain to make. Prepare it when you have higher amounts of energy.

Ingredients (101 Cookbooks, 2008)

8 ounces dried soba noodle
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan freshly grated
big pinch of salt
12 ounces extra firm organic tofu, cut into 6 rectangular slabs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
a generous splash of olive oil
1 bunch green onions, greens trimmed, thinly sliced
4 big handfuls of chard, spinach or kale - destemmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
a few baby radishes, sliced paper thin

Boil a large pot of water and cook soba noodles per packet instructions or until just tender. Salt the water generously. Drain and set aside.

While the water is coming to a boil, get the tofu started by combining the bread crumbs, Parmesan and salt in a shallow plate. Dunk each piece of tofu in the egg and then press into the bread crumbs. Make sure each piece is nicely coated with crumbs. Place each piece on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pieces. Bake in a 375 degree oven or pan-fry in a skillet in a bit of olive oil until both sides are golden, flipping once along the way. Slice into strips and set aside.

Add the olive oil (and bit of salt) to a large skillet over med-high heat. Stir in the green onions, chard, and cook for a minute until the chard collapses. Stir in the soba noodles. Stir in the garlic powder and Parmesan. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with sliced radishes. Serve family-style or on individual plates - each nest of noodles topped with some of the tofu slices. Serves 4-6.

Asparagus Risotto

Have some asparagus lying at the bottom of your fridge? Set it free. You will thank me after you make sweet, sweet love to your spoonula.

Ingredients (Simply Recipes, 2008)

1 pound asparagus
3 Tbsp plus 1 teaspoon butter
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (or 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/4 cup water)
About 3 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian option), can substitute some of the asparagus cooking water for stock
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Prepare the asparagus by breaking off discarding the tough ends (about the last inch of the spear). Cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces (tips longer, base shorter). If your asparagus are especially large, cut into even smaller (bite-size) pieces. Bring a saucepan with a quart of water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus pieces for 2 minutes. At the end of two minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the asparagus pieces to an ice water bath to shock the asparagus into a vibrant green color and to stop the cooking. Drain from the ice water bath and set aside. In a 3 or 4 quart saucepan, heat 3 Tbsp butter on medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring until nicely coated. While the shallots are cooking, bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Add the wine. Slowly stir, allowing the rice to absorb the wine. Once the wine is almost completely absorbed, add 1/2 cup of stock to the rice. Continue to stir until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, adding more stock in 1/2 cup increments. Stir often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Gently stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining 1 teaspoon butter, and the asparagus. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Ham and Potato Soup

Zip it. I don't wanna hear your lip. I realize that 1) I haven't posted in like a kajillion months and 2) this is a winter recipe. I don't care. The photos have been on my camera and I'm gonna post them. Get over it.

This is a two recipe entry as my Ham and Potato Soup is first prepared with a homemade ham stock. After making my first homemade stock a few years ago, I no longer throw away any carcass. It is too easy to make a soup stock. The input of effort is drastically disproportionate to the output in taste. (Did that make any sense?)

Ham Stock (Gourmet, 2004)

2 1/2 lb meaty smoked ham shanks or ham hocks
2 qt cold water
1 large onion, chopped (2 cups)
2 carrots, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled
3 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

Combine ham shanks and cold water in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot and bring to a boil, skimming any foam. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, partially covered, until shanks are tender, about 2 hours. Pour stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large metal bowl, reserving shanks and discarding remaining solids.

Discard skin and bones from shanks. Trim and coarsely shred meat, then return to stock.

Ham and Potato Soup

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 ham stock
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and stock in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Season wit salt and pepper. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.