Sesame Kale Soba

This is another recipe from the Get it Ripe cookbook. It's another one of those recipes that's really fast to make, and cutting up the kale probably takes the longest of anything.  

This was my first time buying and using arame, which luckily is stocked at the grocery store I usually go to.  When I opened the arame bag to get out the 1/4 cup I needed to soak, I got really leery about using it when I caught a whiff of what the insides smelled like...super-fishy.  I figured since I already had the bag I might as well at least try it, and thought maybe the flavors from the rest of the dish would hide the fishy smell.  After soaking it and rinsing it thoroughly, it still smelled fishy, but I mixed it in with the dish anyway.  Turns out, the fishy smell went away & the dish had no trace of fishiness at all!  

Changes I made were that I skipped the dulse powder, I just used my Bragg's Amino Acids for the soy sauce, and I used regular sesame seeds that I had in the cupboard already.

Ingredients
1 large bunch green or black kale (about 8 oz)
1 (8 oz) pkg soba noodles (or spaghetti noodles if unavailable)
3 tbsp tamari or shoyu soy sauce
3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 large clove garlic*, grated or pressed
1/2 tsp dulse powder (optional)
freshly ground black pepper* to taste (a few generous twists)
1/4 cup arame (a dark sea veggie), soaked for 5 minutes until soft, then drained (optional)
3 tbsp unhulled sesame seeds
* you can mix it up a little by using 1 tsp grated fresh ginger in lieu of garlic or replace a touch of wasabi paste for black pepper

Directions
1. Place a large pot of water on high heat to boil.  Meanwhile, wash the kale thoroughly, remove the ends of the stems and discard, then chop kale to preferred size.
2. Add the noodles to boiling water and cook for 4 minutes.
3. Stir in the kale and continue cooking until noodles are al dente, then drain and transfer noodles and kale to a large bowl and set aside.
4. Combine the tamari or shoyu, oil, garlic, dulse, and pepper in a small bowl, mix well, then pour on top of noodles and kale.
5. Toss gently with the arame and sesame seeds, and serve.
Makes 3 servings

Asiago Corn Risotto

I love the sharp taste of the cheeses in this recipe.  Since it does have so much cheese in it, it's been moved to the "only occasionally to be eaten" list in my mind.  It's so yummy though, that when we do make this we double the recipe so we have enough leftovers to have it an extra day or two.  The recipe is so easy to double, and it only takes a little over a half hour to make.  The hardest thing to find for this recipe is the carrot juice.  The last time I made this I bought orange-carrot juice because I couldn't find carrot, plus I could drink the leftover orange-carrot juice on it's own. 

Ingredients
2 cans (15 oz each) vegetable broth
1 cup (8 oz) carrot juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
1 cup arborio or short-grain rice
1 bag (16 oz) frozen corn, thawed and drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or rosemary or 1 tsp dried herbs (I use 1 tsp dried rosemary & crush it up before using)
1/2 cup (2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz) grated Romano cheese
1 tsp chopped chives
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup (4 oz) Asiago cheese shavings (I use shreds) 

Directions
1. In a 2-quart saucepan heat broth and carrot juice until simmering.  In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil until hot; add onion, garlic, and rice.  Cook over medium heat, adding 1 cup simmering broth mixture.  Stir rice constantly; gradually add remaining broth mixture, allowing liquid to be absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes.  
2. Add corn, parsley, and thyme (or rosemary); stir in Parmesan and Romano.  Sprinkle with chives and pepper; top with shavings of Asiago.
Makes 6 servings

Mexican Tofu-Rice Skillet

This is a new recipe that I got out of the Betty Crocker Easy Everyday Vegetarian cookbook I checked out from the library.  There were just a few recipes I was interested in from the book, but this one was an instant winner.  Instead of using tofu (since John isn't a fan of it in most cases) I used tempeh.  What is tempeh?  A new favorite food of ours.  More technically than that, it's fermented, whole soybeans that end up having more of a nutty flavor rather than the nothing flavor of tofu.  Tempeh is also firmer than even the firmest tofu and isn't packed in water.  It's usually right next to wherever the tofu is hiding in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Of course it's full of protein, but it also contain all your essential amino acids, and as a result of the fermentation process it gives you less gas than regular tofu.

Back to the recipe, it also calls for using a box of Spanish rice.  I just use my modified version of Granny's Mexican rice, but when it comes time to add the juice from a can of diced tomatoes I just threw in the whole can of diced tomatoes with green chilies that the Betty Crocker recipe asks for.

Ingredients
1 package (12 oz.) extra-firm tofu packed in water, drained (I used 1 package of tempeh)
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn 
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 package (5.6 oz.) Spanish rice-flavor and pasta blend mix in tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend (4 oz.)
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
1 large tomato, seeded, chopped
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

Directions
1. Place drained tofu between 2 layers of paper towels; press gently to remove as much was as possible.  Cut into 1/2-inch cubes; set aside. If using tempeh, all you need to do is cut it into the 1/2-inch cubes.
2. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, mix corn, diced tomatoes with chilies, contents of rice mix package and water.  Gently stir in tofu (if using tempeh wait until rice is fully cooked before adding).  Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 12 to 14 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender.
3. Remove skillet from heat.  Sprinkle cheese over rice mixture.  Cover; let stand 4 to 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and cheese is melted.  Top with lettuce, chopped tomato, and onions.
Serves 4

Chinese Tofu and Lettuce Soup

This is a quick and simple soup that lets me slip in some tofu, and John doesn't end up too upset about it.  We don't make Chinese food often, but this is a good starter to the meal when we do eat some since we're eating more these days...me because of the little acrobat growing in my belly and John because he's getting too much exercise and lost weight continuously for the first year we moved here.  I think I may have finally figured out the right amount of food at meals thing because he's finally stopped losing weight.  I'm pretty sure though that by Thanksgiving I'll weigh more than he does!

I didn't have any sherry or vermouth on hand when I made this (nor do I ever have them in my cabinet I guess), so I just left it out and it still tasted great.  The recipe recommends using a wok to make this soup, which makes it easier to stir-fry most of the ingredients.  Any non-stick pan will do if you don't have a wok.

Ingredients
2 tbsp groundnut or sunflower oil
7 oz smoked or marinated tofu, cubed
3 scallions, sliced diagonally
2 garlic cloves, cut in thin strips
1 carrot, thinly sliced in rounds
5 cups stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dry sherry or vermouth
1 tsp sugar
4 oz. Oak leaf or Romaine lettuce, shredded
salt and ground black pepper

Directions
1) Heat the oil in a wok, then stir-fry the tofu cubes until browned.  Drain and set aside on paper towels.
2) In the same oil, stir-fry the scallions, garlic and carrot for 2 minutes.  Pour in the stock, soy sauce, sherry or vermouth, and sugar.
3) Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute or so.  Stir in the lettuce until it wilts.  Add the tofu, season to taste and serve the soup immediately.

Greens with Carrots and Feta

I found this recipe through the Whole Foods e-newsletter I get weekly.  I thought the brown rice, greens, and feta were a good combination of flavors in this dish.  The brown rice is what takes the longest to prepare for this...you can prepare and cook the veggies in about the same amount of time it takes to cook the rice.

Ingredients
2 carrots, shredded
2 bunches dark leafy greens (kale, collard greens, or Swiss chard), tough stems removed and thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled
20 oz. package brown rice, prepared according to package directions 

Directions
1) Put carrots, greens, onions, 1/4 cup water, salt, and pepper into a large, deep skillet and toss well.  Cover and cook over medium heat, tossing once or twice, until greens are wilted and tender, 10 to 15 minutes.  Toss with feta cheese and spoon over brown rice.
Serves 4

Zion National Park, Day 2

Our second day visiting Zion we explored the northern area of the park called Kolob Canyons.  The canyon had some hints of resembling Yosemite Valley except the rock was all red instead of grey.  We did another 5 mile long hike, but the elevation gain was a mere 450 feet so it felt like a piece of cake compared to the day before.  It was called the Taylor Creek Trail and followed Taylor Creek the entire way.  We crossed the creek around 60 times (we counted but I can't quite remember what the exact number was) going just one direction!  Luckily the creek wasn't really too full & we were wearing our hiking boots so even if we stepped into the creek a bit while crossing it we didn't get wet feet.

Taylor Creek, near the beginning of the hike.

Inside the cabin

Walking along Taylor Creek

This was supposed to be the end of the hike, a big, natural amphitheater.  A couple we passed right before the end told us to keep following the creek for another 5-10 minutes to see a cool waterfall, so we continued on.  The waterfall was definitely cooler than the amphitheater.  It was a little difficult to photograph though, but here's our attempt at it.

After the hike, we drove to the end of the Kolob Canyons Road to Viewpoint and to walk the short overlook trail.  As we pulled into the parking lot at the Viewpoint there were two buses that pulled into the parking lot right behind us.  Since we just love crowds, we booked it as fast as we could over to the trail and speed walked the trail to get to the end before the crowd caught up with us.  Turns out the crowd was a tour group of seniors, so they weren't catching up with us anytime soon!  It was a lot cooler atop the overlook (and pretty windy) so we didn't spend a lot of time hanging out up there, we snapped a few pictures then headed back to the warm car.  

We got to see actual cowboys herding cows along the road to a new pasture to graze in.

After seeing warm temps in the 80's the day before, our second day was a little cooler and by evening when we were out to dinner we saw snowflakes falling!  And we thought we had wild weather swings in Colorado!  At least the cold held off until we were done with our outdoor adventures.  That 10 hour drive back home on Monday was REALLY long though, and each of us could barely keep our eyes open for our 2 hour driving rotation.  The trip was a nice weekend getaway, and was the last park we were able to visit with our one year National Park pass.

Zion National Park, Day 1

So I completely forgot to write anything on here about our little road trip out to Zion National Park in May!  I guess I was so tired when we got back & had to go right back to work the next day it totally slipped my mind. 

Day 1 we had my favorite weather, warm temps in the 80s and lots of sun.  We headed right over to the Angel's Landing trail before it got too crowded later in the day.  Turns out there were already plenty of people on this trail, but since we were already in decent shape and used to being at high altitude we passed everybody we saw & didn't get passed by anyone, so we could space our way out from those huffing & puffing their way up.  I was feeling pretty good about how in shape I was getting up & down the trail since it was 5.4 miles round trip and nearly a 1,500 ft elevation gain, I guess we did a good job of keeping up with hiking on a regular basis over the winter & spring.  The "scariest" part of the trail was near the top when you're hiking on the side of the rock and just have some chains that are bolted into the rock to hold onto and keep you from falling back to the valley below.  I can get freaked out by heights sometimes, but for some reason this trail didn't scare me at all.  

Looking back at part of the way we've trekked up.

View from the top of Angel's Landing back into the valley of Zion.

 Some of the chains installed to hopefully keep you from falling 1,500 feet to your demise.  Since the park was established as a National Monument (then later a National Park) less than a dozen people have actually done so.

 

Our next stop was the Temple of Sinawava to do the Riverside Walk next to the Virgin River.  We were hoping to do a little walking through The Narrows which is where you hike in the river through the canyon the river carved, but the water was WAY too high and fast (probably freezing cold too) and hiking was prohibited beyond the paved Riverside Walk. 

 Weeping rock on the Riverside Walk.

The Narrows...a little too deep to wade through.









And finally some of my favorite random flower, animal, and scenic shots from our first day.