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Beyond my well-documented adoration of pomegranate molasses (see berries & brie, pomegranate yogurt & a rave about the ingredient here), walnuts (see spinach-walnut pasta & Lobio) and cheddar (see this risotto, Irish-American fondue, these tamalitos, creamy potato-corn chowder & this shepherd's pie), there are many other ingredients in the world that need love. Enter the latest ingredient to be featured as a Middle West Meals official pantry upgrade: buckwheat soba noodles.
Soba takes about 5 minutes to cook up, can be used in a bazillion ways and is yummy. The buckwheat adds a little bit of bonus nutrition in the form of rutin, a nice little glycoside that fights free radicals and has antioxidant properties.
Last night, wanting to use up some little bits of produce and a half-block of tofu, soba handily came to the rescue, for a yummy vegetable-tofu soba bowl. I pulled together a quick teriyaki sauce (kind of like this) for slices of the tofu and thin sweet potato moons, which combined nicely over a medium heat. Meanwhile, I cooked and drained the soba, which I tossed with a few handfuls of baby spinach, a big clove of garlic, minced, and a drizzle of tamari in a medium-hot pan. Finally, I heated up a little bit of garlicky stock and prepared a quick salad of pea shoots, hot sesame oil and lemon juice. Into big bowls, I piled the spinachy noodles, tofu-sweet potato mixture and pea shoots, finishing each bowl off with a ladle or two of the stock. And, heavens to Betsy, it was delicious!
In Indianapolis, you can always get buckwheat soba noodles at the Good Earth and Saraga.
Other recipes to check out:
Since I wasn't a chocolate-adoring child, the ring-a-ding of a neighborhood ice cream man (person?) meant push-ups for me. Aside from the occasional drumstick, it was all push-ups all the time for me. When the weather warms up past 60 degrees and the sun shines, like yesterday afternoon, I can almost taste the cold, creamy, orange-esque goodness that only push-ups can offer.
Which is why I am ga-ga over this adorable drawstring bag, on sale for $9 at the Curiosity Shoppe. Not only is it fair-trade, it's also produced by the awesome people at Yee Haw Industries, the very same people who made Ben's Evel Knievel print and his workhorse print, two of my favorite gifts I've ever given.
Have a great St. Patrick's Day. If you aren't dining out on corned beef and cabbage, then you might enjoy these recipes:Enjoy the holiday and please do not drink green beer. That only makes leprechauns cry.
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (thanks to my sister Jen & Mark Bittman!) helped me rediscover my love of eggs. By relegating eggs to breakfast and brunch, Americans often miss out on what can be a satisfying and protein-rich addition to salads and entrees. But the greatest tragedy born of this egg discrimination is our national failure to regularly add poached and fried eggs to simple soups. So, without further ado, I offer you a little dish that I hope will bring a dinner or lunch time egg into your life - rustic winter tomato soup with fried egg.
This soup recipe is a combination of two tomato soup recipes from How to Cook..., one built for fresh tomatoes and the other wintertime variation designed for canned tomatoes.
The flavor in this dish does rely a bit on special ingredients:
- I highly recommend using local and super-fresh eggs. Stop by the Good Earth, the Winter Farmer's market or Locally Grown Gardens to pick some up. If this isn't your normal egg-purchasing pattern, you might be surprised at the sometimes-florescent orange color of these local gems.
- San Marzano tomatoes are the best canned tomato, in my opinion, and they work very well for this recipe.
One other note, before you head into this recipe - please, please, please give runny yolks the chance they deserve. For years, the delicious yellow goodness that flows from a properly fried or poached egg frightened me. City Cafe's eggs Benedict - with tomato in place of the ham - changed all that for me. I haven't looked back since.
Recipe: Rustic Tomato Soup with Fried Egg
serves 4-6
Ingredients1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium carrot, diced1 small onion or 1/2 of a medium onion, thinly sliced2 cloves of garlic, minced2 Tablespoons of tomato pasteleaves from 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
3-4 cups of vegetable stock
salt and black pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil, plus more as needed
4-6 eggs, one per person
Prepare the soup - Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Drain the can of tomatoes, reserving their juice. Cut each tomato in half, lengthwise, and place cut side up in a roasting pan. Roast for 25-35 minutes, adding a bit of water, reserved tomato juice or stock if the pan dries out.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or dutch oven. Over medium-high heat, cook the onion and carrot for five minutes. Add in the garlic, tomato paste and thyme leaves. Stir and cook for about two more minutes, until the garlic is fragrant but not browning. Add the vegetable stock and reserved tomato juices, bring the mixture to a boil. Add the tomatoes to the pot. Reduce the heat to a simmer. and cook until vegetables are completely tender - about 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender (or in batches in a blender), blend the soup into a thick mixture.
Prepare the eggs - Heat the oil in a pan or on a skillet over medium-high heat. Leave plenty of room between eggs, if you have space to cook more than one egg at once. Break egg into a ramekin and pour it onto the heated, oiled surface. When the egg begins to solidify, slide a spatula under the sides of the egg. When the white is just-shy of fully solid, flip the egg over for about 30 seconds and remove promptly. For extra-luxurious eggs, baste the top of the egg with the pan's oil while frying. Refresh oil as needed.
Finish it up - Ladle the soup into bowls and carefully slide an egg in the middle of each bowl. I add freshly cracked black pepper and - occasionally - some hot sauce to my egg. Serve with thick, toasted slices of multi-grain bread.
I hopped over to FinnStyle today, via a link from Oh Joy, and found what may be my new favorite pretty tea towel set fresh from Marimekko, maker of all things designy/adorable.
Are you seeing what I'm seeing? There are not only deer/elk and bear faces on that blue towel - the purple/blue towel has squirrels on it! Squirrels in a kitchen towel, feasting on acorns! Love it.
As if a woman freshly in her 30s needed another reason to think about the big babies-or-not question, so many insanely adorable party ideas can be found in this blog world. (Yes, I know that's kind of silly reason to consider the question - much more serious reason exist, they're just not right for this setting.)
Case in point: Design Mom's awesome post about an Einstein birthday party. Check it out!
Green balloons and Einstein faces - the perfect party decoration for a smart little cookie!
I'm especially in love with this party because it's a girl's party. Too often, young girls get stuck on the princess track - as attractive as that can be and as special as that can be for some girls, it's not the only track for a girl to be on. As both a youth development advocate and the daughter of a super-smart engineer, I see this party as an awesome model for parents-of-girls to consider when planning a fun, engaging birthday experience.
Following up on friend's twitter post about a potential store closing, I called Joe at Northside News - the magazine portion - this morning. And what I found out will surely limit my magazine purchases and makes me sad, but got me to return from my blogging hiatus...Due to tightening in the magazine business and some issues with distributors, Joe Walters has chosen to close the newsstand portion of the Northside News and hand over the space to the Cafe. In other words, I may not be able to buy my favorite niche food publications without a trip to the far-suburbs, but we'll all still be able to enjoy the awesome pressed sandwiches from the Cafe, in even more space.
Newsstands are one of my favorite kinds of store. My dad probably inspired my addiction to monthly and quarterly paper publications with frequent stops at smokey and compact little news-sellers throughout my childhood. Having a bright, smoke-less (at least since the cafe opened) place to indulge my desire for shiny, glossy pictures of food and interiors and travel destinations has been one of my favorite parts of living on the North side of Indianapolis. I'll miss you Northside News (the magazine portion)! I'm excited to keep eating the tofu Reuben and Mother Jones veggie sandwiches, even if I won't have copies of Olive or Budget Travel to keep me company.For those of you wondering, Joe will be taking time to finish up his degree in computer networking, adding to his existing English degree. Also, to check out the wonderful impact that this little newsstand has had, check out this report from WFYI's Communities Building Community, hosted by former Indiana First Lady Judy O'Bannon.
Soba takes about 5 minutes to cook up, can be used in a bazillion ways and is yummy. The buckwheat adds a little bit of bonus nutrition in the form of rutin, a nice little glycoside that fights free radicals and has antioxidant properties.
