A fishy week

I can't really explain it but lately i've been craving fish. You would think in this weather that i would want soup or some comfort food, but its been all about fish. I have been at school so much that i don't even want to post some of the things i have been eating - well actually i have, so finally i made a decent dinner. I went to the Metro by school and picked up some fresh fish.



They didn't have the greatest selection, and i think in the back of my head i was hoping that they had that maple salmon i got once (which they didn't) so i picked up some cajun catfish. I got two file ts so i could have some for lunch. I steamed some broccoli and bok choy adding a little veggie stock to the water for a little extra flavour.

Excuse the lazy photography - i was soooo hungry!

Baked Tofu Dinner

As you've probably realized cooking for one isn't one of my favorite endeavours, but i do need to eat healthy, and now cheap food, so i have to make myself. This one was actually two lunches also, but was pretty good. The rice and the tofu took the longest, but i did manage to make rice without burning it. (full disclosure: it was a little hard). I served it with some toppings, cilanto, peanuts, green onions and sarachia sauce of course.

I sliced this block into two and marinated one with a spicy sesame soy mixture. I let this marinate for about half an hour, rotating as i went. I used the left over marinate as a sauce at the end. For the other half, i used another of my specialty mustards - this one a lemon mustard and baked them both.

For the rest of the meal i had my calcium rich staples - broccoli, bok choy along with garlic and onions.

Finished tofu.

Miso Steamed Cod and Veggies

Since i've been only studying and not really working out i've noticed that a lot of my clothes are not fitting as well as they should be. This of course lead initially to a freak out, and i decided to do some healthy cooking! I've never really steamed fish, i always thought it would be very bland, but then i thought - maybe i can steam it with a broth, that would give it some flavour.

On my new (and no doubt brief) quest for healthiness i also made enough for lunch.

Sauce ingredients

So i knew that you could steam things with your fish, and essentially make a one pot meal - i thought i would add bok choy, green beans and broccoli to my fish dish. All good for you, and i thought they would go with the cod i had.

As for the broth i made on based on some organic miso cubes i had and added a little soy sauce, sake, rice vinegar, fish sauce and sugar. I lined the base of the bamboo steamer with the large leaves of the bok choy to prevent them from sticking. I layered it with the tougher bits on the bottom, then added a couple pieces of cod.

Out of the steam.

This dish really only took a couple of minutes, and it was quite good. I put the veggies on the plate first, then a piece of fish, i added a tsp of the cooking liquid, a couple drops of sesame oil and some chopped green onions. I served it with soy sauce and hot sauce on the side.

Thai Veggie Curry

Really haven't made this meal in a while, but i was trying to clean out the fridge as i am out of town hiding from all the G-20 crap that is going on in the city. I had a whole bunch of veggies i had picked up at T&T, and the best way to use them up - Curry!!!!

I won't be updating for a few days, but will have lot of meals to report on when i get back.

The Veggies

Cooking the veggies


The meal
(there is successful brown rice hiding in the red bowl
the curse may be over)

Baked Tofu with Bok Choy

Lately i have been indulging in meat, in particular pork, so i though it was necessary to get back to my roots and make a little tofu. I actually don't mind tofu raw, but some people don't so i decided to do a baked tofu dish. I sort of made up the sauce, which was pretty much a combination of all of my favorite asian seasonings. I allowed it to marinate the cubed tofu for a litle while before baking it - just to make sure the flavour really took. I baked it for what seemed like forever - that stuff doesn't seem to burn.

This was one of those "what do i have in the fridge recipes" so i used some shredded carrots, mushrooms, green beans, asparagus, bok choy and some frozen broccoli that i had. I sauteed the vegetables, but boiled the frozen broccoli as per the directions.

As you can see this was quite a mixture of ingredients for the sauce: veggie oyster sauce, soy, sesame oil, honey, peanut butter and sirachai. Probably a little high in sodium, but minimal oil.
My low key table.

Almost ready to assemble

Rainy Saturday Baked Tofu

Dinner

Baked Tofu

Marinating the Tofu

My leftovers Bento Box

Steamed Veggies

Working with what i've got

This saturday was so nasty out, rainy, windy and cold, but i guess it was March and there was so snow, so i shouldn't be so unappreciative. I had gone out in the late morning for a brutal run/speed walk, and really didn't want to venture outside unless totally necessary. I spent almost the entire day sitting on the couch watching the NCAA conference play - so really it wasn't a bad day to have crappy weather. It was getting close to six when my stomach reminded me that i hadn't eaten that much. I had been out to Nami and gorged myself on fish for my brother-in-law's bday the night before so it took a little while to get hungry.

I really didn't have all that much to eat at home, but there was no way i was going out, so i thought i would challenge myself to make a meal out of what was in the fridge. The meal was pretty good, and i incorporated things that i've made on this blog, along with a few ingredients. I actually made a pretty tasty meal, and had the leftovers as a sort of bento box.

I also too the opportunity to make some baked tofu, which i'll be able to use all week in lunches and whatever. I used some extra firm tofu, simply cut it into smaller pieces, and made a marinade of honey, soy sauce, sesame oil and hot sauce. I oiled the pan, and baked the tofu at 400 degrees, rotating the tofu so that all the sides got browned. Its a great way of making tofu for a variety of dishes including salads.

Baby Bok Choy in the Bamboo Steamer

So after pretty much eating dumplings for every meal, i thought i would investigate what other things my steamer could accomplish. I had some baby bok choy, which is one of my favorites and is an excellent source of calcium, and thought instead of stir frying it as i usually do- i would put it in the steamer. A lot of the online stuff i read about the steamer suggested using bok choy or lettuce on the bottom to prevent what you were cooking from sticking - as i mentioned i used parchment paper, so i wasn't concerned that the bok choy would stick.

I washed the bok choy, trimmed some of the tougher ends, and cut the larger bunches in half. I arranged them in the bamboo steamer. Now as much as i like healthy things, plain steamed bok choy sounded a little too healthy for me, so i thought i would make a sauce to dress the bok choy with once it was steamed. I wanted to make a bit of a thicker sauce, as i thought it would be better for the texture.

Not really having a plan, i just pulled out some of the usual suspects - soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, vegetarian oyster sauce (which is a bit thicker) and i minced some ginger, along with half of one of the deadly peppers!!! (i've learned my lesson). The sauce was a little thin and tart, so i added some honey which gave it the right consistency, and flavour.

The bok choy was really quick to steam, and once it was done, i drained it, then plated it and drizzled the dressing on top. I decided to add some sesame seeds at the last minute. This was a great side dish, and looked quite good too, i think it will become a regular staple.

Above:

Finished bok choy

Fresh out the steamer

Another finished

Miso Vegetables on Soba

I love to have all sorts of fresh veggies in my fridge, it really inspires me to cook, in part because i hate putting them in the green bin, but also i feel good when i eat them. Usually i make a thai curry or sometimes a stir fry, but since i had bought that miso and wanted to use it, i thought i would make a miso vegetable dish, with my new favorite soba noodles. (you are dead to me rice)

For the veggies i had some baby bok choy, king oyster mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, asparagus, i cut up the long beans a similar size to the rest of the ingredients, some asain eggplant and of course onions and garlic. At T&T i had also bought some chilis which i thought i might as well throw in since i had a bunch of them. I figured three would be good. (this was my first mistake)

I started with the onions, garlic and peppers in some olive oil, and added the vegetables slowly. I decided to make it a bit decadent and added some butter along with the miso and a little water to help steam the bok choy. I know that miso butter is used in a lot of recipes, and the texture of the two really goes well, so why not. Meanwhile i cooked the noodles.

Once the veggies were done i drained the noodles and topped some with the miso veggies and sat down to dine. Well apparently i did not realize how spicy those peppers were goin to be - after two bites i was nearly sweating. I kept trying to eat more, and eventually compromised by getting some raw tofu for the side to calm my mouth. I had made enough for lunch the next day, and eating that i had to use yogurt to calm the burning.

Considering i am really good with heat - watch out for the deadly little peppers. I would certainly make this again, i really liked the miso-butter veggies combo, i would maybe keep to one pepper this time though!

Above:

Miso veggies on soba
Deadly little peppers
Ingredients

A trip to T&T Supermarket

I am fortunate enough to work less than 5 minutes from a T&T grocery store. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this chain, its is an Asian grocery store chain that was recently purchased by Loblaws. They are well known for their excellent produce and fish counter. Along with groceries they have a lot of prepared foods, along with a wide selection on sushi. The store was extra bussling due to the approaching Chinese New Years.

Below:

Dungess Crabs
Fish Counter



I always enjoy shopping at T&T its one of the most inspiring grocery stores. There are so many products i've never seen, or have read about and had no idea what they looked like raw. I usually have a couple things in particular i'm after when i go, but a lot of the things i buy i just get inspired by what is there. This is particularly true of the vegetables. Today i bought a few things i love, and others i've wanted to try.

Below

My grocerties, long beans, king oyster musrooms, bok choy, Enoki mushrooms, miso paste, shirataki noodles, asian eggplant, tofu and purple yams! And of course i picked up some kimchi!




And here was a wall of soy sauces! Its baffling to know which ones to buy, i usually look for a lower sodium version.

Well get ready for some interesting recipes featuing all the things i purchased, it might be a bit of an experiement, but i think i'll enjoy it.