Hot and Sour Soup

For as long as I can remember, my family has enjoyed the best Chinese food at Tsing Tao, on Solano Avenue in Albany/Berkeley. Even as a little kid, my mom would always give me the tofu from Hot and Sour Soup. It was the best thing in the world!

As I got older, we kept going there. On each visit the hostess/waitress would update us on which of our family members had been in that week. Then she'd check in on how much food we wanted. Did we want the Hot and Sour Soup, wontons, and pot stickers only? Or would we also like Schezuan Chicken, Dry-Sauteed String Beans, and Mongolian Beef, too?

Whenever I visited home I'd go to Tsing Tao. I have still not found Hot and Sour Soup that even compares.

So imagine the day that I heard they were closing down. Living in Santa Barbara, I didn't even get to go there to say goodbye and indulge in gallons of my favorite soup. I was heartbroken.

So now it's my turn--I need to make Hot and Sour Soup!! I've tried twice, and it's getting better and better each time. I've created variations that are different from Tsing Tao's recipe. After all, I did not eat everything in that bowl! 

This version is vegetarian. If you choose to add meat (such as pork or chicken) I recommend cooking it first with the ginger, before making the soup itself. If you like egg in yours, lightly stir two eggs then whisk them into the soup and simmer for about 1 minute.

So here we go.

Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup

Ingredients:

2 TB canola oil

4 scallions, minced

1 one inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup bamboo shoots, thinly sliced lengthwise

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

12 oz. medium-soft tofu, drained and sliced

1 cup Chinese snow peas, thinly sliced 

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/2 TB sugar

1 tsp white pepper

2 tsp sesame oil
*optional: Sriracha* (I used to put it in, but my kids love this soup and can't quite handle that heat yet)

Directions:

1. In a large pot heat the canola oil over medium high heat. Add the bamboo shoots, garlic, ginger, and minced scallions. Saute for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the tofu, snow peas, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar,  white pepper, and 2 tsp. of the sesame oil. Return the soup to a simmer. 

Simmering Soup

*The longer you simmer the soup, the more flavorful the tofu becomes. If you choose to cook this for a long time, wait to add the snow peas until you're a few minutes away from serving the soup. Otherwise the vegetables will get a bit over-done. *

ENJOY!

Gorditas with Salsa Chicken and Avocado Tomatillo Salsa

Just when I thought I'd get this blog rolling, I got sick. Then I got better, started cooking, and my camera broke. Tonight I borrowed one...and got to photograph my food. Yay!!

So to begin, I made avocado tomatillo salsa. I made this once before and just love love love it! My excitement for this type of salsa began with Carrie, Natalie, and BRCs at El Pollo Loco. With fresh avocados this salsa is a bit thicker but has the same delicious taste! 

 Avocado Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients:

1/2 lb tomatillos, husks removed

1 jalapeño pepper, stem and seeds removed

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup cilantro

2-3 ripe avocados

1/2 white onion

2 TB fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp sugar

salt

Directions:

1. Place tomatillos in a pot and cover with water.

2. Bring water to a boil and then simmer tomatillos for five minutes.

3. Remove tomatillos with a slotted spoon.

4. Put tomatillos in a food processor or blender. Chop the jalapeño and onion. Blend the three together. 

5. Add the garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and sugar. Blend until smooth.

6. Finally, add the avocado, in chunks. Blend until smooth.

7. Add salt to taste. Chill before serving. 

Gorditas

 The first time I had authentic gorditas was at after-school daycare. This was one of the cooking projects led by Judy, one of the teachers. At the time, we ate them with refried beans and shredded cheese. 


This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Food & Wine Annual Cookbook- An Entire Year of Recipes 2010. I did almost exactly what they suggest for the recipe. My only changes were using a regular frying pan instead of a griddle and shaping these by hand instead of using a biscuit cutter. Yum!

Ingredients:
2 cups masa harina, preferably Bob's Red Mill
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for frying
Toppings: (We used) Salsa Chicken, sour cream, salsa, and red onion. Add whatever else you like! 


Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix the masa harina with the water and the 1/4 cup of oil. 
2. Take out the dough and put it on a sheet of plastic wrap and roll it into a log, about 10-12 inches long. 
3. Cut the log evenly into 10 pieces.
4. Heat your griddle or flat-bottomed frying pan to a high heat. 
5. Form the pieces of dough into flat discs about 1/2 inch thick. 
6. Heat the gorditas in the pan for about 2 minutes per side, until brown marks appear on the surface.
7. Once you have initially cooked the gorditas, put about 1/4 inch of oil into the frying pan. Let it get hot.
8. Fry the gorditas in the oil for about 2 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel.
9. Serve while hot, yum!!


Salsa Chicken


This recipe is always changing and super easy. My brother and I were always picky eaters and this is one thing we both LOVED when mom would make it. She put it in burritos, you can put it in tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, and whatever else you can imagine!


Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Salsa (your choice!)


Directions:
1. Heat the salsa in a large pan over high heat. If you do not have a lot of salsa you can add water. Tonight we had two half jars of salsa left. Matt combined the two and added about 1 1/2 cups of water.
2. Put the chicken in the salsa. Let it cook for about 5-7 minutes per side. Then turn down the heat and let it slowly cook until it is done. 
3. When the chicken is done, shred it with a fork and knife and return it to the pan. Let it soak up the salsa.
**Enjoy!**


I hope you enjoy this post, and even more, I hope you enjoy the food. 

Homemade Black Bean Burgers

These burgers are a result of a challenge from my husband, M. We like to eat vegetarian meals often (though we eat meat as well). I was buying tons of frozen veggie burgers and M challenged me to make my own. So this is the result. I scavenged the web for various recipes, then added my own ingredients, took out what I didn't like, and voila!

Ingredients: 
½  red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic garlic, finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
4-5 artichoke hearts, finely chopped (I like using marinated ones)
8 oz. mushrooms, finely chopped
olive oil
8 oz. black beans, drained
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp dried oregano
8 oz. rolled oats
2 TB breadcrumbs
1 egg

Directions:
1. Saute vegetables over medium heat with 2 TB olive oil until onions are translucent.
2. Remove vegetables from heat to cool.
3. Combine black beans with vegetables and spices.
4. Mix in oats, breadcrumbs, and egg.
5. Create patties.
6. Place patties on a plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Cook patties over medium heat, using about 1 TB of olive oil. 2-3 minutes per side.

**Freezable** I like to freeze these patties individually (after step 6) and use for lunches or last-minute dinners.


I hope you enjoy this recipe.  Have fun adjusting the proportions of spices and/or veggies to your liking. I know I do!

Starting with Grilled Cheese

So here I go.

I'm a California girl in love with food--both cooking and eating it. I grew up in a family of cooks, but refused to eat much more than grilled cheese and PB&J as a kid... except artichokes, I always loved artichokes.

As time went on my taste buds developed and I truly fell in love with food.

So here I am now. I am a newly married woman excited to cook for her family! There's just one thing--sometimes I'm a bit too excited. On Sunday afternoons I spend hours looking through cookbooks, websites, and magazines for my weekly menus. I go on and on to my husband about how great the fresh ginger will taste in this new marinade and how I can use it the following week for a soup. Now don't get me wrong, I am blessed to have a man who will eat everything I make (building my confidence in culinary experimentation). But I would have to say that talking about food may not be as big of a passion for my close loved ones as it is for me. So I will write!

Now back to the food. I've been cooking for years, but I fell into the habit of cooking the same things over and over. I was on a two week cycle of stir fry, tacos, pizza, pasta, and chicken Marsala on every pay day. Then I got married and gave myself a new challenge. I decided to make at least one new recipe a week. So this is where we begin.  

Of course, a few of my moody food habits of childhood have stuck around so I always make changes to recipes I find.  With that in mind, if you read this blog, you will find a version of recipes that I prefer.. but I'll do my best to add variations (even if I wouldn't eat them).