Interesting wontons and strange eggrolls

In summer I don't want to cook all day and then come home and cook. It's too hot and I have yard work, picnics, grand kids and other stuff that I would rather be doing. So I try and keep the freezer full of easy eats that are versatile and universally loved.

Wontons and egg rolls are easy to make and your imagination is the only limit when it comes to fillings. I have a pork and shrimp filling that I like to use in the wontons. I can steam or fry them, I can use them is soup, and I can even sauce them should the mood strike. Egg rolls...mmmmm, I love egg rolls. But I really hate soggy, nasty egg rolls. They hurt my feelings. Tonight I made Reuben Egg rolls. Strange perhaps, but oh so delicious! I make more of all of these than I need, freeze the extra on sheet trays and them move them into Ziploc bags. That way I can pull out what I need, no waste.

For both of these I use Nasoy wrappers, wonton and egg roll. They are easy to work with, fry up crisp, and taste pretty good. I have made my own using a pasta machine and it is better by far. But these are quick and easy, remember?

Pork and Shrimp Filling
12 oz Pork loin, cut into cubes
8 oz medium Shrimp, cleaned and shelled
3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
3 Tablespoons finely chopped yellow onion
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh garlic
2 Tablespoons Tamari
1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Mirin, Sake, or White Wine
1 Tablespoon Sriracha
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1 teaspoon Canola oil
2 teaspoons chopped chives
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
1 egg white

Put the sesame oil, canola oil, garlic, ginger, and onion into a saute pan and sweat over medium heat just until it sizzles and becomes fragrant, about 5 minutes. Do not brown it. In a small bowl combine the tamari, rice wine vinegar, mirin and sriracha. When the garlic/ginger mixture is softened add to the tamari mixture and set aside.

In a food processor pulse the pork loin and shrimp together until it resembles ground beef in texture. Remove from the processor and add to the bowl with the ginger mixture. Add the egg white and combine thoroughly.

Place about a teaspoon of the mixture in the center of the wrapper. Moisten the edges of the wrapper with water and seal into a triangle. Wrap the two edges around and seal them together to form the classic wonton shape. If you can get the round wrappers you can make potstickers using this same filling. Set them on a cookie sheet, not touching, in a single layer. Freeze them for an hour or so and then place into a Ziploc bag. These can be used from a frozen state for any application. The easiest is to drop them into a pot of flavorful stock, but fried they are a great salad topper.

Reuben Egg rolls
1/4 pound Corned beef, sliced thin and then chopped
1/4 pound Swiss cheese, sliced thin and then chopped
15 oz can sauerkraut, well drained
1/4 cup Thousand Island Dressing

Mix it all together. Set the egg roll wrappers up in a diamond shape. Place about 1/4 cup of the filling across the center of the wrapper, between two points. Moisten the edges of the wrapper with water. Take the point closest to you and fold it over the filling, pulling it tight. Fold the moistened edges over the sides and seal. Roll the wrapper away from you, sealing the remaining edges to the egg roll. Think tiny burrito. Now deep fry in oil at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Only fry what you are going to eat immediately. Lay the rest out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze them for about an hour or so. Then place them in a Ziploc bag. These do not microwave well. You really need to deep fry them, which you can easily do from a frozen state.

One more word about those egg roll wrappers. In a pinch you can use them for lasagna or for pasta stacks. Just treat them like fresh pasta and don't boil them before assembling your dish.

Spring Vegetable Tart

1 1/3 c flour
1/2 c Crisco, chilled
1/4 cup ice cold milk mixed with 1 T vinegar
Pinch of salt
1/2 c pine nuts

Pulse flour, salt and Crisco in a food processor. Add the milk all at once and pulse just until a dough ball forms. Remove, wrap in plastic and chill for 10 minutes. Roll out on a floured board, fit into small sheet pan or a tart pan. Press pine nuts into crust. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

2 Medium Zucchini cut into rounds
2 Medium Yellow Squash, cut into rounds
2 Large Tomatoes, sliced
2 Large Red Onions, sliced
1 pound fresh Mozzarella, sliced.
2T Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Prepare all veg and toss with oil, salt and pepper.

Layer onto crust alternating zucchini, mozzarella, squash, mozzarella, tomatoes, mozzarella, onion.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese melts and veg start to soften.

Cool to room temperature, slice and serve.

This is great with a green salad and a nice, crisp Chardonnay.

Peanutty Soba Noodles

The news on the food front, as pertains to animal and fish proteins, have been grim over the past year. Anchovy and sardine populations have collapsed, avian flu is decimating poultry flocks in 12 states, and the supply of beef is expected to decline by another billion pounds this year. Add that to the droughts in Cali and most of the western states and you get a sense that the price of eating animals is about to get really high. Or rather, the true price of eating meat is about to become in-your-face obvious.

As a carnivore, I weep. But as a human I understand that something has to change. And life is too short to eat nasty tofu. It is time to rethink our diets. So, as I explore a more vegetal world in my culinary adventures, I hope I can find something to eat. Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

This is a nice recipe. I've made it in both production and personal sizes and it is fairly simple both ways.

Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil over medium high heat.
Add 1 pound of soba noodles and 2 cups of chopped kale. Return to the boil and cook for 2 minutes. Strain and shock in a cold water bath. Drain, drizzle with sesame oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, toss well and set aside.

For the sauce, combine in a sauce pan:
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup for vegans)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup roasted peanuts

Warm over medium heat until all the ingredients pull together. Set aside

For the topping combine:
1/2 cup chopped, fire roasted and peeled red bell pepper (if you use canned nobody will know if you rinse them before using)
1/2 cup chopped scallions, green and white parts
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup each white and black sesame seeds (if you only have one color, don't sweat it)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon kosher salt

You can make the sauce a day ahead, but you may have to warm and thin it before using.

Toss the noodles and kale with the peanut sauce. Top with the veggie/peanut mixture. garnish with lime wedges and serve. This dish can also be served hot. Simply prepare the sauce first, leave it in the warm pan. Give the veg/peanut mix a very quick saute to bring it up to temp. Boil the noodles, drain and then toss everything together. It is very good both ways.

Cucamelons

My wife is starting to get excited at the prospect of planting the garden. In January the seed catalogs start to pour in and by this time of year an entire plan has taken shape. Last year, in one of her seed catalogs, I found a veggie called a cucamelon. It is a small round orb, about the size of a grape tomato. The skin is green striped and looks a lot like a watermelon. When you bite into it, it is more like a cucumber in texture and tastes like a cucumber dipped in lime juice.

My wife ordered and grew them for me. They were prolific, to say the least. they came up right after the chard and died off in the fall when the only thing left was.....more chard. They are refreshing, easy to grow and to pick. I ate them out of hand for most of the summer. Those that did make it into the house I used in this salad, one of my favorite of the summer.

Cucamelon Salad
1 pint cucamelons, cut in half
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup red onion, sm. dice
1/2 cup rough chopped parsley
2 cups mixed greens
1 lemon, cut in half and juiced over the salad
4T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

If I have time to do so, I like to combine everything but the parsley and greens and let it marinate for an hour or two before tossing.

Switchel aka Haymaker's Punch

Way back when, farmers would keep glass jars of switchel in the creek or stream and drink off it while haying. It is a thirst quencher and a happy little pick-me-up. It is really drinkable and definitely thirst quenching. It is also loaded with trace minerals including potassium and manganese as well as vitamin c.. Some Vermonters claim it is a health tonic and I believe them. There are many different recipes, but all of them contain apple cider vinegar, molasses and ginger. Here is my recipe. We drink this year round, hot or cold. It also makes an excellent base for a variety of alcoholic libations.

Switchel
1/3 cup black strap molasses
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup. I use a combination of both.
1/3 cup raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 quart Ginger Tea*

Mix this up and serve it cold over ice or warm it up like a tea.

*Ginger tea is 1 qt water boiled for 10-15 minutes with fresh ginger ( a knob about the size of your thumb, sliced.) If fresh ginger is not available, use 1 teaspoon of dried ginger to 1 qt of water.

Roasted Sriracha Cauliflower w/ Peanut Dipping Sauce---Thug Kitchen====The results

So today I did the recipe, but with 48 heads of cauliflower. Here are the results.

1. The flour slurry is needed to hold the hot sauce. Without it the cauliflower is to slick for the sauce to stick. In a home oven the flour mixture is probably pretty easy to handle, but I was cooking it in a hearth oven in a dining hall. I found that it was difficult to achieve the same level of yummy that I would get at home. If I have to do it in that quantity again I will fry it rather than bake it. Definitely less healthy, but a better product for holding and serving.

2. The hot sauce is good. I like the kick and the soy adds a nice salty touch.

3. Best. Peanut. Sauce. Ever.  I made gallons and we have put it on everything from toast to salad to noodles. There is nothing this sauce isn't good on. I'm going to try it with a jalapeno jelly on hearth-bread very, very soon.


So, a really nice recipe. Great for snacking. The heat is perfect and the peanut sauce is amazing. I'll fry it to cook in large quantities, but am happy with the baking method for home use.

Roasted Sriracha Cauliflower Bites with Peanut Dipping Sauce----Thug Kitchen

So I got this new cookbook from my daughter for my birthday. Thug Kitchen. I have to say it has some ass-kicking recipes in it. And it is all vegan. Before you let that scare you off, consider how much more there is to a meal than the meat. I'm omnivorous. I like meat. But meat is taking up less and less real estate on my plate. It is expensive. There are way to many antibiotics and other crap in there. The animals are treated like shit before they are killed. There are a lot of reasons to rethink meat. But even if you don't, you still have to eat more than meat.

So far I've tried the veggie lasagna, one of the stir-fry dishes, and tomorrow I am going to serve lots of hungry college students "Roasted Sriracha Cauliflower Bites w/ Peanut Dipping Sauce". The recipe looks easy enough to scale for 400. I made about 5 gallons of the Peanut Dipping Sauce today. It is good, with a citrus tang that really cuts the cloying tendency of the peanut butter. I'll let you know how it goes. Meanwhile, here is the recipe, straight from "Eat Like You Give A Fu*k" by Thug Kitchen, unedited and unadulterated.

2 medium heads cauliflower
1/2 c flour
1/2 c water

Hot Sauce
2 t oil, olive, coconut, grapeseed...whatever you got
1/2 to 2/3 c Sriracha, if you like it hot go for the 2/3c
1/4 c rice vinegar
1/2 t soy sauce or tamari

Peanut Dipping Sauce
1/4 c warm water
1/4 c plus 2 T creamy peanut butter
2 T rice vinegar
2 T lime juice
2 t minced fresh ginger
1 t maple syrup or agave syrup


1 cucumber cut into finger-long sticks

1. Crank your oven to 450 F. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet. Chop up your cauliflower into little trees no bigger than your thumb.
2. Whisk together the flour and water in a big bowl until a batter forms with no chunks. Did you already fuck up and its chunky? Start that shit over again. Toss in the cauliflower and mix it around until all the pieces look a little coated.  Spread the cauliflower out on the baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Mix those fuckers around halfway through roasting so all the sides get a little love.
3. Make the hot sauce. In a small pan mix the oil, sriracha, vinegar, and soy sauce. Heat over a low heat until the sauce is warm but not bubbling. Turn off the heat and leave it alone.
4. Now its time for the peanut dipping sauce. In a medium glass, whisk together the wate rand the peanut butter until it looks all creamy. Add all the other ingredients and keep stirring until everything is incorporated. Stick that in the fridge until it's go time.
5. After 15 minutes in the oven, dump the cauliflower back in a big bowl and toss it with the hot sauce mixture from the stove-top. Make sure everything is coated. Drop those motherfuckers back on the baking sheet, leaving the extra sauce in the bowl, and roast for another 3 minutes just so everything is warm and delicious.
6. Serve hot or at room temperature with the cucumber sticks and peanut dipping sauce on the side.