Cooking one-handed

A bit of a bike accident (entirely my fault, entirely avoidable) led to a rather sudden meeting between my left hand/forearm/elbow and the pavement. While everything heals up, I can use the fingers but not the palm. This makes cooking difficult but, it turns out, not impossible. Lovely weather was had Saturday, mostly wasted on my inability to do fun things like bike or run or climb and my nerdy desire to see Prometheus in the middle of the day. Sunday, magically, was nicer and less painful - a trip to the farmer's market near me was proposed and quickly ratified. The result, later that day:

Before that, however, was a simple picnic in the park with a hunk of bread (not made by me, sadly), some lovely artichoke spread, and a bag of cherry tomatoes. Also spied, and subsequently purchased at the market, were two peculiar items: small brussels and purple green beans. It turns out brussels season just began, again, if Wikipedia is to be trusted. Be prepared for many meals containing them, as I load up on the tiny, delicious ones instead of the late-season large varieties that don't cook properly. The purple green beans, as seen in the photo above, lose their color when cooked at high heat and turn green. This creates a nice effect if you are lazy cooking them, and overcook one side but undercook the other. But, yes, a dual-recipe today.

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Blackened Miso-Butter Brussels and Dijon Green Beans

(more of a guideline than a recipe)

early-season brussels (smaller than, say, ping-pong balls)

unsalted butter

red miso paste

green (or purple) beans

salt

seeded-style dijon mustard

chinese five-spice

For the brussels: preheat oven to 400. Wash the brussels and slice each in half, top to bottom. In a small dish, combine equal parts miso and butter and mix. You can add a splash of, say, vinegar or sherry if you wish, but it isn't necessary. Heat a cast-iron pan, large enough to fit all your sprouts, over medium. Spread a bit of the miso butter on the face of each brussels half and place them, face down, in the pan. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the faces have begun to crisp up. Transfer to the oven to finish, another 10 minutes, or until they have reached the desired softness.

For the green (or purple) beans: pluck the tough stems off the end of each and wash them. Heat a bit of oil in a pan over medium-low and add the beans, tossing frequently. After they have some heat, but aren't cooked, add salt (not too much) and a generous dash of chinese five-spice, toss, then add enough seeded-style dijon to lightly coat them. Serve them immediately, before they have completely cooked.

Soft Boiled Eggs, Rye Soda Bread, Miso Mayo

I've been remiss in posting because I've, mostly, been remiss in cooking. A quick trip to Austin for SXSW had me subsisting on yogurt, sandwiches, energy bars, pastries, and booze. I came back exhausted and in no mood to cook; I even went so far as to shop for groceries and just buy a pre-made falafel wrap instead of making a thing at home. There has been some spotty cooking recently - a "fritata" in my cast iron with greens and toast, a veggie-quinoa soup with a heavy beer backing, and the usual assortment of bread.

These dishes, you'll note, consist of putting many ingredients in a pot and cooking them until you eat them. Planning is not involved, aside from deciding the veggies to buy at the grocer, and everything was haphazard. This past weekend I managed to cook something with a bit more planning (though not quite enough as to get groceries before). Talk of cookbooks over a dinner reminded me that I needed to sample the Momofuku book a bit more; a breakfast of soda bread was more delicious than anticipated; an article on miso reminded that miso is good. So I made this.

We have here a first experiment in the direction of a sublime dish; this meal was simply delicious but flawed. We have "rye" "soda bread" toasts; the first set of quotes as they used no rye flour nor caraway, opting for fennel on hand instead. The second set of quotes as this was most definitely not soda bread, lacking butter and butter milk - again, going for the almond milk and greek yogurt on hand. It isn't that I don't have butter handy, but more that I wanted to do without. The ratios were based more on my vegan pancakes and not so much on soda bread recipes; it was more batter than dough, falling towards an english muffin.

They are topped with miso mayo, a heavenly topping. 4 parts mayo to 1 part red miso, "whipped", with a splash of lime juice. Nestled on the plate you'll also find two soft-boiled eggs using the method from Momofuku - straight from fridge to boiling water (hoping they don't break), cook for 5:10, direct to ice bath, peel (again hoping you don't break one). In the photo, the top egg broke when peeled and the bottom broke when initially entering the water, but only slightly. Not perfect, still tasty. The only thing lacking is a veggie - like spinach to make them Florentine-by-way-of-Korea.

Notes on the prep: I tried flouring the ramekins, would not recommend this. The breads stuck. I'll try a spray oil next time. Also, I used volume instead of weight measures, so it may be off.

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Soft Boiled Eggs, Rye Soda Bread, Miso Mayo

Makes 2 tiny soda breads (one plate)

Rye soda bread

2 tbsp rolled oats

2 tbsp white flour

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tbsp plain greek yogurt

1/4 tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp blackstrap molasses

<1/8 tsp baking soda

<1/8 tsp salt

Miso mayo

4 parts mayo (1 tsp for this recipe)

1 part red miso paste (1/4 tsp for this recipe)

splash lime juice

Soft-boiled eggs

2 eggs, refrigerated

Preheat oven to 425. Mix all dry bread ingredients in a small bowl and combine. Add liquids and mix with spoon for 1-2 minutes. Prepare two ramekins by misting with oil, then splitting the batter evenly between them. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until browned, crispy, and a toothpick comes out cleanly. 

Alternatively, you could cook them as english muffins, in a frying pan with ring molds. I have not tried this, but it should work.

While the bread bakes, prepare a pot of boiling water and a kitchen timer. Gently put the eggs into the rapidly boiling water using a slotted spoon, starting your timer the second the first egg hits the water. Prepare an ice bath. After 5:10 on the timer, remove the eggs to the ice bath. Let them cool a bit, then remove from ice bath to gently crack them against a flat surface, returning them to the ice bath to peel them (underwater). Gently place peeled eggs on a dish.

The breads should be done now, and for better timing it should finish as the eggs go into the water. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from ramekins and carefully cut them in half. Lightly butter them the open face and cook in frying pan to slightly brown them.

Prepare miso mayo by combining and mixing ingredients. Spread evenly on the breads. Get some hot water running from a faucet and very gingerly bathe the eggs in it to ensure they are warm. Eat.

Miso Lime Tofu

I've been watching some cooking shows on Netflix recently. A few of the guilty-pleasure "reality" format (anything featuring Gordon Ramsay from the UK) and a few of the actual cooking variety. What I've noticed is that people use a lot of spices. Heaping handfuls of the lighter herbs, pours of salt, multiple teaspoons of dry spices. Compare to the sprigs, pinches, and dashes I usually use, I can see a problem with my cooking. The other big difference was variety of ingredients; I tend towards one or two spices per dish (plus the onion/garlic/salt/pepper component). In an effort to improve, I made this.

It was heavily flavored, prepared somewhat properly, and quite good. My only failing was not fully committing to curry; I used no coconut milk and only though to add corn starch at the end when I noticed how thin everything was, disregarding the boil-simmer-reduce one seems to find in recipes for thick sauces. But everything else was spot-on; the tofu had a bit of flavor from the marinade. The lime and ginger were overpowering flavors, with miso close on their heels.

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Miso Lime Tofu

Serves 2

Marinade
1 anaheim pepper, diced
1 Andre-the-giant thumb of ginger, peeled and minced
an amount of minced garlic equal to ginger
juice of a lime
2 tbsp miso
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp soy sauce

Curry Sauce
The marinade from above
1 anaheim pepper, diced
1 tsp sesame oil (probably leave this out?)
1/2 cup water
thickening agent, volume unknown (corn starch or roux; roux probably a better idea)
salt

Everything Else
Rice
Handful of spinach leaves
Bunch of broccolini
12oz firm tofu

To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. Really simple. Chop the tofu into pieces that you want to eat and put it in a ziploc bag with the marinade. Give it at least 30 minutes. Once you think it is marinaded appropriately, start the rice. Take the tofu out of the bag and place in a heated frying pan with some oil to brown it.

Be lazy like myself and pour the marinade out of the bag into a bowl, then add the additional pepper, water, sesame oil, and salt to taste. Tofu should be getting sufficiently browned, so chop up the broccolini and add it into the frying pan. Cook for a few minutes, then add the curry. Bring to a kinda-boil, then reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes, until the broccolini and tofu are soft. Add the spinach on top and stir a few times.

Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Buckwheat Scallion Pancake and Miso Stir Fry

I've, roughly, made this exact meal before, but that won't stop me from making it again. I changed up some ratios a bit, and swapped out many of the ingredients in the stir fry. Still, a quick meal with a sauce that doesn't quite come together, ever. One of these days I may need to make a sauce all proper-like, with a boil and reduce with cornstarch by itself before tossing it onto the stir fry proper. However, due to the liquid nature of the sauce I made I did get a very nice texture to my tofu. I used high-protein firm tofu, browned on all sides in oil. It then sat it liquid and, roughly, steamed. The outside was very firm and tough, but the inside was almost spongy; I think there is promise in the fry-->steam/boil method.

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Miso Tofu Stir Fry

Serves 2

12 oz high-protein firm tofu, cubed

enough bok choi for two

1 large heirloom tomato

1 red pepper, diced

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp red miso paste

1 tsp oil

6 tbsp hot water

1 sprig green onion, chopped

spicy seasoning of your choice

In a large frying pan over medium high, heat some oil. Toss in the cubed tofu and brown it on all sides. While browning, combine the oil, soy sauce, miso paste, hot water, green onion, and spicy thing in a bowl and mix until the miso has dissolved. Once the tofu has browned on all sides, add the pepper and bok choi to the pan, reduce heat to medium low, and cook for a minute or two before adding the sauce and the tomato, chopped into a few pieces. Cook for ten more minutes, stirring intermittently. The tomato should disintegrate somewhat in the sauce; you can try adding flour or corn starch to thicken it up.

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Buckwheat Scallion Cakes

Serves 2

2 tbsp buckwheat flour

6 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 cup hot water (boiling if you want)

2 tsp ground ginger

3 springs green onion, diced

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon for a few minutes. Knead gently a few times, then let rest, covered, for thirty minutes. After letting it rest, form into 2-3 cakes and cook each in a bit of oil over medium-high.

Sesame-Miso Tofu

At some point during the week, I saw a link to a recipe for scallion pancakes. They seemed delicious, I happened to have a bunch of green onion lying around, and I wanted something other than rice with my generic Asian tofu dinner that I was going to make. Seemed like the perfect accompaniment. Now, usually when I make bread, I follow the recipe precisely. I've learned my lesson in the past with baking; there is too much chemistry, too little room for experimentation. A very fine line to walk, and I've done my fair share of hiking it in clown shoes. Not a good idea.

Except this time, I think I came out ahead. Yes, I toyed with the recipe - but when your recipe has two ingredients (flour and water), you get a bit of lee-way. From past bread baking, I know that adding yogurt to a dough gives it a bit of acid tang (to substitute for lack of a starter) and a bit of fluff. I wasn't quite in the mood for a thin, fried thick - a doughier hunk, capable of soaking up the sauce, seemed in order. The sauce I prepared was very ad-hoc, and lightly measured. I'll do my best to recount it below, but there are omissions, guesses, and outright fabrication of ingredients as transcribed.

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Seasame-Miso Tofu

Serves 2

12 oz extra firm tofu, cubed

3-4 carrots, sliced

handful of snap peas, winter peas, etc

1 small white onion, sliced into strips

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water (5 tbsp)

3-4 sprigs green onion, diced

loose handful of thai basil

2 tbsp red miso paste

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp Sriracha (optional)

1 tsp olive oil

pinch of poppy seeds

pinch of cumin

pinch of corn starch

In a large frying pan, with a bit of oil, start cooking the onion over medium. After a few minutes, throw in the tofu. Let cook without stirring for up to 5 minutes, until the tofu has begun to brown on a side. Throw in the carrots and let cook for 5 more minutes, then throw in the peas.

In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and stir thoroughly. The consistency should be somewhat watery. Add to the frying pan, and continue stirring and cooking until you want to call it done.

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Doughy Scallion Cake

Makes 1 pancake (serves 2?)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tbsp water

1 tbsp yogurt

squeeze of honey

3-4 sprigs green onion, diced

loose handful of thai basil, shredded

In a kettle, boil some water. Put the 1/2 cup of flour in a mixing bowl that can hove boiling water poured into it. Once the water is boiling, add approximately 3 tbsp of it (fill a 1/4 cup somewhat short of the rim), the squeeze of honey, and the yogurt. Mix thoroughly for a minute with a spoon. It should be cohesive and not sticky; if sticky, add more flour in small quantities. If it doesn't form a ball, add a tiny bit more water.

Flour your hands, a work surface, and the dough, and knead it a few times. Put back in the bowl, cover, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. While its resting, feel free to prepare the above recipe. After thirty minutes, roll it out very flat on a floured work surface. Sprinkle the onion and basil on top, then roll up, spiral, and roll into a thicker pancake again.

In a frying pan over medium-high, add just enough oil to coat the bottom. When the oil shimmers, put in the cake and constantly swirl the pan above the flame. Flip after 2 minutes or less, and cook the same way on the other side for 2 minutes or less. Place on paper towel, dab off excess oil, and serve immediately.