Stir Fry Time

Oh Thursday, how I both love and loathe you.

Since moving to Baltimore I have come to greet Thursday with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I'm only one day shy of the weekend, and even closer to my favorite day of the week (Friday). On the other hand, it's the second of two days in the week that I have agreed to spend in our Bethesda office.

While I love a majority of the changes that have come with life in Baltimore: more space, car ownership, cheaper wares, closer to my family, there is one thing I loathe about my new life....the commute to Bethesda. To put it bluntly, it's a bitch. It takes me a solid 2 hours, door to door, to get from my apartment in Baltimore to my office in Bethesda. When I actually stop and think about all that goes into the commute (the insanely early rising, driving to the train station, taking the train to DC, and taking the Metro from DC to Bethesda) I get a slightly angry. 

The train isn't all bad. I'm learning how to make the best of it from my fellow riders. 

As you may suspect, alcohol is part of the solution to this problem.

Thus, I force myself to focus on the silver ling: my train and metro rides are paid for by work, I get to use my beloved noise canceling headphones to pass the time (in addition to reading, sleeping, and getting caught up on emails), and I only have to do it two days a week. The latter makes me so giddy that come Thursday afternoons I'm as anxious as a child on Christmas Eve. I cannot get off the train and home to my abode fast enough, all the while knowing that I won't have to return to life on the train until the following Tuesday. 

Today I found myself especially anxious to get home as I'd failed to adequately pace my snacks throughout the course of the afternoon and thus was on the cusp of ravenous. Because I start my Bethesda days before the sun (4:30 to be exact), I'm beyond exhausted by the time I finally get home at the end of the day. Despite being both tired, and today hungry, I still usually want to cook something for dinner. As I've grown to enjoy, and dare I say love, cooking over the past couple years, cooking has become more a form of relaxation than a chore for me. I don't really make a menu or plan what I'm going to eat during the week ahead of time. Instead, I pick up things I think I'll likely be hungry for or want to eat during the week (along with the usual staples) and then just go where the wind (and my stomach) take me. One benefit to a long commute: I have lots of time to think about what I want for dinner and to research recipes if need be. 

Tonight's dish de jour was one I've made before, but have to really be in the mood for to pull out of my tiny top hat: stir fry with peanut sauce. It's super easy, so I really wish I was hungry for it more than once every 6 months...and it's a great way to use up the hodgepodge of fresh veggies I so often have left in my fridge. This is a very free spirit dish (which is the complete opposite of my type-A personality) and perfect to round out a crazy work day. 

Stir Fry with Homemade Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

Makes 2 servings 

• 2 cups Shandong noodles (or an Asian variety of your choosing) 
• 4 medium Brussels Sprouts, stems trimmed and halved
• 1/2 cup broccoli, stems trimmed
• 2 small carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 small leek, chopped
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• olive oil, salt, and pepper, to taste

For Peanut Sauce

• 1 Tbsp peanut butter
• 2 Tbsps soy sauce
• 2 Tbsps sesame oil (I substituted olive oil because I didn't have sesame on hand)
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Things started out a little bumpy when I went to pick up the package of noodles and didn't realize I'd put in on the shelf upside down, thus spilling it all over the floor. Luckily, the package was huge so I was able to salvage the ones that weren't touching the floor (which was most of them) and press onward.

1. Bring pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package instructions.

2. Meanwhile, wash and chop veggies as desired. In addition to cooking, I've discovered peeling carrots to be extremely calming. I honestly think it's one of my favorite things, so if you ever need a bunch of carrots peeled, you know who to call!

3. Mix peanut sauce. Bax loved this part because she loves peanut butter more than anything else in the world...and because she knows that if she looks at me with her sweet puppy eyes I will put a little on a tiny biscuit treat for her. Sly, very, very sly. 

4. Heat a Tbsp or two of olive oil in large sauce pan (I prefer my wok) and add in larger veggies first, then smaller ones after a couple minutes and cook until warm and at desired tenderness.

5. After noodles are cooked, drain and add to veggies. 

6. Toss a time or two to combine, then add in peanut sauce. Toss until well coated.

 7. Heat through and serve.

Hello perfection

Thanksgiving Recap: Part 1

It came and it was wonderful. Oh Thanksgiving, I miss you already. Thankfully, I can relive the day in food through a few last posts before diving head first into the Christmas season! 

This year, as my cooking has continued to blossom in recent months, I decided I was ready to take on my largest role yet in the preparation of Thanksgiving dinner. I have spent the better part of the last decade dreaming of the day that I will play host to Thanksgiving dinner. The pieces are slowly starting to come together and I'm loving it. Now that my cooking skills are up to the task, I just need to acquire a home large enough to host the gathering and I'll be good to go. I can barely stand the anticipation. To pacify myself this year, I volunteered to make two sides, as well as my usual slew of desserts. Last year I went a little crazy with the desserts (I think I made three), so I was determined at the least to top 2011-Gian. In addition, TF was going to be joining us for Thanksgiving dinner and I wanted to make sure he was not disappointed. 

Early on in our relationship I learned that TF did not share my love of Thanksgiving (or even enjoy it). While the proclamation nearly killed me, I made it my personal mission to change his feelings towards this glorious day. Unfortunately, I haven't had nearly as many opportunities as I would've liked over the years to sway his opinions. Prior to this year, we'd only spent one other Thanksgiving together (with his family), so this was my first real opportunity to work my magic. When crafting the menu, I decided that I would  make a version of his homemade mac and cheese (I should also mention that he claims to not be a fan of Thanksgiving food in general, so that presents another hurdle that I must overcome) that would serve as his main dish. My dad makes a mean mac and cheese, but since this was going to be 90% of TF's meal, I wanted to make sure he got some veggies as well :) And so, without further ado, I present to you:

TF's Bake Mac and Cheese

Ingredients
Adapted from this 3-cheese version

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion 
• 2 Tbsps all-purpose flour 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups almond milk, plus some additional for baking
• 2 cups smoked Gouda cheese, shredded
• 1 1/4 cups 6-cheese Italian shredded cheese blend (Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Fontina, Romano and Aged Asiago)
• 3/4 cup 6-cheese Italian shredded cheese blend, save to sprinkle on top before baking
• 2 cups uncooked whole wheat elbow macaroni
• 1-2 cups fresh broccoli, uncooked
• 1 dozen or so small-medium tomatoes (enough to cover the top of the casserole), sliced 
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (I made my own from whole wheat bread, but store bought work fine as well)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Love making homemade bread crumbs

Preparation

1. Cook pasta in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Add broccoli and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Drain well

It pretty much took everything in me not to eat all of this....LOVE smoked gouda

2. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add flour and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add cheese, about 1/2 cup at a time, and salt and pepper; stir until cheeses melt

3. Preheat oven to 375° F

4. In a large bowl (or pot) combine pasta with cheese mixture, stirring well. Spread evenly in 13x9 baking dish. Top with tomatoes, lining evenly in rows, then add remaining cheese and bread crumbs. Drizzle milk along the sides of the pan to keep it moist and creamy while baking

5. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until heated and bread crumbs have begun to brown. Allow to cool for a minute or two and then dive in

And, as I dreamed, TF loved my creation....as well as my mom's broccoli cheese casserole and he even had turkey?! My plan is beginning to take shape :)

The perks of having a mom that's a teacher--seasonally appropriate stickers. Keeping with his semi-embracing of Thanksgiving, TF adorned one...along with  Sister and our aunt [mom's sister] 

In addition to this killer mac and cheese, I also made a vegetarian stuffing (or dressing if you will). Usually I make my Grandmother's version, but use pho-sausage to replace the actual sausage, but this year I was really into trying an herb version. And so I did, using this sourdough bread stuffing recipe courtesy of the Food Network. I found the finished product to be a little too moist but the flavors were dead on. The fresh herbs really made the recipe!

Toasting sour dough bread for the base

Baked and ready to eat. I can still smell the fresh herbs!

And tomorrow, dessert time!

Basil Pesto and Veggies

Sophomore year of college was the first time I was forced to start cooking for myself. I was living in my first apartment, sans any roommates (except my beloved Shepherd, then a mischevious puppy) and since I had neither the money nor the desire to eat out every night, I had to learn how to bring the food in my pantry and refridgerator to life. I can still remember the first meal I made on my own: parmesan pasta (from a package), broccoli, and sausage (the link kind sliced up, not the breakfast kind), with a glass of apple juice on the side. I was very proud, even taking a picture of it (as is my custom). It was a meal I'd had many times growing up (recall that Mother is very anti-cooking) and it reminded me of home. A lot has changed since that first meal (both in terms of skill level and taste), but my desire for comfort food every now and then still lives within me.


The other day, finding myself with some fresh veggies in need of use before going bad, I turned to a trusted favorite: basil pesto. I'll caveat this recipe by noting that I did not make the pesto from scratch (something that I've been wanting to do forever) but definitely will be doing so very soon as fresh basil runneth over this time of year.


I discovered basil pesto during my junior year of college, oddly enough, while dining with my aunt on a visit to the east coast, and have been hooked ever since. There are very few version of pesto that I don't care for (the ones I dislike usually involve olives) and since I no longer eating pasta that frequently, I sometimes forget just how much I love the substance! This recipe was an easy and quick post-work dish to whip up. And it was great fuel for my long run the following morning.

Basil Pesto and Veggies

Ingredients [makes 2 servings]

• 2 cups whole wheat thin spaghetti
• 1 cup fresh broccoli florets
• 1 grilled portobello mushroom, diced (I had one left over from our cookout over the weekend)
• 1/4 cup diced onions
• 8-10 cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 2-3 Tbsp basil pesto
• 1 tsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in frying pan, cook onions for 2-3 mins. Add in mushroom, cook until heated
2. Bring pot of water for pasta to a boil. Add in pasta, cook according to package
3. With 5-6 minutes remaining on pasta, add in broccoli
4. Once pasta and broccoli is cooked, drain (do not rinse) and return to pot
5. Stir in basil pesto, salt, and pepper until coated evenly. Add cooked onions, mushrooms, and tomato slices
6. Serve, topping with cheese if desired

I served mine with a slice of whole wheat bread, topped with fresh garlic powder 

[both acquired at the local Amish market over the weekend :)]

Half Marathon Pre-Race Fuel

Since this blog is also supposed to be about running, I guess it's about time that I have a running related post. In addition to being one of the greatest holidays of the year, Saturday was also the DC Half Marathon. I am a big fan of this race. Because DC is so small, the half literally takes you around the whole city. I did this race for the first time last year and loved it so much that when Alicia expressed an interest in doing it this year I was thrilled. This year, the race fell on St. Patty's Day, allowing us to not only run and enjoy all the fun incorporations of green in the ensembles of our fellow runners, but to also spend the rest of the day celebrating with a little less guilt.


One of my favorite parts of running long distances used to be the pre-race pasta dinner. I'm always encountering people that think vegetarians spend their days downing pasta. Perhaps surprisingly to many, I probably eat less pasta since becoming a vegetarian than I did before. I used to love the grain, but perhaps as a result of consuming it too frequently during my ill-experienced cooking years in college, I find more often than not that I have to really mentally psych myself up to get in the mood for a pasta dinner. (This is admittedly another of my weird food tendencies) 


To help get me excited for my pre-race meal, I decided a new pasta recipe was in order. Not wanting to spend too much time cooking the night before the race, I was thrilled when I discovered a 10 minute sauce recipe while browsing the pasta aisle at market. I'm not a huge sauce person and this allowed me to combine the needed sauce to prevent the meal from being too dry with my love for chunky tomatoes. The results did not disappoint and I was carbed up and ready to go for race day. 

Pasta with 10 Minute Sauce


Ingredients

• 1 box, whole wheat pasta (I usually just go with whatever looks good to me on a given day)
• 2 14.5oz cans petite diced tomatoes
• 1 cup onion, diced 
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 4 tbsp olive oil

*I also tossed in some fresh broccoli to add some extra nutrients and color

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to directions on box
2. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until tender (about 5 minutes)
3. Stir in tomatoes, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste
4. Drain pasta, pour sauce over pasta and serve. Enjoy!

Alicia and I pre-race

Finished! Ready to start celebrating

A big part of why I run...that and the post-race pancakes I had prior to this