EZ Chi-Neez Noodles

Personally, I never eat Chinese food unless it's Dim Sum, roast pork/duck, or cai lan (aka Chinese broccoli). Vietnamese food is so much better and healthier. So, next time you're craving Asian food, don't even dare to order nasty Chinese take-out ever again because here's a real simple dish anyone can do in less than 20 minutes. It's Chinese-style egg noodles with tofu and Chinese broccoli (or
your choice of noodles with your choice of protein and your choice of veggies). it'll be so impressive, yummy, and cheap, you'll want to make it every week!!

12 oz package of tasty fried tofu (or your choice of protein: chicken, beef, shrimp, etc.)

15 oz. package of chinese style egg noodles (thin kind or any noodles you like: rice, buckwheat, etc.)
1 bunch of chinese broccoli (or other green veggies you like: bok choy, bamboo, mushrooms, bean sprouts, etc.)
1 medium onion
3-5 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp oyster sauce
3-4 tbsp soy sauce (I use the low sodium kind but any will do.  You will just have to adjust the saltiness to your taste)
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup water
1-2 tbsp sesame oil (I use the spicy sesame oil bc I like it spicy but you can add fresh chili peppers or even Sriracha instead too.)
1-2 tbsp olive oil
total sauce is about 1 cup
4-6 servings

The noodles:
Boil a pot of water and follow the instructions on the noodle package to cook your noodles el dente.  The fresh Chinese-style egg noodles only need 3 min. to cook so don't over cook them.  Strain and rinse.


The sauce:
While you're waiting for the water to boil, make your sauce- combine the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, water, and sesame oil.  This is a real rough estimate since I don't measure when I cook.  So just make a small bowl of sauce and add water to dilute the sauce if it's too salty.  Adjust until it tastes good to you. If you want lots of sauce, make more. If you want to make it thicker, add a little cornstarch.  If you want to make it spicy, add chili. If you want it sweeter, add more sugar.

The fun:
Cut your onion in rainbows, dice your garlic, cut your Chinese broccoli to be bite-size (roughly 2-3 inches depending on the size of your mouth and I also cut them diagonally cause it looks prettier).  Using a wok or your largest pan (this makes a lot so sometimes you can't fit it all in your wok/pan so you have to do two batches), stir-fry the onions with a little olive oil and then add the garlic on medium high heat. Garlic burns faster so you don't want to cook the garlic and onions at the same time. Dump in your veggies and tofu and let that cook a few minutes. (If you're cooking with raw meat, cook that first then the veggies.) Then throw in your noodles and toss and turn like a professional Chinese chef.  Again, do this quickly kung-fu style, so you don't over cook your veggies unless you like them mushy.  Remember, the noodles are already cooked, so once the noodles are mixed in with the sauce, you're done and ready to chow down baby!

So EZ Chi-Neez Noodles... it's making me hungry just looking at the picture!

Too Good to Be True Turnip Green Soup

I'm a Vietnamese girl from Michigan.  I have never heard of turnip greens or turnip green soup!  If it weren't for me being in Texas and for the awesome Farm-to-Work program, my palate would never have been so enlightened!  Every week, I can order $25 worth of seasonal organic veggies from local farmers.  I don't do it often because it's usually too much for 1 person but it's the season of the greens and I love me some greens!

This is how it works and what I got for 25 bucks*:

turnip greens
2 bunches of mustard greens
collard greens
kale
spinach
bok choy
romaine lettuce
2 heads broccoli
green onions
a bunch of sweet potatoes
an onion
a clove of garlic

*If you don't like something, you can trade whatever you don't want for something you do want. That's cool.  So, I traded in a bunch of green onions for the mustard greens.  Not bad, eh?  Usually, I trade in the okra too because I haven't figured out yet how to cook them right.

So, it was really cold on Saturday and of course, I felt like soup.  FYI, I love soup!  I started a big pot of chicken stock.  I love making stock because it's so easy and yummy!  Here's how you do it.

A couple pounds chicken bones (2 carcasses) or 1 whole chicken
A couple carrots
A few stalks of celery
10-15 whole peppercorns
I recommend roasting these cause it's so much better and just use what you have or be creative:
1 whole onion
1/2 clove of garlic
1 thingy of ginger
Other misc things you can add if you want to experiment:
bay leaves
coriander seeds
lemon grass
whole all-spice
other veggies you have in the fridge that needs to be used
chicken neck

Throw it all in a big pot (about 6 qts.) and fill the pot with cold water, covering the whole chicken.  Then just let it boil and simmer for at least 2-3 hours.  The longer, the better for sure.  Skim off the foamy chicken goo and fat that collects.  Strain off all that goodness and compost or give to your kitty and then make whatever soup floats your boat!  Or freeze a portion of the stock for next time.  You can also turn this stock vegetarian by just omitting the chicken, of course.  I've done it before for my veggie friends and they loved it!

Sorry for the half-empty pot. I had already used half of the stock to make the turnip green soup but you can see I've got chicken neck and bones and carrots and all kinds of stuff in there!  That's what makes a good soup.

Then, I had to figure out what to do with all my Farm-to-Work veggies and my stock. So, while it was simmering, I googled "turnip greens" and came up with a few turnip green soup recipes.  Perfect!  I never heard of it before but I love soup.  The basic recipe calls for turnip greens in a stock with navy beans.  Well, I didn't have navy beans nor am I a huge fun of them so I just used what I had, lentils and a can of black beans.  The nice thing is you can use whatever kind of beans you like. I didn't follow any of the recipes and just made up my own awesome impromptu version of turnip green soup recipe:

1 1/2 - 2 qts of stock (medium pot)

1 bunch of fresh turnip greens, dice the turnips and cut the greens in 2 inches or so. (I suppose you can use the frozen ones too)

1 small onion, diced

1 can black beans, strained and rinsed

1/3-2/3 cup lentils

1 tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions in a little olive oil.  Then add your stock and bring to a boil.  Add the lentils first, since they take the longest to cook.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked.  About 10 minutes after the lentils, add the turnips.  They're like potatoes, so they take a while but not as long as the lentils.  Then when your lentils and turnips are cooked, add the turnips and can of black beans and turn off the heat.  It'll be enough to cook. You don't want to overcook the greens and the black beans.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Then you got yourself some yummy and ultra healthy (high in Vitamins K, A, and C) turnip green soup!!!  

I don't know what turnip green soup is supposed to taste like, but I don't think it matters as long as it's got turnip greens in it and it's yummy!

A Quick-y Turkey Chili

On a cold and wet day in Austin, there's nothing I crave more than a hearty and healthy chili that's quick and easy to make. I try to substitute turkey for beef whenever possible because it's a healthier option and you can't even tell the difference. (oh, and this is not the turkey left over from Thanksiving, haha!) Keep in mind that I don't usually cook with specific recipes so you need to trust your taste buds.  Don't worry, this is so easy you can't go wrong. So, in less than 45 minutes, you can have a hot savory chili to eat for yourself!

Ingredients:

1 package of ground white turkey (19.2 oz/1.2 lbs)
3 14.5 oz cans of chili ready tomatoes (you can use regular diced tomatoes as well)
1 15 oz can of red kidney beans
2 small yellow onions or 1 medium to large onion, chopped
*2 handfuls of chopped baby carrots (I like the added crunch and beta-carotene)
*2 stalks of chopped celery or 1 can of corn
4-5 cloves, chopped (I like a lot of garlic but you can adjust to your liking)
2-3 tablespoons ground cumin (adjust to taste)
2 tablespoons chili pepper or cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

*optional:  I always add additional veggies if I have it and need to use it. It adds extra crunch and nutrition or if you like southwestern style chili

Cook the ground turkey on medium-high heat in a stock pot with olive oil, the chopped onions and garlic and season with the cumin and chili pepper.  When the turkey is cooked, add the 3 cans of tomatoes and the chopped carrots and optional veggies.  Let it simmer on low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the carrots are cooked but not too mushy (unless you like it mushy).  Strain and add the red kidney beans at the end so they don't get mushy. Salt and pepper to taste although you won't need much salt if you use the chili ready tomatoes. Add more cumin and chili pepper if you want more flavor and spice. I also add crushed red pepper or jalapenos because I like my chili spicy. Then enjoy with saltine crackers, shredded cheese, and/or bread. Or if you like it real southern, you can make it a Frito pie with corn chips.