Spicy Shrimp Caprese with Lemon-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Summer and caprese go together like iPhone and plug-in, Mika and Joe, ice cream and hot fudge, or pick your simile.  This is true at my house and perhaps it is at yours.  It may be more true (is that possible) if you live in the places where the juicy, sweet tomatoes appear each year -- Illinois, New Jersey, Minnesota,  or add your state here _______________.  This is not true in Colorado where our nights are cool, rain is sketchy at best, and the growing season is oh, about a month long.  Maybe two.

Curried Lentil Soup with Fresh Greens

My most recent lentil love soup -- happily vegan, curried, and garnished with sunflower seeds and scallions.

Once, while visiting my sister, I said, "How about some lentil soup?"  knowing I was cooking dinner.   She shuddered and made as if to retch, all the while saying, "I love lentil soup, but..."  Turns out that years ago, when she was still cooking for her family, a very large and delicious kettle of the soup went uneaten by anyone except by her.  Days went by, the soup remained, she kept eating until....well, you might get the picture.  If you are not used to eating lentil soup (or bean soup or beans) every day for days on end, and you embark on such a journey, you might find you are in a tad of intestinal distress.  No one can fake-retch like my sister or show a horror of food quite like her; I wish I had a picture.  I made chicken noodle or asparagus--something else anyway. Maybe we went out?

Here's one of my oldest lentil soups.

Nutcracker Granola --- Gorgeous Homemade Gluten-Free Gift

I'm up early this morning making a big batch of nutty granola.     It's way below freezing in Colorado Springs today and the temperatures are doing nothing but dropping through tomorrow.  A warm oven blowing the spicy aromas of cinnamon and cloves through the house, snow flying, coffee brewing; there's something sort of homey and comforting about it.  I do not have to go out in it, so I probably feel a bit differently than those who are out starting their cars.

My plan for the day--after the granola, that is--  is to stay inside so I can make two big pots of beef vegetable soup.  One for today that I'll share with a couple of neighbors and one for the freezer for over the holidays.  One pot may get a little barley thrown in or a couple of cans of chopped chiles for fun.  I have zucchini, Parmesan, and tiny pasta; the other could move toward minestrone. We'll see in what direction these cauldrons of goodness feel like moving.  One could even be stew.  So many soups, so little time.

Out the back door this morning, north toward Denver:














If I'm honest, I also know I need to do a little housework. I'm having neighbors in for a holiday meal Friday night --one leaves early for a  long December trip -- and it would make sense to do a thing or two ahead of time. Right? While that's so, more likely I'll do a last minute Windex-clean in the bathroom, blow dust off the coffee table, and light plenty of candles so no one can see much except one another.  My house isn't decorated either.We were gone all weekend and I've been running the roads the past couple of days with errands, early shopping, and grocery stock-up.The tree is up with lights; is that enough?

                                Miss Gab and Tucker keeping warm.

No-Fuss Thanksgiving for Two or Four

BUTTER-BASIL CHICKEN WITH WINTER SQUASH

                  Not everyone, every time, wants to make a huge Thanksgiving dinner.  This fully-satisfying but simple menu is for the year when there are, thank goodness, just two of you--or maybe four.  Or for the year when you escaped the family and borrowed a friend's cabin on the lake or condo at the shore.  You'd like something tasty, but it's just not the year to spend two days in the kitchen.

                 This little menu begins with a sparkler (a sparkling wine)--an inexpensive Spanish cava or  New Mexico Gruet (not sweet and very reasonable)--and a bit of cheese.  No need to get full before dinner.  Next comes a magnificent, golden brown chicken* roasted with lemons, basil, and huge shards of winter squash.  Just to show off, there are nearly instant--but incredibly luscious--green beans graced with lots of bright lemon zest and a splashy note of crushed red pepper. A very fast, cooked stove top, spicy cranberry sauce made with apples and lemons is an optional side and truly a contrast.  Drink a good bottle of Pinot Noir with the chicken.  (I like an Oregon Pinot Noir, which comes at several different price points:  A-Z at the lower end, Ken Wright or Adelsheim further up.  Can't find one you like or can afford?  Ask the wine shop for a middle-ground French red Côtes du Rhône. Want white?  Choose an off-dry Riesling--German or Washington state. ) Tiny individual microwaved pumpkin "pies" bring up the rear--so to speak-- with no crust necessary, though you can add a small ginger thin at the bottom of each ramekin if you'd like. Coffee  you flavor yourself with cinnamon (a sprinkle in the grounds works wonders) and a nice piece of dark chocolate--or two-- end the day in happiness.




*You might consider a slow cooker roasted chicken if that would be simpler.

Israeli Couscous Salad

In the heat of the summer when tomatoes are lush and warm and cucumbers are cheap and numerous, I make a lot of Greek salads.  Sometimes there are lovely smoky hot peppers  and other times a few clean, green bell peppers suffice.  Feta makes an appearance if I have it.  Leftover salmon or chicken might get thrown in.  It's no longer summer, but...

The other day I saw something somewhere about Israeli salad and, while it's similar to traditional "Greek" salad, it has lots of lemon and often includes mint and/or other fresh herbs.  When I read the words, "Israeli salad," I just had to have some.  I like mine with cheese, but many people also add nuts or seeds. Some never add cheese so that the salad is pareve--doesn't contain dairy or meat-- or so that it's vegan.   Whichever way you choose, I think you'll be happy and full.

My favorite little bit about Israeli salad (which is served at many meals in Israel including breakfast) comes from legendary blogger David Lebovitz, who had Israeli food writer Maya Marom write a guest post about the salad after his return to Paris from a trip to Israel.  Maya tells us there just aren't any rules about making the salad as far as ingredients go:

Tomato Soup Faster Than You Can Say Grilled Cheese

I'm on a fitness program that includes lots of vegetable meals for lunch.  So instead of getting tired of one green salad after another, I switch off between soup, vegetables with vegetable dip, salad, and so on.  Luckily I cook.  Today I had a taste for tomato soup and no, I didn't want canned.  I have nothing against canned tomato soup and keep it in my pantry; there are days nothing else appeals.  But today I wanted real food.

Done in under a half hour, this lusty (I almost said perky, but perky it isn't) soup just about jumped out of the pot, put its arms around me, and begged me to eat it.  If you have no fresh basil, increase the Herbes de Provence (or a combination of dried basil, thyme, etc.) to a teaspoonful and then test taste it.   Easily vegan and gluten-free (without some of the garnishes), this meal will heat everyone up despite the weather.  It's sunny, but snowy in Saint Paul today.

Bannocks--Tasty Gluten-free Bread/Cracker and A Tribute to Marion Cunningham

A little apricot preserves...

 I never knew Marion Cunningham personally, but after my Mom, she pretty much taught me to cook and, perhaps more truly, to bake.  She died this last week (July 11, 2012--Read the LA Times obituary here) at the age of 90 after a lifetime of cooking, writing, and testing recipes for her cookbooks (Fanny Farmer, Fanny Farmer Baking Book, The Breakfast Book, etc.) and for her long-lived column in The San Francisco Chronicle.  She encouraged several generations of home cooks to... well, to just go on and cook.  Set the table and eat at home, please and thank you.

Would You Bring a Salad? Cilantro Coleslaw that Keeps

Crunch, Crunch--Here's today's slaw.  It keeps in the frig several days.  Munch, munch.

I have to admit that I adore coleslaw.  I choose it over fries at the Groveland Tap (our corner bar) in St. Paul.

Green Beans Sauteed with Onions and Garlic-- or My Sister Loves Green Beans

It's my sister's birthday month.  She loves green beans!

Sides like green beans, carrots, spinach, asparagus--otherwise known as vegetables-- aren't something I usually blog on their own.  Today  I'm  changing all that in honor of my younger sister.   You just  get the words "green beans" off your tongue, and she nearly swoons.  "I just love green beans!" is her immediate comeback.  And it doesn't matter how you make them, she'll eat them and be glad.  In our childhood days, our southern parents would talk about "a mess of beans" for supper.  That could mean anything from butter beans to pole beans to wax beans, but it usually meant a big pot of green beans.  That, along with some bacon or ham thrown in, a pot of rice, a pan of corn bread, and a plate of sliced tomatoes was a typical summer meal.  And, oh, by the way, you wouldn't throw out the juice or "liquor" the beans were cooked in because you might want to dip your corn bread in it or add your rice to the bowl for an instant soup, though no one would ever call it that.

Help! I've Got Leftover Take-Out Rice and Don't Know What to Do with It

Leftover Take-Out Rice Salad

Do you leave all that extra rice at the Chinese place?  (What do they do with all that rice?  Make fried rice!)  When you pick up take-out and there's two of those "little" boxes stuffed to the gills with white rice, do you eat it all?  Do you soy sauce it up with a scrambled egg for breakfast? That's one idea.  Throw it in chicken broth with chopped green onions, a drop of soy sauce, and shredded deli chicken?  That's another.

Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Butternut Squash and Fennel

 I've made this roasted chicken thigh and vegetable supper a few different ways....but the luscious, really luscious thing about it (besides being light on the wallet) is that you just throw a bunch of great food on a rimmed sheet pan, toss it with oil, salt, peppers, and rosemary, and shove it in the oven for 30-40 minutes.  Meantime--kiss your love, listen to NPR, iron your work blouse, or call your Mom.  Make double for leftovers or if you've invited a friend.   Wine?  Côtes du Rhône would definitely drink.

Chicken Chili for One

I once heard a woman say, "You can't make chili for two people."  As I began to write today, thinking about that conversation did make me do just a little bit of research...because I often make chili for one or two!

Baby Kale and Spinach with a Roasted Chicken Breast or...

When someone says "greens," I guess I usually think of turnip or collard greens.  Southern parents, I guess.   And while I like those on a  cold day with a big pan of crispy cornbread, that big mess of greens isn't my style all the time.  Give me a sauté pan full of teensy baby spinach just barely heated or even cooked way down with garlic as a base for fish.  Lately I've been adding kale to that mix and having that for lunch. (January, you know.)  A few grape tomatoes and a pinch of crushed red pepper and I'm that happy.  For the solo cook, both baby spinach and baby kale come in those not-so-green (tell me if  you know how to recycle them other than at Whole Foods) plastic boxes.  They keep a long time in your frig, which is useful for anyone who doesn't cook two pounds of vegetables every day.

Here's full-grown kale.  Chop it and saute it if you can't find baby kale.

Porridged Eggs after a Long Winter's Night

 I've never heard of porridged eggs, though my experience is that very little is truly new.  We've just lived too long.  For a few weeks, off and on, they kept coming to me.  I love the idea of oatmeal because I know my body, my heart, needs whole grains and oatmeal's tops.  But I also find that I operate better (and eat less) during the day with a protein for breakfast.  Especially in cold Minnesota. Hence oats and eggs.  But how?

I grew up with the occasional bowl of take-no-prisoners buttered, salt and peppered grits with my eggs fried to a crispy lace in bacon grease.  Along with biscuits slathered with sour cream and honey.  And the very best fried fish in the world.   Lest you think things were always that wonderful, there was the occasional pot of squirrel gumbo, as well.  And often there was dove that required careful chewing lest you bite into buckshot.  While I seldom indulge these days, my displaced southerner living-in-Chicago parents provided me with a culinary heritage upon which I still draw.  (Phew.  That grammar's a killer.)

Tomatoed Cod on Fennel with Sautéed Spinach

Mostly people don't realize it, but when you're out for Friday Night Fish-Fry in St. Paul (or anywhere), you're probably having cod.  It could be haddock or pollack, and we can almost be sure it won't be halibut, though that would be so tasty.  Served up with boatloads of tartar sauce and a tower of fries with cole slaw, it's nothing if not very, very beckoning.   Add to that the number of people who've traveled to the UK and are now hooked on "Fish and Chips" and you have a ton of folks walking around thinking this is one of their favorite meals. And way too often here, the fish is "all you can eat."

But get us in the grocery store or at the fish monger, and cod doesn't stand out.  Darker, sexier catches like salmon and tuna prevail and cod hasn't much to say.  I mean, what do you do with cod?  (What do you do with a lot of fish, in fact.  Whenever I'm in line to buy fish, the other customers are always asking the clerk how to fix this fish.  I've nothing against the clerks, but they are not often great or accomplished cooks.  If I can gently and gracefully chime in, I do.  Of course, if you know me, you know I'm neither gentle nor graceful.

Ham Fried Rice or Fried Rice, The Leftover Machine

After the egg is cooked, the rice is fried.  Next, the ham and veg are added but not stirred together with the rice quite yet.

 Anyone who cooks needs a few pantry meals.  Meals that can be made without a special trip to the grocery store.  Meals that definitely should be made without finding specialty ingredients ("order from this website.")  How about inexpensive, tasty, quick, and healthy, too?  Fried rice pretty much fits the bill.  If you haven't mastered some kind of fried rice technique, try this.  You'll probably be making fried rice every week because pantry meals are even more important for a solo cook for whom family-sized amounts of fresh food go bad quickly.

I can't take credit for this rice, though on my own I make tres yummy fried rice.  When I don't think about it and throw in the kitchen sink, that is.  Only this one small problema:  it's not consistant.  One time it's fabulous and the next time it's so-so.  Edible, but so-so.  Makes you want to scream.  So I set out to find a great, tried and true method to conquer.  This isn't saying it'll come out the same every time, because it seldom can.  There are different ingredients available; that's the beauty of fried rice.  It's a leftover machine. The Chinese use yesterday's rice to make it and they throw in what they have. (You can also add leftover grilled chicken or other meat, but that's definitely optional.)  It's often a late-nite snack.  Sounds good, huh?   But it can come out just about as mouth-watering delicious every time.

Setting out to find the best fried rice, I didn't go to the local Asian dive where greasy rice reigns.  I went to long-time Chinese cookbook author Barbara Tropp, who in the '80's wrote a definitive, American-friendly Chinese cookbook called THE MODERN ART OF CHINESE COOKING : TECHNIQUES AND RECIPES (Hearst Books, 1982; 611 pages.)  Still available on amazon.  I tried several kinds of fried rice, but first had to re-learn how to cook rice.  Barbara's way.  The Chinese way.  Note:  This fine cookbook has lots of recipes, but also teaches much about equipment and technique.  It's a good addition to your shelf.  While there are excellent  illustrations, it is not a photographed cookbook.  Why not take your own photos and make your own Chinese cookbook?

Writing for examiner.com yesterday, I put up a recipe for sugar snap pea fried rice.   Which is lovely.  Which is not pantry-friendly unless your ever-bearing garden has fresh snap peas all year long.   This recipe is pantry-friendly.  Particularly if you keep a bit of cryovac ham in the meat drawer.  That means the kind that's vacuum packed and keeps for a good, long while.  And once you make this rice, you just might keep that package of ham around.  The ham makes or breaks this rice.  Unless you're a vegetarian, that is.  In which case, you wouldn't want it anyway, right?  Insert tofu that you have drained, pressed, baked and stir-fried ahead of time.

Try this rice.   It doesn't take long (except for the original cooking of the rice--which takes 30 minutes.)  You'll like the way you feel.  I guarantee it!

Chop everything ahead and have it ready to go right next to the stove.

Barely cooked, chopped eggs.  No browned spots if possible.

Farmer's Market fresh spring/green onions (scallions)

Ham Fried Rice (with lots of vegetables)  3 generous servings

First, make the rice:  Make a day ahead (or in the morning.)  If you need to make it right beforehand, spread it out on a big baking sheet after cooking to cool and dry out for 15 minutes or so.

Making rice well:  (30 minutes--Day before or early in the day, if possible.)

1. Start with short or medium grain white rice if possible.  (Sushi rice will work.  If all you have is long grain rice, plunge on ahead anyway and buy more rice later.)
2. Take 1 cup of rice and place it in a bowl; fill with water.  Swish around 10-15 seconds.  Drain in a fine-meshed strainer or pour water out while holding your hand at edge of bowl to prevent the rice escape.
3. Repeat 5-6 times until water in bowl is becoming or is clear.  Shake rice well in strainer.
4. In a  2 - 2 1/2  qt. pot, place rice and 1 1/2 cups water (1 3/4 cup if you have long grain rice.)
5. Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low or low and cover tightly. 
6. Let cook 15 minutes.  You should be able to hear the rice bubbling and little wisps of steam should come from the pan.  (Not big streams of water that hiss and run; turn that mess down.)  If you don't hear/see this, turn the heat up a tiny bit until you do.
7. After 15 minutes, remove from heat (leave covered) and let rest for 15-20 minutes.  
8. Remove lid and fluff rice gently with a fork from the bottom.  Salt and pepper with a light hand; this is the first layer of seasoning for the fried rice. 
9. Let cool.  Store in covered container for a day or overnight if possible.  No time?  Spread out on a baking sheet to cool as per above.

According to Barbara Tropp (and to my lights, as well), this will result in a perceptibly lighter, fluffier, cleaner kind of rice.  In fact, it's delicious.  You can well understand why Asians eat a pound a day!  

Making the fried rice: (10 minutes chopping; 10 minutes cooking)
ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked/leftover rice
• Sea salt (or table salt) and freshly ground pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten lightly
• 3T peanut or vegetable or canola oil (you'll use this a bit at a time)
• 1/4 cup sliced ham, cut in thin slivers
• 1/4 cup each sliced red onion, sliced cabbage, green onions (save out 2 tsp for garnish),  cut-up broccoli, peas, thinly sliced carrots (1/4"x1""), chopped asparagus, etc.  (whatever vegetables you have)  up to 2 cups total*
• 1 clove garlic minced, 1/2 t ginger minced (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
• Pinch of crushed red pepper (or, in a pinch, use a couple of drops of hot sauce or a sprinkle of ground cayenne--crushed red pepper is definitely best here)
• Optional:  You can add soy sauce at the table if you like it.  The Chinese eat white rice with white salt. 
• Optional:  1/4-1/2 sliced or chopped leftover cooked chicken, shrimp, roast pork/beef or steak

1.  In a wok or a large, deep skillet, heat 2tsps peanut oil over medium-high heat.  Pour in eggs; let set a few seconds.  Turn over or pull eggs up to let uncooked egg underneath using a large wooden spoon.   Continue for a few seconds more until the egg is nearly done, but not browned.  Remove to a bowl and chop into tiny pieces with your wooden spoon.  Set aside.  You'll add it back in a few minutes.
2. Wipe out pan with paper towels or cloth towel being careful not to burn yourself.  
3. Pour in 1 tablespoon peanut oil.  Add rice.  Stir and cook for 2 minutes to heat and coat all grains of rice with the oil; do not brown.   
4. Push rice to one side of the pan.  Add a bit more oil and throw in the ham and vegetables, including garlic and ginger if you're using them.  (Keep out a little green onion for garnish.)  Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Stir the vegetables for 2 minutes or so until just beginning to wilt, but meantime also lift/stir the rice a little bit to ensure it doesn't brown.
5. Stir everything in the pot together.  Add the reserved chopped egg bits and stir.   If you are using up your leftover meat, add that here.  Stir together a minute or so.   Taste and adjust seasoning.  Add a bit more salt if necessary.
6. To serve, place fried rice in a bowl and garnish with the reserved scallions.  Chop sticks are fun; use them if you can.

*If you have leftover vegetables from another meal, use them by all means.  Just heat briefly until they're hot (no need to cook again) and continue the recipe.

 
Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce

Tuna + Spinach with Onions/Garlic in 15 minutes

Grilled Tuna and Spinach with Onions-Faster than Take-out and So Much Better

If you keep your eyes peeled, your local run-of-the-mill grocery store sometimes has fresh tuna at nearly canned tuna prices.   Well, that maybe exaggerates it a bit.  Still, it's not terribly expensive and doesn't need anything fancy.  This is a lovely meal for one.  Saute a pan of onions and spinach with garlic to complete the meal.  (Do it first so your tuna it hot.)

If you have any tuna left over, you can make a Salad Nicoise (a Provencal favorite) the next day.  Just slice your tuna kindly, add to the plate some boiled potatoes, sliced tomatoes, Nicoise olives (or Kalamata if you can't find Nicoise; the French tend to keep a lot of them.), some greens, anchovies( if you like) and steamed green beans. Drizzle the platter with a mustard or tarragon vinaigrette and Nicoise is nearly yours.  Perfect summer fare.  Is it summer where you are?  Anyway, before the Nicoise, you must make this simple tuna with sauteed spinach, onions and garlic.  Add a bit of baguette or even some leftover rice or potato and you're in the business of dinner.  Actually, you don't need anything else, though a bit of wine would go down well, as would a good book.

         Quote of the Day:  " Am I eating chicken or tuna?"  ~ Jessica Simpson

 Tuna and Spinach with Onions and Garlic in 15 minutes

• 1 small fresh tuna filet (Ahi is nice)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1T olive oil, divided
• 1/2 a small onion
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Set your table and get out your drink before you cook.  Crack your window or light a candle to dispel the fish cooking odor.

1. Pat down the tuna with paper towels and season it well with salt and pepper.  Set it aside.
2. Heat 2t of the olive oil  in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat and add the onion.  Stirring regularly, saute about 5 minutes until softened.  Add spinach, throw in a pinch each of salt/pepper and cook down about one minute.  Add garlic and cook another minute. Remove to plate and set aside.
3. Add other 1 t olive oil to the pan, raise heat to high, and let heat briefly--about 30 seconds. Add tuna; sear 2 minutes.  (Don't move the tuna; let it sit still.)  Turn and sear the other side for 2 minutes.  Place cooked, rare* tuna on top of spinach. 
4. This meal is lovely hot, but is also tasty at room temperature.  Refrigerate leftovers well-covered and immediately.

Solo Cook Notes:

•  Make a bigger piece of tuna if you'd like leftovers.  Fish salad for lunch is a treat. 
•  *Cook the tuna longer if you want, but brown tuna is tough tuna.
• Top with some pesto if you have any.
• I like Pinot Noir with tuna, but some people prefer Chardonnay or even Sauvignon Blanc.  Unlike simpler, lighter white fish, tuna stands up to a bit more of a wine or sauce.

How's that vegan thing going?   Each day (Vegan for breakfast and lunch) finds me expanding and I've had things like:  

Tofu Stir Fry

Tofu Stir Fry for One

You might be like me.  You'll eat tofu in an Asian restaurant.  Or when a friend says, "You've got to try this!"  And you like it.  Really you do.   But when you look around the kitchen for dinner, you do not cast around for firm tofu or silken tofu or any tofu.  Time to rethink.  You, too, can make perfectly-cooked tofu so tasty and so fast, you'll want it over and over again.  This stir fry will show you how and the vegetables are almost infinitely changeable.  Note:   if you use brown rice, it takes 45 minutes to cook.  You can make a big batch the night before and use the rest for other things.  You'll have enough  stir fry for lunch or dinner the next day.

Where'd this come from?  I'm rethinking my cooking options lately and after reading Mark Bittman's article in the January, 2011 issue of BON APPETIT ("Mark Bittman Knows What's Best for You",) decided to give the vegan life a whirl for breakfast and lunch only.  Add to that I happened to read a 2008 tofu recipe by Melissa Clark, "Tofu Meets its Match" and  I was off to the store for a piece of tofu.  I had to look for it.  It's in the refrigerated section with things like soy crumbles and soy yogurt.  Read all about tofu here, especially about how to store it.  (It stores, covered in water changed daily, for up to a week in the frig.)

Tofu Stir Fry  serves 2 hungry people or you twice

• 2 c cooked brown rice

• 1 piece of firm tofu approx 2"x4"
• 3t canola, peanut or any vegetable oil, divided
• Kosher salt and pepper, a pinch each

• 1T minced garlic
• 1T minced fresh ginger (more if you love ginger)
• 1 small onion, cut into large pieces
• 1/2 c cabbage, chopped roughly
• 1/2 c sweet red pepper, chopped roughly
• 1/2 c green beans, cut into thirds
• 1/2 c eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
• Pinch dried red pepper flakes

Sauce:  (Whisk together first five ingredients and then whisk in cornstarch. Simpler sauce in Solo Cook's Note.)

• 1/4 c soy sauce, plus more as a condiment for the finished dish (check for gluten free)
• 1/2 t sesame oil
• 1t honey
• 2t sherry
• 1/4 c white wine or chicken stock (gluten free)
• 1/2-1 t cornstarch (depending on how thick you like your stir fry)

1. Place tofu between several layers of paper towel and lay on a microwavable plate.  Place another plate on top of the tofu.  Microwave on high 2 minutes.  Remove from the oven, unwrap and gently press with another folded towel  to remove excess liquid.  Cut tofu into 1" square pieces.
2. Heat 2t oil over medium-high heat in large skillet or wok.  Place tofu pieces in pan, leaving plenty of room so they brown well. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Let brown well (takes 2-4 minutes) on one side.  Do not move tofu until it's well-browned; let it sit undisturbed.  Turn, using tongs, and let brown on the other side.  Remove to a plate and set aside.
3. Add other tsp of oil and heat pan to high.  Add ginger and garlic and immediately begin adding all the vegetables and red pepper, stirring as you go.  Continue to stir for about 2 minutes until vegetables are barely beginning to soften.
4. Return tofu to the pan and stir.  Add sauce.  Let cook about a minute until stir fry is about as thick as you like it.  Serve over or beside rice.  Shake soy sauce over rice or over all if you like it.

Here it is in pictures:

An Omelet and a Glass of Wine

..is a fine book by famed writer, Elizabeth David.  I wish I'd coined the phrase, but, alas, I just eat the meal regularly.  Add sauteed spinach, a piece of whole-grain toast (I often skip this or have half) and you have a meal.  (Photos below.) This particular omelet is a cheese one, but you can make whatever kind of omelet you like.  I'll give some tips about that at the bottom under "Solo Cook's Notes."  If you'd like to see another, more classic omelet prep, watch this Julia Child video et voila!

Or watch Jacques Pepin make an omelet here.   Choose your method!

A great Judith Jones omelet post, with lots of pics from her kitchen, is here.

No, I'm not pedaling books, but I've read Elizabeth David (and others-- Jacques Pepin or MFK Fisher for example) for years.   If you like yummy prose as well as yummy food, try books by  these writers who knew from words and knew from food. 

My Little Omelet Info and Primer:
Omelets are  notorious for using up leftovers...that bit of broccoli left from last night, that last tablespoon of chopped onion or green pepper, that bit of hard cheese you didn't wrap well.  Here are a few tips:

• Best quality cage-free eggs.  (or from a local farmer)
• Don't overbeat your eggs.  30 whips with a big whisk is plenty for two eggs. 
• Buy a heavy-duty, 8", nonstick pan (or stainless steel if you like that) and you'll have it for a long time.  I like Scanpan for more expensive pans and Pampered Chef for a good cheapie. 
• Don't be afraid to crank that heat up a little to really get the butter really hot.  But don't dare walk away either.  Turn off your cell phone.
• You must have everything you need ready before you heat the pan, because after that, your eyes and your hands must attend the omelet.  Set table and get your drink first.
• Do not make an omelet without butter unless you are allergic to it, are vegan or have a health problem that requires you to use oil.  Omelets are made with butter period. 
• As the eggs begin to cook, gently stir them to allow uncooked eggs into the bottom of the hot pan.
• If you want to cook more than one omelet, heat the oven to 200 and let one omelet rest there while you cook the other.   Move on to a frittata if you have several people.
• Be brave, cook your omelet and enjoy it!  However it turns out, you'll eat it and be glad. 
• Note: For South Beach Option, skip toast

Omelets are great for solo cooks.

 

Lentil Soup-Eat, Freeze and/or Share

Lentil soup for one (or more)

  I have a dear friend named Helen, with whom I've cooked many times. 

Helen makes a mean lentil soup and stirred up a pot of it one night at a beach house we had rented together.  The deal was this:  if you came for the week, you had to cook one night and clean up the others.  Except for one fine fellow, who appeared to be only in charge of libations.  Fine by me.  

Friend Suzy grilled fine tuna and stirred up some Italian beans and herbs to slip under the fish.  I think I made breakfast...,an egg casserole and cinnamon rolls.  But Helen made this soup and I watched her.  I came home and tried to duplicate and document the process, but I ended up with something different, of course.  Is it as good?  I'm not so sure, but you know everything tastes good at the beach.  Here's the soup, which with your changes/additions will become your own.  Work on it after you've made it once; add the vegetables you like and change or leave out the meat.