Sunday fancy Taiwanese cooking

So, how do they eat in the little-talked-about country of Taiwan? That little blip on the map is home to some excellent fresh food...similar to Chinese, but with its own flare.
Last weekend, my friends were amazing enough to spend a few hours slaving over the stove to show us how to turn some marinated tofu, twisty mushrooms, and obscure greens into a good solid Taiwanese meal. Although the Asian way of cooking tends to be...throw a bunch of things into a pan until it looks right, I tried to turn a few of our creations into recipes (All are eaten over sticky rice, by the way). Here they are (Photo credits go to my awesome photographer roommate ;)

Tofu Appetizer:

This recipe uses this kind of tofu:


Boil tofu for one minute or so
Slice into strips
Arrange it nice and fancy on a platter and drizzle with sesame oil. Garnish with ginger, cilantro, and Asian hot sauce.




Squash with Thai Basil:

Cube and steam hard winter squash until it is just starting to soften
In a separate pan, sauté garlic, 1tsp brown sugar, and salt to taste in vegetable oil
Add steamed squash, 3 tbsp oyster mushroom sauce, and a little water
After a couple minutes, add about 3/4 cup fresh chopped basil















Tofu and Mushrooms in Brown Sauce:

Soak dried black mushrooms in hot water until soft
Sauté garlic, 1 tsp brown sugar, soy sauce, and the mushrooms in vegetable oil
Remove mushrooms from pan and place in a bowl
In bowl of mushrooms, add ½ c water, 1 tsp sweet potato starch, 1 tsp soy sauce, and 1 tsp sugar
Sauté cubed firm tofu in pan (add more oil) until golden
Add mushroom mixture to pan with tofu and cook until heated through















Greens..Taiwanese Style:

You can use all kinds, including bok choy, yam leaves, cabbage, spinach, or any other sautee-able greens.

There's lots of variation for cooking…but generally sauté them in veg oil and salt (You can also add a little brown sugar, garlic, or fresh ginger)
At the end, you can add sesame oil or oyster mushroom sauce

Here's the Resulting Feast!

On faith...

Often when we’re sorting through the musty cobwebs of life, we may have to make that difficult choice…To believe or not to believe?

We often forget that we are not the first to have faith. Even though Christ would have to wait His ENTIRE LIFE before He could see the full fruit of what He was believing in, he still KNEW that this time would come and was willing to wait. And not just to wait….but to actively wait.

It was a deep certainty of what Jesus was waiting for (and the JOY of it) that drove Him to spend hours of every day with His disciples…patiently teaching and relentlessly loving. Even when He knew they would not fully comprehend his words and actions until it all had been finished.

It was a deep certainty that drove Christ to heal the sick anyway…even when it enraged many people around Him. Every day for 30 some years…He chose to believe and He chose to love. And many times He escaped to pray and ask for what He waited for.

It was a deep certainty that drove Him to carry His own cross up a hill after almost everyone had abandoned Him and the people He was hoping to save were not only blind to the love He was showing, but they were actually demanding His death. He could have doubted. He could have given up. But instead, even though the impossibility of these people actually understanding and believing was everywhere around Him, He gave His entire life away to the point of death.

So Jesus Christ was certain. It seems that when we go through times of shaky circumstances contradicting what God has promised….When we have the choice to believe in the world around us, or in our God…This gives us a chance to participate in what Christ experienced when He was here. To know at least a little bit about what this was like for Him. And also to come to the place where we know that what we wait for (and more importantly, WHO we wait for) is true and we can be certain enough (and excited enough about the results!) that we are ok with waiting…and actively waiting. Actively loving anyway…Actively praying….Actively walking with Jesus, who has gone before us and promised to give us a hand if we find it hard.

And it just so happens that the same One who has all this experience living by faith is the one who promises to help us do the same...since all of this is certainly not easy. As hard as all this is...it sure is a good thing He's planning to give us a hand!
So...
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

A little stew to beat the frost…

This is one of my favorite warm things to make...Probably because I like to mix spices of all kinds together and see what happens. Let me know what you think...



Moroccan Stew:


1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
vegetable oil
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth (hopefully using the below recipe!)
12 oz chicken, sliced into 1 inch pieces (optional)
1 16 oz can chickpeas (in place of chicken if making vegetarian stew)
3 medium potatoes, cubed
2 turnips, cubed
2 carrots, chopped
1 1/2 tsp tumeric
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry
2 bay leaves
a little cayenne
salt to taste
2/3 cup raisins or chopped dried apricots or prunes
1 16 oz can chopped tomatoes

Couscous

In a large saucepan, saute onion, garlic and ginger in vegetable oil over medium heat until onions are soft but not caramelized. Add broth, (chicken), potatoes, turnips, spices, and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, adding carrots after about 5 minutes.



When vegetables are tender, add dried fruit and chopped tomatoes (and chickpeas if using) and cook over medium heat for 5 more minutes.

Serve in bowls over prepared couscous like this:




So now’s the time when all the fall crops are winding down and you may be wondering what to cook with all the lingering fresh food. Since my friends owns a vineyard/organic farm, my roommates and I get fresh produce delivered every week and initially I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the giant pile of turnips, carrots, and greens. Well….after using a little brainpower, I concocted this soup:

Butternut Squash/Fall Veggie Soup:

4 cups vegetable broth (canned or homemade…recipe below)
3-5 turnips (depending on the size), cubed
3-4 carrots, sliced
2/3 cup red lentils
2-3 bay leaves
1 tsp ginger
a little cayenne
2 cups cooked butternut squash
Salt to taste

Bring vegetable broth to a boil and add turnips, carrots, red lentils, bay leaves, ginger, salt, and cayenne. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook root vegetables until softened (liquid may be considerably reduced at this point). Place cooked vegetables (and broth if you want) into a blender and puree. Add the butternut squash to this mixture and place back in saucepan, cooking the entire mixture until heated through. Add water if the soup is too thick.

Vegetable Broth:

This is a GREAT way to put your leftover vegetable scraps to use! Given the cost of vegetable broth in the grocery store, it’s a great way to save cash. Basically, fill a pot with water and add whatever vegetable pieces you have on hand.

Celery, carrots, onions, and garlic cloves add the most flavor for your punch, so try to use these if you have them.

Some other suggestions are:
Leftover broccoli stalks (I’m sure you can put the tops to better use!)
Greens that aren’t quite good enough to cook for dinner
Tomato pieces
The part you peel off of beets
Leftover cabbage
Shells from peas
Potato peals. Almost anything goes.

To add a little flavor, parsley is a great addition…as well as bay leaves. Other herbs can be added too depending on what you’re making…oregano and thyme for an Italian soup, for example. And plenty of salt. When you have all your vegetables piled in your pot of water, boil them for about an hour or so (shorter or longer depending on how strong you like your broth). Then place a large bowl under a colander and pour the broth through in order to remove the vegetables.