South Indian White Bean Dip

I’m leaving for the UK tonight, so I haven’t been eating proper food the past few days because of the necessary pre-vacation cleaning out of the fridge. (Although I have to admit that I have been enjoying my dinners of black bean and pepper jack cheese quesadillas.)

 

Here’s another dip I made for last month’s cocktail party. I was originally going to make a Tuscan-style white bean dip, but I decided against that because the rest of my menu was Asian/Indian. I got the idea for this from my mom; we were eating at one of my favorite Italian places in the East Village and were served a bowl of whole white beans in oil with red pepper flakes, parsley, and garlic along with our bread. Apparently a similar dish is common in South India, except the garlic and parsley are replaced with roasted urad dal and mustard seeds. And so I decided to turn that into a dip.

The Minimalist's Zucchini Pear Soup

This is another one that I made a few weeks ago but never got around to posting.  Those of you who are regular New York Times readers might know that Mark Bittman aka The Minimalist writes a weekly column in the Wednesday Dining section. He usually takes seasonal ingredients and makes a simple dish with them, hence his title of The Minimalist. A few weeks ago, he provided us with a recipe for Zucchini Pear Soup.

I made the soup that night, but I threw in a few modifications. So while I can’t take credit for the recipe or even the idea to put these two ingredients together, I can take credit for sneaking in some wine and for cutting down the prep time by grating the ingredients rather than chopping them.

 

Ginger-Soy Noodles with Tofu and Red Peppers

I’m leaving for a 10-day vacation to the UK on Thursday, so I’m in the process of clearing out my fridge. Which means that my dinners have consisted of random food items that I have unearthed from my pantry and fridge (nachos, pita chips, and pizza bagels, anyone?). I don’t have the audacity to pretend like any of those things are worthy of this space, so I'm putting up a few things that I made a while back but never got around to posting. 

This one is for my friend Meg - I made this for her one afternoon when we were having a marathon viewing session of The Wire. It’s incredibly easy to make and is way better than cold takeout sesame noodles.

Ginger-Soy Noodles with Tofu and Red Peppers
(serves 2)

7-8 oz. firm tofu
2 tablespoons ginger-soy sauce (I really like Whole Foods’ 365 Organic brand)

4 oz lo mein noodles or thin spaghetti

1/3 cup water
1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter (I prefer chunky or natural for their texture)
3 tablespoons ginger-soy sauce
¼ - ½ teaspoon sriracha sauce (depending on how spicy you like your food)

½ large red pepper (cut in half lengthwise)
2-3 large scallions
1 small or ½ large cucumber

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)

***************

Cut the tofu into approximately ¾” cubes. Toss with 2 tablespoons of sauce and microwave on high power for 5 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In the meantime, cut the pepper half into ¼” by 1 ½” strips, chop the scallion, and peel, seed, and chop the cucumber into ½” chunks.

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and run under cold running water, then return them to the pot.

Add the tofu to the noodles in the pot. In the bowl in which you cooked the tofu, add the water and peanut butter, stir to combine, and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Stir well, then add the ginger-soy and sriracha sauces. Add the sauce and sliced vegetables to the pot, and toss well to combine.

Top with cilantro and serve warm or at room temperature.

Chickpea, Leek, and Saffron Soup

Here’s another one that was conjured up more by necessity than creativity. I’m leaving for a 10-day vacation next Thursday (more on that later), so I need to use up all my perishables by then.  Today was a gray rainy day, so soup was definitely the way to go for dinner.