Fried Singapore Noodles AKA Getting Rid of Leftover Veggies

A quick recipe I made yesterday that I wanted to share. I was trying to get rid of a few left overs before things started to go bad on me. Ingredients that I was trying to get rid of: half a head of cabbage (left over from some pressed salad), about 8 spears of asparagus, Singapore noodles, and a half of a red onion. Kind of a weird mix up of veggies. I once made a really good recipe from the Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone that was a fried Udon noodle dish and it was really good. It also called for onion and cabbage. I figured I could adapt that recipe to save these ripe veggies from hitting the trash.

Fried Singapore Noodles *Adapted from The Kind Diet
serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• One package of noodles (Singapore, udon or other)
• half a head of cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)
• half large onion, sliced
• handful of asparagus (ends trimmed), chopped and steamed
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• pinch of pepper flakes (omit if you don't want spicy)
• Other vegetables if you like (Broccoli, Kale, collards, chard, mushrooms etc)

First cook the noodles until al dente and set aside. I steamed my asparagus on top of the noodles cooking. While the noodles are cooking, take a skillet and add 1 Tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the cabbage and cook for about 15 minutes or until the cabbage is soft. If it starts to burn, add some water.

Once the noodles are cooked, get a second pan (large one that will fit everything in the end, I used my big pot) heat the remaining oil and add the onion. Cook until it is soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, paprika and the Chili flakes and cook for another minute or so. Add the cabbage and mix well. Add the asparagus and the noodles and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until everything is well combined and heated through.

And serve.

I just ate this on its own, but to make a more balanced meal, have it with a salad and maybe some grilled tofu or something. Not totally necessary as I found this to be satisfying and filling on its own, but we know it is better to be balanced right?

Summertime Succotash!

It seems like it has been a while since I put something healthy up and I also had an abnormal amount of frozen lima beans hanging out in the freezer, so it seemed time that I do something with them. Perhaps something healthy.

Photo Credit: Joseph De Leo (cookstr.com)

Like many other legumes, are fat-free and an excellent source of fibre which is important for lowering cholesterol. In addition to that, the fibre in lima beans prevent blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, so if you are diabetic or hypoglycemic, these are a particularly good choice of food. When combined with a whole grains, they become a very good source of protein.

Now these benefits are similar to other legumes, but lima beans are an excellent source of molybdenum, which is a trace mineral the detoxifies sulfates which is a preservative used in wine, beer dried fruit, potatoes and sometimes on salad bars. Limas have over 80% of the daily intake of molybdenum in one cup.

So, Limas obviously have some great health benefits, but what to make? Succotash seemed like the obvious choice to try. I searched online and the tradition recipe for succotash is not really so healthy. Most of them called for nearly a cup of butter and granulated sugar. So I got out the Kind Diet for their vegan version and it was much better looking. Only a little butter and really I think you could cut it down even less if you wanted. I don't think having a bit of butter (vegan butter that is) is such a bad thing. Here is the recipe. it says it makes six servings, but I halved it and it seemed like it makes 1-2 servings if you are eating as a meal. Three, if you are having it as a side.

Summertime Succotash
From The Kind Diet

• 1 Tbs Earth balance Butter
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup of red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 package of frozen limas, thawed (I think this about 2 cups)
• 1 cup of frozen or fresh corn
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 Tbsp basil, chopped
• 1 Tbsp of white or red balsamic vinegar

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the onion and cook for five to seven minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and cook another minute.

Stir in the lima beans ans saute for five more minutes. Add the cord and the tomatoes and cook until heated through (don't heat so long that the tomatoes start to cook, you want them to hold their shape). Remove from the heat and add the parsley, basil and vinegar.

Serve warm or cold. I tried both and warm was my favourite, but cold was pretty good too!

My thoughts on this dish? Easy to make with ingredients that I generally have around the house. It is quick and tasty and portable. While cooking I wondered about adding in cooked quinoa to the mix when you throw in the limas. You would need to up the oil/butter and the vinegar I think, but it would be a tasty addition for a one pan meal.

Apple Crisp with a Twist

My mom is not known for being big into cooking. I think to her it was much more of a chore than it was a hobby. However, she has saved over the years a select amount of recipes that are so, so good. I never gave her a lot of credit for this, but her small stash of recipes are top notch. Last night, I was craving one of these: Apple Crisp.

Apple crisp is an easy recipe and found on many menus in Edmonton and probably found in a lot of kitchens too. Ingredients are generally simple and the steps are fairly easy to put together successfully. Apple is one of my favourite foods. I am not able to pass up apple dishes when I go out and I take my apple crisp very seriously.

The trick to an amazing apple crisp is to make sure that it isn't too sweet, has a bit of salt and a bit of spice. You also need to ensure that the crisp is crispy. My mom's recipe accomplishes all of these things, so of course I stole it and veganized it. Then I jazzed it up a bit because.. well... I also was craving peanut butter. It was just one of those nights. I am not sure who to give credit for this recipe. I suppose my mom. She obviously got this recipe out of a newspaper about 20 years ago, so who ever came up with it, thank you! The peanut butter caramel topping I adapted from Veganomicon.

Apple Crisp

• 4 apples, washed, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/3 cup of flour
• 1 cup of quick-cooking oats (I used regular)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup melted margarine or earth balance

Peanut Butter Carmel Topping

• 1/3 cup of peanut butter (not the kind that separated, the regular stuff)
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 1/2 Tbsp brown rice syrup
• 2 Tbsp chopped Pecans

Preheat your oven to 375 F. While that is heating up prepare your apples and put them into a large casserole dish. Now prepare the topping, combine the flour, oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon in a bowl and combine. Add the melted margarine and mix until everything is coated. Pour on top of the apples and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes.

While the crisp is cooking, prepare the topping. In a sauce pan combine all the ingredients except for the pecans. Heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture pours off your spoon in a ribbon. Add the pecans and stir again. (Note: make this just before the crisp is ready so it doesn't harden on you).

When the apple crisp is ready take it out of the oven and drizzle the topping over it. You should let it chill for a bit before serving, but I usually risk the burns and dig in immediately. I have very little self-control when it comes to dessert. If you want to fancy it up, sprinkle a little powdered sugar and garnish with mint.

Enjoy!