Pad Thai Hodge Podge...

Art and I both travel for work and when she is out of town for a few days, the kitchen becomes much more of a place for experimentation, trial and error, and improvisation. With her most recent trip on the horizon, I began to ponder what I should whip up for an edible adventure. I had a bunch of hodge podge veggies in the fridge at the week’s end, and I had a craving for something different. I settled on trying something I had done before and loved, but wanted to put a twist on it. It’s a stir fry indeed, but I don't know how else to describe it. I use a fabulous pre-made Pad Thai sauce from Wegman’s, and simply stir fry up some tofu and tons of veggies. I absolutely love this meal.

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Ingredients:

1 lb      extra-firm tofu (Wegman’s Organic)  

1          large onion, cut to preference

2          small bell peppers

3          cloves of garlic, minced

4          carrots, diced

2-3 C    tubers or any root veggie, diced

1          plantain, diced

3-4       ribs of kale, leaves torn

1 C      snow peas

1          7 oz. Pad Thai sauce (Tasty Bite)

1 T       Virgin, unrefined coconut oil (Spectrum)

Olive oil

Instructions – Cube up tofu, press and dry on paper towels. Meanwhile, cook onion with medium heat until translucent, add garlic and continue for another minute. Remove mixture from pan. Place tofu in same pan and let cubes brown on each side. Remove tofu from pan.

With tofu and onion mixture aside, add carrots and root veggie with olive oil as needed. In a separate small pan, add coconut oil to medium heat and add plantain. Let it go on medium for a while, turning pieces until golden brown. 

Back in main pan, once carrots and roots veggies are tender, add back the tofu and onion mixture. Then proceed to add all remaining ingredients: peas, plantain, pepper, kale, and sauce. Cover on med-low heat, stirring occasionally. This won’t need much time, I just like to allow all the veggies to get steamed and simmer a bit in the sauce.

Serve immediately over soba noodles.

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This is a fantastic way to use up leftover veggies in the fridge and incorporate so many different flavors, textures, and diversity in one dish. While there’s really nothing that’s “Pad Thai” about this meal besides the sauce, that sauce is a super easy and delicious addition to bring everything together. 

Enjoy!

Oodles of Zucchini...

On a friend’s blog the other day, I saw a recipe using zucchini noodles. This instantly intrigued me more so than usual for some reason. I have heard and even eaten zucchini noodles before but never made them. For some reason this time it all came together and I gave it a whirl.

I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner that night as I came across the idea to make these veggie noodles, so it was perfect timing. Not to mention I had a spare zucchini in the fridge that was beckoning to be used. Additionally, we received a julienne peeler back when we got married and I think it was untouched until this idea came along.

What’s more? Art likes to be as gluten-free as possible, and we were out of gluten free pasta! What a series of extremely fortunate events.

There is not much to it at all, as long as you have a julienne peeler. Shred the zucchini into noodles down to the seeds and let them sit in a bowl for a bit after throwing some salt on them to draw out moisture.

Meanwhile, I had the middle, seeded part of the zucchini remaining, so I decided to chop it and begin sautéing that while I let the noodles sit. (Side note: probably the best cooking method for zucchini is to sauté. I used to bake it a lot but learned it keeps more nutrients when it’s sautéed and adding olive oil allows for more absorption of fat-soluble nutrients.)

After getting the chopped zucchini cooked, I added the noodles, let them cook for a minute or two (they don’t need much) and added some sauce to bring everything together.

That’s it!

A plate full of veggies – my favorite.

401 Diner...

I love a good diner… emphasis on good. Eclectic menu, breakfast all day, open all day, and I’ve had some fantastic desserts at this type of American dining staple. What makes a diner even better? When they emphasize using local and organic ingredients…

Enter: 401 Diner in Conshohocken.

I thoroughly enjoy a good, big breakfast, so I anticipated the chance to visit 401 soon after I caught wind of the establishment’s habit of using local ingredients of good quality.

Art and I visited recently to find a modern, clean cut restaurant with 360 degree glass to view the passersby and buzz of Main Street. We enjoyed each part of the experience, from décor, to service, to edibles.

The menu is quite classic for a diner breakfast, and quite welcome in that regard. Some interesting items include tofu veggie scrambles and passionfruit juice while some local offerings include Taylor pork roll and the “Cunshy” omelet loaded with Kennett Square ‘shrooms. Art settled with a classic, healthy helping of eggs (their two Lancaster free range eggs look like four you’d get anywhere else!), home fries, and chocolate milk. Does it get better?

One yolk poached and pierced for perfect "ooze" factor

I opted for my all-time favorite breakfast when out to eat: Eggs Benedict. However, I requested it my way, subbing Taylor pork roll for the quintessential Canadian bacon. Most main breakfast dishes, including ours that day, also boast local Kennebec home fries on the side. I absolutely love piercing a poached egg and waiting for the moment of truth to see whether the golden yolk begins to flow. My eggs benny was super tasty and I’m happy to report the eggs were poached to perfection.

Everything was fantastic and we’ll make sure to visit again soon! Thanks 401, not only for being a classic diner but also caring about what your patrons eat.