potato squash soup - with an asian spin

will have to add a photo later for this simple - simply delicious really - soup

ingredients
6 white potatoes - boiled, peeled and broken into pieces
1 small-ish acorn squash - first baked whole in the oven at 350 for about 50min then seeds scooped out and just scoop out every bit of squash goodness.
1/2c green onions
8-10c water
2tbsp chicken base
2 pho bo bouillon cubes
1tbsp garlic powder
1tsp onion powder
1.5tbsp cumin
.5tsp mexican chili
.5tsp paprika

i used a pot that holds 6L - about 1.5 gallons)
10-12c water (lost count...bad recipe writing...bad)
then all the spices and base and bouillon cubes in the boiling water until nicely dissolved
add the other ingredients
keep on medium for 10min or so
then break out the hand blender to blend it all (i left a few chunks unblended for that home-ier feel - at least it is to me, perhaps chunks annoy others - don't know - but going with home-ier feel)
another 5 minutes

done!

oh, i love homemade soup and this was a cheap and easy soup that lasted for 3 full meals for all 4 of us (i just added 1.5-2c water each time i reheated) - the pho bo cubes added that lovely asian flair but am sure subbing a bit of garlic powder, cumin, lemongrass powder and some pepper would have done the trick too. it could also be easily adapted to have more of a mexican spin, or none at all - the heartiness of the potato and squash make spices belt out in song! ugh, a bit over the top as i write this at 341am - not able to fall back to sleep after the 1yr old's late night waking.

the boys loved this soup - but they love a bit of asian flavours to begin with. the 3.5yr old had a full adult serving bowl of it...success!

leftover pulled bbq beef - reinvented as asian - lemongrass, peanuts, cashews and rice noodles

oh i love when leftovers are completely used in a new way. this was easy, involved the use of one of my fave asian ingredients - lemongrass - and all enjoyed it (3.5 and 1yr old included)

ingredients
about 1lb of pulled bbq beef
2tbsp soy sauce
1/4c fish sauce
1.5tbsp (or to taste) chopped lemongrass from frozen
1tbsp garlic powder
1c unsalted cashews (i chopped them up in small pieces and toasted them in the toaster oven
2tbsp sriracha sauce
1 package of rice vermicelli (any width noodle, but i like them sort of medium range)
3tbsp peanut butter
2.5-3tbsp demerara sugar or brown sugar

i boiled up and drained the vermicelli (al dente)

in a skillet i added all but the cashews and beef - so the sauce essentially - then added the beef and a few cashews

transferred to wok - slowly added portions of the rice vermicelli to blend the sauce.

topped with toasted cashews.
lemongrass - enhances leftovers amazingly well

slow cooker pulled beef and peanut sauce - asian flavours - many meals

mmm - lemongrass
this week, i decided to simply go with herbs and spices i love and see what happened.
it helped as well that cheap beef roasts were ready to go in my freezer.
this recipe ended up becoming 3 meals

lemongrass pulled beef in rice wrappers with peanut sauce

ingredients
2.5-3lb beef roast (mine was 1.99lb so a cheap cut)
1 pho bo bouillon cube
2.5c water
2tbsp soy sauce
2tbsp chopped lemongrass
1tbsp each of turmeric, cumin, minced garlic and lime juice
sugar to taste
...all in the slow cooker on low for 8hrs (pull at about 7hrs in)

wrap in rice paper wrappers with a bit of iceberg lettuce and shredded carrot

now...peanut sauce
1-1.5c water (for desired thickness)
1c peanut butter
1tbsp lime juice, fish sauce
2tbsp soy sauce
1/4c chopped onion
sugar to taste
...cook on low on the stovetop
...use as dipping sauce
i like to add sriracha sauce after it's plated (that way the peanut sauce isn't spicy so the bubs can eat it)

 DAY 2 of this recipe
pulled beef pho
omit the peanut sauce
there was enough left over liquid to use as a soup base
add one more pho bo bouillon cube
4-6c water
1c pulled beef
soy sauce to taste
1/2 pack of asian rice vermicelli noodles
...all together in a pot until the noodles are soft

 DAY 3 of this recipebeef pho with rice noodles
ingredients
1.5c pulled beef
1c water
1/2 pack of asian rice vermicelli noodles
peanut sauce (reheat) 
sriracha sauce to taste (optional) 
...cook noodles in a pot of water until soft - drain
add water and noodles to walk and pulled beef until well blended
...top with peanut sauce

 DAY 4 of this recipe (lunch)
salad with pulled beef and peanut sauce
can be served hot or cold
just add the beef and sauce over lettuce (with or without carrots, cucumber)

can you tell this recipe was a success?! there are still leftovers in the freezer.

bbq and asian week - meal planning

inspiration this week is in a few parts.
it was incredibly hot, and there was not going to be a lot of oven use. bbq was a natural choice, and asian came out of necessity. i actually think i got a bit of heat exhaustion after i did nearly 4.5hrs of walking while wearing the bub and acting as tour guide to a dear cousin on a quick visit from ireland.

bbq - my fondest memories of food on the bbq isn't from home, but rather my childhood best friend's home. her dad could seemingly do anything on the bbq and it tasted great.
that smoky corn on the cob, the perfect steak, even pork chops on the bbq (and i am not a huge fan of pork so this is an accomplishment ;)
her dad had a talent with the bbq that in my childhood mind is unrivaled in any of my adult experiences in terms of home cooking.

my list of dishes with recipes and pics in the links...

breakfast
omelette with cheese, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes
fried eggs with leftover potatoes
yoghurt and fruit
fruit salad
rotate

snacks/lunch
a lot of cantaloupe and watermelon
blue, seedless grapes
coconut rice crackers
rice crackers and hummus
veggies and dip
leftovers
salads
sorbet

suppers

• takeout vietnamese for 2 suppers (when i wasn't feeling so great it was all about soup) so i had pho, and both the 3yr old and the bub enjoy pho and vermicelli. i did post my simple recipe for strawberry sinh to and avocado sinh to - sinh to being that fancy, vietnamese version of a shake...yum
• steak and potatoes - we did steak and potatoes twice. once with top sirloin, white potatoes and salad, the other time with t-bone, white and sweet potatoes, corn and salad.
• indian night - this was a last minute inspiration/addition - brown rice with tomato dal, tofu curry, and a refreshing drink...mango lassi.
• freezer meal night was tostada lasagna, and veggie burgers
• hot steak salad

i share my meal plans at orgjunkie.com

leftover night - asian

i had a lot of leftover rice noodles so in a wok i threw in a bunch of leftover baby bok choy
pack of squid (about 350g
and made a sauce
added about 4tbsp of chopped cilantro from the garden
then
black bean paste
big splash of soy sauce
about 3tbsp of sriracha sauce and fish sauce
tbsp of sugar (i used sucanat - a natural sugar

yum. i love asian flavours.
i did add a little side dish that i didn't make - rice rolls - but i did pan fry it instead of steam
here's a pic

veggie meat with bok choy and eggplant

have been doing more vegetarian dishes and had an eggplant to use so i boiled then stirfried in strips with a pack of yves asian "meat" and a few heads of baby bok choy in the wok. threw in some garlic chili sauce and a bit of soy sauce and fish sauce.

pretty good although the flavour from the yves asian "meat" was a bit overly ginger-tasting. and i don't mind ginger but it added a little more sweetness than i like for eggplant.

simple pad thai

when i am out of tamarind, this is my alternate pad thai recipe

so simple pad thai

vermicelli/rice noodles (at least 1/2lb) softened in hot water

then in a wok, fry (use a bit of oil or water
3 eggs that are already lightly beaten
1lb shrimp (skins off, tail off

then for the sauce which you add after frying the eggs and shrimp

1/3c fish sauce
1/4c ketchup (usually prefer a few tbsp of tamarind but this does work well)
1.5tbsp sugar
1/2c water (may need a little more if you cook longer
2tbsp minced garlic

then add the rice noodles
and about 3min before you are ready to serve
add 2-2.5c bean sprouts

toppings (all optional but add a lot of flavour
3tbsp of the greens of spring onions chopped
1/4c peanut pieces
dash of crushed red pepper or siracha sauce
3tbsp cilantro chopped
lime wedges to squeeze over your dish

yum - this has been my pad thai recipe for at least 10yrs now, yum! if i have it i substitute tofu for eggs and tamarind for the ketchup (and then less sugar)

meal plan - some asian inspiration

breakfast, lunch and snacks are not part of the theme week

breakfast
fruit/yoghurt
omelette - pesto and pepper
oatmeal
rotated

lunch
pulled chicken wrap
leftovers
salad
soup and salad
and a lot more leftovers

dinner
several nights worth when i prepped my version of chinese takeout - i put each dish in re-usable aluminum containers with lids
so
squid and pepper and baby bok choy in black bean sauce
lo mein noodles in soy sauce
rice noodles - a bit thai inspired
lemon chicken
cashew chicken
quick dry fried noodles with chinese greens
pad thai (w/ scallops)

snacks
much like the week before
but a lot of rice crackers and dip
and cuttle fish snacks from one of the thai grocery stores