Millet, veggie, tofu, and sausage stir-fry

Sorry that it's been so long since my last post. I was out of town for a while, and ended up getting back home a day and a half late (due to some snow in Atlanta!). I've been very busy the rest of the week and have mostly relied on leftovers out of the freezer. I did manage to make this stir-fry, though. The thing I love about stir-fries is that you can throw just about anything in there and it will be good (or at least interesting). I ended up going to the grocery store as soon as I got back to Michigan (at 1 am) because I knew I wouldn't have much time later in the week. Let's just say that I'm not great at planning in the middle of the night, and I ended up with a refrigerator full of random things. The solution? Throw it all in a pan.

Millet, veggie, tofu, and sausage stir-fry

2 bunches broccoli, cut into pieces

1 link turkey sausage (about 1/4 lb), sliced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced thinly

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces

8 oz. button mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 cups cooked millet (or your favorite grain)

1 lb firm tofu, cut into cubes*

5 Tbsp soy sauce, divided (use wheat-free tamari for gluten-free)

Boil broccoli until it starts to get tender, drain, and set aside. Brown sausage in large non-stick skillet over medium heat and set aside. Add oil to pan and saute onion until tender. Add garlic and bell pepper and cook a few more minutes, until pepper starts to get tender. Add mushrooms and cook a few more minutes. Add millet, broccoli, and sausage, stir well, and let sit on low heat. Brown tofu in separate skillet over medium-high heat. Before it's completely done, add 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Once it's browned, add to millet and veggie mixture and stir in remaining soy sauce.

*Ideally I would have marinated the tofu in the soy sauce for a while before I cooked it, but I didn't decide to use it until half-way through cooking when I realized that the millet and veggies dwarfed the amount of sausage that I had thawed.

This confirms that I'm still in love with millet. Quinoa has become the new popular whole grain (perhaps because you feel like part of an exclusive club when you learn how to pronounce it), but there are so many other options. Millet does a good job of soaking up flavors, so it was perfect for this. I used some that I cooked and froze a couple of months ago. It was still delicious. One day I want to have a giant freezer so that I can store an infinite amount of cooked grains, fruits and veggies, beans, meats, and stocks. Cooking millet isn't a big deal because it doesn't take long at all, but it's still nice to cook up a big batch at once and always have some on hand (and it saves energy, too!). For now, I'll have to make do with small amounts of a few things...

The next couple of months are becoming busier and busier, but hopefully I'll manage to spend some time in the kitchen. I'm toying with the idea of cooking through a cookbook each month, so that might help by reducing the time I spend planning meals (although that is my favorite part...). Stay tuned!

Miso Soup with Shiitakes and Spinach

I haven't had miso soup in ages, but I ran across several recipes for it lately, so I had to make some. I ended up adapting a recipe from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything," which is a great reference and recipe book.

Miso Soup with Shiitakes and Spinach (adapted from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything")

2 cups chicken or veggie broth

1 1/2 Tbsp miso

4 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced

5 oz spinach, roughly chopped

2 green onions, sliced

Bring broth to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Saute mushrooms until tender and set aside. Remove a small amount of broth and mix with miso until it's smooth. Add this mixture, mushrooms, spinach, and green onions to remaining broth. Let sit for a minute before serving. Serves 4.

I didn't like the smell while this was cooking, but I was pleasantly surprised that the taste was delicious. I used a dark miso that I bought before I knew the difference between the types, and I would have probably preferred a light miso. The mushrooms and spinach make it a fairly hearty (but extremely low calorie) soup.

Bean Curd Casserole on Soba Noodles

**This is not a gluten-free recipe and was posted before I eliminated gluten from my diet. Substitute brown rice pasta for the soba noodles for a gluten-free meal.**

I've been dying to try out some of the recipes from a book called Practical Cooking: Wok and Stir-fry that I picked up at a used bookstore in Tallahassee. I haven't done much Asian cooking, but it's something that I want to add to my repertoire. Instead of picking a recipe and buying the ingredients, I tried to find a recipe that included things I already had (or could substitute). That's not usually how I do things, but it worked ok this time.

Bean Curd Casserole (adapted from "Practical Cooking: Wok and Stir-fry")

1 lb tofu (ideally use firm, but all I had was silken)

2 Tbsp peanut oil

1 bunch green onions, sliced

3 small zucchini, sliced thinly

1 small head napa cabbage, shredded

5 oz baby spinach

8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced

2 cups vegetable broth

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp honey (or agave nectar)

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

Cube/crumble tofu and set aside. Heat peanut oil over medium-high heat in skillet, add vegetables and tofu, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Mix remaining ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Add sauce to vegetables, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Serves 4-5.

It turned out with a good flavor, but it was very saucy (almost to the point of soup). I'm not sure if that's because I adjusted the veggies in this recipes (it originally called for green onions, celery, broccoli, zucchini, and spinach), didn't use firm tofu, or what. After I scooped the veggies and tofu out of the sauce, it had a good, albeit subtle, flavor. Next time I would definitely get firm tofu.

I was excited to serve this on soba noodles because the ones I've had in restaurants have been delicious. I wasn't keen on the flavor of these, though. They were made with buckwheat and yam, and perhaps I need to try the pure buckwheat ones. I'm not sure of the brand, but here's the package. I would avoid them.

I was in a flustered mood when I made this, and that may not have been the best time to try out a new cuisine. It went fairly well in the end, and I'm excited to try out more recipes from this book.