Hot enough fer ya? (If you are reading this in the future, let it be known that when I typed this, it had been in the 90s all week, and over 100° elsewhere.) But I have air conditioning, so I can still cook! And so I do. I am way behind in posting recipes, but I'll share three with you today. I have no photos because I just never remember to take them. But if you go to the links you can see what these dishes look like, and those photos are surely better than any I could take anyhow.
First, for the vegans, we have a lovely tempeh taco recipe from the Washington Post. I swear you will have no idea it's tempeh—I mean, really, who is really aware of what the protein is in tacos? But you could certainly use ground beef or turkey instead (skip the oil), or even crumbled tofu. It comes together really fast.
3 tablespoons neutral oil
1 (8-ounce) package tempeh, grated or crumbled (I used the large holes on my trusty box grater.)
1 small yellow onion, coarsely grated (ditto)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon taco seasoning*
*I instead used WaPo’s blend: ¾ teaspoon fine salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the tempeh and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and let it toast slightly and begin to brown and coat the tempeh, about 2 minutes. Stir in the water and taco seasoning. All done!
Serve with whatever taco fixins you like: taco shells (or tortillas if you prefer burritos), shredded cheese (well, then, it won’t be vegan, or you could use a plant-based version), shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomato, salsa, sour cream (again, not vegan), guac, hot sauce, etc. I also served Goya low-sodium yellow rice alongside.
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Now, for all you flexitarians out there, we have surprisingly yummy shrimp burgers! The recipe was for sliders, but I made full-size burgers. Leftovers were just as good the next day. They're easy to make, but be aware that they need to chill for 1 hour before you cook 'em.
Shrimp Burgers with Zingy Slaw
4 scallions, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped
½ red bell pepper, roughly chopped
½-inch piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped grated (I found that the food processor didn't break this up enough, so I will use my Microplane next time.)
2 garlic cloves, minced (Likewise, I'll probably use my garlic press next time, although I didn't notice any large bits of garlic.)
¾ cup panko, plus more for coating
6 tablespoons mayo, divided
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (It doesn't matter what size, since they'll be chopped up.)
2 cups shredded cabbage (I used a bag of coleslaw mix, which is easier—and prettier because it has green and purple cabbage and also carrots. The 9-ounce bag from Trader Joe's measured out to a heaping 2 cups, so I used the whole thing, but weirdly the info label said the bag contained three 2-cup servings! HUH?)
1 to 3 teaspoons sriracha (I gave it a good squirt—maybe 1½ to 2 teaspoons?)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons neutral oil
8 Hawaiian rolls or slider rolls, or 4 full-size rolls, toasted (I used brioche buns)
In a food processor, pulse the scallions, bell pepper, ginger, and garlic a few times. Add the panko, 3 tablespoons of the mayo, and the soy sauce and pulse a few more times. Add the shrimp and pulse 8 or 10 times, just until they are coarsely chopped and combined—do not make a paste! You still want some chunks. Wet your hands and form the mixture into 8 small or 4 large patties. Place them on a plate lined with parchment and refrigerate for 1 hour.
In a medium bowl, toss together the cabbage, remaining 3 tablespoons mayo, sriracha, and rice vinegar until well combined. (Since I used slightly more than 2 cups cabbage, I added a little more mayo and vinegar.)
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Put some more panko in a shallow bowl and dunk each patty in it to make them super crunchy on both sides. Cook the patties until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or maybe a little longer for full-size burgers. Serve on the toasted buns with slaw inside. I served these with french fries. No, I do not deep-fry in July, not even with central air. I did frozen Ore-Idas in the oven, and they were quite good thank you very much.
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And for the carnivores, here's a recipe for a quick and yummy noodle dish with ground pork.
Pork and Peanut Dragon Noodles
¼ cup chili garlic sauce (This made it quite spicy! My lips were buzzing! I will likely use only 3 tablespoons next time.)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
8 ounces ground pork
¼ cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
2 (3-ounce) packages ramen noodles (discard seasoning packets)
3 scallions, thinly sliced
Put a medium pot of water on to boil.
In a small bowl, whisk together the chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar to make your dragon sauce.
In a large skillet, cook the ground pork over medium heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spatula until it is cooked through and browned (add a little oil if you need to; I didn't). Stir in the dragon sauce and peanuts. Simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the ramen noodles to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions. Drain.
Add the noodles to the skillet and toss until everything is combined. Top with the scallions and serve. I made this a while back and can't remember what I served with it, but I think I sautéed some baby bok choy. That definitely sounds like something I would do.
All three sound really good, but I'm totally intrigued by the shrimp burgers. I'm going to have to give that one a try -- and will likely go for full burgers rather than sliders. I too usually use a coleslaw mix rather than shred up cabbage myself.
Posted by: Beth F | September 16, 2022 at 06:39 AM