Adobong Sitaw and Kangkong (Green Bean and Water Spinach)

When you think adobo, you probably envision chicken or pork. But here's the thing - you can adobo much more than that. The key ingredient to make something adobo is vinegar. Pick a meat or vegetable and braise in vinegar - adobo!

If you're looking for water spinach at the Asian market, look for hollow stems, the leaves are long, narrow and pointed at the end. I bought this at the 99 Ranch in Hackensack, but I'm sure they sell it at the markets here. 

Adobong Kangkong (Braised Water Spinach in Vinegar)

adapted from Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine 

2 pounds water spinach 

2 onions

4 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp coarse black pepper

1/4 cup white vinegar

splash soy sauce

1. Blanch water spinach for 20 seconds. Place in ice bath to stop cooking

2. Saute onion and garlic on medium heat until soft

3. Add spinach, vinegar, soy sauce, salt and pepper

4. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated

5. Serve immediately

Repeat with green beans/yard long.

Goes great with grilled meats.

Sidesgiving

Because I am heading home tonight and M has to work the holiday, we had Thanksgiving dinner last night. Since he's a vegetarian, he prefers sides, but I did buy him a meat-free "turkey" to round out the meal. The brand is Gardein, which I bought at Honest Weight. I have to say... it was pretty good. Could have done without the cranberry stuffing, but I will probably buy this again for him for Christmas.

Our dinner -

• Green bean casserole - tried and true. First time I added soy sauce... or maybe I always have and just keep forgetting. Either way, lovely.
•  Cornbread stuffing casserole - M wanted Stove Top, but then had mentioned a co-worker had tried the Trader Joe's version and liked it. So I went with that, using vegetable stock for the liquid and added a tablespoon more butter than the recipe called for. Pretty good, I had to stop myself from eating all of it. M does need leftovers for tomorrow.
• Gardein savory stuffed turk'y - So much better than tofurky. So. Much. Better. It does have a weird taste that I couldn't place, but it wouldn't stop me from having it again. It also comes with gravy packs which helped me out since I couldn't find a veggie friendly pre-made gravy.
• Corn - nothing fancy, just heated up.
• Mashed potatoes - instant, I cheated. Fancied it up with cream and extra butter. And the gravy from the turk'y helped.
• Bloody Mary's - why not? Plus I needed to kill the last of the vodka that's been sitting there. Extra horseradish. Because. Yes.
  

Total price for this dinner, excluding drinks, was ~$24.00. All but the stuffing and turk'y was bought at Dollar Tree. So now you know, a holiday dinner is possible from there. Slightly more expensive than if I had bought it from Walmart or perhaps the supermarket, but if it's the closest place... do what you gotta do.

Farro Salad with Tofu

Thanks to Eat, Write, Retreat I received two samples of farro from Tuscan Fields. Not only did Tuscan Fields give away samples of their product to try, but they are also offering a scholarship for this year's Eat, Write, Retreat conference being held in Philadelphia. 

Wouldn't it be awesome if I got picked?

***I didn't win. Tack on the choke Michigan played out in the second half and I am super sad***

Moving on...

I'm pretty limited in my grain knowledge, but after some research I can tell you that farro is a type of wheat grain. The name farro apparently covers emmer wheat, spelt, an einkorn. The grain commonly grown in Italy is emmer wheat. It looks very similar to wheatberries and has the same nutty flavor when cooked. I used it as a substitute for the brown rice in what is quickly becoming one of my favorite dishes.

Farro Salad with Tofu

1 package Tuscan Fields Farro Perlato
1 package firm tofu, well drained
~1/8 cup tamari
4 ounces sun ripened tomatoes, cut into thin strips
8 ounces frozen petite peas

Preparing the tofu takes a little longer so start on the this first. Drain the tofu - I used the two plate method, but you can use baking sheets with raised sides. Give it about ten minutes and enough liquid should be expressed. Cut into even sized cubes and place in a bowl. Add half of the tamari and toss to evenly coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for ten minutes.  Try a piece to see if it's seasoned to your liking and add more as needed.

Place on a parchment lined and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for approximately thirty minutes, or until the tofu has browned. Cool.

Cooking the farro was relatively easy. A good rinse in cold water  before adding it to a pot of boiling water. Takes about twenty minutes and what you get is a grain that doesn't clump and has a chewy consistency. Maybe it's just this picture, but the cooked farro reminds me of puffed wheat cereal. Drain well and allow the farro to cool. I poured the farro out onto a baking sheet to speed up the cooling.

The tomatoes and peas can be done last since it's pretty quick. If you have sun dried tomatoes you can use those, but just reconstitute them in hot water and squeeze out the excess liquid. If you have the oil packed ones, try to drain off as much of the oil as possible. As for the peas, add them to a pot of boiling water for a few minutes. Pretty much when they all float to the top it's time to drain and rinse under cold water.

To make the salad, just add everything into a large enough bowl and toss, making sure all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Enjoy!

Fool Me Three Times…

It probably wasn't the smartest idea to grab a beer after eating some ice cream. But it was only fair to M that he got something after I dragged me out to Delmar for dessert. I casually mentioned what the beer of the day was over at Brown's, and it piqued M's interest.

I can't even remember the last time we were at Brown's... well over a year ago. The reason for such a stretch between visits was because every visit has been lackluster. I don't even want to say mediocre, because that's kind of mean, and because the last visit was so long ago. Issues with the beer, issues with the food, issues all around. So I haven't been jumping at the opportunity to go there - hell, I've passed up invitations from co-workers to go there because of those past experiences.

But that's just me, and I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about because people still go there in droves. I'm just a girl with limited understandings of beer and finicky tastes who also has a food related blog. I absolutely have no idea what I'm talking about.

M ordered the heffe, which according to him tasted off. Strong sulfur smell. Dominant hop flavor, as it should, but still off. He ordered another in case that first one was a fluke (and it was the beer of the day). Tasted just the same - off.

"Why do we still keep going here?" he asked after finishing the second beer.

Nothing really sounded appealing, but I decided to get a couple of sides anyways. The coleslaw was alright, but as you can see it was pretty soupy. Liquid aside, I liked that it wasn't mayo-heavy as slaw can be. I also got the potato wedges with rosemary and sea salt. I'm guessing it was baked, which was fine, but do yourself a favor and pass this up.