i like good smells: fragrant jasmine rice & jerk-spiced tofu

I love stuff that smells good. This soapis one of my favorites and after washing up, it's hard not to stop sniffing my hands. And a little while ago, I bought this candleand while I haven't even lit it yet, whenever I catch it's scent in our apartment, I swoon. What can I say, I've got quite the nose. Last week, I made 2 dishes that were super fragrant and made the whole apartment smell amazing. The jerk-spiced tofu was good, but it's this rice that I plan on making again and again.

For the rice, I would definitely seek out the lemongrass as I think it made the rice dish seem very authentic and uber-scented. However, if you don't have it or can't find it, add in the zest of one lemon instead. Both recipes are adapted from a cookbook that I don't use that often, Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites, but after these 2 very successful adaptations, I'll definitely be cracking it open on a regular basis. These are very simple recipes that don't take a lot of time to make, despite the exotic ingredients.

fragrant jasmine rice
(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites)
2 c jasmine rice
1 t canola oil
2 T minced lemongrass (stiff outer leaves removed)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 small green chili, seeds removed, diced
1/2 t salt
1 c crushed pineapple, undrained
1 T fresh basil, chopped
2 1/2 c boiling water

Rinse rice and set aside to drain. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and add in the lemongrass, garlic, shallots, chili and salt. Cook over medium heat until fragrant and soft, about 3 minutes. Add in the remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes before serving.

jerk-spiced tofu
(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites)
1 onion, diced
3 green chilis, seeded and diced
3 T soy sauce
1/4 c cider vinegar
2 T brown sugar
1 T fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T fresh thyme, minced
1 t ground cloves
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t black pepper
1 block of tofu, pressed

1. Press the tofu by placing between 2 plates and weighting the top with a couple of cans. Let stand for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400F. Meanwhile combine the remaining ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.

3. Drain the tofu and slice lengthwise into 3 slices. Place layers on top of each other and slice on the diagonal to cut into triangles. Cut again into the opposite corners so that you are left with 12 tofu triangles. Place in 8x12 baking dish and pour jerk sauce over top, making sure all sides of the tofu are covered. Bake for 1 hour, turning pieces frequently. Serve with rice.

hotcha! spicy thai noodle soup

After quite a battle, I'm waving the white flag. I'm sick. I've lost my voice and have turned into quite the sad sack. On Thursday night, I realized that we were out of broth. Nothing frozen, no cubes, no cartons, nada. I wanted ramen soup and so I bravely ordered out for some from a local Japanese restaurant. What arrived on my doorstep was an insult to ramen soup everywhere. The broth was murkey in the worst way and stunk to high heaven. I tossed it. Luckily, I had also ordered some passible agadashi tofu so I was able to at least eat dinner. The next day, I picked up a few needed ingredients and decided that a homemade ramen soup was going to be on the menu for dinner. But since I was sick, I was drawn to the kick-ass flavours of chilis, ginger root and lemongrass. Screw the ramen, I was going to make a spicy Thai soup with Japanese noodles instead.

This soup is really easy to make, despite the long list of ingredients. First, you want to infuse the broth with goodness, so I threw in a frozen chicken carcass I had in the freezer along with some very heady, aromatic ingredients: ginger, chili, lemongrass, garlic. If you don't have old bones laying about, skip it! Make it vegan! Don't have fresh chilies? Used dried. And for noodles, I found some fresh Japanese ramen noodles at the grocery store, but you are welcome to use rice noodles, udon, soba or just plain old spaghetti. Just use a long noodle with a bit of chew that gives a good slurp...because with an asian noodle soup, slurping is the best part! Enjoy.

spicy thai noodle soup
1 carton of chicken or veggie broth
1 chicken carcass (optional)
2 hot yellow or red peppers, seeds removed
2 inch knob of ginger, smashed
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 green onions, chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, smashed
1 T soy or fish sauce
zest & juice of 1 lime
8 mushrooms, sliced
2 t toasted sesame oil
2 individual packets of Japanese ramen noodles (or other noodle)
1 carrot, julienned
1/2 c shredded chicken, bbq pork or diced tofu
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped

In a large pot, bring the broth, carcass (if using), chilis, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, green onions, soy/fish sauce and lime zest to a low, simmering boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain out all the solids and discard while placing the broth back into the pot.

Meanwhile, heat sesame oil in a frying pan and add the sliced mushrooms. Saute until golden and juicy. Add the mushrooms and their liquid into the broth, along with the julienned carrots, ramen noodles and your choice of protein and bring the pot to a low boil for 2 minutes, careful not to overcook the noodles. Add in lime juice, adjust for seasoning and serve. Top bowls with fresh cilantro.