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Recipe: asian chicken sandwich

I am totally feeling it. It was 72°F in Boulder on Friday and I had the sunroof open while driving around town to let the heat escape from my car. The hairs on the back of my neck were prickling because it was overly warm (for me). I found relief once I pulled into the driveway at home and stepped out into the refreshing 50°F air. I’m not going to fight it, but I will relish the remainder of the cooler season as much as I can. Still, all signs point to spring and it is indeed happening around here!

used a little of that rei dividend on some summer sandals with grippy tread

a budding pasque flower poking through the forest litter

catkins from (what i think is) a coyote willow

aspens fuzzing out with catkins

The plants around the mountains are not leafing out yet, which is a good thing because there are a few more winter storms coming our way. At this point, it isn’t even the skiing (but I’m totally going to ski the powder!), rather it is the moisture that we need. Yes, please… more water. In the meantime, our neighbor’s son had a birthday and we were party to his scavenger hunt around town for his birthday gift. They stored the kayak from our garage rafters for a month and this morning, our young friend came by to receive his final clue.

all parents should be so cool

Kayaks, catkins, sandals… I told Jeremy on the trail the other day that I was excited for summer despite the anticipation of a foot of snow coming our way this week. Even though summer is hot and I don’t like the heat, all manner of good things go on in summer. I love waking before the sun and walking the mountain trails in that cool air… smelling flowers and streams and dirt and trees, hearing bird songs and the zippy zooming sounds of hummingbirds. And then there are the sandwiches which come into more regular rotation with our longer days. You can never get too much sandwich – especially this incredible Asian chicken sandwich which I have asked to marry me.

start with asian cabbage slaw: red and green cabbage, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, carrot, green onions, ginger, lime, cilantro

shred the cabbage

colorful mix of vegetables

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Recipe: chicken pot hand pies

We were just gifted 10 inches of snow. In past years this might not have been as big of a deal, but it’s the most we’ve received in one storm this season at my house. Jeremy hit the local hill despite our aversion to weekend crowds. I stayed home to work and to nurse a sore back after running icy moguls just a few days prior. A dump of snow is always welcome, but what lies underneath depends on the weather that came before (this is also critical for avalanche assessment). We have had sun, wind, and warm temperatures interspersed with a few inches here and some frozen spittle there. It can be pretty crunchy stuff. And when you’re glad that your skis find ice underneath the powder instead of rocks, you know it’s been a paltry winter. So when Jeremy got home in time for lunch, I asked him if he wanted to step out for a ski tour on the local trails.

the snow was coming down all day

and the trees retained all of their poofballs

silent and beautiful

It’s a lovely thing to be out in the mountain forests when it snows. It’s quiet, peaceful, invigorating. We don’t talk much so we can listen for moose, elk, or maybe spy a winter white rabbit before it tears off into the woods. The focus is on our environment, our energy, the weather, the rhythm of the kick and glide. But once we get to the car, all thoughts turn to what there is to eat at home. This is especially true when there is something particularly good and exciting waiting in the kitchen. This time, we had chicken pot hand pies.

chicken, mushrooms, onion, potatoes, carrots, garlic, lima beans, parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, olive oil

dice the vegetables

chopped and minced

I love me a good chicken pot pie, but I think I am completely enamored with savory hand pies. The first time I had a proper savory hand pie was in New Zealand where the ubiquitous meat pie won me over… as did their fish and chips. Then I sampled a small fraction of what Australia had to offer. A few years later I was walking with Todd and Diane through little Saigon when Diane purchased a pâté chaud for me to try. Heaven. And last summer while I was running on fumes at the Boulder Farmer’s Market, I plunked down some cash for the last chicken hand pie at Sharmane’s booth. So much happiness in one tiny pastry package.

mix the vegetables, herbs, and olive oil together

toss

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Recipe: sesame tofu

I had the opportunity to enjoy several meals with my parents this summer, because of their extended stay in Boulder. It became so routine that my parents would sometimes order Chinese takeout and supplement it with some of their own Chinese dishes. On one occasion, Mom had ordered sesame tofu. Believe it or not, I had never had it before. It was good, albeit greasy in that Chinese restaurant way. A few weeks ago, I had a sudden craving for sesame tofu and said to myself (as I always do), “I bet I could make that.”

sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, ginger, green onions, tamari, sesame oil, honey, rice vinegar, cornstarch, tofu, garlic

Don’t you just love when you find out how easy it is to make a recipe at home? And the more experience you have with cooking and baking, the more accessible recipes become. Not only does it demystify cooking, but you also understand what goes into your food and ultimately, into your body. Plus, you get to tweak it to your liking! I’m all about customization, don’t you know.

The first step is to press the extra-firm tofu. It always sounded so tedious to me, but it’s quite simple. Wrap the block of tofu (extra-firm) in paper towels and place it on something flat. Then set a heavy flat-bottomed something or other (bowl, plate, etc.) on the tofu to help press out liquid. While gravity and pressure do their things, you can prepare the sauce.

pressing the tofu

sesame oil, rice vinegar, tamari, minced garlic and ginger, honey, hot pepper flakes

adding tamari to the mix

stir the sauce together and warm it on the stove

While the sauce is on a low simmer, mince your green onions and then unwrap your tofu if it has been pressed for 20 minutes. 20 minutes is not a magic amount of time. I actually pressed the tofu for 30 minutes because I was shooting two recipes at the same time. Oh well. Pat the block of tofu with dry paper towels and dice it. I cubed mine to just under 1-inch cubes… more like 3/4-inch cubes.

mince the green onions

towel it off

large dice

**Jump for more butter**