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Recipe: crumbled tofu stir fry

Thanks to some technologistical hiccups, my last post was published before email subscribers were migrated to a new service, so I apologize if you didn’t receive a notification. But email subscription limbo has now been resolved, and hopefully this is the last we’ll talk about that.

Most of our aspens have been stripped bare by intermittent winter storms and winds, but we find the delicate rattles of the remaining dried leaves soothing when we take the pups on leisurely hikes. I rather like the quiet time in the mountains between the leaf peepers and the ski crowds, when locals are left to their own shenanigans. The diurnal swings in temperature fooled Jeremy into thinking it was too early to switch to flannel sheets despite his complaints about sleeping cold overnight. Once we made the switch, his outlook on life flipped 180°. It will probably flip back after Daylight Saving ends and the sun drops behind the mountains at 4:30.

the local stand had a good run this year

cool air and hot sun, everyone finds their sweet spot

yuki and the charlie brown aspen tree

those autumn sunsets are something else

We’ve been making the most of this lull before ski season, cramming in medical and dental appointments, fixing and organizing house things, voting (have you voted? local elections are important, so please read up on the issues/candidates and vote!)… you know, adulting. I’ve also carved out some time to do a little recipe testing – especially vegetarian recipes. It can be hit or miss and the misses will require additional work, but I’m sharing a real winner today. My aunt recommended this tofu stir-fry from Melissa Clark on New York Times Cooking which I admittedly skipped when I first saw it in my subscription, but gave it a try on her suggestion. I’ve incorporated my aunt’s tweaks as they improve upon the dish.

cilantro, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, canola oil, lime, edamame, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, salt, tofu, ginger, garlic

It all starts with a block of firm tofu. Firm is important or else you will wind up with a mushy mess and many tears. Look for firm or extra firm on the packaging. Melissa Clark shreds her tofu and drains the shreds on a towel, but I prefer to freeze, thaw, squeeze, and crumble my tofu. Freezing tofu results in a spongier, more chewy texture, and the tofu absorbs marinades better and fries up crisper. This requires a smidge of extra planning: Freeze the tofu in its packaging overnight or for 12 hours, then thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When thawed, press the tofu between your palms, squeezing out a good bit of the water. From here you can crumble the tofu by hand. I pull chunks off the tofu block and squeeze out more liquid before crumbling the tofu into a bowl.

crumbled tofu

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Recipe: herb and floral pasta

Mom and Dad arrived in Colorado last week to take care of maintenance at their Boulder home that had been postponed due to the pandemic. They look fantastic and healthy (and are fully vaccinated), but since Jeremy and I are between our first and second vaccination shots, we’re all donning masks during our brief visits at their place. When we dropped off their houseplants I had been babysitting since November 2019, Mom handed me garlic and oranges which she had purchased in bulk, and Dad gave Jeremy a nice bottle of wine. It’s these little things that make them happy. I view our time together with more appreciation now.

so good to see my folks

April has graced us with deliciously snowy spring storms alternating with warm sunny days. Our local hill is now closed, but we grabbed one last powder day the Friday of closing weekend and have since enjoyed more powder days in the backcountry. Spring is magical.

waiting for the lifts to open

rewarding views in the backcountry as we approach treeline on our way up

neva is utterly thrilled to play in the snow, no matter the season

the pups played so hard they wiped themselves out (yay!)

Springtime snow is synonymous with increased wildlife traffic through our yard in both frequency and variety. Most notable are the moose. Mamas with their yearlings still in tow are foraging wild currant and young aspen tips. Our local mule deer visit multiple times a day. We catch glimpses of foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and other critters as they mince or trundle their way past our deck or our game camera or the watchful eyes of Neva and Yuki from their window benches. But I know our winter-flavored spring will flip the switch to summer-flavored spring soon, so I’ve been busy wrapping up my cold-weather cooking and sewing projects.

mule deer feeding where the snow has opened to the ground

yearling moose enjoying our driveway aspens

a big pot of chicken (dark meat) posole

happy rag quilts for kids

Whether it’s snow or sunshine falling on us, I am embracing the imminent arrival of colorful produce, flowers, leaves, grasses, birds. I may be getting ahead of my skis here since we’re expecting another foot of snow tonight, but I recently made a lovely herb and edible flower pasta and thought it would be perfect to share for Mother’s Day or a celebration or just because.

herbs and edible flowers, all-purpose flour, eggs, semolina flour

I basically used the pasta recipe from this handmade pappardelle. The dough can be made with a food processor or by hand, but you should definitely weigh the flours as volumes are inconsistent and can give you a pasta dough that is impossibly difficult to roll.

mix the flours together in a food processor (or bowl)

3 egg yolks and 3 whole eggs

pour the beaten eggs and yolks into the running food processor

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Recipe: chocolate-dipped brandy truffle figs

January was a marked improvement over December for us as we enjoyed better (more) snow and could focus on work and exercise in Crested Butte without the distraction and stress of the holidays. The Nordic trails and mountain resorts had mostly emptied of traveling guests, which is how we like it – but especially with an ongoing pandemic. The quiet trails presented an opportunity to work with the pups off-leash. They both made great progress and had heaps of fun.

snow, mountains, skis, and a good pup

skiing any powder we could get

neva being calm and happy on a skijoring session

beautiful front range sunsets

more sun than snow in nederland

Yuki turned three years old on Monday. She hasn’t been a baby for a while now, but she’s still a baby. One of our many nicknames for Yuki is Baby because her spec sheet at RezDawg Rescue listed “Baby” in her age field. We love that little nugget so much. You can see birthday videos on my Instagram here.

birthday yuki!

Back in early December, Jeremy and I gathered a bunch of goodies for care packages to send to our parents. We don’t celebrate Christmas nor do we send holiday gifts, but we thought our sets of parents needed some cheering up. They had all been so good about not socializing and keeping safe, and we knew they missed seeing friends, going out, seeing family, and most of all – their grandchildren. I packed as much as I could in the boxes and shipped them out before the huge postal service holiday clog. Sadly, a box of chocolate figs I found at Trader Joe’s didn’t fit in the boxes. Eventually, we tried some. They were AMAZING and of course the next time we were at Trader Joe’s they were gone – one of those ephemeral seasonal items.

The figs were so delightful that they stuck in my mind for a month, at which point I decided to recreate them myself. A brandy truffle stuffed into a dried fig and dipped in chocolate. A note on dried figs: I liked the size and texture of the dried golden figs from Trader Joe’s (this isn’t an ad, I just shop there). They were moist and sweet without being too fragile and sticky to handle. I didn’t like the dried figs from Costco which were dry, tough, and flavorless. When I returned the bag, they informed me that many other people had similar complaints/returns. And I did not bother finding them at Whole Foods because they’ve turned the entire bulk foods area into a staging ground for deliveries.

dried figs, chocolate, brandy, heavy cream

Making the ganache for the brandy truffle is straightforward. I originally used an ounce of brandy for a half pound of semisweet chocolate. It works, but I definitely prefer a punchier booze presence than a subtle flavoring. Next time I’ll up that to 2 ounces, but go by your taste.

pour hot cream over chopped chocolate

stir in the brandy

let cool completely

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