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Recipe: chinese stir-fried tofu

In my last post, I talked a little about how we have windstorms on steroids in Nederland. We typically don’t worry until the National Weather Service starts predicting gusts over 70 mph. Two years ago, we experienced gusts as high as 100 mph. That storm ripped a lot of large trees out of the ground and topped several mature conifers – just SNAPPED them off like twigs. We watched the front of our house flex in the storm until the power went out and then went to bed, hoping for the best. The house survived and we gained some confidence in the 110 mph wind build requirement in our town. The sun was out Friday afternoon and I raised the blinds in our great room to let Kaweah bask in the sun (still a favorite activity of hers).

oh shit

Our house has a tall profile, faces southwest, and takes the full brunt of the prevailing winds. We knew something like this could happen, because the previous owners (now our friends) told us they had a window crack during a storm. We were expecting it for years, but let our guard down recently. And it would have been fine, except for wind forecasts of gusts up to 95 mph over the weekend. Images of a window blowing in and snow swirling in our house ran through my mind. I cancelled our dinner date and stress ate barbecue potato chips. Then our super awesome wonderful neighbor popped over and slapped a grid of duct tape over the window and said we should be fine, but to keep the blind down just in case. I uncancelled dinner with nary a minute to spare and we met our very understanding friends at Dae Gee.

chris is psyched for korean bbq, ellen sports a perplexed look between gushings over kimchi

she’s pointing at the kimchi

Dinner with good friends is a great way to forget about other things on your mind. Sure, the window loomed large, but the biggest thing on my mind of late is Kaweah. We came home from Crested Butte mainly to see her vet. He removed (yanked) her bad toenail off. You could tell she didn’t like it, but she was so good with the shot and the yanking and the blood. All she wanted was a treat and Doc Newton made sure to give her a lot of treat love. He told us her toe was a little swollen and that he hoped his prescription of antibiotics would bring that swelling down. But if it didn’t come down, it could be cancer. He raised his eyebrows while handing Kaweah another treat and said, “Normally we would amputate the toe, but she’s not a candidate for surgery at her age.” Understood.

To be honest, even if she has cancer, I wonder if other things won’t bring her down first. While the infected paw has healed and she is able to walk around on it without problems, her hind legs are another story. We watch her closely when she meanders about the house and her rear right leg doesn’t seem to know where it’s supposed to go, doesn’t even know where the floor is. The rear left leg has been swinging wide, catching on furniture, door jams, anything. She falls several times a day, but not the catastrophic spills of her youth. Kaweah doesn’t have the strength to struggle, so she softly slides into a reclining position without injury and looks confused until one of us helps her up or carries her to her bed. But Kaweah is always surprising us and I know she has a few more left in her. I just dread the day when she runs out of surprises. I’ve been crying a lot.

she likes having her schnoz scratched

My folks called this weekend and I had a nice, albeit brief, chat with them. Mom told me the most important thing is to make sure Kaweah is happy and comfortable. Of course. I know this, but somehow it made me feel better to hear it from her. I think when I’m really sad about something, there is no one else whose voice and words can bring me comfort like Mom. Same goes for her cooking. That evening, I set about preparing this terrific tofu dish that she makes for us when they are in town. Jeremy and I both love it.

fried tofu, bamboo shoots, shitake mushrooms, soy sauce, corn starch, pork, vegetable oil, shao xing cooking wine, napa cabbage, ginger, green onions

refrigerated winter bamboo shoots

This is really a stir-fried fried tofu with vegetables and pork. You can fry the tofu yourself or do as I did and purchase fresh fried tofu from the Asian grocery store. Make sure it is fresh and not slimy! Some Asian grocers are really bad about expired products, so check those dates or inspect the product closely if no dates are listed. And I happened upon refrigerated winter bamboo shoots, which have a better flavor and firmer texture compared to canned bamboo shoots. If you can get your hands on fresh bamboo shoots, that is EVEN BETTER. Don’t worry if you can’t find any of those, canned works too. I recommend trying to get whole ones, but sliced is also fine.

slice the fried tofu

slice the bamboo shoots

sliced shitakes

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Recipe: otsu noodles (sesame soba noodles)

Spontaneity is not my best color, but there are times when you just have to get on it and hit the road. Last week was one of those times. We packed up and drove west at the last minute to take care of some business. It was a quick trip (less than 36 hours), but a good one. Traveling around the western half of Colorado always reminds me that there is so much wilderness I want to explore right here in my own state.

heading out at sunrise (iphone)

mount massive from the road (iphone)

kaweah was extra good in the car (iphone)

mount crested butte

jeremy’s boozy cocktail was really a boozy dessert (iphone)

pizza with the best crust at secret stash (iphone)

kaweah lounging in the dog-friendly motel

Travel of any sort makes me realize how much I miss cooking and preparing my own food. Maybe it’s the control freak in me or perhaps I can’t stomach dining out too often (especially freeway food – gah), but I develop cravings for specific things when I’m away from home. By the time I return, I’m ready with a list of groceries and a menu of wholesome, fresh fare. This time, I had otsu on the brain – Japanese soba (buckwheat) noodles loaded with vegetables and tofu with a seasoned sesame sauce. When I purchased the noodles at the local Asian market, I picked up a pack of green tea soba noodles in addition to the traditional soba noodles.

the sauce: rice vinegar, sriracha, tamari, sesame oil, lemon, ginger, sugar, tahini

soba noodles, tofu, sesame seeds, bean sprouts, cucumbers, green onions, eggplant

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Recipe: maple miso tofu

Winter went out like a cuddly little kitten last week. The last day of winter was warm, sunny, and so pleasant that I left the deck door open for Kaweah to come and go, which she loves to do. Sometimes she’ll just stand halfway in the house and halfway on the deck. But her old legs can’t stand indefinitely anymore. When I set her foamy bath mats out on the deck, she opted to lounge in the sun and absorb all of the energy falling to Earth.

last day of winter

Of course, it’s now spring break (all of Boulder seems to be on spring break this week) and it snowed all weekend. People have been shaking their fists at Punxsutawney Phil for his prediction of an early spring. When will silly people ever learn? I trust my local meteorologist over a giant rodent to tell me when to expect a powder day. Colorado spring skiing is what’s what.

five days into spring

nothing fazes her

8°f and gorgeous

that’s gonna be closed for a little while longer

But it is spring despite the winterish temperatures. The snow is heavier, stickier, wetter. It takes more effort to push it around than the powdery fluff of winter. And the longer hours of the day feel like you have emerged from a cave. Sunset is around 7pm at our house, which is Kaweah’s dinner time. She used to petition for dinner at 4:30 in the afternoon in winter when it got dark, but now she seems utterly delighted and taken by surprise when we say, “Do you want some dinner?”

dramatic sunset

Ever since I got home from my trip to Vermont and New Hampshire, I’ve been trying to keep my meals on the light side. I have some lovely organic maple syrup (and other maple products) courtesy of Coombs Family Farms, but I just can’t fathom eating THAT MANY waffles and pancakes, no matter how good the syrup is. You know me, I am one for the savory dishes. A maple miso tofu recipe appealed to my desire for lighter meals. The added bonus is how ridiculously straightforward and quick it is to prepare.

you need: maple syrup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sambal oelek (or any chili paste), white miso, firm tofu

brushing oil on the parchment paper

cut the tofu into 1/2-inch thick slices

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