Name: Miso Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms and Bok Choy
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 bunch scallions, finely sliced. Separate the white and green parts.; One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped; 5 cloves garlic, chopped; 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil; 8 cups water; Four 6-inch pieces kombu; 1/4 cup bonito flakes; 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, fresh preferred but dried is ok; 1 lb baby bok choy, cut into quarters and then cut each quarter in half length-wise; 8 ounces firm tofu, cut into cubes

Soup/ Vegan

Miso Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms Bok Choy

On the menu tonight – Miso Soup with Shiitake mushrooms and Bok Choy!

I recently put it out there to let me know what you wanted to see me make. A couple of my friends wanted to see me cook something with mushrooms. After looking at a BUNCH of recipes, I decided to make miso soup with Shiitake mushrooms and bok choy. Whenever I go out for sushi, miso soup is the first thing that gets ordered – but I’ve never made it. The time has come.

This soup isn’t difficult to make and really doesn’t take too much time. Some of the ingredients may not be in your pantry, I’m looking at you bonita flakes and kombu, but don’t worry they are easy to get in most supermarkets. You can go from start to eating in under an hour.

The next time you want something on the lighter side, I hope that you’ll make this dish!

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Miso Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms and Bok Choy

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 40 minutes – Total Time: 50 minutes

Miso Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms and Bok Choy

Ingredients

1 bunch scallions, finely sliced. Separate the white and green parts.
One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
8 cups water
Four 6-inch pieces kombu
1/4 cup bonito flakes
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, fresh preferred but dried is ok
1 lb baby bok choy, cut into quarters and then cut each quarter in half length-wise
8 ounces firm tofu, cut into cubes

Instructions

Add the white part of the scallions, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil to a large soup pot over medium heat

Cook for 1-2 minutes and add the water

Rinse the kombu

Add the kombu and bonito flakes

Bring everything to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes taking care not to let it boil

After 10 minutes, remove the kombu and set aside

Add the mushrooms and miso to the pot

Stir in the miso and let it cook another 15 minutes

Then, add the bok choy and cook another 10 minutes

add the tofu cook another 5 minutes

Serve immediately and garnish with the green part of the scallions

September 11, 2020 By patrickdulmage

Salsa/ Vegan/ Vegetarian

Homemade Salsa – Mild

Who doesn’t love Chips and Salsa? The next time you crave it or need a good salsa to go with your meal, try making your own version. Salsa is so easy to make and it tastes so much fresher than what you’ll get out of the jar. The best thing is that you can totally make it your own.

All you need are some ripe tomatoes, red onion, garlic, cilantro and a few spices I’m sure you have in your cabinet. Once made, it will keep in your fridge at least a week but I doubt there will be any left.

Check out the recipe below and make your version. This is a mild version. If you want to make it hotter, you could skip de-seeding the jalapeno. Hotter? Add some Serrano pepper and maybe a little extra cayenne pepper. Still not hot enough? Add some Habanero pepper.

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Homemade Salsa - Mild

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 30 minutes – Cooking Time: none – Total Time: 30 minutes

Homemade Salsa - Mild

Ingredients

3 ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
½ medium red onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ - 1 Jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp finely ground black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

Combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chilies, cilantro, lime zest and juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper in a bowl.

Mix well.

Let the mixture rest for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors blend.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve with your favorite chips.

June 7, 2020 By patrickdulmage

Casserole/ Vegan/ Vegetarian

Harissa Hot Dish

I watch a lot of cooking shows. I get a lot ideas and inspiration from these shows. One of shows I’ve been watching lately is Girl meets Farm featuring Molly Yeh. Her heritage is Jewish and Chinese. She lives in the Mid-West, so between her heritage and where she lives, her flavors and style is really interesting.

While looking for a vegetarian or vegan dish I could make for Audrey, I saw this recipe that Molly made called Harissa Hot Dish. I’d never heard of hot dishes before but essentially it is a casserole topped with tater tots. She had me at tater tots!

If you haven’t cooked with it before, Harissa is a spice used in North African cuisine. Harissa paste is used in this dish, hence the name, and it is pretty spicy. Some brands are spicier than other. Since the dish is vegan, what’s the protein? Chickpeas. The chickpeas are cooked with harissa paste, some white wine, thyme and a few other things. The sauce is made separately as the chickpeas cook down a little. After the chickpeas are done, combine with the sauce and top with the tater tots. Bake it and once done, top with grilled lemon and some fresh herbs. If you want to add some feta cheese – it won’t be vegan but it’ll still be vegetarian.

The next time you’re in the mood for a casserole, try something a little different. This dish is AWESOME! Check out the recipe and make your version.

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Harissa Hot Dish

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By Molly Yeh – Serves: 8-12

Prep Time: 30 min – Cooking Time: 1hour 30 min. – Total Time: 2 hrs

Harissa Hot Dish

Ingredients

Chickpeas:
2 tbsp + 1/2 c olive oil, divided
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tb harissa
1/2 c dry white wine
2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 sprigs thyme or about a tbsp of dried
Black pepper
Sauce:
2 tb olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 large carrots, finely chopped
2 large stalks celery, finely chopped
Kosher salt
Black pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 tb harissa
1 tb tomato paste
2 tsp aleppo pepper or paprika
1 (28 oz) can or carton chopped tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
About 1 1/2 lbs tater tots or potato nuggets
1 lemon, to serve
Fresh cilantro and parsley, finely chopped, for serving
Optional serving accoutrements: crumbled feta or other cheese/vegan cheese of your choice

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Bake the tater tots for 25-30 minutes. (This is a departure from Molly's recipe. I like really crispy tater tots, so I do a double bake)

In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 5-7 minutes.

Add the garlic and harissa and cook for 1-2 more minutes, until fragrant.

Add the wine and cook until reduced by half.

Add the chickpeas, 1/2 cup olive oil, thyme, black pepper, a few good pinches of salt, and bring to a simmer.

Cover and cook for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are soft.

Meanwhile, make your sauce. In a separate pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

Add the onion, carrots, celery, a pinch of salt, and a few turns of pepper and cook, stirring until soft, about 10-12 minutes.

Add the garlic, harissa, tomato paste, and Aleppo or paprika and cook for another minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar and cook, covered, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chickpeas to the tomato sauce, draining the chickpeas of excess olive oil (and discarding the thyme twigs when you come across them).

Transfer the mixture to an 8x12 casserole dish and cover with tater tots.

Season with salt, pepper, and more aleppo and bake until the tots are golden, 30-40 minutes.

At some point while it’s baking, grill your lemon: heat a skillet over medium high, cut the lemon in half and then place it face down on the skillet until it gets nice brown marks.

When the hot-dish is done baking, let it cool slightly, top with fresh herbs, squeeze with lemon, and serve with feta or other cheese/vegan cheese as desired.

May 9, 2020 By patrickdulmage