coconut pad thai

this is definitely not your average pad thai. did the coconut & pistachios give it away? :)

in the spirit of culinary experiments — and in appreciation of fusion cuisine — i thought i’d add a tropical twist to this pad thai with some light coconut milk and crushed pistachios. tasty, indeed. not too shabby for my first go at cooking pad thai.

the prawns & the coconut:
- heat up 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil in large wok on medium heat
- add 2 sprigs of green onions (rooted stems removed, rough chop into sliced rounds)
- add 1.5 cups raw prawns (deveined, deshelled) to wok
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- add a dash of sea salt
- add 1/2 can light coconut milk
- sauté prawns & stir ingredients for 1-2min until partially cooked

the tofu & veggies:
in the same wok, add the following ingredients to the prawns:
- 1/2 orange bell pepper (pitted, sliced)
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper (pitted, sliced)
- 1/3 green zucchini squash (sliced rounds)
- 1/3 yellow zucchini squash (sliced rounds)
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- sauté for 1-2min & stir regularly
- then add 1 cup raw tofu (chopped into bite-sized chunks)
- add 1/8 cup fresh cilantro (stems removed, rough chop) to wok
- stirfry ingredients together in wok until coconut milk is well combined

chipotle chickpea & tofu flatbread

feeling a sense of déjà-vu? ditto. if you’re thinking to yourself, ‘um, i think this gal needs to get some groceries.’, you’re right. clearly, i’m repurposing leftover ingredients from last night’s dinner. call it boring, or call it clever. ;)

i thought i’d get inventive with making pizza… without cheese. (yes, a grocery run is on the to-do list this weekend. ;) here’s the skinny on my chickpea flatbread culinary experiment…

- preheat oven to 400F

prep the toppings:
- 1/2 can of chickpeas (drained, blended until smooth like hummus)
- 1/8 cup peppadew peppers (sliced)
- 1/2 red bell pepper (cored, sliced)
- 1/2 cup organic raw tofu (sliced into bite-sized chunks)
- 1 cup fresh organic arugula

prep the dough:
- sprinkle some whole-wheat flour on a clean surface before rolling out the fresh pizza dough (i bought some fresh from the bakery.)
- using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough into a thin, round pie
- sprinkle some more flour on the dough pie, flip over before applying the rolling pin again
- place the prepped dough pie on a pizza stone (at room temperature) or a lightly-greased, round baking pan

chipotle tofu & chickpea salad

i guess that’s the way the [chipotle tofu & chickpea cake] crumbles.

so i had grand plans of making homemade veggie-cakes, after a little culinary inspiration during a lunchtime convo at the office today. think: crabcake, minus the crab, plus tofu & chickpeas. good in theory; a bit of a scramble in practice.

chipotle tofu & chickpea mixture:
mix the following ingredients together in a large prep bowl until well combined:
- 1/2 can organic chickpeas (drained)
- organic raw tofu (diced)
- 2 medium eggs (whisked)
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (evoo)
- 1 tsp chipotle blend  (combo of spices incl chipotle powder, ground paprika, cumin, coriander, granulated onion, garlic powder)
- 1/4 cup peppadew peppers (diced)
- 1/8 cup red peppers (diced)
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (crushed in mortar & pestle)

the non-cakes:
- heat up 1 tbsp unsalted butter in a large saucepan (note: i ran out of evoo, so i substituted the evoo w/ butter.)
- add 2 medium mounds of the tofu & chickpea mixture and flatten to form patties in pan

so this is where the veggie-cakes went awry…