Mee Goreng Into Summer!

To celebrate the end of the academic year, we decided to have a Friday night dinner party.   The plan was to use the wok:  a brand new, 14-pound cast iron cooking vessel.    We have been slightly obsessed with cast-iron recently, especially after our many attempts to create a glossy, non-stick surface on our new skillets.   And who could resist the idea of wok-charred noodels on a rainy, 50-degree early summer day?   We found this recipe for Mee Goreng in Yotam Ottolenghi's fantastic book, Plenty, and the pictures had us sold.   The dish is so flavorful -- a perfect hybrid of South and East Asian flavors, and yet still somehow summer-like -- even on a rainy day!

Veggies:
1 bunch bok choy, cut length-wise
1 bunch of fresh green beans, cut in halves
1 package of egg noodles
1 package of tofu, cubed
lemon wedges for garnish

Spices, Oils, and Aromatics:
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 onion, diced
3 sprigs of green onion
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sambal (chili paste)

Heat up your wok -- or any other cooking vessel -- with the peanut oil.   The goal is get the wok as hot as you can while still feeling safe and comfortable cooking on it.   When the oil smokes a little bit, add your onions, and sautee until they are translucent.   Add the tofu and allow it to gain some color and firmness.   Follow with green beans, and then the boy choy.   The bok choy will look very big in contrast to everything else, but it will cook down quickly.   When the veggies are just short of being fully cooked, add your noodles.   Ottolenghi suggests adding all the spice and sauces at the end, which we did.   We paired this dinner with a summer rose : )

Sushil's White Bean and Fennel Soup!

Sushil made this soup for me twice this winter, both on frigidly cold New England nights, and both when I was feeling too overworked to make a proper dinner (and admittedly, kind of grumpy).   Let me tell you, this recipe has the ability to lift spirits entirely!   We served it with toasted foccacia, clams oreganata, and a green salad.   Clearly, this man has found the way to my...

   

Ingredients:
3 to 4 carrots, chopped
2 bulbs of fennel, sliced into crescents
1 red onion, sliced into crescents
1 bunch swiss chard, coarsely shopped
8 to 10 garlic cloves
low-sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup olive oil
fresh rosemary and thyme
2 15-ounce cans cannelli beans, rinsed and drained

Begin by preparing all of your produce; be sure to use the stems of your fennel if you want to find a heart (see above!) in your soup!   In a large dutch oven, sautee the onions,  garlic, carrots, and fennel with about three tablespoons of olive oil.   When the vegetables begin to soften but are not yet cooked, add the vegetable broth, cannelli beans, and rosemary sprigs.   Cover the pot, and cook for a good 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft, and the beans are flavorful.   Add in the swiss chard and let, it cook, as well.   Serve this soup with salt and pepper to taste, and lots of parmesan.  Stay warm!