Wasabi-Soy Veggies & "Noods"

I've slacked. I'm bad at commitment void of deadlines. Also, palette fatigue is a real thing, even when you're cooking something different everyday. I just get tired of my own cooking sometimes. Thankfully we broke up the monotony today and picked up some Thai.

This recipe was born of my need for crunchy vegetables and spicy shit, hence why the Thai food was ordered 2 nights later. But in a pinch, this hit the spot. My dad did the grocery shopping this week and my request was "if it looks fresh and doesn't cost a lot, buy it." So, here we are! If you don't have wasabi paste lying around, this would be delicious with a soy-spicy chili paste sort of concoction or a Sriracha mayo. As usual with recipes I post, go nuts with what you have in the fridge. This isn't meant to make you go do something unsafe like shop for one recipe, I want you to STAY HOME. Go where your cravings take you, that's usually how I'm most successful.

Wasabi-Soy Veggies and "Noods"

makes 2-4 servings depending on how hungry you are

1/2 green bell pepper, 1 inch diced

1/2 red bell pepper, 1 inch diced

1/2 pound asparagus spears, woody ends removed, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 large head broccoli, bite sized florets removed from stalks

1/2 pound Brussels' sprouts, ends and dead leaves removed, quartered

1/2 white onion (any onion is fine), 1 inch diced

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 packet dried ramen noodles

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Soy Sauce (or liquid aminos)

Wasabi Paste

In a large saute pan set over medium-high heat, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil and let it warm up til it's glistening (that's how you know it's nice and hot). Once, nice and hot add all vegetables except garlic and saute for 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are still crisp, but tender. In the last two minutes of your cooking time, just before the veggies seem perfect, throw in the garlic and saute until fragrant. Season to taste with salt and pepper - be mindful of your salt if you're using any soy sauce or store bought sauces as those are typically quite salty on their own.

While vegetables are cooking, set a small sauce pot over high heat and bring 2 cups of water to a rolling boil. Once boiling, add your dried ramen noodles and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, or according to package directions. Drain in a small colander and place at the bottom of a deep bowl and top with your sauteed veggies.

I poured about 1 ounce of soy sauce into a small bowl and stirred in 1/4 teaspoon of wasabi paste, mixed til combined and poured over the whole bowl and it was delicious, but use whatever sauce sounds good to you!

Whatever Vegetables You Want Frittata

When my husband and I started panic purchasing food last week, we bought quite a bit of fresh produce. Good idea at the time from a health perspective, but can be hard to manage using all of it before it goes bad without getting palette fatigue. I can barely stomach leftovers the next day from something I made that's delicious, let alone eat the same shit over and over. Hence why you've never seen me post about meal prepping. I just can't do it. In order to use some of that perishing produce, I made this delicious frittata. I generally hate baked eggs like fritattas and quiche, (don't even get me started on how gross that is. Seriously, egg pie? GTFO my face with that) but I'm trying to be resourceful and creative with what I have plus Juni loved it and my husband loves a frittata so why not?

This is not vegan, however, it is gluten free and can literally be made with whatever vegetables you have that are getting close to undesireable. You can chop up some greens and throw them in here. If you don't want to keep this vegetarian you can add bacon, chicken, diced ham, etc. Be creative! Play with flavors, textures and colors. We've got nothing better to do than try, right?

Whatever Vegetables You Want Frittata

makes enough for 1, 12 inch skillet

1/2 yellow or white onion, medium diced (Honestly, red is fine too. Just stronger)

1 bell pepper, any color, medium diced

1/2 pound asparagus, chopped in one inch pieces

1 head broccoli, florrets removed and cut into bite sized pieces

5 brussels sprouts, exterior leaves removed, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon garlic, minced, fresh or jarred

salt and pepper to taste

4 ounces parmesan cheese (I used vegan parm here but other cheese types would be fine)

6 large eggs, whisked until smooth

olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the center of the oven.

Place a 12 inch cast iron or large oven-safe skillet drizzled with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add all vegetables to pan and season with salt and pepper (be mindful of your salt content depending on the type of cheese you use) cook until the vegetables have softened and lightly browned. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Once your veggies are ready, carefully pour the eggs over the top, sprinkle with cheese and place in your preheated oven for 10 minutes or until eggs have puffed and are set. To get a nice, crispy brown on top, turn your broiler on high for 2 minutes. Keep a very close eye on your frittata if you're going to do this step, broiling can get away from you quick and you dont want to burn the top.

Remove frittata from the oven carefully! The pan will be extremely hot. Sprinkle with green onions or fresh chopped herbs if you have them. If you're feeling extra brave, turn out onto a plate to serve or just slice and serve right out of the pan.

One Pan Tomatillo Shakshuka with Garlic Bread

By request, my recipe for green tomatillo shakshuka. This can be made vegan without cheese or eggs and is still just as comforting and delicious. Forgive the horrific picture, I wasn't expecting to be featuring this one, yet so it's just a photo from when I was about to sit down and eat it.

One Pan Tomatillo Shakshuka with Garlic Bread

Makes enough to fill a 12 inch sautee pan

5 pounds tomatillos, cleaned and halved

1 bell pepper, halved

1 poblano pepper, seeds removed, halved

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, halved

1 small yellow or white onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

6 large eggs

4 ounces feta cheese

Toppings such as cilantro, green onionm, manzanilla olives, diced avocado, artichoke hearts, capers, etc

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with foil.

Place tomatillos, bell pepper, poblano pepper and jalapeno skin side up on the foil lined sheet, drizzle with olive oil and rub the skins til coated. Place the pan in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the skins are lightly chard and the tomatoes and peppers are fork tender. Drop oven temperature to 350.

Remove pan from oven and immediately put tomatillos, peppers and all the juices that ran out into a blender. Be super careful as they will be very hot. Puree tomatillos and peppers in the blender until smooth. If you prefer a little texture, feel free to leave it slightly chunky. I like a little somewhere in between.

Grab a large sautee pan (make sure it can go directly into the oven, a cast iron works great here) and heat approximately 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Sautee onions until translucent and soft. Add garlic and sautee for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant. Pour tomatillo mixture into the pan, add cumin, season with salt and pepper to taste and mix to combine. Allow it to come to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken slightly.

Once the mixture has thickened, crack 6 eggs on top, making sure to pull the whites into the center of the pan with the shells so that they dont run over the sides of your pan. You can top with cheese here or when it comes out of the oven, your call texture wise.

Place in the oven for 8-10 minutes for a runny yolk. If you dont want your eggs runny, you can continue to cook a bit longer. Remove from the oven carefully!! The mixture will be bubbling and the handle will be hot. I like to place the pan on a towel or pan holder directly on the table and dig in topped with feta cheese. Serve with crusty garlic bread and sides such as cilantro, diced avocado, capers, artichoke hearts, whatever you have in the fridge!

Now lets talk GARLIC BREAD. I am obsessed with my method of making garlic bread. It's consistent, delicious, comforting and makes the house smell incredible.

Half of a french baguette

4 ounces butter, if using salted, omit salt in recipe (vegan butter works great here)

2 tablspoons miced garlic, fresh or jarred

pinch of salt and pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Flakey sea salt (I prefer Maldon)

Your oven will already be at 350 so keep it there. I would start this recipe while your tomatillo shakshuka is simmering before hitting the oven, but it can easily be prepped before.

Slice your baguette into 1/2 inch slices on a bias so you have toast points.

In a small saucepan, melt butter with garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Once melted and combined, carefully dip one side of the bread into the mixture. Be careful! It can drip and will be very hot. Place garlic butter side up on a sheet pan. Once you've done this with all of your slices, place in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Don't take it too far, the bread crisps up more once it's out of the oven. Top with Maldon salt, let cool and serve with, honestly, literally anything.