Soy Stroganoff

Is there a "listening to" widget or something I can add?  Sometimes the music I am listening to is so relevant and can add so much depth to an entry.  I'll have to start linking videos instead.  Get everyone siked to be in the kitchen!

Not sure if I've ever mentioned Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes in the blog yet, but it's one of my favorite cookbooks, if not my most favorite.  I've made this once before and had a craving for it over the weekend after gorging myself on hot dogs, steaks, buffalo wings, onion rings, potato chips and ice cream.

Soy Stroganoff 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large yellow onion, chopped
8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced or quartered, depending on size
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons AP flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 dry white wine
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup sour cream or tofu sour cream, plus more for serving if desired
hot cooked noodles

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the tofu and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, about 7 minutes. Remove from the skillet with a slotted spon and set aside.
2. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the onion to the skillet, cover, and cook, stirring a few times, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their juices, 1 to 2 minutes.  Stir in the paprika and flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute to remove he raw taste from the flour.  Add the tomato paste and wine, stirring until smooth. Add the stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the sour cream, blending well.  Add the tofu and simmer for 5 minutes over very low heat to heat through.
4. Serve over the hot noodles and top with additional sour cream, if desired.

I bought two containers of tofu, and when I tell you the first package was rancid, I mean fucking horrific.  I never knew tofu could smell that bad or weird or disgusting, and I've lived in New Jersey for the large majority of my life, right near the Meadowlands and the marshes.

It's now too hot to wear pants inside (or outside), and I thought the oil splattering from the tofu was going to burn my skin so I thought I'd put my apron to good use.  I sewed this a few years ago and have worn it less than ten times. And I have burned my skin because I wasn't wearing any pants in the kitchen.  Not this time, suckers!

This is the mushroom and onion mixture with paprika, flour, wine and chicken stock.   It was super red due to the color of the smoked paprika, almost like a tomato sauce.

But once you add the sour cream, it turns into that creamy brown pretty quickly.

I thought I followed the recipe pretty closely until I read it as I typed it and realized I never read through the entire thing or read it properly.  I think the only real big difference was the fact that I used chicken stock instead of vegetable stock, because it was what I had in the fridge.

Busy.

Work and life have been keeping me away for a whole week, but here is a gem of a cookbook that I absolutely did NOT buy and did not consider buying for even a second:

I have a story to share soon about a horrid experience at my local Applebee's.

On another sidenote, I will be going to Chicago this summer for four days, so I've got a lot of food planning to do.  Since I will be staying outside of Chicago, at a yet to be determined motel/hotel that offers the option of free breakfast, I will be able to spend more money on fun, and by fun, I mean food and other memorable experiences.

Did you know McDonald's USA First Store Museum exists?  Because it does, right outside of Chicago. And I'm going.

Cookbooks - WHY MUST YOU TEMPT ME SO?

So I hit up one of my local Borders after work, coupon in hand, hoping to peruse a Chicago travel book, as I am planning a summer vacation there, but like many other Borders, the store was closing!  It was a rundown madhouse!  Had I known this store in particular was closing, I would have hit it up much earlier.  You know what happens with "EVERYTHING MUST GO" sales?

People like bargains, and so do I.  50%-70% off?  CONSIDER ME SOLD!  Don't you know how much reading costs?!

I know, I know - another cookbook?  I can't help myself.   I would also be lying if I said I thumbed through more than four pages of this $10 discounted book before snatching it up.  Keywords:  food, blog, cookbook. Done.  And I totally judge a book by its cover - and it was so clean and crisp!  And GREEN!

UPDATE:  THUMBED THROUGH SOME MORE PAGES, NOT THAT IMPRESSED : |

I also picked up A Tiger in the Kitchen by Cheryl Lu-Lien.  The one line summary reads as follows: a book about the author's quest to recreate the dishes of her native Singapore during one Lunar Calendar year, as a way to connect food and family with her sense of home.

One of the things I dread the most when I think about losing my parents, other than the obvious, is the losing the sense of Korean culture I have through food.  Who is going to make me kkakdugi?  How will I be able to go home and know that a pot miyeok guk is sitting on the stove?

Who doesn't love a new cookbook?

There is such a thing as having too many cookbooks, but I can't help myself.

Two recent purchases:

(Wanted free shipping off Amazon and I needed another heavy vegetable based cookbook)

Had been eyeing this for a few years and finally caved.

Bread

One of my recent cookbook purchases was the following:

Five minutes a day is kind of a lie though.  And by "kind of a lie," I mean a straight up lie.  You've got to preheat the oven and let the dough rest for about 20 minutes before baking.  You've got to let that beast bake for another half hour or so.  Let's not mention cooling time either.

I've only made mini-boules from the Master Recipe so far, and it's been delicious, but really, five minutes is a fucking lie.

Cookbooks

I received my first "real" cookbook when I was supposed to be living back at home after college, but mostly living with my boyfriend in his tiny studio.  I had always loved food, but never really invested myself in cooking/baking until I had access to a kitchen that was mine, one that I didn't have to share.  This kitchen that kicked me into high gear was not even mine, and it was an even-tinier-than-the-studio-kitchenette with an electric range.   I still shudder at the thought of those glowing coils, even when I am able to think of the tasty memories Adam and I were able to create there, like the first turkey I ever made in some dollar store disposable roasting pan.

One day, Martha Stewart called out my name in our local Barnes & Noble with her clean, bright cover for Everyday Food: Great Food Fast.  I was a novice and so excited at the thought of owning a legitimate cookbook, and not some $4.00 mega-discounted pasta book, that it was gifted to me at full price, which was a lot for me back then, and even still now.  And I loved it.  Before Adam stopped eating pesto, I used to make this cavatappi with pesto and green beans and potatoes.  Did you know Martha Stewart taught me how to make pesto?  Because she did.

Fast forward four years, two Martha Stewart Living Cookbooks, and one Martha Stewart's Cupcakes later, I'm still in love with cookbooks and refusing to pay full price for them.  I've purchased two in the past week.  While looking for something not-food related at The Strand, I picked up The Best of Bon Appetit, partly because the recipes were simple and manageable, but mostly because of the inscription, dated October 1979:

To George,
May this be the first cookbook you receive for the loft!  See!  Cooking isn't as difficult as it seems!  Love and warm wishes, Bass.