Brunch: Southwestern Scramble
I've made this recipe once before and I remember it being okay. I had leftover tofu from dinner the other night so it was a perfect time to give it another ago. As I was following all the steps I was pretty sure I must've half-assed the recipe last time because everything felt new. The salsa was amazing and the turmeric seasoning really added something to the eggs and tofu. It's super easy to make and definitely better than okay!
Things I learned from this recipe:
Turmeric can stain a bamboo spatula.
Would I make this recipe again:
Yes
The recipe
Dinner: Fried Rice
This was cooking opportunity number two with my mother. I believe she could cook fried rice (as well as the yakisoba we made last week) with her eyes closed so yet another day of not having an actual recipe - cue my nervousness. We cooked the egg first in the wok with sesame oil and then set aside when slightly runny. Next add the turkey bacon (make sure the wok is cleaned of residual egg), frozen rice*, and mystery Japanese vegetables. Salt, pepper, and soy sauce were the only seasonings used. Add the egg back in, and top with green onions. I would estimate the cooking process between 5 -10 minutes tops.
Things I learned from this recipe:
Make sure the wok has enough oil in it.
Have all ingredients chopped and ready to go.
Fried rice cooks fast and needs to be served immediately.
Asian moms add ingredients that do not have English translations. This is a fact of life.
The men in my family prefer to add white pepper after cooking which I did not have.
Lastly, there are 100 & 1 ways to make fried rice and none of them are wrong.
Would I make this recipe again?:
Of course
*Frozen rice: A few years ago I started cooking larger batches of rice and freezing what we did not eat in one cup increments at the encouragement of my mom. I was perplexed. We never ate frozen rice growing up. Or did we? When I first started doing this I didn’t tell Eric. Done correctly, you really can’t tell the difference. I really couldn’t contain the “lie” and after a few times of serving it I told him what I had been doing. He said he didn’t notice. In all honesty, if I had noticed a difference I wouldn’t have served it. I’m picky about my rice and how it is cooked.
A tip on reheating the frozen rice: add a little water to the tuperware container and place a breathing lid over it before heating in the microwave. I usually heat it in 30 second increments and flip the rice over to make sure there are no frozen chunks left. Properly cooking it through and serving it immediately are key.
Finally, I have been known to use frozen rice when making chirashi which horrifies my mother (picture her saying: “You CAN’T do that!”). I can and I have and it’s fine when I don’t want to wait for the rice cooker. The recipe will appear sometime this year.
Basic fried rice recipe
Dessert: PB&J Bars
These bars seemed like the perfect next step on my baking journey. There was nothing surprising and the directions were very straightforward. They were definitely very peanut buttery, although if you ask my parents all they could taste were the raspberries. To me, they were slightly rich in peanut butter taste so I couldn't eat more than a small square at a time, but I am happy to report they came out as they should!
Things I learned from this recipe:
I think the bottom layer could have been just a little thicker.
Would I make this recipe again:
After having some friends try the bars, yes.