Mapo Tofu with Korean Slant Aging with your glasses

I went to the eye doctor today, just for my typical check up to make sure that my prescription for my contacts were good and up to date.  I dont look forward to my eye doctor appointments, because invariably I end up in that situation where the optometrist begins asking the series of questions, "Is A better than B?  Do you like one or two?  B or C?  This one or this one?" and my head starts swimming as I try and make sure that in fact, B is more clear than C and 1 is easier to focus with than 2.  I hate making tiny decisions.

Today, I decided to complicate matters further because I was trying to figure out if I should update my glasses, which are officially 13 years old. I know - they ARE old, but bear in mind that I wear my contacts far more than my glasses, so glasses arent that big of a priority most of the time.  As Dr. T examined and tested my vision, I explained that it was harder to see at night and drive with my glasses and at the same time, it was getting harder to read smaller print.  She ran a series of evaluations for me and then determined that yes, in fact Im not seeing that great far or that great close.  The curse of aging.

Then came the series of complex decisions as to how to best manage this eye/glasses/contacts/prescription dilemma.  She explained progressive lenses (fancy word for bifocals with no lines), progressive contacts (fancy word for bifocals just stuck to my eyeball) and reading glasses (fancy for old lady in the room).  I started with my original goal of glasses that I would be able to see better with at night, should I need to drive, and we experimented with a few options, which ended up compromising my ability to READ at night with the same glasses.  Again the option of progressive lenses came up, to which I responded, "But cant I just TAKE OFF my glasses and read at night which is what I do already?"  She nodded, but given that Dr. T is all of 15 years old and no idea how aging women have issues with their eyesight, I dont think she was impressed with my practical solution.  (For the record, I am impressed with my low tech solution of REMOVING my eyeglasses.)

After the decision for the appropriate prescription, came the ever-harrowing decision of choosing a frame.  I spent about 15 minutes looking at a few, and after the series of decisions I had to make regarding HOW I was going to correct my vision, deciding WHAT I was going to look like in said glasses suddenly became so overwhelming that I began my shutdown process, which happens whenever I am confronted with too many decisions.  "Im going to come back, with my husband so he can help me decide" I told my Doc.  

"I can help you decide if youd like," she kindly offered.

"No.  I think I need my husband.  Hell have a strong opinion and itll help me decide," I said.

And with that, I walked out, eager to get away from the one hour long series of tiny decisions that ultimately just proved that Im getting old with bad eyes.

I ran home, to throw together, what has become my familys favorite quick dinner dish, Mapo Tofu with Korean Flavors.  I love it because I dont have to make decisions. I just MAKE it.  And when I MAKE it, the family just EATS it.  No decisions.  No complaints.  Just a complete quiet take down of a hearty meal that comes together so quickly that actually I should make it far more often.  Its mildly spicy (you can control it), savory, and just goes so well with a bowl of hot rice.  I flavor it with more Korean typical flavors like sesame oil and gochujang, and it just works.

More mapo tofu. Fewer decisions about my eyes.  That would be my ideal day.

Mapo Tofu with Korean Slant
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 lb to 1 ¼ lb ground beef (I like organic ground beef from Costco)
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (or 1 tablespoon if you’re worried about spice) Korean chili pepper paste (gochujang)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Two 14-ounce package soft tofu, finely diced
1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water
6 scallions, finely chopped
White rice, for serving

Method
Heat a large skillet until hot. Add both oils, followed by ground beef and garlic. Season with salt and cook over high heat, stirring and breaking up the meat, until crumbly and lightly browned, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the Korean chili pepper paste, hoisin and soy sauces, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Gently fold in the tofu. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the water. Add to the skillet and simmer until the sauce thickens, 2 minutes. Stir in the scallions and serve.

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Yes.  Please.

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Spicy Kale Salad with Tofu and Avocado Getting Away

For HYK- for the inspiration

For the first time in many many years, Husband and I have been actually discussing a real "getaway" vacation.  I say discussing because we arent anywhere near coming to an agreement about where to go and what we will do, but weve been throwing ideas back and forth at each other for the past few weeks or so.

Upon further discussion and examination, it became very clear that Husband and I definitely have two different ideas of what a vacation is.

Husbands idea is to stay at home, not wake up, not go anywhere, sit in his sweatpants and just be at home, eating home cooked food, playing catch with the kids, and overall not moving from where he is.

My idea of a vacation is not cooking, not cleaning, not teaching, not telling the kids to do their homework, piano practice, or extra work, and being able to experience something different from the repetitive nature of motherhood.  A few days of a completely different life is my idea.

Husband, as a way of challenging his own notion of a vacation, suggested that we rent a house somewhere and just spend time in the house.  I explained that recreating my daily life, just with a change of locale isnt a vacation.

For now, we still havent agreed on what we will do, where we will go, or when we will do it, but Im moderately hopeful that there is some sort of getaway in my immediate future.  Im looking for a change of pace, a change of scenery, and a change of lifestyle, even if it is for a brief, limited period of time.

In the meanwhile, I decided to try something entirely different with kale.  A good friend, HYK sent me a text of kale kimchi at a farmers market back east, and it immediately got me to thinking that kale would probably taste great with a spicy dressing on time - hence the birth of spicy kale salad!  With the crispy warm tofu, and the rich avocado, its a meal that leaves you completely satisfied, no joke.  Its not the same sort of satisfaction Ill get from being on a island somewhere (hint hint husband), but a satisfaction just the same.

As a note, anti-fish sauce man (Husband) ate the salad dutifully but informed me afterwards that he didnt really like it.  Children and I, however, devoured it.  Even the spice didnt turn them off to it.

Spicy Kale Salad with Tofu and Avocado
Serves 4

Ingredients
3 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon sesame seed
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
2 tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes (gochugahloo-???? )

1 bunch of kale, thicker part of the stem removed, washed and chopped into bite sized pieces
1 block of tofu, cut into one inch pieces, drained on paper towel
1 avocado, sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 sprigs of cilantro (optional), finely chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped

Method
In a jar, (or in a bowl) mix together fish sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seed, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes.  Mix together well.  Set aside to allow flavors to meld.

Heat a skillet over high heat.  Add oil and drained tofu cubes and fry on all sides until golden, about 8 minutes.  On a paper towel lined plate, remove golden tofu and drain.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, add kale, scallions, and cilantro and add two or three heaping spoonfuls of dressing and using tongs or your hands (with a glove on it) toss until kale is well coated with the desired amount of dressing.  The dressing is spicy so adjust accordingly.  Add more if you like more spice.  (You will have some dressing leftover.  Use it on top of some sliced cucumbers.)

Arrange salad with dressed kale, chunks of tofu and slices of avocado.  Enjoy.

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Kimchi Tofu Soup 김치순두부찌개 7 Conditions

I dont know when I became a bad sleeper, but Im notoriously horrible at the mandatory nighttime rest. Actually, let me rephrase that. I can actually be a GREAT sleeper, but I have seven conditions that must be ideal in order for my sleep to be really good.

1.  The kitchen has to be completely cleaned and ready for the next day.
2.  Kids have to be in bed.
3.  The room has to be completely dark.
4.  The room has to be completely silent.
5.  I have to read something (ANYTHING) for 10 minutes to set my mind at rest.
6.  I have to have showered no more than 3 hours before bedtime, and I have to put on fresh "inside bed" clothes and put in the laundry basket, my "outside world" clothes.
7.  The only thing touching me can be the sheets, the pillow, and the mattress.  No human contact.

Now, every once in a while, my seven conditions are met, but usually, one or two out of the seven arent met.  Im a mother to three kids, a wife to Husband who likes to work late in bed (laptop screen glare and noise in particular are really difficult for me to manage), and I technically need to be in a sensory deprivation tank for sleep to be good. I know, its not going to happen.  But on those days, those rare days when all the conditions are met, the sleep is amazing.  Ahhh....

Now for all my difficulties with sleep, Husband has equally as many conditions for his kimchi chigae.

1.  There cant be too much pork or meat flavor.
2.  The broth needs to be lighter and less rich.
3.  The broth to kimchi ratio leans heavily towards the broth side.
4.  The broth cant be sweet.
5.  The broth cant be too salty.
6.  The tofu cant overtake the kimchi.
7.  The soup must be served piping hot with rice.

Just as I have continued to nag Husband about helping me reach my seven conditions of sleep, he has nagged me endlessly about the kimchi tofu soup of his personal preference.  After 12 years of arguing with him that he was simply WRONG about his soup (he is, but oh well) I decided to revisit my old method of kimchi soup and lighten it up in his favor.

It turns out his desire just makes a different soup - not a better one, but a different one.  And as an added benefit, it turns out that Son actually likes this version as well and the Father-Son combo enjoy this soup regularly.  Its slightly more complicated than a regular kimchi stew, but youll get more bang for your kimchi (meaning more soup for the same amount of kimchi) so in the end its a good investmentt.  My favorite finish on this soup is an egg (or two woo hoo!) cooked in the final stages of the soup so I get a runny yolk messing with the rest of the spicy broth.  In order to accomodate Sons egg allergy, I take a portion of the soup and add it to a small pot so that I can cook my egg.

Kimchi Tofu Soup (???????)
Serves 6 to 8 people

Ingredients
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
¼ lb Korean pork belly or other pork or beef cut of your choice
5 cups drained kimchi (place in a strainer over a bowl), roughly chopped - reserve 1 cup of kimchi liquid
2 tablespoons gochujang(??? - Korean hot pepper paste)
2 tablespoons soup soy sauce (???) or reduced-sodium soy sauce
8 cups water
6 or more eggs (depending on your egg love)
1 package tofu (medium firm) cut into 1 inch chunks
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
8 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces

Method
In a large pot, over medium heat add oil and pork belly.  Cook until pork belly has rendered some of the fat and is getting golden brown.  Add drained kimchi and gochujang and soy sauce.  Cook until gochujang and soy sauce is all incorporated and the mix is started to darken, about 5 minutes.

Add to pot 1 cup of reserved kimchi liquid and 8 cups of water to pot.  Bring to boil and cover; reduce heat to maintain simmer for about 25 minutes or until kimchi is translucent.

Add tofu and cook for another 5 minutes.  If desired crack eggs soup or put some soup in a smaller pot to add eggs.  Cook an additional 2 minutes.  Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds

Serve hot with rice.

Printable recipe

Now, off to bed.

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Black Pepper Tofu When the tables are turned

For SH - for revealing something about me I didnt know

Those who know me well know that Im kind of inflexible.  If I have a schedule on any given day, before the day starts out, Ive carved out mini projects that will take place all day long.  Work out.  Cook dinner (in the middle of the day because I cant in the evening.)  Read.  Bake cookies to give away.  Plan lessons.  Volunteer.  Practice music.  Blog.  Write letters.  Call doctors.  Call dentists.  Each day, I carve out what I need to do and get myself mentally behind all the tasks.  If its not in my calendar, Im generally unwilling to do something.

Last week, I got a text from good friend asking me what I was doing.
SH:  U working this afternoon?
Me: Im just finished with the dentist.  Not teaching until 330.
SH: Want to try a restaurant?
Me: Where?
SH: San Carlos.  If no, we can just have lunch together.
Me:  What kind?
SH:  American, we can split a burger or try the chicken sandwich.  Johnsons salt box
Me:  Id rather eat with you at home.
SH:  Are you sure?  Could be fun to try something new.  My treat.
Me:  I have sausage kale pasta.
SH:  Come on you have the time
Me:  I ate out on Saturday. I am surprised you are craving American.
SH:  Im not, trying to spread my wings.
Me:  Hmmm.  Can I fry you a banana?  A round one.
SH:  When are you home?
Me: 10 minutes
SH: Im going to kidnap you.
Me: You psychological.
SH:  We walk afterwards.  Must take advantage of our freedom.
Me:  You a force of nature.

I tried politely to push my own agenda of staying at home but it didnt work.  SH didnt know this, but I had my afternoon at home carved out.  There were some phone calls that needed to be made, a bunch of cookies that I had planned to bake, a dinner for the family I had planned to cook, but suddenly I found myself on my way to lunch.  I wasnt sure how it exactly happened, but I decided just to relax and give it a whirl.

As we sat down and waited for our food, SH turned to me and said, "You know I channeled you earlier."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I pretended I was you and didnt take no for an answer," she said with a smile.

"What are you TALKING ABOUT?" I repeated.

"I noticed that when you want something, you ask more than once.  Sometimes you ask two or three or even four times, so I decided I would keeping asking until you came."

"What are you TALKING ABOUT?" I asked incredulously.

"Youre persistent.  I wanted to see if I was persistent if you would come and it WORKED!!" she said gleefully.

"Im persistent?" I said in wonder.

"Yes.  When you really want something, you wont take no for an answer."

This conversation really blew my mind, because there flew out the window my self-perception that I am easy going and a go-with-the-flow type of person.  Instead I got "persistent" as a label.  And Im not sure if being persistent is exactly good.  Flies are persistent.  As are weeds.  Grey hairs are persistent.  So are children.  Wrinkles are really persistent and so is the layer of fat on around my belly.  As far as I can tell, persistent isnt necessarily a flattering thing.

I decided to take my persistent label today, the unflattering version, and turn it into something good.  Although I was kind of tired, I decided to be persistent and create this recipe that had been rattling in my head for a while.  I saw a version of it in Saveur, and decided to play around with it and make it much more me.  The chopping took a bit of time, but I was persistent; the frying took a bit of time, but I was persistent.  Thankfully the bringing of everything together was quick, but I was persistent anyway.  I texted SH and told her to come over to taste it, and was prepared to be persistent, but she readily agreed.

Push your way through cooking this one.  You wont regret your persistence.  Its peppery, flavorful, and oh-so-good with steaming hot white rice.  Cant you just taste it in this picture?

Black Pepper Tofu
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 cup canola oil
1 ¾ lb. firm tofu, cut into 1? cubes
½ cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
3 tbsp. finely chopped ginger
8 small shallots, thinly sliced
12 cloves garlic, crushed
4 jalapenos, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into slices

2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons molasses
16 small scallions, cut into 1 ¼? pieces
Cooked white rice, for serving

Method
Heat oil in a 12? skillet over medium-high heat. Toss tofu and cornstarch in a bowl until evenly coated. Fry tofu until browned all over, about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside; discard oil, and wipe skillet clean.

Return skillet to medium heat canola and sesame oil. Add ginger, shallots, garlic, jalapeno and bell pepper; cook until soft, about 8 minutes.

While ginger garlic mixture is cooking, mix together black pepper, soy sauce, sugar and molasses.  Add to skillet with ginger garlic mixture.  Sauce will immediately begin to concentrate and thicken.  Add tofu to skillet; cook, stirring, until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Stir in scallions; serve over rice.

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Sometimes persistence does pay off.

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