Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

I can’t think of a better way to use up a bunch of left over vegetables in the fridge. I had half a cauliflower head, yellow and red pepper, asparagus and most importantly, I had green onions. I love using them for their mild oniony flavor and beautiful green color.

I doused the cauliflower florets with some tamari and roasted them. I then sauteed the vegetables with ginger and garlic. I went through my pantry and hoisin sauce stood out. I added some rice vinegar and honey to finish off the sauce.

It was simple, quick and most of all delicious. It was a perfect pairing with the sausage fried rice. My daughter ate all the vegetables except the peppers- she does not like them. I have learnt to pick my battles with her. She is such a good eater and everyone is allowed not to like a few things.

Next time you have left over vegetables, try this delicious stir fry.
Click here for the recipe… »

I used a Chinese style sausage in this recipe. A friend bought it for me from an Asian store. She makes a delicious Vietnamese style fried rice with this particular sausage.

I first had it back in college- I will not share how long ago that was. She would make it in our small apartment kitchen that we shared with three other girls. It was so hard to keep that kitchen clean- maybe that is where I get my anal cleaning habits… Anyway, the rice was delicious.

I had the sausage in the fridge and it had been there for a while. I decided to use it and make my own version of a fried rice. I usually add a lot of chopped vegetables but for this dish I used protein only. I was using brown rice to make a healthy dish and tamari as the primary flavoring. It is a concentrated soy sauce and packs a punch in any dish.

To make a balanced meal, I stir fried vegetables on the side. Recipe to follow tomorrow…

In the meantime, try this Chinese sausage fried rice- it is delicious.
Click here for the recipe… »

This side dish was served with the ma po tofu I whipped up for my husband the other day. I am always looking to serve broccoli in different ways- especially because it is the most popular vegetable with kids. It is also quite versatile. I can chop it up small and use it for fried rice or I can just broil it simply with extra virgin olive oil and salt.

I find most parents boil the broccoli for their kids. I find roasting vegetables brings out the natural sweetness in them and makes them yummier. We invested in a small toaster/convection counter top oven a few years ago. It is super handy. I use it for breakfast to make toast; for lunch to bake a quick fish fillet and for dinner to roast vegetables. Since it has a convection button as well- things cook much faster. It is very convenient and I don’t have to heat my big oven for a small job. The broccoli tastes delicious roasted in the oven.

For this dinner, since I was making a tofu and turkey stir fry, I needed a side of vegetables. Blood oranges are in season and are in abundance at Whole Foods and Trader Joes. I had a whole bunch sitting on my kitchen counter and I decided to use that as a base for this quick side dish. I mixed fresh blood orange juice (which is the most delicious thing I have ever had-  a sip takes me back to last summer in Umbria), tamari and a bit of honey and of course some garlic. I reduced the sauce a bit to transform it into a glaze. I roasted the broccoli half way and then poured the glaze on top. You can substitute regular oranges in this dish. I would top the broccoli with some orange zest and it will be delicious.

The broccoli was delicious and a bit different. What I liked about it was that it was easy and quick yet flavorful and most importantly got a thumbs up from my daughter.

Next time you want to cook broccoli for dinner roast it the oven and pour a blood orange and tamari glaze.
Blood Orange Glaze

• Juice 3 to 4 blood oranges- should yield 1/3 to ½ cup juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced

Bring the blood orange juice, honey, tamari and garlic cloves to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 6 to 7 minutes till the juice thickens and reduces to a ¼ cup. Taste for seasonings and keep aside.

• 3 cups broccoli florets, frozen or fresh
• 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt

Roast the broccoli mixed with the olive oil and salt in a 350 degrees oven for 10 minutes or till it becomes soft. Take out of oven and pour the glaze over the broccoli, mix well and place back in the oven. Roast for another 10 minutes. Serve as a side dish with any entrée.

My husband introduced this Chinese dish to me. I had never heard of it. He loves tofu- in any form. Before meeting him, I wasn’t much into tofu- not sure why but I just wasn’t interested.

We usually have this szechuan dish in restaurants. I like it a lot- definitely not a combination that comes to mind easily. I never think of pairing two proteins together. In this dish it works really well.

I was thinking of what to make and Chinese food came to mind. I typically make a broccoli and chicken stir fry but I wanted to make something different and so this dish came to mind. I went shopping for some chili paste, etc. While I was researching the dish- most of the recipes had lots of heat in them. I can’t really do that since neither my husband nor my daughter eat very spicy dishes. I still wanted to have great flavor so I decided on a black bean sauce and a chili paste I picked up in Whole Foods. I prefer tamari to soy sauce- it is more concentrated and has more flavor. The sauce is quite simple to make and so is the dish.

I served roasted broccoli and brown rice with it. My daughter looked at the dish and wasn’t very happy. I have to say- it doesn’t look very appetizing but it is delicious. She thought so too once she tasted it. I keep telling her not to judge a book by it’s cover but somehow it doesn’t register… Anyway, I would highly recommend MaPo Tofu- good for you and easy to make.

• 1 block silken tofu, drained
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• ½ to ¾ pound ground turkey (dark meat)
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 4 green onions, whites and greens separated

Sauce

• 3 tablespoons tamari
• 1 tablespoon black bean sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili bean paste
• 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

Mix well and keep aside.

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons corn starch

Add the cornstarch to the chicken broth and mix well.

Heat a wok like pan with the olive oil. Add the ground meat and separate it with a wooden spoon and sauté until crispy and golden brown. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and white part of the green onion. Saute 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tamari sauce and sauté for a minute. Add the silken tofu and break it into small pieces with the spoon. Add the cornstarch mixed with the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and check for seasonings. Garnish with the green parts of the green onions. Serve with roasted broccoli.

I find fried rice and quesadillas a great way to use up left overs. The quesadillas can be stuffed with virtually anything as long as shredded cheese in involved. As far as fried rice is concerned- same rules apply- anything and everything can be added to it. I think the key is to have a well stocked pantry- it always comes back to that, doesn’t it? In this case I had eggs in the fridge, broccoli and shrimp in the freezer, tamari in the cabinet, garlic and onion in the basket.

I had a cup of cooked brown rice in the fridge and didn’t have any plans for dinner- what was I going to feed my always hungry daughter?? I have never made fried rice out of brown rice but why not?? In fact, I thought with all the loud flavors going on in fried rice, I could totally get away with using brown rice instead of white. so, that is what I did- I chopped some onion and garlic, took out some frozen broccoli florets and 3 frozen raw jumbo shrimps. It was the quickest meal I have ever made. I minced everything and sauteed it with lots of tamari. That is all it took and it was delicious!

My daughter couldn’t stop eating it- and when she told my husband on the phone what she ate- he got very excited as well. I had to disappoint him by telling him I had just enough for her. Don’t worry I didn’t leave him hungry- we ate leftovers from the day before- which were delicious as well.

Everyone was happy..

• 1 cup cooked brown rice

• 3 raw jumbo shrimp, cleaned and deveined and chopped
• ½ cup frozen or fresh broccoli, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ white onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons tamari (depending on how seasoned you like the rice)

Heat a wok like saucepan and add the oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté on high heat for two minutes. Add the broccoli and sauté for a minute. Add the egg and stir until the egg is cooked. Add the raw shrimp and sauté for another minute. Add the rice and tamari. Stir well until heated through.