Miso makes everything taste better

Y’know that broiled salmon I made a while back? Turns out the miso marinade from that recipe also tastes pretty flippin’ good with tofu and asparagus! Baking tofu is a relatively new thing in our house, but lemme tell you, it is wonderful because it comes out of the oven toasty on the outside and soft on the inside. Give it a try!

Miso Asparagus and Tofu with Black Rice 
½ cup white miso paste
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1 tablespoon sesame oil
14-ounce package firm tofu, cubed and patted dry with paper towels
1 bunch asparagus, tough ends peeled and/or removed
3 cups cooked black rice
Non-stick cooking spray
Sliced green onion, for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and mist two cooking sheets with non-stick cooking spray. Whisk first six ingredients together in large bowl. Working in batches, add a few tofu cubes to bowl at a time, stirring gently with slotted spoon. Use spoon to remove tofu from bowl, allowing excess sauce to drain back into the bowl, and arrange cubes, in a single layer and so that they’re not touching, on one of the coated baking sheets. Put tofu in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove sheet from oven, flip tofu cubes, and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes.

Use slotted spoon to mix asparagus with remaining miso sauce until lightly coated. Distribute asparagus on second baking sheet. Put asparagus in the oven 10 minutes before the tofu’s done, and everything is ready to serve at the same time. Divide rice evenly among four plates or bowls, then top with asparagus and tofu, and garnish with green onion.

Broiled salmon packed with sweet, smoky flavors

This easy dinner has a lot of things going for it. First off, the key ingredient is delicious salmon. Salmon’s pretty good no matter what you do to it, but it tastes particularly great with this quick miso glaze. Served with some kale wilted with soy sauce and other goodies and you’ve got a wonderful meal that doesn’t take all night to prepare.

Miso Salmon with Kale 
1 pound salmon filet
¼ cup white miso paste
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
1 tablespoon agave syrup
2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
½ pound kale, cleaned, stems and center ribs removed

Whisk miso paste, ginger, vinegar, 3 teaspoons soy sauce, agave syrup and 1 tablespoon sesame oil together in bowl. Place salmon in glass baking dish and coat with marinade. Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and place in fridge for 45 minutes. Position oven rack about 6 inches from broiler and preheat. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Remove salmon from glass dish and place, skin down, on baking sheet. Place salmon in oven, rotating baking sheet once, and broil for 15-20 minutes, until salmon is cooked through. Remove from oven. While salmon is in the oven, heat remaining sesame oil over medium heat in large frying pan. Add kale, soy and red pepper flakes, cooking until kale wilts. Remove from heat and serve with salmon.

Noodle salad fresh and festive

‘Tis the season to overindulge. Give this salad a try if you want something quick and fresh to balance out all the ridiculously rich goodies you’ve enjoyed at Christmas cocktail parties, family feasts and other holiday festivities. This recipe is similar to the Thai Beef Noodle Salad I made a couple summers back, and the ingredients taste just as great with shrimp as they do with flank steak.

Shrimp Noodle Salad
1 pound raw, peeled and deveined shrimp, tails removed
2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
3 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons minced jalapeño
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 6-ounce package mung bean noodles
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
½ cup fresh cilantro, torn
⅓ cup crushed unsalted peanuts

Make dressing by whisking 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 2 tablespoons garlic in a bowl with soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, jalapeño and rice wine vinegar. Set aside. Cook noodles according to package instructions, drain using a colander, and rinse in cold water before placing in a large bowl with bell pepper, carrot, cilantro and dressing. Heat remaining teaspoon sesame oil in frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two, until aromatic, before adding shrimp. Cook shrimp for a couple minutes on each side until shrimp are fully cooked. Toss shrimp with noodles and vegetables. Garnish each serving with a sprinkling of crushed peanuts.

Adding the recipes of others to my repertoire

A caterer once told me that it only takes a minor tweak to someone’s existing recipe to make it your own. Can’t say I agree, which is why I’m going to share a couple photos and then refer you to some delicious recipes others have created but that I’ve tried and love.

Corn Farrotto from Bon Appetit (doctored up with some garlic shrimp)

One of my favorite food bloggers posted this Toasted Sesame Quinoa with Chicken recipe a couple months ago and I’ve already made it half a dozen times.