Tag Archives: sesame

Maple Sesame Sweet Potatoes

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Hi again! Posting two days in a row, this might be a first. Oh boy. I’m just here to say that you can do the exact same thing I did with yesterday’s salmon to today’s sweet potatoes. Exact. same. sauce.!! And it’s REALLY GOOD. And this way it’s vegan. I served these sweet potatoes on buttery white rice with an egg fried in sesame oil (not vegan). All drizzled with sriracha. One of my better thrown together dinners in memory.

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Maple Sesame Sweet Potatoes

a swanky original but its the same recipe as previous except with sweet potatoes

a lil coconut oil
2 biggish sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into long thin “toasts”
⅓ cup real maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ cup sesame seeds (I did a mix of white and black)
Chopped scallions to serve (optional)

Preheat oven to 450F. Find a baking dish that will fit your sweet potato slices in basically a single layer. I halved the recipe and did an 8-inch square dish. Put a little coconut oil on the dish and arrange your potatoes. Mix together maple syrup, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic in a measuring cup, then pour over potatoes to coat. Cook for about 20 minutes. Flip sweet potatoes and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cook for another 20 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and thick, and sweet potatoes are coated and tender.

 

Maple Sesame Salmon – 11/67

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My little sister is officially more educated than I am. I mean, she was always on the fast track to becoming an adult before me. She had a job with a regular paycheck (and benefits) way before I did. She’s been a vegetarian since before it was cool. She actually knows how to (and enjoys) exercise. She sets her sights on what she wants to do and does it! Multiple half-marathons, check. Wants to go on vacation in a year? Buys her tickets healthily in advance and plans a sensible itinerary. MSW? Check. Sigh. I’ve officially worn matching socks without holes in them all week, so that’s a thing.

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My parents hosted a little gathering to celebrate her achievement with close family and her grad school friends. A lovely bunch of pesca-vega-tarians. Toasts were made. The grads’ altruism and friendships were rightly lauded. We went on a still unnamed boat and ate lots of good food. The sun showed up after a long morning of rain. And then I watched my first ever game of thrones episode, the series finale. (Probably not the right time to start watching.)

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I happily helped prep food the afternoon leading up to the party and was happy to learn my mom was planning to make one of the salmon recipes from my book. Alright sure I’ll check a recipe off the list! This fish was so easy to make, and it received rounds of compliments at the table. Paired really nicely with an orzo salad and grilled vegetables. A perfect first outside meal of the season. A perfect way to tip a hat to hard work and new beginnings.

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Such a beautiful place to cook. And eat.

two years ago: garlicky tomato zoodles
(nothing of note in years one, three, or four)

Maple Sesame Salmon

thanks Mom! Note – this exact same recipe works really well with sweet potatoes replacing the salmon. Click here for details of this revelation!

2 lbs salmon cut into serving size pieces (my mom says “skin removed if you remember to ask at the fish counter”)
⅓ cup real maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ cup sesame seeds (I did a mix of white and black)
Chopped scallions to serve (optional)

Combine maple syrup, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic. Pour over fish fillets. We did this in a shallow baking dish; a ziplock bag would also work. Let marinate in the fridge for at least ten minutes, or up to 8-9 hours.

Preheat oven to 375F. (Update! My mom says she always does 425F, even though the recipe says otherwise.) 

Take fillets out of marinade, drip dry, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (keep the marinade!). Then, sprinkle fish all over with sesame seeds, pressing them in a bit to help stick. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour the marinade into a small saucepan or skillet. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Serve salmon with thickened maple sauce and sprinkle of scallions.

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Sweet Potato Tahini Buddha Bowl – 9/67

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Daniel was supposed to make a chicken recipe a week while I was in Russia (so, 5 recipes total). He was going to blog them and it was going to be great. Well, this site still has 0 chicken recipes, so you can see how well that went. He did make one recipe but took no pictures of it, so here we remain. Sigh.

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I can’t blame him too much. Cooking requires time and love and follow-through, which I am only sometimes in the mood for. Tonight I was in the mood for it. My lovely friend Caroline gave me this recipe and said it seemed like something I would really like. Accurate, as I have made many versions of meals similar to this. I hope you’ll forgive me, Care, for adding extra things and making this far less simple than you intended. I had the time tonight. Recipes are for breaking, right? I veered from the recipe by pan roasting the chickpeas a bit and adding spices (I don’t like them straight out of the can), and adding brown rice, some crunchy veggies, and sesame seeds. To make it a “buddha bowl” I put everything in a giganto bowl that appeared in the mail while I was in Russia. (Did someone send us this? I think they got our registry mixed up with someone else’s but … now I have a great giant bowl and I love it.) It’s as full and rounded as Buddha’s belly.

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There’s another recipe on this site with very similar ingredients, just combined slightly differently (and kale would be great here too). I like this version more for a quick weeknight meal – you don’t have to wait as long for the sweet potatoes to cook, since they’re cut into small cubes. Also its called a Buddha bowl, so it’s automatically healthy 🙂

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Meals like this are the best after traveling for a while. This bowl was my post-Guatemala craving and mmm here’s my savory granola I invented after our Jordan trip. We did have a kitchen in Russia, so I wasn’t forced (ha) to eat 3 meals out a day, but it wasn’t so easy to cook. We couldn’t find some staples — tortillas, coconut milk, black pepper, chickpeas, most leafy vegetables, popcorn. The house we were in had one LOUSY glass cutting board, no can opener, and really abysmal knives. I managed roast cauliflower, a mushroom pasta, and many eggs, but that was about it. Feels good to make food exactly as I want it, then eat it.

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one year ago: anyone else currently reading The Power? I can’t decide if I like it or not…
two years ago: eggplant salad and goat cheese sandwiches
three years ago: herby sunchoke gorgonzola salad
four years ago: grilled pineapple and baked bean tacos

Sweet Potato Tahini Buddha Bowls

inspired by my friend Caroline

Roast sweet potatoes
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 big sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
s&p

Combine everything on a roasting tray or two (keep veggies in a single layer!), and bake at 425 for 30ish minutes, mixing halfway through roasting.

Chickpeas
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Coconut oil
Salt, smoked paprika, cumin
s&p

Heat a medium saute pan and add a bit of coconut oil. Add chickpeas and spices and cook over highish heat for about 5 minutes, until chickpeas are charred and smell awesome. Stir frequently so they char all over.

Tahini dressing
1 clove garlic, minced
3ish tablespoons tahini (I just scraped out the rest of my jar, so this is a rough estimate)
Juice from ½ a juicy lemon
1 tablespoonish olive oil
Small dollop of honey (oops I guess this negates the veganness – can use maple syrup instead)
s&p
Warm water

Combine everything except warm water in a measuring cup, and mix with a fork. Add water a bit at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Cooked brown rice
Thin sliced shallot or red onion
Sliced cucumbers
Halved cherry tomatoes
Enoki mushroom – I added half a package to the sweet potatoes when they were halfway done roasting. They added a funky, almost noodle-y texture and great flavor. Yum!
Chopped parsley
Black (or white) sesame seeds

Combine in bowl as you wish. Post a picture to instagram. Eat!

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Mizuna Miso Soup

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I made this soup while listening to the 2003 All American Reject’s self-titled album (“Swing, Swing“, anyone?). Man, if there were ever an album to bring me back to a specific time, this is it. I remember choosing it for myself at a CD store, not knowing who they were but wanting to find an “indie” band that none of my friends liked yet so I could be cool. (Was indie a word in 2003?) My 8th grade bestie sat next to me on our field trip to Montreal, me listening to my beloved All American Rejects and her listening to Simple Plan. We both thought ours was the way better option. I was devastated when their next album came out, a total pop-y cop-out in my mind; why oh why did beautiful Oklahoman blue-eyed bassist/lead singer Ty have to get so mainstream? Ugh.

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The album popped into my head today because of a wily connect-the-dot narrative. Last night some friends and I went to see the brilliant ‘70s movie Dune (please read: not-so-brilliant) at the actually brilliant bar Syndicated in Bushwick, where they show old movies in a beautiful space for just $3 and you can order food and drinks while you watch) (this time I do actually mean brilliant). And “syndicated” rhymes with “vindicated” which leads me to that Dashboard Confessional song, which was a pretty big deal during freshman year student council, so obviously I had to listen to it to remind myself of the words (all I could remember was “I am, vindicated, I am la di da di dahhhhh,” which Daniel got fairly tired of hearing on repeat), and so one thing led to the next and voila, All American Rejects-underscored soup-making.

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Which is all a way to say, this soup is easy. Really easy. You can make it while floating down memory lane and singing song lyrics you haven’t encountered in over a decade (shudder). This sort of soup been a go-to around here lately, with me throwing in any veggie odds and ends that I find in the fridge. The only necessary bits are the miso, something green, and some sort of noodles (although I think the tofu really makes it and would never miss an opportunity to add toasted sesame oil to my food).

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one year ago: that time I made a wedding cake (also) tomatillo peach salsa
two years ago: spicy micheladas

Mizuna Miso Soup

Inspired by justhungry
Makes a very hearty lunch for 2, but probably should be closer to 3-4 servings.

5 cups water
2 packets dashi stock  (or try with a simple veggie broth)
1 carrot, peeled and ribboned with your peeler
1 scallion, minced
¼ c firm or extra firm tofu in small cubes
80 g soba noodles (one bundle)
½ bunch mizuna, chopped into thirds, abt 2-3 cups, divided (or another tender green)
2 tablespoons miso
Soy sauce, a drizzle

Optional toppings
½ a sheet of nori, torn into strips
Lime wedges
Sesame seeds
Toasted sesame oil
Sriracha

Bring water to a boil in a medium-large soup pot. Add dashi stock powder and stir until it dissolves. Lower heat to medium-high. Add carrot and scallion. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add tofu and soba noodles and cook for another 4 minutes. Add most of your mizuna and immediately bring heat to low.

Put miso in a small bowl and add about a tablespoon of broth from the soup pot. Mix with a spoon or chopsticks until an even paste forms (no clumps!). Pour miso into soup pot and stir to disperse. Heat for another 2 minutes on medium-low heat. Don’t let soup come to a boil once you add miso or it will kill all its beautiful health qualities. Give soup a try — depending on your miso it may be plenty salty. If not, pour in a healthy glug of soy sauce.

Spoon soup into a bowl and top with nori, lime, sesame seeds, and reserved mizuna, chopped small. If you’d like, drizzle in sriracha or a tiny bit of toasted sesame oil.

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Sweet Sesame Cauliflower, Snow Pea, and Kale Salad

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Oh, Brooklyn. You tempt me with your rooftop gardens and skyline views, live music happy hours, and street fairs. You lure me in with your brownstones, cafes, cocktails, and bike paths. You sweeten my day with homemade everythings on every corner. And you leave me shocked at the J. Crew on Wythe (holy, what now?!), the price tag on a cold-brew, and the traffic on the Manhattan Bridge.

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But I never expected you to treat me like this: to throw me into a court house, make me stay there for two week while paying me $40 a day, claiming you are more important than any of my bosses or coworkers, and claiming it is my “civic duty”.

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Brooklyn, I’m just not down with Grand Jury Duty.

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But because I love your bodegas and ethnic grocery stores and general CSA enthusiasm that made this salad possible, I’ll forgive you for today. Cauliflower, you have not wronged me yet. Today, you beat Brooklyn. Choose cauliflower, not fulfilling civic duties.

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Sweet Sesame Cauliflower, Snow Pea, and Kale Salad

adapted from Plenty by Ottolenghi

1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cup or so snow peas
1 small bunch of kale, ribs removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
½ T olive oil
1.5 cups cilantro leaves, roughly chopped; reserve a couple whole leaves for garnish
2 T sesame seeds

Sauce:
4 T tahini
2.5 T water
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ t soy sauce
½ T honey
¾ T apple cider vinegar
1.5 T mirin (sweet rice cooking wine)
pinch of salt

Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Briefly blanch the cauliflower until cooked but still firm, about 2-3 minutes. Scoop into a colander and run under cool water. Return the water to a boil. Add snow peas, and cook for just 1 minute. Add to cauliflower.

Heat olive oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. Add the kale and a splash of water and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients together with a fork.

To toast sesame seeds, put in a small dry pan and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until slightly brown and nutty-smelling. Keep a close eye on them; they like to turn too dark while you briefly answer a text message.

Combine cauliflower, snow peas, kale, and the chopped cilantro on a big plate. Drench with the sauce. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and whole cilantro leaves. Eat cool or warm.

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