Even I, as a stay at home, work from home, new mamma, do not always have time for my preferred level of home cooking.    Sometimes #Babysatyr takes up all of my time with snuggles and diapers.  Sometimes the Office needs me to perform urgent (read: time sensitive) tasks.  For such occasions it is especially important to have a few go to week night meals, in case one of these nights coincides with a dearth of leftovers.

You may also have vegetables in the refrigerator that need eating before they join the wrinkly apples in the compost heap.  That makes tonight’s dish doubly useful, but before I get into that, we should talk about staples.  Not the ones you keep papers together with, but the ones with which you hold your house together.  We all have our go to items that must be on hand at all times. Here are a few of mine:

• canned tomato products (diced, crushed, sauce, paste)
• canned beans (baked, white, refried, red, black)
• lemons (not shelf stable, but if they get old before I use them all, I use the to clean the microwave)
• fancy jar food (capers, artichoke hearts, green chiles)
• pastes (garlic, ginger, basil, chili pepper, dill, cilantro, anchovy)
• coconut milk
• coconut beverage, unsweetened
• gluten-free pasta (spaghetti and elbows; brown rice based is my preference.  Not Barilla because they are enemies of freedom)
• sale meats (grass-fed beef, boneless chicken, pork chops, and sausages found on manager’s special and frozen)
• frozen veggies (cut okra, baby peas, whole kernel corn, lima beans, edamame, whatever looked good that they were closing out in the hippy section)
• fats (bacon, chicken, beef, coconut oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, ghee)
• condiments (ketchup, mayonnaise, mustards, liquid aminos, sugar-free marmalade)
• onions (I prefer sweet but occasionally need red.  Vidalia is the best to my mind, but have a short season of availability.)

As long as I have these things, I am pretty much set for any occasion.  What do you like to keep on hand?

I spent hours yesterday making chinese appetizers from scratch because a) I wanted them and b) mine are better.  I had prepared some of the ingredients on a former occasion and then not been able to make them so had frozen them.  One was cauliflower rice, the other cabbage and ginger for mixing with pork for dumplings.  I had apparently eaten the pork since then and the cabbage did not look great, but I tried to use the cauliflower rice.  I fried it.  Papa Satyr liked it but I tossed mine.  even I fail occasionally.  So, tonight when we would eat leftover ribs, wings, and dumplings, with a new batch of cheese wontons, I wanted a new starch to pair them with.  As Amazon had just delivered a new batch of my gluten-free spaghetti (I get it 6-lbs at a time in my monthly Subscribe and Save delivery), I decided to make “Lo mein”, which is normally made of a wheat egg noodle, but I had bread this week, I needed to lay off the gluten.

OK, I had plenty of meats in my apps, so I decided to go vegetarian, and as I mentioned before, it is a great way to use up veggies from the fridge.  I found carrots, Napa cabbage, zucchini, and half a yellow pepper.  I added half an onion and called it good.  Boiled my pasta, deep-fried my tofu, fried some eggs over easy, made new batch of the wontons (not pictured), re-heated the spare ribs, dumplings and sesame wings in the oven, and wah-la, dinner.  Sorry I will not be featuring everything listed, but I promise I will bring them back for another post…those were my best and easiest Chinese BBQ spareribs EVER.  You meat-eaters will need them.

Vegetable Lo Mein with Crispy Tofu (Dinner)

Lo Mein

• 8 0z pasta (I think we all know I made a full pound and froze half-naked for another use)

Stir-fry

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, julienned
• 2 small carrots, julienned
• 1/2 head Napa cabbage, sliced in ribbons, greens separated from whites
• 1/2 onion, sliced thin
• 2 zucchini, halved ad sliced thin

Sauce

• 2 tbsp liquid aminos (like soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp apricot marmalade
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp Sriracha
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

Toppings:

Crispy Tofu (Basics)

• Tofu, extra firm
• If deep-frying: ~ 1 qt Neutral oil (vegetable, peanut, etc)

Fried Eggs (Basics)

• 4 large eggs
• 3 tbsp hot neutral oil (use less if not adding to stir fry)

I list these last two as toppings because if you put the into the stir-fry too early they will become soggy.

1. If baking the tofu, start with it.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line baking sheet with parchment.
2. Cut tofu to desired shape tofu, place between two kitchen towels and pat dry.
3. Bake until outside is golden, 25-45 minutes, shape dependent.
4. Mix sauce, whisking, and set aside.
5. Bring 4 qts water to boil.  Add pasta.  Cook to desired doneness.  Drain and set aside.
6. Heat oil in wok or large skillet for stir-fry over med-high heat.  Add thicker or harder vegetables and cook 3-4 minutes.  Add leafy vegetables and cook 2 minutes.  Turn off heat.
7. If deep-frying the tofu, heat oil to 350°F.  Fry 4-6 pieces at a time, shape dependent, ~2-4 minutes, until golden and puffy.  Shake off oil and transfer to paper towels to dry.
8. Put 3 tbsp hot oil in nonstick pan over medium heat.  Add eggs.  Let cook until whites are puffed and crispy on edge and yolk begins to harden, basting eggs with hot oil once or twice.  Flip eggs and break apart.  Our off heat and let finish cooking.
9. Once everything is ready, place stir-fry over med-high heat, add eggs and oil, stir, stir.
10. Add sauce, stir, stir.  Turn off heat.
11. Serve with tofu.

Goodness, that took twice as long to write as it did to cook.  OK, I did also apply the spice rub to tomorrow’s brisket.  Come back for that awesomeness!

Tonight’s instance of going above and beyond shall be how to clean your microwave with lemons.

Go the Extra Mile:

1. Place 1/2 water in microwave safe bowl.
2. Take 2 lemons.  If hard, microwave 20 seconds to soften.  Cut in half.  Squeeze juice into bowl and place lemons in bowl.
3. Microwave 4 minutes.  DO NOT OPEN DOOR.  Let sit 4-5 minutes.
4. Wipe clean with the magic of lemony steam.  If you cannot remove any remaining gunk, dip cloth into lemon solution and apply elbow grease.