The Best Miso Glaze, Ever

This is not hyperbole.  Honestly, this miso recipe is the best I've ever made.  It's perfect on steamed or roasted vegetables, tossed with rice and tofu or served as a dip for summer rolls.  Don't even get me started on that.  I'm dreaming of those crispy and crunchy summer rolls as we speak (well...as I type).  

Ingredients for 2 servings:
2 tsp red or white miso paste*
1 tsp tahini
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil 
1-2 tsp soy sauce (for those salt sensitive folks, you may prefer 1 tsp) 
1 tsp ponzu 
1 tsp garlic, minced through a garlic press (if you don't have one, just mince it as finely as you can)
1 tsp ginger, minced through a garlic press (if you don't have one, just mince it as finely as you can)

*white miso is milder than red, and I much prefer its sweet, mellow flavor. 

Directions:
1. Combine first two ingredients 
2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients
3. Refrigerate or serve immediately 

what you'll need

mixed and ready

with summer rolls

served with a rice bowl

drizzled over a vegetable and herb bowl

mixed into a shaved vegetable bowl 

Have you ever cooked with miso? It's great with eggplant and fish, too!  I'd love to hear how you like this recipe if you try it.  Hope you enjoy...

xx,
Mrs. Wolf

What I Ate Wednesday

We're back with anther installment of What I Ate Wednesday.  Here's last week's version for those who are curious...

A few of you asked for more of these, so here I am making good on that request!

This week is Passover, and Boo and are keeping it. Which means no wheat, oats, rye, barley, spelt or corn.  And I love carbs.  Oy, I'm hungry like the Wolf.  Sorry, couldn't help it...

 Breakfast -- Spinach In A Glass:

Lunch -- Kosher for Passover wrap with avocado, lettuce, sprouts, tomatoes, and Swiss cheese with balsamic vinaigrette + arugula salad (not pictured):

Afternoon snack -- cottage cheese with blueberries and sliced strawberries:

Dinner -- quinoa bowl (leftovers from the big batch I made, directions can be read here) with smoked paprika, avocado, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries: 

Paired with roasted green beans and homemade blue cheese dressing:

Dessert -- green apple with homemade almond butter:

Dessert round two -- two Kosher for Passover chocolate chip macaroons from my mother-in-law:

What's a favorite food you ate today?  Are you keeping Passover?  

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

How To Ripen An Avocado

Have you ever needed an avocado for a recipe (click here for ideas), but the only ones available are rock hard and the furthest things from ripe? Me too.

And, HELLO, when you need an avocado, you need an avocado! 

I know these are first world problems at their prime. And if an unripened avocado is your biggest problem, well then pat yourself on the back, because you are doing just fine. 

But, if you are in need of a ripe avocado, I have a trick for you. 

What you'll need:

1 brown bag

1 unripened avocado

1 banana* 

Directions:

1. In a brown paper bag, place one avocado and one banana and close with a chip clip or just roll the top of the bag down to close

2. Give yourself a day or two for ripening 

3. Depending on what you need the avocado for, you may wish to give yourself an extra day, but check to be sure you haven't not left the avocado too long

*this will work fine even without a banana, but it will be faster with one

Avocado + banana together at last:

Ripened perfection:

I know the pain of wanting guacamole and not having a good avocado; it's tough. 

Word to the wise:

You can speed up the ripening process, but it comes with a cost.  

Each banana gives off Ethylene gas, which will not only ripen the avocado, but the other bananas in the bag as well.  So multiple bananas creates a higher concentration of ethylene gas which will quicken the ripening of the avocado, but leave you with a bag of super brown bananas.  

My suggestion: if you have rock-hard avocados that you want to soften ASAP, you should coordinate your menu planning so that you make your avocado dish and banana bread with your newly-ripened avocados.  Waste not, want not!  And, who doesn't want banana bread?

Also, a way to determine if the avocado is ripe is to check the "stem" -- simply remove the little topper stem to reveal the color underneath.  A bright color similar to what's shown below indicates a ripe avocado: 

Have you ever tried this ripening method? What's your favorite dish to make with an avocado?  

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

Bistro Dinner + How-To Dress a Salad

For the past two nights we had another "bistro" dinner. I love when French restaurants (and others of course, but mostly French because they seem to do everything better) serve eggs with a simple salad.  And who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?

While not necessarily traditional French cuisine, crispy egg whites are tasty and healthy. Most recently they have been accompanied by blue cheese and raw tomatoes, or sautéed wild mushrooms, Parmesan cheese and truffle salt. I'm happy to be a short-order cook for these types of meals.  Everyone chooses what he or she wants, and since I make each to order, we don't have to eat the same thing.  If you need a crispy egg white refresher, check here.

When it comes to the salad, it literally couldn't be easier...

Ingredients for two servings:

6C greens (mixed greens, mesclun, spinach, arugula, kale, or your favorite)

sea salt + pepper to taste 

2tsp olive oil

2Tbsp balsamic vinegar (champagne, red wine, or apple cider works well, too)

Optional additions: sliced tomatoes or onions, peppers, diced avocado, truffle salt, red pepper flakes 

Directions:

1. Wash and dry greens 

2. In a large bowl (larger than what you would use to serve the salad) season the greens with salt + pepper

3. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar 

4. Mix gently to combine with tongs

5. Plate with additional toppings, or eat as it is

Salad beginnings:

Seasoned, drizzled and mixed - in the order...I know most people season the greens after the "dressing" is applied - but this technique works really well:

The traditional - crispy egg whites with blue cheese and tomatoes, avocado and mesclun:

Close-up bite:

 

Variation on the traditional -- cherry tomatoes, yellow peppers and blue cheese crispy egg whites:

I prefer a 3-1 vinegar to oil ratio, if that's too tangy for you, try 2-1 (1 tsp olive, 2 tsp vinegar).

If your diners (or you) are looking for a little extra with dinner, simple roasted potatoes like the ones we had on Sunday night would work perfectly. 

How do you serve your eggs?  Hope you enjoy...

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

Tuna with Pita Chips

Last night I had a serious craving for tuna.  There was nothing else that would even come close to my dinner plate.  It was tuna or bust!  I needed a vehicle for the tuna, though.  And it had to be crispy and crunchy and garlicy and smokey.  Such a demanding girl! Here's what I came up with...

Ingredients for tuna:
1 can tuna (I like solid white albacore in water, if you use tuna in oil just be aware that the calories will be higher than what's posted below)
2tbsp Chobani plain 0%
2tsp garlic powder
2tsp Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute (Mrs. Dash would probably be a fine swap)
1/4C avocado
salt + pepper to taste

Ingredients for pita chips:
1 Flatout wrap
Spritz of olive oil 
Garlic powder, smoked paprika and sprinkle of sea salt to taste (I'm exact like that...but for those looking for actual proportions, try 1/2 tsp of garlic powder and paprika and a pinch of salt)

Directions:
1. Drain tuna very well and place in a bowl
2. Combine yogurt, garlic powder, seasoning salute, salt and pepper
3. Cover and refrigerate (I prefer at least one hour)
4. Place the wrap on a cutting board, and cut it in half diagonally 
5. Place the two triangles on top of each other and cut in half again (repeat until you have chips of appropriate size (about 6-8 depending on the wrap you use)
6. Place chips on a baking sheet, spritz lightly with olive oil using something like (this Misto*), sprinkle salt, garlic powder and paprika on top
7. Bake on 350 5-6 minutes depending how crunchy you want your chips (I went all out for a high crunch...about 6 minutes)
8. Remove tuna from refrigerator, dice avocado and top tuna 
9. Serve tuna cold with pita chips 

*Coupon eligible at BBB, I wouldn't lead you astray...

Tuna preparations:

One Flatout wrap:

Cutting the wrap into two pieces:

Pita chips cut into triangles:

Pita chips fresh out of the oven:

Finished product:

For the detailed oriented readers out there - this one's for you:

Nutrition information per serving of tuna:

203 calories, 5g carbohydrates, 5g fat, 30g protein, 3g fiber

Nutrition information per serving of pita chips:

130 calories, 24g carbohydrates, 2g fat, 8g protein, 8g fiber

Nutrition information per serving of whole meal:

333 calories, 29g carbohydrates, 7g fat, 38g protein, 11g fiber

You could mix pita toppings together before sprinkling over the chips. I didn't - I'm lazy like that: it was a seasoning free-for-all.  Every spice for himself.

I chose to use Chobani instead of mayonnaise - you could also mix the two (similar to the skinny egg salad technique) if you need a little mayo in your life. Ain't no shame in that - you should enjoy what you eat! But I have an obsession love Chobani, so I opted for a little more protein and healthy bacteria.  Sounds tasty, I know! 

What foods do you crave?  Hope you enjoy...

xx,
The Future Mrs. Wolf

Party Food

Did you host a Super Bowl party on Sunday? Boo and I had some friends and family over...and what a feast we had!

Guacamole:

Remember when I shared my guacamole recipe?  Well, if my avocado pitting instructions were not clear, and you feared you might lose a finger...here is a visual:

Close up knife action:

Clean avocado without his pit:

A scored avocado:

Homemade hummus thanks to the Vitamix:

Roasted garlic, caramelized onion and mushroom pizza:

 White pizza (my fav!):

Classic margarita:

And...last but not least -- brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (AKA edible crack).  These cookies are a hit every time I make them...so if you are looking for an easy cookie recipe, this is a good one to try!  Hope you enjoy...

Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is, her recipe can be found here 

Ingredients for 24 cookies: 

1/2C butter, unsalted

1/2C granulated sugar

1/2C brown sugar, packed

1 egg, large

2tsp vanilla extract

1C whole wheat flour

1C rolled oats (not instant)

1/4tsp salt

1/2tsp baking powder

2tsp cinnamon

1C semi sweet chocolate chips

1tbsp milk, cold

Directions:

1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat butter over low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the butter beings to foam and brown bits are visible,  remove from heat once the butter is browned,  about 10 minutes

2.  In a medium sized bowl, mix flour, oats, salt, baking powder and cinnamon

3. In a large bowl, mix sugars with the warm (not hot) butter, stir well until the sugars are smooth and not lumpy, add vanilla then an egg (be sure you add the egg last once the sugar mixture has cooled slightly - we are baking, not making scrambled eggs)

4. Slowly add flour and oat mixture to the sugar mixture and combine (do not dump the entire flour and oat mixture into the sugar, it will be harder to mix) then add chocolate chips

5.  Add 1tbsp cold milk to the batter and refrigerate covered for 30 minutes

6.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees

7. Once the oven comes to temperature and the cookies have rested and cooled for 30 minutes, scoop 1 inch balls onto a greased baking sheet about 1-2 inches apart (you can do this with your (clean) hands)

8. Bake for 11 minutes (they will appear raw, but this is good) then let cool slightly so that the chocolate chips don't scald your mouth (ouch!)

Nutrition information for one cookie:

150 calories, 21g carbohydrates, 7g fat, 2g protein, 1g fiber

Melting butter:

Butter starting to foam:

Action shot of the browning action - you will definitely think you are a professional chef at this moment, because your kitchen will smell really good:

Sugar, butter and egg mixture:

Slowly adding in the flour and oat mixture:

Adding chocolate chips:

On the baking sheet:

 Our finished product:

We didn't go hungry last night...

What did you make for or enjoy during the Super Bowl?   

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

Guacamole For The Win

Guacamole is a crowd pleaser.  I mean, really - who doesn't love a good gauc?  Please introduce me to someone who does not like guacamole...because I have never met one person who fits that description. 

I'm a bit of a creature of habit, and have been making this same recipe for years.  If it ain't broke, right?

Ingredients for 6 servings:

2 avocados

2 limes, juiced (this makes it nice and tangy)

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup tomato, chopped (can also use sliced grape or cherry tomatoes if that's what you have on hand)

sea salt to taste

optional: chopped cilantro and red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Dice the onion and tomatoes, juice the limes

2. Slice avocados in half and remove the pits (I do this by taking a large knife and hitting it into the middle of the pit - please be careful, if you are unsure what I mean, then you should remove the pit the way you normally do, and I should work on my descriptive writing skills)

3. With a paring knife, score the flesh of the avocado (without cutting through the skin) lengthwise, then widthwise to create squares

4. Run a tablespoon around the inside of the skin to release the flesh

5. Cover avocados with lime juice and mash to combine

6. Add tomatoes and onions to the avocado and lime mixture and combine, then season with salt 

Here's the finished product:

Nutrition information per serving:

92 calories, 3g carbohydrates, 17g fat, 2g protein, 21g fiber 

You may wish to gussy your gauc (GYG) with additional heat, but I don't love spicy food so I leave red pepper flakes out.  I do, however, love me some cilantro, so I often use that...just mix it right in!  My sister and I literally cannot get enough, in fact she once said cilantro was her favorite food.  Torah (you know - Bible...but for Jews). 

Did you know that keeping the pit in the guacamole can help it from browning?  Well, that and lime juice (acid counteracts oxidation)...

What's your favorite way to eat guacamole?  Do you like it spicy or tangy?  Hope you enjoy...

xx,
The Future Mrs. Wolf