DoughSeeDough

a balanced plate with room for dessert

Category Archives: Special Diets


by 14 Comments

Vegetarian Potstickers

201

I have a notoriously bad memory. I can’t remember much of my childhood. I can’t recall the names of any of my teachers from elementary through high school, and college professors are getting a little spotty. Yikes. The few memories I do have, I cherish.

One of these memories is of my mom, sister, and me sitting around a kitchen table, folding potstickers. We each had a small pile of wrappers in front of us, small bowls of water, and a communal bowl of potsticker filling in the middle of the table. Baking sheets dusted with flour sat on the table lined with folded dumplings. My mom used chopsticks to scoop the filling from the bowl into her wrapper. My sister and I used spoons.

This time, I stood at the counter alone and folded roughly 100 potstickers filled with tofu, not pork. Mike came in towards the end and helped me. I have to admit, I much prefer the company of my mom and sister to the company of Netflix on my iPad.

So, grab yourself a potsticker buddy or two and get cooking! Or, if you choose to make this alone, choose something better than Toddlers & Tiaras as background noise 😉

If this is your first time making potstickers, don’t be intimidated. It’s actually quite simple. It’s easy as 1, 2, 3… kind of. And don’t forget – practice makes perfect.

potstickers

1) take a wrapper  2) 1 tablespoon filling  3) wet edges with water
4) pinch at top 5) pleat down right side  6) pleat down left side

cooking potstickers

7) arrange potstickers on baking sheet  8) fry in pan – don’t overcrowd
9) cook until brown on the bottom  10) add water & steam to finish cooking

Fair warning – this recipe makes an insane amount of potstickers – over 100 for me. I cooked 1/3 of them and froze the rest to fry up for a quick meal later. To freeze, I simply stuck the baking pan of potstickers into the freezer. Once frozen, I placed them in a freezer bag.

potstickers

Vegetarian Potstickers

10 ounces firm tofu, drained
1/2 medium onion
1″ piece of ginger, peeled
3 cloves garlic
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
2 cups cabbage, finely shredded
1 cup bean sprouts, chopped
3 teaspoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste
2 packages gyoza/potsticker wrappers

For dipping sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small red chili pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

  1. Crumble tofu with your hands until it resembles ground meat. Place in a strainer and set aside. 
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine onion, ginger  garlic, mushrooms, carrot, and celery. Pulse until ingredients are roughly chopped. Place mixture into a large bowl. Mix in cabbage, bean sprouts, and tofu. Sprinkle mixture with sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper, and salt and mix well to combine.
  3. Set up your station: bowl of filling, stack of potsticker wrapper, a small bowl filled with water, and a large baking sheet.
  4. To fold: place wrapper in your non-dominant hand. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of the wrapper. Wet a finger on your dominant hand and lightly trace the outside of the wrapper. Fold wrapper in half to form a half circle and pinch at the top. Starting at the center, make 3 pleats down toward the bottom-right corner. Repeat on the left side. Continue with the remaining filling and wrappers.
  5. To cook: heat a large, lidded saute pan over high heat. Add in 1 teaspoon oil and swirl pan to coat. Add pot stickers, pleat-side up, being careful not to overcrowd. Cook until bottoms are browned, about 5 minutes. Add in 1/2 cup water and immediately cover the pan to contain the splatter. After 30 seconds, when splattering has subsided, slightly crack the lid open to allow steam to escape. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until heated through and water has evaporated. Let cook for an additional 1 – 2 minutes to allow bottom to re-crisp. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
  6. To make dipping sauce: combine soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and chili pepper in a small bowl. Stir to combine.


by 6 Comments

Chicken Curry Rice Noodle Soup (Kow Boon)

We were blessed with the opening of Basil Cafe a little over a year ago. This place is one of my favorite restaurants in the Fox Cities; I haven’t eaten a bad thing there yet. Mike and I went here for Valentine’s Day last year and went there again this year. I tried something new this time – Kow Boon, a noodle soup with a coconut broth and a perfect amount of spice. I got the large (duh) and had leftovers for dinner the next day and breakfast the day after that (don’t judge).

It was so good that I wanted more. But, I realized that 3 visits to the same restaurant in 2 weeks was a little embarrassing, so I decided to try to make it at home. After all, what would I do if this place closed down? Or if we moved? What if I never got to eat this again? 

I labored over this recipe, tweaking ingredients over and over and over to try to match the flavors of Basil Cafe’s dish. All I had to go by was their menu description – “traditional Lao vermicelli rice noodles in a slightly spicy chicken coconut curry soup topped with bamboo shoots, fresh bean sprouts, mint, and cilantro” and the faint memory of how it had tasted. Hours later, I ended up with a huge pot of this delicious soup. Perfect. I will have breakfast, lunch, and dinner set for days. Now, I’m not claiming that this is as good as Basil Cafe’s soup, but it definitely hit the spot.

Chicken Curry Rice Noodle Soup (Kow Boon) | doughseedough.net

Chicken Curry Rice Noodle Soup // Kow Boon

1/2 pound of rice vermicelli noodles
2 chicken leg quarters, skin removed and fat trimmed
1″ piece of ginger, chopped into 3 pieces
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
4 cups water

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red curry paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce
19 ounce can of bamboo shoots, sliced into strips
14 ounce can coconut milk

For garnish:
2 cups bean sprouts
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 bunch green onions, sliced
Cilantro

  1. Cook noodles in a large pot according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
  2. In a large pot, combine chicken, ginger, salt, pepper, and water. Bring to a boil and cook until chicken is cook through. Remove chicken and strain out solids, reserving the soup base. Return soup to the pot and keep warm over medium-low heat. 
  3. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones, shred, and set aside.
  4. In a medium pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add in onions and garlic and saute until onions are lightly browned. Stir in curry paste and fish sauce and mix until well blended. Add curry to soup base and stir in bamboo strips and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer before assembling bowls.
  5. To assemble: place a “nest” of noodles on the bottom of the bowl. Ladle in soup and bamboo shoots. Top with bean sprouts, chicken, lime wedge and cilantro. Serve immediately.

kow boon


by 4 Comments

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

One of my favorite stress-relievers is reading cookbooks, cooking magazines and trolling the internet for recipes. Well one day I stumbled upon this recipe for sweet potato gnocchi on the Food Network website. It was perfect. I had sage I needed to use up! I scribbled out a grocery list and was about to head out the door when it struck me – butternut squash gnocchi. Why was I buying sweet potatoes when I could sub it with something else?

I’ve had this butternut squash sitting on my kitchen counter for months. I’m fairly certain it came from one of our last CSA boxes in… October? Yikes. Good news is that it’s stayed nice and healthy and squash-like. I wish all produce lasted this long!

So, that’s how this butternut squash gnocchi came to fruition. This was a fun weekend project for me. The process of making the dough and then cutting and shaping the gnocchi was strangely therapeutic.

Gnocchi

I decided to make it with two browned butter sauces. I wish I could tell you that one browned butter is better than the other, but they are both delicious. Do yourself a favor and make both! And of course, Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you all have a chance to spend some time with those that you love.

gnocchi with sage browned butter

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

1 medium butternut squash, 2 – 3 pounds
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 egg, whisked

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 
  2. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place squash on baking sheet face up. Lightly coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 90 minutes, or until squash is fork tender and lightly caramelized.
  3. Let cool slightly before scooping out flesh into food processor. Blend until smooth.
  4. Place pureed squash in a medium pot over medium-low heat and cook for about 30 minutes to cook off excess moisture. Move to a large bowl and put in fridge to cool completely.
  5. Once cook, combine 2 cups of squash puree with 1 teaspoon of salt and egg. Stir in flour 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
  6. Move dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Divide dough into 6 sections. Roll each section into a long rope about 3/4″ in diameter. Cut into 1″ sections. Gently roll gnocchi with the back of a fork along the tines. Repeat with remaining dough.
  7. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In small batches, cook gnocchi until it floats to the top of the water and is tender, about 6- 8 minutes. (Gnocchi may float to the top before fully cooked)
  8. Toss cooked gnocchi in browned butter sauce, recipes below, and serve immediately.

Cinnamon Maple Sage Browned Butter

1 stick unsalted butter
20 sage leaves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

  1. Melt butter in a medium pan over medium heat and cook until milk solids have browned, about 5 minutes. Add sage leaves and cook for about a minute, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Toss with gnocchi and serve immediately. 

Sage Browned Butter

1 stick unsalted butter
20 sage leaves
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

  1. Melt butter in medium pan over medium heat until milk solids have browned, about 5 minutes. Add sage and broth and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with gnocchi and serve immediately. 


by 2 Comments

Creamy Lemon Orzo

I often find myself with a pantry and fridge  full of random items. In this instance it was a pathetically small  amount of orzo and some goat cheese. The perfect solution – a creamy orzo side dish! I loved this so much. I wish I had been able to make more of it so I could eat it as an entree and not a side dish. I honestly cannot even remember what I served it with. Chicken of some sort? Hmm…

In all honesty, I will most likely make a huge pot of this and eat it as a main entree next time.

creamy lemon orzo

Creamy Lemon Orzo

1 cup whole wheat orzo
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup cooked peas
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

  1. Cook orzo according to package directions. 
  2. Meanwhile, whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
  3. Drain orzo and return to pot. Stir in yogurt sauce and crumbled goat cheese and stir until cheese is melted.
  4. Garnish with lemon zest and serve warm.


by 1 Comment

Homemade White Bread

027a

Nothing goes better with homemade soups and stews than a freshly baked loaf of bread. I strayed from my tried-and-true bread recipe to try this classic white bread recipe from Cooking Light. This was super easy and I had all the ingredients on hand. The bread was light and fluffy and the crust baked up to a perfect crunch. This bread will definitely make several more appearances in our home.

036a

Homemade White Bread
makes 1 loaf

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm skim milk (100 – 110°F)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 1/2 cups flour, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Cooking spray

  1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in milk in a mixing large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes or until foamy. Stir in butter. 
  2. Add 4 cups flour and salt to yeast mixture and stir until blended. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic about 10 minutes. If dough is sticky, add remaining 1/2 cup flour a little at a time until dough is easy to handle.
  3. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  4. Punch dough down and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll into a 14×7 inch rectangle on a well-floured surface. Roll up rectangle tightly, starting from the short edge. Pinch seam ends to seal. Place loaf seam-side down in a 9×5 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Cover with damp cloth and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  5. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes or until loaf is browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove bread from pan and let cool on wire rack.


by Leave a comment

Spicy Cheese Bread

cheese bread

Nothing says “Madison Farmer’s Market” like Stella’s spicy cheese bread. If you’ve never had the chance to shove handfuls of this deliciousness into you’re mouth, you are missing out. In the summer, Capitol Square is packed full of people cradling delicious, warm bags of cheesy, doughy goodness.

I might go so far to say that this bread was the highlight of my college career.

Being in the real world means I can’t drop everything and jet off to Madison to get this bread whenever I feel like it. And I’m just not willing to shell out $8 + $9 shipping per loaf for it. Fortunately, a pretty tasty replica can be created in your own kitchen.

cheese bread

Spicy Cheese Bread

1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
8 ounces jalapeño cheese, cut into 1/4″ cubes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

  1. Mix together the yeast and water and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add sugar, garlic powder, pepper, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper. Mix in the butter and olive oil.
  2. Knead in flour a little at a time by hand or with a stand mixer fit with a dough hook. Add the salt and knead for 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth. Knead in jalapeno cheese.
  3. Grease a large bowl and place dough inside. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for two hours, or until doubled in size.
  4. Grease a round cake pan and place dough inside. Gently press dough to pan edges. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes on bread. Bake for 30 minutes until bread is golden brown. Serve warm.

 

Photos in this post were taken by Rebecca Li


by 2 Comments

Zha Jiang Mien

I’m not really sure what happened. I grew up living, breathing, speaking, and eating Chinese. Now here I am at 25, barely able to string together a sentence in Mandarin. My Chinese cooking is even more pathetic. I’ve tried countless times to watch and learn from my mom. The Wonder Woman who can throw together 6 dishes with ease, and in under an hour, too. It’s impressive (and kind of scary).

Unfortunately for me, she seems to invent most of her recipes or just has them stored in the depths of her brain. I tried to recreate a dish that I grew up with, zha jian mien, a sort of Chinese bolognese. This is my take on the classic Chinese dish. I’m not sure it even tastes close to what it’s supposed to, but Mike and I enjoyed it very much!

zha jiang mien

Zha Jiang Mein (Chinese Bolognese)

1 pound Chinese noodles (I used Shan Dong noodles)
1 pound ground pork
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon hot soybean paste
2 tablespoons black bean sauce
1 pound extra firm or baked tofu, cubed
1 cup frozen peas
1 medium seedless cucumber, julienned
Black vinegar or rice wine vinegar, optional

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions. 
  2. While pasta is cooking, heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook for 3 – 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent and pork is cooked through.
  3. Reduce heat to medium and add in hoisin sauce, soy sauce, black bean sauce, and soybean paste. Stir until well combined.
  4. Gently mix in tofu and frozen peas. Cook until heated through, stirring frequently.
  5. Portion out 1 1/2 cups of noodles into bowls and top with 1/2 cup of meat sauce. Garnish with cucumber and a splash of vinegar, if desired.


by 2 Comments

Spinach Dip

As many of you know, we have been getting a TON of cucumbers. As much as I love cucumbers dipped in Sriracha hummus, there’s only so much I can eat before I start getting tired of it! Thank goodness for Heather over at In Her Chucks who introduced me to her spinach dip recipe!

I was a little skeptical at first because of the ingredients in it; I don’t think I’ve ever purchased a powdered soup or dressing before. I decided I would give it a try because I was just that sick of hummus. Turns out, it was a great decision!  Mike and I ate it for dinner on Sunday night with some cucumbers and it was the perfect light dinner after a day of beer-drinkin’ and burger-eatin’.

Spinach Dip
slightly adapted from In Her Chucks

1 10 oz box of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed very dry
2 1/2 tablespoons of Knorr Leek Recipe Mix
2 1/2 cups plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 tsp dried dill
  1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
  2. Serve immediately with cut up vegetables or refrigerate until serving.


by 9 Comments

Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salad

It was Blogger’s Choice for today’s recipe swap. I was assigned to Amy’s Kitchen Creations. I saw the chicken pot pies and had my heart set on making them. Then, time got away from me and I realized that there was no way I would ever have the time to prepare that dish in time for the swap reveal!

Thank goodness she has so many recipes to choose from! I came upon the corn, avocado, and tomato salad and knew that it would be perfect. I had a ton of corn to use up from the CSA and we had a bunch of ripe cherry tomatoes that were begging to be used in our garden!

I loved how easy this was to make! I ended up doubling the recipe because I had so much corn to use up. Now, I have a bunch of delicious leftovers to get me through the next few days 🙂

Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salad
slightly adapted from Amy’s Kitchen Creations

11 ears corn, cooked and kernels cut off
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup red onion, diced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime, zested
2 limes, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

  1. Combine the corn, tomatoes, avocado, and onion in a large glass bowl.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
  3. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss gently to combine.

 


by 4 Comments

Grilled Veggie Kabobs with Lime Chimichurri

Mike and I were hustlin’ to use up all the produce we had in our fridge before we left. These veggie kabobs were absolutely perfect for the occasion! The added bonus was that we were able to finally use the grill! With our weird work hours, we can go days without eat dinner together. Mike and his grilling puppy, Ripley, set to work:

The kabobs gettin’ their grill on

Ripley the Grill Dog watching intently.

We ended up with a ton of leftovers. I munched on those over the next day over some steamed rice without the chimichurri. The original recipe called for 6 cloves of garlic in the sauce. I only used 4, and the garlic taste was still pretty strong. Next time, I’ll probably use 2 cloves or just skip the sauce altogether and just drizzle the kabobs with plain lime juice.


Grilled Veggie Kabobs with Lime Chimichurri

for the kabobs:
3 patty pan squash, halved and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 red onions, quartered
2 bell peppers, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 pound cremini mushrooms, halved if large
1/2 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
salt and pepper, to taste

for thechimichurri:
4 garlic cloves
3 dried bay leaves
6 teaspoons lime juice
1 fresh poblano pepper, chopped
2 fresh serrano chilis, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup oregano
1/2 cup basil
1/3 cup olive oi

  1. Combine veggies in a large dish. Sprinkle with chili powder, salt, and pepper and toss to coat evenly. Let sit for 30 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, make chimichurri. Combine all ingredients except for olive oil in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Slowly add in olive oil until well combined.
  3. Thread vegetables onto skewers* leaving a little space between each item. Grill over medium heat until slightly charred on all sides. Serve immediately with sauce.
*Use metal or bamboo skewers. If using bamboo ones, don’t forget to soak them in water for a good 30 minutes or so!

recipe adapted from Runner’s World