Coconut tilapia noodle bowl

Leftovers. The original recipe was saucier.

Greetings from quarantine! Since this pandemic is forcing us all to find new things to do at home, and ways to stay connected remotely, I am reactivating my food blog after a 6(!) year hiatus.

The pandemic has affected different people in different ways, but for me, one of the biggest changes is how much I am cooking! Prior to the pandemic, I probably cooked 2-3 times a week - one big cooking night to make food for a week's worth of lunches, and maybe one more dinner throughout the week. Breakfast was cereal and almond milk, grabbed on the go at work. Otherwise, I ate out - a lot. Most socializing happened over a meal, so even the nights I wasn't rushing from work to an evening activity, I was probably meeting a friend for food instead. Now, however, trying to minimize my trips out of the house means that I'm cooking pretty well every meal. In the three weeks that I've been self-isolating, I've had a total of two take-out meals. My boyfriend has lovingly cooked another 5 or 6. Otherwise, it's been me, 3-4 times a day, trying to figure out what I can make that's exciting.

Up until today, quarantine cooking has mostly involved a lot of soups, including my favourite yam-coconut-lentil soup, and a semi-successful attempt at the Burgoo butternut squash soup. I've also made a lot of tuna melts and breakfast sandwiches, along with many variations on pasta. I've also been keeping my cooking fairly safe - for the purposes of the pandemic, I have moved in with my boyfriend, which means that any cooking failures affect a second person's dinner as well - high stakes! And, of course, the other complicating factor to pandemic factor is that I can't just whip out to the store to pick up an ingredient I'm missing - we're being strongly encouraged to shop only once a week. I'm used to shopping on an as-needed basis - picking a recipe, going to the store, and buying just enough for that recipe - so it's an adjustment to have to cook from the basis of "what do I actually have in the fridge?" That tends to result in a lot of repetitive meals.

However, it's been three weeks, and a person can only eat so many tuna melts. I've also had time to build up my ingredient stores, and I've been seriously missing Vietnamese and Thai cuisine – two of my go-tos for eating out, but not cuisines I'm super-skilled at cooking. Add in some bok choi that needed using up, and a night of experimental cooking was fated.

Before I get to the recipe (and I promise, I will eventually get there), some background on the inspiration for this dish. Last fall, I made a couple of trips to The Union, a restaurant in Chinatown focusing on Asian fusion. I really enjoy their "Cha Ca Hanoi", which they make as a sour-and-spicy coconut milk soup with "cod, turmeric chili coconut milk, baby bok choy, vermicelli, nuoc cham, fresh herbs, scallions". As best as I can tell, this dish was inspired by a famous Hanoi tumeric-and-dill fish dish; however, they had very clearly modified it, because as best as I can tell, the original isn't a soup (I could be wrong, though, not having tried it myself when actually in Hanoi). And I was going to modify it further, since I didn't have all the ingredients, and also because I don't actually like dill. What I created is, I think, something in between the traditional hanoi fish and a Malayisan laska, with a fair amount of substitution to allow for a mostly-Western pantry. So I don't even really know what to call it, but I am pleased to say that it was delicious, and very comforting. My boyfriend gave it two thumbs up. And then strongly encouraged me to post it to my food blog. So, here we are!

Coconut tilapia noodle bowl

The fish marinade is taken from Epicurious' recipe for Hanoi Grilled Tumeric Fish with Dill and Onion (minus the dill). I then tried to parallel the flavouring in the broth as well.

Fish:

• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons finely diced shallots [I used finely chopped onion instead]
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 fillets of tilapia (or any other white fish; I think basa, cod or catfish is more traditional)

Broth:

• Remainder of the onion, sliced thin
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1+ tablespoon grated ginger
• 4 baby bok choy, separated: stems sliced, leaves chopped
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or any kind of chili, if you have one on hand)
• 3+ tablespoons fish sauce
• Juice + zest of 1 1/2 lemons if you have limes, I'd recommend using limes instead!)
• 150g rice stick noodles (~1/4 of a bag) - think phở or pad thai size
• ~2 cups water

Instructions:

1. Mix all marinade ingredients together. Add fish and mix in a freezer bag. Refrigerate while preparing the rest of the ingredients. (The original recipe I used recommends not to marinate >30 minutes because it gets too salty. I don't disagree.)
2. Thinly slice the rest of the onion. Heat a pan over medium heat, and add oil of choice (I used coconut). Add onions and sauté until starting to soften
3. Add garlic, grated ginger, and sliced bok choy stems. Continue to sauté. If needed, add water (a little at a time) to help the bok choy steam a bit
4. Add tumeric, stir to mix with the veggies, and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until veggies are soft and dark yellow.
5. Add the coconut milk, red pepper flakes, chopped bok choy leaves, fish sauce, all zest and ~2/3 of the lemon/lime juice. Simmer until the boy choy leaves have wilted.
6. Taste and adjust flavours - add more fish sauce and/or lemon/lime juice to taste.
7. Add rice sticks, and ~2 cups of water. Cover the pan and let the noodles cook/steam. (Note: you could also cook the noodles separately in boiling water and add cooked noodles to the sauce. If you do that, omit the water.)
8. Meanwhile, heat a separate pan over medium-high heat.
9. Remove fish from marinade. Discard marinade. Pat fish with paper towel to remove excess marinade from the fish surface.
10. When the pan is hot, add oil of choice and fish. Cook 3-4 minutes/side, until the fish is cooked through.
11. Break the cooked fish into chunks, and mix into the broth and noodle mixture.
12. Eat and enjoy!

Things I would do differently next time, if I planned ahead to have the ingredients on hand:

• Use shallots instead of onion in the marinade
• Use lime juice and zest instead of, or in combination with, lemon
• For extra flavour and greenery, add chopped green onions when adding the bok choy, and add lots of cilantro at the end

You made brownies out of *what*? – GF/vegan black bean brownies and peanut butter-chickpea squares

Legumes (i.e. beans and peas, as well as peanuts) are one of the major sources of protein in my diet. So when I discovered that I could make desserts out of legumes, I was thrilled: not only was this an easy way to make a gluten-free dessert, but it also came with a protein hit that made me feel less guilty about the amount of dessert I was eating. Once I add in ground flax seed (instead of eggs), they're practically health food! And usually they are "throw everything in the food processor" recipes, which are my favourite - less effort, fewer dishes - what's not to love?

The classic legume-based dessert are black bean brownies, which have been a staple of gluten-free desserts for a long time, in part because they are so easy to make: instead of having to buy fancy gluten-free flours, one only needs to puree a can of black beans (usually available for <$2 in Canadian supermarkets). However, traditionally black bean brownies depend on a lot of eggs to hold them together. I rarely buy eggs and so I try to find recipes that don't use them, both for allergy reasons and also just convenience, but it's taken me a number of years to track down a vegan black bean brownie recipe that works. But never fear - I have succeeded!

Shortly after, I was introduced to a recipe for peanut butter-chocolate chip squares. They are sweetened with maple syrup, and thus are fairly low sugar (unless you buy overly-sweetened chocolate chips, like I did by mistake). But definitely an awesome high-protein snack when the sweet tooth kicks in.

Gluten-Free, Vegan, Oil-Free Chocolate Layer Cake - Yes, It's Actually Good!

As I've recently mentioned extensively, I've been busy learning how to cook and bake for someone who doesn't want any added oil in their food. They're also vegan, gluten-free, and allergic to almonds. Add in my soy allergy, and this is a whole ridiculous can of specialty-baking worms. But it was a special occasion, and I wanted to make sure that he got to have his birthday cake and eat it too. So I turned to three of my trustiest sources: my Forks Over Knives Cookbook for an oil-free cake recipe, Gluten-Free Goddess for a tried-and-true gluten-free flour blend, and my trusty repertoire of cooking tips picked up from years of watching Food Network.

This recipe took a few tries to get right, and is a bit more finicky than my usual go-to gluten-free/vegan mocha cake recipe. I initially made this new recipe in cupcake form, and while the cupcakes turned out ok, the outsides were a bit tough and separated from the insides. The second time round, when I was baking the cake pictured above, I tweaked the flour blend (originally I'd used a store-bought GF flour mix) and was more careful with the melted chocolate to make sure it didn't seize. This turned out much better. The recipe as written makes for quite a flat cake, though, so for prettier presentation (and to feed more people), I turned it into a layer cake. Add a strawberry vanilla filling and sugar-and-oil-free fudgy frosting, and I had myself a cake that was popular with even the non-diet-restricted party goers. Plus, it looks pretty damn gorgeous, if I do say so myself!

Rockin' Moroccan Stew: Variations on a Theme

The best part of the Looneyspoons cookbook series is definitely the recipe names.  The cookbooks are by Janet & Greta Podleski, and other titles in the series include Crazy Plates and Eat, Shrink & Be Merry. The books feature easy, low-fat recipes, although I have issues with the amount of sugar that's used in many of the recipes to replace the fat. Despite this unfortunate tendancy, several of their recipes are definitely winners, and Rockin' Moroccan Stew is definitely one of them. (I'm also a big fan of On Golden Prawns, a curried shrimp dish.)

I first made this recipe as a teenager, when I still lived at home and was still learning to cook things more complicated than grilled cheese sandwiches and tuna salad - although, believe you me, I made a mean tuna salad. Anyway, I made the stew, thought it was tasty, and then forgot about it for years, until a family reunion last year when one my cousins busted out the recipe to feed a vegan relative.  Having been reminded how incredibly delicious this recipe actually is, it's become a staple of my kitchen.

However, the recipe didn't stop there. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a relative who has gone not only vegan, but completely fat-free as well. That means no cooking things in oil, no adding in any nuts or oily ingredients for flavour, etc. As it turns out, with some modifications, this recipe converts very well to an oil-free form. The flavour is a bit different - it's less creamy and tastes a bit more like chili - but it's still an extremely delicious option for anyone needing to cut fat out of their diet. We've served it alongside catered food at parties, to rave reviews. And this recipe also works very well in the crock pot, for easy preparation.

So here I present Rockin' Moroccan Stew, three ways: the original recipe, my modifications (for taste), and a fat-free alternative option.

Fat-Free, Refined-Sugar-Free, Super-Rich Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Fudgy frosting on top of my favourite mocha cake recipe

Imagine a rich, decadent chocolate cake frosting, which incidentally also tastes great on ice cream (or substitute of choice), and makes a great base for chocolate milk. Now imagine I told you that this frosting was completely fat-free, and also didn't use any icing sugar - in fact, it only has 1 tbsp of maple syrup, and the rest of the sweetness comes from fruit.  That's right: the whole frosting is based around dried dates.

Well, if you're like me, you're probably pretty skeptical. I certainly was when I first came across the recipe. But the end result won me over completely. This is now my go-to frosting recipe. It's safe to feed to all my friends and family with food restrictions, and better yet, it's easy to make, keeps in the fridge for weeks, spreads better than any chocolate icing I've made before, and I feel almost completely guilt-free when eating it.  And I have fed it to at least 50 people, all of whom thought it was delicious, and none of whom noticed it wasn't full of a million calories.

Tahini Salad Dressing

I am a huge fan of tahini. (This isn't surprising, as I am a fan of anything sesame based - spinach gomae salads, sesame mochi desserts, the sesame-sugar wafers sold 3/$1 at grocery stores, etc.)  Originally brought into my kitchen for the purpose of making hummus, which I used to do a lot, it has since because a key component of my vegan bechamel sauce, and a handy replacement for peanut or nut butter when I want toast but haven't been to the store in awhile. For a Greek-themed party earlier this year, I even made a gluten-free version of tahinopita (a vegan cake that uses tahini to replace the oil, dairy and eggs).  But over the past couple of years, I have started to obsess over tahini in a new form - as a sauce/salad dressing.

Muffins and Cupcakes

Recently, I have been going to a lot of parties - specifically, brunch parties.  Now, most brunch foods aren't especially portable to begin with (pancakes, French toast and waffles all tend to go soggy), and those that are (e.g. quiche, cinnamon buns) don't tend to work very well with a gluten-free, dairy-free, low-egg diet.  So, I decided it was time to start experimenting with muffins. And once I pulled out the muffin tin (and my mini muffin tin, i.e. my newest kitchen baby), well, there was no stopping me.

The beauty of muffins and cupcakes are that they are portable. The beauty of a mini-muffin tin is the ability to make party-sized muffins (there are lots to go around). And because muffins and cupcakes are baked in the same tins, there is a nice continuum between "healthy muffins" and "totally decadent cupcakes" (banana cupcakes fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum).

So I thought I would share two of my new favourite recipes. One is a hearty muffin recipe, perfect for breakfast or brunch; the other is a luscious mocha cupcake recipe, perfect for dessert for all parties. Both have the added benefit of being gluten-free and vegan!