All in a Day's Eats: Miso, Homemade Peanut Butter, Spicy Tofu, etc.

My culinary endeavors this twenty-sixth day of two thousand and ten made me very happy. They also, I think, capture my approach to food: no rules, no recipes, make it simple, make it creative, make it spicy! With Ruby by my side, chewing on her new half-lion/half-octopus toy, King Wubba, I continued my love affair with food...

#1: An egg over-easy served with a sprouted grain pocket and slices of avocado, tomato, and red onion. A little salt and pepper, drizzle of olive oil, splash of Eve hot pepper sauce from Jamaica (pretty nice kick to it). Sencha.
I love a hearty meal like this late in the morning, as a brunch, on days I know I'll be busy until late afternoon.

#1.5-1.75: Gingerberry kombucha (my homemade tea is not ready yet!), banana, mini-Snickers (I can’t always avoid temptation, and besides, graduate seminars require snacks if one is to maintain focus…

#2: Persian cucumber slices dipped in red miso
Carrots, eggplant, and other crudités are excellent in miso…just a little goes a long way though.

#2.25: Six or seven strips of roasted and flavored nori (seaweed) --- my kind of potato chip!

#2.5: Carrot dipped in Valencia roasted peanut butter with flaxseeds.
Snack #2.5, partly because of the nibbles I gave Ruby, ran me dry of peanut butter. This being unacceptable, I decided to use abag of raw unsalted peanuts in my pantry to make homemade peanut butter, something I’ve been wanting to try for some time. That brings me to...

#2.75: Homemade cinammon/cayenne peanut butter!
Great success! I roasted about 1.5 cups peanuts on a baking sheet at 275 for about 10 minutes (till I could smell them), then poured them into my food processor. Started it on continuous mix and sprinkled a little salt (very optional) as they ground up. Saved a few spoonfuls out to make for chunky peanut butter.

Then I set it to mix again, this time drizzling a little raw agave nectar and sprinkling a little cinnamon and (…wait for it) cayenne pepper into the churning peanut chaos. This produced a creamy spread in about a minute. Taste tested (by both me and Ruby, of course)…to die for delicious. Replaced empty jar with freshie peanut butter and smiled, satisfied. I wonder what other nut butters I will attempt…



#3: Spicy Tofu & Shrimp Stir-fry



Earlier in the day, I made a concoction of Thai chili garlic sauce, grainy mustard, soy sauce, mirin, sansho (citrusy Japanese fresh peppercorn) agave nectar, sesame oil, and a dash of rice wine vinegar and marinated two slabs of firm tofu, shaking up occasionally. Pan roasted the tofu in a small saucepan. Cut up vegetables I had on hand (onion, garlic, ginger, zucchini, broccoli, enoki mushrooms) and stir fried in a wok with shrimp using a little sesame and peanut oil.



For sauce, I added the remaining marinade. Served with brown rice I had made in the rice maker with a 15 grain blend topper. Side of rehydrated seaweed salad with light dressing (find at Japanese grocer...very good!). Savored every bite. Very spicy…mouth still burning…awesome. Finished with hot buckwheat tea and a bite of dark chocolate with crystallized ginger bits.




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