anytime | Pamela Toman

Deviled Eggs

Somewhat fussy, but a great appetizer or side dish for a vegetarian meal.

A quintessential make-ahead recipe. Buy the eggs a week ahead of time, hardboil them 1-2 days ahead of time, slice and mix the filling 24 hours ahead of time, then pipe and serve on the desired day.

It can be easiest to peel the eggs if you shake them around in a mug while still a bit warm.

White eggs are the least likely to have blood spots.

I keep buying Sir Kensington's mayo because it doesn't use soybean oil -- but it also doesn't smell very appetizing. Next time let's look for another option.

Ingredients	Step
12 white eggs	At least 24 hours before hardboiling, set the eggs on their sides in the fridge. (This will help the yolks be in the center of each egg.)
ice water	Steam cold-from-the-fridge eggs for ~14 minutes, then plunge them directly into a well-established ice water bath. If the ice bath has not been established for 10+ minutes, steam the eggs 1-2 minutes less. (Boiling water goes in the pan before the steamer basket full of eggs,because pouring boiling water on top of the eggs will crack the shells.)
	Peel and slice eggs in half, separating the yolks into a medium bowl. Place the whites on a paper towel.
4 T. pickles	Chop finely.
egg yolks ⅓ c. mayonnaise (or part Greek yogurt) diced pickles, from above ? 1 T. pickle juice ? 1 T. dijon ? 1 T. white vinegar black pepper salt	Mash together with fork until smooth consistency. Taste and re-season as needed. When delicious, spoon into a corner of a plastic bag. (The bag can be stored overnight in the fridge to let flavors meld and/or as make-ahead.)
	Dry the whites.
	Snip off the very corner of the egg yolk mixture bag. Pipe filling into whites.
paprika	Garnish.

Ginger Soba Noodles

Delicious broth and flavored breadcrumbs.

This recipe is a fair amount of work and only serves 4 as a light meal as written, so doubling is worthwhile. We stretch it even further with marinated tofu dominoes, red cabbage, roasted broccoli, boy choy, soft egg, and/or peppery greens.

Prepare the chili oil first:

Ingredients	Step
2 T olive oil	Heat in a skillet over medium until quite hot but not smoking.
¼ t. sweet paprika ¼ t. smoked paprika 1½ t. red pepper flakes (optional)	Place in small heatproof bowl. Pour hot oil on top. Set aside to infuse.

And then prepare delicious crunchy gingery breadcrumbs:

Ingredients	Step
2 T. olive oil	Heat in the same skillet until hot.
2 inches ginger, finely chopped 1 shallot, finely chopped	Add ginger and shallot to the hot oil. Cook, stirring often, until starting to brown.
¼ c. panko ¼ t. salt	Add to hot oil. Cook 4-6 more minutes, stirring often, until nicely toasted. Transfer to bowl and set aside.

And then prepare a delightfully tangy broth:

Ingredients	Step
2¼ c. broth 4 inches ginger, roughly chopped 1 shallot, roughly chopped 1 small head of garlic, halved crosswise ¾ c. water 1 t. salt	Bring to simmer in medium lidded saucepan, then cover and cook for 25 minutes.
	Drain through a sieve set over a bowl, discarding solids.
strained broth 1¼ c. hot water	Return to saucepan and keep warm until ready to serve.

And finally prepare the noodles:

Ingredients	Step
7-9 oz. soba noodles	Boil according to package instructions, drain then run under cold water. Return to saucepan.
2 T. lime juice 2 T. soy sauce ⅓ c. cilantro, roughly chopped	Toss noodles with seasoning.

Source: Yotam Ottolenghi (NYT Cooking)

Deconstructed Falafel

Like falafel, but much less messy and much less work.

Ingredients	Step
3 c. chickpeas (2 cans, 1 c. from dry)	Pat dry.
2 T. oil	Heat in a large frying pan, then add chickpeas and saute for 10 minutes.
2 t. cumin powder 2 t. paprika (part smoked) ¼ t. cayenne ¼ t. salt	Combine, then toss with fried chickpeas.
1 T. lemon 1 T. oil ¼ t. black pepper	Blitz dressing together.
8 c. arugula	Toss with dressing.
3-6 pitas	Serve chickpeas in pita with dressed arugula, tomato, tzatziki, peperoncini, etc.

Source: Cooking Light (May 2013), as "Fried Chickpea and Arugula Pita Sandwiches with Lime Tzatziki"

Egg Drop Miso Soup

The easiest meal in the world. Packs a boatload of delicious nutrition in 10 minutes of prep.

This gave me the most dreadful stomach ache with soy-based miso, but the chickpea miso works great.

Ingredients	Step
1 qt. stock	Heat the stock in a saucepan, bringing it to a boil.
3 eggs	Blend together in a separate dish.
¼ c. miso	Measure the miso into a separate dish. Retrieve a bit of the heated stock, and loosen the miso into a dissolvable texture.
	While stirring the boiling stock, slowly pour a thin thread of the egg mixture into the stock. Once it's all in, let the egg cook for a minute. Then stir in the loosened miso.
chives or green onions	Cut with scissors atop the soup bowls to add a bit more flavor and garnish.

Based on: Aveline Kushi, via South River Miso

Carrot White Bean Salad

A lovely salad that works as a side dish for omnivores and an entree for vegetarians (easily vegan-izable).

Substituting other herbs and sweeteners works well. Thyme and maple syrup, for instance, is another nice combination.

Have it ready a bit before serving; it improves as it sits.

Ingredients	Step
scant ¼ c. olive oil heaping ⅓ c. shallot, very thinly sliced	Saute briefly, just enough to take off the raw onion edge.
warmed shallots and oil 3 T. lemon juice ¼ c. dill, chopped scant ¼ t. salt	Combine and adjust dressing to taste. Don't sweeten yet. Set aside.
4 carrots, sliced (~2 c.) olive oil	Saute the carrots in batches so they stay in a single layer, until deeply browned (~12 minutes per layer).
3 c. white beans (2 cans)	Add. Cook about 5 minutes, until the beans are heated through.
dressing ~2 T. honey	Stir dressing in. Sweeten to taste (consider the carrots).
⅓ c. sliced almonds, toasted	Serve with toasted almonds.

Source: Heidi Swanson (101 Cookbooks)

Pamela Toman

Tag: anytime

Deviled Eggs

Ginger Soba Noodles

Deconstructed Falafel

Egg Drop Miso Soup

Carrot White Bean Salad