Marshmallow Milkshake: Banana, your fate is sealed

Listen up everybody because I'm about to speak such truth as you've never heard. Banana milkshakes are not really that great. Next time you make one, really pay attention to how it tastes. Sure, it's smooth and sweet, and ice-creamy, which is wonderful, but what does the banana really add? It gives a slight chalkiness that makes the shake less refreshing, and the flavor of banana doesn't really marry all that well with the flavor of ice-cream. Bananas are cheap, and when you blend them, they have about the same consistency as blended ice-cream; that's really the only reason they've found a place in milkshakes.

We here at Dinner Adventure have developed (read: stolen) an improved version of the milkshake you know and love by replacing the banana with, yes, you guessed it, roasted marshmallows. This shake is amazing. It will ruin all other milkshakes for you. After we made it once, Carolyn and I had to make it 3 more times in the following days just to sate our addiction. It has made me realize just how bad banana milkshakes actually are.

4 marshmallows per 8 ounce serving
vanilla ice-cream
milk
vanilla extract (or rum)

Instructions: toast your marshmallows over the stove (an electric stove on highest setting actually works very well for this) or in a toaster oven all at once (preferred method). While toasting, blend other ingredients. Add marshmallows to the blender as soon as they're off the heat. I theorize that the cooler the mallows are, the more poorly they blend.

Marshmallows make so much sense in a milkshake that it's hard to believe that everyone doesn't do this. They only increase the creaminess of the drink; they sweeten it; and most importantly, the toasty, caramelized flavor is perfectly at home with ice-cream.

Ginger tofu soup

Easy, fast, delicious soup. I don't need to say more than that. Although I probably will further down the page. Oh yes, recipe comes from this Moosewood cookbook. If you're looking for a vegetarian cookbook you should check out one of the Moosewood's (literally, check it out from your library).

Ingredients
4 cups (1 quart) vegetable broth [we use vegetable bullion]
1 cup thinly sliced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup ginger, cut into matchstick-sized pieces
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 block firm or extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup leftover cooked rice

Heat broth. Add celery, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. Simmer 5 minutes. Add tofu and rice and cook another 5 minutes. 

Yay! Seriously, that's all there is to it. The broth develops a nice light ginger taste while the pieces of ginger add good heat and interest. If you aren't a huge fan of ginger then you could try mincing so the pieces aren't so strong; or cut really big pieces that you can avoid when you're dishing out or eating the soup.

Homemade tortillas

I've made a lot of poor decisions at the grocery store, but I don't think I've ever made a purchase as ill-considered as that package of 50 rubbery tortillas we bought for $3. At the time I think our reasoning was, "50 tortillas for $3?! How can we go wrong?" Although looking back on it, we should have said, "50 tortillas for $3?! How could that possibly be good?" In the end, they were so inedible that Ben had to throw them away when I wasn't looking (because I can't bear to see food wasted). We've now learned our lesson and always make our own tortillas.[Edited to add: Ben thinks it was 100 tortillas in the pack. Even worse.]

Easy peasy recipe:

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon shortening
3/4 C water

Stir together dry ingredients. Fold in water to slowly wet the dry ingredients then mix until dough forms a shaggy ball. Tear off a small portion; I'll take a ball of dough slightly larger than a golf ball, but it depends on how big you want your tortilla to be. Roll dough on floured surface so that it's round-ish and flat-ish. Fry in a lightly-oiled pan on high heat. Cook until both sides are slightly browned.

Hurray! The tortillas we make aren't always pretty (notice the lack of picture) but they are always delicious. We're still perfecting our technique here (Joel, when are you going to give your master class?), so look forward to updates on our progress. Some day I might even make a round tortilla, who knows?

In the meantime, check out our earlier posts to find foods to stuff into your own delicious homemade tortillas. May I recommend huevos rancheros, black bean tacos, and even falafel?

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Have you, darling reader, also noticed that I am the only one who posts here anymore? The reason for that is that Ben is very busy doing important things. Right now he's playing with the cat. But that's not all he does, sometimes he has to nap with the cat.

Marinated baked tofu

There's no photo for this one. Sometimes life is not fair.

This may be a recipe for tofu, but don't let that fool you into thinking I know how to cook with tofu. I don't. I've been a vegetarian for over 5 years and this is the first time I've cooked tofu. No, I don't know what I've been eating all this time either.

Drain tofu and remove from package. Wrap block in tea towel or paper towels and place on a plate. Put weights on top of wrapped block and let sit for 10 minutes. Doing this will remove excess moisture and allow tofu to soak up more flavor (probably).


Marinade
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar
chili paste and sugar to taste

Cut tofu into 1 inch cubes. Soak in marinade for about 10 minutes. Spread tofu on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 350. Over-baking the tofu will make it very chewy.

I don't really see this as an entree by itself. We put the baked tofu in our usual vegetable stir fry. I could see this working in other things, the marinade can be changed to suit the dish. 

Corn Risotto

This is a public service announcement:

Risotto is not as hard to make as the world at large would have you believe.

Thank you. Now, back to your irregularly scheduled Dinner Adventure.

It's true! You do have to resign yourself to standing over a hot stove for about 30 minutes, but don't let anyone trick you into believing (like I used to) that risotto is rocket science. Just be sure to use a short grain rice that has a high starch content--we used Arborio. Also, don't add too much broth at a time; let the rice absorb the liquid before you add more.

This recipe came from the Joy of Cooking: the vegetarian edition.

Ingredients:

5 cups vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup scallions
1/2 cups rice
1/2 cup dry white wine


2 cups corn (we used corn from the cob, highly recommended ((4 ears should do it)) puree 1 cup and leave the other cup whole
1 cup diced tomatoes (we used canned)
2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 Tablespoon lime juice

Simmer 5 cups vegetable stock. Keep your vegetable stock in a separate pot from the rice. Let simmer on low as you cook your risotto so that you are adding warm stock to the rice.

In as separate pot melt 2 Tablespoons butter. Add 1/2 cup chopped scallions (use the white part of the scallion) and cook about 5 minutes. 

With pot on medium-low heat, add 1 1/2 cups rice and stir to coat rice with butter. Add 1/2 cup dry white wine. Stir constantly, or as constantly as you need to stir to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom. When rice has absorbed the wine add 1 cup of stock. Once the stock is absorbed, add more. Continue adding stock (about 1/2 cup at a time) until you run out. This will probably take 20-30 minutes. 

When your rice is close to done cooking, add your cup of pureed corn. Continue cooking. Rice will be done when it is soft and creamy but not so mushy that you feel you could gum it (al dente if you're fancy).

When rice is done, take off the heat. Add 1 cup diced tomatoes, 2 tablespoons chopped basil, 1 tablespoon lime juice, the rest of the corn, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Yum! This really is a fabulous recipe. Each of the flavors comes through really strongly. The fresh basil, corn, tomato, and lime make this dish feel fresh and light. Now that I've found out how easy and delicious risotto can be I'm going to look for other variations to try, but it will be hard to surpass this one.