chilean hot dogs

one of my co-workers is married to a chilean guy and she started to regale us all the other day with stories of the wonder which are chilean hot dogs. of course i had to try them out for myself, because i love toppings. i cannot remember a time in my life when asked the question, 'what do you want on that?' where i replied anything other than, 'everything.' called 'completos' (with everything) or 'italianos' (because of the colours: white,red, green) there are a few variations of exactly what goes on top if you google around. according to my inside source, though, the essentials are as follows: chopped tomato, chopped onion, mashed avocado, mayonnaise, and crushed up potato chips.
i like vegannaise for this and other things, i think it tastes just like mayonnaise and has a better texture. because i am incapable of imagining a hot dog without mustard, into about 2 tbs. of vegannaise i mixed a heaping tsp of mustard and a few shakes of tobasco. the avocado i mashed with a little sherry vinegar for flavour and to keep it from browning, and the onion i soaked in acidified water for five minutes to take a bit of the raw bite off of it.
very simple and delicious, just take your favourite fake sausage thing, toast some buns, slather them with the dressing and build away. finish with the crushed chips on top and enjoy!

gumbo z'herbes

green gumbo. i love greens. from the first time i had salty collard greens at a thanksgiving potluck on the west side of chicago i have loved greens. up until a year and a bit ago i worked at a little independent pet store. i loved that job because, for the most part, there was always something that needed doing and everything was different. my last year there i was in charge of the reptiles and had, amongst all other things, the task of feeding them. we had an eleven year old sulcatta tortoise (about a foot diameter) as well as two adult iguanas (not at the same time) that had been found in trees in the city (they're cheap and small as babies, but they get big ~5-6 feet) - all total herbivores with big appetites. in addition to this were the omnivorous lizards: the bearded dragons, the uromastyxes (guessing at the plural here), the skinks, etc. so i cut up each week a varied and varying mix of greens that i would wash, dry, and chop up at home then feed to the animals at work. as a result i had a great variety of greenery passing through my home, and needless to say, took my tithe.
mustard, collard, turnip, beet greens, carrot tops, chard, spinach, and all matter of lettuce. since then i have not eaten nearly as many greens (save probably spinach) if it wasn't thanksgiving. but with the farmers' markets becoming lush and my csa basket not letting me choose, i got some greens in the fridge
gumbo z'herbes is a traditional good friday dish with as many different kinds of greens as you can find. my version this night was untraditional, no okra, no file powder, but i've never made a roux this good and i think that sealed the deal. i used (quantities of greens very approximate):

• rainbow chard, stemmed (~1 bunch)
• baby spinach (3 big handfuls)
• beet greens (from one bunch of beets), stemmed - all washed and chopped into ribbons
  
• ~2 sprigs tarragon leaves
• 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
• 1/2 green bell pepper, fine dice
• 1 stalk celery, fine dice
• 3 cloves garlic, fine dice
• 2 bay leaves
• sprig of thyme
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 oz. flour, by weight
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• cayenne pepper, to taste

in a medium dutch oven over medium heat add the oil, when shimmering add the flour and cook whisking often for 30-50 minutes. the flour should get darker and darker while starting to smell crazy good. if you just can't take it anymore, or you're worried it might burn, then add the veg. a brick colour is ideal, but i gave up at a brown roux and it tasted better than any gumbo i've ever had.when satisfied with the colour, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery, cook 7 minutes or so and add the garlic, bay leaves and thyme. cook 3 or 4 minutes more, then add the stock and the greens. simmer 30-40 minutes uncovered and serve over long grain white rice with hot sauce as needed.

mapo tofu

i dropped my camera on the floor last night while cooking so i have no final picture (that's why they have wrist straps i guess). instead here's someone who really loves her veggies.
on to mapo tofu: this dish was definitely different from the typical stir fry that i make. i looked around for a bunch of recipes online and picked and chose aspects from a couple of them to make something that sounded good to me. i went to my local asian grocery to find doubanjiang, or chinese broad bean chile paste, and then to my favourite store, the spice house, for szechwan peppercorns. the grocery had a japanese version of the chile paste which had soybeans as well as broad beans; close enough for a first time i think, and i didn't feel like trekking out to the super h mart (super asian mega mart).
a couple things that interested me about the recipe: silken tofu? i had no idea it was made with soft tofu until i'd read five or ten recipes. normally i like my tofu extra firm - pressed, seasoned, and baked so it's nice and chewy. i compromised by using the firm (not extra firm) tofu and not pressing it. also, a couple of recipes recommended par-boiling the tofu - more curiousness, but it did firm it up quite a bit. lastly, szechwan peppercorns were illegal to import from 1968-2005. i assumed this was for illicit reasons until i read that it was just some crop disease... the department of agriculture takes the fun out of everything. anyway, here's what i used:

• 1 19 oz. package firm tofu cut into 1 in. cubes
• 3 tbs. szechwan peppercorns, separated
• 1 cup morningstar crumbles (or any fake meat), optional
• 2 dried thai red chiles, seeds discarded, minced fine
  
• 1 thumb size piece of ginger, minced fine
• 2 tbs. soy sauce
• 1 tbs. black bean garlic sauce
• 3 tbs. doubanjiang
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup rice wine
• slurry made up of 2 tsp. corn starch and 2 tbs. water
• enough oil to stir fry
• 1 scallion, sliced, to garnish

boil enough water to submerge the tofu and par-boil for five minutes, remove and drain. over high heat in a dry wok toast 2 tbs. szechwan peppercorns. remove and grind fine in a mortar. add enough oil to coat wok and remaining peppercorns. cook until hissing and popping, remove and discard. add fake meat if using (be careful, oil may spatter) and dry chiles; fry about a minute, add ginger and toss and stir until very fragrant. add black bean sauce, doubanjiang, and soy sauce. stir fry for 30 seconds, then add wine, water and tofu. stir well, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. add slurry, stir until thickened and garnish with scallion and ground szechwan peppercorns. serve with white rice.
not nearly as spicy as i anticipated, but my fire burns hot. nice lasting heat with a very interesting flavour. no tortoises were harmed in the making of this recipe.