Dinner at Mine: Vegan Asian-Inspired Meal

I went to SF this weekend, but I'm still processing everything (hello, Folsom Street Fair, karaoke, and talks with a view), so that post will come later. However, I did have a chance to introduce Jaimie, Jeff, Sam, Grant and Elisa to each other when they came over to Evan's and mine for dinner.


I've been oh-so-bored with the same bloody food everyday so I wanted to challenge myself for this dinner party, without resorting to a 27-step French dish. It's been terrifyingly hot recently, so I thought a light, vegan meal that was actually filling would do the trick. I made Kung Pao Chickpeas, an Asian Cruciferous Vegetable Slaw (I really wanted to say cruciferous), and an Avocado Cucumber Salad. Thankfully, I managed to execute everything moderately well, but let's be real, we were all there for the great company (and the seven bottles of wine) anyway.

There are times when it hits me, and hits me hard, about how gracious, intelligent, and wonderful the people are in my life. I can often be frenetic and it distracts me from recognizing how very lucky I am to have people in my life that a) have the patience to deal with my neuroses and b) sacrifice time and effort to trek 50 miles to eat an extremely experimental meal and listen to me sing the new Beyonce song like 73 times.
And as you already know, my recipes are more like guidelines. It isn't hard to fuck up these recipes, unless you don't have tastebuds.

Kung Pao Chickpeas
Marinate three cans of (rinsed!) chickpeas with
- few tablespoons of rice wine vingar
- the same with soy sauced
- four cloves minced garlic (give or take)
- a splash of oil
- an inch or so of minced ginger
- the juice of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch as a thickener
Leave for about an hour, then add
- chili flakes
- sriracha - a couple of tablespoons to taste
- your favorite spicy szechwan or kung pao sauce (enough to coast the chickpeas)
- salt and pepper
Sautee all that for 8-12 minutes over medium heat
Then garnish with
- crushed roasted cashews
- sliced thai chilis
- cilantro

Avocado-Cucumber Salad
6 small ripe avos - diced
6 small persian cucumbers - diced
toasted sesame seeds - a tablespoon or less
a few sheets of nori - crumbled
lime juice - enough to coat
splash of - olive oil
salt and pepper
Combine


Asian Cruciferous Slaw 
- TJ's cruciferous salad mix (contains kale, shredded brussels and cabbage)
----> mix in the juice of a lemon and some rice wine vinegar and massage it to break it down
- shredded carrots (a 6oz package)
- sliced red onion (one small)
- one diced red bell pepper
Combine
Then mix this dressing*:
- three cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 inched minced ginger
- 1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
- two tablespoons sesame oil
- two tablespoons olive oil
- one tablespoon honey
- salt and pepper
Dress salad and top with cilantro

*To be honest, when I mix dressings up, I just pour stuff in and taste it and adapt the recipe depending on my mood. These are just rough guidelines.

Overall, I was happy with the meal, although in retrospect, the chickpeas could be a little less spicy and the avocado salad could have a bit more lime, and I wish I had time to make dessert, but alas c'est la vie.