Lime Bars and Hot and Sour Soup

Monday night I made Lime Squares from a recipe from The Divvies Bakery Cookbook: No Nuts. No Eggs. No Dairy. Just Delicious! by Lori Sandler. I discovered the book while browsing the cookbooks at my local Barnes and Noble, which I then request through my lovely library system. The idea of the Divvies Cookbook is the author's child is allergic to dairy, nuts and eggs so she started her own bakery and make recipes allergy safe. I do not have any allergies to the aforementioned things but I always enjoy trying new things.

IMG_20100913_203726.jpg">

First off, I love the shortbread crust. And I love the first taste of lime I get. Which it should be apparent since there is 2/3 cup fresh lime juice and lime zest on the top (which is difficult to see). But the thing that gets me is the soy taste that is hiding right underneath. Tofu usually picks up the flavor of whatever is mixed, marinated with, etc but maybe I put too much in? It asked for 1 1/2 cup of silken tofu and I found a 1 lb package of soft tofu at Trader Joe's. I assumed soft tofu was silken but just as a safety measure, I pureed it in my food processor and then tried to measure the resulting tofuey glob in a liquid measuring cup. I want to try one more recipe before I pass judgement on this cookbook. Although no matter what, its a good sign when I get excited to bake just when reading and then looking at the pictures I get inspired.

Monday, 9/13 I dvred the Rachel Ray show. I am a subscriber to her magazine but rarely watch her show, let alone dvr it. But I'm glad that I did. Her recipe for the day was Hot and Sour Soup .

I

I am really proud of my effort here! http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/hot-n-sour-chicken-soup/ I went to my local Pathmark after work. They didn't have scallions!! They just filled that area with lots of bok choy. Most people notice the difference, especially when the bok choy had a wrapper that said "Bok Choy" on it. When I asked the produce "expert", he looked confused and said "try back next week." Ok...thanks bud! But for the ingredients I did get, and about 40 minutes cooking tim ( at least that's what I felt like it was like) I got this amazing soup that when added with the egg noodles and chili sauce was amazing. One bowl was more then enough for one person.

Ingredients

• 1 pound egg tagliatelle, for wide noodles or whole wheat spaghetti, for a heartier soup
• 6 pieces boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander, half a palmful
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil, divided
• A couple of handfuls of button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 inch ginger root, grated
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, grated or minced
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, eyeball it
• 1/4 Tamari or low-sodium Tamari, eyeball it
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 small bunch scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
• A couple of handfuls crispy bean sprouts
• Coriander leaves, for garnish
• Lime wedges, for garnish
• Sriracha or other hot sauce, to pass at table. Yields: Serves 4

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta. Once boiling, add some salt and the pasta. Cook to al dente.

Meanwhile, trim chicken and season with salt, pepper and coriander. Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil, a turn of the pan, in a large, deep skillet or wok over high heat. Add chicken and cook 4 minutes on each side. Remove to a cutting board and rthe pan, a turn of the skillet, and stir-fry mushrooms a few minutes to soften and brown. Stir in ginger and garlic, toss a minute or two more then add vinegar. Stir, add Tamari and stock, and bring to a boil.

Thinly slice the chicken on an angle into strips. Add chicken to soup. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl and stir into broth. Let thicken a minute more. Add scallions and bean sprouts to soup and turn off heat.

Twist a bundle of noodles up around tongs or a serving fork and pile into individual bowls. Ladle soup over the noodles and garnish with cilantro and lime juice. Pass hot sauce at the table.