Ginger-miso soup with noodles

I really like soup, and I really like Jeanne Lemlin's cookbook (see gingerbread post below), but I've never been a big fan of miso soup, despite its amazing nutritional qualities. (I guess I don't like plenty of nutritious foods, like eggs. But anyway.) Enter JL's ginger-miso soup: this is a delicious soup! The key, I think, is to use sweet white miso, which has a milder flavor than some other types of miso.

From Vegetarian Classics:
8 oz. udon or linguine (I use udon, but want to experiment next time with soba)
1/4 c. tamari
1/2 c. roughly sliced gingerroot (with skin on)
4 oz. firm tofu, cut into 1/2-in. cubes
2 scallions, thinly sliced (I use more)
1/4 c. white (sweet) miso
1 T. sesame oil

1. Boil water for the udon and cook until tender but not mushy--approx. 6 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse under cold running water, drain again, and then set aside.
2. In the same pot (make sure it's fairly large), bring 6 cups of water plus the tamari and ginger to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the ginger with a slotted spoon and compost.
3. Stir in the tofu and half the scallions. Lower the heat to very low. NOTE: I'm not a fan of raw tofu, so I fry mine up in some sesame oil and tamari until they are crisp little cubes, and then I add to the soup. But if you like raw tofu, all the better since it saves a step.
4. Place the miso in a small bowl. Remove about 1/2 c. broth and stir it into the miso to dilute it and prevent lumping. Pour the mixture into the broth. Stir in the sesame oil and udon. Let the udon heat through, but do NOT let the soup boil after the miso is added. (To do so would destroy some of its aforementioned nutritive value!)
5. Garnish with remaining scallions and serve!

Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake!

I have a bunch of recipes backed up since I've been super lazy about cooking recently (and these are all from three or so weeks ago). Anyway, I made this cake when my mom was visiting in October. I wanted something special and autumnal, and this seemed fairly easy, which is important to me because I am not all that into baking. And it was delicious! Oh, and it's from this great cookbook by Jeanne Lemlin called Vegetarian Classics: 300 Essential and Easy Recipes for Every Meal. (Full title! Sometimes when I'm writing papers, I make sure to list the entire title to eat up space. Oh dear.)

Anyway, here it is!

Topping:
4 T. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 c. firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
2 ripe but firm pears (Bosc or Anjou)

Cake:
1 c. unbleached flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves
1 egg
1/2 c. firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/3 c. unsulfured molasses
1/2 c. sour milk (combine 1/2 c. milk with 1 T. vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes)
4 T. melted butter

To serve: whipped cream, spiked with rum! (This is especially good.)

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees and butter the sides of a 9-in. round cake pan (not a springform pan, apparently).
2. To make the topping, melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the brown sugar and stir together until blended. Scrape into cake pan and spread evenly.
3. Peel and slice each pear into quarters and get rid of the cores. Slice each quarter into 3 slices and then arrange 'em evenly around the pan (there should be 24).
4. To make cake: in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, brown sugar, molasses, sour milk, and melted butter. Add to flour mixture and stir until well-blended. (I tried not to overmix because I have heard that does something weird to cake batter.)
5. Pour the batter over the pears. Bake 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cook for 10 minutes or so and then invert on a plate (this is the fun part!). Serve with the whipped cream!

Baked Chiles Rellenos and Mesa Red Sauce

Can you handle yet another Rebar recipe? This one is amazing, though a little high maintenance with roasting the peppers...but so worth it. I had a bunch of poblano and banana peppers that I picked pre-frost last week, and have been wanting to make chilis rellenos for awhile. Maybe the fried version next! Rebar suggest serving these "in a pool of" mesa red sauce - which is a great sauce for all kinds of things. That recipe follows.

1 1/3 c. masa harina
1/2 c. hot water
6-8 chiles (Anaheim, Poblano, or Pasilla)
2 t. veggies oil
1 med. yam, peeled and diced
1 c. corn, fresh or frozen
2 jalepenos, seeded and diced
2 T. butter, softened
2 T. vegetable shortening (i used lard from the seward. yum.)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 c. warm water
1 c. grated jack cheese
2 t. ancho chili powder
1/2 recipe mesa red sauce

1. Combine masa harina and water in a mixing bowl and mix at medium speed for 5 min. (i did this by hand and all was well.) Cover and let dough rest for one hour.
2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place whole peppers on parchment lined baking sheet. Cut a slit along the length of each pepper and roast for 15-20 minutes until the skins blister. put in plastic bag or in bowl covered with plastic wrap for 10 minutes. Peel away skin (gently!) and try to keep chili as intact as possible. *For the record, I found this difficult. Rinse out the seeds and set aside to dry.
3. Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Heat ooil in skillet and saute yams for 5 min. Add corn and jalepenos, season with a pinch of salt, and saute for until veggies are tender. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.
4. Return to masa dough and mix in butter and shortening - one spoonful at at time until well blended. In a separate small bowl, combine salt, baking powder, warm water and stir to dissolve. Mix in masa dough until well combined, then stir in veggies, cheese, and chili powder. Fill each chili until plump. Place chilis on a lined baking sheet and bake 20 minutes until the filling is golden brown and heated through. To serve, heat the masa sauce, spoon 1/4 c. on each plate/bowl and place a chili relleno on top. Garnish with cilantro, scallions, or chives.
*I had extra masa dough left and made masa cakes...they were still good.

Masa Red Sauce - yields 4 cups
2 T. vegetable oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 T. masa harina
4 T. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. cayenne
1 t. salt
1/2 t. cracked pepper
1 T. minced oregano
4 c. veggie stock (or water), heated
2 T. tomato paste
1 t. brown sugar

Heat veg. oil in a pan over medium-high heat and saute onions until translucent. Add garlic and cook 3 minutes. Sprinkle in masa harina, stir constantly as it cooks and turns golden. Add spices and oregano and stir 2 more minutes. Slowly whisk in warm stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and whisk in the tomato paste and sugar. Simmer partially covered for 30 minutes, stirring regularly. Season to taste.
*This sauce is also good for enchiladas, huevos, eggs, etc.