Every Pot in the House

Inspired by yesterday's enforced popcorn for dinner, I hit the grocery store and then went about making some healthy meal options.

First, Tofu Stir Fry
I marinated pressed tofu in the following for a few hours:

• 1 crushed clove of garlic
• 1/4 tsp of grated ginger
• 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 apple juice
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp of ketchup
• 1 Tbsp of cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup low salt soy sauce
  

Then stir fried carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, green onions and some peppers before adding in the tofu and marinade (there's a lot of marinade... probably too much) and served it over quinoa.

That was lunch, and will be lunch for a few more days.

(For those people with tofu phobias, chicken works well here instead of tofu.)

Then I set about making veggie broth. I don't use prepackaged broth because of the salt content, and I can't bring myself to make meat broth. (I don't buy or eat meat that comes with skin or bones, because I live in denial.) I found this recipe for broth a few years ago, and use it for everything that calls for broth, regardless of the flavour the recipe calls for. I doubt anybody can tell the difference.

• 1 parsnip
• 4 carrots
  
• a bulb of garlic, separated by not peeled
• 1 onion, cut into quarters
• 3 stalks of celery
• coarsely chopped parsley, to taste
• 1 tsp salt (I usually skip this)
• 1 tsp of pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric

(Truth is, I usually use whatever veggies I have on had. Broccoli and cauliflower stalks and mushrooms almost always end up in there too. I would not recommend that you include brussels sprouts or asparagus, though. Those give the broth a distinct aura of eau de cat pee.)

Basically, throw it all in a big pot. Fill with water and boil the snot out of it. Then, let cool, drain, distribute into 2 cup portions and freeze.

Then, on to the corn chowder.
The corn on the cob that I bought last week was so good that I stocked up when I went back. Then reality hit, and I clued into the fact that, regardless of how good it is, I'm not going to want to eat corn on the cob six nights this week. I boiled the corn, then scraped it off the cob, leaving me about 4 cups of corn. I saved a cup for corn salsa, but used the rest for chowder.

• 1 onion diced.
• 3 cups of corn, divided
• 4 cups of homo milk
• 4 potatoes, diced and boiled until soft
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp of pepper
• 1 Tbsp of chives

Brown the onions, add 2 cups of the corn, everything else. Heat but don't boil. After 10 minutes or so, use your submersible blender to blend about half way to thicken. (If you don't have a submersible blender, get one. Trust me.) Then, add the last cup of corn and heat some more. Serve with a side of sour dough bread and topped with about 1 tbsp of grated cheddar in each bowl.

Tomorrow will be the pork roast. I'll cook it up in the slow cooker, serve with a side of roasted veggies (probably cauliflower and asparagus) and topped with corn salsa.

Before I do that, though, I need somebody to come over and do my dishes for me.
Any volunteers?