Week 6: Soft Pretzels & Currywurst

The Winter Olympics kicked off in Sochi a couple of weeks ago & to celebrate (er more of a finding a good excuse to join friends in yummy food & libations), some friends of ours hosted an opening ceremony watch part. The rules were simple. 1) Wear red, white & blue. 2) Pick a country & bring a dish from said country. 3) Drink every time the media uses certain buzz words (think Sochi, gold, Shawn White, etc.). So we wore custom Olympic ring t-shirts (see picture below), and ate delicious food from across the globe, however I think we underestimated NBC’s ability to use the 10 pre-determined buzz words…

Team Wendel Olympic Pride T-shirts (patent pending) 

Naturally, we picked Germany because of our last name. More thought should have been devoted, as in the days following our selection, I discovered I don’t really like German food. Or maybe I discovered every recipe I found had sauerkraut. I hate sauerkraut. That’s like my one food I just can’t do. I don’t care if it’s fresh or homemade or your great-aunt’s Oma’s recipe, I just can’t do it. So my requirements: no sauerkraut, travels well, reheats easily. Ummmm, yeah, should have picked Mexico…

After going back and forth and nearly rescinding our country selection, I found some German bar food I enjoy! Soft pretzels & currywurst (hashtag goes well with drinking). As I stated in a previous post, I’m quite the timid baker, but these pretzels were so simple! And the currywurst, well... I'd never heard of it. Brats & curry. Can't go wrong!

I found a soft pretzel kit from Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade line of mixes in the baking aisle. The package includes a flour mixture, yeast, pretzel salt & baking soda. The directions were easy-peasy. Stir together hot water, oil, flour mixture & yeast. Let rise for one hour. Portion out dough & roll/twist into pretzels. The mix says it makes 6-8 large pretzels, but I ended up making 16 “mini” pretzels because they were cute & more appropriate sizes for appetizers. 

Boil the pretzels in the baking soda/water mixture for 15 seconds. Place pretzels onto a baking sheet, & top with pretzel salt. Bake. Wait. Enjoy.    

These were everything soft pretzels should be — hot carby, salty, doughy deliciousness right out of the oven. Since I made them the night before, I just reheated in the oven for about 10-15 minutes & served with ground mustard/spicy brown mustard dip.

To make currywurst appetizer friendly, grill or brown bratwurst over medium heat for 30-35 minutes, rotating until cooked. After the brats cool, slice & serve with a curry ketchup dipping sauce (1/2 cup ketchup mixed with 1 teaspoon curry powder). Note: if using pre-cooked sausage, adjust cooking time based on package directions.

This week I challenge you to pick a country & make a popular dish you've never tried! Tell me how it goes in the comments below :) Dish up!

Week 5: Veggie Stir Fry & Easy Fried Rice

So, this is a week late, & there is no picture, but life got in the way! I’ve been spending some quality time at the office lately… I’m an accountant and it’s February. Yes I’m busy, and no I don’t do taxes! Hubby is back in full time study mode. He retired from accounting last fall, & is now in nursing school. I promise I actually made this last week, but am just now getting to writing about it today. 

I make a lot of stir-fries (that is, in fact, the plural of stir-fry). I really like making these because they use up produce that’s nearing its expiration. They come together in 20 minutes. And most importantly, my wok is non-stick and easy to clean. Since this blog is about meals I’ve never made, what makes this stir-fry new to me? It’s made with tofu! The Super Bowl recipe had kale, and now I’m cooking with tofu… I have not been hacked. 

Stir-fries are incredibly versatile, so just use my recipe as a guide. You can swap the veggies in the ingredient list below with whatever you have in your fridge or whatever is in season. To get the biggest variety of nutrients, try to include at least 3 out of the 5 color groups (red, orange/yellow, green, blue/purple & white). Add in sesame seeds, red chile paste, more/less garlic, more/less ginger... you get the idea. 

VEGGIE STIR-FRY

8 oz firm tofu, rinsed, cut into 1 inch cubes & marinated

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce 

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 inch of ginger, finely julienned or grated 

1 cup broccoli, roughly chopped

1 cup baby carrots 

1 red bell pepper, sliced 

3-5 green onions, cut into thirds, then lengthwise

1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped

1/4 cup water

Sriracha to taste

Garlic salt to taste

For marinade:

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

Marinate tofu with soy sauce and chopped garlic for 10 minutes. Heat sesame oil & half of vegetable oil in a wok on high heat. Cook tofu for 2 minutes or until lightly browned, then gently flip to cook other side. Remove tofu with a slotted spoon & set aside. 

Add garlic & ginger, cooking for 1 minute. Add hard vegetables (broccoli & carrots), stirring to coat with liquid. Pour in 1/4 cup of water, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add soft vegetables, stirring to coat. Cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables have reached your desired level of doneness. I prefer more crunch than mush.

Toss in your tofu, stir & season to taste with garlic salt, soy sauce & Sriracha. Serve with steamed rice or fried rice recipe below.

EASY FRIED RICE

2 cups cooked rice

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 egg

Garlic salt to taste

Scramble 1 egg in non-stick wok & set aside. Heat remaining vegetable oil on high heat, then toss in cooked rice & 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Stir to coat, then cook for 1 minute. Stir again, and cook for 1 minute. Keep cooking/stirring until the rice is lightly browned or toasted. Add back the scrambled egg & season to taste with additional soy sauce and garlic salt.

Last thoughts: My hubby is a meat eater. He happily chows down on veggies or whatever I put in front of him, but when it’s sans-animal, he gets easily confused. “Is it a side? An appetizer? But, where’s the meat?” We haven’t ever done Meatless Monday, but after making this, I could give it a shot. I think you could too. Dish up!