The Kindred Journal

INGREDIENTS: For the Croutons 4 cups cubed crusty bread Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling Sea salt, for sprinkling Caesar Salad Dressing 1 cup mayonnaise ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 garlic clove, grated 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce* Pinch sea salt Freshly ground black pepper ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese* For the Salad 1 pound romaine lettuce, about 2 medium heads, chopped or torn into bite-size pieces ½ cup shaved Parmesan cheese* Freshly ground black pepper METHOD: Make the croutons: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the bread cubes on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and toss to coat. Spread evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 10 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Make the dressing: In a large liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and several grinds of pepper until smooth. Stir in the cheese and season to taste. If the dressing is too thick, stir in water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency. Assemble the salad: Place the lettuce in a large bowl. Add half the dressing, half the croutons, and half the cheese and toss to coat. Add more dressing as desired, tossing until the salad is coated to your liking. Season to taste and top with the remaining croutons, remaining cheese, and several grinds of pepper. Credit: @Loveandlemons.com

INGREDIENTS: TOFU 300 g / 10.5 oz firm tofu*, pressed 15 ml / 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari (if GF) 1 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch (optional) 15 ml / 1 tbsp high smoke point oil (I used rice bran oil) SPRING ONION OIL (optional) 30 ml / 2 tbsp high smoke point oil 4 spring onions/scallions REMAINING INGREDIENTS 150 g / 5.3 oz tenderstem broccoli 150 g / 5.3 oz spring greens / collard greens 100 g / ¾ cup defrosted edamame or green peas 360 g / 3 cups leftover rice*, I used brown rice 20 ml / 1½ tbsp soy sauce or tamari (if GF), more to taste 10 ml / 2 tsp dark soy sauce, for colour (optional) 2.5 ml / ½ tsp sugar (optional) a good pinch of white pepper METHOD: TOFU Cut pressed tofu into 1.25 cm / 0.5″ cubes, place in a shallow dish and season with soy sauce. Mix it well and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Use a small sieve to dust the tofu with cornflour/cornstarch as you heat up a skillet/pan to fry the tofu in (I used a well seasoned cast iron skillet). Add the oil to the preheated skillet, swivel the pan to coat and arrange tofu cubes on top. Allow them to pan fry undisturbed for a couple of minutes, then gently turn to the other side. Continue pan-frying and turning until browned on all sides. SPRING ONION OIL (optional) Wash and dry (otherwise they will splatter) spring onions. Cut white and white-green parts into 2 cm / 0.75″ segments, leave the green tops for garnish. Pour the oil to the bottom of the wok and heat up on low-medium heat, add spring onions. Allow them to cook gently in the shimmering oil for about 7 minutes. Make sure the heat is low so that the spring onions cook without turning brown (a little golden is fine). Using a flexible spatula, remove the spring onions and the oil from the wok and set aside. FRIED RICE Cut broccoli into even, bite-size pieces, remove the stems from the spring greens and slice them thinly across, then bunch up spring greens’ leaves and chop them into 0.5 cm / 0.2″ ribbons and then chop them the other way a couple of times. Heat up a wok until it starts smoking, then add 2 tsp of oil (leave spring onions behind if using spring onion infused oil) and swivel it around the wok. Add broccoli and str-fry for about 1 minute, add sliced stems and stir-fry for another minute and finally spring green leaves and edamame/green peas (if not making spring onion oil, add white and white-green parts of spring onion at this point) and stir-fry for another minute or so. Add a tablespoon of water to the wok and carry on stir frying until all of the moisture evaporates and spring greens are fully cooked. Remove everything from the wok and set aside. Wipe the work with a paper towel if needed and heat it up again. Add the rest of the spring onion oil and spring onions. Once hot, add cold rice. Toss it in the hot oil quickly, then spread on the bottom of the wok with the spatula. Allow it to cook for about 30 seconds then toss again, allow it to cook for another 30 seconds then toss once more. Mix the last four ingredients in a small bowl then use it to season the rice. Return vegetables and tofu to the wok. Toss a few times to combine and to heat up fully, taste and season more to taste if needed. Serve immediately. Credit: @lazycatkitchen.com

INGREDIENTS: SCALLION OIL 8 small scallions / spring onions 120 ml / ½ cup neutral, high smoke oil (I used grapeseed) 1-2 tbsp chilli flakes* 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds SALAD 30-45 ml / 2-3 tbsp scallion oil (or shop-bought – SEE NOTES*) 20-30 ml / 1½-2 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari if GF) 15 ml / 1 tbsp Chinkiang Black Rice Vinegar* 125 g / 4.4 oz dry ramen noodles (or flat rice noodles if GF) 1 small cucumber or 2-3 baby cucumbers 100 g / 3.5 oz sugar snap peas 100 g / 3.5 oz cooked edamame 1 avocado 10 radishes a handful of mint and/or coriander METHOD: SCALLION OIL Clean and trim your spring onions/scallions. Cut dark green parts off your spring onions/scallions – save them for garnish. Cut white and light green parts into 1.5 cm / 0.5″ segments. Place chilli flakes and toasted sesame seeds in a deep bowl. Stir a teaspoon of cold oil through them. Place the segments and the rest of the oil in a small pot and set it on a whisper of a heat. Allow the spring onions/scallions to cook in the oil to infuse it with flavour until beautifully caramelised. You can push it quite far, as long as you don’t burn them as it will make your oil taste acrid. As soon as you are done, carefully pour the oil into the bowl with chillies and sesame seeds. It’s going to bubble quite a bit so be sure there are no cats or kids running around. SALAD Combine 2 tbsp of the oil you prepared earlier (or shop-bought chilli oil/rayu) with vinegar and one and a half tablespoon of soy sauce in a small bowl, set aside. Cook noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Taste a little earlier to make sure you don’t overcook them – packet timings are often too generous. As soon as noodles are done cooking, rinse them under the cold tap, drain well and toss in the dressing. I used baby cucumbers. If using a regular cucumber, core it first. Slice the cucumber and radishes thinly, cut sugar snap peas on the diagonal, chop your herbs finely and dice your avocado. Combine cucumber, radishes, sugar snap peas, edamame and chopped herbs with dressed noodles. Divide between 2 (or 4) bowls and top with cubes of avocado. Drizzle with a little more scallion oil and soy sauce if needed. Credit: @Lazycatkitchen.com

INGREDIENTS: 2 small zucchinis 1 corn on the cob 400 g / 14 oz white beans (cannellini), drained 200 g / 7 oz cherry tomatoes, quartered 3 celery stalks, finely sliced 12 large green pitted olives, chopped DRESSING 30 ml / 2 tbsp lemon juice + zest of 1 small lemon 1 garlic clove, grated finely 15 g / 0.5 oz fresh basil, leaves only 45 ml / 3 tbsp olive oil, more for brushing salt & pepper, to taste METHOD: Preheat a griddle pan. Cut zucchini into 0.5 cm / 0.2″ thick slices on the diagonal. Brush corn and zucchini slices with olive oil and arrange on the preheated pan. Allow them to cook undisturbed until charred on all sides – turning the corn every 3 minutes or so. Cut zucchini slices into pieces and shave corn kernels off the cob. Combine charred vegetables with drained beans, tomatoes, celery stalks and pitted olives in a bowl. Stir the dressing (or dressing and chopped basil) through the salad. DRESSING Combine grated garlic clove and lemon juice in a small bowl. Set aside – lemon juice will take the harshness out of the garlic. Place basil leaves, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and lemon zest in a mini chopper. Blitz well and season to taste. Alternatively, chop basil leaves really finely and combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Credit: @Lazycatkitchen.com