"Health?" Food

Tonight I was going to make spicey beef & peppers, because it's a stirfry that Al likes, mostly meat, not too much vegetables, but by the time I got home, he was cooking a frozen pizza.

Walking to work this morning, I had figured out a method for coconut-sesame-lime rice, and I wanted to make that, but I was kinda lukewarm on making the beef, since Al was already eating other stuff. So I puttered, loaded the kids' lunch dishes into the dishwasher, split the last of a bag of marshmallows with Al.

I ended up making the rice (with pistachios; found 3 bags of them in the freezer & no sesame seeds ...), and rapini (a.k.a. Chinese broccoli) with crispy tofu - is it still health food if you eat marshmallows for an appetizer? [and use full-fat coconut milk in the rice?]

Rapini w/crispy tofu and coconut-lime-pistachio rice

• 1 TBLS vegetable oil
• 1/2 small onion, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup shelled pistachio nuts, chopped
  
• 2 cups white basmati rice
• about 1 cup of coconut milk; regular is delicious, reduced fat tasty
• grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot with a good-fitting lid. Add the onion, and stir and cook until softened, then add the pistachios, and brown them a bit. Add the rice and stir to combine. Add the coconut milk, Lime juice, and enough water to make 4 cups. Bring to a boil, uncovered, then add the salt, cover, and reduce heat to very low, and cook for about 15 - 2o minutes, until the rice is soft and all the liquid is absorbed. Add the lime zest, fluff with a fork, and leave covered until you're ready to serve.

• 2 TBLS vegetable oil
• a 1 pound package of firm tofu
• 1 TBLS brown sugar
• 2 TBLS soy sauce
• 3 scallions, white and green parts, sliced thin

Drain the tofu, and press out some of the water with your hands - you don't have to go nuts here, just squeeze it a bit - you'll cook out the rest of the water. Cut the tofu into cubes, a little more than 1 inch. Pour the oil into a non-stick pan, and add the tofu. Fry over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, until it's pale golden on one side, then flip, trying to turn all the cubes over. Mix the brown sugar and soy sauce and add to the pan, stirring and shaking to coat the tofu. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, adding the sliced scallions during the last 5 minutes.

• 1 bunch of rapini (broccoli de rape, broccoli rabe, Chinese flowering cabbage, choy sum ...)
• dash of vinegar
• oil

Set a large pot of water on to boil. Cut off the lower stems of the rapini, and rinse it. When the water boils, salt it, and then toss in the greens, pushing them down to submerge. Cook for somewhere less than 5 minutes, until bright green, and then drain in a colander. Film a skillet with oil, (can use the tofu one) heat, and add the rapini. Cook over high heat for a few minutes boiling off any liquid that's exuded. Add salt, pepper, and a dash of vinegar.

Add the tofu, mix, and serve over the rice.