Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Dinner with Jiffer


Tonight we made Jiffer eat weird food. She said it was okay.

This was menu 3 from the summer section of Peter Berley's Fresh Food Fast (page 92). In the foreground is Seared Tofu with Spicy Black Beans and Mango Salsa and in the background is Chilled Avocado Soup with Lime and Jalapeño.

Avocado soup was super easy, quite unique, and pretty good. It is suggested to serve with a dollop of sour cream which we did not do. It also calls for some crispy fried tortilla strips on top. I did make these for Jiffer but I forgot to ask if she thought they added anything. This make 4 large servings. I ate the rest of the soup several days later and it was still a very pretty green. I want to try this soup again on smaller scale.

The black beans were on the bland side. Matt and I found they needed salt. The ginger smelled great when they were cooking but maybe they needed a little bit more. We used some organic black beans which are plain to start with so perhaps I would have had more success using S&W or adding some garlic and salt on my own.

The mangoes I had for the salsa where called Champagne Mangoes. Jiffer and I stood over the sink sucking every last bit off of them. These were the best mangoes I have ever had. I am glad we enjoyed them when we did because with the jalapeño in the salsa the enjoyment was not quite the same.

The recipe calls for staking the beans, tofu, and salsa on top of rice. I make a little white rice for Jiffer but Matt and I went without. The salsa was a little to spicy for me to completely enjoy. I am guessing if I had some rice that may have worked out to the right spice level.

The black beans and tofu rely on the salsa for the majority of the flavor. So anytime I have a ripe mango or two I would probably make this recipe again for me and Matt since the rest of the ingredients are pantry regulars. I don' think I will serve it to others. Thanks for trying it Jiffer.

Matt and I had an Albarino with this meal which appears to be about the right wine.

1 comment:

jiffer said...

it was more than ok.

mango salsa was great. i had a little mango before it went into the salsa. best mango ever.

everything was very good, and i did not have to do dishes.

thanks sister.