Mapo tofu is distinctly known for its mouth numbing quality courtesy of the Sichuan peppercorns. This quick dinner requires minimal prep work, so it is perfect for a weeknight dinner. Along with the Sichuan peppercorns, mapo tofu traditionally contains a ground meat (typically pork), tofu, and spicy bean paste. Try it over rice with a veggie on the side.
Disclaimer: this recipe is “Mapo-ish”. It doesn’t contain all the traditional ingredients but still has all the essence and kick of what you’d find at an authentic Chinese restaurant.
Ingredients
Soybean paste/chili flakes – Traditionally, Mapo tofu calls for the use of spicy bean paste. Spicy bean paste just isn’t something that I typically have around the house. Spicy bean paste is a mix of fermented beans and chili; I substitute with similar ingredients. If you don’t have fermented soybean paste, you can even use miso paste.
Sichuan peppercorns – This cannot be substituted! This is what gives Mapo tofu the “ma” in its name. “Ma” is the mouth-numbing spiciness.
Ground meat – I made mine with Impossible meat, and my guests didn’t even realize that the meal was plant-based. If a plant-based option is not handy, the recipe can be substituted with ground pork, turkey, chicken, beef, mushrooms… the world is your oyster!
Vegetable – Feel free to make the recipe your own and add in any other vegetables that might add some flair. I mixed in some bean sprouts at the end for a little extra crunch. Some other vegetables that would do well in the dish would be cabbage, onions, or a wilted leafy green. If not a mix-in, try something on the side. I’d recommended some garlicky steamed bok choy or Chinese broccoli, or even a light sesame, soy cucumber salad to help refresh you if it starts getting a little too spicy.
toast the peppercornsbean pastecook your “meat”add tofu add saucesonions & bean sprouts
For the 2021-2022 season, I bought the Epic Local pass. Skiing is a naturally socially distanced sport and would be perfect to keep me entertained through the winter when hiking and other summer activities are less accessible. I typically go to my local mountain, Steven’s Pass, but the local pass also offers 10 days at their sister resort, Whistler-Blackcomb.
This was my first time in Whistler and I would absolutely go back again. You truly get the apres-ski experience. I’m really not sure how people are built for it, but maybe I’ll work my way up to it next time!
Three days before the trip
Since I was crossing the US-Canadian border before Covid restrictions were lifted, I had to get a negative Covid test within 72 hours of crossing the border. This was a little stressful since you had to be tested within 72 hours of crossing the border and have results ready to present. I got my Covid test done at a Curative site in Seattle. Booking was super simple on the website and easy to check in and get tested. I got my Covid results back about 2 days after getting tested.
The drive from Seattle to Whistler is about 4 hours. It’s pretty straightforward and road conditions were good. Driving through Vancouver, of course we had to stop at a Tim Horton’s for some donuts. Full Canadian experience!!
Whistler lifts were open 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM and we weren’t able to check into our accommodations until after 4 PM, so we decided to get some skiing in first. We ended up arriving in the Whistler area around 12:30 PM. We stopped at Whistler Creekside to park in the free ski parking structure to get to the lifts. That late in the ski day, there were plenty of parking spaces available in the garage. It was very easy to get up on the lifts and up the mountain. Depending on mountain conditions, it can be tricky coming down. On a good snow day, definitely just ski all the way down the mountain. On an icier day, I would just recommend riding the gondola back down to the base.
We finished up skiing, packed up, and drove to Whistler Village to check into accommodations. We stayed at the Pangea Pod Hotel. Checking into Pangea with luggage and skis was quite tedious. There is not a lot of space for loading/unloading, so you have to wait for other cars to leave the loading area before you can pull in. Once you unload, you have to carry your items around the building and up a set of stairs to reach the lobby. Once in the lobby, you do a self check-in and get a wristband that is your “key” to getting into the pods. Depending on which pods you are in, you may have to bring your items up another set of stairs. There are lockers and ski/snowboard racks. Pangea had limited parking spaces so we parked off-site at the Whistler Conference Center that cost about $20 CAD per night. You do have to come back and pay for parking each day.
I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect. I had stayed at hostels before in college so I assume it would be similar to that. The pod hotel provided towels, toiletries, lockers, and ski/snowboard racks. The pods look pretty tiny but they are pretty cozy. It was a little difficult to organize our belongings, but I would blame that on the amount of clothes required in the winter. Once inside, there is a fan that makes white noise to help cover any noises in the other pods, but it was relatively quiet all of the nights that we stayed.
For dinner the first night, we went to Crepe Montagne. Very cute French bistro specializing in (you guessed it!) crepes. Expect a wait for larger groups. My group of 2 was seated very quickly. They also do fondue and raclette, perfect for a long day of skiing. We had a could drinks (Bloody Mary & Negroni) and tried the petit raclette, escargot, and strawberry salad. Everything was lovely and service was impeccable. I loved that there were plenty of hooks around each table so people were able to hang up their winter coats.
ski daynegroniescargotspinach salad
Day 2
A huge perk of staying at Pangea is the proximity to the gondola on Blackcomb. You don’t have to walk very far and it’s near the hustle and bustle of Whistler Village. You’re not far from any of the restaurants, bars, or shopping.
On the mountain, we stopped by the Crystal Hut because we had heard about the legendary waffles, but unfortunately they were not serving any hot food. Maybe next year! After our day skiing, I went to Hot Buns Bakery across from Pangea for some snacks. I tried their cinnamon bun that they kindly heated up and added icing to. We explored the village and did some shopping too.
For dinner, we ended up at Ohyama Ramen. Its in a little strip connected to Japanese-style convenience store that also sells snacks and meals during the day time and another restaurant, Harajuku Izakaya. I tried the chicken karaage, shio ramen, and chashu donburi. So warm and yummy!
crystal hut, no waffles ):cinnamon rollramendonburikaraage
Day 3
I was on the hunt for another cinnamon roll. While on the mountain, I made a point to stop at the Chic Pea and tried their amazing cinnamon roll. This was my favorite of the whole trip. It was so light and fluffy. A huge mound of icing, but not overwhelmingly sweet at all.
Since it was our last night in the village, we decided to make it special. We did the vodka tasting in the Ketel One Vodka room at Bearfoot Bistro. The vodka tasting included shots of 4 vodkas and we added the caviar bump to it. This was definitely a treat and an experience I would probably do only one time since it was so pricey.
After having all that vodka, we did a mini food tour through the village. First, we went to the Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub for baby Guinness shots and chicken wings. The line was crazy on a Saturday night. Come early if you want a larger table. We were let in immediately and circled the restaurant once before finding a place to sit. After our appetizer, we went to Sachi Sushi and tried a couple rolls and had some sake. Just like Dubh Linn Gate, we were lucky to skip waiting so long since we were a small group. For dessert, we stopped by Peaked Pies for the apple crumble pie.
chic pea hutchic pea’s cinnamon rollketel one vodka roomsee all the vodka in the wallschicken wingsbeer + baby guinessessushi
Day 4
We checked out of the hotel at 9 AM. Checking out of Whistler in the morning can be tricky because just about everyone is checking out at this time too. You’ll have to duel with shuttle buses and other patrons in the loading zones to get a spot to pull off to unload. Checkout was easy – we just left our wristbands at the front desk and brought out items to the car.
We stopped Creekside on the way back to grab some treats from brEd. As a budding sourdough enthusiast, I was so excited to try some of the treats here and get some inspiration for my sourdough adventures. The sourdough sticky bun and “beans on toast” were so dreamy. Parking Creekside early in the morning is definitely a nightmare. Parking spaces fill up quickly, drivers are extremely aggressive, and people park pretty terribly. We were lucky to find a 15 minute space – enough time to pick up our treats and head back to Seattle.
Galette? Isn’t that just a topless pie? Whatever you want to call it, it’s a delicious, low-maintenance dessert that requires minimal prep work. Galettes are more rustic than your traditional peach pie. Don’t worry too much about how it looks, it’s all about how it tastes.
I typically see galettes made in a sheet pan, but I like to make mine in my cast iron skillet. It helps keep the galette together but also help facilitate extra crisping on the underside of the pastry. You can definitely still make this on a sheet pan or in a pie pan, but you may need additional cook time for browning.
Ingredients
Peach filing – If you don’t like peaches, feel free to substitute with any other fruit of your choice. I also like this recipe with apples or berries. You can use frozen fruit too, but make sure the fruit is entirely defrosted and drained, otherwise your filling will be very watery.
Cornstarch – When the fruit starts to cook, it’ll release a lot of juice. The cornstarch will thicken the juice. The galette will hold together better when you slice too!
Cinnamon – Don’t like cinnamon? Don’t use it!
Pie dough – This is my preferred pie dough since you can make it in a food processor. Each time I make this dough, I make a few batches and put them in the freezer, so I can have some crusts ready to go when I want to bake! Make sure to wrap well.
flour, salt, cubed buttermealy+ waterpeachesremove pitsliceseasonback to doughroll outtransferadd fillingfilledpinch over edgesegg wash + turbinado sprinklebaked
Daylight savings is next week, so that means spring is coming! Summer vegetables are coming so I had to savor the last of the squashes. Acorn squash is one of my favorites. It’s naturally sweet and has a great texture for roasting or soups.
Ingredients
Acorn squash – You can eat the skin of the acorn squash, but you don’t have to. I like to leave mine on as an option if anyone wants to try it, but they are more than welcome to eat around it. Leaving the skin on also makes it easier when chopping it up. You can also try this recipe with other squashes like butternut, delicate, or even kabocha.
Parmesan/rosemary – Feel free to switch up the toppings! I even like a goat cheese and thyme or honey and basil. If you’re a purist, leave out the toppings and stick with the salt and pepper.
halved & chop off endsready for seed removalscoop scoopon the sheetoil, salt, pepperroasted, parmesan, rosemary
This simple, easy recipe gives ultimate squash flavor. A perfect fall/winter side. Get the last of your winter squashes in before the summer vegetable season!
Course Side Dish
Keyword acorn squash, vegetarian
Ingredients
1acorn squash
2tbspolive oil
1tspsalt
1tsppepper
parmesan
rosemary
Instructions
Cut your acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds.
Cut off the top and bottom of the squash.
Cut the acorn squash into spears, approximately 1-2" thick.
Lay cut acorn squash on a sheet tray.
Drizzle with olive oil, 1 tsp of salt, and 1 tsp of pepper. Add more to taste.
Mix acorn squash so all the slices are evenly covered in oil, salt, and pepper. Lay acorn squash flat on the baking sheet.
Bake in the oven at 350F for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parmesan and rosemary. If you're switching up the toppings, add them, and then serve!
Is it “brussel sprouts” or “brussels sprouts”? If you say it fast enough, they both sound the same. Regardless how you spell it, these cute mini cabbages are so tasty if prepared correctly. Don’t make the mistake of boiling them. Roast them instead! You’ll get a variety of textures from tender to crispy crunchy so you’ll just want to keep eating them.
Ingredients
Honey – The honey adds just enough sweetness to balance the slight bitterness from the sprouts. It also helps with caramelization at the end to leave you with the most flavorful bite. You could substitute this with agave as well or leave it out all together.
Balsamic vinegar – Now that you have the crunchy, tender, bitter, sweet, and salty together, the balsamic vinegar provides a little brightness and acid. You can also substitute with any other vinegar you prefer.
big boistrim and quarterchop choppedolive oilfirst roasthoney + balsamicsaucy*drools*
The perfect tender and crispy Brussels sprouts that are ready in a pinch.
Course Side Dish
Keyword brussels sprouts, vegetarian
Equipment
1 cast iron skillet
Ingredients
1/2 lbbrussels sprouts
1tbsphoney
1tbspbalsamic vinegar
1 tspsalt
1tsp pepper
2tbspolive oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F.
Rinse brussel sprouts, trim the dry end, and quarter. If you have smaller sprouts, you can just cut them in half. Put brussels directly in the skillet.
Add olive oil, salt and pepper to skillet. Mix sprouts so they are all coated in oil and seasonings.
Put skillet on top rack of oven and allow brussels to cook for 15 minutes.
While they are in the oven, mix together the honey and balsamic vinegar.
After 15 minutes, drizzle Brussels sprouts with honey balsamic mixture. Gently stir.
Waffles > pancakes, right? When there’s a weekend morning where there isn’t too much going on, I like to make waffles so it feels more like a special occasion. These waffles happen to be vegan and you can’t even tell. They’re exactly how I like them: light, crispy, and fluffy. Serve with a side of eggs and bacon and top them with whipped cream, berries, and powdered sugar. Most recently I topped mine with a bananas foster-esque syrup of rum, banana, and brown sugar. Make extra waffles and you can even freeze them! Throw them in the toaster for a quick breakfast.
banana foster-esque
Ingredients
Cornstarch – The combination of AP flour and cornstarch leads to a light, crispy waffle. If you don’t have cornstarch, you can use all AP flour. Your waffle just won’t be as crispy if you used cornstarch.
Maple syrup – I like waffles that already have a maple-y flavor to them. With the aroma of maple in the batter, I usually don’t even need maple syrup on top.
Flax eggs – This was a happy accident on a day I wanted waffles but didn’t have any eggs left. Flax eggs are much healthier than the usual chicken eggs and you really can’t tell the difference in this recipe. It helps bind all of the ingredients together without making the batter taste “eggy”.
Soy milk – Another happy accident. I needed to add some moisture to my waffles and didn’t have any other milks available. Feel free to substitute with cow milk, macadamia nut, cashew, almond, etc. Use what you have!
Vegetable oil – Since these waffles don’t have any butter or other rich, fat content in them, the vegetable oil provides an extra richness and moisture to the waffle and helps them crisp up.
flax seedsflax “egg” mixdry mixadd wet to drymixed batterpour into waffle makerlight and toasty!stack!
Nothing beats fresh bread! I love to make this focaccia when I have a big group gathering. It’s a perfect make ahead item that’s can be ready when guests arrive to snack on. I like to serve this with some butter and olive oil/balsamic vinegar on the side. It’s one of the easiest breads to make since the ingredients are so simple, you only need a sheet pan, and no kneading is required.
Ingredients
Honey – The sweetener is added to help the yeast get going. You can substitute this with other sweeteners too! I’ve tried this with sugar and agave if you’d like to make it completely vegan. Use the same quantity if substituting other sweeteners.
Herbs de provence – Typical herbs de provence blends contain savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. The one I use from Trader Joe’s also contains lavender. If you don’t like any of the herbs in the blend, you can use any singular herb! A rosemary focaccia or thyme focaccia is also lovely. You could even switch it up and use garlic powder, onion powder, or any other aromatic.
Salt – I like using table salt for in the dough and flaky salt for the top of the focaccia. After the focaccia bakes, I like that you can see the salt on top.
Olive oil – This bread requires quite a bit of olive oil. It really strengthens the flavor of the bread and helps it crisp up in the oven. Don’t skimp on the oil!
honey + yeastadd waterherbs inflourmix!oil for the bowlbread has risencoat pan with olive oilpour out onto pan2nd rise!fresh bread!
Crispy, fluffy, rich focaccia – perfect to bring to any gathering or have as an accompaniment to any meal.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Keyword bread, focaccia
Prep Time 15 minutesmins
Cook Time 30 minutesmins
Servings 1sheet pan full
Equipment
Stand mixer optional
Ingredients
2.5 cupswarm water
4.5tspyeastdry active
2tsphoney
4 tspsalt
5 cupsflourall purpose
2tspherbes de provence+ extra for topping
1/4cupolive oil
flakey saltfor topping
Instructions
Bloom yeast in warm water and honey. Mix together and allow to sit until mixture begins to foam.
Add flour, salt, and herbs de provence. If using a stand mixer, use the hook attachment.
Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise overnight in the refrigerator, up to 48 hours. OR if you're lazy like me, instead of transferring to another bowl, pour some oil into the mixing bowl, targeting the sides of the bowl, making sure to coat the ball of dough.
When ready to bake, generously coat a sheet pan in olive oil and empty dough onto sheet pan.
Let come up to room temperature ~30 minutes.
Using hands, spread and stretch dough to cover entire sheet pan. Dimple dough with fingers. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with flakey salt and extra herbes de provence.
Bake for 20-30 minutes at 450F until crispy and browned.
Cut into squares and enjoy alone, with more olive oil & balsamic vinegar or butter!
I love noodles. When I’m in a pinch and need a quick dinner, I always reach for these quick, 10-minute soy ginger noodles. If I really don’t have a lot of time, I’ll skip the ginger and it’s just a salty sesame noodle dish. Mix it up and try adding other aromatics like onions, shallots, lemongrass, or even Sichuan peppercorns.
Ingredients
Noodles – You can really use any noodles you like. I like a flat, wheat noodle but you could even use this sauce with a pasta or egg noodle. When cooking my noodles, I generally don’t cook them based on time on the packaging. I usually watch my noodles boil and when they start getting limp over my tongs, I’ll rip off small bits and taste it to make sure my noodles are the perfect texture. I like my noodles to still have a little bite to them. If you like them softer, leave them in longer! You do you.
Sauce – Mix up the sauce! When I have more time I’ll mince some garlic and add it in as well. You could even add some lemongrass, shallot, five spice, or Sichuan peppercorn, to name a few. It’s even delicious with a squirt of Sriracha on top or some chili crisp.
Ripe bananas are easy to come by recently. I usually have some left in the bunch that I wasn’t able to eat fast enough, there’s some leftover that were brought into the office for everyone to eat, or they’re in the “sale” area of the grocery store. Sometimes I even let my bananas go overripe on purpose so I can make some banana bread. This banana bread is just sweet enough and has a crispy exterior. Want it sweeter or more texture? Go wild with those mix-ins! You can really make it your own with chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruits.
Ingredients
Bananas – The darker your banana, the sweeter this bread will turn out. I like to make this bread when my bananas are getting a little spotted. They’re a little too sweet to my liking to eat alone, but perfect for some banana bread!
Walnuts – Sometimes I put the walnuts inside instead of just on top. Do whatever makes you happy!! Inside, on top, not at all – all good options.
Salt – There is salt inside the bread to help enhance the banana flavor and I like to sprinkle extra salt on top mid-cook. Omit the salt on top if you’d like. When the bread is ready to eat, I love getting a bite of the crispy, salty top and then getting to dive into the sweet fluffy center of a slice.
mush the bananasadd all the wet ingredientsmixpour batter into a panta da!
A luscious, creamy pumpkin soup that’ll fill you up and keep you warm. True pumpkin flavor (not pumpkin spice) that’s flavored with garlic and thyme and creamy with some soy milk. This pumpkin soup is (accidentally) vegan and you can’t even tell. The pumpkin gives it such a pretty color and it’s an excellent vehicle for all sorts of exciting toppings. The soup is also wonderful to have later in the week and freezes well for an emergency meal when cooking is not an option.
Veggie soups like this pumpkin soup are some of my favorite go to weeknight dinners because they are so low maintenance. All you have to do is grab a bunch of vegetables or aromatics, cook them, add some liquid, blend together, and you have a satisfying, warm dinner!
Ingredients
Garlic – I used a lot of garlic here, but you really can’t tell that there’s this much garlic in the soup. As the garlic cooks, it sweetens so it doesn’t have that sharpness to it in the soup. It really brightens the flavor of the pumpkin. Sometimes I do even more than just 7 cloves…
Soy milk – You can use any milk alternative here for a creamy soup or use a stock for a brothy soup. I generally have oat milk or soy milk on hand since my body tends to reject cow milk. Pumpkin puree is generally thick on its own, so the additional liquid of milk or stock helps thin it to more of a desirable consistency.
Thyme – My CSA provides herbs as well as produce! I usually have random herbs hanging upside down from my kitchen cabinets waiting to be sprinkled into a recipe. Here I have some thyme that has been drying in my kitchen for a few months now. You can use fresh thyme or dried thyme you can get at the grocery store too.
Toppings – The soup is delicious on its own, but its more fun with more toppings. I topped mine with some garlic, sautéed spinach and some spicy homemade croutons. Top with whatever you may have on hand to add more dimension and texture. I’d try caramelized onions, crackers, or even toasted nuts. No toppings? No problem. Try it with a slice of toasty bread for dipping.
Method
Blender – I used an immersion blender for this soup since I didn’t want to watch a blender/lid combo, but a traditional blender works fine! Blend to your desired consistency using whatever method works best for you.
