Recipe: Shredded Potatoes, Garlic Beans and Tofu

Last night I scrambled to make something quick and somewhat one-handed (I had a baby on my shoulder for some of the time). I had some tofu that had been sitting in the water for a few days and some beans and that I hadn't used yet. Since we're going away this weekend, I decided to cook up the beans (I didn't make the garlic kind, but they are more interesting than stemed beans from a recipe standpoint, so I am writing about them).

Shredded Potatoes Ingredients:
2 Large or 3 medium Red/White/Yukon Potatoes (if you are using a smaller pan, use slightly less. Also, using a mix of potato styles is nice)
Olive oil (enough to just coat the bottom of the pan)
1/2 tbsp Vegan Margarine (gives it a slightly 'buttery' flavour)
Kosher Salt (to taste..I like a decent amount)
1/2 onion Julienned (optional..I use sometimes, sometimes not...didn't this time)

Heat the oil over medium heat in a pan and add the margarine. While the oil/margarine is heating/melting, wash and shred the potatoes using the large holes of a shredder. Arrange the potatoes in a thin layer in the pan (should look like this).



Shake some salt over the top of the entire potato mixture. After a few minutes, the bottom of the potatoes should be browned, and you can flip it over as a unit (much harder in larger pans). The ideal is if you have 2 of the same sized pans, you can put some olive oil and margarine in the second pan and flip the mixture right into that pan. With a smaller pan, or if it browns sith some consistency across the bottom, you can flip with a spatula.

Once it is done on the second side, you can reduce the heat and cover, to cook the potatoes in the middle well (should flip once more to avoid one side being burnt...should be about 5 minutes once browned).

Voila! Nice yummy change of pace from other ways of preparing potatoes.

Garlic Beans
2-3 cups of beans, washed
3-6 cloves garlic, minced (depending on your tolerance)
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch salt

There are two ways to go about this. If you like them al dente, you can throw them right in the pan over medium heat and add the garlic and salt when the beans are coated in oil. If you like them a bit softer, blanch or steam the beans for 1-2 minutes in boiling water and then cook like above.

For the tofu, I just grilled some up and put some Thai Chili Sauce and some sliced orange tomatoes on them. I forget the exact way to make the chili sauce, but they sell good ones ready-made in the stores.