One of these days, I will have the presence of mind to actually photograph the dish once I’ve cooked it. But in the meantime, I have borrowed this image, beautifully shot by Mark Weinberg, from Food52.

I have been in a bit of a food rut for the past few months… My energy seems to dry up right before I begin the long meandering path down the road of meal planning and grocery shopping. I have resolved to try to break out of it, despite still feeling terribly lazy. I am also not currently super motivated because I am spending the vast majority of my time alone with my 6 year old who would be happy to eat avocado risotto every day of her life, with a steak thrown in every now and then for good measure.

My cookbooks are back in Brooklyn with my husband, who doesn’t need them, so I am taking a very modern approach and turning to a few websites for guidance. Luckily, there is no shortage of recipes online. Right now, I find myself drawn to Dinner, a Love Story (almost more for reading pleasure than cooking, though she always has great ideas), Food52 (for it’s lovely photography, huge inventory and everyday cooking section) and the new, still in beta, NY Times Cooking site (which is state of the art, full of videos and informative how-to’s and will probably become everybody’s go-to once it “officially” launches.)

Last night’s dinner comes from Food52, which I must say has always done me right, and a quick and easy Soy Sauce-y, Peanut-y, Tofu over rice. Lots of soy sauce makes pretty much everything palatable to my daughter, and the hardest thing about the dish is locating Shaoxing wine, which I did not manage to do out here on the east end of Long Island. I used a dry sherry, which is evidently the western-style sub, but I plan on getting some of that exotic sounding brew when next I find myself in civilization. I feel like this meal (which ended in plate licking, by the way) is going to join the others on the heavy rotation list.

Here’s how to make it:

Serves 4, generously, which is good because you’re going to want leftovers.

The Tofu Part

2 blocks of tofu, extra firm or firm
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
3/4 cups unsalted peanuts, whole or halved, roasted or raw (depending on personal taste and what they have at the store)
Cooking oil

The Sauce Part

3/4 cups soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses (I used agave here because I didn’t have molasses)
A touch of lemon or lime
1/2 teaspoon roasted sesame oil

If you have time, press the tofu. (Place it under a weighted cutting board for a half-hour, letting the liquid run off or get absorbed by paper towels.) Dry it off. Then slice it into small cubes, in the 1/2-1-inch range.
In a wok or a large frying pan, heat a tablespoon of the oil on medium-high. Then add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Scrape it out of the pan and reserve for later.
While the onion is browning, stir together the sauce ingredients. Taste. It should be sweet and salty and a little bitter, too. Adjust until the flavors are aligned to your taste. You might want more molasses or more Shaoxing wine; you might need a squeeze or two of lemon or lime for more acidity.
When the onion is done, add a couple tablespoons of oil to the wok or pan and increase the heat to high. Add the tofu and immediately toss it with the hot oil. Then leave it alone. Let it sit for a few minutes, longer than seems wise. Once the tofu begins to brown, stir it to brown the remaining sides. It should take around ten minutes total. A minute before it is done, add the ginger and briefly saute it. Then spread the browned onions and peanuts on top and add the sauce. Gently stir, so that everything soaks in the sauce, and let the liquid reduce for a few minutes. Reduce until the sauce is as thin or thick as you like. Then turn off the heat, drizzle the sesame oil on top, and serve.

A dish in regular rotaion around my house, this avocado risotto really does feels like springtime.

I know it might seem odd to put avocado into risotto, but once you try this, I swear you’ll be a convert. This is currently one of two ways that I can get avocado into my daughter without us playing the I-never-liked-avocado-why-are-we-eating-this record that is (in various incarnations) so frequently on the playlist in our house.

And as we eat our meals together as a family, whatever I am cooking for the kid has to pass muster with the grown ups as well, which this does with flying colors.

I thought I’d originally found the recipe in Fred Plotkin’s The Authentic Pasta Book, but when I looked this morning, I realized I was mistaken. And I should have known… Risotto is RICE, not pasta. Shame on me. Regardless, the book is worth a look if you ever come across it. As far as the exact methodology goes, you will unfortunately just have to deal with my very unprofessional instructions.

First off, toss out any ideas about how difficult it is to cook risotto. If you can stir rice in a pot, you can do this. It just requires that you pay a bit of attention to what you’re doing. Click on for the recipe…

Avocado Risotto for 2 from a forgotten source

3 cups chicken (or veg) stock
a 2 count pour of olive oil
one large shallot, finely chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
1 large avocado, diced
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 or 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Heat up the chicken stock to a simmer. Keep it at this temperature the entire time. I have read someplace that the secret to a good risotto is keeping the liquid warm when adding it to the pot. Don’t know if that’s true, but I figure what harm does it do just to follow that advice?

Next, heat up a bit of oil in a large saucepan over a low flame, add the shallot and sauté for a couple of minutes. Then add the dry rice and stir until the grains are completely coated with the oil.

Now comes the “tricky” part. Add about 1/4 cup of the simmering broth to the rice mixture and stir. You don’t have to stir constantly, but do come back to the pot frequently. When the stock has been absorbed (but hopefully before the rice starts sticking to the bottom of the pan) add some more stock. Keep doing this over and over until the rice has just about reached your preferred level of doneness. Which you will determine via frequent tasting. This usually takes me 20 – 25 minutes.

Just when it looks like you’ll need one more bit of stock, pour in the lemon juice and add the avocado. Stir well till the juice absorbs (should be a minute or so) And now, last but not least, toss in the cheese and mix until it has just melted.

Take the pot off of the stove, salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

(oh and by the way, I saw this delicious looking version with cherry tomatoes and mint on Food52.)