Fig and Farro Stuffed Poblano Pepper Recipe

I prepared stuffed Poblano peppers in three steps. First, I cooked balsamic shallots until they were very soft and turned almost into a compote. Then, I cooked ground beef in chipotle fig sauce and mixed in plump and chewy farro berries. The last step consisted of stuffing the beef mixture into halved Poblano peppers and baking in the oven until golden.

Today, I used Bellindora balsalmic fig vinegar in this dish. The flavor is wonderful and I think the addition of dried fig spread added more sweetness to the sauce. These vinegars are so versatile!

Want to see more? Make sure to like PhamFatale on Facebook for exclusive new dishes and follow @phamfatalecom on Twitter for instant culinary news and more photos on Instagram and Pinterest.

Pepper Poppers

If you've been following my culinary adventures for a while, you probably know that Daddy's (my father-in-law) diet revolves around anything spicy. So he rarely eats the French dishes (except for the desserts) or Vietnamese meals I prepare for the rest of our family. So today, I prepared pepper popper appetizers. Who doesn't like fried food? Not even Daddy could say no. I prepared mild ones using mini tri-colored peppers and jalapeno peppers, and a couple of really spicy ones just for him.

Mini peppers are hollowed out, stuffed with a cheese mixture, breaded and deep-fried. You can't go wrong!

Coconut Curry Tofu Recipe

I haven't cooked any tofu dishes for my husband Lulu in a while and I thought it would be good to vary his diet. So I prepared tofu with fresh wood ear mushrooms, sweet potatoes, carrots and red bell peppers that I stir-fried in coconut, galangal and turmeric curry sauce.

I topped the tofu dish with a few roasted peanuts to create a contrast in texture and make the dish more fun. 

Spicy Yuba Stir Fry Recipe

Yuba is called tàu hũ ky in Vietnamese and it's a fairly common ingredient in the Buddhist vegan diet. Most meals resemble and have the texture of meat, and yuba often plays the key role of meat substitute in the dish. I was surprised to discover that Costco now carries this product. Lulu sampled the yuba strips and liked them, so I brought home a package.

I used the ready-seasoned spicy yuba strips and made a stir fry of various vegetables such as sugar snap peans, cauliflower, onion wedges and cucumbers freshly picked from our garden.

My husband Lulu noticed that the Marketmore cucumbers he planted two months ago had started to produce. It's so pleasant getting new vegetables every day. I'll show you our beautiful bounty of beets, cucumbers and zucchini soon. Our tomato plants are already 5 feet tall but the fruit hasn't quite ripened yet. I love California!

Peanut Chicken Satay Recipe

Peanut sauce is always well appreciated. It's tasty, very easy to make and can be served with many different ingredients. Chicken Satay is a classic, and for this recipe I marinated the chicken and prepared the components of the dish in advance for a truly easy meal. The peanut sauce was made from scratch with peanuts that I blended until smooth and creamy, coconut milk, galangal, limes and fresh lemongrass.

For more texture, I added fried jiacama and fried tofu to the chicken breasts. I served the chicken satay with steamed jasmine rice, sliced cucumbers and chopped tomatoes.