Tag Archives: Mandarin oranges

Karl’s Mandarin Mapo Tofu

Mapo tofu is wife Jan’s favorite dish, so this is a common meal in our house. The tradition way of making it is with just tofu and sauce with just a bit of pork, green onion, and of course Sichuan pepper. I usually make a stir fried bok choy dish as a vegetable side, but over time I have gotten lazy and combined the dishes into one—adding the bok choy directly into the mapo tofu. Today, Jan asked me to buy some mandarin oranges and I thought, “Why not add them to the dish?”

Karl’s Mandarin Mapo Tofu

Karl’s Mandarin Mapo Tofu

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Karl’s Mandarin Marmalade

I have learned over time that you can make marmalade out of any citrus fruit. Jan had asked me to buy some mandarin oranges, but she was having trouble peeling them with her broken arm. I decided that I needed to use them up before they spoiled.

Karl’s Mandarin Marmalade

Karl’s Mandarin Marmalade

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Filed under California Fusion, Vegan, Vegetarian

Karl’s Orange Dinner

In the continued effort to make meals for Jan that she doesn’t have to do any biting—she has two front tooth temporary caps—I suggested salmon for dinner. She thought yams were a good soft starch to go with the fish. She then suggested that this was an Orange Dinner.

Karl’s Orange Dinner

Karl’s Orange Dinner

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Filed under California Fusion, Main Dishes, Potatoes, Salads, Side Dishes

Karl’s Mandarin Orange Salad

In the continued effort to make meals for Jan that she doesn’t have to do any biting—she has two front tooth temporary caps—I suggested salmon for dinner. She thought yams were a good soft starch to go with the fish. She then suggested that this was an Orange Dinner.

Karl’s Mandarin Orange Salad

Karl’s Mandarin Orange Salad

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Filed under California Fusion, Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian

Karl’s Micro Mandarin Marmalade

Every Christmas for more than the last decade I have made marmalade as a giveaway. A few years ago, I bought a  microplane zester that produced very fine bits of rind. I also stopped using any extra water, just the zest and juice of the oranges. This micro marmalade was an intense flavorful jam, but it did not make as much as the old way I had been using. This year I ended up giving away all of the marmalade I produced and we had none left for ourselves.

Karl’s Micro Mandarin Marmalade

Karl’s Micro Mandarin Marmalade

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Filed under Desserts & Treats, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian

Karl’s Asian Salad for a Crowd

Jan, my wife, is an anthropologist at SJSU. When she can, she arranges for her students to do “real world” projects for their assignments. This semester, she will be and her students will be part of a team, organized by NUMU Los Gatos, interviewing relocated American Indians who live in the South Bay. Having moved to the city—from the reservations in the 1950s, ‘60s, and 70s—their stories will soon be lost to history, if they are not recorded now.

Karl’s Asian Salad for a Crowd

Karl’s Asian Salad for a Crowd

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Filed under Chinese-American, Salads, Sauces and Spices, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Karl’s Mandarin Orange Infused Sugar

Last year, I created an orange infused sugar, which rapidly became a staple on my counter. It is a simple recipe, just zested orange peel and sugar. It allows you to add a sweet orange zing to anything you are making—tea, breads, whatever—without have to go to all of the effort of finding an orange and zesting it on the spot. This always leaves you with the dilemma of: What do you do with the rest of the orange?

Karl’s Mandarin Orange Infused Sugar

Karl’s Mandarin Orange Infused Sugar

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Filed under Sauces and Spices