So, tofu. Alone, it is nothing more than a wibbly whitish glob of former beans. Consuming it provides more the experience of a consistency than that of a flavor. However, with careful application of stuff that actually tastes itself, even tofu can begin to taste like that other stuff!
I picked up another new cookbook-slash-kitchen-basics-for-the-TV-dinner-generation: Cook Food (a remarkably apropos title for someone using this blog), by Lisa Jarvis. The book is designed to help with ideas for eating local, healthy (and vegan, coincidentally) food in simple, easy ways that also make you want to continue eating local, healthy foods. While tofu is not local, the garlic I used in making the marinade for this recipe was, and so were the broccoli and kale I ate on the side.
Materials:
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 heaping teaspoon of dried rosemary
• 4 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 block of tofu, pressed or drained, and cut into 1/2-inch slabs
• An amount of broccoli and spinach that I wanted to eat with my lunch
Methods:
In a shallow vessel of some sort (I used a Pyrex baking dish), crush the rosemary with your fingers. Add in the other ingredients and mix with a spoon. Then take the drained tofu and dip both sides in the marinade. Let the tofu slabs sit in the marinade at least 20 minutes - I let mine sit for about 3 hours, in the fridge. Even longer is even better, of course.
Heat a skillet over high heat on the range. When it's warm, throw the tofu slabs on. Give the broccoli a roll through the leftover marinade and then throw it in the skillet in whatever spaces are left between the tofu slabs. Let it all cook for about five minutes, and then check to see if the bottoms of the tofu are browning. If they are - or whenever they finally get around to it - flip them over and brown the other sides. Once you've flipped them, you can give the spinach a little marinade mini-bath too, add it to the skillet, and then move it right away to the tops of the slabs for it to finish cooking.
The tofu sucks up the flavors fantastically, and the mustard marinade gets all nice and brown and crispy on the outsides. The cooking time is just right to make sure the broccoli is softened a little, but still very firm and crisp. Would eat again, and probably will.
The Bottom Line: mah tofu, it haz a flav0r!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
June Veggie Stir-Fry
Materials
• Half a bag of sugar snap peas, de-stringed
• The white & light green parts of 6 green onions, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 5 small radishes, trimmed & quartered
• 1/2 carton of sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup kale
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Vegetable broth
• Garlic
• Spices as desired
Methods
Time to use up more stuff from the CSA! I started out by drizzling olive oil a few times around a large skillet (if you’re into measuring things, maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons? I don’t roll like that, though). I threw in the peas, onions, radishes, and mushrooms and cooked until the onions started to go transparent. Once they changed, I threw in a small spoonful of pre-minced garlic – because I’m lazy – and started squirting in lemon juice from the little squeezy yellow bottle. How much lemon juice? Until it tasted good, that’s how much.
Added the kale then, cooked for another minute or so, and then added about 1/4-1/2 cup of vegetable broth. I added a little ground black pepper, a dash of savory spice, and another small splort of lemon juice, then let it simmer for another 3 or 4 minutes.
This was really good! The lemon zestularity was a nice refreshing flavor on a day that could best be described as “hotter than Satan’s left armpit”. I’m digging the cooked radishes even more than the raw ones, too.
I do still have approximately one metric fuckton of kale left, so if anyone has any new suggestions for what to do with it, I would love to hear them!
Time Needed: **** : A medium amount of dicing, shredding, etc. but not too bad.
Deliciousness: **** : Why have I never put lemon juice on onions before?! Yum.
Serving size: *** : This was only enough for two servings but it would be pretty easy to make it bigger.
Ingredients: **** : Go to the farmer's market and you'll be all set.
The Bottom Line: If I could only find a way to cook vegetables without heating them, this recipe would be ideal.
• Half a bag of sugar snap peas, de-stringed
• The white & light green parts of 6 green onions, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 5 small radishes, trimmed & quartered
• 1/2 carton of sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup kale
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Vegetable broth
• Garlic
• Spices as desired
Methods
Time to use up more stuff from the CSA! I started out by drizzling olive oil a few times around a large skillet (if you’re into measuring things, maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons? I don’t roll like that, though). I threw in the peas, onions, radishes, and mushrooms and cooked until the onions started to go transparent. Once they changed, I threw in a small spoonful of pre-minced garlic – because I’m lazy – and started squirting in lemon juice from the little squeezy yellow bottle. How much lemon juice? Until it tasted good, that’s how much.
Added the kale then, cooked for another minute or so, and then added about 1/4-1/2 cup of vegetable broth. I added a little ground black pepper, a dash of savory spice, and another small splort of lemon juice, then let it simmer for another 3 or 4 minutes.
This was really good! The lemon zestularity was a nice refreshing flavor on a day that could best be described as “hotter than Satan’s left armpit”. I’m digging the cooked radishes even more than the raw ones, too.
I do still have approximately one metric fuckton of kale left, so if anyone has any new suggestions for what to do with it, I would love to hear them!
Time Needed: **** : A medium amount of dicing, shredding, etc. but not too bad.
Deliciousness: **** : Why have I never put lemon juice on onions before?! Yum.
Serving size: *** : This was only enough for two servings but it would be pretty easy to make it bigger.
Ingredients: **** : Go to the farmer's market and you'll be all set.
The Bottom Line: If I could only find a way to cook vegetables without heating them, this recipe would be ideal.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tato Pancakes
So I got some scallions from my CSA and I was all "wtf do I do with these?" I pondered this for a time, before thinking, "I've never made potato pancakes before. Is this doable?" (Yes. It is.)
I washed 3 small-to-medium potatoes, then shredded them on the biggest-hole side of my box grater. Then I dried them by squeezing them through a dish-towel over the kitchen sink. Then I changed into a shirt that was not covered in potato juice.
I chopped up 2 of the scallions into super-teensy-tiny pieces, mixed them with the potatoes, and squished it all together with the white of 1 egg, a dash of salt, and a couple good grinds from the pepper mill.
I heated up vegetable oil in a skillet (a couple times around the pan? ish?) and slopped piles of potato-scallion-goo into it. I started with the pan at high heat, but I burned the bottom of my first two attempts kind of badly. Went better with the third one on medium heat. They're pretty lumpy and might only very charitably be called "pancakes" rather than "panblobs", but I ate them anyway. Voila:
I washed 3 small-to-medium potatoes, then shredded them on the biggest-hole side of my box grater. Then I dried them by squeezing them through a dish-towel over the kitchen sink. Then I changed into a shirt that was not covered in potato juice.
I chopped up 2 of the scallions into super-teensy-tiny pieces, mixed them with the potatoes, and squished it all together with the white of 1 egg, a dash of salt, and a couple good grinds from the pepper mill.
I heated up vegetable oil in a skillet (a couple times around the pan? ish?) and slopped piles of potato-scallion-goo into it. I started with the pan at high heat, but I burned the bottom of my first two attempts kind of badly. Went better with the third one on medium heat. They're pretty lumpy and might only very charitably be called "pancakes" rather than "panblobs", but I ate them anyway. Voila:
Monday, June 15, 2009
To (mis)quote Janis:
"It's summertime, and the cooking is easy."
If you are a teacher, what summer means is that it's damn well time to stop buying freezer meals and pre-made soup and start eating Real Food again. If you are in fact not a teacher, summer means you get to shake your head and cluck disapprovingly at us weaklings who crapped out on nutrition in favor of effort- (and, largely, flavor-) free cuisine.
Now, it IS summer, and I'm coming off of a long stretch of being a lazy bum, so I decided to start easy. And what could be easier than a sandwich? (Answer: cereal. But I made a sandwich anyway.)
The summer sandwich du jour is pretty straightforward.
1. Bread.
2. Layer of small, thin-sliced radishes.
3. Layer of cheese.
4. Fresh-cut chives.
5. Bread again.
I'd put a picture, but it was really good and I ate it all before I thought about it. =/ Also, the only thing I'd change is using a less crumbly cheese (I made it with Port de Salue) - my sandwich kept trying to disintegrate while I ate it. Also, probably more chives. I like chives.
If you are a teacher, what summer means is that it's damn well time to stop buying freezer meals and pre-made soup and start eating Real Food again. If you are in fact not a teacher, summer means you get to shake your head and cluck disapprovingly at us weaklings who crapped out on nutrition in favor of effort- (and, largely, flavor-) free cuisine.
Now, it IS summer, and I'm coming off of a long stretch of being a lazy bum, so I decided to start easy. And what could be easier than a sandwich? (Answer: cereal. But I made a sandwich anyway.)
The summer sandwich du jour is pretty straightforward.
1. Bread.
2. Layer of small, thin-sliced radishes.
3. Layer of cheese.
4. Fresh-cut chives.
5. Bread again.
I'd put a picture, but it was really good and I ate it all before I thought about it. =/ Also, the only thing I'd change is using a less crumbly cheese (I made it with Port de Salue) - my sandwich kept trying to disintegrate while I ate it. Also, probably more chives. I like chives.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Bread
I've always wanted to be a better baker, and, maybe a month ago, I decided to try my hand and baking bread. I was a bread baking virgin, but I was told it would be gentle. The following technique is not mine, all I know is that it worked for me, and if I can do that almost anyone can!
Ingredients:
about 3 cups of water
1/4 cup of sweetener
2 packages of yeast
about 7 cups of flour
1/3+ cup of oil
2 teaspoons of salt
Put 3 cups of water in a bowl with two packets of yeast and a quarter cup of sweetener, I used brown sugar because I was making whole wheat bread and I imagined that brown sugar was a better sweetener, I have no idea if it ACTUALLY makes a difference or not though. I let the yeast activate for about a half an hour, until I could see little bubbles forming on the surface.
The I added flour a cup at a time, stirring each cup in until it's fully incorporated before adding more, I used whole wheat flour, but someone told me that when making whole wheat bread it helps the gluten formation if you have a little bit of white flour in the mix as well, so I ended up with 3.75 cups of whole wheat flour and 0.25 cups of white flour. Add 4 cups of flour this way until it's like thick mud. Then beat it 100 times with your wooden spoon. Set it in a reasonably warm place with a damp dish towel over the bowl for 45 minutes for the first rise.
The I added 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/3 cup of canola oil . Fold these things in until they're incorporated. (This is where you in theory would add textural additives, I didn't). Then start folding in more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, fully incorporating each 1/2 cup before adding the next. You'll add another 3 cups of flour this way, and you want to keep going until the dough is thick enough that it stands away from the bowl's sides. Then you can turn it out on a floured board or counter and knead it. The person who gave me this recipe said to knead until it feels right, or about 5-10 minutes. I went for 10 minutes and that seemed to work. Keep adding flour under the dough on the board so it doesn't stick.
Stick it back in the big bowl it was in and pour a bit of oil over it. Spin the dough over and around in the bowl so both the bowl and the dough are oiled. Cover it again with your damp kitchen towel, and set it back in a warmish place. After an hour, punch the dough down in ten or so places and set the timer for another hour.
After the 2nd hour turn the dough out of the bowl back onto your floured board and sort of fold the outsides up and onto the middle, like you were going to knead it, but without the pushing. Flip the ball over and let it sit for a few minutes while you oil the bread pans. Alternatively you can just put some cornmeal down on a baking sheet and make a peasant loaf, since this recipe makes 2 loaves, I did one of each. Go back to your lump of dough and cut it in half. Knead each loaf five or six times, and form it into a loaf shape by squishing it. You don't want to tear it if you can help it because that breaks all that gluten you've just built up by kneading and rising.
Set your loaves in/on their pan(s) and cover them again with that damp kitchen towel. Let them rise again for 20 minutes while the oven preheats to 350F. After this last rise, you're supposed to slit the dough two or three times, I totally forgot to do this, but nothing was ruined. Stick them in the oven, and set your timer for 50 minutes. When it goes off, you have bread! Take it out of the oven and enjoy.
Conclusion: This recipe takes about 5 hours, but it's not super labor intensive, good for a lazy Sunday, which is exactly what I'm doing today! If it allows me to make delicious bread, then it can't be that hard!
Ingredients:
about 3 cups of water
1/4 cup of sweetener
2 packages of yeast
about 7 cups of flour
1/3+ cup of oil
2 teaspoons of salt
Put 3 cups of water in a bowl with two packets of yeast and a quarter cup of sweetener, I used brown sugar because I was making whole wheat bread and I imagined that brown sugar was a better sweetener, I have no idea if it ACTUALLY makes a difference or not though. I let the yeast activate for about a half an hour, until I could see little bubbles forming on the surface.
The I added flour a cup at a time, stirring each cup in until it's fully incorporated before adding more, I used whole wheat flour, but someone told me that when making whole wheat bread it helps the gluten formation if you have a little bit of white flour in the mix as well, so I ended up with 3.75 cups of whole wheat flour and 0.25 cups of white flour. Add 4 cups of flour this way until it's like thick mud. Then beat it 100 times with your wooden spoon. Set it in a reasonably warm place with a damp dish towel over the bowl for 45 minutes for the first rise.
The I added 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/3 cup of canola oil . Fold these things in until they're incorporated. (This is where you in theory would add textural additives, I didn't). Then start folding in more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, fully incorporating each 1/2 cup before adding the next. You'll add another 3 cups of flour this way, and you want to keep going until the dough is thick enough that it stands away from the bowl's sides. Then you can turn it out on a floured board or counter and knead it. The person who gave me this recipe said to knead until it feels right, or about 5-10 minutes. I went for 10 minutes and that seemed to work. Keep adding flour under the dough on the board so it doesn't stick.
Stick it back in the big bowl it was in and pour a bit of oil over it. Spin the dough over and around in the bowl so both the bowl and the dough are oiled. Cover it again with your damp kitchen towel, and set it back in a warmish place. After an hour, punch the dough down in ten or so places and set the timer for another hour.
After the 2nd hour turn the dough out of the bowl back onto your floured board and sort of fold the outsides up and onto the middle, like you were going to knead it, but without the pushing. Flip the ball over and let it sit for a few minutes while you oil the bread pans. Alternatively you can just put some cornmeal down on a baking sheet and make a peasant loaf, since this recipe makes 2 loaves, I did one of each. Go back to your lump of dough and cut it in half. Knead each loaf five or six times, and form it into a loaf shape by squishing it. You don't want to tear it if you can help it because that breaks all that gluten you've just built up by kneading and rising.
Set your loaves in/on their pan(s) and cover them again with that damp kitchen towel. Let them rise again for 20 minutes while the oven preheats to 350F. After this last rise, you're supposed to slit the dough two or three times, I totally forgot to do this, but nothing was ruined. Stick them in the oven, and set your timer for 50 minutes. When it goes off, you have bread! Take it out of the oven and enjoy.
Conclusion: This recipe takes about 5 hours, but it's not super labor intensive, good for a lazy Sunday, which is exactly what I'm doing today! If it allows me to make delicious bread, then it can't be that hard!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Backlog: Chinese chicken cutlets and Tomato couscous
Materials:
Discussion: The couscous could have been a little more moist. Maybe i over reduced the tomatoes.
Conclusion: The meal overall could have used a vegetable.
- 3 tbs fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbs soy sauce
- .75 tsp sugar
- .75 tsp sesame oil
- 4 chicken breasts
- Combine all reagent with the exception of the chicken in a small bowl.
- Place the chicken in a platter and cover with the reaction mix from step one. Turn to coat. Incubate at room temperature for 10 minutes, flipping every 2.5 - 3 minutes.
- Cook on low for about 7 minutes, flip, go on the other side for 7 more. Make sure they're cooked through.
- 1 tbs butter
- .5 canned crushed tomatoes
- .25 tsp ground cloves
- .75 cups couscous
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in tomatoes and cloves. Cook, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid cooks away.
- Add .75 cups water and .5 tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork and serve!
Discussion: The couscous could have been a little more moist. Maybe i over reduced the tomatoes.
Conclusion: The meal overall could have used a vegetable.
Backlog: cheese stuffed manicotti
Back from my long recruiting-induced hiatus! Here's some stuff I've made in the mean time that i was too lazy to blog about.
I cheated a little on this one because i didn't make the sauce... but we won't talk about that.
Materials:
Results: The product is intensely edible. Yield was more than sufficient.
Discussion: I would repeat this protocol again. Variations would include making home made sauce, and adding the parsley to the cheese mixture instead of on top.
Conclusion: You should cook this meal as well.
I cheated a little on this one because i didn't make the sauce... but we won't talk about that.
Materials:
- 1 bottle of premade tomato sauce (i know CHEATING)
- 1.5 cups ricotta
- 1.25 cups shredded mozzarella
- .75 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- .25 cups chopped flat leaf parsley
- 12 manicotti shells
- Preheat the oven to 350'F. Spray a 9x13'' baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add manicotti shells and cook until soft, but not squishy. They must maintain structural integrity.Run under cold water to prevent manicotti dimerization. Set aside.
- Mix the aforementioned cheeses into a homogeneous mixture. Fill the shells from step 2 with the cheese cocktail from step 3.
- Place the manicotti in the baking dish, and cover with the sauce. Cover that with the parsley. Bake 30-40 minutes, until browned and bubbling.
Results: The product is intensely edible. Yield was more than sufficient.
Discussion: I would repeat this protocol again. Variations would include making home made sauce, and adding the parsley to the cheese mixture instead of on top.
Conclusion: You should cook this meal as well.
Seth and Crystal's Ethnically Schizophrenic Meal
Having some free time tonight, we decided to make two things. Because, like a centaur in an Old Spice commercial, we're two things. We made minestrone in honor of Crystal's Italian homeland, and turkey burgers with an asian flair, in honor of...the hardest continent to maintain control of in a game of Risk.
1) Minestrone
Ingredients:
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 chopped onions
1 sliced carrot
2 sliced celery stalks
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
1 cup canned whole tomatoes
1 potato, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons italian herb seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chopped green beans
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 cup cooked spaghetti
1/2 cup canned red kidney beans
Parmesan cheese
Instructions: Get a big-ass pot. Within it, combine broth, cabbage, onions, carrot, celery, turnip, tomatoes, potato, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Throw in three cups of water cause it's soup. Boil it for 20 minutes. Add green beans and zucchini, cook 15 more minutes covered. Add spaghetti and kidney beans, heat, put cheese on, consume.
Review, as posted by Seth's LARPer persona, Lamicus McVirginface:
"Huzzah. After a long day of battling ogres and somewhat more challenging different colored ogres, I need something to munch on while I leer at tavern wenches and neglect to bathe. According to the rules, this hearty soup might restore 1d4 of life points, depending on one's roll on table 7G, sub-paragraph 18x, section entitled "things to whine to your DM about". In all, I give it this soup a qualified "13" on my heavily modified d20 roll. Similar to my recent expedition to the Dungeon of Repeated Logical Fallacies Which I Will Write An Indignant Letter to the Publishers About, Because Seriously, an Elder Red Dragon in a 10' by 10' room, What The Hell?, every bite is a new adventure, because there's so much different stuff in there. The recipe creates enough to feed a score of elephants, or perhaps one averagely morbidly obese larper. Much like the bard I travel with, I question the role of the turnip in the adventuring party that is the soup. I think it's taking up treasure without providing any real benefit, and should therefore be hit with an immediate 12d6 lightning strike, no saving throw.
In conclusion, in deciding whether to expend a 3rd level spell slot to the "Create Minestrone" spell, while stronger options are available, such as "Mordekainen's Unfaithful Wife" and "Rubix's Diadem of Obfuscating Diaphonous Oryxes", it all depends on the terrain, and your DM, and whether your constitution needs a boost because you didn't reroll your stats enough times like the cheater you are.
This soup's stats, according the Food Manual:
1) Strength (of flavor): 11. Only slightly above average, could be boosted by +3 cheese or something.
2) Constitution (heartiness): 19. This is some dense, filling stuff, and the recipe makes a ton. Could be used to make a tarrasque feel too full to chase you.
3) Dexterity: Unknown. I'll let you know how quickly it moves over the next few days.
4) Wisdom (time consumingness): 10. Not too bad apart from all the chopping.
5) Intelligence (complexity): 7. Even the Barbarians unfettered by civilization or deodorant could manage it.
6) Charisma: 15. I find that I like it. If I can nail my charm roll, perhaps the ministrone will be my bride. That is, if I comb the sweettarts out of my beard."
2) Turkey Burgers with Hoisin Sauce
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 1/2 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
1 3/4 lbs ground turkey
2 teaspoons ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
bread crumbs
Make sauce out of 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce and all the soy sauce. Set it aside.
Mix the turkey with the rest of the hoisin, the ginger, garlic, and however much salt and pepper you want. Make 4 collosally huge burgers and roll them in bread crumbs. Cook them on the stove for a while until any parasites are non-lethal.
Review: I really like these. We used more garlic than is called for, like 3 cloves, cause we like garlic. Crystal also added more ginger, and just kept interjecting how much she liked ginger. I figured Casey would enjoy that.
Anyway, they're easy to make, and very tasty...kind of a sweet, tangy, mildly asiany sort of flavor. By which I don't mean that it tastes like there's Asian people in it. Not that I know what Asian people taste like, of course. OK, I'm gonna stop now before I dig myself in a deeper hole.
My score: A-
1) Minestrone
Ingredients:
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 chopped onions
1 sliced carrot
2 sliced celery stalks
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
1 cup canned whole tomatoes
1 potato, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons italian herb seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chopped green beans
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 cup cooked spaghetti
1/2 cup canned red kidney beans
Parmesan cheese
Instructions: Get a big-ass pot. Within it, combine broth, cabbage, onions, carrot, celery, turnip, tomatoes, potato, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Throw in three cups of water cause it's soup. Boil it for 20 minutes. Add green beans and zucchini, cook 15 more minutes covered. Add spaghetti and kidney beans, heat, put cheese on, consume.
Review, as posted by Seth's LARPer persona, Lamicus McVirginface:
"Huzzah. After a long day of battling ogres and somewhat more challenging different colored ogres, I need something to munch on while I leer at tavern wenches and neglect to bathe. According to the rules, this hearty soup might restore 1d4 of life points, depending on one's roll on table 7G, sub-paragraph 18x, section entitled "things to whine to your DM about". In all, I give it this soup a qualified "13" on my heavily modified d20 roll. Similar to my recent expedition to the Dungeon of Repeated Logical Fallacies Which I Will Write An Indignant Letter to the Publishers About, Because Seriously, an Elder Red Dragon in a 10' by 10' room, What The Hell?, every bite is a new adventure, because there's so much different stuff in there. The recipe creates enough to feed a score of elephants, or perhaps one averagely morbidly obese larper. Much like the bard I travel with, I question the role of the turnip in the adventuring party that is the soup. I think it's taking up treasure without providing any real benefit, and should therefore be hit with an immediate 12d6 lightning strike, no saving throw.
In conclusion, in deciding whether to expend a 3rd level spell slot to the "Create Minestrone" spell, while stronger options are available, such as "Mordekainen's Unfaithful Wife" and "Rubix's Diadem of Obfuscating Diaphonous Oryxes", it all depends on the terrain, and your DM, and whether your constitution needs a boost because you didn't reroll your stats enough times like the cheater you are.
This soup's stats, according the Food Manual:
1) Strength (of flavor): 11. Only slightly above average, could be boosted by +3 cheese or something.
2) Constitution (heartiness): 19. This is some dense, filling stuff, and the recipe makes a ton. Could be used to make a tarrasque feel too full to chase you.
3) Dexterity: Unknown. I'll let you know how quickly it moves over the next few days.
4) Wisdom (time consumingness): 10. Not too bad apart from all the chopping.
5) Intelligence (complexity): 7. Even the Barbarians unfettered by civilization or deodorant could manage it.
6) Charisma: 15. I find that I like it. If I can nail my charm roll, perhaps the ministrone will be my bride. That is, if I comb the sweettarts out of my beard."
2) Turkey Burgers with Hoisin Sauce
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 1/2 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
1 3/4 lbs ground turkey
2 teaspoons ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
bread crumbs
Make sauce out of 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce and all the soy sauce. Set it aside.
Mix the turkey with the rest of the hoisin, the ginger, garlic, and however much salt and pepper you want. Make 4 collosally huge burgers and roll them in bread crumbs. Cook them on the stove for a while until any parasites are non-lethal.
Review: I really like these. We used more garlic than is called for, like 3 cloves, cause we like garlic. Crystal also added more ginger, and just kept interjecting how much she liked ginger. I figured Casey would enjoy that.
Anyway, they're easy to make, and very tasty...kind of a sweet, tangy, mildly asiany sort of flavor. By which I don't mean that it tastes like there's Asian people in it. Not that I know what Asian people taste like, of course. OK, I'm gonna stop now before I dig myself in a deeper hole.
My score: A-
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Cream of Mushroom soup
It looks like Aimee and I had a similar idea, namely that it's nice to be able to make your own soups/broths to cook with later. I use cream of mushroom soup A LOT in random casseroles and stuff so when a friend gave me a recipe (yes, I used a recipe, mostly) for what she said was "the best mushroom soup I've ever had...", I was excited.
Recipe:
1 Medium onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 lbs of mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 qt water
2 T mushroom base (or a cube of vegetable bouillon)
Salt to taste (used about a tablespoon)
Tabasco to taste (used about a tablespoon, could have used a little more)
Black pepper to taste (about a tablespoon again)
1 1/2 cup roux (see below)
2 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
In a 6 qt pot saute the onion, celery, mushrooms and garlic in the olive oil for 5-10 minutes. Add all the other ingredients, except the roux, milk and sour cream. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the roux a little bit at a time and stir until blended. Simmer for another 5 minutes, the soup will begin to thicken. Add the milk and the sour cream and stir until blended. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
Roux: 1/2 butter and 1 1/2 cups flour. Melt the butter over a low heat, gradually stir in the flour using a whisk or a wooden spoon. Cook for 15 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally and briskly.
Verdict: This was delicious soup, I substituted 1/4 cup of wine for the soy sauce (hey, they're both fermented), it was good, but I probably would stick with the soy sauce next time. This recipe makes an ass ton of soup, which is good because I froze a bunch and will see how it works out in other recipes later on.
Recipe:
1 Medium onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 lbs of mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 qt water
2 T mushroom base (or a cube of vegetable bouillon)
Salt to taste (used about a tablespoon)
Tabasco to taste (used about a tablespoon, could have used a little more)
Black pepper to taste (about a tablespoon again)
1 1/2 cup roux (see below)
2 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
In a 6 qt pot saute the onion, celery, mushrooms and garlic in the olive oil for 5-10 minutes. Add all the other ingredients, except the roux, milk and sour cream. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the roux a little bit at a time and stir until blended. Simmer for another 5 minutes, the soup will begin to thicken. Add the milk and the sour cream and stir until blended. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
Roux: 1/2 butter and 1 1/2 cups flour. Melt the butter over a low heat, gradually stir in the flour using a whisk or a wooden spoon. Cook for 15 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally and briskly.
Verdict: This was delicious soup, I substituted 1/4 cup of wine for the soy sauce (hey, they're both fermented), it was good, but I probably would stick with the soy sauce next time. This recipe makes an ass ton of soup, which is good because I froze a bunch and will see how it works out in other recipes later on.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Quick Hit: Homemade vegetable broth
So, I stumbled across a recipe on the internets for home-made vegetable broth from scratch, which is awesome because spending close to a buck a can on broth from the store is lame. Even better, it's really easy, and it's hard to find a cheaper recipe to do than this one.
The first thing you do is collect all your veggie scraps for a week or so. Wash them really well in cold water, and add them to a Ziploc container in your fridge (one with a good seal, hopefully). By the end of 10 days, I had broccoli and kale stalks, green pepper cores, the ends of a couple onions, some squash and tomato skins, potato peels, and the tips of small zucchini and eggplant.
When you're ready to make the broth, bring a stockpot of water to boil on the stove. How much water? Uh ... about enough to cover all the vegetables? If it's too watery, you can always reduce it later, so I wouldn't worry. Throw the veggie parts in and reduce the heat; then leave it to simmer for about an hour and a half. Strain the broth through a cheesecloth, and freeze it or keep it in the fridge to use for recipes.
No pictures this time. It looks pretty much like broth.
The first thing you do is collect all your veggie scraps for a week or so. Wash them really well in cold water, and add them to a Ziploc container in your fridge (one with a good seal, hopefully). By the end of 10 days, I had broccoli and kale stalks, green pepper cores, the ends of a couple onions, some squash and tomato skins, potato peels, and the tips of small zucchini and eggplant.
When you're ready to make the broth, bring a stockpot of water to boil on the stove. How much water? Uh ... about enough to cover all the vegetables? If it's too watery, you can always reduce it later, so I wouldn't worry. Throw the veggie parts in and reduce the heat; then leave it to simmer for about an hour and a half. Strain the broth through a cheesecloth, and freeze it or keep it in the fridge to use for recipes.
No pictures this time. It looks pretty much like broth.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Eggplant...well...something like eggplant parmesan
No picture for this one, sorry. It was so delicious that I ate the whole damn thing without even thinking of taking a picture, no worries though, it was good enough that I'll make it again and try to take a picture this time. This really ended up being nothing like eggplant parmesan, I'm only calling it that because that's what I based it on.
Eggplant Parmesan-ish
Ingredients:
-1 Medium to large sized purple eggplant
-Breadcrumbs
-Olive oil
-Fresh Spinach
-1 bottle of tomato pasta sauce (this can be tricky to find a good pasta sauce that is actually all food and not preservatives and stuff, I've yet to find one that I'm happy with, and I'm open to suggestions!)
-Shredded cheese (use whatever kind you want, this particular one I made was a blend of Gruyere and Emmentaler swiss cheese)
-Whole grain pasta
Directions:
Turn on the broiler.
Slice the eggplant into about 1/2 inch thick slices and lay them out on a baking sheet, spray (if you own an olive oil sprayer) or brush both sides of the eggplant rounds with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides of the rounds with breadcrumbs. You'll have to press them onto the rounds since there's not egg/milk mixture to hold them on as is normal.
Put the eggplant rounds into the broiler for about 5-8 minutes, until the bread crumbs get a nice golden brown.
Remove the rounds from the broiler and turn the set the oven for 350.
Make one layer of eggplant in the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan, cover the eggplant with some of the shredded cheese, then layer spinach over that and pour some pasta sauce over the whole thing.
Repeat the layering process until you run out of eggplant (should be about 3 layers, depending on the size of the eggplant you started with).
Top with a little more cheese and then put it in the oven for about 20 minutes or so (until the eggplant is tender when poked with a fork).
While the eggplant is baking cook the pasta (Spaghetti works well, but pretty much any noodle will work). No, I'm not explaining how to make the pasta.
Serve the eggplant over pasta. It's delicious!
(If you don't cook with eggplant often, they will get really bitter if you keep them in the fridge for too long, and then no amount of tomato sauce and cheese will help it)
Eggplant Parmesan-ish
Ingredients:
-1 Medium to large sized purple eggplant
-Breadcrumbs
-Olive oil
-Fresh Spinach
-1 bottle of tomato pasta sauce (this can be tricky to find a good pasta sauce that is actually all food and not preservatives and stuff, I've yet to find one that I'm happy with, and I'm open to suggestions!)
-Shredded cheese (use whatever kind you want, this particular one I made was a blend of Gruyere and Emmentaler swiss cheese)
-Whole grain pasta
Directions:
Turn on the broiler.
Slice the eggplant into about 1/2 inch thick slices and lay them out on a baking sheet, spray (if you own an olive oil sprayer) or brush both sides of the eggplant rounds with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides of the rounds with breadcrumbs. You'll have to press them onto the rounds since there's not egg/milk mixture to hold them on as is normal.
Put the eggplant rounds into the broiler for about 5-8 minutes, until the bread crumbs get a nice golden brown.
Remove the rounds from the broiler and turn the set the oven for 350.
Make one layer of eggplant in the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan, cover the eggplant with some of the shredded cheese, then layer spinach over that and pour some pasta sauce over the whole thing.
Repeat the layering process until you run out of eggplant (should be about 3 layers, depending on the size of the eggplant you started with).
Top with a little more cheese and then put it in the oven for about 20 minutes or so (until the eggplant is tender when poked with a fork).
While the eggplant is baking cook the pasta (Spaghetti works well, but pretty much any noodle will work). No, I'm not explaining how to make the pasta.
Serve the eggplant over pasta. It's delicious!
(If you don't cook with eggplant often, they will get really bitter if you keep them in the fridge for too long, and then no amount of tomato sauce and cheese will help it)
Spinach, Carrot and Bean soup
My first recipe post, yay! Anyone who's going to be reading anything I contribute to this blog should know that my "style" of cooking usually consists of seeing what I have in the fridge and pantry and making something work out of whatever it happens to be. I also can't read so I never use recipes, keep that in mind at all times.
Spinach, carrot and bean soup
Ingredients
-1 box of chicken stock (use stock, not broth, and I suggest the box because you can surely pronounce all the ingredients, provided you can read)
-equal amount of water
-1 box of frozen chopped spinach (yeah fresh would have been better, I already said that I cook w/ what I have)
-1 tbsp rosemary
-1 tbsp thyme
-1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
-1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
-carrots (I used about half a bag of baby carrots)
-1 can of black eyed peas (a bag would probably work better, but planning isn't my strong suit, you can find beans that are actually just beans in a can w/ no additives it just takes some looking)
-1 large onion (because onions make everything better)
Directions:
Get your big stock pot, add all of the chicken stock and the equal amount of water to the pot. Heat at medium heat.
Add the frozen block of spinach (no need to thaw it) and all of the spices (you'll note that I didn't add any salt, that's just personal preference, if you want to add salt add it now as well) and the garlic.
While the spinach is thawing in the soup base, chop the carrots (baby ones like I used just chop them in half, bigger ones cut them into about 1/2 inch thick slices) and the onion (cut in half, then into about half inch thick slices).
Open the beans and rinse them well (get all the starchy badness off ofthem).
After the spinach is thawed, add the beans and the carrots. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or so then add in the onion. Cover again and give it another 15 minutes to a half an hour (poke the carrots with a fork, are they tender? Then it's ready).
Serve with cornbread (or homemade bread if you're a better baker than I am)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Experiment 5: THE BEST GODDAMN SQUASH SOUP EVER, SHIT YEAH
What you need:
• 4 or 5 butternut squash you know those bitches i’m talking about
• 1 golden goddamn delicious apple, diced all to shit
• like 2 tablespoons of minced onions, shit yes
• 2 cans of chicken broth, CLUCK CLUCK motherfucker
• like four or five good solid shakes of sage and one each of ginger and curry, don’t be shy with those goddamn spices, they are all anti-fucking-bacterial or something, i don’t even know, do you want fucking salmonella you dumb piece of shit?
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, pack it in there real good son, aww yeah that shit is fucking sweet, literally
• some cream if you want it, what the fuck do I care
What you do:
Oh my god so get out a big fucking knife already and slice those fucking squash right down the middle. Hey assface, where the fuck are you going? you aren’t done yet so get the fuck back in here and scrape those goddamn seeds out of there. There better not be one motherfucking seed left in this squash. It is going to be so goddamn clean you will want to crawl into that little dent and just snuggle the shit out of it all afternoon. WELL TOO GODDAMN BAD. Put them on a baking tray already asshole.
Get out some fucking olive oil and just slather it on that fucking squash. Bake those bitches in the oven for like an hour at 400 degrees, so that they’re all squishy and shit. Yeah son it’s okay, give that squash a squeeze fuck yeah how tender is that, that’s goddamn gourmet shit or something i don’t know.
You see that fucking utensil in your goddamn drawer? That shit’s a spoon, son. Don’t get it, shitface? Let me spell this motherfucker out for you: use your goddamn spoon to scoop the hell out all that delicious squash shit. That’s right, you scrape every fucking molecule out of the squash skin and you put those molecules into your slow cooker because later you are going to eat the fuck out of them and they are going to give you some goddamn beta carotene and motherfucking glucose so that your goddamn mitochondria can synthesize the shit out of some ATP, i shit you not.
Think you’re making soup out of just some fucking squash or whatever? THINK AGAIN SHITLICKER. Open up both goddamn cans of soup and pour them into the slow cooker at the same time that’s right gangsta style. Throw in those goddamn spices and the apple and the sugar and onions too, you can use more if you want to, this is a motherfuckng judgement free zone.
Let the slow cooker sit for at least six fucking hours on low, yeah it takes a long time but that’s why its called a slow cooker asshole, it is cooking your goddamn dinner so you could at least be grateful you son of a bitch.
Now after six hours I know whats on your stupid fucking mind, but NO, it is still not motherfucking soup yet, so don’t even think about putting any of it near your fat goddamn mouth. Damn.
Put that fucking pre-soup shit in the blender and you puree the fuck out of it. That is some orange baby food shit going on, fuck yeah.
You can put it in a bowl and put a little goddamn cream on if that’s your deal. Shit yeah look at that soup, it’s all orange and smooth as goddamn velvet. You know you want to put a spoon in that smug motherfucker and eat the fuck out of it, hell yeah you know that’s the stuff
Time Needed: **** : Aww yeah, you can bang this motherfucker with like twenty minutes of actual hands-fucking-on time.
Deliciousness: ***** : Look at that soup. LOOK AT THAT FUCKNG SOUP. I know you look at that and think “aww yeah I want to smear my lips all over that fucking spoon”
Serving size: **** : Serves four to six assholes
Ingredients: ***** : If you can’t find this shit at the goddamn grocery store you ain’t looking
The Bottom Line: Jesus christ i could eat this all day long and not even give half a shit. I want to set it on fire and inject the ashes into my fucking eyes.
• 4 or 5 butternut squash you know those bitches i’m talking about
• 1 golden goddamn delicious apple, diced all to shit
• like 2 tablespoons of minced onions, shit yes
• 2 cans of chicken broth, CLUCK CLUCK motherfucker
• like four or five good solid shakes of sage and one each of ginger and curry, don’t be shy with those goddamn spices, they are all anti-fucking-bacterial or something, i don’t even know, do you want fucking salmonella you dumb piece of shit?
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, pack it in there real good son, aww yeah that shit is fucking sweet, literally
• some cream if you want it, what the fuck do I care
What you do:
Oh my god so get out a big fucking knife already and slice those fucking squash right down the middle. Hey assface, where the fuck are you going? you aren’t done yet so get the fuck back in here and scrape those goddamn seeds out of there. There better not be one motherfucking seed left in this squash. It is going to be so goddamn clean you will want to crawl into that little dent and just snuggle the shit out of it all afternoon. WELL TOO GODDAMN BAD. Put them on a baking tray already asshole.
Get out some fucking olive oil and just slather it on that fucking squash. Bake those bitches in the oven for like an hour at 400 degrees, so that they’re all squishy and shit. Yeah son it’s okay, give that squash a squeeze fuck yeah how tender is that, that’s goddamn gourmet shit or something i don’t know.
You see that fucking utensil in your goddamn drawer? That shit’s a spoon, son. Don’t get it, shitface? Let me spell this motherfucker out for you: use your goddamn spoon to scoop the hell out all that delicious squash shit. That’s right, you scrape every fucking molecule out of the squash skin and you put those molecules into your slow cooker because later you are going to eat the fuck out of them and they are going to give you some goddamn beta carotene and motherfucking glucose so that your goddamn mitochondria can synthesize the shit out of some ATP, i shit you not.
Think you’re making soup out of just some fucking squash or whatever? THINK AGAIN SHITLICKER. Open up both goddamn cans of soup and pour them into the slow cooker at the same time that’s right gangsta style. Throw in those goddamn spices and the apple and the sugar and onions too, you can use more if you want to, this is a motherfuckng judgement free zone.
Let the slow cooker sit for at least six fucking hours on low, yeah it takes a long time but that’s why its called a slow cooker asshole, it is cooking your goddamn dinner so you could at least be grateful you son of a bitch.
Now after six hours I know whats on your stupid fucking mind, but NO, it is still not motherfucking soup yet, so don’t even think about putting any of it near your fat goddamn mouth. Damn.
Put that fucking pre-soup shit in the blender and you puree the fuck out of it. That is some orange baby food shit going on, fuck yeah.
You can put it in a bowl and put a little goddamn cream on if that’s your deal. Shit yeah look at that soup, it’s all orange and smooth as goddamn velvet. You know you want to put a spoon in that smug motherfucker and eat the fuck out of it, hell yeah you know that’s the stuff
Time Needed: **** : Aww yeah, you can bang this motherfucker with like twenty minutes of actual hands-fucking-on time.
Deliciousness: ***** : Look at that soup. LOOK AT THAT FUCKNG SOUP. I know you look at that and think “aww yeah I want to smear my lips all over that fucking spoon”
Serving size: **** : Serves four to six assholes
Ingredients: ***** : If you can’t find this shit at the goddamn grocery store you ain’t looking
The Bottom Line: Jesus christ i could eat this all day long and not even give half a shit. I want to set it on fire and inject the ashes into my fucking eyes.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Spaghetti with Port wine marinara sauce
Ingredients:
Verdict: Yummy and quick! The port gives the sauce a really brilliant red color, and a lot of flavor. I might add mushrooms or other veggies when I make this again. Since it only took 1/4 cup of port, we got a nicer variety and drank some with dinner.
- 6 garlic cloves (the original recipe said 3, but i said fuck that!)
- 1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1/4 cup tawny port
- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 pound spaghetti (i used whole wheat noodles)
- Cut the garlic into thin slices, lengthwise. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Cook the garlic until the pieces are pale gold.
- Add tomato paste, and cook just until it's spread evenly over the garlic and oil mixture. Add the port and canned tomatoes. Let simmer until the sauce thickens, 20 minutes, about when the pasta is done cooking. (I was a little confused about this step. It seemed like I should have raised the heat after adding the tomatoes, but fear not, it will start a nice bubbly simmer.) Salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook the pasta as directed on the package. When it's done, drain and place it back in the pot with 1/2 cup of the sauce, cook for about a minute. Serve topped with more sauce. Great topped with Parmesan.
Verdict: Yummy and quick! The port gives the sauce a really brilliant red color, and a lot of flavor. I might add mushrooms or other veggies when I make this again. Since it only took 1/4 cup of port, we got a nicer variety and drank some with dinner.
Accidental Scones/Failed snickerdoodles
Same night as the calzone debacle, I wanted to try making cookies, but I didn't feel like going out for any ingredients, so I found a recipe for snickerdoodles that takes baking powder instead of cream of tartar. MISTAKE! Ok, maybe it would have worked if the baking power hadn't expired in 2006, but either way, we ended up making some reasonably respectable scones.
I got the recipe from here. (Perhaps the URL should have tipped me off, but i digress.)
Ingredients:
(there were more than 3 cookies, we just ate them before I remember to take a pic)
Verdict: Bad snickerdoodles, but really respectable scones. I really really want to try this recipe with fresh baking powder, but haven't gotten around to it. As an interesting aside I found a website with a test to see if your baking powder is still usable. Thank you Joy of Cooking.
I got the recipe from here. (Perhaps the URL should have tipped me off, but i digress.)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-2/3 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons white sugar mixed with 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- In a large bowl mash together the margarine and sugar. Add the egg and beat until everything is creamy. Add the baking powder, salt and flour. Stir it up until you have a nice thick dough. (The dough was decidedly not thick. I added about half a cup more flour but to no avail.)
- Preheat the oven to 400'. In a cereal bowl, combine the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar. Shape pieces of the dough into balls and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. (I did the best i could considering that the dough was sticking to my hands in a really annoying way. I probably lost 2-3 "cookies" to that complication. But since the oven was already preheating, i decided to soldier on)
- Place the coated balls on an oiled cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a smooth cup or glass, press the dough down to flatten the cookies slightly. Bake them at 400° for 10 minutes. (It took more like 15 minutes for these monstrosities to be called "done")
(there were more than 3 cookies, we just ate them before I remember to take a pic)
Verdict: Bad snickerdoodles, but really respectable scones. I really really want to try this recipe with fresh baking powder, but haven't gotten around to it. As an interesting aside I found a website with a test to see if your baking powder is still usable. Thank you Joy of Cooking.
Whole Wheat Calzone disaster
This recipe was made last weekend so I'll do my best to remember what I did, because the recipe got horribly derailed after i lost my mushrooms. I should say they were yummy, I just ended up not really following the recipe at all.
Ingredients:
Verdict: This is a Sunday afternoon cooking extravaganza kind of meal. It was really good despite my ineptitude at procuring the correct ingredients, but then again you can fill a calzone with pretty much whatever and it tastes good (even tater tots). It'd go quicker with rapid rise yeast, but because of my luck with this one I couldn't find it.
Ingredients:
- 2/3 lukewarm water
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 envelope of yeast (i found one that especially likes whole wheat)
- 1 cup bread flour (different from all purpose flour)
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 chopped onion (I used a jumbo onion... i would advise against this unless you really like onion)
- 1 teaspoon "Italian seasoning" (they usually sell this as an herb mix in the grocery store, you can use a combo of oregano, basil, and garlic powder though)
- 1 teeeeeeeny tiny can of mushrooms maybe 4 oz? (should have been 3 cups chopped mushrooms, but I lost mine!)
- Half 10-ounce box of frozen spinach, thawed and squeeze dried (i used fresh spinach, because we didn't have frozen)
- 3/4 cup shredded nonfat mozzarella (this is another Weight watcher's recipe, so regular type mozzarella would probably be fine)
- 1 cup tomato sauce (i used canned, but one of the next entries will be about a kick ass, super easy port wine sauce that would work really well)
- It's aliiiiiive!: Combine the lukewarm water, sugar and yeast packet into a small bowl. Let stand for about 5 minutes to activate the yeast. You can tell they're alive because they'll start eating the sugar and make bubbles.
- Let there be bread: Combine the bread flower, whole wheat flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast mixture and knead the bread with your hands until it's homogenous. (There was some convoluted food processor instructions for this in my cook book, but it's more fun to use your hands.) Remove the dough, spray the bowl with cooking spray and replace the dough. (I'm not sure how neccessary this step is, but I did it anyway. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be that sticky though.) Cover it with plasic wrap and let the dough rise until it about doubles in size. I let it go for over an hour.
- Fillings: coat a skillet with oil, heat on low. sautee the onion and italian seasoning until the onions are soft (5 minutes). Add the spinach to the onions along with 1/4 cup water. Put a lid over it and steam until the leaves wilt. Add canned tomatoes. Cook until the water evaporates. (in the recipe with actual mushrooms, it says to remove the onions, and cook the mushrooms till the water is gone, whick takes about half an hour.)
- Calzone construction: Spray a cooking sheet with nonstick spray. Coat a working surface with flour. (i used my counter top) Punch down the dough, place it on your flour coated work surface, then divide it into 4 parts. Roll out into 7 inch circles. (I just used my hands to pull it thin instead of a rolling pin, as i do not have one) Add the fillings, then fold the dough in half and press the seam to seal it shut. (Remember the cheese! I totally forgot mine. They ended up being vegan calzones, but they were super yummy.) Cover and let rise again for another hour. (Another calzone recipe i found didn't include this second rising step, so i cut it way short for mine)
- Baking: While the calzones are rising, adjust your oven racks to they divide your oven into thirds. Place a shallow roasting pan with a couple inches of water on the bottom rack. Preheat the oven to 400. Bake the calzones for 20 minutes once they're done rising. Serve with the tomato sauce of your choice on the size.
Verdict: This is a Sunday afternoon cooking extravaganza kind of meal. It was really good despite my ineptitude at procuring the correct ingredients, but then again you can fill a calzone with pretty much whatever and it tastes good (even tater tots). It'd go quicker with rapid rise yeast, but because of my luck with this one I couldn't find it.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Experiment 4: Using the Leftovers, a Tale in Three Parts
My goal with this set of experiments was simple enough: don’t throw any food away. Well, I had some stuff left-over from making the Tuscan pasta, so I used it in one new dish; which created left-overs to be used in another new dish, etc., etc. etc. You too can avoid throwing away a bunch of veggies – here’s how!
Day 1: Polenta with vegetable dressing
What you need:
• About ½ cup kale left over from the Tuscan pasta experiment
• 1 small cooking onion, sliced into rings
• 1 small hothouse tomato, diced (and take out the gooey bits)
• ½ roll pre-made polenta
• Olive oil
What you do:
Slice the polenta roll about ½ inch thick, and bake it in the oven according to directions. Someday I’m going to have to learn how to make my own polenta.
While the polenta bakes (about 15 minutes), pour a dollop of olive oil in a small skillet. Cook the onion slices over medium heat until they’re soft and golden. Then add in the diced tomato, let it heat up briefly, and the throw in the kale. Let it cook just until wilted. (I cooked my tomatoes a little too long, which turned them into tomato goo. Suboptimal.)
Take the polenta out of the oven, and slop the veggies over the top of it. (I had enough for about ½ of the slices – I saved the remaining for tomorrow’s experiment.) Return to the oven for 5 more minutes, giving the chance for the olive oil and veggie flavors to sink into the polenta slices. YUM.
Day 2: Black Bean and Booze Polenta
What you need:
• Another small hothouse tomato, diced
• 1 can of black beans
• Leftover polenta slices
• ~1/2 ounce lime juice
• ~1/2 ounce tequila
I always rinse canned black beans before using them to removing the salty nastiness that is coating them. If you like ‘em slimy and salty, skip this step.
Mix about half of the can of black beans with the diced tomatoes (make sure you take all the slime out of the tomato, leaving only the cortex, before you do – or this will be really runny). Add the lime juice and the tequila, and stir well to coat the vegetables.
Apply veggie mix to the polenta slices. Bake the whole mess in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350. For maximal effect, serve with a tequila sunrise. I would have done, but it was a school night. Boo!
Day 3: Basic Huevos Rancheros
What you need:
• 1 tortilla
• Leftover black beans
• Pat of butter
• 3 eggs
• Salsa
• Small amount of shredded cheese (optional)
What you do:
• Melt the pat of butter in a skillet, and add the eggs to fry them. While they are frying, microwave the beans to warm them up. When the eggs are close to done, you can also microwave the tortilla briefly to warm it up. If you want to use cheese (or, in my case, “cheese”, sprinkle some over the tortilla now.
Put the eggs on the tortilla – try to keep it in one piece if you can! (I have normally ripped it already, when I attempt to flip the eggs halfway through frying). Put the black beans on the eggs. Slather salsa over the beans. It may sound gross, but I used medium-spicy cherry salsa on this, to great effect – the sweetness was a nice counterpoint to the other flavors.
Time Needed: ***** : These are all super-fast, low-time-commitment recipes.
Deliciousness: ***** for the eggs, **** for the first polenta, and *** ½ for the second polenta – the beans were a bit dry by that point.
Serving size: *** : Each of these is a single serving, although none of them would be hard to double
Ingredients: ***** : Except for the polenta I started with, all these things were already in my house.
The Bottom Line: Waste not, want not, your waist wants not.
Day 1: Polenta with vegetable dressing
What you need:
• About ½ cup kale left over from the Tuscan pasta experiment
• 1 small cooking onion, sliced into rings
• 1 small hothouse tomato, diced (and take out the gooey bits)
• ½ roll pre-made polenta
• Olive oil
What you do:
Slice the polenta roll about ½ inch thick, and bake it in the oven according to directions. Someday I’m going to have to learn how to make my own polenta.
While the polenta bakes (about 15 minutes), pour a dollop of olive oil in a small skillet. Cook the onion slices over medium heat until they’re soft and golden. Then add in the diced tomato, let it heat up briefly, and the throw in the kale. Let it cook just until wilted. (I cooked my tomatoes a little too long, which turned them into tomato goo. Suboptimal.)
Take the polenta out of the oven, and slop the veggies over the top of it. (I had enough for about ½ of the slices – I saved the remaining for tomorrow’s experiment.) Return to the oven for 5 more minutes, giving the chance for the olive oil and veggie flavors to sink into the polenta slices. YUM.
Day 2: Black Bean and Booze Polenta
What you need:
• Another small hothouse tomato, diced
• 1 can of black beans
• Leftover polenta slices
• ~1/2 ounce lime juice
• ~1/2 ounce tequila
I always rinse canned black beans before using them to removing the salty nastiness that is coating them. If you like ‘em slimy and salty, skip this step.
Mix about half of the can of black beans with the diced tomatoes (make sure you take all the slime out of the tomato, leaving only the cortex, before you do – or this will be really runny). Add the lime juice and the tequila, and stir well to coat the vegetables.
Apply veggie mix to the polenta slices. Bake the whole mess in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350. For maximal effect, serve with a tequila sunrise. I would have done, but it was a school night. Boo!
Day 3: Basic Huevos Rancheros
What you need:
• 1 tortilla
• Leftover black beans
• Pat of butter
• 3 eggs
• Salsa
• Small amount of shredded cheese (optional)
What you do:
• Melt the pat of butter in a skillet, and add the eggs to fry them. While they are frying, microwave the beans to warm them up. When the eggs are close to done, you can also microwave the tortilla briefly to warm it up. If you want to use cheese (or, in my case, “cheese”, sprinkle some over the tortilla now.
Put the eggs on the tortilla – try to keep it in one piece if you can! (I have normally ripped it already, when I attempt to flip the eggs halfway through frying). Put the black beans on the eggs. Slather salsa over the beans. It may sound gross, but I used medium-spicy cherry salsa on this, to great effect – the sweetness was a nice counterpoint to the other flavors.
Time Needed: ***** : These are all super-fast, low-time-commitment recipes.
Deliciousness: ***** for the eggs, **** for the first polenta, and *** ½ for the second polenta – the beans were a bit dry by that point.
Serving size: *** : Each of these is a single serving, although none of them would be hard to double
Ingredients: ***** : Except for the polenta I started with, all these things were already in my house.
The Bottom Line: Waste not, want not, your waist wants not.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Experiment 3: Pasta Toscana (Grazie, Rachel Ray)
What you need:
• About 2/3 pound of dry spaghetti
• A giant bottle of $5 Chianti
• Olive oil
• ¼ pound of pancetta, chopped (or you can skip the pancetta and make this a veg-safe recipe)
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• Red pepper flakes
• ½ pint portabella mushrooms, chopped
• 4 cups shredded or chopped kale
• Rosemary
What you do:
Pour ½ the cheap-ass bottle of Chianti into a large pot. Add some water, until you have enough liquid to cook about 2/3 of a box of spaghetti. When it starts boiling, cook the spaghetti until al dente. PROTIP: save about ½ cup of the cooking liquid before you drain it all. Or you will be sad later on when you have to eat dry, nasty pasta.
While the pasta gets all cook-y, slop a big dollop of olive oil into a big skillet and throw in the chopped pancetta. Cook it until it’s golden brown, and then transfer it from a pan to a big pile of paper towels, so that you can blot off some of the incredible, incredible amounts of grease. Leave as much of the olive oil in the pan as you can, so that you can throw the mushrooms into nice meat-flavored cooking oil, along with a few shakes of dried rosemary from your spice rack. Once those are done cooking, push them to the side and add in the garlic and a few shakes of red pepper flakes. Cook them for 1 or 2 minutes, and then mix them together with the mushrooms to cook for just a little longer. Next time I make this, I plan to add in some cherry tomatoes, which should probably be added around now so that they don’t overcook and asplode.
Add the shredded kale to the mushroom pan. Toss it a few times until it’s starting to wilt. Then you can add the ½ cup of cooking liquid you saved. You didn’t forget to save it, did you? Let everything cook down for a little while.
Have you drained your pasta yet? No?! Well, hurry up and drain it already. Once you’ve done that, you can add it to the pan with the veggies so that it soaks up some of the newly meaty, oily, delicious cooking liquid. Let it sit for a minute, and then serve it hot.
Pour yourself a glass of cheap-ass Chianti. Eat pasta - PINK pasta. Life is good.
Time needed: ****: A little less than ½ hour. Totally worth it.
Deliciousness: **** 1/2: Dude. You are eating wine-soaked noodles with bacon’s schmancy cousin slathered all over it.
Serving size: **** : Makes about 3 servings, but it could be stretched by using more pasta. I just prefer a lower noodle-to-topping ratio.
Ingredients: *** ½ : Easy to find. The only negative is that pancetta is a bit pricy – eliminate that and this becomes a cheap recipe as well as a simple one.
The bottom line: Mamma mia! É delizioso e facile.
• About 2/3 pound of dry spaghetti
• A giant bottle of $5 Chianti
• Olive oil
• ¼ pound of pancetta, chopped (or you can skip the pancetta and make this a veg-safe recipe)
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• Red pepper flakes
• ½ pint portabella mushrooms, chopped
• 4 cups shredded or chopped kale
• Rosemary
What you do:
Pour ½ the cheap-ass bottle of Chianti into a large pot. Add some water, until you have enough liquid to cook about 2/3 of a box of spaghetti. When it starts boiling, cook the spaghetti until al dente. PROTIP: save about ½ cup of the cooking liquid before you drain it all. Or you will be sad later on when you have to eat dry, nasty pasta.
While the pasta gets all cook-y, slop a big dollop of olive oil into a big skillet and throw in the chopped pancetta. Cook it until it’s golden brown, and then transfer it from a pan to a big pile of paper towels, so that you can blot off some of the incredible, incredible amounts of grease. Leave as much of the olive oil in the pan as you can, so that you can throw the mushrooms into nice meat-flavored cooking oil, along with a few shakes of dried rosemary from your spice rack. Once those are done cooking, push them to the side and add in the garlic and a few shakes of red pepper flakes. Cook them for 1 or 2 minutes, and then mix them together with the mushrooms to cook for just a little longer. Next time I make this, I plan to add in some cherry tomatoes, which should probably be added around now so that they don’t overcook and asplode.
Add the shredded kale to the mushroom pan. Toss it a few times until it’s starting to wilt. Then you can add the ½ cup of cooking liquid you saved. You didn’t forget to save it, did you? Let everything cook down for a little while.
Have you drained your pasta yet? No?! Well, hurry up and drain it already. Once you’ve done that, you can add it to the pan with the veggies so that it soaks up some of the newly meaty, oily, delicious cooking liquid. Let it sit for a minute, and then serve it hot.
Pour yourself a glass of cheap-ass Chianti. Eat pasta - PINK pasta. Life is good.
Time needed: ****: A little less than ½ hour. Totally worth it.
Deliciousness: **** 1/2: Dude. You are eating wine-soaked noodles with bacon’s schmancy cousin slathered all over it.
Serving size: **** : Makes about 3 servings, but it could be stretched by using more pasta. I just prefer a lower noodle-to-topping ratio.
Ingredients: *** ½ : Easy to find. The only negative is that pancetta is a bit pricy – eliminate that and this becomes a cheap recipe as well as a simple one.
The bottom line: Mamma mia! É delizioso e facile.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Experiment the Second: Pumpkin and Squash Ravioli
What you need:
• Small acorn squash or can of pumpkin puree
• Dash of Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (1 tsp if using can of pumpkin)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (1 tsp if using can of pumpkin)
• 3 cups unbleached flour
• 4 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• 2-3 Tbsp water
What you do:
Mix the flour, eggs, salt, and water in a kitchen mixer, using the dough hook attachment. A food processor should also work, if you have one. Stop mixing when the dough becomes ball-ish; take it out then and knead it on a floury surface for about 7 or 8 minutes. If it’s too dry, add a little water; if it’s too sticky, add a little flour. This is not rocket science.
Put your pasta dough blob on a floured surface and let it sit for an hour under an inverted bowl. I do not know why this is necessary, but every pasta recipe I read said to do it. I obey.
If you are using squash: While the dough is taking its nap, turn the oven on to 350ºF. Cut your squash in half (it helps if you poke a few holes in it and microwave it for a couple minutes first). Coat it with olive oil and sprinkle some salt over it). Stick it in the oven for half an hour, then take it out and see how soft it is. If you can scrap/scoop out the flesh easily, do so, and mix it in a bowl with the nutmeg and cinnamon, and the dash of Parmesan.
If you are using pumpkin: Dump it out of the can into a bowl and mix it with the nutmeg and cinnamon and Parmesan. TA DA.
I actually made both fillings, and it was way too much for the amount of pasta I ended up with. Your mileage may vary.
When the pasta’s done with its timeout, give it a good knead and then start rolling it out – I did it 1/3 at a time (although the dough was too dry by the time I got to the last 1/3, sadly). If you have a pasta maker, use that instead. It was really, really hard to roll it out thin enough – and I still couldn’t get it as thin as I would have liked, so that the pasta was kind of overly starchy. I wouldn’t attempt this recipe again without an actual pasta maker.
Once the dough is flat, you can use either a ravioli cutter (if you have one) or a pizza roller or sharp knife (if you don’t) to make your squares. If you’re using a pizza cutter, make sure you have squares of similar size to save yourself some tears later on.
Plop about a tsp of squash of pumpkin down on a square, cover it with another square, and press the edges together. I found I had to dampen the edges a bit with water to make them knit together. I also had to fight the urge to overfill the squares – it turns out they are very hard to seal together with squash oozing out the sides.
Cook them in a salted pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Drain, return to the pan (remove from heat) and drizzle with olive oil. (I sautéed some tomatoes and a small cooking onion to serve over it too).
Time Needed: * : I will never do this again unless I get a pasta maker. Then, we’ll see.
Deliciousness: **** : Yum. I especially liked the pumpkin, but Drew preferred the squash. The ravioli were a bit starchier than we were used to, which cost thisi rating about half a star, due to being hand-made; this problem would be eliminated by the involvement of an actual pasta maker.
Serving Size: *** : I got 15 Big McLarge Huge ravioli, about 3 servings.
Ingredients: **** ½ : all stuff I had at home or got at the farmers market on Saturday. ½ star docked because I fucking hate cutting acorn squash.
The Bottom Line: LOL NO
• Small acorn squash or can of pumpkin puree
• Dash of Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (1 tsp if using can of pumpkin)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (1 tsp if using can of pumpkin)
• 3 cups unbleached flour
• 4 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• 2-3 Tbsp water
What you do:
Mix the flour, eggs, salt, and water in a kitchen mixer, using the dough hook attachment. A food processor should also work, if you have one. Stop mixing when the dough becomes ball-ish; take it out then and knead it on a floury surface for about 7 or 8 minutes. If it’s too dry, add a little water; if it’s too sticky, add a little flour. This is not rocket science.
Put your pasta dough blob on a floured surface and let it sit for an hour under an inverted bowl. I do not know why this is necessary, but every pasta recipe I read said to do it. I obey.
If you are using squash: While the dough is taking its nap, turn the oven on to 350ºF. Cut your squash in half (it helps if you poke a few holes in it and microwave it for a couple minutes first). Coat it with olive oil and sprinkle some salt over it). Stick it in the oven for half an hour, then take it out and see how soft it is. If you can scrap/scoop out the flesh easily, do so, and mix it in a bowl with the nutmeg and cinnamon, and the dash of Parmesan.
If you are using pumpkin: Dump it out of the can into a bowl and mix it with the nutmeg and cinnamon and Parmesan. TA DA.
I actually made both fillings, and it was way too much for the amount of pasta I ended up with. Your mileage may vary.
When the pasta’s done with its timeout, give it a good knead and then start rolling it out – I did it 1/3 at a time (although the dough was too dry by the time I got to the last 1/3, sadly). If you have a pasta maker, use that instead. It was really, really hard to roll it out thin enough – and I still couldn’t get it as thin as I would have liked, so that the pasta was kind of overly starchy. I wouldn’t attempt this recipe again without an actual pasta maker.
Once the dough is flat, you can use either a ravioli cutter (if you have one) or a pizza roller or sharp knife (if you don’t) to make your squares. If you’re using a pizza cutter, make sure you have squares of similar size to save yourself some tears later on.
Plop about a tsp of squash of pumpkin down on a square, cover it with another square, and press the edges together. I found I had to dampen the edges a bit with water to make them knit together. I also had to fight the urge to overfill the squares – it turns out they are very hard to seal together with squash oozing out the sides.
Cook them in a salted pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Drain, return to the pan (remove from heat) and drizzle with olive oil. (I sautéed some tomatoes and a small cooking onion to serve over it too).
Time Needed: * : I will never do this again unless I get a pasta maker. Then, we’ll see.
Deliciousness: **** : Yum. I especially liked the pumpkin, but Drew preferred the squash. The ravioli were a bit starchier than we were used to, which cost thisi rating about half a star, due to being hand-made; this problem would be eliminated by the involvement of an actual pasta maker.
Serving Size: *** : I got 15 Big McLarge Huge ravioli, about 3 servings.
Ingredients: **** ½ : all stuff I had at home or got at the farmers market on Saturday. ½ star docked because I fucking hate cutting acorn squash.
The Bottom Line: LOL NO
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Experiment the First: Granola Bars
Experiment the First: Granola Bars
Recipe adapted from here.
What you need:
• 2 cups of rolled oats
• ~2/3 cup sliced almonds
• ~2/3 cup of crushed pecans
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup raisins (although dried cranberries would probably be good too)
What you do:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and butter a 9x9 baking dish. Even a monkey can do this.
Dump your oats, wheat germ, and nuts onto a cookie sheet (preferably the sort with sides so you don’t accidentally spill any into the oven). Leave them in the oven for about 15 minutes so that they are nice and toasted.
Don’t wait for the toasting to get done before you mix the honey, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir it often while the brown sugar dissolves.
When you hear the beep, take the oat mixture out of the oven and lower the temp to 300. Stir the oat-y goodness into the liquid mixture in the saucepan, and throw in the raisins now as well. It’ll be a bit sticky and hard to stir, but you must not let this daunt you. You must stir with all your might.
Pour the whole mess into the 9x9 pan and spread it flat with a spoon or spatula. Bake it for 30-40 minutes, then take it out and LET IT COOL. It will look delicious and yummy, but don’t try to cut it until it is ice cold. I tried cutting mine when they were perhaps just over 100º. This meant that I ended up with about half actual granola bar, and half cereal-granola, which is not ideal, but I will probably survive. I am very brave.
Time Needed: **** ½ : Pretty low-key. You can do other stuff while it bakes; only about 20 minutes of actual hands-on time.
Deliciousness: **** : Probably could have used less nuts, more coconut. The bars are also crumblier than I prefer.
Serving size: **** : Made about a week and a half’s worth of granola bars (I eat them almost every day). Well, okay, a week of granola bars and three days worth of granola cereal.
Ingredients: ***** : All pretty common stuff, findable at Piggly Wiggly. I bought the almonds pre-sliced, because I am not a masochist, and crushed some of the pecans I got for Christmas with my mashed-potato-masher without much trouble at all.
The Bottom Line: Suck it,
Kashi.
Recipe adapted from here.
What you need:
• 2 cups of rolled oats
• ¼ cup shredded coconut
• ¼ cup of wheat germ• ~2/3 cup sliced almonds
• ~2/3 cup of crushed pecans
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup raisins (although dried cranberries would probably be good too)
What you do:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and butter a 9x9 baking dish. Even a monkey can do this.
Dump your oats, wheat germ, and nuts onto a cookie sheet (preferably the sort with sides so you don’t accidentally spill any into the oven). Leave them in the oven for about 15 minutes so that they are nice and toasted.
Don’t wait for the toasting to get done before you mix the honey, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir it often while the brown sugar dissolves.
When you hear the beep, take the oat mixture out of the oven and lower the temp to 300. Stir the oat-y goodness into the liquid mixture in the saucepan, and throw in the raisins now as well. It’ll be a bit sticky and hard to stir, but you must not let this daunt you. You must stir with all your might.
Pour the whole mess into the 9x9 pan and spread it flat with a spoon or spatula. Bake it for 30-40 minutes, then take it out and LET IT COOL. It will look delicious and yummy, but don’t try to cut it until it is ice cold. I tried cutting mine when they were perhaps just over 100º. This meant that I ended up with about half actual granola bar, and half cereal-granola, which is not ideal, but I will probably survive. I am very brave.
Time Needed: **** ½ : Pretty low-key. You can do other stuff while it bakes; only about 20 minutes of actual hands-on time.
Deliciousness: **** : Probably could have used less nuts, more coconut. The bars are also crumblier than I prefer.
Serving size: **** : Made about a week and a half’s worth of granola bars (I eat them almost every day). Well, okay, a week of granola bars and three days worth of granola cereal.
Ingredients: ***** : All pretty common stuff, findable at Piggly Wiggly. I bought the almonds pre-sliced, because I am not a masochist, and crushed some of the pecans I got for Christmas with my mashed-potato-masher without much trouble at all.
The Bottom Line: Suck it,
Kashi.
Parmesan Turkey Meatloaf + Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
Meatloaf Ingredients:
A meal of this magnitude deserved a platter. Despite the fact that it's rather monochromatic.
Verdict: Good! Even Rubix tried to eat the meat loaf as it was cooling while I was making the asparagus. Being that it was turkey, I was a little concerned that it would be too dry, and it looked like there might be too many onions, but once everything got mixed together, it looked like meatloaf. I might spice it differently next time, like add a few garlic cloves rather than garlic powder.
The asparagus was excellent and allergy free. I'm sure the same process will work for a lot of veggies. I can attest to the fact that it works great with garlic, as I included it in some here.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 4 slices of whole wheat bread
- 1/2 cup fat free milk
- 1 egg white
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves, crumbled
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- Making breadcrumbs: Toast the bread, then break it into small pieces.
- Sautee onions: heat olive oil on medium heat. Sautee the onion until they are soft and brown.
- Loafing it up: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8' by 5' loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix them together well. transfer into the loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
- 10 white asparagus spears (regular asparagus works but I'm allergic)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dry breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan
- Preparations: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. (I started the asparagus after the meat loaf was done.) Cut the tough ends off of the asparagus (blunt side, not the pointy side). WHen the oven is preheated, warm the oil in a roasting pan for 5 minutes. (I fashioned a "pan" out of aluminim foil.) Mix bread crumbs and parmesan in a small bowl.
- Roasting: Roll the asparagus spears in the heated oil. Roast for 15 minutes, until they start to bend a little when you pick them up by one end.
- Topping: Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the asparagus. Bake for another 5 minutes, until the topping is browned.
A meal of this magnitude deserved a platter. Despite the fact that it's rather monochromatic.
Verdict: Good! Even Rubix tried to eat the meat loaf as it was cooling while I was making the asparagus. Being that it was turkey, I was a little concerned that it would be too dry, and it looked like there might be too many onions, but once everything got mixed together, it looked like meatloaf. I might spice it differently next time, like add a few garlic cloves rather than garlic powder.
The asparagus was excellent and allergy free. I'm sure the same process will work for a lot of veggies. I can attest to the fact that it works great with garlic, as I included it in some here.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Shepherd's Pie
This recipe I adapted from a Weight Watcher's cookbook. (Don't laugh, the recipes are good!)
Ingredients:
Initial impressions: Success! The potatoes are awesome, all the spices go well together. I might use better quality carrots next time. There's a lot of prep time for the individual ingredients, but I would definately repeat it.
Issues: I was a little afraid that the mixture was too soupy after combining everything but the potatoes, but it all worked out in the end.
Ingredients:
- 6 yukon gold potatoes
- 12 baby carrots
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup chopped spinach leaves
- 0.8 lbs chicken "chop suey" (basically chicken breasts chopped up into little chunks)
- 6 green onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
- parmasean and paprika to sprinkle on top
- Making mashed potatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Peel and cut potatoes into quarters. Put potatoes in the boiling water, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. While the potatoes are boiling, proceed to step 2. Mash and add milk to desired consistency. Add butter and salt to taste. (We added season salt from the Denver Botanical gardens that we got for Christmas.)
- Preparing the veggies: Bring a smaller pot of water to a boil. Chop the baby carrots as the water is boiling. Cook them for 2 minutes. In the last 10 seconds, throw in the corn to warm it up. Cool off the veggies in cold water to stop the cooking process. Chop the spinach leaves.
- Cooking the chicken: Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan, set to low heat. We started off with frozen chicken. After the pieces separated, we turned the heat up to medium and added the chopped scallions. Fry until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
- Making the sauce: Melt the margarine in a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the flour, stir for 2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken broth, soy sauce and 1/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and thicken for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Assembling the pie: Combine the chicken, veggies, spices (other than paprika and parmasean), condensed milk, the other tablespoon of flour, and the sauce from step 4. Put this mixture to a 3 quart casserole coated with nonstick cooking spray. Top with paprika and parmasean. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Potatoes should be golden brown. Let thicken for about 10 minutes before eating. Serves 4.
Initial impressions: Success! The potatoes are awesome, all the spices go well together. I might use better quality carrots next time. There's a lot of prep time for the individual ingredients, but I would definately repeat it.
Issues: I was a little afraid that the mixture was too soupy after combining everything but the potatoes, but it all worked out in the end.
Cooking with Food Lives!
As part of a possibly ill-fated attempt at a New Year's resolution, Seth and I are aspiring to cook more with actual food ingredients. Thank you, In Defense of Food, for completely scaring me off from the grocery store other than the perimeter.
I'll be posting recipes as I cook them, with my impressions and any issues we encounter, as well as a yumminess factor. Mostly I want to remember what recipes we like and don't like, but spreading the wealth is also good.
Wish us luck!
Crystal
I'll be posting recipes as I cook them, with my impressions and any issues we encounter, as well as a yumminess factor. Mostly I want to remember what recipes we like and don't like, but spreading the wealth is also good.
Wish us luck!
Crystal
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)