Comestible Creations

A Passage to India

2011-09-20T20:23:00.013-06:00

My friend, John and I went out on Sunday to catch up and eat good food. We went to a place on 8th street called "Little Nepal" and it was pretty good. I ordered a kick-ass super-spicy dish called Lamb Madras. I always order lamb if it's on the menu and it's a bonus if I can get it spicy. Indian spicy is how I ordered it. Oh yeah.

Well, I brought half of it home and stuck it in the fridge. Last night I ate half of that and tonight I thought I'd pull a little "Iron Leftover-Chef" and think of something creative to make with the other half of my Indian dish.

Have you every heard of roti? It's a type of Indian bread and you can stuff it if you'd like. In fact that's really the only way I've eaten roti. Tonight I made my own version. I don't have a Tandori oven. Actually I was told the other night by the Indian guy that waited on us that you'd need about $8,000 to get a really good Tandori oven. Then he went on how it had to pass the inspection, electrical specs...blah, blah, blah... I improvised using my grill pan set on high heat (and then lowered later).

Here is my version of roti using some pizza dough that my friend, Carmen was gracious enough to let me have. We made pizzas on Saturday when I took the new Jetta up to Highlands Ranch.

Lamb Madras Roti

1/2 cup give or take Lamb Madras leftovers with some basmati rice (or any good Indian curry, vindaloo, masala, etc.)
4 oz. raw pizza dough or about the size of a tennis ball (bread dough, refrigerated biscuits in the can that scare the bejeezus out of you when you pop them open, etc. - you can use wheat bread dough)
2-1/4" slices fresh mozzarella cheese (I added this because I love cheese)

Preheat your grill pan over medium high to high heat. You want it to be fairly hot so you can "sear" the dough and make it kind of crunchy. Remember, think Tandori oven. Think of naan. Yum...naaaan...

Mix the rice and Lamb Madras (cut any large pieces of lamb into smaller bits) in a small bowl and set aside. Take the dough and flatten it out into an oblong shape. You can roll it out on a board dusted with some flour if you'd like. I didn't because I wanted the dough to pinch close.

Tear up one slice of the fresh mozzarella and place on one end of the dough and spoon the leftovers on top and spread out but not all the way to the edges. Place the other broken up piece of cheese on top.

Fold the other half of the dough over and pinch the edges all around to get a good seal. Be careful not to put holes into your raw roti. If you do just pinch. You may have to force the air out and flatten the roti a bit.

Put the roti in your hot grill pan and turn over when you have a nice brown and crunchy dough. Turn down the heat to medium and cover it with a lid (domed if you have it) and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Be sure not to burn it. Flip over and cook again for another 3-5 minutes. The roti should be nicely browned and not doughy.

Wow, this was really good. The Lamb Madras was pretty hot and it tasted so good in this bread with the melted fresh cheese. This really would be great with any type of "gravy" Indian dish. You could make little mini rotis if you were up to it. Maybe I'll have to do that in the future and post that method.

Next time you bring home Indian food give this a try! You won't be disappointed! Lamstina, until next time!

Eggies! It's Not Rocket Science!

2011-09-18T21:19:00.011-06:00

So, I was at "the Walmart" tonight looking for a jug of foaming soap for my soap dispensers at home. To no avail I was not able to find the damned soap but I did find this little gadget. The thing with not having cable or antenna attached to our television is that we don't get those infomercials. Most people can live without them, but to tell you truth, I love em'!

Why just this very day I boiled up some eggs and they were so hard to peel that I practically shredded them up trying to get the shell off. So, I saw these little doohickies and thought I'd give them a try.

After looking at the actual infomercial on the Internet I got the gist of what they were trying to sell. Convenient hard boiled eggs that you can season before you cook and you don't have to worry about those messy shells. Easy enough. Looking at the package the design seemed like it could deliver what it said.

Well, I also looked on YouTube and saw some "consumer reviews" of the Eggies and I'm sad to say that most were not good. They complained that the egg would ooze out while they cooked, that they looked really funky shaped, etc. Well, I was going to try making some whenever I had a hankering for more hard cooked eggs, but I couldn't resist. I mean, how hard could this be?

I looked at the the construction of the cups and there were little seals that appeared that they would keep egg matter from seeping out into the boiling water. That was a huge complaint. Another complaint was that the eggs got stuck in the cups. Um...the directions specifically say to spray cooking spray or oil onto a paper towel and coat each cup bottom and top with an even coat. Not too complicated.

So the most difficult thing I thought was to crack that egg into that little hole where the lid screwed in. I did spill some of the white on the first cup and I was leery that the yolk would bust, but the raw egg slipped in well. I was sure to screw the ring in the middle quite firmly, and same with the lid. Then I slipped them into my pan of hot water that was already sitting over a flame.

These eggs do take a long time to cook in comparison to the normal way I boil eggs. If I want soft I time 3 minutes from the the time they boil, but in these little Eggies it takes a bit longer. Really, these are just egg coddlers and I've been looking for some of these. I brought the Eggies to a boil and actually popped a lid on top. It didn't seem to hurt the cups at all.

So, one egg I plucked out early (10 minutes) and it was nice and soft, but I could have taken it out sooner I think. Less time for true coddled eggs. Some people eek out over soft whites, but I love them. The other egg I boiled 15 minutes and the yolk was still a bit soft, but I could have just let it hang out in the hot water after I shut the flame off and I'm sure it would have finished nicely with the residual heat.

I don't know what the big fuss was. I think people just slap these things together without really understanding that they need to secure the thing together quite tightly. Plus they fill them way too much if they are using the egg substitute that comes in a carton. I'll have to try that some other time, however what would be the reason for that?? There's no shell you're trying to avoid.

So all in all I was quite successful and with a little more testing with cooking times I could be enjoying my eggs any softness/hardness I so choose. The only thing that throws me off is the shape. It's like a giant bonbon, or something rubbery some flat chested girl would try to stuff into her bra, or a scoop of mashed potatoes the lunch lady slapped on your tray in high school, but you know what? I don't really care because it beats the poor egg I attempted to peel this morning that looked like it had wobbled onto a landmine.

If you have some time to kill and you love "AS SEEN ON TV" crap like me, give these bad boys a try. They are fun for kids I think and remember, you don't have to have a PhD to use these! They are about ten bucks for six and a egg separator. I'm donating the separator, and I may donate the actual Eggies once the novelty wears off...or who knows...these may be as crucial in my kitchen as my trusty All-Clad...

Get out your kosher salt and your pepper grinder and enjoy an Incredible Edible Egg!

Operation Clean Freezer: Fried Ravioli: Round 2

2011-09-13T18:19:00.014-06:00

My friend, Mindy (by the way, forgot to tell you that your new tattoos ROCK!) asked me about my past fried ravioli technique and wanted to know if it had to be the fresh type pasta. I would have to say yes it does, but you don't have to use the refrigerated or thawed kind as I did in the previous post last year. I did a test tonight on cooking up some frozen ravioli that I had hibernating in the freezer. It was a package of Portobello ravioli with two cheeses that I bought from Costco.

Look closely and you can see the frost on the inside of the package. That is one of the downfalls of being "single" and shopping at a bulk place. Too much food and it ends up drying out and mummifying in the freezer, but no worries. Frying covers up many sins and makes loads of things taste yummy regardless of condition.

Deep Fried Frozen Ravioli

Frozen jumbo ravioli, any flavor your wee heart desires (you can use small ones too if you'd like, just be sure you don't burn)
Oil for frying

Heat up enough oil in a pan with a thermometer or use a fancy pants submersion deep fryer that keeps a constant temperature and has a basket that lifts out. I have both but I'm only frying for just me. I don't pull out the big guns unless I have an Army to feed mounds of fried stuff to (I have made massive amounts of Lumpia that I did indeed feed to an Army and will post that sometime soon). Heat the oil (whatever the amount) to around 350° F. Be careful not to get it too hot as you want to heat the frozen middles without making the outside look like Kingsford charcoal briquettes.

Once the oil comes to temperature fry frozen ravioli in small batches using a slotted spoon to place into the hot oil. BE VERY CAREFUL when frying frozen stuff as there may be ice crystals and we all know that hot oil and water do not mix! You may want to use a spatter screen or it may be good to use your fancy pants submersion fryer. Just use caution and this is something you don't want your kids or someone who isn't very handy in the kitchen to do.

Try to keep the oil temperature constant by turning up the fire a little higher to compensate for the cold stuff and turning it down once it's recovered to the approximate temperature needed to make your ravioli golden, brown, and delicious on the outside and nice and gooey hotness on the inside.

Try this the next time you want to use up some leftovers or too much left in the freezer from those jumbo packs we Americans love to buy at giant warehouses!

You could fry up some cold ravioli that you had even cooked too. You know, the dry kind that has been cooked. However, I'll have to try that out in my trusty test kitchen and let you know how that tastes.

If you use a pretty hearty ravioli like a meat with a thick pasta, serve up with your favorite marinara. Because the flavor of these were pretty delicate I just scarfed them down plain. But you know what would have been really good if I hadn't been so greedy and wanted instant gratification? Perhaps dip these in a light vinegar and oil dressing or a bottled Italian dressing cut with a teeny bit of water. I just put fresh black pepper on them and *POOF!* Hey, where did all my fried ravioli go??

Give this a try, Mindy and I hope you enjoy!

S'cuse me while I whip this out...

2011-09-12T20:49:00.003-06:00

So, it's been far too long since I've posted anything and this is mainly due to the reason that it's been far too long that I've cooked anything. Since Dale left a year ago I have not cooked any creations, or at least very few. Sad huh, but the good thing is that I've lost 15 lbs.

I promise to get my ass back into the kitchen. I promise to dust off that insanely expensive camera I have. I promise to bring forth and make fat again.

If anyone is out there reading this.

Operation Clean Fridge: Fried Ravioli

2010-12-05T20:49:00.005-07:00

I took out a package of chicken and mozzarella ravioli from the freezer but the package was so big that I could only eat a little bit of it. I put the rest of it into a zip-lock bag and nearly forgot about it in the fridge. Until tonight.

I have a jar of frying oil in the fridge and I tapped into that and put it into a small pan. I only needed less than two inches of oil to fry since there wasn't a lot to cook. I only cooked two at a time too because the pan was so small and the ravioli had a tendency to stick together if they were too crowded. It's really very simple and you fry the uncooked (don't boil it) ravioli. A person could deep fry tortellini too. That would be delicious! Now remember that this really only works with the "fresh" type stuffed pasta. It's like a wonton.

The finished dish was yummy! I had this for dinner tonight with a dish of pasta sauce on the side. A salad would have been good with this but I haven't had salad since Dale left. He makes the best dressing! I miss him!

Beautiful Blackberry Jam

2010-12-04T17:41:00.007-07:00

I've been on this kick to make all of my Christmas gifts this year and I've been having a ball (the pun was intended for those of you who know the "ball" reference) with canning. I made the pear-apple butter, which I've enjoyed because there was a smudge of it left that I couldn't can. I had it on a toasted bagel this morning and it was yummy! For those of you who really know me, I'm not a fruit person and definitely not a fruit spread person.

Today I was at Costco and the blackberries looked really good. So I grabbed four cartons of them and headed off to my local Ace Hardware store. They have a large canning section and I picked up some nice 1/2 pint jars and a flat of cute little 1/4 pints ones too. Those will be my office gifts. I'm going to make more pear-apple butter tomorrow and more bacon jam too.

I was really surprised by how easy it was to make fresh jam and I was glad I found a recipe that didn't call for any sugar. Looking at some of the recipes (online and on the pectin box) regular jam called for so much sugar. Nearly 4 cups per batch! So I found one that used honey instead of sugar and I was sure to get the pectin for no added sugar.

Blackberry Jam

One Batch Makes About 4 1/2 Cups (only make one batch at a time as you cannot double jam and get it to thicken properly)

2 and 1/4 pounds fresh blackberries (about 8 cups)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2/3 cup honey
1 package of fruit pectin for no sugar added (like I said I got mine at my Ace Hardware store but I'm sure you can find it in your grocery store, even off season)

Prepare your jars, rings, and lids for canning and have your water bath near boiling. I got two 1/2 pints and five 1/4 pints from one batch. Or you could make two pint jars if you go through jam quickly.

Sort through, wash, and drain the berries then put them in a large pot. Take a potato masher and thoroughly mash the berries until there are no whole berries and then add the lemon juice. In another bowl mix the honey with the packet of pectin and set aside but within reach of the stove.

Put the pot on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring continuously so you don't burn it. Don't worry, if you pay attention and keep stirring burning is practically impossible. Like I said, I was really surprised by how easy it was to make.

As your mixture is boiling add the honey and pectin mixture. This will melt in and keep stirring. Once your jam has come to a vigorous boil time for about 3 minutes. I timed my boil at 4 minutes because of the altitude. Turn off the heat. The jam will be thicker but still runny.

Pour the jam into the jars, place on lids and rings and processes according to jar size. Let cool and seal. I applied labels with the ingredients listed. I think these are really pretty and the jam set up nicely because of the pectin. I actually tasted it and because there was only a small amount of honey the jam was a bit tangy and I thought tasted a bit like cherries. It was pretty good. Maybe my taste buds are changing as I'm getting older.

Pear-Apple Butter

2010-11-28T17:34:00.008-07:00

Wow, this is a lot of work for very little yield but I must admit that it was worth it. I must say that I even liked the finished product. I'm not a fan of pears or apples cooked (I don't like pears raw, but I do like apples) and when my butter was going through the cooking process it was at a stage of being sauce at one time and I thought...GAG! After 3-4 hours late it was looking and smelling pretty good to me and I tried some and I liked it! It was nice and sweet and slightly tangy. The flavors were very simple and intense and I could taste the blend of pear and apple. Now I just have to make more since I only ended up with 4 half pints.

Pear-Apple Butter

Yields 4 Cups (I recommend that you double this just to make the time worth while...it takes a long time but so worth it)

2 1/2 pounds Gala apples
2 1/2 pounds Anjou pears
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cinnamon stick

Peel, quarter, and core all of the apples and the pears. This takes some time, but if you're good with a paring knife this shouldn't be too painful. Take the fruit and chop it up (in batches if you need to) in a food processor. Don't worry if the puree starts to turn brown because you'll be cooking the bejeezus out of it. Put the puree into a large slow cooker and cook covered on high for four hours. Carefully puree until smooth (in batches if you need to) in the food processor and put back into the slow cooker uncovered for four more hours. It will not burn but turn dark and thick.

I made the mistake of putting the fruit into my larger slow cooker for one batch. So I transferred it to my smaller one, but by then it had taken forever to reduce down. If you double the batch the larger cooker will be fine. I finished the butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the fruit was very, very thick and there wasn't much moisture. It should be able to hold it's shape if you stir it up with a rubber spatula and look a bit like canned pumpkin.

While the mixture is still hot fill your hot jars for canning. Process half pints according to the directions. I did mine for 12 minutes because of the high altitude.

I can't wait to give this as gifts! I'm planning on making a double batch again very soon!

Bacon Makes Everything Taste Better...

2010-11-28T10:08:00.010-07:00

...practically! Who doesn't agree? And if you don't, you're crazy!

The very words bacon jam bring two reactions. Either sheer delight or sheer disgust. Hey, don't knock it until you try it! This would be wonderful on a warm biscuit or a piece of buttered toast or even a juicy burger. The below recipe is doubled because since it takes quite a bit of time it's best to get your times worth.

Bacon Jam

Yields 5 Cup

3 pounds of slice bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces (this doesn't have to be the top quality thick sliced bacon, in fact the cheaper stuff is great for this because it's usually sliced really thin)
4 medium yellow onions, diced small
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled (I use the jarred chopped garlic)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cup brewed black coffee

I used my electric frying pan, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is lightly browned (about 20 minutes, and I had to do this in batches since I doubled the recipe. That's right...three pounds of love!). With a slotted spoon transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Save the rest in a jar in the fridge. Bacon fat is delicious in all sorts of things!

In the skillet add the onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent (about 6 minutes). Add vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and black coffee and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping all of the brown bits (about 2 minutes). Add bacon and stir to combine and slowly simmer on low (simmer setting) in the pan for 1 hour. The slow simmering intensifies the flavor. There will be quite a bit of juice leftover after simmering. Turn up heat and simmer at medium heat until the juice has reduced to a nice syrup.

Shut off heat and put mixture into a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Your mixture will have a jam texture. I then put the jam back into the pan on warm setting and added 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar. After tasting the jam it was nice and sweet and the extra added cider gives it a bit of a zing.

I heated up water, sterilized my half pint jars, lids, rings, and all utensils then I brought my water bath to a boil. Putting the mixture back in the pan kept it warm. You want warm jam to put into the warm sterile jars. I filled to the threads (you need head-space) and put on the sterile lids (boiled these in a separate pan...that's what my Mom always did) and screwed on a ring until finger tight.

I put my filled jars into the water bath and brought it to a boil. Once it started boiling I timed 11 minutes. Normally at sea level the processing time is only 5 minutes, but I am 6,000 feet above and I had to add a minute processing for each 1,000 feet. It seemed to do the trick since all of my bacon jam jars sealed!

Neato! I wrote out cute labels I had with the name and ingredients. I can't wait to give these as gifts. I think I'm going to have to make another batch. I don't think that 5 jars are enough to give out. I tried some on a little bagel and it was very good and rich. A little will do, but that's all you need to savor the wonderful taste of this delectable jam! Enjoy!

Operation Clean Freezer: Mini Beef Loaves

2010-11-21T05:19:00.011-07:00

My sister, Darcie and I have been making these since we were children. I'm not sure where there recipe originated but I'm sure my older sister, Deb was involved somehow. When we were growing up we used to stay with her a lot. She being the old married woman that she is!

These are a great meal for grown-ups as well as kids. It's a twist on a basic meatloaf recipe but pretty simple and kids can help with the preparation.

Mini Beef Loaves

Makes 8 loaves, serves 4
This recipe doubles easily (just use more muffin tins)

1 pound ground hamburger (get something fairly lean since you don't want a ton of fat pooling in the muffin cups. I used ground buffalo because that's all I use these days in lieu of burger)
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs or finely crushed crackers (I remember using Ritz, but used breadcrumbs when I made these now)
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes (fresh onion can be used, but mince fine)
2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
mozzarella cheese (all I had were string cheese, but these were nice and easy)
ketchup (I used yummy curry ketchup)

In a bowl mix all ingredients (minus cheese and ketchup) thoroughly. You could use onion soup mix if you'd like instead of all of the spices above. I know there are so many variations of meat loaf. Use whatever you like. Just make sure if you use other veggies that they are minced. The loaves are pretty small.

Take a couple tablespoons (or ping pong ball size) of mixture and pat into each muffin compartments in a muffin tin. I was able to get only 7 because I put more meat in each compartment. Make sure you press the meat up the sides of the compartments and leave a well in the middle for the cheese. Save enough mixture for the tops of the loaves. About a tablespoon or so. It doesn't have to me a lot, but enough to cover.

Place cheese into each compartment before you put the tops on. Seal the top on fairly well although the cheese will bubble out. Cover each loaf with ketchup. In a preheated 350 degree F oven put in the loaves and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until done. Be careful not to over cook so your loaves aren't dried out. No one like dried out meat loaf either.

Once cooked take a fork and remove from the muffin tin and enjoy while they're hot!

Operation Clean Pantry: Samgak Kimbap (Triangle Kimbap)

2010-11-20T20:10:00.018-07:00

I love these things! When I was in Korea a buddy of mine and I traveled around quite a bit and we would stop at convenience stores while on the road. I usually got a coffee or small soda and a couple of these samgak kimbap. These are rice and roasted pressed dried algae (kim) usually stuffed with meat and hot sauce. They are really clever because they are wrapped a certain way where you peel the plastic off and the kim is still nice and crunchy when it touches the rice.

I loved shopping at the local stores such as E-Mart or Lotte Mart. Mega shopping centers with tons of cool stuff and food. I found these plastic wrapped kim made for making samgak kimbap. I brought a bunch of them home with me.

I decided to make these and give these out to friends. I think they are really tasty and fun to make and eat. You can find the sheets of kim at a well stocked Korean store. Ask and you may be able to order them. Sometimes they come with the mold, but you can mold them by hand if you need to.

Samgak Kimbap

Makes 8-9 Kimbap

4-5 cups fresh cooked Korean rice (warm)
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

Mix the vinegar, sugar and salt in a bowl until dissolved. I usually microwave it for about 30 seconds to speed up the process. Pour the mixture over the rice (in a big bowl) and cut in and mix with a rice paddle. Set aside and let cool.

Can tuna, drained and squeezed well
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
black pepper

Heat vegetable oil in a pan and add tuna. Cook for a minute and add garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar and stir. Cook for another minute. Mixture will be dry. Turn off the heat and add the sesame oil, seeds and black pepper and mix. Put in a bowl and set aside to cool.

Once the rice and tuna mixture are cool start making your triangles!

Using damp hands press a little rice into the bottom of your mold. I make a slight indentation in the middle to hold the fil ling. Put in some tuna filling and a little Korean red pepper sauce. This makes it taste really good!

Then using damp hand press some more rice on top. You'll want to press firmly but don't over pack it. Lay out a sheet of the prepared kim with the writing side down. Pop the rice triangle out and place the top tip at the top of the kim. Usually the kim package will have instructions. Bring the bottom of edge of the kim up and fold the sides in and use the stickers provided to seal.

These are so delicious. Unwrapping them takes a bit of practice but that'll just give you an excuse to eat more of them! I got this recipe from my favorite online Korean cook, Maangchi and you can watch her demonstrate as well. Thanks, Maangchi!!

Operation Clean Freezer: Hot Wings

2010-11-18T20:21:00.015-07:00

This is my first attempt at making hot wings. I know! It's about time right? My sister, Dori is really good at making "wings" and they are really tasty, and well, she does live in Texas so her secret is to fry them in oil and then toss them in sauce.

Since my home is not the colossal sized house that she and her family enjoy, frying food in her nice deep fryer and in all that space isn't so bad, but I don't want my place to smell like a fried chicken shack for days. So, I am going to bake them. Plus baking is a bit healthier or at least I would like to think so!

So I thawed some frozen chicken wings from the freezer and patted them dry with paper towels. I think this is one of the most crucial things when you're going to make wings. You want any excess moisture to be gone and this goes for baking as well as frying. Especially when frying because the excess water can be explosive when it mixes with the hot oil.

So I arranged them on a pan and then sprinkled both sides with this great local seasoning called Schultz's Gourmet Premium Seasoning and Rub. I bought this at Costco and it's a local company. They make a hot sauce that rocks beyond belief. That's what inspired me to make hot wings in the first place. This seasoning is going to be good because the salt in it will help pull out some moisture from the skin and make it somewhat crispy. I hope!

After laying out all of seasoned wings I threw the pan in a 400 degree F oven and baked them for about 30 minutes and then I carefully poured off any juice from the pan making sure not to tip it too much and toss any wings into the sink! Then back in the oven they went.

After another 15 minutes of cooking I then turned them over, gave a few of the wings a light sprinkle of the seasoning (some of the seasoning went with the juice), and reset the timer for another 15 minutes (or until meat is done and the juices are running clear. The skin should be golden, brown, and delicious. I turned my again in between this cooking period so they weren't sticking to the foil.

These wings would be good just as they are since the seasoning is so good, but I tossed mine with the special hot sauce as well. I'm not a fan of dipping my hot wings in bleu cheese or ranch dressing so none for me. All I need is a good cold beer (sad, none in the house so a Coke will have to do) and a good warm cloth to clean up my fingers and lips in between feasting.

Operation Clean Fridge: Pulled Pork

2010-11-17T18:32:00.003-07:00

Yum! This was so good. Like I mentioned I thawed some pork country spare ribs and cooked them in the Crock Pot last weekend. This is the way pork should be eaten in my book. This was so simple because I had the piece in the fridge stored in a zip-lock bag. What I did was squeeze the pork in the bag and microwaved it for about 30 seconds to heat it up a bit. Then I opened the bag and sprinkled in some dried onion, put in some BBQ sauce and some hot sauce and I kneaded the bag so everything was nice and mixed. I then microwaved it for about a minute or so. Then when it was good and hot I put it on my buns (using the Thomas Bagelthins these days) and put some string cheese on top and nuked it one last time for about another minute until the cheese was melted. YUM!

Operation Clean Fridge: Skillet Breakfast

2010-11-17T08:22:00.007-07:00

So the quest continues to clean out the fridge and the freezer. Today I used some leftover pork that I thawed from the freezer and cooked last weekend in my little Crock Pot. It was so tender and I've been eating it in soup. This morning I felt like a skillet breakfast. This is when you take whatever and brown it in a skillet, throw it on a plate and slide some eggs on top. I used the pork, some more of those Potato Oles and some awesome seasoning I bought at Costco. Yum!

Our Wedding Was Just Ducky

2010-11-10T08:11:00.002-07:00

Dale and I were married on October 2 this year. We had a private ceremony with a few close friends and we plan on having something bigger when he gets back from his deployment to Iraq.

My "sister," Carmen was kind enough and sweet enough to get us this cake. I bought the rubber ducky toppers and they matched perfectly. The cake was as delicious as it looked.

Eggs In a Nest

2010-11-10T07:11:00.008-07:00

Well, I'm back in the saddle again...back in the kitchen again and it's time for my version of Iron Chef. Since Dale is gone I really haven't been cooking for myself. I'm sorry to say that I've done a lot of dining out, eating those leftovers or fast food! Gasp! However, I am starting to get back into cooking and being creative with food.

I go through my own personal Iron Chef challenge on occasion. It's a way to clean out my pantry or freezer to make room for newer and fresher food. I don't like pushing that pack of mystery meat clear in the back only to discover it ages later like an ancient woolly Mammoth! So, the cooking begins. When Dale was getting ready to leave we really cut down buying in bulk and we called that "Operation Pantry/Freezer Clean Sweep." Now I will finish the mission.

I love eating special breakfast and I wanted eggs today. I normally eat my health friendly yogurt and Kashi Go-Lean. This mornings comestible (and it really was tasty) comprised of some leftover Potato Oles that Dale and I had when he ordered the Pack 'n Pound at the Taco Johns on Fort Carson. This meal comprised of 6 tacos and a pound of Potato Oles. We had a bunch of the potato rounds leftover. So they sat in the fridge and we didn't eat them and then I popped them in a bag and into cryogenic suspension waiting...waiting.

Give this a try. It was really good and I think kids would like it because it's fun.

Eggs In a Nest

Serves One

Hashed Brown Potatoes (I used my leftovers, and you can too)
2 Eggs
Crumbled Bacon (I used this bagged stuff I have, but you can use fresh cooked or stuff you prepped a long time ago and froze)
Butter or cooking spray

Heat your pan (I have a small one, but you can use whatever size) on medium and add butter or spray with cooking spray. I used the spray because the Potato Oles are pretty greasy due to their fast food origin. Brown your potatoes in the pan until golden, brown and delicious. When they are ready, turn down the heat a bit and push the spuds to the edges of the pan leaving a hole in the middle, or if you are using a larger pan make a bird nest size. Add a bit more butter or spritz of spray in the middle and crack your eggs in and sprinkle bacon around the edges of the egg. I basted my eggs (put in a little water around the edges and on the yolks and covered with a lid) but you can make them anyway you want. If you want over easy, take the potatoes out and make the eggs and then arrange on the plate. That goes the same for scrambled.

Voila! Slip the nest out onto a warmed plate and enjoy with a slice of buttered toast if you'd like. This is fun and scrumptious. This is a bit like my past post Toad-in-a-Hole breakfast. Although that really isn't Toad-in-a-Hole but I like to call it that.

Sorry I Have Been Out of the Kitchen

2010-11-09T08:24:00.002-07:00

It's been a long, long time. I can't believe it's been a year since I cooked, photographed, ate and posted something delicious and beautiful.

It's been a very busy year with great additions to my life and some not so great discoveries about my life. I met, fell in love, and married my husband, Dale. He's in Iraq now and I long for the day to see him again.

I was also diagnosed as a pre-diabetic earlier in this year. So, I had to drastically change my eating habits to try to stave off the full blown type 2 diabetes. Obviously this has put a damper on my love for cooking and eating. I must admit that I ate with vigor and most likely to excess like so many of us do. Unfortunately with me getting older (turned the big four-o) and the metabolism isn't like it used to be plus I have the history of diabetes in the family (Korean Granny has been diabetic forever) has taken it's toll.

Of course I started to count carbs and was quite depressed when I realized that I couldn't dive face first into a deep dish of pasta or eat a whole two foot long French baguette on my own anymore. I boycotted cooking and photographing and posting.

Now with some time on my hands I have come to the acceptance that life is too short as it is and I'd rather have quality than excessive quantity. My granny is after all pushing 90 and she's done pretty well for herself with this ailment. I am going to get back into cooking delicious meals and try to be a bit more healthier. We'll see how my new venture in the food world will go. So, I've got some ideas and my cookbooks out. I bought a new kick-ass camera with so many bells and whistles on it and I'm ready to head back into the kitchen. More to follow.

Four-Star Service @ Home

2009-11-15T19:09:00.006-07:00

My sister, Dori visited me from Dallas this weekend. She flew in Thursday evening and we booked a hotel at the Grand Hyatt in Denver. Friday morning we went down to the restaurant for breakfast and ordered a few things to share. Lox and bagel and this poached egg dish. It was so good.

On Saturday morning I recreated it. It was pretty damned good if I do say so myself. Even better I think. The dish at the hotel had two spears of asparagus on the side, but I omitted that. You could add it but it would be good if you layered it with the dish.

Diane's Take on the Grand Hyatt Poached Eggs
serves two

4 eggs, fresh
can of chopped tomatoes (I chose fire roasted with garlic)
4-6 small slices of thin sliced ham
fresh basil leaves

Warm your serving plates in the oven at 200 degrees.

Simmer the tomatoes in a sauce pan with a little of the juice from the can. I added some dry herbs like oregano and thyme. Heat the ham in a skillet till warmed through.

Poach the eggs in simmering water. If you add a dash of white vinegar to the water this will help set the egg whites. Poach till you achieve the desired yolk consistency. I like them really runny and the whites soft.

In your warmed serving plates lay a tablespoon of the heated tomato, then the ham slices, then the poached eggs, top with more tomato, and finally tuck in some basil leaves. Enjoy.

This dish is so comforting and delicious but yet not heavy. Who says you have to stay at a four-star hotel to get this type of food? You can do it at home!

Good For the Soul

2009-10-24T12:43:00.004-06:00

Since I have been sick this past week I have been making soup for days now, and today I changed my method. Today I baked the chicken with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, then cut it up and poured the juice in a pan. I then minced onion and threw it in the pan and turned on the heat. Once the onion was translucent I poured in some vegetable broth. I accidentally grabbed it when I grabbed a chicken broth also. I brought that to a boil and added some shredded carrot (don't like big egg noodles. Yum!

This was probably the best method I've had as I've been boiling the chicken in the broth. Roasting it seemed to improve the chicken taste and texture. Next time though I'm going to roast the vegetables with the chicken.

It's good to have an open mind.

2009-10-08T11:42:00.009-06:00

This is one of my favorite Korean dishes to eat when drinking beer. In fact I think it's one of every Korean's favorite. What's not to like about it? It's spicy and sweet and tangy and chewy. I love it! What is it you ask?

I had eaten this dish many, many times before really knowing what was in it. My Korean friends always said it was just "seafood." Well, that could mean anything. My last duty station in Korea my friend, Ah Young told me the secret to making this. I finally figured out what was in it I just didn't know the proportions. The main ingredients are fresh veggies (mostly cucumber and onions) and canned sea snails called golbaengi. Don't wince. No gagging allowed until you try it. They are very good.

In fact when my sister, Darcie came a few days earlier than everyone else during the big journey to Korea this summer, she had a taste of it. Of course I didn't tell her what it was. She liked it until I told her what it was. Poor Darcie. She doesn't know what she's missing.

GolBaengi MuChim

1 can sea snails
(you can pick these up at any Korean market. Just ask the Korean ladies who work there. They will be more than happy to help you!)
1 cucumber, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 carrot, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin (you can use less onion. I just like a lot)
3-4 green onions, julienne into about 2 inch lengths (I just sliced mine on the diagonal too)
1/2 cup dried cuttle fish, snipped into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces (I used more because I like it)

Sauce:
3 Tbls. Korean red pepper paste (I used 4 because I like mine extra spicy)
1 Tbls. Korean dried red pepper flakes (of course I used more)
1/2 Tbls. soy sauce
2-2 1/2 Tbls. sugar (start out with less and add more to taste)
2-2 1/2 Tbls. cider vinegar (start out with less and more to taste. I added way more because I like the tang)
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. sesame seeds (or more if you would like)

Angel hair pasta, cooked, rinsed in cold water, drained well

Cut the veggies and put in a bowl. Open, rinse well, drain, and chop the snails into bite sized chunks. Don't gross out. They are very good. Snip the dried cuttle fish into bite sized strips. Set aside.

Mix all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Pour the sauce over all other chopped ingredients in bigger bowl. Mix well. Chill overnight if you'd like or eat right away. It tastes better when it sits in the fridge a bit.

Take the angel hair pasta and coil into little bundles on each side of the salad. Mix when ready to eat. Drink copious amounts of any type of beer. Delicious!

I'm eating this for lunch and I made this batch without cucumber. I hate cucumber, but for some reason not having it in my dish makes it taste...not quite right.

Give Me My Daily Bread

2009-09-14T07:56:00.007-06:00

I love bread and nothing is better than a slice of warm fresh baked bread with butter. Bread is not very complicated as far as ingredients, but the method is less to be desired for me. All of that kneading and rising and punching down and rising. Well, I tried out this super easy recipe that I heard about on National Public Radio's "The Splendid Table" with Lynn Rosetto Casper.

I was really impressed with how simple it was and anyone could whip up a batch on a Sunday afternoon such as I did. You just let it sit on our counter for several hours then you throw it into your refrigerator. Very easy!

So, this morning while I was sewing a project I took some of my new dough out and shaped it and let it sit for a bit and then baked it. The final word...YUM!

Five-Minute Artisan Bread

1 1/2 Tbls granulated yeast (I used two packets)
1 1/2 Tbls kosher salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached flour, plus extra fro dusting dough (I just used regular white all-purpose)
Cornmeal

In a large plastic resealable airtight container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm (about 100 degrees) water. Using a large spoon or, stir in four, mixing until mixture is uniformly moist with no dry patches. Do not knead. Dough will be wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of the plastic container. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. I just set the lid on top without sealing it or you can use a clean towel or plastic wrap.

Let dough rise at room temperature, until dough begins to flatten on top or collapse, at least 2 hours and up to 5 hours. At this point dough can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks. How simple right? Cold dough is easier to work with and if you want bread that day put the dough in the refrigerator at least 3 hours. However, the longer you leave the dough in the fridge the flavor will develop and the texture will get better.

When you are ready to bake a loaf (of any size) sprinkle a cornmeal on a pizza peel or a small wooden cutting board will work. Place a broiler pan on bottom rack of oven and place a baking stone on middle rack and preheat oven to 450 degrees, preheating baking stone for at least 20 minutes.

Sprinkle a little flour on dough and on your hands. Pull dough up, and with a serrated knife, cut off whatever size you want (a grapefruit sized piece is about 1 pound). Working for 30 to 60 seconds (adding flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking to your hands; most of the flour will fall off and it is not incorporated into the dough), turn dough in hands, gently stretching surface of dough, rotating ball a quarter-turn as you go, creating a rounded top and a bunched up bottom.

Place shaped dough on prepared pizza peel and let rest, uncovered for 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it in lidded container. (Dough can also be frozen in 1-pound portions in airtight containers and defrosted overnight in refrigerator prior to baking day.) Dust dough with flour.

Using a serrated knife, slash top of dough in three parallel, 1/4 inch deep cuts (or in a tic-tac-toe pattern). Slide dough onto preheated baking stone. Pour 1 cup hot tap water into broiler pan and quickly close oven to trap steam. Bake until crust is well-browned and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack and cool completely.

Of course I couldn't wait for the loaf to cool and I sliced off a piece immediately and slathered some butter on it. As the loaf was cooling off a bit you could hear the crust snap and pop like cereal. The crust was so crunchy and the inside was soft. Very, very satisfying.

Man, I love kitchen gadgets...

2009-08-31T17:01:00.004-06:00

...especially clever and useful ones that really do what they claim to do.

I was at Bed Bath and Beyond last night and came across these nifty little things. They claimed that you could turn any bag into a container. Well there were three different colors so I bought three (at $ 4.95 each) and I tell you they do work!

I put this one on my fresh bag of coffee beans I bought today at Starbucks then popped it into the fridge when I was done grinding. This thing is ingenious! How many times do you open up a bag of something and you don't use it all or you need to find a container to store it in? I know I do it loads of times. Chocolate chips, coffee, candy, frozen peas...really whatever that is small and "pourable." The lid is only about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter. You can't use this for potato chips, but there are a hell of a lot of other things you can use it for. I'm getting some more soon. I just don't have that many things in bags right now. Hmmm...maybe I should run out get more? Ha!

Gotta Love Fried Mac & Cheese!

2009-08-31T16:44:00.013-06:00

I'm glad I like leftovers. In fact I love leftovers. Some things just seem to taste better the second (or third and even fourth) time around. Mac & Cheese is wonderful fried. You can either cut it up like I did this one or mix it with an egg and some crumbs (crackers or bread or whatever you have on hand) and throw in some onion or spices and then fry it up in a big non-stick skillet with some butter or oil. Butter is best. Flip it over like a frittata. Be careful not to flip it onto the floor!

I cut a nice healthy (the size of the portion, not the ingredients) piece and then continued to slice that up. Then I heated up some butter in a nice hot skillet and carefully slipped in the sliced mac & cheese.

Let the slices get nice and brown and crunchy (this may take about 3-4 minutes, but be careful not to burn it) and then carefully flip over. You can see the middle piece kind of fell apart, but did that stop me from devouring it? I think not. After all it is what is in the inside that counts and not the outside right?

I served my fried mac & cheese with a veggie burger on white potato bread no less. Go figure! Good thing I went to the gym this morning! Try this out and you will soon find that you will love leftovers too! Mac & cheese leftovers anyway!

The the white things in the little bowl are some super thin sliced onions that I pickled in a little cider vinegar (water and sugar) and left in the fridge overnight. That's a very Minnesotan thing...only minus the cucumbers. Ew. As for the rest of the leftover mac & cheese? I cut them into four remaining squares and froze them. I tell you it is a damned good thing that I love leftovers!

Egg-static For Eggs

2009-08-31T08:12:00.005-06:00

What can I say? I love egg sandwiches for breakfast. I actually made it to the gym this morning and feeling pretty good. Went to Starbucks with my new re-usable "paper" coffee cup and bought a pound of beans. Can you believe that I went through all 15 pounds of coffee that my friend, Melissa gave me while we were deployed in 2006? Anyhoo, that's the not the purpose of this post!

Let me introduce you to my little nifty pan that my sister, Darcie gave me. There is this whole line of these little kitchen accessories. Darcie gave me an egg separator too. I need to invest in the tiny egg turner as none of my huge utensils fit in this pan.

Today I made a yummy sandwich with bacon, sun-dried tomatoes and onions. Then I sprinkled a little cheese on it and threw it on my sandwich thin bread. It was divine and now I'm ready for the day!

This Is Not Your Childhood Mac & Cheese

2009-08-30T12:59:00.022-06:00

I love the NPR show "The Splendid Table" with Lynn Rossetto Casper and listen to her live and on podcasts. Well, one episode someone called in about making fried chicken and then they added that they were going to serve it with macaroni and cheese. Lynn immediately told them about this recipe. I was practically drooling in the car!

Today is a little chilly and I thought what's better to have on a chilly Sunday after noon? Mac and cheese! This is a very easy recipe and very adult with three types of cheeses (cheddar, Gruyere and cream cheese) and garlic and onions.

21st Century Mac & Cheese

Serves 4 and doubles easily.

1/2 pound (2 cups ) raw penne pasta, slightly under cooked and drained (I used curly tube pasta)

1 large egg

1 cup milk

1 small clove garlic

3/4 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 generous cup (5 ounces) shredded good quality, extra-sharp cheddar cheese

5 ounces cream cheese, crumbled

2/3 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese

Generous 1/8 teaspoon each hot red pepper flakes, salt, and freshly ground black pepper

Generous 1/4 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

12 saltines, coarsely crumbled (I used whole wheat crackers that I happen to have in my pantry)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a shallow 1 1/2 quart baking dish, and add cooked macaroni.

In a blender or food processor combine egg, milk, and garlic, and process 3 seconds. Add onion, cheeses, peppers, salt, and paprika, and blend 10 seconds. Turn into dish, folding into macaroni. Casserole could be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 24 hours at this point.

To bake, bring casserole close to room temperature. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Coat crackers with butter and spread over top of casserole.

Bake about 20 to 30 minutes, or until thick yet creamy. If top is not golden, slip under broiler for a minute. Remove from oven, let stand about 5 minutes, and serve.

Wow, this was satisfying and very rich. This definately beats anything that comes out of a box and would be a very good side for any occasion!

A Lighter Round For Breakfast

2009-08-29T07:57:00.008-06:00

Okay, I can admit that I love bread! Bread has gotten such a bad rap too. Not enough fiber, too white, too many carbohydrates...yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm fortunate that I love breads other than super white or super processed wheat. I plan on making my own as I've come across a great recipe to keep the dough in your fridge and you can make a roll or a whole loaf whenever you want. I'll post that in the near future.

For the time being I came across these cute little things called Orowheat Sandwich Thins. They kind of scared me as they look suspiciously like MRE shelf stable bread. I've eaten more of that then I care to admit and the dense crumb of the bread and the Play-Do-like flavor was less to be desired, but when I split open one of these flat little buns I discovered that it was moist and slightly coarse. Each little round contains 100 calories and 5 grams of fiber. That's a lot of fiber packed into a little slice of bread. A normal slice of commercial wheat bread contains 70 calories (and usually you need two slices to make a sandwich) and less than 2 grams of fiber per slice. I don't usually count calories, but as I'm getting older the calories that I consume usually count if that makes any sense. Let's just say my midsection and tush aren't as trim as they used to be!

Anyhoo, Darcie gave me a cute little egg pan a few years ago and it's not very practical. You can make one egg in this 5 inch or so pan. Well, I realized that it was perfect for this little sandwich thin. A perfect fit you might say. Lightly toast the round (don't over due it or you will be sorely disappointed) lightly butter (I used 1/2 tbs Brummel and Brown at 20 calories) , and slap a slice of cheese (I used Havarti at 110 calories per slice) on the egg (70 calories per egg or even less if you use Egg Beaters) while still in the pan then gently slide that bad boy onto the bun. Heaven. A perfect little breakfast sandwich for one at about 300 calories. Compared to a fast food egg and cheese biscuit at a 410-450 calories (and my favorite bagels are over 300 calories each!). I'm finding at near middle age (I'm going to be 110) every calorie (or lack of) counts! Enjoy!

Mmm, Mmm, Good

2009-08-21T21:32:00.003-06:00

What can I say? I love soup. Amy's Organic is my favorite tomato soup. I threw some croutons on top, but some fresh shredded Parmesan would have been even better. That and a grilled cheese sandwich!

Go out and buy some of Amy's soup at your local Whole Foods! Yes, this post is a shameless plug!

Great Party Food

2009-08-21T21:10:00.007-06:00

My friend, John invited me to join some of our other friends at a house party. I was in the middle of building my huge bookshelf and thought it would be good to take some time out for myself and some fun. What to bring? I had this old William-Sonoma catalog that I had been meaning to throw out, but only after I wrote down the recipes. There were so many good ones in that issue and I had tried several. This one was one I wanted to try.

The picture above should have mixed greens on the top with goat cheese and oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. I prepped everything when I got to Scott and Renee's. Sorry, I didn't bring my camera! It's actually very pretty and everybody loved them and they tasted sublime. They are very easy and look impressive.

Onion Tarts With Mixed Greens
Serves 8

Savory Tart Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp sugar
12 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (1 1/2 sticks)
6 to 7 Tbs ice water

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until pea-size crumbs form. Add the water 1 Tbs. at a time and mix with your hands, adding more water as needed until the dough comes together. It should be moist but not sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide into 2 balls and shape each into a 5-inch disk. Cover separately with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough disk into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Using a small knife, trim the uneven edges.

Transfer each round to a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Use as directed in your tart recipe. Makes enough dough for two 10-inch tarts.

Onion Mixture

2 rolled-out rounds savory tart dough, each 12 inches in diameter
5 Tbs olive oil
4 yellow onions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp minced fresh thyme
2 Tbs minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 oz. mixed salad greens (I used an herbal mix, it was delicious)
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Place the dough rounds on separate parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400°F.

In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 3 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the thyme, parsley and 2 tsp. of the vinegar and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Spread half of the onion mixture on each dough round, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the dough up and pinch together at 2-inch intervals. Lightly brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg. Bake the tarts until the crusts are golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the tarts cool for 10 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tsp. vinegar, the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil, salt and pepper to form a vinaigrette. Toss half of the vinaigrette with the salad greens, then place the remaining vinaigrette in an oil mister. Top the tarts with the salad, dividing evenly, and sprinkle with the cheese. Mist the salads with the remaining vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

I'm Back In the Kitchen Again!

2009-08-21T20:53:00.003-06:00

When I got home from Korea I was so jet-lagged. My internal clock was way off. Sleeping at a decent local time was basically impossible, and the times I was hungry was usually at midnight!

My first night home I stayed up until about 2 am, and around 11:30 pm or midnight I was ravished. I hadn't shopped at all so I had to dig into my pantry to find something yummy. Well you can't go wrong with lentils. I made the base and then kept eating it (for the next two days) in different variations. I'd add noodles, more jarred tomato sauce, and thin it out for soup. Yum!

Midnight Lentils

1 quart box chicken broth (I use the low sodium)
1/2 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used garlic lovers)
1/2 cup dried lentils (be sure to sort out any stones, rinse and drain)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt to taste (the lentils will absorb the salt so you may want to add more later)

In my small pressure cooker pan I added the chicken broth, sauce, and the lentils and brought it to a boil. I then covered and sealed it and boiled until I achieved the correct pressure. Read your pressure cooker instructions. I just listen for a gentle hiss. After the hiss is audible I then turned the heat down to low and cooked for 20 minutes.

The lentils were creamy and the soup was thick. I mashed some of the lentils up with my potato masher and delve into a huge steaming bowl. Talk about good stuff!

It's been a very long time!

2009-05-17T03:04:00.003-06:00

I actually cooked tonight! It's been a very long time. I have been so busy and so tired that I haven't taken out much time to cook. I learned how to make a delicious egg dish (on the left). It's steamed and you can add whatever you like to it.

Korean Steamed Egg

2 eggs
1/2 cup water
whatever you would like in the dish (I used sliced red peppers, red pepper powder, black pepper, kosher salt, and a little beef seasoning)

Beat everything together and place in a crock or heat proof bowl. The egg should come up to about half way up in the dish. Place in a pan of boiling water (the water about 1-2 inches from the top of the dish) cover and keep boiling over medium high heat. It'll take about 15-20 minutes and the egg rises to the top of the bowl. You will know when it's done when you press a bit in the middle and it feels spongy.

Serve immediately. The egg will deflate, but it's still very delicious!!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T12:02:00.004-06:00

Happy Halloween everyone! Normally I would be dressing up in some elaborate costume that I had been conspiring over for months, but not this time. I would also be attending some party and having a swell time eating and drinking with others who have dressed up, but Halloween isn't really a big thing in Korea. Okay, it's not a thing at all. So, I know it's a Friday but I had decided to stay indoors tonight. After last weekend it is probably a good thing that I'm taking a little rest.

Tonight I just prepared a nice little meal and watched a film. Sometimes it doesn't get any better than that, and tonight's menu was pretty nice. I marinated a bunch of pork last week and threw it in the freezer in little single serving baggies. So tonight I cooked a serving up. This marinade was on sale and tasted pretty good. Not very spicy at all though, but that's what you have gochuchang for!

I was lucky because I had some good little side dishes to serve with my rice and pork. Ideally it would have been customary to serve lettuce leaves so I could wrap the pork up with some garlic and rice, but I didn't make the time time to pick any up after work. Getting around to do simple things like run to the store is a chore here without a car readily available. Anyhoo, back to the side dishes.

I was lucky to have a variety. I had some cabbage kimchi but that is reserved for soup in my house. I eat it plain sometimes, but not too often. Tonight I had my green olives stuffed with garlic (love those!) which I picked up from the commissary, and then the other stuff was local fair. The little tiny fish are excellent. These are the really small ones, but they are cured and slightly sweet and taste a bit like fish jerky. The pickled garlic is not strong at all and has a nice tangy crunch, as well as the yellow radish. Finally the onion. Who could forget that. Sliced up in chunks and just served raw. I have always been a huge onion fan!

My movie was "The Manchurian Candidate" and I ate and had some Sprite and watch my flick. Like I said, sometimes it just doesn't get any better than this. Well...a nice bottle of Cass beer would have topped it off quite nicely but you know the old saying. You can't always get what you want. Well, I was damned close. Talk to you all soon with my next food adventure!

The Incredible Edible Egg (even the teeniest ones)

2008-10-17T22:34:00.005-06:00

I was turned on to eating these when I was here in Korea in 1997. They are a popular snack food and I was thrilled to see them commonly available as any white chicken egg. In fact a flat of 40 eggs was really only about three or so dollars. That's cheap! I've seen these babies in gourmet shops in the states for a lot more money and you get maybe a dozen. Maybe.

I am an egg fan. I love them. I've photographed them, I've made giant sculptures of them, I've eat hundreds maybe even thousands of them. Hell, I even dressed up as a fried egg for Halloween! So when I ate tiny little quail eggs for the first time I immediately took a liking. They are so cute and so delicious!

I began to ponder while I was boiling up my pot of mini eggs. Where are the farms for these little egg sweat shops? I know they are around, but it's just an odd thing to imagine hundreds of these little itty bitty birds cranking out itty bitty eggs on a daily basis. Do you suppose they televise these farms on TV for Korean children?

You know like the ever popular little "how do they do it?" and "where does it come from?" snippets they showed American young 'uns on Sesame Street and Captain Kangaroo. Little snippets like...this is how peanut butter is made....this is where your milk comes from....this is where they make chocolate bars.

Only here in Korea they can do little snippets on...this is where those little tiny eggs come from... this is where they raise the dogs for that tasty dog meat that thousands of Koreans are so fond of... see where they harvest the thousands of silkworm larvae for that street vendor favorite, bundagee. This is how we make kimchi!

I think Korean television for children would be very interesting to venture into! With my love of food, my love for the bizarre and off the wall, and my love for photography and the cinematic I think I could pull of a very entertaining and educational program.

My first snippet that I would produce would be on "this is where they make the squat toilets!"

Kimchi Chigae a la Diane

2008-10-16T02:36:00.007-06:00

I am learning to like traditional Korean cabbage kimchi. It's very strong, but the more I eat it and the variety of ways to eat it I find I'm getting rather fond of it. I've always loved kimchi fried rice (will have to make that soon) and I really like kimchi soup (kimchi chigae) and it's really easy to make.

When we went out to the field my KSCs (Korean civilians who work for the US Army) would cook for all of us and one day they made soup. I just watched what they did and realized it's just cut up cabbage kimchi and water and sausage/SPAM, really whatever you want. I put a few extra in to make it my own.

Diane's Kimchi Chigae (김치찌개)
(serves about two or one giant Diane serving)

About 1/4 cup cabbage kimchi, cut up (seems to me the older the better!)
About 3 cups water
1 tablespoon Korean style beef seasoning powder (it's not as salty as buillion but you can use that if you have to)
1 tablespoon gochuchang (Korean red pepper sauce)
A couple of thick slices of SPAM (my meat of choice, you can use hotdogs too but it really should be super processed to have that real Korean flavor!)
I threw in leftover mushrooms that I had the fridge, a few little boiled quail eggs, and a handful of the rice cake that I love so much.

Throw all of the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and then simmer. Serve piping hot with or without Korean style white rice. You could change up the recipe every time you make it. Yum yum! Nothing tastes better on a cool or cold day!

I <3 Jap Jae

2008-10-04T00:38:00.004-06:00

Jap Jae is one of my favorite Korean dishes. Well, okay one of many favorite dishes!

I have always wanted to know how to make it and well I just figured it out today. Due to my culinary skills and keen palette I was able to recreate this lovely noodle dish. My friend, Ms. Oh also helped me a while ago by telling me what the ingredients were.

It's fairly simple, but the key is to find the correct noodles which one can find in Korean grocery stores or most larger Asian supermarkets. If you go into a Korean store just ask for the noodles to make jap jae and they will know what you're talking about. Plus a lot of the packages have a picture of a sweet potato on the package or a picture of the finished dish. So it's fairly easy if you don't read Hangul (Korean language).

They are made from sweet potato flour and cook up clear. I love eating them because they are springy and a bit...well...rubbery, but a good rubbery!

Korean Jap Jae

1 Large package (400) Korean Starch Noodle (Korean vermicelli, sweet potato starch)
Large amount of fresh spinach (I bought one bag but would like two bags next time)
1 large carrot (julienned)
1 medium white onion (julienned)
1 Bundle green onions (use as many or as little as you'd like. I used 6)
2 Cloves garlic, crushed and minced
Fresh mushrooms (any kind you like)
Dry shitake mushrooms, rehydrated and wring out water
1 lb. beef, (julienned into about 1 inch strips, cut it while it's slightly frozen)
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Sugar
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Put a large pot of water on to boil for the noodles and another pot of water to wilt the spinache. Do all of your prep work first while you are boiling the water for the noodles. Cut up the carrots, white onion, green onion, and garlic. Marinade the beef with the garlic, 1 Tbl of soy sauce, sprinkle about 1/2 Tbl sugar and mix well then set aside.

Boil the noodles. This will take about 5 minutes or so. They will turn clear and feel like soft little rubber bands. Not very appetizing huh? Try one you will find that they are quite good! You'll know when it's done when you can chew it with ease. Drain the noodles and place in a very large bowl. Drizzle sesame oil and a little soy sauce on top and toss to coat. Set this aside to cool. Cut up the noodles with scissors. Korean use scissors all of the time while cooking. They are handy little buggers. Cut into manageable lengths. It's not rocket science, just so you don't have extremely long noodles but not super small.

Wilt the spinach in the boiling water for a minute and drain and rinse in cold water. Squeeze out as much water as you can and put this in the bowl with the noodles.

Heat a bit of olive oil and saute the carrots just a bit and then add the onion. You don't want to overcook this. Throw this onto the top of the spinache and noodles in the bowl. In the same pan heat a bit more oil and cook the beef and garlic, add the mushrooms and cook until they are just cooked. Throw this on the top of the noodles too.

Drizzle more sesame oil and soy sauce on top the the veggie, meat, mushroom, spinace and noodle pile and sprinkle a little more sugar on top. Not too much. About 2 tsp or less. With clean hands, and BE CAREFUL, toss until all coated.

I like my jap jae a bit on the dry side but you could add a bit of beef broth if you wanted to make it a bit more moist. Season to taste with black pepper and a teeny bit of salt. Remember, the soy sauce is practically all salt! You can eat it right a way or store it over night and like most noodle dishes get better as they sit. This makes a large quantity so it's good for sharing or eat it all yourself!

Enjoy!!

Iron Chef

2008-07-14T09:20:00.008-06:00

The secret ingredient is....

...what ever is left in my refrigerator!

I am getting ready to leave for a year and I've discovered that I've got a bunch of food in my fridge. I tried not to buy to much since I've been home from Virginia, but lo and behold there is still stuff.

This morning after a vigorous workout at the gym I decided to whip up this pseudo frittata using the ingredients in my fridge (leftover grilled shrimp, fresh herbs, and cheese). It was delicious!

Iron Chef Diane's Pseudo Frittata

Four Eggs (two yolks, four whites - this is what I like if I'm going to eat that many eggs at one sitting)
Chopped up grilled shrimp (about 10 or so)
Two slices Muenster cheese, torn up
Chopped chives
(I put a tad chopped tarragon and realized that it's not the best with eggs, so omit it)
A few heavy dashes of dried onion flake (I like these for some reason)

In a large nonstick skillet spray with cooking spray and put over medium heat. Beat up eggs with the chopped herbs and onion flakes. Put chopped grilled shrimp into pan and heat up a bit, making sure to spread them over the pan evenly. Pour over egg mixture. Sprinkle torn up cheese on top and heat until eggs are cooked on the edges and the top is slightly jiggly. Flip. I used a big nonstick spatula and flipped but you can do the Iron Chef wrist flip in the pan thing if you can. Cook for one more minute.

Invert a plate on top, and flip the whole pan so your pseudo frittata is right side up. You could also put this under the broiler for a minute.

Really, you could add any ingredients that your little heart should desire. Enjoy!

This is a huge portion and you could share it with someone or eat it up all by yourself. That's what I did, but had to leave a little behind.

America's Oldest Brewery

2008-06-28T23:03:00.002-06:00

I discovered a new beer while I was out in Virginia. Well, new to me any way. It claims to be America's Oldest Brewery. I'd never heard of it. When I had first heard the name of it I asked if it were Chinese, but it's actually brewed in Pennsylvania. It's good, and this Black and Tan is really good. I don't know if you can get this out here in Colorado but I am going to keep my eyes peeled for it.

Balsamic Marinated Cipollinis

2008-06-24T08:28:00.005-06:00

Balsamic vinegar marinated cipollinis (small onions) are one of my favorite things. I love these and need to learn how to make them. They aren't too expensive ($8.99 lb) but for how often and how much I eat these it would be more economical for me to make them myself.

I have always had a love for onions. Anyone who really knows me knows this fact, and I remember eating raw scallions from our garden when I was a little kid. Most kids don't like strong stuff, but I did. I still can't get enough of these aromatic and flavorful allium cepa (that's Latin, baby for onion). When I tried these little gems, I was hooked.

They are sweet yet tangy and they have a wonderful crunch to them. Very refreshing and very savory. You can't just eat one. I've warned many friends who reach out with their fork for one of these. "Watch out, those are addictive." and they look at me with a doubtful eye. The next thing I realize is that they've gone and eaten the rest of the contents of the bowl. I told them!

My love for these delectable beauties has not been a long lived love. I first discovered these while shopping for groceries on a trip to Kaui, Hawaii. I was vacationing with my sister, Dori and her friend, Kathy. We had a luxurious condo with a large kitchen, and all of the comforts of home so we decided to cook when we didn't eat out. Of course you need munchies and snacks while we did the cooking. We bought a ton of olives and crackers and cheese, and Kathy is the one that said she wanted the marinated cipollinis. Oooooh, they were heaven.

So, one of my many quests in life will be to formulate a recipe for the perfect Balsamic vinegar marinated cipollinis so I may stuff myself to contentment. Now, I just have to figure out who's going to clean and peel all of those little tiny onions!

Go out and get some of these now!

Instant-Not-So-Gratifying-Soup

2008-04-16T12:07:00.004-06:00

I consider myself an instant noodle soup connoisseur, and when I was at Par Avion today I picked up this udon soup made by Annie Chun's. It looked pretty good, and I was pleased that it had the fresh style noodles and all you added was boiling water to the flavor base and dry veggie "brick". I was even happy that it came with a good sturdy bowl that was made from biodegradable materials. Once the cooking commenced, my hopes had diminished.

I'm not sure if Annie Chung is a real person, but obviously she does not know what flavor is. Let alone Asian flavor so the package boasts. The soup was easy to make, but after the 2 minutes were up with the steeping I found that the soup had gone cold. A biodegradable bowl does not offer much insulation as it seems. I nuked it a few minutes to put the heat back into it and started eating with a side of roasted kim (Korean seaweed). The broth was bland, the veggies were tasteless and chewy. The noodles stayed a nice consistency, but woman can not survive on noodles alone with no flavor. I nearly threw in more soy just to kick it up a bit, but did not. I thought maybe the subtle flavors would soon reveal themselves. Nope. In fact I still have a strange aftertaste lingering.

So, I downed the soup, slurped the noodles, and even threw in all of my kim, but I am still wanting something. A quick lunch is one thing, but feeling like you need more satiation is another. I would give this instant soup a 2 on a scale of 1-10. It was $3.99 and well, didn't really taste anymore than the package it came in.

Gourmet On The Go

2008-04-16T11:49:00.003-06:00

I'm heading off to Virginia for two months tomorrow. The drive will be long, but not too bad. Last time I drove to Alabama I ate a lot of crap. Junk from gas stations and whatnot. So, when I would fill up on petro I would also fill up on "bad-for-you" stuff like pizza, fast food burgers, Lunchables, and the like. Not very nutritious and it really left me feeling a bit logy. Not a good feeling while you're driving!

So, this time I'm packing my own sandwiches and homemade "Lunchables". I made two scrumptious looking sandwiches that I can't wait to tear into. One is with rosemary ham and the other pastrami, both with super creamy Havarti cheese, yellow mustard, and white onion. Lots of onions. I made them ahead of time because I am a quirky sort of person and kind of like the sandwiches a day old. I grilled the buns so they shouldn't be too soggy, and there is no green stuff to wilt and get...well, something that I would be sure to pick off later!

I also put together a spicy salami and cheese "Lunchable" with some crusty bread. I can munch on that when I get a bit sleepy. Eating always seems to perk me up a bit. Must be the chewing motion, and since I don't smoke anymore I need to be kept alert for as long as I can! I've also got a ton of gummis. Love those, and they are great road trip candy.

Now, all I need is some fresh Fuji apples, a juice, and I'm good! Oh, and I need to download a new book onto my iPod.

Soup (Yet Again) On This Cold Evening

2008-04-09T19:32:00.002-06:00

I went to dinner over at Albert and Joe's house last week and Joe made a succulent chicken called Chicken In Milk by Jamie Oliver. We were all curious how this would turn out as the name of the recipe sounded a bit unconventional when it comes to chicken roasting. It was divine! We cleaned the chicken up with no problems!

I asked them if I could have the carcass as I always ask for a carcass or bone for soup or whatever. They gave it to me of course! I threw it into my freezer for a later day. Well, today I was out and about shopping for clothes in an outside mall and it started raining. Down pour! Then in switched to freezing rain. So needless to say I was a bit chilled when I got home, and when I was figuring out what to have for dinner...soup came to mind.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
(serves 1-2)

1 chicken carcass (any leftover will do, those store-bought rotisserie chickens are perfect, just be sure not to pick it clean)
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 T minced garlic
1 t fresh thyme, remove stems
1 cup pasta (preferably small, soup friendly size)

Throw the carcass in a large and heavy pot, cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling lower heat to medium and simmer for...oh...half an hour. Pull out carcass and put on a shallow bowl or plate. Let cool till you can handle it comfortably with your hands. Keep the chicken stock simmering. Once carcass is cool pick off as much meat as you can. I pull off everything, neck included. Be careful to not get any little bones in with the meat. Remove stock from heat and strain and return to pan. Bring to a boil and add onions, garlic, chicken meat, and pasta. Cook until pasta is tender and enjoy.

The stock will become richer as you simmer it longer. As Alton Brown likes to coin good stock as having an unctuous mouth feel to it.

This soup was wonderful as it had the subtle flavorings from the original dish. I tasted slight cinnamon, cloves, garlic, and sage. It was very nice, but it will be just as good with any leftover chicken. So, next time you cook a chicken or tear into a store-bought rotisserie chicken, don't throw the bones away. Make soup! It's really very easy and tastes so much better than getting your can opener out. I know, too much work. Not really and the reward is well worth the minor effort.

For The Birds

2008-04-05T22:47:00.005-06:00

Tonight I had a grilled ostrich burger. I prepared it medium rare and it was delicious! Better than beef and it was so juicy. It's a bit expensive but I thought well worth it. I have had ostrich before but never as a burger. I must say that I'm not passionate about burgers in general, but I could be so for these!

I dressed my burger with some baby field greens, onion, mustard and ketchup (mixed of course). I made a bowl of crab (imitation of course, which I like) and pasta salad and had a very cold Bass ale to wash down my feast.

Along with all that and watching a very moving and inspirational "We Are Marshall" I would say that it was an evening well spent.

Now what's for dessert...

Good Food, Good Fire

2008-04-04T22:21:00.004-06:00

I had a small dinner party tonight and it was really fun and very casual. I had my dear friends, Joe and Albert over, and my neighbor, Clint joined us. The food turned out really well, and there was plenty to go around with some leftovers.

After the meal I had to roast my Hello Kitty marshmallow sucker that Carmen, Chris and the boys gave me for Christmas. It was hard as a rock, but surprisingly it roasted and grew puffy. It was pretty good. The royal icing front was fireproof and didn't even melt. I peel it off. It was like eating plaster. Clint made the fire and he did a good job. That baby put out a lot of heat, and we sat around it and chatted.

This was all that was left of the feast. We dug in so furiously that I didn't even get a decent picture of fantastic it really was. This stew was so good and hearty, and very flavorful. It's very easy to make, but you have to have some time to kill. I took an hour long walk while the stew was stewing away. It was well worth all of the cooking time.

Corsican Beef Stew

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
6 garlic cloves
2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
4 ounces lardons, or thick bacon cut into strips
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, sliced
1-1/4 cups dry white wine
2 Tbsp passata (or use tomato paste, I boosted this amount to about 3 Tbsp)
pinch of ground cinnamon
sprig of rosemary
1 bay leaf ( I threw in 2 small ones)
2 cups large macaroni
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt
ground black pepper

Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes. Drain, set the mushrooms aside and reserve the liquid. Cut three of the garlic cloves into thin strips and insert into the pieces of beef by making little slits with a sharp knife. Push the lardons or pieces of bacon into the beef with the garlic. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan, add half the beef and brown well on all sides. Repeat with the remaining beef. Transfer to a plate. Add the sliced onions to the pan and cook until lightly browned. Crush the remaining garlic and add to the onions with the meat.

Stir in the white wine, mushrooms, cinnamon rosemary and bay leaf and with salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 30 minutes, stirring often. Strain the mushroom liquid and add to the stew with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer very gently for 3 hours, until the meat is very tender. I cooked my for 4 hours. It doesn't do anything to the integrity of the dish. I think it made all the more better.

Cook the macaroni in a large pan of boiling, salted water for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Lift the pieces of meat out of the gravy and transfer to a warmed serving platter. Reduce the gravy to a nice consistency. Drain the pasta and layer in a bowl with the gravy and cheese. Serve with the meat.

I served this with roasted asparagus and we had the tiramisu afterwards. Oh, a little antipasti was the appetizer. We only drank one bottle of wine. Hmmm...probably for the better!

A Warm & Satisfying Soup

2008-04-03T12:38:00.007-06:00

I love making soup, and I make soup out of virtually anything. Today was a bit chilly and I was doing some house cleaning so I wanted something warm and easy. I took some leftovers from my fridge and some staples from my pantry. It was awesome!

Easy Turkey Sausage Soup

1 cup jarred spaghetti sauce (whatever you have on hand, I had basil and garlic)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon dried porcini mushrooms
1 spicy turkey sausage link, pulled out of casing
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic (or more if you like)
1 cup elbow macaroni
dried herbs (use what you like, I used rosemary, basil, oregano, and my favorite fennel)
fresh ground pepper
large pinch kosher salt
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Put about a quart of water in a pan and add dried mushrooms. Bring to boil and add sausage and let simmer. Break into smaller chunks if needed. Add garlic, onion, spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, and herbs. Bring back to a boil and add macaroni. Cook until pasta is tender and the soup has reduced a bit. Drizzle on some olive oil and serve hot.

Serves 2 or 1 large, large portion.

It's so simple to make, and it's basically having pasta, sauce and meat, but you've added water and enriched with a little more tomato paste. You could add a bit of leftover red wine as I think the slight fruitiness would be tasty.

It's filling and very satisfying on a cool day.

Just For Old Times Sake

2008-03-22T12:18:00.004-06:00

While I was away at school my physical activity went way, way, way up. I had to keep my food intake up just to keep from feeling weary. So, every morning I would have this lovely meal. Breakfast was the best meal of the day. Army dining facilities aren't the best thing around, and even though lunch and dinner can be lacking breakfast is still something that they can't really mess up.

Today after I went running at the gym I decided to make this but only in a healthier version. I used Egg Beaters instead of whole eggs, chicken sausage instead of ham, low-fat cheese, and turkey bacon. Then I threw raw onions all over the grits and went to town.

I LOVE grits. They really grew on me. It was about 15 years ago when I first tried them. Me being a Northern girl had no idea what grits even were other than Flo on the TV show "Alice" used to say "Mel, kiss my grits!"

When I first had them I wasn't impressed, but it was like sushi and it grew on me. I crave them sometimes. Love them with salt, pepper, bacon and butter! Yummmm, butter makes everything taste good. Bless Paula Deen.

Soft Boiled To Perfection

2007-12-22T09:38:00.001-07:00

This morning is so beautiful! There's a fresh blanket of snow outside and the sun is shining. This prompted me to have one of my favorite things for breakfast...soft boiled eggs. Yummy! It's like heaven in a cup! The first time I ever tried a soft boiled egg was at a little inn that I stayed at in Antwerp, Belgium. The proprietor of the inn made me one with my meat and bread for breakfast.

I used my little egg-timing gadget that I bought from Sparrowhawk, a local gourmet shop. Although I think you can find this little gem anywhere. It really takes the guesswork out of knowing when enough is enough.

Just slip the little guy in with the eggs (always use cold water if your eggs came straight from the fridge) and turn on the heat. I watched it here and there, and when the water started boiling I had to lift the little timer out to see the progress. It turns black as it's heating up, and when the black reached the "soft" mark I knew it was time to chow down.

A Bit Of Dark History & Weenie Royale

2007-12-20T07:53:00.001-07:00

On the way home from work this morning I had one of those NPR moments where I had to sit in my car to finish listening to a story. Granted I could have ran into the house and turn on the stereo, but I didn't want to miss a moment.

It was a very interesting clip of "Hidden Kitchen" where Americans tell their stories of food and how they were influenced throughout life. This one was on Japanese internment camps during World War II. It was a dark and shameful time for the United States to imprison their own citizens only for the sole fact that they were Japanese American. One woman said if you had at least a 1/16th of Japanese blood you were interned.

Several generations were affected by this horrible act. It was hard times and they were given very little for provisions but they made due. Their food and how it was prepared was passed down throughout the family tree. This young woman was talking about her great-grandparents and how they passed down recipes, and to this day she still enjoys them. Weenie Royale was one of her favorites for breakfast.

Although processed meat gets a bum wrap, I must admit my fondness for it. I am guilty of enjoying hot dogs, bologna, and the dreaded four-letter word of canned meat...SPAM. My family also had a lot of Great Depression recipes passed down and SPAM was one of them. We ate simple things like boiled dinner (ham bone, cabbage, potatoes, and onions), fried noodles (just egg noodles fried in butter and bread crumbs), and tons of "hot dish" (any kind of casserole made with whatever meat, whatever vegetable, and a can of "cream-of-something") so I truly understand the concept of finding comfort in the foods we ate during not-so-comforting times.

Listen and read about the story featured on "Hidden Kitchen" on npr.org.

Weenie Royale
1/2 white or yellow onions, chopped 1 tablespoon
soy sauce
2 hot dogs
3 eggs
Cooked white rice

Saute the chopped onions with a tablespoon of soy sauce and cook at medium to high heat until they are caramelized. While you wait for the onions to caramelize, cut the hot dogs in julienne slices and beat the eggs. After the onions are caramelized, add the hot dogs and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the beaten eggs to the onions and hot dogs until the eggs are done. Serve on top of cooked white rice.

I made this for breakfast this morning. I actually dusted off the old rice cooker and went to 7-Eleven and bought a package of hot dogs. I don't think I've bought hot dogs since college!

I know that this really isn't the healthiest meal, but damn...it was pretty tasty.

Diversity is a good thing...and I think this country is slowly learning this.

Merry Muffins!

2007-12-19T13:42:00.000-07:00

I made these Chocolate Chip Muffin Mixes to give out for Christmas this year. They are really very simple and pretty good too!

Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/8 t salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I found that mini chips are best for this)

Layer the flour, chocolate chips, and brown sugar in a wide mouth quart jar. Be sure to level and lightly pack each ingredient before adding the next. In a plastic sandwich bag put in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; close with a twist tie or I sealed mine with my FoodSaver by just putting on the edge of the sealing element.) and put this on the top. This will keep your leavening ingredients fresher for longer storage. Put on lid and ring and screw on cap finger tight.

I took a plate and traced out circles onto colorful Christmas wrapping paper and covered the jars. You can decorate anyway you would like. You can use fabric and ribbon and chose any print you'd like. You can give this gift all year long.

I made up my own recipe cards. You can write your out on a 3"x5" card and attach or make yours on the computer like I did. The card is as follows:

Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 Jar Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix
3/4 cup buttermilk (low fat is fine)
3/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened is fine)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 T vegetable oil
1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, pour all of the Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix (be sure to add the ingredients from the sealed bag) and mix well with fork. Set aside. In a small bowl mix egg, buttermilk, applesauce, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Add this into the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Do not overmix. Batter will have a fluffy texture. Spoon into greased (or lined) muffin tins, filling 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing. Serve warm or cool completely on a wire rack.

These muffins turned out yummy! Nice and moist and they aren't too sweet. They are pretty springy and I think would go great with coffee or tea in the morning or anytime you want a snack.

I packaged these up and gave them to my neighbors. I think they will like them. I'll pass out my finished jarred mixes this week to my co-workers and friends. A gift of food is always welcomed at Christmas or anytime of the year!

Holiday Leg 'o Lamb, Solo Style

2007-12-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I was going to throw my annual Christmas dinner party for 2007 last Saturday. I invited 9 others and I had the menu planned, the meat was nearly thawed, and some of the groceries bought. On the Friday before the do they made me work late on Friday, and then slapped 24 hour duty on me for Saturday.

Talk about embarrassing to call all of my (rightly dissapointed) guests and tell them that I had to cancel. That Saturday was pretty much the only time that I could have everyone over at one time. Okay, so no dinner party. What is a single girl suppose to do with the groceries she had on hand? Hmmm, the 2 lb. brie could be eaten slowly I guess. Although the thought of finishing off a 2 lb. brie over the course of a few weeks kind of sickened me....but it's not really stopping me!

I had planned on having roast pork loin, and roast leg of lamb. That's over 15 lbs. of meat total that needed to be cooked! I roasted the loin a few days ago, sliced it up, and sealed the slices up with my trusty FoodSaver. I plan on giving half of the loin to my friends, Albert and Joe. They always appreciate a gift of pork!

So, today I am making the leg of lamb. The recipe I found sounds wonderful, and here it is!

Roast Leg of Lamb with Dark Beer, Honey and Thyme
(by Tyler Florence)

7 to 8 lb. leg of lamb, boned and butterflied
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 T fresh thyme leaves
3 T extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups Guinness (consume any leftovers as you have probably worked up a wee bit of a thirst anyhoo)
1/2 cup honey
1 t juniper berries (I just used crushed rosemary leaves...same pine fresh flavor)
2 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Open leg of lamb and season the inside with half the garlic, half the thyme leaves, 1 T olive oil, salt, and pepper. Tie the lamb up with kitchen string. Place in roasting pan, season with salt and pepper, and rub down with olive oil.

In a bowl (or small pitcher) mix the beer, honey, the remaining garlic and the rosemary, bay, and remaining thyme leaves. Stir and pour over lamb. Put pan in oven and immediately turn the heat down to 325 degrees F. Insert probe thermometer and set for 130 degrees F (medium rare). Baste every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, place roast on cutting board and cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.

On high heat over two burners, de-glaze the pan with chicken broth. Once all the brown bits and caramelized pieces are up from the bottom of the pan, thicken into a gravy. Season with salt and pepper. It will be a bit sweet from the honey.

I boiled up some potatoes and enjoyed this as a late lunch with some green peas. I know it's a bit heavy, but I've got a lot of meat to be eating here!

This lamb was so tender and flavorful, and the beer and honey glaze complimented each bite.

Hmmm...where's that damned brie....

Doughnut French Toast

2007-11-17T09:00:00.001-07:00

I just love watching Nigella Lawson cook on the Food Network. Her recipes are so comfy and cozy, and she makes preparing fun. Nigella is beautiful in so many ways. Her smooth British voice, her beautiful face, and her curves! She proves that you can be gorgeous and still love to eat good things!

Doughnut French Toast

2 eggs
1/2 cup full fat milk
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 slices from a small white loaf or 2 slices from a large white loaf, each large slice cut in half (stale bread works best)
1-ounce butter, plus a drop flavourless oil, for frying
1/4 cup sugar (I put cinnamon in my sugar, yum!)

Beat the egg, milk, and vanilla in a shallow dish. Soak the bread slices in the egg mixture for at least 5 minutes on each side. This will let the bread soak up all that good stuff!

Heat the butter in a skillet over medium high heat and fry the custard soaked bread till brown on each side. I usually like to lower the heat after I get good color and cook throughly on both sides. Remember your bread has soaked up a lot of the egg and you don't want it to be soggy! Not good.

Dredge the toast in the sugar mixture and serve immediately. You can put syrup or jam or whatever you'd like. I used just simple syrup on mine. Lovely!

My Famous French Onion Soup

2007-11-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Albert and Joe gave me a cookbook when I had my "Farewell To the Ute" party. I love it because I'm a Foodnetwork junkie and this was the best from Foodnetwork. I adore Alton Brown and he had a French Onion Soup recipe that is just divine. Well, I've made it so many times that amongst my friends it's become my recipe!

So, here's the how to (thanks to Alton) and you too can wow your friends!

French Onion Soup

5 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions (about 4 pounds)
3 T butter
1 t salt
2 cups white wine (use good wine that you would drink)
10 oz. canned beef consume
10 oz. chicken broth
10 oz. apple cider (unfiltered is best, but I used the clear kind as it's easier for me to find)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
1 loaf country style bread
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Splash of Cognac (optional but really does add a lot of dimension. I use Hennessey.)
1 c Fontina or Gruyere cheese, grated

Slice all of the onions and expect to cry! I have a cheap slicer that's pretty slick. Just be careful not to cut yourself. NO one wants fingernails in their soup either so use the little safety handle. Cut onions in half and then slice into thin moons.

Preheat your electric skillet to 300 degrees F. Yes, this is something you should get for this recipe. They don't cost a lot and they have so many uses! It's awesome and keeps a constant even heat. Plus the nonstick makes clean up a breeze. Add the butter and when it's melted and begins to sizzle add some onions. You're going to put into the pan in layers all the while sprinkling a little Kosher salt in between each layer. Do this in roughly three layers.

Slap the lid on, set your timer to 20 minutes and LEAVE IT ALONE. You will be caramelizing (literally burning) the onions, but this is good!

After the 20 minutes are up you will see the onions taking on a lovely color. Stir and then keep caramelizing for the next 45 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. They will take on a beautiful mahogany color and smell divine! You should have approximately 2 cups of onions when you're done.

Add wine and turn the heat to high reduce the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

While the soup is simmering place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler. Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler till brown. KEEP YOUR eye on it! I have burned these and it's not cool!

Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac (this really does make it taste really good). Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden brown and delicious, 1 to 2 minutes. ENJOY!

This stuff freezes well so don't be afraid to make several batches if you want! Your house smells wonderful!!

Discover Your Inner Barista! It's Not Rocket Science!

2007-11-08T08:28:00.001-07:00

Yum, yum! Warm grilled bread with peanut butter, some yogurt, and a cup of fresh hot coffee!! This is a great breakfast before I head off to Denver to drop off some friends to the airport. Making your own coffee is always good, grinding your own coffee and making it is better, but grinding and pressing your own coffee is fabulous!

All you need is a coffee grinder (most people have this once gourmet item), a good French press pot (got mine at Liquid Planet), boiling water, and four minutes. It's as easy as that!

French Press Coffee

French press pot (20 oz. travel pot)
3 T (rounded) medium coarse ground coffee, your flavor of choice (used Starbucks Guatemala Antigua today)
hot water

Put the water on to boil and place coffee into pot. Add hot water and stir the ground and water. Take plunger and just place on the top. DO NOT PLUNGE. Wait 4 minutes. This may seem forever but you will be rewarded! Enjoy!

Coffee is so comforting to me. I don't drink it everyday so it's more of a treat than a necessity. The rich aroma and the deep flavor is just heaven.

Whenever I go out to dinner and have dessert I always order coffee. It could be 11 at night and I'll have a steaming cup of java with my always-chocolate dessert. Go out and grab yourself a cup or better yet...brew your own!!

Maid-Rite! I found a Maid-Rite!

2007-11-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

Some contacts in FlickrLand rant and rave about In-n-Out, but I long for a Maid-Rite. Growing up in the Midwest we had these in the college town that I spent a long time in. They are sooooo good. Kinda like a sloppy joe but no sauce. Very tasty! Better have a spoon handy! Read about the history of these tasty sammies.

I see that they have one in Loveland. Hmmm...not sure if I want to drive that far for one...but then again....

Loveland Maid-Rite
1490 S.W. 10th Street
Loveland, CO 80537

More Mandu Lovlies

2007-11-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

More mandu for lunch! Hello Kitty helped me out here today!

Tea & Quesadilla

2007-11-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

Love savory things for breakfast! Quick and easy! Yum yum!

Super Savory Lamb & Rosmary Onion Pizza

2007-11-05T21:59:00.001-07:00

I was in the mood for my famous grilled pizza. Since it's transitioning to winter right now, I do these inside on my grill pan. Tonight I used leftovers from the freezer and fridge.

My buddy, Bill took me to The Palm last week for Halloween, and it was divine! He insisted that I take home the leftovers. OMG! Even better! Let me take a moment to share what we had. You know I'm a foodie and savor really good dining experiences and want to share them with others!

We had:
Lobster Bisque (shared)
Roasted Lamb Chops (me)
Ribeye (Bill)
Sauteed Wild Mushrooms (shared)
Potatoes Au Gratin (shared)
Creamed Spinach (shared)
Red Wine (shared of course)
Big Ass Chocolate Cake (shared, and it was heavenly...had genache instead of frosting)

We were so full when we left! Very nice B, thanks again!! Okay, back to the task at hand!

Super Savory Lamb & Rosemary Onion Pizza

Pizza dough (I get mine from Sam's Club...frozen...you just cut off a hunk and stretch it out)
1/2 small onion, cut in half, then sliced thin
1 small clove garlic, crushed and chopped
1 t fresh rosemary, stripped from stem (or you can use dry, just use a bit less)
olive oil
1/4 cup red wine (leftover from the other night...thanks Nick for bringing the wine to movie night!)
water (you gotta eyeball this)
1 T tomato paste
6 oz. lamb chop (leftover) sliced into thin strips, off the bone
1/2 cup cheese, I use an Italian blend of mozzarella, asiago and Parmesan
fresh ground black pepper

Alrighty, utilize the mise en place technique and prepare. Slice the lamb and set aside. Yes, I gnawed on the bones.

In a small fry pan over medium high heat pour in olive oil and sweat the onions. Turn down the heat to medium to caramelize the onions. This will take some time (about 15 mintues) but well worth it! Pour in the wine to de-glaze, and add the rosemary and garlic at this time. Simmer and reduce and add the sliced lamb. Cook for a bit longer and then add some water (about 1/4 cup) then the tomato paste. This will thicken up and become your sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.
Okay, I chop off a nice sized ball from my dough (they are 16 oz. each) so it's about 1/4 of it and stretch it out. Turn on the fire under the grill pan to about medium high, more high. Slap the round dough onto the pan and let cook. You just have to keep an eye on it. You want some brown spots. Then flip. Put the lamb mixture on the crust, spread the cheese and cook some more. The cheese will start to melt. Grind some pepper on top.

Set your oven to broil. Place the pan underneath the the broiler until cheese is golden brown and delicious.

Transfer to a cutting board and slice . Note I did use my new CUTCO pizza cutter. Very slick! Enjoy!

Sunny Monday Morning

2007-11-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Yet another week begins and the weekend seems so far away! I had 24 hour duty twice last week so it really seemed to drag! I survived though, and am ready for a new fresh start!

Today I'm just having something simple. I love these guys! Frosted Mini-Wheats. Well, the generic equivalent I guess that are bought in jumbo bags located near the floor in most grocery cereal aisles.

Along with a splash of rice milk, and a good cold glass of Nake OJ, it's doesn't really get any better than this.

Dukboki

2007-10-29T16:11:00.000-06:00

This is one of my favorite Korean dishes. The primary ingredient is duk, which is a satisfyingly chewy Korean rice cake. This dish is popular out on the streets in Korea and great to eat on a cold day!!

My Dukboki

A good handfull of Korean Duk (rice cake)
large scallion, cut on the diagonal into large pieces and use the greens as well
On large piece of Eumuk (Korean fish cake) sliced into julienne strips
SPAM sliced into julienne strips (optional) however much you like
2 boiled eggs (chopped)
1/4 cup Korean gochuchang (hot red pepper paste)
1 heaping T Korean red pepper powder
water

Boils some water and start cooking the plain duk. When they start to get tender (15 minutes or so) drain some of the water off. Kind of eyeball it and see how much sauce you want. Set back on high heat. Add all ingredients and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the red pepper paste and powder. Turn down the heat and simmer. The sauce will be thin, but it will thicken the more you cook it and when it cools down.

Enjoy! It's super spicy, but in a great way!

Steamed Mandu

2007-10-29T16:02:00.001-06:00

These are so delicious and so simple. I don't make them, but rather buy them frozen. These are usually available at most Asian food stores and some really well stocked ethnic food sections in local grocery stores.

I specifically used Korean dumplings, but you can use Chinese, Japanese...whatever you like. I don't have a steamer, but I use a make shift one.

I take a small pot, put in about 2 inches of water and bring that to a boil. Then I take a metal collindar that I have and once the water is boiling, set the collindar inside of the pan. Make sure that the water isn't boiling into the collindar. Spray the collindar with non-stick spray.

Arrange the frozen dumplings and cover with a lid. I use the one that comes with the small pot. Lower the heat so the water is aggressively simmering. In about 7-9 minutes your dumplings should be ready. Serve with soy sauce and enjoy!

Bacon 'n Eggs Are Back By Popular Demand!

2007-10-27T11:04:00.000-06:00

I'm going to a Halloween party thrown by some friends, Tom and Shelly tonight. The last time I saw Shelly she requested that I make my famous "bacon 'n eggs" candies, and so I am. I usually have by the biggest and baddest bag of M&Ms just to get a mere handful of yellow ones for the "yolks". Are they worth it? Absolutely!

Bubble Tea

2007-10-24T07:27:00.001-06:00

This is easy to make. I took some of the precooked black tapioca (cold from the fridge) and put some in the bottom of a glass. Pop this into the microwave because if you like your balls hard (tee hee), that's what they will be if you don't soften them up. After the tapioca is heated (will look dark and glossy) add some sugar to taste. The warmth will dissolve the sugar, so this is a good thing.

Put some ice in the glass on top of the tapioca. Bring water to a boil and brew your tea in a separate glass or cup. I usually use less water to make a very strong tea. You're going to pour the hot tea over the ice in the glass and this will dilute it a bit while cooling it down.

Stir, put in a big-ass straw (can usually find these in Asian food stores along with the tapioca) and enjoy!

The Black Pearl

2007-10-24T04:27:00.001-06:00

Last night I was watching a movie, and wanted a snack. I don't know why I decided to cook some of this up, but I'm glad I did. It's extra large black pearl tapioca (served warm with cane sugar sprinkled on top). Where in the world does one find this you may ask? Well, that's exactly what I thought when I first tried these rubbery balls of goodness floating around in a "bubble tea" in Seattle several years ago. I had never known that there was such a thing.

My sister, Dori and I were hanging around in Seattle one spring, and stumbled across this Asian shop that sold these drinks. Bubble Tea is some sort of liquid (slushie or tea) with these little black pearls at the bottom of the cup. My sister wanted to try this new discovery of ours (saw bubble tea advertised everywhere) , but I passed at first.

"Eww, they look like fish eggs, or eyeballs." I just wrinkled up my nose. During our stay there she had enjoyed many of these cool drinks with the same tapioca. One day I gave in and just really fell in love with the drink. The tapioca was nice and gummy, they didn't taste like much, but were very satisfyingly chewy. If you like that sort of thing!

I was able to have bubble tea a couple times later in Manhattan and here in Colorado Springs.

When I visited her in Houston earlier this year we stumbled across another shop that sold bubble tea. The place was called Chewy Balls! What a funny name huh? They said that their last name was Chew and like the play on words, and that it was a bit naughty. You know how I like those naughty little sort of things! Anyway...I decided that I could make these myself.

Dori and I were out on a mission to find this tapioca. OMG! It was like searching for the Holy Grail I tell you! We did find it in a Vietnamese food market, and I bought several packages and stuffed them in my luggage for my use at home. I would have thought that I could find the black sort in most Asian food stores, but not so. Tapioca comes in many sizes and colors, but the black does seem to be my favorite.

Oh yea, I bought the big-ass drinking straws for when I make my own bubble tea at home.

Mise En Place

2007-10-23T18:01:00.000-06:00

I made a smothered turkey burrito tonight for dinner. This is actually an encore meal since I had a jar of super hot green chili left over in my fridge, and I thawed out the last of the turkey I cooked in July. Yes, I have Thanksgiving in July sometimes. Doesn't everyone?

Cooking is really very simple. The key is the timing, and having everything ready before you cook and assemble makes it so much easier. I love prep work. I could work at a restaurant as a prep person. Cleaning, chopping, dicing, slicing...you name it! My knife work isn't very fast, but I do take pride that I can hack something to bits while keeping all of my digits!

I grabbed more leftovers and whatnot from my fridge. Thawed turkey breast, white onion, fontina cheese, and the green chili were all put into little monkey dishes. Those of you who may have had an illustrious time in a commercial kitchen know this phrase well!

With all of the main ingredients ready, I heated up my non-stick griddle on high heat. I get these "raw" flour tortillas at COSTCO, and you just finish them on the griddle. They are so tasty, and they're nice and thin which is what I prefer.

Cook the tortilla just until the transparency is disappearing and flip. Work quickly by putting the turkey, onion, and cheese on the tortilla and let cook a bit longer. Check underneath being careful not to over brown or burn.

Fold the tortilla around the filling to form the burrito. Turn over and let sit a minute more. You can turn the flame off at this time as it will still cook over the residual heat of the pan. Heat up your green chili. I do it in the microwave. Hey, I'm cooking for one here!

The tortilla is nice and brown while it's still soft and a bit crispy. Carefully remove the finished burrito (sad to have all the stuff fall out), and plate. Smother with the green chili and enjoy!

This jarred green chili is very good. I haven't come across a good recipe for it, so for the time being I'll just keep buying it from the shelf!

Toad-In-A-Hole & OJ Morning

2007-10-23T09:26:00.000-06:00

I would have to say that this is one of my favorite breakfasts. I know that I could easily make a piece of toast and throw a fried egg on top, but it's not as fun! Only if I had some bacon....ummm...bacon.....

"The Mushroom That Ate My Brain"

2007-10-22T13:26:00.001-06:00

Matt and his Puffball

My friend Matt in Minnesota sent me pictures of this mushroom that he found. Later today he called me for a chat and I begged him to tell me the details. I was totally fascinated by this queer oddity in nature, and even more aghast that he and his roommate, Rick consumed it!

He found this mushroom in their backyard one day while searching for the cat, Umbra. At first glance he thought that the white blob was a discarded grocery bag, but when he got closer he realized that it was a huge fungus. It looked like a head and had a gaping mouth that immediately reminded him of Audrey II from "Little Shop Of Horrors".

It just so happens that Rick had friends that had published a book called Start Mushrooming by Stan Tekiela and Karen Shanberg, and they were able to identify this colossus as an edible puffball (Calvatia gigantea). This puffball was in it's younger state. When they mature they become swollen with spores. All the time just sitting there hoping that something will come across it and burst it. This sends the spores out for future procreation. At this point in the life of the puffball it is poisonous. Ewww, very alien like. Does it have acid for blood? God, isn't nature just great? Better than most science fiction!

Matt also informed me that these usually grow in pairs or sometimes three. He stated that there were three indeed, but one was not fit for eating, and the other one was so small that he accidentally stomped the living daylights out of it with his foot!

So, upon the harvesting of this alien looking thing, they had already decided what they were going to make. They found a mushroom soup recipe, and then were going to cut hanks of it and make "steaks."

He also noted that it was rather hefty and had substantial weight. I don't think they they ever got the official weight or measurement of it. It was definitely bigger than his head, and for all of us who know Matt, that's huge! (Just teasing buddy! You know I love ya!)

He described the flavor as earthy but a little bland, and the texture is what really surprised him. "I'm not going to say that it was like tofu, because that just grosses me out...it was like fresh mozzarella cheese. Very creamy." I suspect much to his chagrin that he didn't experience any hallucinogenic properties!

How interesting. I am just amazed that they just happened to have access to this book, took the chance to pluck it from it's home, chop it up and eat it! I don't think that I would be that adventurous. I mean, I have eaten a lot of weird things in my life, but this would be for me like playing Russian Roulette.

Maybe now that I know they haven't died or suffered serious side effects, I would try something they would make from this one. Which could very well happen, because they weren't able to eat it all in one sitting. Or even a couple sittings. The rest of the 'shroom rests comfortably in cryonic suspension for a later day. All I need to do is get a plane ticket now!

I think I need to do more research on this gastronomical phenomenon. Being the scientist at heart, I bombarded him with all sorts of questions. Like he's a mycologist or something! I just love stuff like this!

When I look at these pictures it makes me chuckle. It's a bit comical to see a what-seems common thing so large like this. Kind of like putting us in the perspective of being a mouse and stumbling upon a huge piece of cheese or something.

"Yo dude...look what I found! We can feast for months!"

Lovely Lentils

2007-10-22T12:07:00.000-06:00

I was craving something very hearty and quick today, but I was limited on what I could make. My pantry's contents are limited, and I really need to stock up. But, due to my incredibly creative and innovative mind (ha!) I was able to whip this up. Pretty much everything I make is like shooting from the hip. Sometimes I am right on target, other times I miss. This one was a near bulls eye.

Lentils With Turkey
serves 1-2

2 T olive oil
2 crushed garlic cloves, finely minced
1 small onion, chopped coarsely
4 cups vegetable broth - one carton (would be richer with chicken, but this is what I had in the pantry)
1 t dry thyme
1 T ground cumin, heaping if you like more flavor
2 bay leaves
1 cup chopped cooked turkey, or any other cooked meat you may have
1 cup green lentils, washed and picked over for stones
couple pinches of kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper

You can make this the conventional way, but I used my pressure cooker so the method is for that. You'll have to wing it if you want to use a normal pot.

On medium high heat add olive oil to the pan (used the small pressure cooker size, came as a big and little set). Sweat the onions and garlic, then add the broth. Add all of the spices, turkey, and lentils. Stir and then bring to a boil. Slap on the lid of your pressure cooker, seal, and lower the heat to low. There will be a small amount of steam emitting. This is what you want. Set your timer for 25 minutes.

When the time is up, release the steam, open and enjoy!

After woofing this down, I realized that I could could have jazzed it up a bit. Maybe add some finely diced carrot for color and sweetness, and perhaps a little heat by adding some cayenne or something to that sort. Some curry powder would be divine too.

I'm debating on if I want more, but I think I'll save it for later. Love leftovers!

Monday Morning Meal

2007-10-22T09:58:00.000-06:00

It's been ages since I've posted anything of real subsistence here! Now that I know what's up with my life for the next 6 months (at least) I will make an effort to maintain my little quaint foodie blog.

The light was so lovely coming into my kitchen window that I had to snap this picture. It's not a photographic victory, but I think is conveys something warm and comforting. It snowed most of the day yesterday, and I have the heat cranked up today. The bright sun streaming in was very warm and comforting. Which I thought was very fitting for my breakfast of hot tea and peanut butter and toast.

I'm mad about green tea, and I have about a dozen different types in my pantry to choose from. The selection of the morning is 100% organic Genmai Cha with roasted brown rice. It's so light and nutty, and partnered well with my whole wheat toast and peanut butter. I've never been a fan of peanut butter growing up, but I'm finding as I'm getting older I've finally acquired a taste for it. Plus I was all out of butter and needed something to spread to avoid dry toast!

I have to admit that I've been in a bit of a slump lately. I think it was the stress of my job and wondering where I'll be and when I'll be there. Now I've got a better sense of what's happening, so I can get back to the things that I enjoy such as cooking for friends, cooking for myself, and taking pictures.

Everyone that knows me knows that I love writing and expression, so I'm back in the saddle again. Or back in the kitchen again would be more fitting.

My First Wedding Cake, and It's Not Even Mine!

2007-10-07T20:47:00.000-06:00

This was my first attempt at decorating an official wedding cake, and I must say that it turned out fabulous! I had the bride order the 1/2 sheet cakes from the bakery and a huge tub 'o icing. I went and picked them up the morning before the wedding and went to town.

I did a basket weave motif, then she placed the topper on where she wanted it, and then arranged the flowers. I liked it a lot!

The flowers turned out beautiful too! I arranged most of them and gave a class, so the bride did some too!

These were so much fun to make as I love arranging flowers in vases, and have come to the realization that I love making bouquets, wrist corsages, and boutonnières.

The flowers were beautiful and came from Sam's Club. I must remember that if I ever have to get a large amount of flowers for what ever reason in the future.

Pizza Part 3

2007-07-30T21:58:00.000-06:00

I know, it's pizza again! I just love it! In the summer time I don't like to fire up my oven indoors so I resort to grilling the pizza outside on my gas grill. I just bought a new house so I've been taking advantage of my beautiful garden and my beautiful shiny new grill!

It's so easy to make and it's so delicious. I haven't bought a pizza in ages, and grilling the pizza makes it so crispy and wonderful that I'll probably be making these out on the grill even when there's a foot of snow on the ground!

Sorry I've been neglecting my food forum!

2007-07-29T00:16:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have been eating. Yes, I have been whipping up wonderful dishes and fantastic foods. Yes, I've been sorely neglecting my blog, and promise to post very soon!

Pizza Part 2

2007-03-11T08:55:00.000-06:00

I always say that there are two types of food that I will eat regardless be it fresh or frozen, good quality or so-so quality...crab and pizza!

I like pizza, a lot and I'll pretty much eat most types as long as it's not foul or tastes bad. Frozen is usually what I opt for when I'm at home since I've found nice organic pizzas in the freezer section at my local natural food store, but homemade is even better!

I cheated this time and used a frozen white bread dough. The last pizza I made (my first comestible creation in fact) was good, but took a lot of work. Plus the dough was whole wheat and very dense (but tasty nonetheless). So this time I thawed and rose as loaf of pre-made dough from the freezer section. I admit, I do live the refined white bread!

I also used my latest kitchen gadget, my new wooden pizza peel and backed the pizza on my old trusty stone.

Garlic Chicken & Balsamic Onion Pizza

1 lb frozen bread dough (thawed and doubled in size)
chicken thighs (cut into small pieces...you can use white meat, but I like dark)
1 T zesty salt free seasoning blend
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, small diced
2 T balsamic vinegar
olive oil
2 T tomato paste
variety of dry or fresh herbs
4 oz 5 blend Italian cheese (found prepackaged in the cheese case)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Saute the chopped chicken with the seasoning and garlic in small of amount of olive oil. Remove from pan and put in a dish. Sweat down the onions in same pan and deglaze with balsamic vinegar. Cook on low and slightly caramelize the onions (about 10 minutes). Remove and place in another bowl.

On a 14" pizza peel stretch out dough to form a 12" (approximate) crust. Dust the peel with corn meat to ensure that your pizza will slip off easily. You can make the pizza on a pan or on the stone, but it's best to cook the pizza on a hot stone.

Spread out the tomato paste, sprinkle liberally with varied herbs of choice (I used basil, oregano and fennel seed). Then take the onions and sprinkle on pizza, followed by the chicken. Cover with cheese and bake on hot pizza stone for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown and delicious! Time to dig in!

Muffin wo-Man

2007-03-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

Nothing is better to me than a nicely toasted English muffin spread with butter. Yum! Even though it's quite easy to run out to the store and pick up a package of one of the many varieties, I thought I'd try it at home. After all, I know what is going into my muffins and homemade seems to taste just a little better.

I tried Alton Brown's recipe and found that it was lacking. It tasted to me more like a very dense pancake, and in fact I really didn't like the flavor or the texture at all. So I found this recipe.

English Muffins

1 2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 T butter
1 package active dry yeast
1 heaping T sugar
1/3 cup warm water (110-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 large egg
2 t salt
1 T vinegar
5 cups unbleached flour (sifted)
cornmeal

Heat the milk and melt the butter in it. Set aside to cool

Combine the yeast, water, and sugar. Allow to proof for a few minutes

Combine the cooled milk mixture with the yeast mixture in large bowl. Add the egg, salt, and vinegar, along with half of the flour and mix at medium speed for about 5 minutes. Add in remaining flour and mix well. It's better to spray your beaters with cooking spray to keep the dough from climbing up them. The mixture will be very sticky. Cover and allow to rise in a draft-free area for 1 hour.

Heat a griddle or skillet (I used an electric one and preheated to 300 degrees Fahrenheit)

Pour cornmeal into a bowl. Take approximately 1/2 cup of the dough (less works a bit better) using two tablespoons to portion out and form into a ball. The mixture is quite elastic and this isn't too hard to do. Drop dough into corn meal and sprinkle then flatten. I then dropped these into my nonstick egg mold rings on the electric nonstick skillet and lightly pressed the dough into the mold. They are about 3 inched in diameter.

I put the lid on the skillet and cooked on each side for 7 minutes.

These are tasty toasted, but not exactly like traditional English muffins. In fact, they are something different all together I would say. Enjoy!

Fresh 'n Fizzy

2007-02-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not posting for quite some time. I had major surgery three weeks ago, but now I'm finally getting to the point of recovery that I feel like cooking and posting. A few days after getting home I was able to order grocery delivery, and I purchased a small crate of Clementine oranges. I love these little guys, but there are only so many a single person can eat.

So, this morning I decided to peel and juice them in my Magic Bullet. I also purchased a new gadget by Soda Club. I love sparkling water and having this machine in my home makes it easy to make my own. Anyway, I squeezed some oranges and mixed it with a fresh dose of carbonated water. Yum! So refreshing and good for you!

BPW ~ My Valentine!

2007-02-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! My Valentine came from Northbrook, Illinois from Smitha Nair, and what a lovely card it was! Thank you, Smitha!

Blogger Postcards Around the World ~ Happy Valentine's Day

2007-01-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled to parttake in this event! How cool is it? For those of you who don't know how it works, please go to Blogger Postcards Around The World #2 - Happy Valentine's for more details.

Well, here is my card. I thought long and hard on how I wanted to do this, and Meeta gave us a theme on Valentine's Day. So, here is my effort.

When I was a child my oldest sister always gave us boxes of these little Valentine's candies made by Necco. They were very chalky and very cheap, and still remain to be, but each little heart had a quirky imprint.

I've noticed that they have changed since the last time I received them! With messages as "EMAIL ME", "URA 10", "IM ME" and such. I wonder who's on that board for changing the messages with the changing times? I remember phrases such as "GROOVY", "CUTIE", and "UR NEAT". They could easily bring those timeless words back as it seems that what was in style then is deffinately in now.

Take care and until next time, be good to your loved ones and most of all be good to yourself!

Coasting Through the Holidays on to 2007!

2007-01-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it's been a long time since I last posted, but hey...I just got back from a 30 day holiday! It was truly divine! First to Minnesota to see my parents and family, then to NYC, off to Houston to see the "Sistas", and then a relaxing week in Cozumel.

My friend, Leeah lives in Manhattan and I was fortunate enough to spend Christmas with her. She was generous enough to give me these clever little beverage coasters. She knows how much I love to take pictures with my old Polaroid camera.

I've put four of my favorite snaps that I took on my visit to New York City, and she's featured in the first one. In the picture above she is artfully standing in the foyer of the Solomon R. Guggenhein Museum. This was a great milestone in my life as I love art and I adore the architect, Frank Lloyd Wright who designed the museum. This capture is a bit dark, but the original image is quite striking.

Here is a picture of a bicycle that was secured on the side of the street. It was cloudy and rainy and the sun came out for a bit, and I was happy (along with the other millions) that it was saying hello.

Another milestone in my life...I'm at the Tiffany's that Audrey Hepburn stood in front of in one of my favorite movies "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The place was packed, but we were able to make our way in and bought a new key chain to add to my growing collection of T&CO.

My final photo is my departure of NYC on to Houston. I took this at the John F. Kennedy Airport while I waited for my flight.

If you'd like to take a look at my pictures please click on the link to to the right or go to dinaripper creations: photographs. Yes, a shameless plug to get people to peer at my pics! Talk to you again soon! Next time I will be cooking up something tastey I hope!

Passion For Pomegranates

2006-12-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love pomegranates. I think that I am the only person that I know that actually buys these jeweled gems just because I think they are fun to eat. Not only are they so tangy and good for you, I find them really fun to harvest the seeds.

It's like cracking crabs, or shelling nuts, to me it's worth the wait and effort. Today I ran this bowl of seeds through my Bullet juicer. Which by the way is the first time I've ever used the juicer attachment. I will have to do an ode to my Bullet sometime soon.

After about 20 minutes of seeding and peeling, and hand picking each morsel, I threw them all into the mechanical macerator and extracted...oh about 1/4 cup juice. Not a lot of payoff for my efforts? I beg to differ.

Season's Eatings

2006-12-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

The other night I had my first dinner party since I'd been back from the sand box. It went well. I had nine diners (including myself) and a little toddler, and there was plenty to eat. The menu comprised of:

Appetizers:

Various cheeses and crackers
Warm brie en'croute with apples
Various hard Italian salamis
Various candies and chocolates
Garlic stuffed green olives
Bread and dipping olive oil with various spices
Carrot and celery sticks
Egg Nog
Various wines (PLENTY of wine)

Main Course:

Stuffed pork loins
Roasted new potatoes with onions
Gravy
Deviled chicken
Broccoli with garlic and olive oil
Homemade four cheese ravioli with marinara
Various wines (More and MORE)

Dessert:

Tiramisu
(see November 16 post "The Best Tiramisu" for recipe)
French-pressed fresh ground coffee

I think everyone felt well sated, and after several ruthless (and drunken) games of Cranium we called it a night. The next morning the cleanup was minimal and fairly painless (only seven loads of dishes in the sink), and I had a good warm feeling that this holiday was celebrated and acknowledged as it should be. There really is no place like home.

Asparagus Atonement

2006-11-27T14:58:00.000-07:00

I must confess that I harbored ill feelings towards asparagus for a long time. I grew up on a farm, and this grassy veggie was plentiful, but I could not stomach eating it. My mother used to chop it up, boil it to near mush, and cream it. Ugh. I'm sorry, but something so fresh and lively as asparagus needs to be complimented, not smothered.

So, many years later I took the leap to try it again when my sister had whipped it up one night. She barely blanched the bunch in boiling water and then threw it in a frying pan with some butter and garlic. We then threw on some salt and pepper and I tell you what, I fell in love.

Now I make asparagus all of the time, and here is my favorite way of eating it. Everyone who knows me knows that I have this passion for kitchen gadgets and things. Well, I've fallen so hard for asparagus that I purchased a special pot to steam it in. It's tall and very thin with a wire basket that fits inside (yes, the sweet stems stand up while steaming, tips upward please) and then you cover it with a lid.

It's very simple to use and putting in only a few inches of water on the bottom and bringing it to a boil seems to do the trick nicely. The veggie is nice and evenly crisp from bottom to tip, and never overdone. Oh, you can use the pot for other things too when you're not cooking up asparagus. I boil eggs in mine, and the nice basket helps me lift them out and cool them down under running cold water.

Asparagus & Garlic
Serves 1-3 people

1 bunch of fresh asparagus (I like the thinner stalks, but you can get whatever you'd like)
1 T extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed and coarsly chopped
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
a healthy sized lemon wedge (about a quarter)

Prepare the basket with the cleaned asparagus. I don't cut off the ends, I just give it a gentle bend, and wherever it snaps off is suppose to be more woody and should be discarded. You can just trip off the bottoms with a knife if you don't mind the tougher ends. Do not put the basket into the pot with the water until it comes to a boil. Once it does, slip the basket in and cover with the lid. Now is the time to prepare the ice water bath. Just fill up a container with cold water and throw in a couple of trays of ice.

Steam the asparagus for approximately 3-4 minutes depending on how crunchy you like them. I just pull the lid off, reach in and grab one to sample. At this time they are a vibrant green, and I like to make them just slightly underdone as I reheat them anyway. Pull out the basket and pour the steamy stems into the ice bath. Move them around and they should stop cooking almost immediately. Let them sit in the water.

In a heavy frying pan, heat up the olive oil over low heat, add the garlic and saute till fragrant but the garlic is not brown. Turn the heat to high then grab the asparagus by bunches (you don't have to drain them too carefully as the moisture helps in the saute) and throw them in the pan with the garlic. Sizzle! Move the asparagus around to coat evenly and saute for approximately 2 minutes or heated through. Sprinkle with some kosher salt and a generous grind of coarse black pepper.

Plate on a platter and spoon over any garlic and oil that may be left in the pan. Gotta get all the good stuff! Squeeze the lemon wedge over the top and garnish if you'd like with lemon slices. Serve immediately although this is just as good at room temperature.

I am so glad that I put my fears aside and enjoy this simple but elegant dish. Well, I must admit that I prefer to eat asparagus with my fingers. Happy eating!

Sweet Santas

2006-11-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

Aren't these sweet in more ways than one? They are so...well, adorable. They are very simple to make, and I saw the idea in a little cookie book that I picked up while waiting in the check-out line at the grocery store. It was chock full of old-fashioned (and new-fashioned) treats for the Holidays.

Sweet Santas
Yields 32 cute cookies.

3 blocks of white chocolate bark (you know, it comes in those "ice cube-like" trays)
1 package (1 lb) Nutter Butter sandwich cookies
red colored sugar
32 vanilla or white chocolate chips
64 miniature semisweet chocolate chips
32 red hot candies

Follow the white chocolate bark melting method noted on November 22's post of "Bacon 'n Eggs". Melt in a small, deep type bowl. It will be easier to dip the cookies.

Dip one end of each cookie into the melted white chocolate and sprinkle the top part of the hat with the red colored sugar (be sure to keep some white for Santa's trim). Place a white chocolate chip on the hat for the pom-pom. Lay out on waxed paper or a silpat mat, and let the chocolate set. Work each one till you get all the hats finished.

Now for the whiskers. Dip the beard end of the cookie with the first cookie you started with. Set down to set. Take a table knife and dip the tip in the now slightly cooled white chocolate. You will get a "V-like" drip, take this and dollop the eyes and nose and place two mini chips for eyes, and the red hot for nose. Work each cookie one at a time.

Before you know it, you'll have rows upon rows of happy sweet Santas, and plenty to put out on Christmas Eve night for the Big Guy In Red.

The peanut butter flavor and the white chocolate bark is a nice combination, and I'm certain that they will be gobbled up in no time. Stop by again for more treats for the Holidays.

Hearty Beef & Barley For One

2006-11-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

Remember that beefy stock I made last week in my pressure cooker? Well, along with consuming half of it making quick single soups, I froze the other half in my silicone mini muffin molds and stored them in a baggie in the freezer to use at my disposal. I also picked the meat off of the broth bones and froze. There is not a lot of flavor left in these very tender morsels, but if you chop them up and re-add them to this dish, it's very tasty and adds nice texture and protein.

Since it's getting colder now and getting into wintertime, I had a hankering for something hearty. I concocted this tasty late lunch for myself while I was watching one of my favorite cooking guys, Alton Brown.

Although I could have cut the cooking time down to nearly nothing in my pressure cooker, I opted for the range in a small and heavy sauce pan with a tight fitting lid. This way I could season and tweak to my liking. Because being at over 6,000 feet above sea level it took nearly an hour to simmer this up, but it was well worth the wait.

Diane's Hearty Beef & Barley
This is a hearty single serving, or two smaller, but still satisfying servings.

1 1/2 cups beefy broth (see November 20th's post "Under Pressure")
1/2 cup organic dry pearl barley
1/4 dry onion flakes (better than fresh for this dish because the flavor is more concentrated)
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t crushed fennel seed (you can cut this back to 1/2 t, I love fennel)
1 t Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning
1 large button mushroom, coarsely chopped (more if you'd like)
a few sprigs of fresh parsley, finely chopped
chopped cooked beef (about 2 oz)
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
boiling water (used to add while the barley absorbs)

In my case I melted the stock cubes over high heat and brought to a boil, then I added all of the dry ingredients, chopped mushrooms and beef and continued to cook for a minute or two. I added the pearl barley and brought the flame down to low, put the lid on and simmered for 20 minutes.

After the first 20 minutes was up, I added about 1/2 cup of boiling water, stirred, and continued to cook for another 20 minutes letting the barley soften. I then checked it and decided to add another 1/2 cup boiling water, and cooked for another 15 minutes or so. Keeping the lid off at the end to let the "broth" reduce.

Even though I kept adding water throughout the cooking period, it didn't hinder the richness of the beef broth. On the contrary, cooking this way helped me control the consistency of the barley to slightly chewy, and the dried seasonings were very flavorful. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Now...bring on snow!

Bacon 'n Eggs

2006-11-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

This is my signature sweet for the Holidays. I whipped up a batch or two for Thanksgiving, and will make plenty more for Christmas. It's so easy and so CUTE!

Bacon 'n Eggs

1 package white chocolate bark
yellow M&Ms (get the biggest bag you can and only sort out the yellow ones, save the others for munching or cookies)
pretzel sticks

Layout two pretzel sticks side-by-side (kind of off set them as that makes them more quirky and cute) in rows on waxed paper or a silpat mat. Chop up white chocolate bark and melt in microwave (use a good solid stoneware bowl as it will retain the heat longer and keep the chocolate pliable). Put a dollop of melted chocolate roughly in the middle; do only 6 or six at a time. You don't have to be perfect since eggs aren't perfect. Place a yellow M&M on top, hence this is the yolk. Let set and package in airtight container. Be careful not to break the pretzels.

I like to pack them into seasonal cellophane baggies tied with curly ribbon. I know I'm such a sap, but hey...it's the holidays!

Under Pressure

2006-11-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

I've been on the Good Eats kick with Alton Brown, and he had a show where he made beef broth in a fraction of the time it would take to make the conventional way.

I've just followed the below recipe (substituted oxtail with beef back bones as there was not oxtail), cooked under pressure for 60 minutes (he calls for 50 minutes, but A-HA, he's not at nearly 6,000 feet above sea level either!) and I'm letting it cool down naturally. The broth will continue to cook and therefor making it more rich and savory. YUM-O!

I was very skeptical about pressure cooking. Growing up on a farm I had my share of meat-and-potato meals. Well, my parents had a pressure cooker which they would boil our potatoes in. That thing scared the bejeezus out of me! It rattled, it hissed, it was noisy, and I was always terrified when they released the steam and forced it open. Plus, I never realized why they used it (knowing now that pressure cooking cuts the time down to nearly a third of the normal cooking time).

After Alton gave me the strength and confidence to go out and purchase one of these devices, I was pleasantly surprised. Again, my broth has been pressure cooking for an hour, and I've turned off the heat. I barely heard the thing! I think I'm going to go and see what this quick release steam thing is all about now! I guess I'll sacrifice a bit more richer and savorier broth for the sake of workin' the new gadget!

AB's Beefy Broth

Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
3 pounds combined beef shank and oxtail pieces
2 onions, quartered
2 ribs celery, halved
2 carrots, halved
3 cloves garlic
1 bunch parsley
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 quarts water

Place pressure cooker over high heat. Oil and salt the oxtail and shank pieces then sear in batches. Add remaining ingredients and cover with water, being careful not to fill above the cooker's maximum fill" line. (If your pressure cooker does not have a water line, fill the pot 2/3 full). Bring to a boil and skim off any foam that gathers at the surface. Cover and lock lid. Once pressure builds up inside the cooker, reduce the heat so that you barely hear hissing from the pot. Cook for 50 minutes.

Release pressure using your cookers release device (read that manual) or cool the cooker by running cold water over the lid for 5 minutes. Carefully opening the lid and strain squeezing the solids before feeding to the compost pile, or the dogs. Strain through a fine sieve or several layers of cheesecloth. Season and serve or use as a base for other soup recipes.

Super Salad

2006-11-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

The other night I had made a great lasagna dinner (sadly I did not archive that meal) and I shook up my own dressing. Well, tonight while working on my latest adventure I threw together a quick salad for munching while I waited for my creation to finish. Here's the quick fixing for the dressing and it's even better as it sits in your fridge!

Balsamic and Olive Oil Dressing

1/8 cup water
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup good virgin olive oil
1 T Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning (or any other generic like)

Pour all ingredients in a shaker and...well, SHAKE! You should let it sit for at least 15 minutes before serving and it gets better with age, but try to use it with a couple of weeks.

Now, take fresh mixed baby greens and cut up one Fuji apple (or other sweet,tart, and crunchy kind, tart Asian pears are good too) into chunks and throw on top of the greens. Drizzle ample dressing on top and toss. Add fresh shredded Parmesan cheese and enjoy! This is also great with feta cheese crumbles and sugared nuts.

Polaroid Reporter Land Camera (Polaroid 87) ~ Reflections

2006-11-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

The Best Tiramisu

2006-11-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

I've been using this recipe for years now, and it is by far the best Tiramisu recipe. People have ranted and raved over it. So, I've decided to spill the beans and pass it on. I ate it after some lasagna, asparagus with olive oil and garlic and lemon juice, a loaf of good crusty garlic bread, and a nice chianti (insert noise like Hannibal Lecture on "Silence of the Lambs").

Tiramisu

3 eggs, separated
2 cups mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 T vanilla sugar (who really has vanilla sugar on hand?? I use sugar and vanilla extract which does not interfere with the integrity of the dessert)
3/4 cup cold, very strong black coffee (I either brew some espresso in the machine, but since it's on the fritz, I've used instant espresso, just follow the directions on the jar)
1/2 cup Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur
18 savoiardi (Italian lady fingers)
sifted cocoa powder and grated bittersweet chocolate, to finish

Put the egg whites in a grease-free bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Put aside.

Mix the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla and egg yolks in a separate large bowl and whisk with the electric mixer until evenly combined. Fold in the egg whites, then put a few spoonfuls of the mixture in the bottom of a large serving bowl (I use a 9x9 glass baking dish with lid which is very pretty) and spread out evenly.

Combine the coffee and liqueur in a shallow dish. Dip ladyfinger in the mixture, turn it quickly so that it becomes saturated but not mushy, and place it on top of the mascarpone in the bowl. Keep adding the dipped ladyfingers side-by-side till you cover one layer.

Spoon in about one-third of the remaining mixture and spread it out. Make more layers in the same way, ending with mascarpone. Level the surface, then sift cocoa powder all over. Cover and chill overnight. Before serving, sprinkle with cocoa and grated chocolate. Serves 6-8 or less if people ask for seconds!

I always have dessert with coffee, and this one is superb with the hints of coffee and it's not very sweet at all other than the ladyfingers. Great to take to a friend's house for dinner!

My First Comestible Creation: Caramelized Onion & Mushroom

2006-11-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I wasn't quite sure how this was going to turn out as I'm not a big bread baker. I haven't mastered the science (and being at a high altitude I'm not sure if that contributes), but I attempted to make a pizza from scratch.

First of all I wanted to make the crust out of whole wheat. I'm a "granola chick" at heart, and wanted to add some extra goodness into an all-time favorite of mine. I used all organic products too, and no meat in this recipe. I'm also a HUGE onion fan. Everyday in Iraq, I ate onions. Yes, even in the morning with my bagel and cream cheese. So I thought that since my pantry is pretty bare (being back only a week now) I did get the staples which includes white onions.

I'm not going to give the recipe for the crust as it turned out alright. I used a recipe from Everyday Food but substituted the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour. The result was a very dense, very crispy crust. I liked it, but I don't think that most would. The crispiness came from baking the pizza on a preheated stone. I don't think I will do that again in the future as I'm a huge fan of soft and chewy crust, not crispy, but for you crispy crust fans, the preheated stone is the ticket.

The topping was fantastic! I used Balsamic vinegar and lots of garlic. You can't go wrong with a lot of garlic! Here is the simple recipe below. It's a bit time consuming but well worth the wait. You could make it ahead and save it in the fridge for a later time. Either way, I think you'll like the results.

Caramelized Onions & Mushroom Pizza

1 pizza crust (I used a recipe for thick crust)
2 T marinara sauce
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced thin

1 large onion, sliced thin
1 T olive oil
2 T Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup shredded carrot
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large white mushrooms, sliced thin (can use more if you like lots of mushrooms)
2 T vegetable stock
1 t dried rosemary

In heavy saute pan heat olive oil over medium heat, add onions, and saute till brown. Lower heat to low and continue to heat onions till caramel colored (about 20 minutes). Turn heat to medium and add Balsamic vinegar and shredded carrot (this sweetens up the mixture) and cook till carrot is not visible. Add crushed garlic, mushrooms, rosemary and vegetable stock and reduce till liquid is gone. Set aside.

Prepare crust or use premade and drizzle with olive oil, lightly spread marinara sauce, add prepared onion and mushroom mixture, and then evenly space the mozzarella slices. Transfer to hot stone in oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until top is temptingly brown.

Slice and enjoy! Makes 8 servings, or 4 servings since I like to eat two slices each time. Good for leftovers too!

Happy Homecoming!

2006-11-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hello! I am proud to say that during my time in Iraq I discovered a new blog topic...FOOD! It's quite popular, and I've frequented many delicious food blogs while I was deployed.

Many of you have put up with my whining and complaining about how bad the food was here. Although needless to say that I didn't come home any skinnier! But like all deployments I have come home with a fonder appreciation for good food, and I plan on writing about it! Along with attempting to create some edible concoctions.

So, I am currently in Kuwait (not home yet), but look foward to diving into my new blog!