serves 3
sandwich day: cranberry bread, salmon, brie
1 loaf cranberry-walnut bread
brie (leftover from a dinner with friends)
salmon (leftover from a dinner with friends)
spinach
avocado, sliced
red onion, thinly sliced
crimini mushrooms, sliced
mustard
Put all ingredients out on a large plate. Everyone makes their own sandwich.
(serves 3, no leftovers)
chicken with cumin, okra, and red onions
1 chopped red onion
8 baby okra (a little larger than a finger's length)
1/4 tsp cumin on the okra and red onions
olive oil
salt
pepper
3 chicken thighs, no skin
1/4 tsp cumin
olive oil
salt
pepper
Mix the chopped onion and the okra in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. 
Meanwhile, sprinkle the cumin, salt, and pepper on the chicken thighs. Heat a pan on medium heat with a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Cook the chicken on the stove for ten minutes or so, until done, but still tender.
Serve with mashed potatoes and salad.
serves 2, with leftovers
chocolatey chicken mole
1 oz baker's chocolate
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp ancho chili
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of nutmeg
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp peanut butter (optional)
2 chicken thighs, browned and cooked in 1 tsp peanut oil
Heat a skillet over medium heat, with 1 tsp peanut oil. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are brown (~10-15 minutes). Mix in the chocolate and the rest of the ingredients until the chocolate is melted.
While the chocolate melts, start the chicken. Once the chicken is cooked, add it to the pan with mole. Serve with salad and white rice.
spinach and pear salad
1 bowl of spinach
3/4 pear
handful of walnuts
sherry vinegar
olive oil
Mix, season, and enjoy!
(serves 2)
quick senegalese rice with parsley-covered halibut
for the rice:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp peanut oil
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
10 small fresh okra, sliced
2 tsp salt
3 handfuls spinach
1 potato, cubed
1 tsp cayenne
1 cup long-grain rice (I used short grain, since that's what I had in my pantry)
for the fish:
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
2 fillets halibut
salt
pepper
Add all the first ingredients into a large pot over medium heat. Cook for 45 minutes, until the rice is cooked through.
While the rice is cooking, cover the halibut with parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. When the rice is cooked, leave it on low heat. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil, and cook the halibut for 5-8 minutes on each side.
(serves 3, no leftovers)
spicy, slurpy spinach noodles
3 bunches spinach noodles
1/4 cauliflower, sliced
1/2 can coconut milk
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into small squares
1 cup chicken stock
1 small thai chili pepper, slice (add more if you like your food really spicy)
1/8 tsp ground chinese red chili pepper (or cayenne pepper)
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
3 handfuls spinach (add more as desired)
red chili flakes (to sprinkle)
Start by preparing the ingredients (slicing and dicing). Heat water for boiling in a large saucepan.
Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, mix the cauliflower, coconut milk, red bell pepper, chicken stock, the thai and chinese chili pepper, salt, and pepper.
When the water boils, add the noodles in, and cook according to package instructions.
When the noodles are almost ready, add the spinach to the saucepan with the coconut milk mixture. Serve the noodles into bowls and pour the coconut milk mixture over it. Sprinkle with red chili flakes. Enjoy!
(serves 3. note that this takes three hours or so to prepare and cook)
brown rice jambalaya of death
We had some crawfish leftover from yesterday's meal out.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large red pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
8 baby okra (each was a little longer than a finger)
3 tbsp fresh italian parsley, minced
3/4 cup brown rice
2 bay leaves
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
8 very small thai chili peppers, sliced thinly
2 skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can of water
1 lb crawfish, cooked*
* You can substitute 1 lb shrimp for the crawfish. This is also good with 4 andouille sausages, sliced into 1/2 inch slices.
Start by preparing all the ingredients.
Heat a large saucepan to medium heat, adding the olive oil in. Saute the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and okra, until the onion is translucent. Add everything else in (for the can of water, basically refill the empty can of diced tomatoes with water and pour into the pot).
Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered. Check on it every half hour or so, adding water if it looks dry and uncooked. From this point, it takes around an hour (to an hour and a half) to cook.
Beware, this is extremely spicy.
This jambalaya is loosely based on the Jambalaya recipe in Epicurious.
serves 6, or three with leftovers for another day
persimmon chocolate bread pudding
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 - 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (to taste)
1 cup soy milk
1 cup whole milk (or two cups soy milk)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 loaf whole wheat bread, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
3/4 cup chocolate chips
2 fuyu persimmons
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix the first six ingredients (sugar, milk, cocoa powder, eggs, and vanilla). Add the bread to the bowl, toss, and set aside to soak for 15 minutes.
Layer bread with chocolate chips and persimmons (I made two layers of each), leaving some persimmon and chocolate chips to sprinkle at the top. (I used an 8x8 pyrex pan).
Place the dish in a large roasting pan, adding hot water until it reaches an inch up the sides of the dish. Bake for 45 minutes, let cool.
If you have it, serve with vanilla ice-cream.
This recipe was loosely based on one from Whole Foods.
(serves five)
vegetarian paella
3 tbsp olive oil
2 hard boiled eggs, cut into fourths
2 cups rice
3/4 cauliflower
2/3 cup peas
2/3 corn
2 cups vegetable stock (up to 4 cups)
1 can tomatoes
a pinch of saffron threads
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lemon, cut into eighths
Add the olive oil to the paella pan, on the stove, over medium heat. Once hot, add the cauliflower, and brown. Mix in the rice, and cook until slightly golden and translucent. Add the vegetable stock and the can of diced tomatoes, and dissolve the spices into the stock. Add the remaining vegetables. Cook, adding more liquid when necessary (I've had to add up to 4 cups).
Make the hard boiled eggs and set aside to cool.
The rice should take around 45 minutes to cook. Garnish with eggs and lemon. Serve with salad and a good red wine.
(serves 3, with leftovers)
halibut fish cakes with black bean, tomato, and corn sauce
12 oz halibut
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/2 tsp chipotle chili pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika (plus a little more for sprinkling)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can black beans
1/2 can tomatoes
3/4 cup corn
salt
pepper
white rice
Start the rice.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, with a teaspoon or two of olive oil. When hot, add the halibut, as well as two cups of water. Cook the halibut for ten minutes or so, until it's no longer translucent.
Meanwhile the halibut cooks, start chopping the onion. Break the egg into a large bowl. Whisk quickly with a fork. Add the onions and breadcrumbs. Once the halibut is no longer translucent, remove it from the heat and rinse in cold water to cool it quickly (or, if you have more time, just pour the water out and let the halibut cool naturally).
Add the halibut to the bowl with the egg, and mix in the bread crumbs and onion. Add the spices, salt, and pepper. Mix well with your hands, shredding the halibut into small flakes, and form round patties, 2 inch patties.
Sprinkle each side with paprika. Set the patties to the side. Start heating a skillet with olive oil, on medium heat.
In a saucepan, combine the black beans, tomatoes, and corn. (If you wish, you can add 1/2 tsp cornstarch to make the sauce thicker). Add salt and pepper to taste.
Start cooking the patties, a couple minutes on each side. Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper.
Serve with white rice.
(serves 2, no leftovers)
rotini with spicy tomato salmon sauce and fried egg
1/2 box of rotini
1 can of diced tomatoes (no corn syrup!)
1 can of salmon
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chipotle chili pepper
salt
pepper
2 eggs, fried
Cook the pasta according to instructions on the box.
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate skillet, mix the diced tomatoes, salmon, cayenne, and chipotle chili pepper. Season with salt and pepper.
Start frying the eggs a couple minutes before the pasta is ready.
Serve the pasta mixed with the sauce, and top with the fried egg.
(serves 3, leftovers depend on how hungry you are)
roast pork with a spiced chili-cocoa rub
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp + 1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ancho chili pepper
1 1/2 lb pork loin
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Mix the salt, pepper, cocoa, and spices together in a bowl.
Rub the spices all over the pork, coating it heavily. Set the pork on a rack in a roasting pan. Cook for 40-60 minutes, until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 160 F.
Serve with mashed potatoes (boil potatoes, mash them, and season with olive oil, salt, and pepper).
Note: This recipe is inspired by the "Cocoa and Spice Slow-roasted Pork with Onions" recipe from Epicurious. However, it doesn't use pork shoulder, it only takes an hour to make (instead of six), and it serves 3 (instead of 10). Also, it's not overly salty.
(serves 4)
barbecue ribs
1 rack of baby back ribs
1 bottle of bbq sauce (no corn syrup!)
Preheat the oven to 280 F. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil (with enough extra to cover the ribs).
Slather both sides of the ribs with 3/4 of the bottle of barbecue sauce. Cover the ribs with aluminum foil, and place them in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
After half an hour, slather on the remaining barbecue sauce. Uncover the ribs, peeling back the aluminum foil (but still keeping the sides high, so that the sauce doesn't pour into the pan, making cleanup easier). Return it to the oven, raising the heat to 300 F.
Remove from the oven after 30 minutes or when the ribs are fully cooked.
mashed potatoes, two ways
6 medium potatoes, cut into large chunks
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp cream
1 tsp butter
Boil the potatoes in a pot of water until soft. Mash three potatoes in two separate bowls.
For the first one, mix in the olive oil, parsley and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste.
For the second bowl, mix in the cream and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste.
(serves 2, no leftovers)
pasta with butternut squash and sage
3/4 box of spaghetti
3 tbsp olive oil
4 cups roasted butternut squash
3 sage leaves
salt
pepper
Make the noodles according to the instructions on the box.
Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a skillet, and stir in the sage and roasted butternut squash.
Serve on top of the spaghetti once the noodles are cooked.
Note: The butternut squash was left over from Ben's birthday dinner.
(makes 3 servings, or six pancakes)
walnut banana raisin oatmeal pancake with honey
1/2 cup thick rolled oats
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 - 2 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
In a bowl, add the dry ingredients (everything up to the yogurt). Mix well. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients (up to the bananas). With a fork, start mixing the wet ingredients (until the egg is well whisked), and quickly incorporate the dry ingredients just until blended. Fold in the butter, bananas, raisins, and walnuts.
On a non-stick pan, heat over medium heat. Add batter (maybe 1/3 cup at a time) onto the pan. It takes around 3 minutes on each side. If you want to make them even healthier, sprinkle some wheat germ on the pancakes while cooking.
Serve with honey.
(serves 3, no leftovers)
soba with tofu and cucumber
4 bunches of soba (8-10 oz)
1 package tofu (14 oz)
1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
2 tbsp shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
toasted sesame seeds
Boil water and add the soba; cook according to the instructions on the package. Meanwhile, mix the shoyu, mirin, rice vinegar, and salt in a serving dish. If you have time, slice the cucumber now.
Once the soba is cooked, put it in a colander to drain, and rinse it with cold water in order to stop the cooking process.
Add the soba to the serving dish and coat well. Fold in the tofu and cucumber.
Serve on the dinner table. Once served, sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over the soba (this last step is not shown in the photograph).
(serves 4, with leftovers if you're not too hungry)
vegetarian stew with garbanzo beans, yellow lentils, chili peppers, and yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
5 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dried chili peppers
3 cups vegetable broth (or any broth)
1 pound yellow lentils (about 2 1/4 cups)
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
1 can diced tomatoes
3 handfuls of spinach
Plain yogurt
In a heavy large pot over medium heat, add the oil. Once hot, add the onion and stir until it's golden and translucent (about 10 minutes, you can skip this step if you're in a hurry).
Add the spices to the pot, then slowly add the broth and the dried chili peppers. Mix in the lentils, tomatoes, and garbanzos. Cook for another 10 minutes (until the lentils are soft and falling apart). Add the spinach and stir.
Serve with white rice, and top it with yogurt.
10/29/2008
(serves 3)
chicken tacos
For some reason, when I sent Erk to buy tortillas last time, he came back with a pack of 12 corn tortillas. This was an attempt to finish the rest of the tortillas off, and the rest of the chicken leftovers.
shredded left over roast chicken
corn tortillas
1 sliced avocado
1/2 sliced onion
1 cooked onion (in a skillet with salt, pepper, and a couple drops of olive oil)
lime wedges
white rice
cheddar cheese
Make your own tortilla, as you like. Erk likes adding the chipotle chili sauce.
(serves 3, with lots of leftovers)
spicy roast chicken with mashed potato
More blurry photos! >_<
1 whole chicken
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne chili pepper
1 tsp chipotle chili pepper
1 tsp ancho chili pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 - 4 tbsp olive oil
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
The chicken should be as dry as possible. Use paper towels to dry the skin and the inside of the chicken.
Mix the spices and olive oil together and rub all over the chicken. Place the chicken in a roasting pan.
Put the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 F until chicken is cooked (another 20 minutes or so). After a couple experiments, I found that only by cooking the chicken initially at the high temperature does the chicken skin get crispy enough for Erk to eat it, while keeping the meat inside moist and delicious.
mashed potatoes with olive oil and garlic
3 potatoes, boiled
olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced and lightly roasted in a pan
Put the potatoes through a potato ricer.
I finally bought a potato ricer, because mashing the potatoes by hand for gnocchi was way too much trouble.
I was traveling last weekend, so no updates for the last three days.
(serves 3, no leftovers)
penne pasta baked with cheese, corn, and peas
3/4 box penne pasta
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
lots and lots of cheese (I recommend using white cheddar): this roughly translates to somewhere between 6 to 8 oz, depending on how cheesy you like it
1 cup soy milk
salt
pepper
Boil water, and cook the penne pasta according to instructions on the box.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Melt the cheese in the soy milk, adding salt and pepper to taste (I added approximately 1/2 tsp of each).
Place the pasta, mixing in with the cheese in an 8-inch pyrex square dish.
Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or so, to make the cheese thick and gooey. Broil the top on low for a couple minutes, until it's nicely browned.
Serve with a spinach salad.
(serves five)
chicken, sausage, and shrimp paella
3 tbsp olive oil
4 andouille sausages, sliced thickly
1 red onion, diced
2 cups rice
2 cups chicken stock (up to 4 cups)
1 can of diced tomatos
a pinch of saffron threads
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 red pepper, cut into thin slices
5 chicken thighs
1/2 lb shrimp
1 lemon, cut into eighths
Add the olive oil to the paella pan
The rice should take around 45 minutes to cook. When the rice is almost ready, add the shrimp, and mix.
Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, brown the chicken thighs in a little bit of olive oil, adding salt and pepper to taste. Garnish the paella pan with the chicken and lemon wedges. (If desired, you can sprinkle extra paprika on top).
Serve with salad and a good red wine.
Note: The blurry photo is terrible.
(serves three)
shrimp tacos
corn tortillas
leftover shrimp, cut into small pieces
1 bowl of white rice with cilantro, olive oil, and salt
1 red onion, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1 bowl of baby spinach
chipotle chili sauce
shredded monterey jack cheese
Put the ingredients out, and everyone can make their own shrimp tacos.
(serves 3, with leftovers)
shrimp with avocado, onion, and lime
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 red onion, diced
1 1/2 lbs shrimp
1 avocado
1 lime
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
chipotle chili sauce
salt
pepper
In a saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the minced garlic and the cayenne pepper. Add the onion and stir until the onion is translucent. Add the shrimp and cook.
Mix with the avocado and lime juice, and place the lime wedges on the side as garnish. Add chipotle chili sauce, salt, and pepper to taste.
Serve with white rice.
Note: the lime was left over from the miracle berry dinner a couple days ago. This would also go well with chopped cilantro.
Since we had leftover milanesa today, I wanted to extol a dessert that's never failed me.
I learned about these from my good friend Nick, and I've used them whenever I've been in a hurry, or when friends come over and I want to make a quick dessert. I use pretty small ramekins (since the cakes are dense).
As soon as the spoon cuts the surface of the chocolate cakes, gooey chocolatey-goodness oozes out and coats the spoon. It's wonderful.
4 tbsp butter, melted in the microwave
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup sugar (more if you like sweeter desserts, Erk likes his very chocolatey)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup flour
4 small ramekins
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Start melting the chocolate on the stove over low heat. Meanwhile, beat the butter and sugar together, slowly adding the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, then follow up by folding in the chocolate. Pour into the four small ramekins
.
Cook for 10-12 minutes.
If you like them really decadent, you can whip some heavy cream flavored with kahlua or amaretto.
(serves 4, with leftovers if you're not too hungry)
milanesa, white rice, fried egg, roasted red onion
8 thin veal scallops
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg (use an extra egg if one egg isn't enough)
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt
pepper
olive oil
1 fried egg
roasted red onion (or any kind of cooked onion): I made this by slicing an onion or two, coating the slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper (on both sides), and putting it
in a baking dish in the overn for 30 minutes or so.
Beat the egg with the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Put the bread crumbs on a plate.
Coat the veal first with the egg, then pass it through the bread crumbs, pressing down lightly.
Heat two or three tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan, over medium heat. Lightly fry the milanesas.
Serve with roasted red onion, white rice, and a fried egg.
Some people also serve the cooked onions on top of the meat, and the onion pile is topped with the fried egg.
For some reason, I can't recall what I ate this day. We might've gone out, or maybe friends came over and I didn't have a chance to take a picture...
I forget.
Regardless, I've been meaning to write about what I keep in the freezer, since this, I believe, is key to keeping the monthly food costs to around 60 or 70 a person, even when we eat things like roast lamb, duck, and fancy desserts (around once a month).
Chicken stock: I make this every time I need boneless chicken, or I buy a whole chicken to roast. From the bones, I boil water with a few vegetables for a little while.
Fish stock: Whenever the fish counter fillets a fish for me (or I buy a whole fish), I boil the bones with a little bit of parsley (or whatever vegetables I have in the fridge -- carrots, celery, and so on).
Vegetable stock: This is a last resort for vegetables, when there's a chance they'll go bad if I don't use them, I use them to make vegetable stock.
I keep the different stocks in labeled tupperware in the freezer.
Chicken thighs: Every once in a while, Safeway will have a sale for chicken thighs, for 99 cents a pound. I usually buy the chicken in bulk, and put three thighs in small ziplock bags, and all the small ziplock bags in a giant freezer bag. By the time Safeway has another sale, I'm usually almost through all the chicken thighs in the freezer.
Frozen scallops or frozen shrimp: If Safeway has a sale on these, I buy 'em and keep them in the fridge. They're good for quick meals.
Frozen corn: Always useful for paellas or other quick meals.
Frozen peas: Ditto.
(serves 3, with leftovers)
salami and goat cheese sandwich on walnut whole wheat bread
a.k.a. miracle berry tasting day
walnut whole wheat bread
miracle berries
1 lime
1 lemon
1 orange
1 grapefruit
1 piece of goat cheese
1 wedge of soft goat cheese
1 dark beer, capuccino stout
3/4 salami, sliced
1 bowl of spinach
balsamic vinegar
chipotle chili pepper sauce
This was a combination of a make-your-own sandwich and a miracle berry tasting day!
I sliced the bread and laid it out with the cheese, salami, and spinach, for everyone to make their own salad.
On every plate, there were also two miracle berries! Erk and I started off with the miracle berries. For those who don't know, miracle berries are little red fruits that make sour foods taste extremely sweet.
You can see the extent of the effect when people are happily glomping down lime and lemon wedges.
The lemons tasted like lemonade, and the dark beer tasted like mocha.
Other items on the table:
Grapefruit tasted mostly like cough syrup -- sweet in a gross, artificial-flavor sort of way
Goat cheese -- I had heard it tasted like "cheesecake", but unfortunately, it merely tasted like less sour goat cheese to me
Chipotle chili pepper sauce -- I wanted to buy tabasco, as this tends to be among the more vinegary of the hot sauces. There was a sweet tanginess to it, whihc was neat, as usually I cannot stand any type of hot or spicy food.
Balsamic vinegar -- The vinegar flavor was almost gone, leaving just a dark sweetness that's hard to describe.
Orange -- like candy! This and the lemon were my favorites.
I realized I might've made a mistake in buying miracle berries as a birthday present when the shopping cart was full of Erk's favorite foods (without taste-tampering): whole wheat bread, dark beer, lemon, salami...
(serves two, not very hungry people)
canned mackerel and grape tomatoes
white rice
1 can of mackerel
grape tomatoes
salt
pepper
I served some canned mackerel with grape tomatoes that were sliced in half over a bowl of rice. I was full after two bowls -- not too fancy, but good in a hurry.
(serves two, with leftovers for lunch)
pork with black beans
olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chipotle
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 can black beans
2 pork chops, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 handfuls of spinach
In a medium pot over similar (medium) heat, drop a little bit of olive oil. Once hot, add the onions and spices, and stir until the onions are soft. Add the can of black beans and wait until the mixture heats up. Add the pork and spinach, and remove once the pork is just cooked (so that it doesn't become chewy).
Serve with white rice.
mashed sweet potatoes
1 1/2 medium sized sweet potatoes (using the leftovers from what I bought for the chicken tagine meal)
butter
brown sugar
Boil the sweet potatoes. Mash with a fork, adding butter and brown sugar to taste (I added 1/2 tbsp of butter and 1 tsp brown sugar, because Erk doesn't like sweet yumminess).
(serves around 8 people. this recipe was based on epicurious' Beames de Venise Cake with Grapes)
muscat orange grape cake
olive oil
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar (plus a little more to sprinkle over the cake)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Muscat wine
1 1/2 cups red seedless grapes
Line the bottom of a 9 inch pan with parchment, brush all over with olive oil.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
In a bowl, whisk the sugar, butter, and olive oil together until smooth (you can melt the butter in the microwave to make it easier.) Whisk in the eggs, orange peel, and vanilla.
Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda to the bowl, and whisk until smooth. Add a 1/3 the wine, then 1/2 cup flour, and so on, until there's no more wine and flour. Whisk until smooth after each addition.
Pour the batter over the pan, and sprinkle 1 cup of grapes over the cake. Place it into the oven.
After 20 minutes, sprinkle the rest of the grapes and a bit of brown sugar all over the cake. Bake until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 more minutes.
spinach salad with grape tomatoes
a bowl of spinach
a handful of grape tomatoes, cut in half
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
Mix and enjoy!
(serves four, but no seconds)
chicken with pears and almonds
olive oil
4 chicken thighs, skin removed
1 pear
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt
pepper
chicken stock (or water)
sliced almonds
In a large pot over medium heat, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Once hot, add the chicken and brown for a couple minutes on each side. Add the chicken stock and spices, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 20 - 30 minutes (after 10 minutes or so, add the pear), until the chicken is cooked, but still moist.
Sprinkle the almonds on top just before serving.
(serves 4. leftovers depends on how hungry you are.)
apricot chicken tagine with almonds and sweet potatoes
1 1/4 cup dried apricots, cut in half
2 tablespoons honey
1 cinnamon stick
3 cups water
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 chicken thighs, skin removed
1/2 medium red onion, quartered and sliced thinly
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 medium sized sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
On the stove, boil 3 cups of water, adding the apricots as the water heats up. Add the honey and cinnamon sticks. Simmer for 20 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, cut up the red onion, mince the garlic cloves, and cube the sweet potato.
Mix the spices, minced garlic, and olive oil in the tagine. Coat the chicken with the spices and olive oil and place around the tagine (if you can, form a flower-shape for presentation).
Scatter the sweet potatoes on the border of the tagine, and the red onions in the middle. Remove the apricots from the heat and add the water and apricots to the tagine.
Add the tagine to the oven, setting the temperature to 350 F. The tagine should warm up in the oven, as a drastic change in temperature could cause it to break.
Sprinkle the almonds over the dish right before serving.
(serves 3)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups baby scallops
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
vegetable broth or water
olive oil
salt
pepper
parmigiano-reggiano
3/4 box of angel hair pasta (~8 oz)
Start boiling the water for the pasta in a large pot. In a large saute pan, add a bit of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic. After a couple minutes, add the diced tomatoes and bay leaves to the pan.
Hopefully, by now, the water should be boiling. Add the pasta and set a timer.
At the same time you add pasta, also add scallops to the other pan. Season with salt and pepper. If the sauce is looking dry, add vegetable broth or water.
Sprinkle cheese over the pasta, and enjoy!
(serves 3.)
curried potatoes and chicken
2 small onions, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
5 potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch squares
5 chicken thighs (skin removed)
2 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp curry
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
Start peeling and chopping the onions and potatoes. In a large pot*, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil at medium heat. Add the chicken and brown it a couple minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the stove, and throw the onions into the pot.
After a couple minutes, add the spices, potatoes, and chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken broth, and cook for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and the chicken is fully cooked.
Serve with white rice.
* I only have this T-fal set
T-45: Put the white rice in the rice cooker. Start the onions and potatoes.
T-30: Brown the chicken. Add onions.
T-25: Add the potatoes, spices, and chicken back into the pan. Cook for 20 minutes or so.
Dinner-time: Enjoy!
(serves 2)
walnut, avocado, and spinach salad
I love salads made from fruit, nuts, and spinach.
1 handful walnuts
1/2 avocado, sliced
1 bowl of spinach
Add spinach to a bowl, together with the sliced avocado. Crush the handful of walnuts by hand and add them to the bowl. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
(serves 2)
3/4 box of rotini
1/2 small butternut squash
2 handfuls spinach, shredded by hand
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tsp chopped sage
Parmigiano-Reggiano
The squash, sage, and cheese are left-overs from a night of steel cut oat risotto with butternut squash.
In a pan, heat a little bit of olive oil over medium heat. Add the squash, sage, and tomato sauce. Start the water to boil.
When the water boils, add the pasta. Cook the rotini according to the instructions on the box. Add the spinach at around this time to the pasta sauce.
By the time the rotini is done, the squash should be cooked. Serve sprinkled with cheese.
Serve with walnut, avocado, and spinach salad.
(serves 3, with leftovers enough for one lunch)
steel cut oat risotto with butternut squash
I didn't come up with this strange idea. Erk found this recipe here and somehow convinced me to cook it.
I accompanied it with a pork chop, but the meal would've been good without any meat at all.
We had the risotto with another Chilean carmenere, this one Anakena's 2005. The wine wasn't as good as the other one (notice that it doesn't get its own blog post). However, it complemented the oat risotto well, with a dry aftertaste a good follow up to the cheese and creaminess of the risotto.
Rather than pack the kabocha squash leftovers, I used them in a separate dinner meal.
(serves 2, no leftovers)
couscous with honey, raisins, chicken, and kabocha squash
1 cup couscous
3 chicken thighs
1 handful raisins
1 1/4 cup leftover kabocha squash with cumin and cinnamon
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cumin
salt
pepper
Cook the couscous by boiling 1 cup of water and adding it to a bowl with the couscous. Cover the couscous and let sit.
Cut the chicken thighs into small, bite-sized pieces. In a pan, over medium-low heat, heat a splash of olive oil. Add the chicken, raisins, honey. Cook for ten minutes, until the chicken is almost cooked through, but still moist. Add the kabocha squash. Add the spices, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for five more minutes until the kabocha squash heats up.
(Note: Mindless tag denotes food that takes 15 minutes or less and does not require much thinking. These recipes are good for dinners after long days at work.)
(This dinner takes around 60 minutes, but with only 20 minutes of active time.)
I'm trying out a new layout, where the recipes are separate from the time required to make them. Basically, since the time required depends on all the dishes in a meal, it doesn't make sense to put it together with the main dish.
Here are the recipe links: soba with spinach, salmon onigiri
T-60: Put the rice in the rice cooker.
T-58: Play video games, catch up on work, read a book, or talk to Erk (or whomever you live with) for the next 40 minutes
T-20: Get all the ingredients out and ready, prepare the pot for soba
T-15: Mix the sushinoko with the rice. Start boiling the water.
T-13: Make onigiri.
T-10: Put the soba in. Continue making onigiri.
Dinner time: Eat and enjoy!
Just to reiterate, by "fast food", I usually try for half an hour of active time (I estimate it would take me around 15 minutes to drive to a restaurant, find parking, and sit at a table -- so it's definitely worth making it at home for less). Worst case, dinner should take from the time the rice is put into the cooker, to the time the cooker beeps that the rice is ready (~45 minutes).
Entree: Simple salmon met a pan
Sides: Brown rice; pear, walnut, and spinach salad (this uses up 1/2 pear); roasted kabocha squash with cumin and cinnamon
Dessert: Upside down pear cake (this uses up the other pair half)
T-45: Put the brown rice to cook. Chop, chop, chop! Peel and cube the kabocha squash.
T-30: It took me around 15 minutes for the squash. At this point, mix the spices for the squash and grind them for a couple minutes. Don't forget to preheat the oven!
T-25: Put the squash into the oven. Start cutting up the pear (for both salad and dessert).
T-20: Make the rest of salad, minus the dressing.
T-15: Ah! Time's running out. Put olive oil in a pan and start heating it on the stove for the salmon. Meanwhile, start making the cake.
T-12: Put the salmon in the pan. Continue making the cake.
Dinner-time! Put the cake in the oven. Call everyone for dinner. Don't forget to season the salad!
Sometime during dinner: Take the cake out, make sure it's cooked. It shouldn't interrupt dinner conversation if you live in a small apartment like I do.
Note: this recipe still needs a bit of work. Trying to make a 4-inch cake from a real cake recipe takes a lot of iteration.
(serves 2-3)
upside down pear cake
1/2 pear, sliced
1/2 tsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy milk
1 small egg
Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a skillet, brown the pear slices with butter and brown sugar.
In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, ginger, and brown sugar. Add the milk and egg, and beat to form a batter.
In a 4 1/2 inch springform pan
(serves 2, no leftovers, especially if you have a salad eating fiend called erk.)
pear, walnut, and spinach salad
1/2 pear, diced
1 handful of walnut
1 bowl full of spinach
Put spinach in the bowl. Crush the walnuts by hand and add them to the salad. Place the pear cubes on top, and artfully season the salad with salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
(serves 2, with leftovers for a lunch.)
simple salmon met a pan
1 piece of salmon (~1 1/2 lbs)
salt
pepper
olive oil
Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Heat a pan with around 2 tbsp olive oil on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the salmon, skin side first (this will give the skin a crispy, golden color). Flip after 5-6 minutes on each side.
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