heirloom tomato, spinach, and avocado salad

heirloom tomato, spinach, and avocado salad

3 handfuls of baby spinach
1 small heirloom tomato. sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
Tuscan herb mix
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients. Season with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tuscan herb mix, salt, and pepper to taste.

chocolate stout stew

(serves two people, no leftovers.)

chocolate stout stew

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small red onion
1 small potato, cubed
3 medium carrots, sliced
beef broth
1/2 cup chocolate stout
2 tbsp whole-wheat flour

First, cut up the onion and peel the potatoes and carrots. Put a small pot on the stove and the olive oil to heat on medium-low. Start cutting up the potatoes and carrots, but watch the pot -- when the oil heats up, add the onion and stir a bit. Finish cubing the vegetables and add them to the pot. Add enough beef broth to cover the vegetables. Add the chocolate stout next. Boil for 20 minutes. Add the flour (you can take a bit of the broth and first dissolve the flour in that before adding it to the pot). Cook until thick (another ten minutes or so).

Don't play video games while cooking this -- it burns quickly!

spicy kimchi soup with white fish

(serves two very hungry people, no leftovers.)

spicy kimchi soup with white fish

6 dried anchovies
2 dried kelp
~10 dried shrimp
2 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup chili powder
2 jalapeños, sliced (less if you're not crazy about spicy food)
1/4 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup kimchi, chopped
more water, if necessary

2 6 oz halibut fillets (or any other firm white fish), cut into 1 1/2 inch squares

1 egg, raw (you can omit if you wish)

Throw the anchovies, kelp, and shrimp into the pot with water. Heat on high (the stock will have to boil for 20 minutes). While the water's heating up, chop the kimchi and the onions, and slice the jalapeños up. Place the vegetables and kimchi in a bowl and start cubing the halibut. The anchovy stock should be done by now.

Remove the anchovies and kelp from the stock (keep the shrimp). Add the kimchi and vegetables. Slowly add the chili powder (you can add cayenne pepper if you want it extra-super-spicy). Heat on high for around ten minutes or so. Add the fish and wait five minutes (with the temperature on high).

It has to be as hot as possible when you put the soup into a bowl (unless you have the fancy korean bowls that keep everything piping hot). As soon as the soup is served, add the raw egg and mix.

Enjoy!

Note: You can add soft tofu to this recipe to make kimchi soft tofu soup (kimchi-soon-tofu-jjigye). I also make twice as much broth and put half of it into the freezer (I made a similar dish a couple weeks ago, and all I had to do for this time was defrost the broth).

korean melon (chameh) and orange fruit salad

I went shopping during the weekend to the Korean market and picked up one of their melons on sale. They're crisp in texture (almost cucumber-like), but with the same cloying sweetness as a honeydew melon. They pair well with the citrus nature of a ripe orange.

1 korean melon (chameh)
1 orange

Cut the korean melon into fourths. Cut away from the rind as you would any other melon and section into bite-sized pieces. Peel the orange and cut into bite-sized pieces. Mix both fruits in a bowl.

whole-wheat potato gnocchi with creamy mushroom alfredo sauce

(this dish is great to make when friends who like to cook come over. involve them in the gnocchi-making, and there's all sorts of random conversations that can happen. serves 2-3.)


gnocchi

2.2 lbs potato (1 kg)

350 g white whole-wheat flour

1 egg

2 tbsp salt

pepper

Peel the potatos. Cut them into small pieces so that they cook quickly, and place them into boiling water. Cook them until soft. Mash them and add salt, 300 g. flour, pepper, and egg. Reserve the extra 50 g when shaping the gnocchi.

Shape the gnocchi. Take a small handful of dough, and slowly shape a long snake-like rope with it. Cut the rope into small 3/4 inch squares. Roll the cut pieces into a circle. To shape the gnocchi, the basic idea is to gently press a small dough ball against a ridged surface to make the gnocchi curl like a striped, fat C. Some people use the back of a fork, but I have this little wooden gnocchi shaper.

For a video up until the shaping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWtaqrcUPsE
For a video regarding shaping gnocchi with a fork: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOAe0ILN_1g

With practice, you can do this fairly quickly. Two friends and I had a good pipeline going, and we finished shaping the gnocchi in 40 minutes or so. After you shape the gnocchi, place them on double-folded paper towels that have flour sprinkled over.

Once all the gnocchi are shaped, put one paper towel's worth of gnocchi at a time in boiling water. Once all the gnocchi have floated to the top, remove them and put them in a dish.

Serve with salad and crusty bread.



creamy mushroom alfredo sauce

1/3 cup half and half
1 lb of mushrooms (a mixture of crimini and portabella), cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I tend to go towards the upper end of this range, since I like cheese a lot)
1 clove garlic, minced
olive oil
salt and pepper

Add a teeny tiny bit of olive oil to the pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Slowly add the mushrooms, followed by the half and half. Add salt and pepper to taste.

T-100: Peel the potatoes and put water in a large pot to boil.
T-85: Start cutting the potatoes (into small pieces, so that they're cooked quickly) and placing in the boiling water as they're cut.
T-70: Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer. (Since I don't have one of these, I just use a wire mesh strainer.)
T-60: Mix the gnocchi dough, and start to shape them. Get a pipeline going with as many people as possible. If at all possible, parallelize the tasks.
T-20: Start the sauce while boiling the gnocchi.
T-15: If you have an extra person around, have them start the salad.
Dinner-time: Hopefully, the end game worked out and you can all sit down to dinner with a good bottle of wine.

crimini mushroom, avocado, and spinach salad

crimini mushroom, avocado, and spinach salad

4 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 bowl of baby spinach spinach
1/2 avocado, sliced
salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar

Mix all in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

(As you can see from the photo, we served this with the gnocchi and artisan slices of bread).

miso soup with soft tofu and enoki

(serves four, for a dinner appetizer.)

miso soup with soft tofu and enoki

1 packet of enoki
3/4 soft tofu (you can use half or a whole package -- this is just left over from the ramekin tofu cheesecake attempt)
2 tbsp miso
2 cups dashi stock

Mix the miso in with a bit of the stock, making sure it's well combined. Add the rest of the stock. Heat it and add the tofu (make sure the stock doesn't come to a vigorous boil). Add most of the enoki, leaving some for garnish. Serve, garnish with enoki mushrooms.

spicy tofu with black bean sauce

(serves two, with one serving of leftovers for lunch.)

spicy tofu with black bean sauce
to make the dish mild, omit the jalapeños.

2 tsp sesame oil
1 block of medium-firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 tbsp black bean and garlic sauce
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 medium jalapeños, thinly sliced
2 small handfuls of spinach, shredded by hand into small pieces

Start by thinly slicing the onion. Heat sesame oil on medium in a frying pan or wok (I use the same frying pan for all my meals) -- the only difference is that food's less likely to fall out of a wok. Start slicing the jalapeños. Add the onions and maybe half a jalapeño to the pan. While the onions are cooking, finish slicing the jalapeños and the block of tofu.

Add the black bean and garlic sauce, jalapeños, and tofu to the pan. Heat on the stove for 10 minutes. When you're about to serve, stir in the spinach. I'm usually in a hurry at this point, so I just take spinach by the handful from the bag, shred it over the pan, and mix it.

spicy dark chocolate and cinnamon cookies

spicy dark chocolate and cinnamon cookies
(makes 4 cookies.)

3 tbsp white whole-wheat flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder (make sure it's the kind that's only cocoa, no sugar)
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp ancho chile pepper
3/4 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp butter
3 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and mix until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until just combined.

Divide the dough into four, and place each part onto aluminum foil on a baking sheet (to save the trouble of washing the baking sheet -- it's an awkward maneuver for a small sink).

Bake for 10 minutes. Let it cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, and serve.


Note: This recipe still needs a bit of work. Also, I added bittersweet chocolate chips to my cookie, pictured above.

moroccan fish tagine with tomatoes and olives

(serves two very hungry people, with enough left over for a lunch. this dinner takes around an hour, with 30 minutes of active time.)

moroccan fish tagine with tomatoes and olives

4 5-ounce fish fillets (e.g., halibut)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp cilantro
1 tbsp and 1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp ginger

2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 lemons, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
A couple handfuls of Kalamata olives

Mix the olive oil and spices in a bowl. Add the fish and refrigerate. (If you want, you can have the fish marinate for 2 hours or more, but I never tend to plan that far ahead).

It took me around 20 minutes to slice the vegetables (I use a mandolin slicer).

Place the onions first in the tagine. Next, place a layer of tomatoes, followed by a layer of lemon slices (reserve the prettier lemon slices for later).

Take the fish out of the marinade and place atop the lemon slices. Add the remaining lemon slices, and decoratively place the olives and red pepper slices on top of the fish. Pour any reserve marinade over the dish.

Cover the tagine, and cook it in the oven for 35 minutes.

pistachio cake

(this cake is pretty quick, about 15-20 minutes active time).

pistachio cake

1/2 cup pistachios
1/3 cup white, whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup whole milk
a dash of vanilla
1/4 stick butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Add the flour and the pistachios in a food processor, and pulse the pistachios until a light powder forms, but there are still bits large enough to add texture to the cake. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and mix well.

Add the milk and vanilla, followed by the flour and pistachio mixture, the cardamom, and the baking powder. Stir until the mixture is well combined.

Place the batter in a 4 inch cake pan. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Serve the pistachio cake drizzled with honey (preferably, orange blossom honey).

angel hair pasta with seafood and white wine

(serves 2, with no leftovers. dinner should take 30 min or so to cook.)

angel hair pasta with scallops, baby clams, and white wine

2 servings angel hair pasta
1 1/2 cups scallops
1 can baby clams
1 cup white wine (mild)
6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup parsley (1/3 bunch, chopped)
2 tsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. When the oil starts to smoke, add the scallops and baby clams and cook until the scallops are browned. Add 1/2 cup white wine and bring to a boil. Remove seafood from heat. Add garlic, lemon juice, and 1 tbsp oil to the frying pan and heat until reduced by half. Shortly after adding the garlic, start cooking the angel hair pasta. Once the sauce is reduced, add the parsley and the seafood back into the mix. The pasta should be ready by now, so remove it from the stove and mix with the sauce, adding salt and pepper to taste.

some modifications: I used almost a whole can of baby clams, since I had it left over from a Korean Kimchi Soft Tofu Soup. I also substituted sake for white wine, since I didn't want to open a new bottle of wine. I also used frozen scallops, which I keep for quick dinners like this one, when I'm really tired.

ramekin tofu cheesecake

1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup silken soft tofu
4 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp flour
A dash of vanilla

Mix all of these ingredients into a bowl and pour into one or two ramekins (depends on the size). Cook at 350 degrees in the oven for 25 minutes, until the top is nicely browned. Place in freezer in order for it to cool quickly (don't eat unless it's completely cool, or the texture will be too grainy).

Note: This dessert recipe still needs a little work. I was adjusting from a large tofu cheesecake recipe to a ramekin size, and there's still room for improvement.

time

1. T-30: Peel and slice the garlic.
2. T-25: Put a pan with 2 tbsp oil on the stove on high. Start chopping the parsley.
3. T-20: Add the scallops to the pan and brown them. Add half the white wine.
4. T-17: Remove the scallops. Add the garlic, olive oil, and the rest of the white wine.
5. T-15: Make the cheesecake and start preheating the oven. Set a pot with water on the stove to boil for the pasta.
6: T-06: Make sure the sauce is reducing well (lower the heat if necessary). Add the angel hair pasta to the pot of boiling water.
7. dinnertime: Remove the pasta and mix with the sauce. Put the cheesecake into the oven and remove during dinnertime.

black beans, bananas, and pork

(feeds two, with enough left overs for one lunch. dinner should take 30 min.)

Set a cup and a half of white rice to cook.

black beans and banana stew

1 can of black beans
1 large, fairly unripe banana
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 red onion
a bit of olive oil

Over medium heat, add the olive oil to a 3 qt saucepan. Chop the onion and stir until the onion starts to become translucent, 3 minutes or so. Add the can of black beans, and slice the banana into the saucepan. Mix well, and add cilantro, salt, and pepper. Keep on the heat for 20 minutes, until the banana is soft and the flavor permeates throughout the black beans.

pork chops

3 pork chops

Put very little olive oil in a frying pan and turn the heat to medium high. Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until the pork chop is still slightly pink at the center.

apple and walnut spinach salad

1 apple
1/2 cup walnuts
4 cups spinach
olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste

Chop the apple. Quickly crumble the walnuts with your hands. Mix the salad and season to taste.



time

1. T-40: Set the rice
2. T-30: Set the saucepan for the stew, with oil on the stove.
3. T-29: Chop the onion and add it to the saucepan.
4. T-25: Add the black beans, banana, and everything else.
5. T-20: Make the salad
6. T-10: Cook the porkchops.
7. dinnertime: Remove the porkchops from the stove and serve.