Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Quesadillas
Just a simple dinner tonight - fill a tortilla with shredded cheddar and fry it in olive oil. A couple of those. Instant quesadillas!
Start of Spring
Haven't spent much time updating this blog. I get intimidated when I think about taking photos of what I'm cooking, because I'm not really great at taking luscious, sexy food pictures.
However, I love to cook. Maybe I could learn how to photograph food such that it looks alluring.
In any case, spring returns. I live on a lake with towering pines all around me. I look forward to starting to cook again. I don't feel much like cooking during the winter.
Been converting to drinking a lot more tea. At the bookstore the other day I got the London Fog latte and it was incredible. I don't usually like Earl Grey with extra bergamot, but when it has lots of steamed milk and vanilla in it, it's good.
My Harney & Sons order came today. Their Paris tea and the Chopra Invigorating Tea (Kapha-balancing).
However, I love to cook. Maybe I could learn how to photograph food such that it looks alluring.
In any case, spring returns. I live on a lake with towering pines all around me. I look forward to starting to cook again. I don't feel much like cooking during the winter.
Been converting to drinking a lot more tea. At the bookstore the other day I got the London Fog latte and it was incredible. I don't usually like Earl Grey with extra bergamot, but when it has lots of steamed milk and vanilla in it, it's good.
My Harney & Sons order came today. Their Paris tea and the Chopra Invigorating Tea (Kapha-balancing).
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Veggie Burger Attempt
Okay, so after Dad left I started getting a craving for a hamburger. Forgot my thyroid medication. Must take that.
Rather than go out, decided to make a veggie burger. The taste came out okay (totally edible, not wonderful) but it was more of a glop rather than an actual burger. (Totally a brand new cuisine for me.)
Veggie Burger
Into the Magic Bullet, I put:
- black beans, rinsed (about half a can)
- tbsp olive oil
- tbsp chives
- tbsp chopped yellow onion
- tbsp Dijon Nayonnaise
- tbsp Balsamic Vingar
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- tsp of minced garlic
- tsp of ground cumin
- pinch each of S&P
I "fried" the glop-mixture in olive oil in the cast iron pan. Took a hamburger roll and loaded it up with microgreens from yesterday's trip. Scooped the crispy mixture onto the burger, sprinkled shredded cheese over it and voila!
Not bad, not bad at all. I should have stopped before I added the Nayonnaise, which soupified it. Then I didn't like that flavor, so I added the balsamic vinegar to cover it. And I didn't like the flavor of the breadcrumbs so I didn't want to add *more* of those. I didn't particularly want to add oats, but I guess I could have. In retrospect I could have added chia seeds and they would have been an excellent binder. Next time.
And, no more craving to go to McDonald's. *nods* Good. Not exactly raw, but a whole hell of a lot better than MickeyD's.
Two observations:
a) the minced garlic in the fridge is intensely bitter. Uck. That jar is almost empty, so I think I will empty it, wash it and fill it with fresh minced garlic + some olive oil.
b) I don't like the flavor of store-bought bread crumbs anymore. (exception: the kind you can buy in the bakery at Whole Foods) Now that I've made my own a few times, my taste buds are completely rejecting the store-bought version.
Rather than go out, decided to make a veggie burger. The taste came out okay (totally edible, not wonderful) but it was more of a glop rather than an actual burger. (Totally a brand new cuisine for me.)
Veggie Burger
Into the Magic Bullet, I put:
- black beans, rinsed (about half a can)
- tbsp olive oil
- tbsp chives
- tbsp chopped yellow onion
- tbsp Dijon Nayonnaise
- tbsp Balsamic Vingar
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- tsp of minced garlic
- tsp of ground cumin
- pinch each of S&P
I "fried" the glop-mixture in olive oil in the cast iron pan. Took a hamburger roll and loaded it up with microgreens from yesterday's trip. Scooped the crispy mixture onto the burger, sprinkled shredded cheese over it and voila!
Not bad, not bad at all. I should have stopped before I added the Nayonnaise, which soupified it. Then I didn't like that flavor, so I added the balsamic vinegar to cover it. And I didn't like the flavor of the breadcrumbs so I didn't want to add *more* of those. I didn't particularly want to add oats, but I guess I could have. In retrospect I could have added chia seeds and they would have been an excellent binder. Next time.
And, no more craving to go to McDonald's. *nods* Good. Not exactly raw, but a whole hell of a lot better than MickeyD's.
Two observations:
a) the minced garlic in the fridge is intensely bitter. Uck. That jar is almost empty, so I think I will empty it, wash it and fill it with fresh minced garlic + some olive oil.
b) I don't like the flavor of store-bought bread crumbs anymore. (exception: the kind you can buy in the bakery at Whole Foods) Now that I've made my own a few times, my taste buds are completely rejecting the store-bought version.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Veggie Mixes Mean Fast Food
I find it hard to cook for myself. I'd rather go and get takeout. Funny, because I love cooking for other people.
So, I've been stocking up on storebought frozen pre-chopped vegetables. I thought perhaps that would make it easier for me to cook on days when I have less energy.
So, I've been stocking up on storebought frozen pre-chopped vegetables. I thought perhaps that would make it easier for me to cook on days when I have less energy.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Burritos: Rainy Day Comfort Food
Potato & pepper & onion burritos are my idea of a rainy-day comfort food. A tropical storm is wending its way into Southern New England and I stared at the rain whilst clicking my little City of Wonder buildings, I thought of tortillas and cheese.
Perfect for lunch or dinner.
This is precisely how I made it because I used what I had on-hand, but you can modify it however you need: just eyeball the food you have and do what you can!
Ingredients:
- 1 16oz bag of sliced green, yellow and red peppers (still frozen)
- 1 12oz bag of diced onions (still frozen)
- 10 fingerling potatoes
- tortillas
- cheddar cheese, shredded
- olive oil
- 2 tbsp chipotle spice powder from Tupperware
- sour cream
1) I turned the burner to somewhat high heat (7 of 10) and put some olive oil in the pan, just enough to coat.
2) I poured the frozen veggies in, broke them up a bit with a spoon and left them to cook.
3) I washed and poked the potatoes and put them into the microwave to cook.
4) I stirred the peppers & onions, added the chipotle spice powder and played City of Wonder, because I'm completely addicted to this latest Disney Facebook game.
5) After about ten minutes the peppers & onions were starting to caramelize and were hitting the edge of what I'd call burnt-on-the-bottom. Love it, because that reminds me of what it's like when you get fajitas at a restaurant.
6) I cut up the cooked potatoes into bite-size pieces and stirred them into the pepper mixture.
7) I put a cast iron pan onto another burner, turned the heat to 5 (of 10) and when it was warm, I laid a tortilla in it.
8) When the tortilla was warm, I turned it over and liberally spread the cheese over it.
9) I waited until the cheese was mostly melted and took the tortilla out of the pan and put it into a plate.
10) I then spooned the pepper & potato mixture into the center of the tortilla and spooned sour cream over the top. I folded the tortilla simply (both sides up over each other into a roll) and it was done.
And it was SOOO good.
Perfect for lunch or dinner.
This is precisely how I made it because I used what I had on-hand, but you can modify it however you need: just eyeball the food you have and do what you can!
Ingredients:
- 1 16oz bag of sliced green, yellow and red peppers (still frozen)
- 1 12oz bag of diced onions (still frozen)
- 10 fingerling potatoes
- tortillas
- cheddar cheese, shredded
- olive oil
- 2 tbsp chipotle spice powder from Tupperware
- sour cream
1) I turned the burner to somewhat high heat (7 of 10) and put some olive oil in the pan, just enough to coat.
2) I poured the frozen veggies in, broke them up a bit with a spoon and left them to cook.
3) I washed and poked the potatoes and put them into the microwave to cook.
4) I stirred the peppers & onions, added the chipotle spice powder and played City of Wonder, because I'm completely addicted to this latest Disney Facebook game.
5) After about ten minutes the peppers & onions were starting to caramelize and were hitting the edge of what I'd call burnt-on-the-bottom. Love it, because that reminds me of what it's like when you get fajitas at a restaurant.
6) I cut up the cooked potatoes into bite-size pieces and stirred them into the pepper mixture.
7) I put a cast iron pan onto another burner, turned the heat to 5 (of 10) and when it was warm, I laid a tortilla in it.
8) When the tortilla was warm, I turned it over and liberally spread the cheese over it.
9) I waited until the cheese was mostly melted and took the tortilla out of the pan and put it into a plate.
10) I then spooned the pepper & potato mixture into the center of the tortilla and spooned sour cream over the top. I folded the tortilla simply (both sides up over each other into a roll) and it was done.
And it was SOOO good.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Roasted potatoes, garlic and shallots.
I recently purchased a new preseasoned cast iron pan -- I need to get more iron into my system and I want to try to move away from teflon.
Yesterday I was having my friends Mark & Heather and their daughters over for dinner. The meal was designed to be entirely vegan and I was really looking forward to it -- and we all had a fantastic time.
One of the dishes I made was a combination of chopped potatoes & shallots and garlic cloves roasted for a while in the oven. After it was done, I stirred in some chopped scallions. Lovely. The house smelled heavenly -- with the scent of roasted garlic pouring out of the windows.
Ingredients:
- olive oil
- a bunch of scallions
- six medium potatoes, washed and chopped into bite-size pieces
- two heads of garlic, garlic cloves removed and left whole
- two large shallots, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 tsp each herbs: dried rosemary, dried sage, dried thyme
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Put all of the garlic cloves, chopped potatoes and chopped shallots into a bowl and toss lightly.
3. Pour olive oil over the potato mixture, enough to coat lightly.
4. Put the herbs on top and toss the potato mixture.
5. Pour the potato mixture into your roasting pan (I used a 10.25" cast iron skillet). You could use a casserole dish.
6. Put into the oven. Stir periodically, every 15 minutes. Make sure the top doesn't dry out.
7. Cook for an hour to hour and a half, until potatoes are done and garlic is all buttery-soft.
8. Remove from oven, let cool slightly. Fold scallions into potato mixture & serve.
Yesterday I was having my friends Mark & Heather and their daughters over for dinner. The meal was designed to be entirely vegan and I was really looking forward to it -- and we all had a fantastic time.
One of the dishes I made was a combination of chopped potatoes & shallots and garlic cloves roasted for a while in the oven. After it was done, I stirred in some chopped scallions. Lovely. The house smelled heavenly -- with the scent of roasted garlic pouring out of the windows.
Ingredients:
- olive oil
- a bunch of scallions
- six medium potatoes, washed and chopped into bite-size pieces
- two heads of garlic, garlic cloves removed and left whole
- two large shallots, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 tsp each herbs: dried rosemary, dried sage, dried thyme
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Put all of the garlic cloves, chopped potatoes and chopped shallots into a bowl and toss lightly.
3. Pour olive oil over the potato mixture, enough to coat lightly.
4. Put the herbs on top and toss the potato mixture.
5. Pour the potato mixture into your roasting pan (I used a 10.25" cast iron skillet). You could use a casserole dish.
6. Put into the oven. Stir periodically, every 15 minutes. Make sure the top doesn't dry out.
7. Cook for an hour to hour and a half, until potatoes are done and garlic is all buttery-soft.
8. Remove from oven, let cool slightly. Fold scallions into potato mixture & serve.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Chocolate Cake... a variation
Just made my first chocolate soufflé. It's a little thicker than a soufflé, actually. More like a light and fluffy ganache, if that's possible. A thick mousse? A fudgey cake. All I have is the French name for it, which is "fondant au chocolate" so that doesn't help. I will post a picture when my camera battery is finished recharging.
Ingredients:
2 chocolate bars of deep, intense dark chocolate
5 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 sticks of sweet cream butter, softened
1 tbsp dark rich coffee
1 heaping tbsp flour
Directions:
1) Melt chocolate bars in a double-boiler over barely-simmering water. Add the coffee.
2) Melt and stir in the butter
3) Stir in the sugar
4) Stir in the eggs, one at a time
5) Stir in the flour.
6) Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes (I baked it about 22). The middle will be wiggly.
Gorgeous.
The instructions say to chill it overnight, but I couldn't wait. Based on the flavor tonight, I would say that chilling it will make it out of this world chocolatety.
Cool!!
So. In January of 2009 I won an ice cream maker at Dad's hunting club game dinner. I've never used it and it's spent quite a bit of time riding around in my car. It actually made it into this kitchen. I just pulled it out, washed the mixer tub and put it into the freezer. I intend to make coffee ice cream tomorrow.
Ingredients:
2 chocolate bars of deep, intense dark chocolate
5 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 sticks of sweet cream butter, softened
1 tbsp dark rich coffee
1 heaping tbsp flour
Directions:
1) Melt chocolate bars in a double-boiler over barely-simmering water. Add the coffee.
2) Melt and stir in the butter
3) Stir in the sugar
4) Stir in the eggs, one at a time
5) Stir in the flour.
6) Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes (I baked it about 22). The middle will be wiggly.
Gorgeous.
The instructions say to chill it overnight, but I couldn't wait. Based on the flavor tonight, I would say that chilling it will make it out of this world chocolatety.
Cool!!
So. In January of 2009 I won an ice cream maker at Dad's hunting club game dinner. I've never used it and it's spent quite a bit of time riding around in my car. It actually made it into this kitchen. I just pulled it out, washed the mixer tub and put it into the freezer. I intend to make coffee ice cream tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)