Based on the recipe from Dan and Claire's Cooking Disaster Index. See guys, I tried to follow a recipe (tried really hard).
Ingredients
3/4 c. lentils (brown)
4 packets bullion and 2.5 c. water
2 carrots (chopped)
2 onions (chopped)
1 tin tomatoes (the small size)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tsp. oil
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. turmeric
Salt (to taste)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
Methodology
1. As in the other recipe, put the lentils, carrots, onions, garlic, and tomatoes in a pot and add 3 packets of bullion and 1.5 c. water (I'm assuming you're using powdered bullion. If you're not, just make 1.5 c. of stock and put that in). Bring it to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer for a while. Perhaps now would be a good time to make some chapati.
2. Heat the oil and the spices in another pan for about a minute. Add salt. Put aside.
3. When the lentils are cooked, turn off the burner. Put half the soup in a bowl and blend it (I use an immersion blender, which works well for getting the chunks out without destroying the texture of the lentils).
4. Add the blended soup back into the main pot. Put in the oil and spices, another packet of bullion, and another cup of water. Mix. Put it back on the heat and warm it up if needed. Enjoy!
Notes
*Also super easy. I did it this way because I have only two pots (a small one and a big one) which made it difficult to do both this and the chapati simultaneously (I needed the wok to cook the bread). But it came out really well.
*If you make 5 servings, only 90 calories/serving. Wow!
*This and the chapati get 1/7 on the disaster scale. I'm awesome (and so are Dan and Claire, who came up with the original. Thanks, guys!)
30 December 2007
Chapati bread
Based on the recipe here and the methodology here.
Ingredients
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. oil (I used garlic oil I picked up at the Asian grocery store)
about 1/2 c. hot water, as needed
Methodology
1. Put the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the center; put the oil and about 1/4 c. of water in the well and mix it, adding more water as needed until you get dough. Put a little oil in the bowl and put the bread in, then cover it and leave it sit for about 30-40 min.
2. Cut into 4 pieces and roll out with a floured rolling pin until fairly thin. Rub both sides with oil.
3. Put a bit of oil in a wok or on a grill and wipe it around, then heat the wok and put the bread in. Wait until it is brown on one side, then turn it. It will puff up. Yay. When done, eat or put in a warm oven (wrapped in foil) until you're ready to eat it.
Notes
*With garlic oil (approximately 10 calories/tablespoon), the bread has about 125 calories/piece.
*This was super easy to make and delicious. Takes a bit longer to cook than you'd think, but you don't need to hover over it.
Ingredients
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. oil (I used garlic oil I picked up at the Asian grocery store)
about 1/2 c. hot water, as needed
Methodology
1. Put the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the center; put the oil and about 1/4 c. of water in the well and mix it, adding more water as needed until you get dough. Put a little oil in the bowl and put the bread in, then cover it and leave it sit for about 30-40 min.
2. Cut into 4 pieces and roll out with a floured rolling pin until fairly thin. Rub both sides with oil.
3. Put a bit of oil in a wok or on a grill and wipe it around, then heat the wok and put the bread in. Wait until it is brown on one side, then turn it. It will puff up. Yay. When done, eat or put in a warm oven (wrapped in foil) until you're ready to eat it.
Notes
*With garlic oil (approximately 10 calories/tablespoon), the bread has about 125 calories/piece.
*This was super easy to make and delicious. Takes a bit longer to cook than you'd think, but you don't need to hover over it.
24 December 2007
Ginger Fudge
In which I set nothing on fire.
Ok, yes. I made up this recipe based on the last fudge experiment which I admit did not turn out quite right - the top layer didn't set up quite and the bottom layer was a bit hard. So back to the drawing board.
Ingredients
2 bags semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tin (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (I used Ong Tho because I was at an Asian food store undergoing a fit of nostalgia while I was buying it. I think this is less sweet than the typical American stuff. Also in Vietnam they sell low fat Ong Tho, which would have been great here, but they didn't have any at the store.)
1/2 c. marshmallow fluff (I feel dirty just typing that, but you need some corn syrup and I didn't want to actually own corn syrup so this has it in it. Does that make sense? Probably not. Sorry.)
1 box (~ 200g) candied ginger (you can find this at an Asian grocery store, which is why I happened to be there. It will be easier to find around Chinese New Year/Tet, so in late January-mid February, because dried fruits are very popular at that time of year; if you were feeling really daring and could find it, candied lotus root would also be good to add in to the mix.)
1/4 c. skim milk (approx.)
1 tsp. vanilla
a pinch of salt
spices to taste: cinnamon, Cayenne pepper, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, etc.
Methodology
1. If, like me, you have little strips of ginger, chop them into reasonable sized pieces. Put in a bowl and set aside. Cover 2 round 9" cake pans (or whatever) with tin foil and spray the tin foil with cooking spray.
2. Put the condensed milk and the chips in a pan over low heat. As they melt, stir in the marshmallow, the skim milk, the vanilla, the spices. Still stirring, bring it to a boil.
3. When it boils, turn off the heat and stop stirring. Count to 20 or something until it has stopped boiling and then stir in the ginger. Divide the mixture into the two pans, smooth the top, and put it in the fridge for two hours.
4. Cut and enjoy, or put back in the fridge to worry about.
Notes
*Initially I was too scared to estimate the number of calories. Then I figured out if I cut it into 40 pieces, it would be 130 calories/pc. Not too bad. But then when I cut it, I actually cut it into about 120 pieces, at about 50 calories per piece. The advantage and disadvantage of using a round pan is that at the edges the pieces are a bit smaller, so this is an average. Also when you're transferring the fudge to a container it's very tempting to eat the small bits from the edges.
*I will totally someday soon stop with this baking binge. At least from New Year's to Lupercalia, I promise. As it is, this is getting kind of dire. I've started stalking people primarily because if they're home I can give them baked goods to get rid of them.
*Most of the fudge is destined for Claire's family in St. Paul, as are the cupcakes I'm going to make tomorrow. Next year I'm going to find a boyfriend who celebrates this damn holiday so I'm not left up to my own devices for this long. Goddamn.
*The fudge came out pretty good - not too firm, but with a certain tensile strength. Next time I'm going to use an actual candy thermometer and it will be better.
Ok, yes. I made up this recipe based on the last fudge experiment which I admit did not turn out quite right - the top layer didn't set up quite and the bottom layer was a bit hard. So back to the drawing board.
Ingredients
2 bags semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tin (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (I used Ong Tho because I was at an Asian food store undergoing a fit of nostalgia while I was buying it. I think this is less sweet than the typical American stuff. Also in Vietnam they sell low fat Ong Tho, which would have been great here, but they didn't have any at the store.)
1/2 c. marshmallow fluff (I feel dirty just typing that, but you need some corn syrup and I didn't want to actually own corn syrup so this has it in it. Does that make sense? Probably not. Sorry.)
1 box (~ 200g) candied ginger (you can find this at an Asian grocery store, which is why I happened to be there. It will be easier to find around Chinese New Year/Tet, so in late January-mid February, because dried fruits are very popular at that time of year; if you were feeling really daring and could find it, candied lotus root would also be good to add in to the mix.)
1/4 c. skim milk (approx.)
1 tsp. vanilla
a pinch of salt
spices to taste: cinnamon, Cayenne pepper, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, etc.
Methodology
1. If, like me, you have little strips of ginger, chop them into reasonable sized pieces. Put in a bowl and set aside. Cover 2 round 9" cake pans (or whatever) with tin foil and spray the tin foil with cooking spray.
2. Put the condensed milk and the chips in a pan over low heat. As they melt, stir in the marshmallow, the skim milk, the vanilla, the spices. Still stirring, bring it to a boil.
3. When it boils, turn off the heat and stop stirring. Count to 20 or something until it has stopped boiling and then stir in the ginger. Divide the mixture into the two pans, smooth the top, and put it in the fridge for two hours.
4. Cut and enjoy, or put back in the fridge to worry about.
Notes
*Initially I was too scared to estimate the number of calories. Then I figured out if I cut it into 40 pieces, it would be 130 calories/pc. Not too bad. But then when I cut it, I actually cut it into about 120 pieces, at about 50 calories per piece. The advantage and disadvantage of using a round pan is that at the edges the pieces are a bit smaller, so this is an average. Also when you're transferring the fudge to a container it's very tempting to eat the small bits from the edges.
*I will totally someday soon stop with this baking binge. At least from New Year's to Lupercalia, I promise. As it is, this is getting kind of dire. I've started stalking people primarily because if they're home I can give them baked goods to get rid of them.
*Most of the fudge is destined for Claire's family in St. Paul, as are the cupcakes I'm going to make tomorrow. Next year I'm going to find a boyfriend who celebrates this damn holiday so I'm not left up to my own devices for this long. Goddamn.
*The fudge came out pretty good - not too firm, but with a certain tensile strength. Next time I'm going to use an actual candy thermometer and it will be better.
22 December 2007
Sweet Potato and Thai Eggplant Curry
I am a clever enough monkey to recognize that baking when I'm bored + everyone out of town for the hols is not a good combination, so I restrained myself and made curry instead.
I know, right?
Ingredients
4 Thai eggplants
about 2 sweet potatoes
1 block firm (Chinese) tofu (about 8 oz)
red curry paste
1 tin coconut cream*
salt/pepper/etc.
oil and garlic
Methodology
1. Chop veg and tofu into appealing-sized pieces. Heat oil and garlic in wok.
2. Add tofu to pan. Toss a little to coat in oil, then let it sit. This is apparently the key to browning the damn stuff; this guy B. showed me the technique the other day. I have been cooking tofu for years and my, let's call it "short attention span" has apparently been working against me. Who knew?
3. Add coconut cream and curry paste (to taste, at least a couple of tablespoons). As it begins to boil, dump in the veg.
4. Cover it and let it cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are cooked. Depending on the curry paste you may need to add salt, pepper, and a tablespoon or so of (brown) sugar.
5. Serve over rice.
Notes
I had this great green curry with Thai eggplants, snake beans, and basil in Laos and I've been trying to recreate it. Making it with a) red curry and b) sweet potatoes isn't exactly the way to do that, but it was good nevertheless. Next time I will wait a bit before adding the eggplants (like when the sweet potatoes are about halfway done) because they got a bit mushy.
2/7 on the disaster index.
*It's called "nuoc cot dua" in Vietnamese. I was shopping at an Asian import store. But seriously, it's better than coconut milk I think. This is the stuff you need.
I know, right?
Ingredients
4 Thai eggplants
about 2 sweet potatoes
1 block firm (Chinese) tofu (about 8 oz)
red curry paste
1 tin coconut cream*
salt/pepper/etc.
oil and garlic
Methodology
1. Chop veg and tofu into appealing-sized pieces. Heat oil and garlic in wok.
2. Add tofu to pan. Toss a little to coat in oil, then let it sit. This is apparently the key to browning the damn stuff; this guy B. showed me the technique the other day. I have been cooking tofu for years and my, let's call it "short attention span" has apparently been working against me. Who knew?
3. Add coconut cream and curry paste (to taste, at least a couple of tablespoons). As it begins to boil, dump in the veg.
4. Cover it and let it cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are cooked. Depending on the curry paste you may need to add salt, pepper, and a tablespoon or so of (brown) sugar.
5. Serve over rice.
Notes
I had this great green curry with Thai eggplants, snake beans, and basil in Laos and I've been trying to recreate it. Making it with a) red curry and b) sweet potatoes isn't exactly the way to do that, but it was good nevertheless. Next time I will wait a bit before adding the eggplants (like when the sweet potatoes are about halfway done) because they got a bit mushy.
2/7 on the disaster index.
*It's called "nuoc cot dua" in Vietnamese. I was shopping at an Asian import store. But seriously, it's better than coconut milk I think. This is the stuff you need.
19 December 2007
Curried Tofu with Sweet Potatoes
An experiment in failures of communication when buying groceries.
Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes, washed, peeled, chopped
1 block tofu, drained and cut into pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 T. curry paste, (Indian curry paste not Thai)
salt and pepper
2 c. brown rice
5 c. water
some oil and garlic
Methodology
1. Put rice and 4 cups of water in a pot and start that. Do all the chopping.
2. Heat oil and garlic in pan (I use a wok, because that's what I own.) Add the onion and let it cook for a bit, then add in the tofu. After that starts to brown, add the sweet potato and curry paste. Mix. Add one cup of water and cover.
3. Wait, stirring occasionally, until everything is cooked. Add salt and pepper as desired.
4. Eat.
Notes
We bought way too much stuff and actually cut up 4 sweet potatoes and a large onion, so the quantities are approximate. If I'd put in about a tablespoon of brown sugar it would have been better...also might be worth adding a jigger of soy sauce. Still, pretty good. I'd guess with rice it's about 300 calories/serving, though I haven't actually worked that out. Makes a lot -- enough for 3 people with stuff left over.
Disaster index: 3
Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes, washed, peeled, chopped
1 block tofu, drained and cut into pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 T. curry paste, (Indian curry paste not Thai)
salt and pepper
2 c. brown rice
5 c. water
some oil and garlic
Methodology
1. Put rice and 4 cups of water in a pot and start that. Do all the chopping.
2. Heat oil and garlic in pan (I use a wok, because that's what I own.) Add the onion and let it cook for a bit, then add in the tofu. After that starts to brown, add the sweet potato and curry paste. Mix. Add one cup of water and cover.
3. Wait, stirring occasionally, until everything is cooked. Add salt and pepper as desired.
4. Eat.
Notes
We bought way too much stuff and actually cut up 4 sweet potatoes and a large onion, so the quantities are approximate. If I'd put in about a tablespoon of brown sugar it would have been better...also might be worth adding a jigger of soy sauce. Still, pretty good. I'd guess with rice it's about 300 calories/serving, though I haven't actually worked that out. Makes a lot -- enough for 3 people with stuff left over.
Disaster index: 3
Fudge
So, life is awful and you're having anxiety attacks all week. What to do?
Make fudge.
Ingredients
1 bag (12 oz) dark/semi-sweet chocolate chips
about 1 cup grated semi-sweet chocolate
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
2 T milk
2 tsp. vanilla
the zest of an orange
a couple tablespoons of Grand Marnier
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. almonds
Cayenne pepper
Methodology
1. Melt chocolate chips over low heat with 2/3 c. condensed milk, 1 T milk, and 1 tsp vanilla. Add the orange zest and liquor. When everything is melted, add the walnuts and remove from heat.
2. Spread on the bottom of a 9" pie pan that you've covered in foil and sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Melt the other chocolate with the rest of the condensed milk. Add the rest of the milk and vanilla. Add almonds and Cayenne pepper to taste.
4. Spread on top of the previous layer of chocolate.
5. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Notes
This was a project Claire and I got into while Daniel was studying for an exam. Because neither of us follows directions well, this didn't come out anything like the way the recipe was. I've tried to reproduce what we actually did as opposed to what it said to do. It was edible though. Actually quite delicious. But it would have been better if we hadn't done pepper on top and orange on the bottom and instead done, oh, cinnamon and pepper, or something like that.
Disaster index: 4 on a scale of 0-7.
Make fudge.
Ingredients
1 bag (12 oz) dark/semi-sweet chocolate chips
about 1 cup grated semi-sweet chocolate
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
2 T milk
2 tsp. vanilla
the zest of an orange
a couple tablespoons of Grand Marnier
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. almonds
Cayenne pepper
Methodology
1. Melt chocolate chips over low heat with 2/3 c. condensed milk, 1 T milk, and 1 tsp vanilla. Add the orange zest and liquor. When everything is melted, add the walnuts and remove from heat.
2. Spread on the bottom of a 9" pie pan that you've covered in foil and sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Melt the other chocolate with the rest of the condensed milk. Add the rest of the milk and vanilla. Add almonds and Cayenne pepper to taste.
4. Spread on top of the previous layer of chocolate.
5. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Notes
This was a project Claire and I got into while Daniel was studying for an exam. Because neither of us follows directions well, this didn't come out anything like the way the recipe was. I've tried to reproduce what we actually did as opposed to what it said to do. It was edible though. Actually quite delicious. But it would have been better if we hadn't done pepper on top and orange on the bottom and instead done, oh, cinnamon and pepper, or something like that.
Disaster index: 4 on a scale of 0-7.
15 December 2007
Brownies
Grand Marnier Brownies with Hard Ganache
(based on another of my mother's recipes)
ingredients
brownies
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/4 c. cake flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 c. water
2/3 c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. + 2 T Grand Marnier
1/2 T vanilla
1/2 c. chocolate chips
a pinch of cinnamon
ganache
chocolate chips
cream
Grand Marnier and/or rum
methodology
1. Preheat oven to 350*. Sift dry ingredients (cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt) together. Putting the brown sugar through a seive may take a while, but try to get the lumps out.
2. Mix in water and mayonnaise.
3. Mix in Grand Marnier, vanilla, and chips. Add a pinch of cinnamon if you want.
4. Bake in a 9" x 13" pan for 30 minutes. Or in a round 9" cake pan if you're me and that's all you have.
5. Melt the chocolate chips with the cream as in a standard chocolate ganache (most use about 1/2 c. cream and 8 oz chips, but that will be probably more than you want. Remember not to heat it too hot or the chocolate will burn and it will all go to hell). Add some Grand Marnier. Drizzle over cooled brownies. Yay.
Notes
These were fairly successful, both on the giving-baked-goods-to-guys-I-like front and the taking-to-a-karate-party front. They would have been better if I'd used the zest of an orange to emphasize the Grand Marnier.
I've somehow gotten a reputation amongst the karate people as a bit of a baker. Next semester I'll have to come up with something else, lest they think I'm falling down on the job.
(based on another of my mother's recipes)
ingredients
brownies
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/4 c. cake flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 c. water
2/3 c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. + 2 T Grand Marnier
1/2 T vanilla
1/2 c. chocolate chips
a pinch of cinnamon
ganache
chocolate chips
cream
Grand Marnier and/or rum
methodology
1. Preheat oven to 350*. Sift dry ingredients (cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt) together. Putting the brown sugar through a seive may take a while, but try to get the lumps out.
2. Mix in water and mayonnaise.
3. Mix in Grand Marnier, vanilla, and chips. Add a pinch of cinnamon if you want.
4. Bake in a 9" x 13" pan for 30 minutes. Or in a round 9" cake pan if you're me and that's all you have.
5. Melt the chocolate chips with the cream as in a standard chocolate ganache (most use about 1/2 c. cream and 8 oz chips, but that will be probably more than you want. Remember not to heat it too hot or the chocolate will burn and it will all go to hell). Add some Grand Marnier. Drizzle over cooled brownies. Yay.
Notes
These were fairly successful, both on the giving-baked-goods-to-guys-I-like front and the taking-to-a-karate-party front. They would have been better if I'd used the zest of an orange to emphasize the Grand Marnier.
I've somehow gotten a reputation amongst the karate people as a bit of a baker. Next semester I'll have to come up with something else, lest they think I'm falling down on the job.
09 December 2007
Hundred Dollar Chocolate Cake Cupcakes with Rum Frosting
There's a long story about why this is called "Hundred Dollar Chocolate Cake", but the party I took them to was successful enough that I have a headache now, so I'm not going to type it here. It's similar to this legend about Neiman-Marcus's cookies.
What's more interesting for me, oddly enough, is that this is a WWII era recipe, using mayonnaise instead of eggs because eggs were being rationed. I've never actually tried the recipe with eggs and oil instead of mayo, but I have tried it with canola mayonnaise (vegan stuff without eggs in it) and it came out fine, so this is a recipe that can be veganized pretty easily
Let's see. The goal here was to produce cupcakes for a friend's holiday party. The cake recipe is pretty standard in my family, so I didn't change it much, in a "Why mess with success?" way. The frosting was kind of a trial run though.
Ingredients
Cake
2 c (cake) flour
1 c. (brown) sugar
1.5 tsp baking soda
4 T cocoa powder
1 c. cold water
1 c. mayonnaise (I used "light" because I don't eat the stuff and wanted to give the remainder to Daniel later on. It doesn't make a difference though.)
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 T cinnamon[1]
Frosting
2.66 c. icing sugar (powdered sugar)
5 T margarine
1 t. vanilla
6 T rum (I recommend a fairly top-shelf rum, because you can taste it.)
Methodology
1. Preheat oven to 350*. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and cocoa. If you're using brown sugar (as I was), bear in mind that it's rather difficult to force it through a strainer, so the best you're going to manage is probably to break up the lumps.
2. Beat in the water, mayonnaise, and vanilla. Drop about two tablespoon-fulls per muffin cup (a soup spoon "tablespoon", not a measuring spoon) and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool.
3. Sift powdered sugar into bowl. Add margarine, vanilla, and rum. Mix into paste. Add more sugar and more rum until it reaches the desired consistency.
4. Frost cupcakes and add sprinkles, because who doesn't love sprinkles? Do not lick out the bowl and drive.
Notes
*Makes 18 cupcakes, approximately 80 calories each (frosted, approximately 130).
*As one of the people I forced cupcakes upon pointed out, these came out a little weird. The cake was good, the frosting was good, but they weren't really what people expected. Several people wanted to lick the frosting off and leave the cupcake (they didn't, though). But everyone seemed to enjoy them, including the people I was sort of pitifully trying to impress, and I was pretty intoxicated at that point anyway, so it was okay.
*If the liquor stores had been open when I baked the cookies (around 7h00, because of a 4.5 hour karate workshop taking up the middle chunk of my Saturday), I would have bought the rum and put some in the cupcakes, which might have made them go together better.
*So in total, 4.5/7 on the disaster index. It might be less if I didn't have a headache, but there you go.
[1]Cinnamon is my one addition to the recipe. Omit for a more standard cake.
What's more interesting for me, oddly enough, is that this is a WWII era recipe, using mayonnaise instead of eggs because eggs were being rationed. I've never actually tried the recipe with eggs and oil instead of mayo, but I have tried it with canola mayonnaise (vegan stuff without eggs in it) and it came out fine, so this is a recipe that can be veganized pretty easily
Let's see. The goal here was to produce cupcakes for a friend's holiday party. The cake recipe is pretty standard in my family, so I didn't change it much, in a "Why mess with success?" way. The frosting was kind of a trial run though.
Ingredients
Cake
2 c (cake) flour
1 c. (brown) sugar
1.5 tsp baking soda
4 T cocoa powder
1 c. cold water
1 c. mayonnaise (I used "light" because I don't eat the stuff and wanted to give the remainder to Daniel later on. It doesn't make a difference though.)
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 T cinnamon[1]
Frosting
2.66 c. icing sugar (powdered sugar)
5 T margarine
1 t. vanilla
6 T rum (I recommend a fairly top-shelf rum, because you can taste it.)
Methodology
1. Preheat oven to 350*. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and cocoa. If you're using brown sugar (as I was), bear in mind that it's rather difficult to force it through a strainer, so the best you're going to manage is probably to break up the lumps.
2. Beat in the water, mayonnaise, and vanilla. Drop about two tablespoon-fulls per muffin cup (a soup spoon "tablespoon", not a measuring spoon) and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool.
3. Sift powdered sugar into bowl. Add margarine, vanilla, and rum. Mix into paste. Add more sugar and more rum until it reaches the desired consistency.
4. Frost cupcakes and add sprinkles, because who doesn't love sprinkles? Do not lick out the bowl and drive.
Notes
*Makes 18 cupcakes, approximately 80 calories each (frosted, approximately 130).
*As one of the people I forced cupcakes upon pointed out, these came out a little weird. The cake was good, the frosting was good, but they weren't really what people expected. Several people wanted to lick the frosting off and leave the cupcake (they didn't, though). But everyone seemed to enjoy them, including the people I was sort of pitifully trying to impress, and I was pretty intoxicated at that point anyway, so it was okay.
*If the liquor stores had been open when I baked the cookies (around 7h00, because of a 4.5 hour karate workshop taking up the middle chunk of my Saturday), I would have bought the rum and put some in the cupcakes, which might have made them go together better.
*So in total, 4.5/7 on the disaster index. It might be less if I didn't have a headache, but there you go.
[1]Cinnamon is my one addition to the recipe. Omit for a more standard cake.
06 December 2007
Happy Jewmas!
The comic site seems to be down, so here's today's comic. Hannukah started Tuesday night. (If you're curious, you can also spell it "Channakah". There isn't one correct spelling, because it's not an English word. My favorite spelling has been the slightly more Semitic-looking "Khannikah", but I could get into the Hispanic-inspired "Jannikah" too...)
I think that's it for comments for now.
02 December 2007
Tofu and BaiCai Stir Fry
An unexpected afternoon left to my own devices on a miserable gray day, when my attempts to go for a run have failed and the thought of doing the shopping I'd been planning seems repugnant?
Why not get up to some nonsense in the kitchen? And, while I'm at it, why not cook dinner without curry in it for once?
Napa cabbage is called baicai (白菜) in Chinese, and I like it much more than regular cabbage. I once came across a six foot tall baicai carved out of marble, and I almost bought it and had it shipped home to my parents for the fun of imagining them looking at it and saying to themselves, "What the hell is our daughter getting up to in China?"
This dish might be called "朝豆腐和白菜" in Chinese (Chao Doufu he baicai). Or possibly "烹" (peng) instead of "朝" (chao). It might also be referred to as Vegetarian Singapore Noodles.
Ingredients
1/2 package (4 oz) tofu
1/2 T Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
2 T mushroom stir fry sauce
1 T garlic oil or similar
2 T rice vinegar
2 T dark soy sauce
1 lb napa cabbage (bai cai)
garlic, ginger, chili powder, salt, pepper
4 oz. rice vermicelli
Methodology
1. Mix the chili sauce, mushroom sauce, garlic oil, vinegar, and soy sauce in a bowl. Cut tofu into pieces and mix it in. Cover and leave in fridge for a while. Take a nap, eat some toast, agonize over your novel. Eventually, wander back and hack the cabbage into bits.
2. Put some oil in the wok and heat it, along with some garlic, powdered ginger (or fresh ginger), and chili powder. Take the tofu out using a slotted spoon and put it in the wok (you probably want to keep the heat on medium). Reserve the marinade.
3. When tofu is sufficiently cooked, put it in a bowl and add more oil to the wok, then dump in the cabbage. Be careful, because if you washed the cabbage (and I hope you did) water will cling to the leaves, and water + hot oil = bad stuff. Cook the cabbage until it's wilted, adding salt and pepper, chili powder, etc. to taste.
4. Reintegrate the tofu and cook it along with the cabbage and the extra marinade. Bring some water to a boil and cook the noodles for three or four minutes (until tender), then drain.
5. Remove about 2 servings of tofu-and-baicai, then add the noodles to the remainder. You could just cook a whole bunch of noodles and mix it all, but I wanted to be able to have rice with the leftovers if I took a fancy for it. When everything reaches the same temperature, take it off and eat it.
Makes about three or four servings, about 300-350 calories per serving, depending on size and noodle choice.
Notes
*I was in a hurry and should have put in more ginger. Still, quite good. Pulling the noodles apart was a problem; I got bits of dry rice noodle everywhere. If you finish cooking them much before the stir fry is done, you can put them in cold water to keep them from turning into rice gloop.
*The amount of marinade that I wound up with was enough for probably twice as much tofu (which is how much I figured I'd be cooking when I started making it, appropriately enough). I feel like you shouldn't finish up swimming in marinade, so probably reduce the amounts by a half, except for the mushroom sauce.
*The recipe is very adaptable, and if you have pickled ginger/kimchi/roasted garlic lying around you might want to toss it in to see what happens. Experimentation is of course the great thing about cooking, and the great thing about living on your own is that your mother is never going to walk in and ask you in that certain tone why the kitchen is covered with hot sauce.
At least I am glad no one is going to ask me that. I'm going to go scrub some things down.
Why not get up to some nonsense in the kitchen? And, while I'm at it, why not cook dinner without curry in it for once?
Napa cabbage is called baicai (白菜) in Chinese, and I like it much more than regular cabbage. I once came across a six foot tall baicai carved out of marble, and I almost bought it and had it shipped home to my parents for the fun of imagining them looking at it and saying to themselves, "What the hell is our daughter getting up to in China?"
This dish might be called "朝豆腐和白菜" in Chinese (Chao Doufu he baicai). Or possibly "烹" (peng) instead of "朝" (chao). It might also be referred to as Vegetarian Singapore Noodles.
Ingredients
1/2 package (4 oz) tofu
1/2 T Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
2 T mushroom stir fry sauce
1 T garlic oil or similar
2 T rice vinegar
2 T dark soy sauce
1 lb napa cabbage (bai cai)
garlic, ginger, chili powder, salt, pepper
4 oz. rice vermicelli
Methodology
1. Mix the chili sauce, mushroom sauce, garlic oil, vinegar, and soy sauce in a bowl. Cut tofu into pieces and mix it in. Cover and leave in fridge for a while. Take a nap, eat some toast
2. Put some oil in the wok and heat it, along with some garlic, powdered ginger (or fresh ginger), and chili powder. Take the tofu out using a slotted spoon and put it in the wok (you probably want to keep the heat on medium). Reserve the marinade.
3. When tofu is sufficiently cooked, put it in a bowl and add more oil to the wok, then dump in the cabbage. Be careful, because if you washed the cabbage (and I hope you did) water will cling to the leaves, and water + hot oil = bad stuff. Cook the cabbage until it's wilted, adding salt and pepper, chili powder, etc. to taste.
4. Reintegrate the tofu and cook it along with the cabbage and the extra marinade. Bring some water to a boil and cook the noodles for three or four minutes (until tender), then drain.
5. Remove about 2 servings of tofu-and-baicai, then add the noodles to the remainder. You could just cook a whole bunch of noodles and mix it all, but I wanted to be able to have rice with the leftovers if I took a fancy for it. When everything reaches the same temperature, take it off and eat it.
Makes about three or four servings, about 300-350 calories per serving, depending on size and noodle choice.
Notes
*I was in a hurry and should have put in more ginger. Still, quite good. Pulling the noodles apart was a problem; I got bits of dry rice noodle everywhere. If you finish cooking them much before the stir fry is done, you can put them in cold water to keep them from turning into rice gloop.
*The amount of marinade that I wound up with was enough for probably twice as much tofu (which is how much I figured I'd be cooking when I started making it, appropriately enough). I feel like you shouldn't finish up swimming in marinade, so probably reduce the amounts by a half, except for the mushroom sauce.
*The recipe is very adaptable, and if you have pickled ginger/kimchi/roasted garlic lying around you might want to toss it in to see what happens. Experimentation is of course the great thing about cooking, and the great thing about living on your own is that your mother is never going to walk in and ask you in that certain tone why the kitchen is covered with hot sauce.
At least I am glad no one is going to ask me that. I'm going to go scrub some things down.
01 December 2007
Aztec Cookies
Background
Every year I get this thing I call "Christmas Cookie Rage", defined as the anger you feel when someone guilt trips you into eating one of their cookies which, while pretty, are inevitably lacking in every department except caloric value. This year, I decided to upset the pattern by baking my own cookies (despite not celebrating Christmas and all that). To that end, I polled my friends as to what kind of cookie they wanted.
The answer was fairly unanimous: chocolate chip. Daniel and Claire expressed a clear preference for small, chewy cookies, which I agree with; it is a truth universally acknowledged that if you eat four or five smaller cookies, you're doing a better job of sticking to your diet than if you eat like one really big one. As for the chewy versus crispy problem, I'm equally comfortable with both, though I have a slight preference for crispy (I enjoy a chocolate chip shortbread or biscotti, but I can tell which way the wind is blowing.) The major issue that remained to be addressed was that of sugar: Dan and Claire both prefer something less sweet, while I eat sugar directly from the container[1].
What we needed was a chocolate chip cookie that was both sweet and had a bit of a kick to it.
Ah-ha, sez I.
A couple years ago, I was really into the Aztecs. I studied their myths, knew about their gods, even taught myself Nahuatl. So when I needed chocolate with a kick, I knew exactly where to look.
I used this recipe as a starting point (found by googling for "the best cookies ever"), but as you'll see, the finished product is not really related.
Ingredients
1/2 c. margarine
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2.5 tsp ginger
2.5 tsp Cayenne
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
a sprinkling of black pepper and cardamom
Methodology
1. Preheat oven to 375*. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Mix the wet ingredients (margarine, brown sugar, eggs) with a mixer (I broke out the immersion blender again because it is the greatest thing ever). Add the vanilla.
3. Add in the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, spices). I added one cup of flour, then the spices, then the other cup, because I was worried about the spices not getting distributed enough if the batter was too thick, but the batter wasn't too thick.
4. Add the chocolate chips.
5. Make tablespoon-sized cookies on baking sheets about an inch apart and bake for about 6 minutes in the middle of the oven. Let them cool about 2 minutes on the sheet before you remove them to a rack or whatever.
Makes about 41 cookies, at a scant 88 calories/cookie.
Notes
It's hard to balance the spices on this, because everything is less spicy after baking. The batter was almost too spicy, but the cookies are less so. I am taking some over to Dan and Claire tonight and we will see what they think I am pretty happy with the recipe though.
[1] Okay maybe not, because that's kind of gross.
Every year I get this thing I call "Christmas Cookie Rage", defined as the anger you feel when someone guilt trips you into eating one of their cookies which, while pretty, are inevitably lacking in every department except caloric value. This year, I decided to upset the pattern by baking my own cookies (despite not celebrating Christmas and all that). To that end, I polled my friends as to what kind of cookie they wanted.
The answer was fairly unanimous: chocolate chip. Daniel and Claire expressed a clear preference for small, chewy cookies, which I agree with; it is a truth universally acknowledged that if you eat four or five smaller cookies, you're doing a better job of sticking to your diet than if you eat like one really big one. As for the chewy versus crispy problem, I'm equally comfortable with both, though I have a slight preference for crispy (I enjoy a chocolate chip shortbread or biscotti, but I can tell which way the wind is blowing.) The major issue that remained to be addressed was that of sugar: Dan and Claire both prefer something less sweet, while I eat sugar directly from the container[1].
What we needed was a chocolate chip cookie that was both sweet and had a bit of a kick to it.
Ah-ha, sez I.
A couple years ago, I was really into the Aztecs. I studied their myths, knew about their gods, even taught myself Nahuatl. So when I needed chocolate with a kick, I knew exactly where to look.
I used this recipe as a starting point (found by googling for "the best cookies ever"), but as you'll see, the finished product is not really related.
Ingredients
1/2 c. margarine
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2.5 tsp ginger
2.5 tsp Cayenne
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
a sprinkling of black pepper and cardamom
Methodology
1. Preheat oven to 375*. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Mix the wet ingredients (margarine, brown sugar, eggs) with a mixer (I broke out the immersion blender again because it is the greatest thing ever). Add the vanilla.
3. Add in the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, spices). I added one cup of flour, then the spices, then the other cup, because I was worried about the spices not getting distributed enough if the batter was too thick, but the batter wasn't too thick.
4. Add the chocolate chips.
5. Make tablespoon-sized cookies on baking sheets about an inch apart and bake for about 6 minutes in the middle of the oven. Let them cool about 2 minutes on the sheet before you remove them to a rack or whatever.
Makes about 41 cookies, at a scant 88 calories/cookie.
Notes
It's hard to balance the spices on this, because everything is less spicy after baking. The batter was almost too spicy, but the cookies are less so. I am taking some over to Dan and Claire tonight and we will see what they think I am pretty happy with the recipe though.
[1] Okay maybe not, because that's kind of gross.
25 November 2007
Curried Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup
Based on this recipe from epicurious.com.
With Claire away and a major math test a day away, Daniel was beginning to wander around with a shuffling, broken gait, wearing sweaters and staring for long moments at random items in the supermarket. And so, soup to the rescue!
Ingredients
1.5 c. tinned pumpkin (120)
2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks (640)
4 c. water with vegetable bullion or vegetable broth
1 c. skim milk (90)
seasonings, including sweet curry powder, red Thai curry paste, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. (100)
Methodology
1. Put sweet potatoes in a pot with water and vegetable bullion and bring to a boil. Add curry powder and stir occasionally until the potatoes are cooked.
2. Spoon potatoes and 1 cup of broth into a blender and blend until smooth.
3. Return blended potatoes to pot. Add milk and pumpkin and stir. Season to taste.
Makes approximately 10 servings (I think. Big servings), approximately 100 calories per serving. I recommend serving them with whole wheat pita bread; yoghurt is also a possibility, as is Parmesan cheese (Claire's innovation).
Notes
Something about the sweet potatoes and pumpkin means that it doesn't take spices very well; I added a lot of pepper before it started tasting spicy, and even then it was the sort of spicy that creeps up on you instead of being spicy all at once, which is nice for luring the faint of heart.
Normally when I make curry I add sugar, because I love things which are both sweet and spicy, but the sweet potatoes are sweet enough already that you don't need it.
I think the best part of this recipe is the way you can tweak it. For a more Thai flavour, add coconut milk instead of skim and leave out the curry powder (just use the paste). For a more Indian flavour, you can add butter and leave out the curry paste; you could even mix in some dal if you had some, that would be nice.
2/7 on the disaster index, mostly because of my own nervousness about spicing it. A liberal hand seems to be necessary. So go forth and curry (and don't forget to check out Em oi! while you're at it.)
With Claire away and a major math test a day away, Daniel was beginning to wander around with a shuffling, broken gait, wearing sweaters and staring for long moments at random items in the supermarket. And so, soup to the rescue!
Ingredients
1.5 c. tinned pumpkin (120)
2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks (640)
4 c. water with vegetable bullion or vegetable broth
1 c. skim milk (90)
seasonings, including sweet curry powder, red Thai curry paste, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. (100)
Methodology
1. Put sweet potatoes in a pot with water and vegetable bullion and bring to a boil. Add curry powder and stir occasionally until the potatoes are cooked.
2. Spoon potatoes and 1 cup of broth into a blender and blend until smooth.
3. Return blended potatoes to pot. Add milk and pumpkin and stir. Season to taste.
Makes approximately 10 servings (I think. Big servings), approximately 100 calories per serving. I recommend serving them with whole wheat pita bread; yoghurt is also a possibility, as is Parmesan cheese (Claire's innovation).
Notes
Something about the sweet potatoes and pumpkin means that it doesn't take spices very well; I added a lot of pepper before it started tasting spicy, and even then it was the sort of spicy that creeps up on you instead of being spicy all at once, which is nice for luring the faint of heart.
Normally when I make curry I add sugar, because I love things which are both sweet and spicy, but the sweet potatoes are sweet enough already that you don't need it.
I think the best part of this recipe is the way you can tweak it. For a more Thai flavour, add coconut milk instead of skim and leave out the curry powder (just use the paste). For a more Indian flavour, you can add butter and leave out the curry paste; you could even mix in some dal if you had some, that would be nice.
2/7 on the disaster index, mostly because of my own nervousness about spicing it. A liberal hand seems to be necessary. So go forth and curry (and don't forget to check out Em oi! while you're at it.)
22 November 2007
Gingerbread Cake part two: The Pumpkin Variation
As before (in this post), with ingredients as follows:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup mild molasses mixed with 1 cup hot water
(I've highlighted the changes).
Methodology remains the same:
1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Mix wet ingredients (sugar, egg, margarine, pumpkin) in bowl with electric mixer/immersion blender type of frog.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, spices, salt. Be careful if you don't want flour all over the kitchen (why you would object to this I cannot think.)
3. Alternate between adding molasses and flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Pour into a greased 9" baking pan (I used a round one with 2 inch sides I think). Bake in the middle of the oven until the knife comes out clean, approximately 40 minutes. You can then turn it out of the pan without much fuss.
Notes
This can totally be thrown together, Iron Chef style, in 30 minutes if you are really pressed for time. Since clean up takes about 15 minutes, figure about an hour and a quarter start to finish (I'm typing this up at the 52 minute mark). Today I had exactly 2.5 hours (from the time I left work to the time I have to leave for aikido) to devote to this project, and that included shopping time. It looks like I'm going to make it (er, touch wood or something).
With the pumpkin, the cake has 2510 calories per cake, or 168 calories per slice for 15 slices, so not too shabby. I compensated for the added liquid by adding an extra quarter cup of flour (the making of the cake was not assisted by the death of my quarter cup measure halfway through the process, grr.)
I don't expect the cake to come out especially pumpkin-y; to accomplish that I should have probably dropped the amount of molasses or something (it tends to be quite strong). Still, it should make a nice offering for tomorrow. We'll see how the audience reacts. Last week's preliminary test went well, but I feel like tomorrow's crowd is much tougher, especially as it includes both of my younger brothers...
Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who happens to be out there, and don't forget to check out the Thanksgiving Em oi!
ETA: Audience reaction gave this one full marks. Total success.
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup mild molasses mixed with 1 cup hot water
(I've highlighted the changes).
Methodology remains the same:
1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Mix wet ingredients (sugar, egg, margarine, pumpkin) in bowl with electric mixer/immersion blender type of frog.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, spices, salt. Be careful if you don't want flour all over the kitchen (why you would object to this I cannot think.)
3. Alternate between adding molasses and flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Pour into a greased 9" baking pan (I used a round one with 2 inch sides I think). Bake in the middle of the oven until the knife comes out clean, approximately 40 minutes. You can then turn it out of the pan without much fuss.
Notes
This can totally be thrown together, Iron Chef style, in 30 minutes if you are really pressed for time. Since clean up takes about 15 minutes, figure about an hour and a quarter start to finish (I'm typing this up at the 52 minute mark). Today I had exactly 2.5 hours (from the time I left work to the time I have to leave for aikido) to devote to this project, and that included shopping time. It looks like I'm going to make it (er, touch wood or something).
With the pumpkin, the cake has 2510 calories per cake, or 168 calories per slice for 15 slices, so not too shabby. I compensated for the added liquid by adding an extra quarter cup of flour (the making of the cake was not assisted by the death of my quarter cup measure halfway through the process, grr.)
I don't expect the cake to come out especially pumpkin-y; to accomplish that I should have probably dropped the amount of molasses or something (it tends to be quite strong). Still, it should make a nice offering for tomorrow. We'll see how the audience reacts. Last week's preliminary test went well, but I feel like tomorrow's crowd is much tougher, especially as it includes both of my younger brothers...
Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who happens to be out there, and don't forget to check out the Thanksgiving Em oi!
ETA: Audience reaction gave this one full marks. Total success.
21 November 2007
Gingerbread Cake (part 1)
Based on a recipe from epicurious.com which I will hunt down and link to later.
ETA: here it is.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 banana, mushed up (approx 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup) plus 1/8 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup mild molasses mixed with 1 cup hot water
Methodology
1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Mix wet ingredients (sugar, egg, margarine, banana) in bowl with electric mixer/immersion blender type of frog.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, spices, salt. Be careful if you don't want flour all over the kitchen (why you would object to this I cannot think.)
3. Alternate between adding molasses and flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Pour into a greased 9" baking pan (I used a round one with 2 inch sides I think). Bake in the middle of the oven until the knife comes out clean, approximately 40 minutes. You can then turn it out of the pan without much fuss.
Recommend serving with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
ETA: here it is.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 banana, mushed up (approx 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup) plus 1/8 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup mild molasses mixed with 1 cup hot water
Methodology
1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Mix wet ingredients (sugar, egg, margarine, banana) in bowl with electric mixer/immersion blender type of frog.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, spices, salt. Be careful if you don't want flour all over the kitchen (why you would object to this I cannot think.)
3. Alternate between adding molasses and flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Pour into a greased 9" baking pan (I used a round one with 2 inch sides I think). Bake in the middle of the oven until the knife comes out clean, approximately 40 minutes. You can then turn it out of the pan without much fuss.
Recommend serving with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
Cake has 2242 calories. If 10 pieces, 224.2 cal/piece. 15 pieces = 150 calories/slice.
It's not terribly sweet, but very dark and moist, so it makes a nice finish for people who don't have an all-consuming need to eat SUGAR all the time (er, and I liked it too.) Plus gingerbread feels healthier than chocolate.
Next time, I'm going to try it with pumpkin. Will keep you updated.
18 November 2007
Curried Lentil and Spinach Stew
Based (very loosely) off this recipe from epicurious.com.
Ingredients:
2 tsp margarine
1 T garlic
1 onion
3 tsp curry powder
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
2.5 c. water
2 packets bullion
2 c. spinach (approx.)
1 c. lentils
1 tin chickpeas (approx. 2.5 cups)
1/2 T. brown sugar
Methodology:
1. Chop the onion thinly. Saute margarine and garlic in pan, add onion and mix until starting to look cooked. Add curry and pepper.
2. Add water and bullion and spinach. When the spinach is wilted and the water is beginning to simmer, add the chickpeas and lentils.
3. Cook until lentils are done, adding more water as necessary. Add brown sugar, salt, peper, etc.
Makes 5 1 cup servings, approximately 145.5 calories/serving.
Notes:
This was really good. Also it takes a while, and was probably the wrong recipe to choose after a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu work out that left me feeling like I'd been hit with rolling pins for 2 hours. I am covered with bruises, and I was ready to eat my own arm off by the time the cooking was done.
I threw in some mushrooms (the sad remains of pasta sauce experiments from last week) and used half red onion, half yellow. I also used spinach instead of Swiss Chard or Kale because I was bumming around the market after practice (looking, I'm sure, like I'd just been mugged in a back alley) and I didn't want to muck around trying to decide wtf Swiss Chard is.) It turned out well. 2/7 on the disaster index, only because of my own idiocy in choosing it tonight instead of some other, less hungry time. I suggest serving with pita or whole wheat bread.
Ingredients:
2 tsp margarine
1 T garlic
1 onion
3 tsp curry powder
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
2.5 c. water
2 packets bullion
2 c. spinach (approx.)
1 c. lentils
1 tin chickpeas (approx. 2.5 cups)
1/2 T. brown sugar
Methodology:
1. Chop the onion thinly. Saute margarine and garlic in pan, add onion and mix until starting to look cooked. Add curry and pepper.
2. Add water and bullion and spinach. When the spinach is wilted and the water is beginning to simmer, add the chickpeas and lentils.
3. Cook until lentils are done, adding more water as necessary. Add brown sugar, salt, peper, etc.
Makes 5 1 cup servings, approximately 145.5 calories/serving.
Notes:
This was really good. Also it takes a while, and was probably the wrong recipe to choose after a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu work out that left me feeling like I'd been hit with rolling pins for 2 hours. I am covered with bruises, and I was ready to eat my own arm off by the time the cooking was done.
I threw in some mushrooms (the sad remains of pasta sauce experiments from last week) and used half red onion, half yellow. I also used spinach instead of Swiss Chard or Kale because I was bumming around the market after practice (looking, I'm sure, like I'd just been mugged in a back alley) and I didn't want to muck around trying to decide wtf Swiss Chard is.) It turned out well. 2/7 on the disaster index, only because of my own idiocy in choosing it tonight instead of some other, less hungry time. I suggest serving with pita or whole wheat bread.
16 November 2007
Greek Salad Pita Sandwiches
Adapted from this recipe I found on Epicurious.com:
Ingredients:
1.5 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1.25 c. tomatoes (chopped or canned. Let's face it, this is Wisconsin in winter, canned is the only thing that's not going to taste of cardboard.)
1.25 c. diced cucumbers (this was accidental. I chopped too much.)
1 c. chopped red onion (equally accidental.)
1 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. Italian parsley. Or whatever parsley. It's parsley, who cares.
1/2 c. feta (I used reduced fat feta, which I didn't know existed. Yay.)
Methodology:
1. mix olive oil and vinegar.
2. add the veggies. mix. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. put in a pita bread and serve.
Notes:
*There was a debate (in my head) as to what kind of pita bread to get: flat is more authentic, but more calorie-heavy. Eventually I went with the pre-cut whole wheat pitas, which are 80 calories/half.
*The raw onion was really strong, and probably my least favorite thing about this. For tomorrow I'm gonna try stir frying it with some garlic before I stuff the pitas, which should help a little with the eye-watering quality it has now.
*As made above, makes about 5.5 cups. I assume 1 c = 1 serving, so a serving (with pita) is about 200 calories. It's really hard to fit that much in half a pita, though, so you could experiment with stuffing them less and having 2. That would be daring.
*If I had fresh mint and/or basil, I'd put those in.
Disaster rating: 4/7; edible, but I'm not incredibly eager to try it again. Lots of leftovers though.
ETA (17 Nov 07): stir fried leftovers with garlic. Much improved.
Ingredients:
1.5 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1.25 c. tomatoes (chopped or canned. Let's face it, this is Wisconsin in winter, canned is the only thing that's not going to taste of cardboard.)
1.25 c. diced cucumbers (this was accidental. I chopped too much.)
1 c. chopped red onion (equally accidental.)
1 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. Italian parsley. Or whatever parsley. It's parsley, who cares.
1/2 c. feta (I used reduced fat feta, which I didn't know existed. Yay.)
Methodology:
1. mix olive oil and vinegar.
2. add the veggies. mix. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. put in a pita bread and serve.
Notes:
*There was a debate (in my head) as to what kind of pita bread to get: flat is more authentic, but more calorie-heavy. Eventually I went with the pre-cut whole wheat pitas, which are 80 calories/half.
*The raw onion was really strong, and probably my least favorite thing about this. For tomorrow I'm gonna try stir frying it with some garlic before I stuff the pitas, which should help a little with the eye-watering quality it has now.
*As made above, makes about 5.5 cups. I assume 1 c = 1 serving, so a serving (with pita) is about 200 calories. It's really hard to fit that much in half a pita, though, so you could experiment with stuffing them less and having 2. That would be daring.
*If I had fresh mint and/or basil, I'd put those in.
Disaster rating: 4/7; edible, but I'm not incredibly eager to try it again. Lots of leftovers though.
ETA (17 Nov 07): stir fried leftovers with garlic. Much improved.
15 November 2007
Thai-style Cabbage Noodles (annotated)
Another recipe from my days in Asia:
Thai-style Cabbage Noodles - a fusion cuisine experiment
Cabbage noodles are notable for being incredibly simple to make - basically you saute some cabbage, add it to noodles, salt and pepper it, and you're done. So what happens when we needlessly complicate the procedure by making instead a pad thai type dish with cabbage? Deliciousness.
[Cabbage noodles are a Hungarian recipe, for the record, and it has already been modified to be vegan (Hungarians traditionally put some sort of meat in it, I believe, but the friend I got it from was a vegan, so that's how I learned to make it. Also, I don't eat meat, so it's kind of a moot point. --E]
Stuff you need:
2 tomatoes
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
some mushrooms [I tended to use dried shitakes, since they are better than almost anything in the world. Straw mushrooms would also be good. --E]
a chili pepper or two [I have a heavy hand with the peppers. For the record. --E]
pad thai sauce or mushroom sauce or oyster sauce or hoysin sauce - mushroom/oyster is more authentic and harder to find/less vegetarian. I used pad thai sauce. [At the time I was looking for these things, I had spent the day trying to explain to a woman in a marketplace in Vietnamese that I wanted sauce from Thailand for noodles, which was of course confusing. These things can all be found at an Asian grocery in the US, and you don't have to speak Vietnamese/Chinese/Thai/whatever to get them. --E]
soy sauce mmmmm [At the time I wrote many of these recipes, I was living in a very warm climate, which means that I tended to put a lot of salt on my food, since I craved it like nothing else. You should be careful before you follow suit in more temperate climes. --E]
salt
about a quarter of a cabbage - more or less to taste [Either regular green or "napa" (白菜) will work. I believe I originally used a green cabbage. --E]
rice noodles [Medium to thin is best. --E]
1 cup of water
Methodology
1. Cut up the veggies, heat up some oil in a pan and drop in the garlic, the mushrooms, and the pepper. Let it saute until it smells delicious. Do not look away, they will burn. The Thai way of dealing with garlic is basically to smack it with the knife and then cut it up still in the wrapper and fry it also still in the wrapper, producing something a bit crunchier than normal. I kind of like it, and it saves the hassle of peeling garlic, but you can totally do it however you want.
2. Add in the onion and the cabbage. Cook them until the cabbage begins to wilt and take up less space. Add the tomatoes.
3. When everything is looking pretty good, or when you are tired of wrestling with the damn bottle of pad thai sauce (that stuff is worse than ketchup, to get it to come out) add about a tablespoon of pad thai sauce and about two tablespoons of soy sauce. Mix it in. Add salt if you want. You could also add brown sugar or chili paste if you had/wanted those things.
4. Add the rice noodles and dump in the water. It will bubble around for a while - keep it on medium-high heat and stir a lot. When you can cut the noodles with the edge of the spatula, it's done (alternatively, when they are not crunchy to taste). Add additional stuff (salt/chili/pepper/soy sauce/pad thai sauce/sugar) as you want. Serve.
Thai-style Cabbage Noodles - a fusion cuisine experiment
Cabbage noodles are notable for being incredibly simple to make - basically you saute some cabbage, add it to noodles, salt and pepper it, and you're done. So what happens when we needlessly complicate the procedure by making instead a pad thai type dish with cabbage? Deliciousness.
[Cabbage noodles are a Hungarian recipe, for the record, and it has already been modified to be vegan (Hungarians traditionally put some sort of meat in it, I believe, but the friend I got it from was a vegan, so that's how I learned to make it. Also, I don't eat meat, so it's kind of a moot point. --E]
Stuff you need:
2 tomatoes
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
some mushrooms [I tended to use dried shitakes, since they are better than almost anything in the world. Straw mushrooms would also be good. --E]
a chili pepper or two [I have a heavy hand with the peppers. For the record. --E]
pad thai sauce or mushroom sauce or oyster sauce or hoysin sauce - mushroom/oyster is more authentic and harder to find/less vegetarian. I used pad thai sauce. [At the time I was looking for these things, I had spent the day trying to explain to a woman in a marketplace in Vietnamese that I wanted sauce from Thailand for noodles, which was of course confusing. These things can all be found at an Asian grocery in the US, and you don't have to speak Vietnamese/Chinese/Thai/whatever to get them. --E]
soy sauce mmmmm [At the time I wrote many of these recipes, I was living in a very warm climate, which means that I tended to put a lot of salt on my food, since I craved it like nothing else. You should be careful before you follow suit in more temperate climes. --E]
salt
about a quarter of a cabbage - more or less to taste [Either regular green or "napa" (白菜) will work. I believe I originally used a green cabbage. --E]
rice noodles [Medium to thin is best. --E]
1 cup of water
Methodology
1. Cut up the veggies, heat up some oil in a pan and drop in the garlic, the mushrooms, and the pepper. Let it saute until it smells delicious. Do not look away, they will burn. The Thai way of dealing with garlic is basically to smack it with the knife and then cut it up still in the wrapper and fry it also still in the wrapper, producing something a bit crunchier than normal. I kind of like it, and it saves the hassle of peeling garlic, but you can totally do it however you want.
2. Add in the onion and the cabbage. Cook them until the cabbage begins to wilt and take up less space. Add the tomatoes.
3. When everything is looking pretty good, or when you are tired of wrestling with the damn bottle of pad thai sauce (that stuff is worse than ketchup, to get it to come out) add about a tablespoon of pad thai sauce and about two tablespoons of soy sauce. Mix it in. Add salt if you want. You could also add brown sugar or chili paste if you had/wanted those things.
4. Add the rice noodles and dump in the water. It will bubble around for a while - keep it on medium-high heat and stir a lot. When you can cut the noodles with the edge of the spatula, it's done (alternatively, when they are not crunchy to taste). Add additional stuff (salt/chili/pepper/soy sauce/pad thai sauce/sugar) as you want. Serve.
11 November 2007
Spicy Lentils and Tomatoes
Ho-hum. Not a fortnight after coming out against the combination of lentils and tomatoes, I find myself cooking them. But as this isn't lentil stew, I think I can let it slide. In fact, I'd call this a faux lentil curry.
Ingredients:
1 c. brown lentils
1 (small) tin (2.5 c, I think) diced tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1.25 c. mushrooms, chopped
margarine
garlic
spices (salt, pepper, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, hot pepper)
Method:
1. Put 1 c. lentils in a pan with 2 c. water and a bit of curry powder. Turn on and let it cook.
2. In a wok or other large pan, melt the margerine and the garlic. Add the mushrooms and onion and saute, adding spices until the veg are carmelized. You can add some juice from the tomatoes to deglaze the pan. When it's done, turn it off and wait for the lentils. They probably won't take long.
3. Add the lentils to the onions and mushrooms. Mix. Add the tomatoes. Cook until everything is warm. Season with curry, cumin, turmeric, etc. Serve with hot sauce and parmesan cheese.
Serves ~4, 100 calories/serving. Also has lots of protein. Yay.
Comments:
It's good. I wanted something filling and low-calorie after my day of weird eating (I went home, so wound up grazing a lot. How do you count the calories in one piece of broccoli?) Still, it's not quite curry. If I were a better person, I would make up my own curry powder instead of using the stuff that I bought pre-mixed, and I would use butter instead of margarine. Also I would probably add a bit of brown sugar. Still, I like it.
Ingredients:
1 c. brown lentils
1 (small) tin (2.5 c, I think) diced tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1.25 c. mushrooms, chopped
margarine
garlic
spices (salt, pepper, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, hot pepper)
Method:
1. Put 1 c. lentils in a pan with 2 c. water and a bit of curry powder. Turn on and let it cook.
2. In a wok or other large pan, melt the margerine and the garlic. Add the mushrooms and onion and saute, adding spices until the veg are carmelized. You can add some juice from the tomatoes to deglaze the pan. When it's done, turn it off and wait for the lentils. They probably won't take long.
3. Add the lentils to the onions and mushrooms. Mix. Add the tomatoes. Cook until everything is warm. Season with curry, cumin, turmeric, etc. Serve with hot sauce and parmesan cheese.
Serves ~4, 100 calories/serving. Also has lots of protein. Yay.
Comments:
It's good. I wanted something filling and low-calorie after my day of weird eating (I went home, so wound up grazing a lot. How do you count the calories in one piece of broccoli?) Still, it's not quite curry. If I were a better person, I would make up my own curry powder instead of using the stuff that I bought pre-mixed, and I would use butter instead of margarine. Also I would probably add a bit of brown sugar. Still, I like it.
04 November 2007
Lentil Stew
I tried the lentil stew again, with a slightly different recipe:
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
1 small onion
1/2 large green bell pepper
1/2 c. brown rice
1/2 c. lentils
1/3 c. orzo
garlic
~1/2 T. margarine
1 packet vegetable bullion
spices to taste (suggested: salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, chili powder)
The methodology is about the same as this version: put garlic and margerine in pan, add veg and bullion powder, add rice and lentils with 2 c. water and cook, add orzo, spice, eat. The major differences are that I put on hot sauce and cheddar cheese instead of parmesan and served it with whole wheat toast.
People are of two minds about tomatoes in lentil soup, with Dan and Claire coming down on the for side and myself on the against. I'd have added turmeric if I had any, though. Also possibly curry powder or its constituents (garam marsala, cinnamon, etc).
Yay. Makes about 6 servings, 150 calories each.
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
1 small onion
1/2 large green bell pepper
1/2 c. brown rice
1/2 c. lentils
1/3 c. orzo
garlic
~1/2 T. margarine
1 packet vegetable bullion
spices to taste (suggested: salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, chili powder)
The methodology is about the same as this version: put garlic and margerine in pan, add veg and bullion powder, add rice and lentils with 2 c. water and cook, add orzo, spice, eat. The major differences are that I put on hot sauce and cheddar cheese instead of parmesan and served it with whole wheat toast.
People are of two minds about tomatoes in lentil soup, with Dan and Claire coming down on the for side and myself on the against. I'd have added turmeric if I had any, though. Also possibly curry powder or its constituents (garam marsala, cinnamon, etc).
Yay. Makes about 6 servings, 150 calories each.
18 October 2007
Khoai Lang voi sot ca ri cua Em
From the archives, another Vietnam-composed recipe. This makes a biiig pot of stew, and I have no idea how many calories. Add coconut milk (nuoc cot dua) in addition to water for a creamier product.
Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic
3 onions (note: all quantities are "to taste" - I certainly don't have a scale or anything, I just cup up as much as looks right. That said, the recipe as I made it serves at least 8, I think.)
4 yams, small-ish. Mine were kinda ropey. I dunno.
3 potatos, medium-sized.
2 carrots
6 bananas (very small - probably about 1.5 or 2 regular bananas)
peanuts
chili pepper
1. cut everything up into edible-sized pieces. Heat oil. Add garlic and chilli pepper. [if you have something like dried shitakes, you might add them now too. mm, that would be good.]
2. When garlic smells enticing, add onions and stir a while, until they begin to look cooked.
3. Add potatos and yams and carrots. Wait a few moments. Add bananas and peanuts.
4. Put in about 3 inches of water and cover it [add coconut milk at this point if you want]. Walk away and leave it cook, stirring about every 5-7 minutes or so to keep it from burning. When the veg is cooked, turn down the heat and add curry powder, paprika, cinnamon, salt, etc until it is spicy enough for whatever purposes you may have.
5. Serve with more peanuts on top, with soy sauce optional. Mmm, soy sauce.
That's it. It's really easy, probably requires about 40 minutes cooking time on a regular stove (ours is a small dragon and doesn't hold with that "cooking time" nonsense. This cooked in about 15 minutes total.
You may want to add more root vegetables if you can find them - turnips, parsnips, whatever. Or plantains. That might be fun. I think it might be nice with apple too, but apples here are expensive and not really great.
Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic
3 onions (note: all quantities are "to taste" - I certainly don't have a scale or anything, I just cup up as much as looks right. That said, the recipe as I made it serves at least 8, I think.)
4 yams, small-ish. Mine were kinda ropey. I dunno.
3 potatos, medium-sized.
2 carrots
6 bananas (very small - probably about 1.5 or 2 regular bananas)
peanuts
chili pepper
1. cut everything up into edible-sized pieces. Heat oil. Add garlic and chilli pepper. [if you have something like dried shitakes, you might add them now too. mm, that would be good.]
2. When garlic smells enticing, add onions and stir a while, until they begin to look cooked.
3. Add potatos and yams and carrots. Wait a few moments. Add bananas and peanuts.
4. Put in about 3 inches of water and cover it [add coconut milk at this point if you want]. Walk away and leave it cook, stirring about every 5-7 minutes or so to keep it from burning. When the veg is cooked, turn down the heat and add curry powder, paprika, cinnamon, salt, etc until it is spicy enough for whatever purposes you may have.
5. Serve with more peanuts on top, with soy sauce optional. Mmm, soy sauce.
That's it. It's really easy, probably requires about 40 minutes cooking time on a regular stove (ours is a small dragon and doesn't hold with that "cooking time" nonsense. This cooked in about 15 minutes total.
You may want to add more root vegetables if you can find them - turnips, parsnips, whatever. Or plantains. That might be fun. I think it might be nice with apple too, but apples here are expensive and not really great.
14 October 2007
Bun Chay Hue
I wrote this recipe while I was visiting a friend in Vung Tau. I did not actually enjoy Vung Tau much, but it was nice to be able to cook.
It was originally supposed to be a Vietnamese dish called Bun Bo Hue, except vegetarian, "So I can't put bo (beef) in it," I told the woman in the market.
"Then it's not Bun Bo Hue," she said. But it is good. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 carrot
2 potatoes
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
2-3 spring onions (scallions? yes.)
hot pepper to taste
lemon grass
various herbs - basil, mint, cilantro, also banana flower stalks if you can get them (they're a lovely purple colour), turmuric, ginger
1 block tofu (firm/Chinese preferably, cut into smallish cubes and fried)
1 kg bun noodles (if you cannot get bun, rice noodles will probably work.)*
1. Cut up the tofu and (stir) fry it until it's crispy on the outside. Set aside.
2. Cut up the carrot, hot pepper, potatoes, spring onions, cilantro, basil and mint. Fill a big pot with water (about as much as you want to have soup - maybe 2/3 full? 1/3+1/4? I don't know.) Add the veg and the herbs and some salt. Bruise the lemon grass and stick it in. Leave it to become stock, stirring occasionally. You could use cabbage too I guess. Whatever floats your boat. Or you could cheat and use bullion. If I were making it again in the US I probably would.
3. Cut up the onion, garlic, turmeric, and ginger. Put a smallish (omelet-type pan) on the stove and add oil. Put in some spices (I've no idea what they were, since they were mostly unlabeled. Lets pretend one was anatto. Another one was cinnamon (that's not pretend, that one I know.) Stir them around in the oil a bit, then add the onion/garlic/turmeric/ginger. Stir fry that until it smells very nice and then scoop it out (with a slotted spoon) and plop it into the soup (which should be coming to a boil around now) leaving the oil behind.
4. Put the tofu in the omelet pan and mix it around. You may wish to salt it. And don't forget to keep stirring the soup!
5. Add some salt and soy sauce to the soup, it's getting lonely. Take out the lemon grass, it has done its task (this is why you BRUISED it instead of chopping it up, right?)
6. Turn off the omelet pan. If you are using rice noodles, add them to the soup. If you have fresh (pre-cooked) bun, put a handful in each bowl that you are going to serve.
7. When noodles are ready, add the tofu, salt, pepper, soy sauce, etc. to the broth.
8. Serve in a bowl with chopped up greens on it (basil, mint, banana stems, sprouts if you want, etc) and hot sauce and soy sauce as desired. Yay.
I think it's quite good, though if I had some vegetable bullion that would be slightly better - make a richer broth. Try not to eat the bits of hot pepper, they're quite hot.
*Note on bun: these are thin, soft Vietnamese noodles sold pre-cooked in the markets here. They're typically translated as "rice vermicelli", so that would be the most obvious substitution to make. Japanese noodles like udon or soba would probably also be interesting - less authentic, but the dish isn't terribly authentic to start with. It's important to remember when using them that they absorb water like nothing else, so don't just plop them all in the soup, as you'll wind up with a pot of slightly salty noodles and nothing else.
1 carrot
2 potatoes
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
2-3 spring onions (scallions? yes.)
hot pepper to taste
lemon grass
various herbs - basil, mint, cilantro, also banana flower stalks if you can get them (they're a lovely purple colour), turmuric, ginger
1 block tofu (firm/Chinese preferably, cut into smallish cubes and fried)
1 kg bun noodles (if you cannot get bun, rice noodles will probably work.)*
1. Cut up the tofu and (stir) fry it until it's crispy on the outside. Set aside.
2. Cut up the carrot, hot pepper, potatoes, spring onions, cilantro, basil and mint. Fill a big pot with water (about as much as you want to have soup - maybe 2/3 full? 1/3+1/4? I don't know.) Add the veg and the herbs and some salt. Bruise the lemon grass and stick it in. Leave it to become stock, stirring occasionally. You could use cabbage too I guess. Whatever floats your boat. Or you could cheat and use bullion. If I were making it again in the US I probably would.
3. Cut up the onion, garlic, turmeric, and ginger. Put a smallish (omelet-type pan) on the stove and add oil. Put in some spices (I've no idea what they were, since they were mostly unlabeled. Lets pretend one was anatto. Another one was cinnamon (that's not pretend, that one I know.) Stir them around in the oil a bit, then add the onion/garlic/turmeric/ginger. Stir fry that until it smells very nice and then scoop it out (with a slotted spoon) and plop it into the soup (which should be coming to a boil around now) leaving the oil behind.
4. Put the tofu in the omelet pan and mix it around. You may wish to salt it. And don't forget to keep stirring the soup!
5. Add some salt and soy sauce to the soup, it's getting lonely. Take out the lemon grass, it has done its task (this is why you BRUISED it instead of chopping it up, right?)
6. Turn off the omelet pan. If you are using rice noodles, add them to the soup. If you have fresh (pre-cooked) bun, put a handful in each bowl that you are going to serve.
7. When noodles are ready, add the tofu, salt, pepper, soy sauce, etc. to the broth.
8. Serve in a bowl with chopped up greens on it (basil, mint, banana stems, sprouts if you want, etc) and hot sauce and soy sauce as desired. Yay.
I think it's quite good, though if I had some vegetable bullion that would be slightly better - make a richer broth. Try not to eat the bits of hot pepper, they're quite hot.
*Note on bun: these are thin, soft Vietnamese noodles sold pre-cooked in the markets here. They're typically translated as "rice vermicelli", so that would be the most obvious substitution to make. Japanese noodles like udon or soba would probably also be interesting - less authentic, but the dish isn't terribly authentic to start with. It's important to remember when using them that they absorb water like nothing else, so don't just plop them all in the soup, as you'll wind up with a pot of slightly salty noodles and nothing else.
11 October 2007
Rice Lentil Pilaf
Ingredients:
1 medium-sized sweet potato
1/2 c. brown rice
1/2 c. lentils
1/3 c. orzo
garlic
~2 tsp. margarine
spices to taste
1. Wash lentils and rice, wash and chop sweet potato. Put rice, lentils, garlic, margarine, and sweet potato in a pot with 2 c. water. Bring it to a boil, then turn it down and cover, stirring occasionally.
2. After about 10 minutes, add the orzo and more water.
3. Leave it alone until it's cooked, about another 10 minutes. BUT BE CAREFUL: if you are using a thin bottomed sauce pan (as I was) it is likely to burn as the water cooks off, so be careful and keep an eye on it (like I didn't).
4. Season with salt, pepper, Cayenne pepper, paprika. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Yay. Makes about 5 servings, 150 calories each.
1 medium-sized sweet potato
1/2 c. brown rice
1/2 c. lentils
1/3 c. orzo
garlic
~2 tsp. margarine
spices to taste
1. Wash lentils and rice, wash and chop sweet potato. Put rice, lentils, garlic, margarine, and sweet potato in a pot with 2 c. water. Bring it to a boil, then turn it down and cover, stirring occasionally.
2. After about 10 minutes, add the orzo and more water.
3. Leave it alone until it's cooked, about another 10 minutes. BUT BE CAREFUL: if you are using a thin bottomed sauce pan (as I was) it is likely to burn as the water cooks off, so be careful and keep an eye on it (like I didn't).
4. Season with salt, pepper, Cayenne pepper, paprika. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Yay. Makes about 5 servings, 150 calories each.
10 October 2007
Pad Thai
I am in a hurry, but here is Pad Thai for Daniel and Claire:
Ingrediants:
half a block of tofu
7 oz of rice noodles
oil
garlic
about 1/3 c. green onions, cut up into appetizing lengths
1/2 T. brown sugar
2 T. soy sauce
3 T. mushroom sauce (or veg stir fry sauce is what I think the bottle calls it. It's still mushroom sauce.)
1 egg, beaten
some bean sprouts
3 T. water
1. Put oil in pan and heat with garlic until it smells nice (you can use vegetable oil, canola oil, sesame oil, it doesn't much matter). Slice the tofu into small, thinnish slices and stirfry until it turns brown.
2. This is where you'd add meat if you were using meat. But I don't.
3. Mix in a bowl the water, soy sauce, sugar, and mushroom sauce. Set aside.
4. When the tofu is cooked, put in the egg and scramble it around.
5. Add the soy sauce-sugar mixture.
6. Put in the noodles. Add some water and cover until cooked. You may need to add more water, so keep it on hand.
7. When noodles are cooked, readjust the seasoning; I recommend adding more sugar, soy sauce, and probably some hot pepper too. You may also want salt.
8. Add bean sprouts and onions and turn off heat. Garnish with ground peanuts, chilli powder, brown sugar, more bean sprouts, and lime juice to taste.
Easy peasy, right? Serves about 4, roughly 250 calories/serving.
When readjusting for more people, remember to cut the tofu thin. Cooking the rice noodles seperately may be necessary.
I'm off to work.
(This morning when I tried to post this, blogger said, "Do you mean DELORT?" and ate it, but now I find it exists again in whole form. Weird.)
Ingrediants:
half a block of tofu
7 oz of rice noodles
oil
garlic
about 1/3 c. green onions, cut up into appetizing lengths
1/2 T. brown sugar
2 T. soy sauce
3 T. mushroom sauce (or veg stir fry sauce is what I think the bottle calls it. It's still mushroom sauce.)
1 egg, beaten
some bean sprouts
3 T. water
1. Put oil in pan and heat with garlic until it smells nice (you can use vegetable oil, canola oil, sesame oil, it doesn't much matter). Slice the tofu into small, thinnish slices and stirfry until it turns brown.
2. This is where you'd add meat if you were using meat. But I don't.
3. Mix in a bowl the water, soy sauce, sugar, and mushroom sauce. Set aside.
4. When the tofu is cooked, put in the egg and scramble it around.
5. Add the soy sauce-sugar mixture.
6. Put in the noodles. Add some water and cover until cooked. You may need to add more water, so keep it on hand.
7. When noodles are cooked, readjust the seasoning; I recommend adding more sugar, soy sauce, and probably some hot pepper too. You may also want salt.
8. Add bean sprouts and onions and turn off heat. Garnish with ground peanuts, chilli powder, brown sugar, more bean sprouts, and lime juice to taste.
Easy peasy, right? Serves about 4, roughly 250 calories/serving.
When readjusting for more people, remember to cut the tofu thin. Cooking the rice noodles seperately may be necessary.
I'm off to work.
(This morning when I tried to post this, blogger said, "Do you mean DELORT?" and ate it, but now I find it exists again in whole form. Weird.)
07 October 2007
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
I'm transferring some older posts over here before I shut down my other blog, because I don't want to lose them (and I like the utility of having recipes online so I can access them from other people's houses, which seems to be where I do most of my cooking.
So, this recipe was adapted from Cook's online.
So, this recipe was adapted from Cook's online.
1 c. margerine. Suppose butter would also work. Room temp or fridge temp, not frozen.
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
(cinnamon and nutmeg to taste)
1 1/2 c. flour
2 c. oatmeal
lots of chocolate chips. The recipe called for "12 oz. semi-sweet" but I pretty much threw in handfuls of whatever was lying about until it was about the right ratio of cookie dough to chips.
Preheat oven to 375* F. Mix everything in order (whisk is good, pastry cutter also would be useful for the initial mixing of the butter). Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet, cook for 10 minutes.
Notes: I made them rather large - scooped with a teaspoon but I couldn't really make them small, and I got 45 cookies. I cut the salt a bit because of the margerine, but in retrospect I wouldn't do that again. Use a biggish bowl if you're mixing them by hand, because it comes out to be quite a lot to mix. A mix of milk and semi-sweet chocolate is nice if you're not vegan (I will try this without eggs next time maybe). I can't think of any more notes at the moment.
They were quite tasty and well received, except by my youngest brother who claimed I had adulterated good chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal. I told him he was free to stop eating them, and he said, "Right," and kept on. I'm not giving much weight to his critique under the circumstances.
(originally posted 8/8/07)
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
(cinnamon and nutmeg to taste)
1 1/2 c. flour
2 c. oatmeal
lots of chocolate chips. The recipe called for "12 oz. semi-sweet" but I pretty much threw in handfuls of whatever was lying about until it was about the right ratio of cookie dough to chips.
Preheat oven to 375* F. Mix everything in order (whisk is good, pastry cutter also would be useful for the initial mixing of the butter). Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet, cook for 10 minutes.
Notes: I made them rather large - scooped with a teaspoon but I couldn't really make them small, and I got 45 cookies. I cut the salt a bit because of the margerine, but in retrospect I wouldn't do that again. Use a biggish bowl if you're mixing them by hand, because it comes out to be quite a lot to mix. A mix of milk and semi-sweet chocolate is nice if you're not vegan (I will try this without eggs next time maybe). I can't think of any more notes at the moment.
They were quite tasty and well received, except by my youngest brother who claimed I had adulterated good chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal. I told him he was free to stop eating them, and he said, "Right," and kept on. I'm not giving much weight to his critique under the circumstances.
(originally posted 8/8/07)
06 October 2007
We're all recipe blogging now
Except for me, because I am recipe-comicing.
I will eventually post some more stuff, but not now, because I've been sitting down for too long today.
I will eventually post some more stuff, but not now, because I've been sitting down for too long today.
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