Okonomiyaki

I have long admired this incredibly versatile japanese savory pancake. Its pancake for dinner! What could be better? You can pretty much add what you want in it and on top of it. Don't feel stuck to any recipe. I used this really handy dandy knowledge filled website to create mine: Okonomiyaki World

Okonomiyaki

1 cup flour
2/3 cup broth (I used chicken but dashi is traditional)
2 egg
3 cup cabbage (finely shredded)
1 large cooked octopus tentacle (diced)

Garnish:
dried bonito flakes
oyster sauce (there's an actual okonomiyaki sauce you can buy or make)
kewpie mayonaise
furikake seasoning

Mix flour, broth, and eggs until you get a very smooth batter. Add in cabbage and octopus. Stir until everything is just mixed and coated. Heat a flat pan or griddle over a medium high flame. Once its warmed up add some oil to coat then a scoopful of the batter/veggie mix. Press down with spatula until it's an about 3/4 inch thick pancake. Cook for 3 minutes and check for browning on the underside. If its not brown you might need to turn up the heat a little. Flip pancake (its thick and heavy with veggies so you want a giant spatula or two) and cook for 4 more minutes. Take off flame and put some pretty lines of kewpie and oyster sauce on. Sprinkle with a little furikake and top with a small fluffy pile of bonito. Serve immediately. Its best hot.

Conquering the tiny yeast

So here's my deep dark cooking secret, I am afraid of yeast. I fear the I will accidentally kill it and my bread will never rise. I fear kneading, over kneading, proofing, rising, temperature, and basically all the little complications that can go into making real bread. Sure I can make quick breads to delight and soda breads with one hand tied behind my back but I have never ever attempted a real yeasted bread before. This hasn't been a big deal. There are bakeries a-plenty and I'm not a huge bread eater really but that was before the Big E. Its a giant country fair 2 hours away and once there, I purchased and split with my friend a loaf of chocolate bread. When I finally got home exhausted I decided to slice off a piece with a simple smear of butter and OMFG I was in LOVE. This stuff was amazing. A tad too sweet but richly chocolatey without being too much and with just enough chew to it to remind you it was really bread and not cake. 2 hours away and once a year is too far and too long to wait for such greatness. I've now embarked on slowly learning to conquer my fear of the yeast and re-create the Big E chocolate bread. I started with a no knead bread that came together in with just minutes of effort. It was richly chocolatey and I was happy to see that mine matched the picture website quite well. It was not however light, soft and bouncy. I'm going to have to keep looking to reproduce the Big E bread but its delicious in its own right.

Chocolate Bread

Stolen from here: Artisan Bread

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons Kosher salt
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup honey
3 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder – (natural or Dutch processed will work)
5 ounces mini semisweet chocolate chips

Melt bittersweet chocolate and butter together in a double boiler. Set aside ganache.

Combine water, yeast, salt, eggs, and honey. Stir till combined. Add flour, cocoa powder,ganache, and chocolate chips. Stir until there is no more dry floury spots. Cover with moist towel and stick in oven (turned off) for 2 hours. Take out and separate into two loaf pans. Bake at 350 for ~50 minutes until a skewer stuck into the middle comes back out with barely a few moist crumbs on the bottom.

Trying new things

There are things out on the web you see floating around sometimes, becoming a kind of food trend as foodie after foodie gives it a try. And while yes, all these people seem to be raving about it, you gotta just give in the squint eye and go NO WAY! It seems too easy. Or too impossible. I've combined two this weekend into one amazing treat. A 1 ingredient ice cream that's dairy free and so smooth and sweet you'll swear its the best soft serve around. And conquering my fear of an exploding can as well as scrubbing caramel off every inch of my teeny kitchen all weekend, I've made dulce de leche in a can!

Dulce de Leche Banana Sundae

Banana Ice Cream:

1 ripened to black dots on skin stage banana

That's right. That's all you need. Peel and slice the banana into thick rounds and freeze over night. You can lay them out flat in a pan if you want or in a baggie and smoosh them around every hour or so until the outsides have frozen so the slices don't stick together. Use a food processor or blender and blend the frozen slices until you achieve a thick lump free soft serve like consistency.

Dulce de Leche:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Again all you need is one thing! I did three cans at once because you can store the cans for up to a year unopened in the fridge after its done. Various websites talk about different ways to do this. Microwave, stove top, oven, etc. The one I picked seemed the least dangerous/explody way with the least amount of effort as well. Line the bottom of your slow cooker with a kitchen towel. Add the cans on their side on top. Add enough water to fully cover the cans + 1 inch. You want to ensure that the cans stay fully submerged. Cook on low for 8-12 hours. The longer you let it go, the darker and thicker it gets. I wanted a light caramelly flavor and a very drizzly sauce so I did 8. Now this is important. DO NOT OPEN THE CANS HOT. Turn off the crock, uncover, and just let it sit and cool until it hits room temp. Your patience will be rewarded.

Sundae:

Layer scoops of banana ice cream with drizzles of dulce de leche. Top with whip cream (not on mine tho because I'm not a whip cream fan) and pretend its a deconstructed banoffee pie :)

Yellow carrots? WHOA.

So I finally found my way to a farmer's market I might be able to make regular trips to. Of course the season is almost over but I intend to do what I can to make it there as much as possible. I've been aware for a while now that carrots come in different colors but as far as I knew simply tasted carrot-y. Like the classic orange ones do. Now I'm not sure if it was the winning smile on the teen trying to sell me on them, the fact that they were local and farm fresh, or the fact that they were yellow but the soup I got from them was superbly sweet. Almost a dessert. Its a beautiful golden color and melts in your mouth with a buttery carroty sweetness. I took my time savoring it all week. Its a simple recipe and I've made it often with regular carrots as well so if you can't find yellow ones, don't despair.

Carrot Soup

1 lb carrots sliced into thick 3/4 inch chunks
chicken broth
1 tsp sage
salt & pepper to taste

Add carrots to pot and add in just enough broth to barely reach the top of the chunks. Add in sage. Bring to a boil then lower flame to simmer for 20-30 mins or until carrots are soft. Blend into a thick puree. Add more broth if it seems too thick to you. Add salt & pepper to taste. Bring back to a boil, stir, then serve.

Satisfying the sweet tooth

Once in a while (oh who am I kidding? ALL the time...) I get the urge to have something sweet. I don't want it too sweet like frosting but just a bit of natural sweetness perked up. And I want it NOW. Not an hour from now when some stupid cake has finished baking. Nor do I want to fuss with waiting for an oven to preheat. And a cookie just won't do. Cookies are for munching on but they don't have the same kind of sink you teeth in slight sweet satisfaction factor to it that a cake, pie, or brownie does. I have found the answer to my problems. Tapioca cakes. They cook quick in the steamer. I start the water boiling while I prep in and by the time the water is ready so am I. 15 mins later a treat is done. The recipe I give below is complete but the thing is, once you get the hang of it all you have to do is keep around some tapioca pearls soaking in water in a little jar in the fridge. Pull it out and make a single serving when you feel like it with any filling you please. I use red bean below but have since happily subbed it out for PB, sesame seed paste, sweetened mashed yams, dulce de leche, and more. Whatever you like.

Matcha Red Bean Tapioca Mini-Cakes

Original recipe found here: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2009/01/steamed-tapioca-red-bean-cake.html

200 grams tapioca
85 grams sugar
2 tsp matcha powder
2 tblsp oil
145 grams sweetened red bean paste

Soak tapioca in enough water to cover at least 2 inches for at least 1 hour. Rinse and drain well. Add in sugar, matcha, and oil and mix.

Use any shape mold you like. I used silicone muffin cups. Spoon in enough of the tapioca mixture to line the bottom and sides of muffin cup right up to the top. Add in enough red bean paste to fill the cavity and leave about 1/2 inch from the top. Top with more tapioca mix. Steam for 25 mins until tapioca is translucent. They pop right out of the silicone muffin cups but if you use a regular muffin pan (nonstick or not) you might have to oil the pan a bit first and use a knife to loosen it. It lasts several days and is good eaten hot or warm. You can store in the fridge and reheat it by steaming quickly for 5 mins.

Faux Gumbo

I call this my faux gumbo because really it changes every time I make it and I've never tasted real gumbo so who knows how much I'm killing the real thing? I make it to my tastes and its extremely versatile. Some things like a nice dark roux to start are a must but you can switch around the veggies, meat, etc as you like and generally I just dump in whatever I have on hand. Its one of the best kinds of warm satisfying comfort foods though and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Faux Gumbo

1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup flour
1 onion finely diced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 turkey kielbasa cut into 1/4 inch rounds (you can sub this with any meat you like. I often use chicken thigh meat cut into chunks or whole shrimp)
1 bag frozen okra
1 bag frozen zucchini

Cook the flour and oil whisking gently all the while until the roux grows into a dark caramel color. Be careful not to burn it. Add in onion and garlic and cooked until onion has softened. Add in chili, celery seed, white wine, broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil while stirring. Add in kielbasa. Cover and cook on a medium low flame for 20 mins. Add in okra and zucchini. Cook uncovered for another 20 mins over a medium high flame, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

For My Daddy

So my dad loves his sweets and his carbs. His eyes light up at the mere mention of an apple pie but fate has struck him a cruel blow. Several years ago he had a quad bypass and since them he's been on a pretty strict fat free diet. I'm constantly scouring the web and racking my brain around the holidays and his birthday to come up with some kind of fat free treat he might like. Have you any idea how hard it is to come up with a decent sub for butter in a pie crust that still gives you a certain degree of that flaky deliciousness? I have yet to perfect that. If you have any ideas, slip me a note. For his birthday this year I came up with an asian twist to the classic dense banana bread, a steamed banana cake. I made them into giant muffin size but you can just make one big cake as preferred. Its steamed instead of baked so it retains its moistness with minimal fats and is flaky airy light with a great banana fragrance about it. I liked it smeared with some sweetened condensed milk and nothing else. Dad liked his plain and hot from the steamer. You can always reheat by a quick steaming and they will last a good week in the fridge if eaten this way.

Steamed Banana Cake

Original recipe found here: http://chowtimes.com/2007/06/08/steamed-banana-cake/

1 ripe banana, mashed
1 egg (I used eggbeaters)
1 tsp oil
2 tsp water
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup icing sugar
100 grams flour

Put all ingredients into mixing bowl. Mix with a hand whisk until well blended. Pour into cake pan of your choice. I used extra big silicon muffin cups. Steam over a medium flame for 15-20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Asian Roasted Chicken Leg Quarter

Chicken leg quarters are a cheap economical cut that's very forgiving if you're a beginning cook because they will stay moist and juicy through all kinds of common cooking mishaps unless you severely over cook them (like when I fell asleep on the sofa once and couldn't hear the timer go off for a good hour). I find because they are thick, its best to marinate it over night for a good flavor. Also, once cooked they reheat very well which is perfect for the busy person like myself who really only wants to cook once or twice a week while reheating the rest of the time. This recipe makes for a delicious asian style quarter with lightly crispy golden skin and great flavor.

Asian Roasted Chicken Leg Quarter

4 chicken leg quarter
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup shaoxing cooking wine
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tblsp finely chopped scallion
2 tblsp brown sugar
1 tblsp rice vinegar

Wash and trim leg quarters. Add the rest of the ingredients into a bowl and wisk together. Plate the quarters into a ziplock bag and pour marinade over. Close up and squish around a bit. Let marinate over night in fridge. 10 mins before cooking take the quarters out and lay on a rack skin side down over a cookie sheet or other flat pan to catch drippings. Set over to 375 and roast for 20 minutes. Flip them skin side up and roast for another 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer reach 160. Take out and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Hot Days, Cold Soups

Around here summer can mean blindly bright sun light and muggy hot humid days. When the very air begins to stick to my skin, not only to I lose my will to face a hot stove but also for trying to take on any cooking that's too finicky. All I want at the end of a long work day is to come home and sink down into my couch bathed in AC but a girl's still gotta eat right? That's when cold soups come into play. I started fiddling with the idea around the time when a cucumber challenge came around the food forum. As I looked around for something new to try I started noticing all the chilled soup recipes. Many looked to be little more than herbed fruit juices and I thought to myself, hey that seems quick and easy enough for me. I began with a watermelon cucumber soup and while refreshing and delicious, it wasn't very filling. I see it as a great starter but not a meal. My next try at a grilled corn soup was much more fulfilling. I could dig into a bowl every night and did so two nights in a row. Its the perfect end to a hot drag your heels home kinda day. The recipes I give below are single serving but you can multiply it for as many guests as you'd like to feed.

Watermelon Cucumber Soup

1.5 cups cubed watermelon pieces
3 inches seedless cucumber chunked up
3 basil leaves
1 tsp fresh lime juice

Combine all ingredient in blender and blend until you get a uniform puree. Strain solid from puree and serve chilled.

Chilled Corn Soup

1 corn on the cob
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 sweet vidalia onion
salt & pepper

Remove the silk from the corn and soak the entire cob with leaves in cold water for 30+ minutes. Slice the half onion into thick 1/2 inch slices. Grill the corn and onion over a medium grill until cooked through and let cool. Slice the corn off the cob and add to a blender along with the onion and 1/2 cup of stock. Blend until you get a good puree. Strain solids from puree. Add the solids back to the blender with the remaining stock. Blend and strain again, pressing on the solids to get all the juice you can. Discard solids. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Served lightly chilled.

Squash Challenge

I have always like contrasts in my food. The hot with the cold, sweet with the savory, crunchy with the mushy, and onwards. Its a bit of fun to have a bite of one then of the other before bravely mixing the two in altering proportions to fine that one perfect mouthful. For today's challenge, rather than simply using zucchini as the star I chose it as the balancing half to my yin yang plate. On one side is the piping hot savory salty meatiness of a chicken drumstick, on the other are thin delicate strands of squash briefly pickled in a sweet and sour vinegar still chilled from its time in the fridge. The balance is beautiful. The sweet sour crunch of the squash helps cut through the fattiness of the drumstick. I don't give a recipe for the drumstick here since this is the squash challenge after all and well, *ahem* I cheated. I bought a bottle of "chicken marinade" which looks just like a dark soy sauce in a bottle available at most asian markets. All you do is dump the drumstick in a simmer until done. Its the no fail easy way to soy sauce chicken success.

Refrigerator Pickled Zucchini

1 medium zucchini cut into thin noodle like strands (I did this on my mandoline)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tblsp sugar
1/2 tblsp salt

Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt over medium heat and stir until all sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool. In a non reactive bowl toss shreds of zucchini with vinegar and leave in fridge for at least 1 hour tossing occasionally. Drain strands and serve chilled.

Beer Challenge

Whoo! Its been busy. I totally skipped a weekend because my relatives from DC came to town and we headed to the Cape. Came back for a memorial day and made a simple but phenomenal looking brunch. The worst part? I was in such a whirlwind I didn't take a single pic of the food! It was a great success though and everybody had fun laughing, talking, drinking and eating. Then this weekend rolled around and I knew I had to buck up and make some time even though there wasn't much. To save time and meet the beer challenge I turned to my trusty crock pot and did my own little east meets west spin on beer braised pork shoulder by flavoring the brew with some lam yue. If you've never had it, its kind of an odd looking block of fermented bean curd floating in a raspberry colored liquid. Doesn't sound appealing? Give it a chance. Its full of umami flavors and when used as a seasoning in either braises or stir frys, it will lift even the simplest concoctions to lofty heights of deliciousness.

East Meets West Beer Braised Pork Shoulder

1.5 lbs pork shoulder
3 squares lam yue
2 bay leaves
10 pepper corns (note that I am THE spicy wimp)
1 bottle Heineken beer (or similar)

Real simple. Throw it all in the crock and set it on high for 6 hours or until shoulder is tender and fall apart. Come back ever 2 hours or so to flip the shoulder and ensure that it all gets time soaking in the liquid. When done shred with a little bit of the broth. I served mine over buttered noodles and it was amazing!

Cheesy Challenge

This weeks challenge was cheese and boy oh boy was I excited. I am probably 25% cheese. I'd be more if coffee didn't take up so much of my physical make up and if being 25% cheese wasn't already so hard on the beach bod. I love love LOVE cheese. There are so many kinds I can't believe there's anybody who can really hate cheese, you just haven't tasted the one that's for you yet. Its incredibly versatile. You can have it hot or cold, as a flavoring or the main event in your dish, savory or sweet...there's always a place for cheese. I looked around the web for something unusual that I had never tried before with cheese and came up the adorable brazilian cheese bread. It's not like any bread roll you would normally imagine. It whips up in the blender in a jiffy like a batter and bakes into a chewy crispy savory morsel in muffin cups. Imagine a mochi, if you've ever had one, inside of a crisp crust and with the flavors of cheese and garlic blended in you won't want to reach for any butter. It looks plane jane boring white and unimpressively small but it will taste sinfully rich as is.

Brazilian Cheese Bread

1 egg
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup milk (I used almond milk)
170 grams tapioca flour
66 grams grated cheese (use any kind you like, I used low fat shredded mexican blend)
1/2 tsp of salt (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until mixed. Simple! Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes until bread has puffed up and is slightly golden. It will deflate a bit after removal from oven but have no fear, it tastes just as good. Best served warm. You can save the left over batter for baking the next day if you think you have too many. How great it that? I bake a few at a time as needed in the toaster oven.

Corn Challenge

Corn is one of those things I think of as pretty much perfect grilled and slathered with good butter. Nothing finicky, just simple goodness but when this corn challenge came up and I browsed through all the pictures and recipes online, I began to recall all the sheer variety of corn based things I've had over the years. Polenta cakes in many forms, grits, succotash, salsa, and bread. Corn might be best simple but it doesn't have to be simple. One of the best complicated forms of corn I've had over the years is tamales. They are delicious corny doughy nuggets full of goodness however I was unable to locate the much needed corn husks so I went for the next best thing, tamale pie! I was especially excited since its something I've never tried before and it turned out better than I hope. Bits of meaty goodness intertwined with spices and the sweetness of corn kernels under the crispy crust of cheddary corn bread. It's like a dream of comfort food heaven right?

Tamale Pie

(I will not give a recipe for the corn bread topping. Use your favorite.)

1.5-2lb pork shoulder
5 poblano peppers (roasted with skin removed and roughly chopped)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp celery seed
2 tsp oregano
1 cup small diced onion
4 cloves garlic minced
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 15oz can of corn
1 10oz box of frozen white corn kernel (defrosted)
1 16oz jar salsa verde
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Trim pork shoulder. Brown on all sides except the skin in a skillet over medium heat. Toss into crock pot with the peppers (I admit I subbed bell peppers except for one poblano because I am a spicy wimp but the poblanos add amazing flavor and should be used if possible), spices, onion, garlic, and tomatoes. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the pork is so tender it falls apart to your fork. Remove pork from crock and discard any clinging skin or fat. Using two forks, shred the pork. Drain the contents of the crock through a sieve. Add the onion, pepper, and tomato bits back into the pork. Puree the can of corn. Stir into the pork. Stir the salsa into the pork. Taste and season with salt as needed. Spread filling out in a 9 inch square pan. Layer on top the defrosted corn kernels, your favorite corn bread batter, and then the shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 400F for 40-50 minutes on the lowest shelf until the top turns golden brown. Let cool for 10 mins before serving.

Strawberry Challenge

Its a little early here in the slowly thawing out northeast for really good ripe local strawberries so I turned to my frozen stores but what to make? I wanted to try something new and I REALLY wanted to try out my donut pan again. Who could say no to (mostly) guilt free donuts? Not me! Living as I do in the land of perpetually breakfast free items, I figured the perfect way to kick off a weekend morning had to be with some donuts. I scanned the web and pulled together a recipe I thought I would enjoy, meet the challenge, and ensure a limited amount of treadmill time. These are just fluffy light yet solid enough to pass for a real donut sans the crispier shell you would get with the genuine fried article (a small sacrifice) while being not too sweet and combined the classically elegant flavors of chocolate and strawberry. Best of all its peeeeeennnnnnnkkkkkkkk!

Baked Chocolate Donuts with Strawberry Icing

Donut:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
4 tsp oil
2 tblsp cold coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. In your mixing bowl blend milk, sugar, egg, oil, coffee, and vanilla until combined. Add in the flour mixture and continue whisking until blended and smooth. Light oil the wells of your donut pan. Fill each well about 3/4 full. Bake at 325F for about 13 minutes. The donut should spring back when poked lightly.

Icing:

1 cup frozen strawberries
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp melted butter

Rinse off any ice from the strawberries and drain. Puree in blender. Mix together 1/4 cup puree, sugar, and melted butter. Icing should coat a spoon thickly but still be runny rather than goopy. Add more sugar if not thick enough, more puree if too thick. Place cooled donuts on a rack over a pan to catch drippings and brush icing on. Allow it to sit for 30 minutes to harden. This makes for an icing that is hard enough to touch but will easily crush if pressed by your finger.

New Discovery: Green Almonds

There are many amazing things to be discovered at a good market. One thing that I first heard of over a year ago and have been fascinated by the idea of is green almonds. They are just what they sound like. The immature almond in its fuzzy green fleshy shell before it becomes mature and hard. Now I've never been a huge fan of nuts but I never realized you could eat an immature one raw when its still wet and fleshy. Reality didn't quite pan out that way but at the same time was even more amazing. The shell was fuzzy and green but still more hard than fleshy. The inside nut was white with a clear gel like flesh and a pleasant crisp crunch rather than the harder more brittle one almonds usually bring to mind. There was almost no nutty taste but rather a very lightly tangy one. They are refreshing little nuggets. The season for green almonds is insanely short so if you get the chance, at least give it a try. Its not the best thing I've ever eaten but its certainly an experience I've never had the like of anywhere else.

Asparagus Challenge

OK so this was a slight failure in the log of experiments but that's the fun of cooking, even when it fails, it can be extremely tasty :) This week's food challenge was asparagus which is a personal favorite of mine I've cooked in a ton of different ways. The thing about asparagus is generally all you need to make it shine is to have a good product. Young fresh asparagus will be tender and delicious. If its old and woody, there's almost no cooking method that will save it bar soup and that's only because I strain the fibrous bits out of my soup. Since I've cooked asparagus in so many tasty ways over the years, for this challenge I wanted to try to improve some other aspect of my cooking skills: presentation. My food is often delicious, rarely pretty. In my mind I thought of a kind of upside down crustless quiche. Like the upside cakes, when you flip it over after cooking, it would have a beautiful pattern baked in to shine. I think the mushrooms I used in the quiche turned the egg a bit gray. It looked better BEFORE I flipped it over. Live and learn then eat your mistakes right? So if you try this, don't flip it over but by all means eat it. It was yummy!

Upside Down Asparagus Quiche

1/2 lb asparagus spears trimmed (by this I mean snap off the woody ends)
1.5 cup eggbeaters (or 6 eggs)
8 oz mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup shredded italian cheese
1 tsp dried minced garlic
2 tsp dried minced onion
2 tblsp sundried tomato slices
2 tsp italian seasoning
salt
pepper

Steam asparagus until tender. Trim to fit in a pretty sundial pattern (or whatever pattern you'd like) in a 9 inch cake pan. Reserve the cooked trimmings and any extra asparagus not used in pattern. Add sundried tomatoes to 1 cup of hot water and set aside to rehydrate.

Over medium high heat toss the mushrooms, garlic, and onion in a lightly oiled skillet until just the mushroom slices are just tender and soft. Layer on top of asparagus pattern in pan. Grind salt and pepper on to taste. Layer shredded cheese on top. In a blender whir reserved asparagus trimmings, egg beater, drained tomatoes, and italian seasoning until you get a thick puree. Pour gently into pan. Tap pan on counter to allow the egg to drip through.

Bake at 325F for 20-25 minutes until the center is just set. Let stand on cooling rack for 10 mins before cutting and serve warm.

Annual Anime Boston Treat

Every year Anime Boston sets up in town and being the wee geeky I am, I have to go. Over the years I've come to gather friends on the team that runs the convention as well as an appreciation for all their hard word. As a token of my appreciation I try to make something I can drop off and they can enjoy. This year I decided to finally take on something I've been hankering to try yet a bit fearful of doing so, the classic pate a choux which is fancy french name for the dough that is the basis of so many things but first and foremost in my mind, the classic cream puff. I looked over, as I generally do, dozens of recipes and ended up modifying one from Alton Brown. Of course I feared that what I would create was a dense little dough ball and not the puff dried shell with a giant air pocket to fill with goodies. I monitored these through the glass pane in my oven door like a hawk over her babies. During the first 10 minutes of high temp baking they turned a bit golden but didn't puff up at all. My heart fell. I started seeking out other recipes. Maybe I could make them a nice batch of cookies. I'm good at cookies... After about 5 minutes of the lower temp baking I went back to check and what a difference 5 minutes makes! They had puffed up big and beautiful. I fear no more. Give it a try yourself. They are almost ridiculously easy to whip up. I haven't included a recipe for filling because that's really up to your imagination. I filled some of mine with butterscotch pudding and other with chocolate mousse.

Cream Puff

1 cup water
3/4 stick butter (cut into pieces)
1 tblsp sugar
1 tsp salt
5 3/4 ounces flour
1 cup eggs, about 4 large eggs

Boil water, butter, salt, and sugar together until all the butter is melted. Remove from heat and immediately add all the flour at once. Stir until it comes together with a wooden spoon. Put back medium heat and stir until all the dough comes away from the pot like a big soft ball and its leaving a barely visible film on the bottom of the pot. Take off heat and continue to stir stir stir until dough has cooled so that when you touch it with the back if your (clean) fingers its hot but not burning you. Dump dough out into mixing bowl. At this point I switched to an electric mixer but you can continue on with arm power if you've got it. Add one egg at a time and mix until each egg is incorporated before adding another. It will look like the dough is coming apart each time you add a new egg. Do not fear! Just keep mixing. At the end you should get a dough with a bit of sheen to it. Put into pastry bag fitted with the biggest round tip you've got. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or non stick tin foil. Pipe balls as big or small as you like but make them all uniform in size. I aimed for about 1.5 inch diameter because I wanted them fairly bite sized. If there's a little pointy tip at the top you can pat this down with a finger wetted with water. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes then 350F for another 10 minutes or until golden. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR DURING BAKING. As soon as they are done, take then out and with a sharp knife poke a little slit into the puffs to release the steam so they won't collapse. Let cool and fill with whatever you like. They're best served shortly after being filled.

Tribute to Passover

In an homage to my good friend Beany (as well as an extreme fit of jealousy at the stories of her awesome family seders) I've decided to devote this weekend's experiment to creating a few passover friendly dishes. First I tried a classic, the apple cake but I wanted something less fluffy cake-y than the original. Its always more spiced tasting than apples so I opted for a bit of an almost clafoutis. For those who have never given it a try its half way between a custard and a cake that lets the fruit shine through.

Since my crazy grocery delivery messed up and delivered two boxes of matzoh meal I decided to use some of the extra and created veggie puffs. My recipe uses carrots and leeks but you can use any veggie you'd like. The original recipe seemed rather bland to me so I added a bit of umami with a touch of miso. Chinese jewish? These turned out better than I hoped. Lightly crusty crisp on the outside and tender delicious on the inside. Beany, I hope you try one at your seder one day.

Apple Clafoutis

1/2 cup matzoh meal (whir this in the processor to get a more flour like consistency)
1/3 cup sugar (use a little more or less depending on the sweetness of your fruit)
1 tblsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tbsp oil
1/3 cup almond milk (clafoutis usually calls for milk but I wasn't sure how kosher that was)
4 large apples (peeled, quartered, and sliced thinly)

Mix the first four ingredients together. In a separate bowl beat the eggs, oil, vanilla, and milk until well blended. Add in dry ingredients and mix together. It should be lump free and about pancake batter consistency. Stir in the apples. It will look like apples barely coated in batter. Don't worry! Pour into a silicon pan lightly spritzed with oil (you can can pan possibly buttered that you think you can unmold easily from). Bake at 400F for about 45 minutes. Cake should be firm when poked in the middle with your finger. Let cool until its warm but no longer hot before unmolding. I served mine a la mode with real frozen vanilla yogurt (the tart good for you kind, not the faux ice cream) and a bit of honey on top but the cake is quite good just on its own.

Veggie Puff

1lb carrots (cut into 1/2 inch thick slices)
1 stalk leek (sliced thinly)
2 tsp red miso
1 egg
1 tblsp oil
1/3 cup matzoh meal

Add carrots, leeks, and miso into a pot with just enough water to barely cover the veggies. Simmer until the carrots are very tender soft. Drain. Mash until smooth. Add egg, oil, and meal. Stir until well blended. Using a spoon (or in my case a cookie scoop) create little domes on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes until the outsides are dried and crisp. Serve warm.

Trying to conquer India

So I am a spice wimp. I can't not take even too much pepper in my food. Go ahead. Laugh at the foodie who can't enjoy spicy. I have tried. For years I tried. This has resulted in a viscious cycle I am now well acquainted with and have decided to avoid. I eat something even slightly spicy, I get a sore throat the next day, by next evening its a mild fever, I go see the doctor, the doctor gives me antibiotics which I'm on for 2 weeks, I am gradually cured while sucking on way too many popsicles. This is not ideal however I have a second weakness, for Indian food. Its delicious with its combinations and layers of flavors while at the same time extremely comforting. I have since conquered my shame of emphasizing at the waitstaff taking my order "REALLY REALLY REALLY MILD ok?" but figured it was time to try taking on Indian cuisine. I've been circling it for a while now, trying individual spices, developing one heckuva addiction to cumin, but never really taken it straight on. This weekend I made a classic, Goat Vindaloo. The challenge this week was spinach so it seemed to fit right in. OK so I added a little too MUCH spinach to my dish. I hope you show a little more restraint than me. A warning, this is best done as a two day dish.

Goat Vindaloo

4 lbs goat shoulder cut into chunks
1/2 a head of garlic minced
50 gram minced ginger
6 medium onions finely diced
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp tumeric
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 can of chopped tomatoes (15 oz)
4 green chillis (optional, I left these out as the spice wimp)
1 bag frozen chopped spinach leaves
3 tbsp oil

Heat up a dutch oven until over medium till hot. Add goat pieces and brown on all sides. Remove. Add in onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until onions are soft and beginning to brown. Add in salt, tumeric, cumin, chili powder, coriander, chilis, and tomatoes. Stir until well combined. Add back in goat piece and cook on low until tender about 3 hours. Take off heat and let cool before sticking in fridge over night. Next day, remove layer of hardened fat. Heat back up and stir in spinach until its just heated through and wilted. Add garam marsala and heat for another 10 minutes. Scoop out and serve with naan.

(In the pic I've added a little quinoa to mine to make a one dish meal. This is optional and definitely not traditional.)

Sickly

I didn't do much cooking this weekend. I spent most of it on the couch with a vat of ice cream to soothe a sore throat and an IV drip of OJ direct into my veins as I vacillated between drugged slumber and watching bad movies on Netflix streaming. I did rouse myself enough to make me some konnyaku. This is nothing new and I've done it before but it makes for a nice light treat. Supposedly its good for you, high in fiber and its rumored to lower cholesterol. Its a sort of chewy jelly, not like the classic american jello. I admit this is an old picture but the one I made this weekend was just the same as I mold them in my ice cube tray.

Rose & Honey Konnyaku Jelly

10 grams konnyaku powder
900 ml water
4 rose tea bags (or equivalent)
honey

Bring water with tea bags in it to a boil. Let steep for about 15 minutes. Fish out bags pressing on them to release the tea. Add honey to taste. Try to make it just a little sweeter than you'd prefer the jelly to be because it tastes less sweet when cooled. Why? I dunno. It just does. You can also add some food coloring now if you'd prefer. Bring tea back to a boil. Add in konnyaku powder, whisking fiercely to prevent lumps and let it boil for 10 minutes. I always get a few tiny lumps because I am sucky at whisking and pouring at the same time so at this point I pour through a strainer. You can skip this step if you think you're lump free. This never happens to my mother! Pour into molds or just into a cake pan. Let cool and unmold. If you poured it into a cake pan you can unmold and cut into bite size pieces.

Doing my taxes

I decided quite firmly that I would buckle down and do my taxes this weekend. So far I've done my laundry, cleaned my house including scrubbing down the kitchen cabinets, attended a craft show, rolled around on my sofa, made my bed well enough to shame most hotels, cooked up a storm, delivered some of the results to my parents, made my dad some new business cards, and still haven't started those taxes yet. I still have time right? The day is still young. Wait, that's why I decided to blog...

What started the cooking storm was the pie challenge this week. I live alone so I didn't really want to make a giant sweet pie and have it hanging around the house. In honor of my buddy Wendy, one of the finest cooks I know, I've decided to make HAND PIES! I had some ground turkey to use up. For those of you who consider ground turkey bland no matter the spicing up you do, consider my trick. I mix 3 parts turkey with 1 part ground buffalo. Its a considerably healthier mix than pure ground beef while the turkey keeps it economical (buffalo is pricey!) while being just as tasty as beef in most uses (ie meatballs, meatloaf, burgers, chili etc). I wanted a real texture storm so I added in some ground dried peas (they sell them to use in trail mixes as a snack) to stiffen the meat patties, created a sort of mushroom duxelle to go on top for a little softness and luxury feel to the tongue, and wrapped the whole in flaky layers of phyllo. Your teeth sink into a little crunch then the satisfying firmness of the patties mixes with the mushroom and oh my they are addictive. I ate one to try then ran back to the kitchen for another.



After all that savory goodness, I knew I'd want a little sweet but no longer felt like going through a lot of effort so I whipped up an Earl Grey (in honor of my buddy Vicki and her Earl Grey obsession) creme brulee on the stove top. These are not as creamy perfect as the oven/water bath version but very good on its own when you don't feel like starting up the oven again.



For dinner and for my mom who likes ribs and my dad who eyes them hungrily (he has a heart condition and can't really pig out on them any more) I used country ribs in the oven. They have some bone in them so my mom likes them but are meatier and less fatty so my dad will have some as well. These are fall off the bone delicious and lets you dream of summer BBQ's with a ton of flavor yet almost no effort. Give them a try in the wintry months.



Mushroom and Turkey Hand Pie

For the patties:
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 lb ground buffalo
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 cup shaoxing wine (sherry will also do)
2 Tblsp brown sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
1 Tblsp Chao Siu sauce (optional)
1/3 c ground peas

Mix all together. Form into tiny slider sized patties and cook on grill pan (or in my case a Cusinart Griddler Jr) until just slightly under done. Set aside to cool.

For duxelle:
16 oz baby bella finely minced(any mix of mushrooms will do here)
1 tsp ground sage
2 Tblsp cooking wine
2 Tblsp heavy cream

In a wide flat pan (the wider, the better as liquid will evaporate faster) on high heat add a little bit of butter. When it warms, add in the mushroom and cook until it releases its liquid. Add wine and sage. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add cream and cook just a minute of so more until it thickens into a mushroom paste almost. Set aside to cool to room temp.

Assemble:
1/2 box phyllo dough (store bought)
room temp duxelle
room temp patties
1 can butter flavor oil mist

Lay flat a sheet of phyllo lying. Mist with butter spray. Lay another sheet on top. Mist. Place patty about 1/3 of the way in the long way and right in the middle the short way. Add a generous Tblsp of the duxelle on top. Fold the short side over it then one long side down and the other up so its now a strip with the patty pocketed in one end. Mist with more butter spray. Roll the patty down until you end up with a nice neat packet. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350F for about 20 - 25 mins until golden brown on top.

Stove Top Earl Grey Creme Brulee

1 packet Earl Grey tea
2 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
2 Tblsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla
Sugar to brulee on top. I highly recommend turbinado. I didn't have any this time and my brulee job suffered for it.

Beat egg yolks and sugar in a heat safe bowl. Heat cream until boiling with tea bag. Take off heat and let steep for 5 mins. Squeeze out and remove tea bag. Return to a boil. Add cream a little at a time at first to temper eggs while beating then add it all in. Place bowl on top of a pot of boiling water double boiler style and stir occasionally until it thickly coats a spoon. Take off heat and add vanilla. Pour through a strainer into ramekins. Chill over night. When ready to eat sprinkle with sugar on top and torch until golden but not burnt.

Oven Baked Country Ribs

4lbs country style ribs (these are meaty and more pork chop than rib but this recipe will work just as well for baby back and regular ribs)
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tblsp chili powder
5 tsp salt
2 tsp dried minced garlic
2 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp five spice powder

On a large piece of foil lay out the ribs in a single layer. Mix everything else together in a bowl and sprinkle/rub thickly on top. Flip the layer and do the same for the other side. Fold up the foil into a sealed packet. I generally do two layers of foil because I am constantly tearing the stuff but this is not strictly necessary. Place in 200F oven for 3-4 hours (if you're doing real ribs you might need more like 6). When cooked through, remove ribs and you'll notice all those spices and sugar have become this great pool of sauce now in the foil. Pour out into a small pot and boil until thick. Use to coat ribs or on the side as dipping sauce. If it tastes a bit too sweet for you, try cutting it with a little bit of cider vinegar right at the end.

Bargaining for my vacation time

So I had to pass on this week's puff pastry challenge. Instead I spend my time creating a fabulous cake to fulfill my manager's blackmail whims. Apparently, I do not take enough vacation. This is probably true. In order to "encourage" me to take more vacation time off, my boss has decided to refuse all vacation requests under a week long. I just want 3 days off to spend in upper NY with my gal Beany. What to do? Why not turn my obsession to my advantage and bribe my boss? She has an insatiable love of chocolate, peanut butter, and my pastry creations. I offered a PB Chocolate Cake. My vacation time has been approved! (Mind you she never would've really refused, she's much too nice to ever say no. This was done more in good jest.)



Its going to my office so I haven't cut into it yet but I can tell you straight off the cake inside is sinfully dark chocolate and if the batter I tasted proves anything, it will be incredibly delicious.

PB Chocolate Cake

Cake:

2 cups sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 vanilla bean, cut in half and seeds removed
2 eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup brewed coffee
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 325F.

Beat sugar and butter together until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs. Mix. Dissolve cocoa in coffee and add. Mix. Sift together flour, bk soda, salt, and bk powder. Add in half the dry mix and 1/2 cup milk. Mix until just wet. Add in the rest of the dry mix and milk and mix until its fully combined. Batter will be smooth. Pour into two 9 inch pans (I lightly oiled my silicone ones but if you have metal I recommend oiling, adding parchment cut to the size of the pan bottom, and oiling the parchment.)

Bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Fully cool in the pans. Freeze over night or for as long as you have time for but at least an hour. This makes for easy frosting and no need for a crumb coat.

Frosting:

1 cup peanut butter (the creamy and not natural kind)
1 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

Mix PB, butter, and vanilla together until creamy. Add powdered sugar and mix slowly. Add a tsp of milk at a time to loose the frosting until its spreadable. Be careful not to add too much. Take frozen cakes out of pan. Frost.

I added chopped mix of mini dark and milk chocolate Reeses cups to the side of mine for extra oomph but this isn't strictly necessary. Does make for a pretty picture though right?

Anticipating dinner

I've been a little veggie deprived of late thanks to the whole frozen north east thing but my recent trip to Russo's stalked me up with some favs. Simmering in the crock at home are some leeks, beets, carrots, and short rib in a korean bbq sauce. I've always figured short ribs to be better the next day so it'll hit the fridge when I get home for easy de-fatting the next day. Then I generally puree the veggies into the sauce (cooked down if there's too much) and top with the short ribs. Of course this whole process ends up with ultimate deliciousness but ruins the beauty of the veggies so I thought I'd give them their moment in the sun.

Meeting the bean challege

This week's food challenge was beans. Having long since been a fan of Fasolia Gigantes and dying to make my own. The wee jars where I'd had my first taste from Trader Joe's were great but they were also pricey and well, wee. Being the piglet I am, that just wouldn't do so I set out to create my own. I acquired my own baggie of dried gigantes, read up on several recipes, checked my cupboards and settled for the following:



They are creamy and delicious. Not quite as buttery as the jarred version but I suspect that's because I cut way down on the standard recipe amount of oil in an attempt for some calorie control however I think the flavors were much better. More vibrant and addictive.

Fasolia Gigante

500 grams dried gigantes
2 bay leaves
1 onion finely diced
2 carrots finely diced
2 tsp chopped garlic
1.5 tsp oregano
1.5 tsp thyme
2 oz grape seed oil (olive is traditional but I didn't have it)
28 oz canned diced tomato
1.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp pepper
2 tsp sugar
0.5 cup chicken broth (you can probably use veggie as well to keep this vegetarian)

Soak gigantes over night.

Add gigantes to pot with 2 bay leaves and cover with enough water to be 2 inches over the top of the beans. Simmer for about an hour until tender. (I used a crock pot on high and left the house to do some errands here.) Drain beans, reserving a cup of the bean water.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Heat oil in a wide oven safe pot (I used my giant oval dutch oven for this) and add
onions, carrots, garlic, oregano, and thyme. Saute for about 10 minutes until onions are translucent.

Add can of tomato, salt, pepper, and sugar. Simmer for another 30 minutes until sauce is reduced and thickened. Add drained beans and broth. Stir up a bit and stick into oven. At about the 30 minute mark I take it out and stir it up a bit. If it looks like its drying out add in some of the reserved bean water. Bake for another 30 minutes. Take out and cool. This is great served luke warm as an appetizer or snack.

Foodie Shopping Frenzy

Its amazing what an expiring groupon can spawn. I had purchased one sometime last year for The Meat House in Brookline, thinking that it would be interesting to see a real upscale butchery. Since am email came telling me the sucker was about to expire, I figured it was high time to find out and since I would have to make the drive through crazy city traffic to get there anyway, it might as well be worth my while. So began the planning on the great foodie shopping frenzy.

Since I am me, aka slightly ocd and overly in love with tech I first looked up all the places I've been meaning to go but haven't because its clear across the other side of Boston and I abhor city driving. I then google mapped them all, moving around the destinations as necessary until I had found the most time/distance efficient route through them all. Then I punched them all in proper order into my GPS.

The first stop was meant to be The Meat House but on the way there I passed by TJ's. Unable to resist and figuring it would save me a visit to the health food store in Quincy Center later for a refill of my beloved Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, I stopped by. After stocking up on that as well as some baggies of frozen fruit and the frozen tamales I so love, I browsed around a bit and found some awesome new goodies. Frozen leeks! Frozen asparagus spears! In the cart they went and out the door I went.

The Meat House was a great little shoppe. A little TOO upscale almost to feel like a butcher shop. It was more of a specialty shop with a frozen section boasting such yummies as venison loin, calf's live, and duck breast. The glass cases were filled with a selection of beef with such expensive delicacies as kobe and aged and manned by friendly guys who definitely knew their stuff. I watched as they talked customers through selecting cuts to simple cooking directions to pairing with side dishes and wines available in shop. There was also a wide selection of sausages and to the side, pre-marinated in easy to tote home baggies of poultry and steak tips. I've always been a fan of seasoning my own food. One person's delicious is another's too salty. The shelves were full of seasoning and sauce choices as well as anything you might need to complete a restaurant worthy meal including pasta, rice for risotto's, cheeses, wine, sides, and PICKLES! Unable to resist I picked out a jar of fancy pickles, had the nice man pull me a rib eye steak, a couple of short ribs, and grabbed a frozen alligator steak from the fridge.

Next I headed up towards one of my old favorites, Babushka's Deli. There I indulged in a craving I've been having for months now, salmon caviar. Its not the fancy beluga stuff but I personally like it. A bit briny and paired with some of the shop's russian style sour cream (extra creamy, extra fat!, and not so sour), its heaven on a blini. Along with this insanity I also picked up a half pound of head cheese. The kindly russian aunty (they will always feel like one to me with their warm smiles at the crazy asian) pointed out they had three kinds and when I asked which was the best, immediately grabbed the medium with what appeared to be big chunks of cheek meat embedded in clear collagen gel. None of the usual mystery organs and gristle I was used to. Back in the car again I sneaked a slice as I was beginning to starve. I immediately regretted my purchase. The meat was tender and the collagen soup wonderfully spiced. I should've gotten more! Since I was already well on my way to becoming the piggy it was likely created from I reluctantly moved on.

Maneuvering the unfamiliar streets of Belmont I found a treasure I had long since wanted to visit first hand after hearing the many murmurings of its greatness: Sophia's Greek Pantry. In it I found the one ingredient I wanted to meet this week's food challenge, gigante beans. They are giant white butter beans. I had first tasted them in small glass jars from Trader Joe. They are tender and made for a delicious snack at room temp. I wanted to make my own but had been unable to find the beans. They are pricey but I hoped, worth it. Since I was in the supposedly greatest of greek shops, I purchased as well baklava, moussaka, stuffed grape leaves, and their own home made yogurt. I can tell you now that while the first three did not compare to my friend's greek mom's home made deliciousness, they were miles above anything I've had around here in restaurants no matter how fancy or high the price tag. The yogurt however is worth the trek. Its less tangy and more creamy than anything sold in the supermarkets. I see myself crying a little when I'm down to the last bite.

For my last stop, I could not resist re-visiting and old favorite: Russo and Sons Market. Around here, especially in the winter frozen absence of farmer's markets, good produce is hard to come by. There's always Whole Foods but frankly, I don't eat that much and still my pay check isn't big enough to cover the bill. Russo has what I consider to be even better quality and certainly a much better variety. Its produce also seems less perfect waxed and fake. I had been dying for some delicious veggies so I stocked up. Rutabagas, beets, apples, asian pears, melons, chard, tiny fingerling potatoes of all kinds, squash and more. I also picked up a slab of afghan flat bread and a small wedge of real pecorino romano (its cheese and bakery selections are fantastic btw as are fresh flowers should you need some).

Having filled my trunk I headed home with happy thoughts of fatness to come. I'm going to have to step up my work outs...

Just starting out

I have been a long time admirer of foodie blogs, esp the ones with pictures so beautiful you drool as you stare then, just as your NEED for JUST. ONE. LITTLE. TASTE. ratchets up to unbearable you scroll down and see a recipe! It inspires. You quickly jot down a list of ingredients and fly for the nearest store forgetting the laundry spinning forlornly in the dryer and the leaping over the little robotic vacuum choking on its attempts to clean the remnants of your last experiment from the thick pile carpet. I hope to do those blogs justice.

I'm sure it'll take a while. Hopefully those of you who happen by will give me a few tips here and there as well as try out a thing or two of your own. My food isn't always beautiful and my photography skills often only make it worse but I guarantee you its tasty! I like trying more wild, bizarre, alternative foods. I also like adapting recipes in an attempt to make them just a tad healthier but without sacrificing the original deliciousness.