New Apartment and Turkey Meatballs Barley and Garlic Sauce Dish

I just moved from my parents' place to an apartment closer to work and I am so happy! I've been commuting since January and the commute can be anywhere from 1-2 hours, depending on traffic. It's about 60 miles each way. My dad has been doing this commute for over 10 years now. It's very taxing and you lose 3-4 hours of your day every weekday. I gained weight because I did not exercise as much, plus I would typically get sucked into my work and end up sitting for several hours. I try to walk periodically, and take a 15-20 minute walk after lunch, but it's not enough to combat a 9-10 hour sitting session. Finally, I got a place that is steps from the beach! It is such a great deal. Pretty good price for LA, though the room is small, but can't beat being close to the beach and in this nice area. Plus, my commute is only 30 minutes each way! It's only been 1 week since moving in but I am so much happier. :)

Another reason I wanted to move out and closer to work was to get back into cooking! My mom cooks a lot at home, and she is a FANTASTIC cook, but at times I really enjoy the process of cooking and getting the chance to experiment. Now that I'm in my own place and with more time (come home at 7 instead of 9!), I can get back to cooking!

Tonight I made a turkey meatball and veggie dish over barley. We had a pint of this great garlic sauce leftover from a work lunch, and I knew it would be great on nearly anything. I finished cooking around 9:30 and was very pleased. I did not take a picture of this because I still need to figure out how to plate it best, but the dish was very delicious despite its simplicity. I am proud because the turkey meatballs turned out very juicy! Earlier in the year, I had attempted to make Swedish meatballs, followed a recipe, and it came out very dry. I brought it to work too and feel like I forever shamed myself "-_-

The garlic sauce is this delicious thick creamy white sauce from Chicken Maison, which is famous for this sauce. It's delicious. It's probably based on this Lebanese garlic sauce ("toum") recipe, but is thicker and creamier, maybe closer to this garlic recipe here. Here's what I did:

Turkey meatballs:
1/2 lb of ground lean turkey (95% lean)
1/2 large yellow onion, minced
1/2 tsp of Texas barbecue seasoning (salt, black pepper, dried garlic, dried onion, paprika, oregano)
1 large egg
4-6 crumbled Saltine crackers

Mix together and let sit 15 minutes while you prepare the vegetables. I used mushrooms and broccoli here, cooked with caramelized minced onion in avocado oil. Once cooked to a crisp tender and caramelized state, remove contents to a bowl.

Meanwhile, cook pearled barley according to packet directions. I used 1 3/4 cup of water to 1/2 cup of barley, and probably cooked it for 45-60 minutes, but it was too much water and I had to drain the excess.

Using a mini cookie scoop, shape meat mixture into tight little balls. I got 11 out of the 1/2 lb meat mix.

In the same pan that the vegetables cooked in, heat another tsp of oil. Place the meatballs gently in the pan and cook over medium until browned. Turn meatballs and cook until browned on all sides. Make sure to cover the pan at some point to allow the meatballs to cook through without losing moisture. Once browned on all sides, turn off heat and remove pan from heat.

To serve:
Scoop barley into a wide bowl. Top with meatballs and vegetables, then drizzle garlic sauce over. You can garnish with paprika and parsley, a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!

Here's another Mediterranean garlic sauce (copied from this link)

"GARLIC SAUCE:
- 4 cloves garlic minced with
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 egg white

In a food processor add garlic minced with salt, begin processor and slowly add oil and lemon juice alternating them until gone, scape down sides intermittently. Add one to two egg whites while the processor is blending until you reach mayonnaise consistency. Serve with chicken or meat and cover and refrigerate remainder. Lasts about a week refrigerated"

 

Till next time!

Giant California Rolls

My senior year of undergrad at Berkeley, my best friend there taught me how to roll sushi. It was a really fun experience and tasty. I also tried this raspberry beer called Framboise and I was genuinely surprised that there was a beer out there that I liked. Sometime after that, I invited a bunch of my Vietnamese Student Association friends over to my apartment for a sushi rolling party. We made a lot of different rolls, but primarily imitation crab meat filling if I remember correctly. Every time, we made maki rolls, which are sushi rolls with the nori seaweed sheet on the outside. Recently I wanted to try my hand at making California rolls, where the rice is on the outside, then the nori, and then the fillings on the inside.

Maki sushi on left. California-style sushi on right. source

I prepared the crab filling using canned crab meat this time instead of imitation crab sticks. I simply drained the water from the can of (sustainably caught!) crabmeat, and added 2 Tbs of mayo and about 1/2 to 1 Tbs of Sriracha. I also sprinkled in some lemon pepper seasoning and ground black pepper. Seeing as it was still too moist (I did not drain it that well) and my eyes thought it was not enough meat, I sprinkled in vegetarian pork floss (something like this).

source

For vegetable fillings, I sliced some avocado, cucumber, and carrots into thin strips. I also washed fresh alfafa sprouts. I just looked up the health benefits of alfafa sprouts. One cup of alfafa sprouts contain about 10% women's DV of vitamin K. It also contains vitamin C and phytoestrogens, which can help reduce risks of heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. Alfafa sprouts also contain saponins, compounds linked to reducing LDL cholesterol and raising HDL cholesterol - although the site did not say how much saponin a cup of alfafa sprouts contain nor how much saponin is needed to be effective. Nevertheless, alfafa is a green vegetable and is definitely healthier for you than filling up on fatty, meaty fillings!

Ingredients all prepped.

I made the sushi rice using Kokuho Rose brand sushi rice. I washed a cup of rice under water for a while (they recommend doing it till the washing water is clear, but this brand says "No washing necessary", so I only did it briefly), then spread it out to dry for ~30 min along the walls of a colander. After cooking the rice, I mixed 1-1/2 Tbs rice vinegar, 1 Tbs sugar, and 1/2 Tbs salt. I poured the vinegar mixture over the rice and mixed it in with chopsticks. To add something a little extra, I toasted white sesame seeds in my toaster oven and mixed some in as well.

To assemble, you spread the rice in a thin layer on top of a sheet of nori, completely covering the nori. Sprinkle more sesame seeds if desired. Place a plastic sheet on top then flip it over. Place it on a sushi rolling mat and then put the fillings inside. I spooned on 1/4 of the crabmeat, then generously added all the vegetables. I tried rolling it over, but my rolls were not tight and I had forgotten how to correctly roll these, since I had done it so long ago. My rolls ended up looking like sushi burritos! HUGE! I ate two that night, because my friend and I made 3 altogether. I know sushi is not good the next day and did not want to waste those last 4 slices of my sushi.

HUGGGEEE sushi roll

After slicing into 8 pieces.

The nori I got is not that good. I will have to buy a better brand next time. Do any of you have suggestions on good nori for sushi?

Next time, I will definitely read up on the proper sushi rolling technique and also cut my avocados thicker.

In all, after not cooking for a month because of being on winter break at my mom's fully stocked house, it was good to get back into preparing my own meals. And sushi is a great first meal back at school!

Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone!

Turkey Veggie Chili

Fall is setting in and I've been in quite the soup and stew phase. Since last week, I have made bo kho (Vietnamese beef stew), turkey veggie chili, and potato parsley soup! With the rain and colder weather setting in here in Texas (which, granted, is still rather warm), I need to battle the looming potential for colds and flus by eating lots of soup.

First, the turkey veggie chili.

This is a simple, quick, and tasty recipe that goes well on its own, with tortilla chips, or maybe even cornbread if you want that. I typically like eating chili with cornbread, but that is truthfully because I want a reason to make cornbread and eat a lot of my sweet cornbread. This time, though, I ate my chili with tortilla chips and I liked it a lot better than with cornbread. The salty crunch from the chips really gave an extra texture and salty slightly sweet corn flavor profile to the chili.

Now, I will describe what veggies I used, because that is what I had on hand, but feel free to use other good stew vegetables you have on hand. For example, zucchini/courgettes, carrots, onion, celery, broccoli stalks, green bell pepper, etc.

Turkey Veggie (Vegetable) Chili
Ingredients:
1 lb (16 oz) lean ground turkey (15% fat)
1/2 diced onion
3 minced garlic cloves
2 chopped carrots
1 chopped zucchini
2-3 cups chicken broth
2 medium-large fresh tomatoes, diced
1 (15-oz) can of beans (I used Simple Truth organic tri-color), undrained
Chili powder
Paprika, dried oregano
Salt and black pepper
(Arby's sauce, *see Personal touch)
Green onion, cilantro, parsley, for garnish

Directions
1)  In a large pan or pot, saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until light golden brown. Add in the minced garlic and saute until lightly browned. Add in the turkey and cook over medium-high, breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon until the turkey is cooked. Remove the turkey from the pan into a bowl and set aside.
2) Add the carrots too the pan and add some water just enough to slightly steam the carrots and just enough so that the water will evaporate quickly (< 1/4 cup). Once the carrots have quickly steamed but are still firm and the water has evaporated, add some oil and saute the carrots till somewhat softer but with a little bit of firmness. Add in the chopped zucchini and saute briefly to undercook. The vegetables will cook further when simmering.
3) Return the turkey and all the juices from the bowl back into the pan. Mix together of medium heat, then pour in the chopped tomatoes and all their juices. Let cook over medium-high for a couple of minutes. Add in the chicken broth, mix. Add in the can of beans, mix.
4) Season with 2-3 Tbs chili powder, some dashes of paprika and dried oregano.  Season with some salt and black pepper. Adjust with more chili powder if desired.
*Personal touch: I wanted to give a little extra flavor to my chili, so I went through my fridge for random sauces or condiments I could add. I found a packet of Arby's sauce, which is like a ketchup or BBQ sauce but not. You can omit this or use ketchup or BBQ sauce instead
5) Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer, with a slightly open cap, for 20 minutes. Give a stir occasionally and add more broth or water if necessary.
6) To serve, ladle into bowls, add a dash of black pepper, and sprinkle freshly chopped green onion, cilantro, and/or parsley. Serve with restaurant-style tortilla chips.

Serves 4-6

This is a relatively healthy chili. It uses turkey but not the 90% lean because that would be too dry and too healthy. There is a good mix of vegetables and beans without overwhelming the meat portion. I hope you try this out, or use it as inspiration for your own chili! Thanks for reading!

Recipe: Mushroom Mataar

Mushroom Mataar - Oct 7, 2012
(from my "Catching Up" post on Jan 19)

In College Station, there is only one Indian restaurant (although I've heard about many Indian mini-marts inside gas stations and convenience stores). Coming from Berkeley, and even Southern California, I had many options for Indian food (although, sadly, I did not indulge in enough while I was there). Every now and then I get a craving for Indian food. Tikka masala, samosas, korma, jalfrezi, curry, mango lassi...

I also really like peas, and Indians know how to make peas taste awesome. I looked online for an Indian pea recipe, and I had mushrooms on hand. I came across this recipe and made this!

The flavors were good. There was a warm complexity, thanks to the melding of the mushroom umami and the spices. I served it on whole wheat couscous, which is what I had on hand, but it would be much better with naan or rice (brown or basmati). Whole wheat couscous has such a strong flavor that I would not recommend eating it with anything really. Sorry, Bob's Red Mill, even your awesome brand cannot make whole wheat couscous better. It tastes like play-doh to me...bleh.

Anyways, I really liked this. Probably not authentic and lacks some degrees of flavor depth key to Indian food, but tasty enough for me.

(Because I made this so long ago and because I did it based on the ingredients I had on hand, I can only estimate the amounts that I used, based on the recipe I referenced)
 
Matar Mushroom (4 servings)
Adapted from Khana Khazana
Ingredients
1 container of mushrooms (1/2 lb, I think), halved
1/2 bag of frozen peas (small bag)
3-4 fresh tomatoes, chopped and pureed
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 onion chopped
1/2" ginger finely chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp or more of garam masala
Some chopped green chili or red pepper chili paste if you want spicy

Directions
1. Heat oil in a pan. Saute the cumin seeds and garam masala till fragrant, then add in the onion. Saute till light brown. Add ginger, and garlic and saute till light brown.
2. Add in the mushrooms, green peas, and tomato puree and saute until mushrooms have released their juices and green peas are no longer frozen.
3. Add salt and adjust spices to your liking (I think I add to add more garam masala because I could barely taste it)
4. Serve with rice or naan (avoid the whole wheat couscous!!! D: D: D: )

Cooking with Love: Steamed Flounder and Pumpkin Cheese Pie

My boyfriend is a sweet guy. He is willing to try new things (to an extent) and willing to help out when I ask him. I believe that what makes our relationship work so well is that we communicate to each other when something is problematic. He keeps me modest with his honesty and pointing out awkward or inconsiderate mannerisms of mine. Things I cook, bake, and other things I do, he points out what is good but also what I could improve on. Truth be told, it irks me sometimes because I may not be looking for perfection right then, just somethibg passable so I can move on. Nevertheless, I give consideration to his comments, even if I respond defensively at first.

I have been trying to teach him how to be more self-sufficient and proactive lately. As we are both becoming independent adults, I believe it is necessary to learn how to take care of oneself. Cooking and household chores are basic skills every person should be able to do when they become an adult, regardless of sex/gender. Eventually, our parents will not be there to take care of us all the time, and we have to rely on ourselves for food, comfort, and care. Furthermore, one cannot subsist on eating out for nearly every meal. You would go broke before you even pay rent. 

This is why I have been teaching my boyfriend how to cook, wash and dry clothes, and some minor cleaning.  Also, he had to learn how to take care of my dog - that's a life skill too! But, I have to admit that I have alternate motivation for teaching him these skills. As a graduate student, volunteer, and dancer, I don't have that much time to take total care of two dependent boys (bf and dog). So I wanted my boyfriend to learn how to cook and do some simple household chores. Then, I could come home from my usual 8-9 hour workday and not have to cook, clean up, and study before attempting to get a decent amount of sleep before another long workday. A woman's dream: to have dinner prepared when she gets home and not have to bother with cleaning everything.

I talked with my bf about this and he was understanding. So wonderful, to have a bf who listens and tries to improve. After our talk, the rest of the day was splendid. What unfolded was a scene I had always fantasized about in my future settled life. My bf and I cooked dinner together and he helped with baking my pie. We had dinner together, no TV (although small distractions intermittently from his cellphone game) and the food was spectacular.

I guess that food just tastes better when you take time to prepare it with someone you love.

The dish that we created together was a soy steamed flounder with sauteed zucchini and steamed rice. My bf is learning how to cook perfect rice on the stovetop through trial and error. Eventually,  he'll finally remember the process. Nevertheless, the rice he made was not too bad. A tad mushier than "perfect" white rice but still I enjoyed the creaminess of the moist rice. I dont make perfect rice yet either, nothing like my mom's. So, as you can see, we are both still learning.

The flounder recipe was prompted by a sale of wild-caught flounder fillets at a local grocery store. My bf always comments how his Cantonese family generally steams food. It is healthier, simple, and focuses on the freshness and flavor of the food itself, instead of the taste of oil or sauces. So I decided to do a steamed flounder, which was also recommended by the butcher at the fish counter. He suggested steaming because flounder falls apart if pan fried.

I used a recipe online as inspiration and ended up sauteeing zucchini, garlic,  ginger, and some sweet pickled carrots and daikons my mom made for Tet (Vietnamese New Year). I seasoned the fillets with hot shot black & red pepper blend (McCormick) and lemon pepper seasoning, placed it on top of the vegetables with soy sauce and let that steam until cooked. 

I started making the pie earlier, finishing the graham cracker crust, when he came over and asked to help. We proceeded to make the filling together and I put it in the oven. As I had hip hop dance class for the next hour, I entrusted him with taking out the pie when done. When I came back, the pie was on the counter, beautifully browned and set.

We set the table with the pots of rice and main course, alongside the pie we made together. It was a proud and happy and loving moment for me and for us. This is a memory that will live on in my tastebuds and my mind, to remind me of how much I love my bf and how lucky we are to have one another.

-----------------------------------

 

Steamed Flounder and Vegetables (serves 2)
Ingredients
1 12 oz flounder fillet (preferably wild caught), cut into two pieces
Lemon pepper seasoning
Hot shot black & red pepper blend (McCormick) (can just use black pepper)
1 large zucchini (any squash works fine), cut into 1/4" thick slices then into fourths to sixths
(Carrots and radish, sliced thinly and marinated in a sweet vinegar brine, optional. Add other veggies if you want)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 Tbs minced fresh ginger
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
3 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, green parts only, thinly sliced
Sesame seeds for garnish
Rice and soy sauce to serve

Directions
1. Heat large skillet (one that has a cap) over medium. Add olive and sesame oils. Add zucchini, garlic, ginger, and other veggies if using. Saute until veggies just start to soften. Add soy sauce and 3 Tbs water.
2. Season both sides of fish fillets with lemon pepper and hot black pepper seasoning. Make a bed of the vegetables in the bottom of the pan. Top with fish fillets. Cover pan and let steam till fish is cooked through and flakes easily (about 6 mins).
3. Remove pan from heat, top fish with cilantro, green onion, and sesame seeds (optional).
4. Serve with rice and soy sauce.

 

Pumpkin Cheese Pie (8-10 slices)
(Recipe adapted from southernplate.com. Crust adapted from Dessertswithbenefits, a superb blog with nutritious, cute, easy, and innovative sweets)
Crust Ingredients
1.5 cups (cinnamon or honey) graham cracker crumbs
1 Tbs coconut oil
1.5 Tbs Smart balance butter (or softened butter)
1.5 Tbs Biscoff spread (cookie butter)
*(alternatively, just use 3-4 Tbs softened butter in place of the above three fats)

Filling Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup (unsweetened vanilla almond) milk
1/4 cup brown and/or cane sugar
1/4 cup apricot jam (no sugar added, not Splenda-sweetened)
2-3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 oz (1/2 bar) plain cream cheese
1/4 cup honey

Directions
1. Prepare the crust: preheat oven to 350 deg F. In a food processor, grind down crust ingredients to a coarse powder. Press into a 9" pie plate (don't have to press all the way up the sides). Blind bake for 10 minutes till lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool. Change oven temperature to 325 deg F.
2. Make filling: beat all filling ingredients till smooth and creamy. Pour into par-baked graham crust.
3. Bake for 40-50 minutes in the oven at 325 deg F till filling is set (edges not too browned, knife inserted into center comes out clean). Remove from oven and let cool at least 45 minutes before cutting and serving.

 

Both creations turned out very tasty. The fish was creamy, although next time I would saute my zucchini for a short time to preserve some of that nice crisp veggie texture. Also, I will reduce the sugar in the pie by removing the 1/4 cup of sugar and just relying on the jam and honey to sweeten the pie.

I hope you try these easy recipes out and make long-lasting memories with someone you love in your life too.

~Pauline

Catching Up

Wow, that last post was really depressing. But I had to put it up. Other bloggers have to see that other bloggers have real-life problems too and it's not all just pretty food pictures and baking heaven. Also, I needed to get a load off my chest. Since then, things have been going much better. I feel more confident, but that is also because some things in lab are working now. It's a slow process, but it's something I have to learn and persevere through. I understand that graduate school and research is not easy, but the difficulties seem to overwhelm me at times. I will learn to handle stress and anxiety better, but it will take time. First, I have to get a hold on my emotions and allow my self-perception to change. I think I am happier and mentally healthier now. :-)

Now, to food-related things!

As usual, I have been cooking lots and taking pictures of food lots, but being too lazy to pull out my computer and type up something entertaining about it. I will create individual posts for each of these with recipes next time. Until then, enjoy these quick bites of my last semester!

Cinnamon (raisin) rolls (with yeast!) - Sept 9, 2012

 

I once made cinnamon rolls before, but those didn't rise well and were overbaked. This time around, I tried the recipe at Two Peas and a Pod. I switched out half of the all-purpose flour for white whole wheat flour. I also added apple juice-soaked raisins to half of the dough.

These were better texture-wise, but my addition of whole wheat flour and minimal cinnamon-sugar-butter filling made it not as decadent as I hoped. It rose better than my very first batch, but was still not as fluffy as I wanted. Nevertheless, it was tasty and would serve as a good breakfast without the sugar-rush and super-unhealthiness of Cinnabon and the like.

I iced them with a lemon vanilla frosting, simply made from fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar.

Homemade Spring Rolls (Goi Cuon) - Sept 26, 2012

Rice paper is soaked in water briefly to soften, then wrapped around fresh Vietnamese herbs, roasted shredded chicken, surimi (imitation crabmeat), and fresh roasted peanuts, and served with peanut sauce. Typical Vietnamese herbs wrapped inside include Vietnamese mint, Vietnamese coriander, fish mint, chives, and lettuce. Homemade, pan-roasted peanuts are a must. The flavor of freshly roasted peanuts surpasses that of storebought.

Honey Buttermilk Cornbread - Sept 21, 2012

 I have been trying to perfect my cornbread recipe. This one comes pretty close, but I can never achieve the pure heaven that is Smart Alec's cornbread (in Berkeley). Theirs is a huge golden square served up with their salads or soups. The top is slightly sticky and the texture is slightly crumbly but still maintains shape. It is sweet and moist, not dry like cornbread mixes. I have not replicated that but I found a recipe that really delighted me. The use of buttermilk is a must for achieving a really creamy and more flavorful cornbread.
 

I sprinkled the top with my organic cane sugar. This sugar is less refined and therefore composed of larger crystals than regular granulated sugar. It adds a slight sweet crunch to the top.

I really like this recipe but believe it still needs some adjustment before it can be anywhere close to Smart Alec's. Next time, I may add more honey to increase the moistness and sweetness more.


Raisin Oat Scones- Sept 29, 2012

I love scones. Not the crazy sweet ones you get from grocery stores or chain coffee stores. I like homemade or artisan bakery scones, where the emphasis is on the good butter or cream and the simple combination of flavors. I love to see oats or seeds top my scones instead of icing. I believe, as a breakfast food, it need not have icing.

These are healthy scones made with oats, whole wheat flour, flaxseed, and raisins. Coming straight from the oven, they are warm and tasty and delicious. A couple days later, they get dry, but that's why they are wonderful accompanied by tea!

I made about 8 wedges, which came out very large. They are satisfying, wholesome, and sweet enough, especially great with some vanilla almond milk.

Mushroom Mataar - Oct 7, 2012

In College Station, there is only one Indian restaurant (although I've heard about many Indian mini-marts inside gas stations and convenience stores). Coming from Berkeley, and even Southern California, I had many options for Indian food (although, sadly, I did not indulge in enough while I was there). Every now and then I get a craving for Indian food. Tikka masala, samosas, korma, jalfrezi, curry, mango lassi...

I also really like peas, and Indians know how to make peas taste awesome. I looked online for an Indian pea recipe, and I had mushrooms on hand. I came across this recipe and made this!

The flavors were good. There was a warm complexity, thanks to the melding of the mushroom umami and the spices. I served it on whole wheat couscous, which is what I had on hand, but it would be much better with naan or rice (brown or basmati). Whole wheat couscous has such a strong flavor that I would not recommend eating it with anything really. Sorry, Bob's Red Mill, even your awesome brand cannot make whole wheat couscous better. It tastes like play-doh to me...bleh.

Anyways, I really liked this. Probably not authentic and lacks some degrees of flavor depth key to Indian food, but tasty enough for me.

Gingerbread Donuts - Dec. 13, 2012

I finally remembered to buy molasses, so to celebrate its induction into my household, I made gingerbread donuts. They were very tasty. I was really pleased with this batch of donuts. I often have trouble pulling the donuts out of the mini donut pan, even after greasing it up. These came out so beautifully, without breaking the top halves! I was ecstatic!

I iced these with a lime cream cheese frosting (lime+vanilla+powdered sugar+cream cheese). Lemon typically goes with ginger pastries, but I had bought too many key limes and needed to use them. The flavors actually went well together. One of my favorite donuts yet!

 ---

I have more, but I don't want to unveil everything now, lest I blow all my secrets! Or, in other words, it's late and I don't want to type anymore. You can see my other adventures...probably not soon. When I feel like posting again. Ok, toodles!

Forgot to thaw your meat? Try...Tofu Sloppy Joe's!

Oh no. You've done it again.

After a long day at work (or school, in my case), you return home in the evening and realize that you never put out your frozen meat to thaw out. It is sitting nice and frigid in the freezer, encased in frost and icicles, hard as a rock.

Source: What's Cooking America

You don't want to try and thaw it now. Nuking in the microwave would just result in an exterior of tan-white cooked sections over a still-frozen nucleus. Darn, why does that cell have to have both a membrane and a cell wall as barriers!

...But I digress...way too far into biology.

The matter is that you have no centerpiece to your dinner tonight? What do you do?

This is where tofu comes to the rescue. Yes, all you carnivores. Tofu. Although many people cringe at the thought of tofu, prepared correctly, it can be the shining star of a dish. The great thing about tofu nowadays is that it comes it so many varieties and can keep in the refrigerator for one or two weeks without going bad. Even then, you can just freeze it for use later.

Source: Restaurant Widow

Last week, I had come home and had nothing for quick dinner options but ramen, soup in a can, or buying out. Luckily, I had a pack of firm tofu in the fridge, which would complement well with the abundance of tomatoes I had. The idea for tofu sloppy joes came up. Healthy, quick, and not too warm for these hot summer nights (which are fading soon!).

I started off by looking up recipes for tofu sloppy joes, coming across this and this, but nothing was really satisfactory to me nor to the ingredients I had at hand. So I improvised, which means the recipe below is a rough estimate of what I did. I admit, what resulted did not have the original smoky, hearty flavor of a classic beef sloppy joe, but it was very flavorful and made a great sandwich filling that was not sloppy at all. Maybe I should call these Tofu Clean Joe's, instead!

Tofu Sloppy (or Clean) Joe's (serves 4-6)
Ingredients
1 block (12-16oz) silken firm tofu
3-4 tomatoes, diced, some seeds and liquid innards removed
3-4 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2-3 Tbs Gochujang sauce (Korean red pepper paste, *see Notes)
1 Tbs ketchup
1 small white or yellow onion, fine diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 stalks of green onion, chopped
Sprinkling of sugar
salt and pepper

For assembly:
8-12 bread slices (Whole Food's organic multigrain is a great one)
8-12 green lettuce leaves
2-4 tomato slices per sandwich if desired

Directions
1. Drain the tofu and mash. Set aside.
2. Heat a medium skillet pan over medium heat. Add in some oil and saute the onion till yellow. Add in half of the garlic and saute until fragrant and lightly tanned. Add in the tofu and cook, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In a large pan, saute the garlic until lightly tanned. Throw in all the tomatoes and simmer. Add in the Worcestershire, Gochujang, and ketchup. Add in sugar, salt, and pepper until you get the taste you want. For more spicy, add more Gochujang. More tang, add more Worcestershire. More sweet, add more sugar or molasses or brown sugar.
4. Add in the tofu onion mixture. Simmer about 5-10 minutes. Adjust seasoning further as desired. Sprinkle top with chopped green onion.
5. To assemble, spread the tofu mixture 1/3-1/2 inch thick on one bread slice. Place tomato slices on top. Place two lettuce leaves on the other side of the bread and serve (let guests see the wonderful filling before they place the sandwich it all together!).

Notes:
*This came out super tasty and my two housemates really liked it. Really try the Whole Food's organic multigrain small batch bread. Its texture, thickness, and taste is great for pretty much anything. I would definitely make this again when I have some extra tomatoes and silken firm tofu lying about.
* If I had more ketchup laying around and had the made the effort to cut one or two more tomatoes, it would have made more sauce, which I think would have added to the dish overall.
* If you don't have gochujang, you can probably just use some tomato paste from a can and add in pepper flakes or powder.

Another Kale Sausage Bread Pudding

Last week, I made another kale-sausage bread pudding, but this time for two of the other interns. Having leftover french bread, a nice juicy and large all-beef hot dog, kale, corn, carrots, and onions as usual, I decided to make use of resources. Oh, bread pudding, how you cater to my need to use up resources.

Kale Sausage Bread Pudding (serves 3, or 4 as a side)

Ingredients

3 kale leaves, washed and chopped

About 3 oz (7 baby) carrots, chopped

1/4 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large all-beef succulent beef hot dog, chopped

1/2 corn on the cob, boiled, sliced off

2 or 3 eggs (I can't remember)

1/4 cup plain yogurt + 1/4 cup water

1/4 loaf French bread, cubed

Salt, seasoning, black pepper

Directions

1.  Lightly oil the pan over medium heat. Add hot dog. Saute, then slide onto a plate.

2. Saute onions in the remaining oil till lightly yellow. Add in garlic, carrots, kale. Saute till kale is soft but still firm. Add in corn, saute one minute. Add in hot dog. Stir a little, then remove to a large bowl. Mix with bread

3. Preheat oven to 420 F. Lightly oil a small 8 by 8 inch pan.

4. Whisk eggs, yogurt, water, and seasoning. Pour over bread-veggie-meat mix. Stir so all the bread is soaked. Let sit for 5 min to saturate.

5. Pour into pan. Bake for about 35-45 minutes until set. Let cool for 5-10min. Slice and serve warm.

Cooking Kale Mid Internship

Yesterday was quite exciting. While baking in the apartment kitchen, we found that some nice guy put all his cookware, spices, and oil in the cabinets for free but respectful use. I was ecstatic and thanked to the air this fella for his generosity.

Undeniably, I cooked today, being as I was, super excited to eat homemade cooked food. Granted, I ate a couple of homemade meals, but lunch sandwiches don't count.

With my trusty kale, sausages leftover from IHOP, bread, buttermilk, and minimal utensils, I headed to the kitchen!

What ensued was none other than this lovely, hearty, tasty Kale and Sausage Bread Pudding - for One. Enjoy, because I sure did.

Kale and Sausage Bead Pudding (serves 1)
Ingredients
2 sausage links, chopped
2 large kale leaves, torn into small pieces
2 slices bread chopped into 1/2 or 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 egg
1 TBS Newman's Southwest Salad Dressing
Pinches of garlic and onion powder
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Any other seasoning, to taste

Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 F. Drizzle olive oil and some dried seasonings over bread cubes and mix around. Bake on a sheet in the oven until hard. Remove.
2. As bread is baking, heat sausage in medium skillet over med-high. Once slightly brown and releasing some oil and juices, toss in kale, with a little bit of water. Cook a little. Cover, let steam, and occasionally stir. Cook until kale is wilted and starting to crisp. Add some garlic and onion powder, a teaspoon or two of water, and mix around.
3. Beat egg and buttermilk together with southwest salad dressing.
4. Combine breadcrumbs, sausage-kale mix, and egg mix in a large bowl. Pour into a little pyrex glass bowl or other small baking pan.
5. Bake in oven for 30-40 min, until egg is set and bread is crisp on top.
6. Let cool 5-10 min. Dig in!

Note: This is quite filling. If you triple the ingredients, it can serve four.

I do believe I am in love with kale now. Boiled, raw, and especially cooked stovetop - they're all delicious. I've heard kale chips are amazing. I'll have to try that soon.

Scallop Vegetable Risotto and Double Banana Muffins

Hello again.

"..."

What? Don't remember me? Oh yeah. We haven't spoken in a veerryyyyy long time. Well, between fun stuff, procrastinating, school, and other various distractions, Blog, you have been set at a lower priority. But, now I have returned to post!

"Really? A review, huh?"

Nope! I have my own recipe and it's delicious! Although, I must admit, I do have a long list of restaurants that I must review on Yelp, along with other foods I have made at home since my last post.

Today, I surprisingly had a lot of time. Also, surprisingly, I was not too tired in the evening despite staying up late to try and finish homework and getting up semi-early to go to research lab. After class was over, and after taking a fun stroll through Whole Foods, I was prepared to finally achieve one of my life goals!

Cooking risotto!!!

So I did it. And I was so psyched when I finished and even now. Haha. The finished product was really good, and SOOO much better than Pasta Pomodoro's special this month: Asparagus Risotto. That thing was bland and had no love put in it. Just kinda thick rice with asparagus. Nasty. Their El Cerrito branch will be receiving a bad review on Yelp soon...

Anyways, back to the risotto. A couple days ago, I made my own vegetable stock out of a bunch of vegetable shavings and leftovers. So excited that this dish is COMPLETELY from scratch. Makes it such a proud experience. It is a scallop risotto with red bell peppers, red onions, celery, and carrots. Apparently, the onion, peppers, celery, and carrots is the usual base mix of vegetables to start any dish. My roommate called it some fancy Italian or French word, but I forgot.

I based my risotto of the general procedure for "Our Favorite Risotto" from Cooking Light that was made with mushrooms and mascarpone cheese. Instead, I added my own vegetables, herbs, meat, and cheese. Below you will find the recipe. It came out very creamy and delicious, but must be served warm-hot to really enjoy it to its full extent. Before making the risotto, I made some banana muffins modified from a recipe my mom used. My mom baked for the first time last night!!! She made these banana muffins and added too many bananas and less butter, but it came out amazing. But she's back at home home and I'm in my college home, so I didn't get any. So I craved and made some myself - with my usual changes of course (cinnamon, spices, wheat). The recipe for the banana muffins follow the risotto recipe. (Picture to be added tomorrow).

(Pardon the messy pot. It's the starch and cheese.)

Scallop Risotto (serves 4-5)
Ingredients
1 medium-large red bell pepper, large diced
1/4 large red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, including leaves, diced
1/2 lb small-medium bay scallops, patted dry
Various herbs (I used dried oregano, basil, thyme, and parsley, freely added)
3/4-1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/4-1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil for sauteing
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Heat stock in saucepan to a simmer but do not boil. Keep warm.
2. Saute the red onions till limp. Add garlic and Arborio rice. Saute for 5 min. Add 1/2 cup white wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed.
3. Add 1 cup of stock and cook, stirring until most of it is absorbed. Meanwhile, begin to saute the carrot and celery (reserve the celery leaves). Add the red bell peppers and continue sauteing. Remove from heat once cooked. Add stock to rice 1/2 cup a time, stirring constantly, until absorbed each time.
4. Season the scallops with salt, black pepper, oregano, and basil. On a hot pan with olive oil, sear scallops till cooked through on each side. Kinda stir-fry it. Add in vegetables to reheat, then remove from heat.
5. Once rice is thick and starchy, and fold in scallop-vegetable mix. Add in rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper, to taste. Add in Parmesan cheese, and fold through rice.
6. Spoon into bowls and top with chopped celery leaves. Enjoy!

Double Banana Muffins (14 normal muffins, or 12 muffins + 6 mini muffins)
Ingredients
4-5 ripe, medium bananas, mashed
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup sugar (mix white and brown)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 TBS canola oil
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, to taste
1/4 cup chopped banana chips, toasted in oven

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins with grease of liners.
2. Beat bananas, egg, sugar, vanilla, butter, and oil.
3. Mix dry ingredients. Add to wet ingredients. Fold in banana chips.
4. Pour into muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Note: Make sure to check on the mini ones just to make sure they don't cook too much before the big ones.

A Cornucopia of Winter Fun

Disney Downtown, New Years' Eve

Winter Break is a blessing in the middle of the school year. After a long semester of studying and work (along with bits of fun thrown in here and there for good measure), it's nice to come back home and not worry about the next onslaught of midterms and homework. Even better is the warmth of my hometown compared to Berkeley. Down south, it feels like a warm spring! I remember the chilly air on those sunny Berkeley days reading out 50 some degrees Fahrenheit. Despite it all, it was a refreshing walk through the city and campus, but once I got inside a warm classroom, nothing else could have felt better.

Now, back home, I watch the news and see the weathermen talking about subzero conditions elsewhere in the US (frozen lizards falling from trees, people dying from cold), and then compare it to our wonderful conditions here in SoCal. Wonderful 70-80 degree weather. My insulating-lacking body loves it! But, I just saw that there will be cooler weather coming in soon, along with some rain on Wednesday. It'll be a nice change, I suppose, and the dry SoCal terrain needs it.

In my long hiatus from blogging, I've done a lot of experimenting and taste-testing. As is the usual case with me, I felt too lazy to post; rather, I read other bloggers' posts and went on Facebook to pass the time. This morning, I decided it's finally time to post up my collection of Winter experiences. These will follow in subsequent postings after this one. Enjoy!

Nov 8, 2009: Asian Christmas Veggie Mix-Up

 
Ha, my attempt at an original name for something I made. This is something I quickly cooked up in Berkeley to replicate a dish my mom always makes. I didn't have the par-fried tofu we usually get from the Asian supermarket, only the silken tofu from the American stores. The problem with this tofu is that is crumbles at the slightest touch, which really changed what I was going for. Nevertheless, the dish came out still good and refreshing, as my mom's is. The other thing I was lacking at that moment was green onion and cilantro to garnish with. I served this with brown rice for a very healthy yet delicious lunch.

 Ingredients
Garlic, minced
Frozen or fresh green beans
Plum tomatoes, sliced into thick wedges
1 pack firm tofu (if you want to do it like in the picture) or semi-fried firm tofu
Soy sauce
Sugar 
Olive oil

Directions
Saute the garlic in olive oil until yellowish-brown. Add the green beans next if using fresh, otherwise, add both the green beans and tomatoes. Saute for a bit longer until the juices of the tomatoes comes out and the vegetables are soft. Add in the tofu. Add in some soy sauce and sugar to taste, not too much sugar. Saute until tofu is cooked as well. Garnish with sliced green onion and cilantro.

French Onion Soup

As promised, here is the French Onion Soup I made at the beginning of this week.

I bought a bag of onions a couple of weeks ago, so I wanted to use the rest of it. Onions are used in basically every recipe for extra flavor, and they're chock full of good vitamins. They have the flavanoid called quercetin, which protects against cataracts, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. They also contain 20% of your daily recommended vitamin C. Flavor and taste! What better reason to eat them?

...Well, I guess the tears.

So, I was cutting just 3 medium yellow/Vidalia onions and I was crying for at least 6 hours afterward. It was rather annoying. My nose kept running and the onions left their bite on the cutting board, so when my house-mate cut peaches, it had an undertone of onions. Whoops. Ah well, the soup came out good enough.

So, I made my own vegetable stock from scraps of carrots, lettuce, zucchini, broccoli, onions, and cilantro from the past two weeks. Just threw them in a pot of water and boiled with dried basil and oregano and sea salt. I did this first, then proceeded to make my French Onion Soup.

French Onion Soup (serves 4-5)
Ingredients
1-2 Tbs butter
3 yellow/ Sweet Vidalia onions, chopped into large pieces
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
3-4 or 5 cups vegetable broth (beef broth would probably taste better)
~4 Tbs or more of balsamic vinegarette to replace white wine (I'm a sophomore, I don't have access to alcohol...)
Oregano, basil, salt, and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Melt butter in stovepot. Layer in onions with sprinkles of salt. Don't pan-fry them. You want them to turn translucent and soft. Cook for some 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Pour in vegetable broth and garlic. Season with herbs and salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then simmer, covered for 1 hour, stirring periodically. Pour in balasmic vinegarette halfway through, maybe. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Once satisfactory, turn off heat, let cool a bit.

Now, you can serve it with some toasted bread with cheese melted on top! The classic way is to pour them into broiler-safe crocks, top with slices of crusty French baguette and Gruyere cheese, and broil until they look GOOOD. As you can see from my pictures, I didn't have that stuff, so I just used my Oroweat potato bread and grated parmesan cheese. Good enough. Oh, and the picture has ground turkey in it, but it's as good without as well. Enjoy this college-version of French Onion Soup!

Vegetable Empanada

Cooking with friends is both fun and time-saving. Not only do you get a few extra hands in the kitchen, but you get enjoyable company that gets to taste the delicious product when the cooking's all done! This is what I finally got to do two weeks before going back to school. I invited five of my friends over to have a cooking/ice cream/crafts party. I said I'd make them vegetable empanadas for lunch, and then we'd make chocolate gelato, and then we'd crochet or do whatever else they wanted to do at my house. I always wanted to make empanadas (it's not just because I went to that Tapas place earlier!), and finding a baked version peaked my interest.


I didn't have any of the Mexican spices on hand, so I sub'd in a good amount of tabasco sauce. I also used whole wheat flour because I was low on normal white flour. I also made some other tweaks, which you'll find in the recipe below. One of my friends who came over was really helpful with the preparation. She helped make and roll out the dough. When she asked for a rolling pin, I gave her a wine bottle wrapped in a cookie sheet because I didn't have one. She laughed at my paucity of baking tools, but I was laughing too. I'm used to it. ;P

Baked Whole Wheat Vegetable Empanadas (adapted from here) Serves 8
Ingredients
3 carrots, chopped (I recommend using less. The carrot flavor overtook the empanadas)
2 medium zucchini, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 - 2/3 can of whole sweet kernel corn (low sodium, preferred)
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
3 minced garlic cloves
4 Tbs (?) Tabasco sauce
2 tsp (?) sea salt
2 Tbs flour mixed with 1/4 cold water
1 cup (?) shredded Mexican cheese
3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 Tbs baking powder
8 Tbs chilled butter
2 tsp soy sauce
1-1/4 cups ice cold water
1 egg mixed with 1 Tbs water

Directions
1. Boil carrots over medium heat until tender.
2. Mix tomatoes with Tabasco sauce and salt. Blend in the 2 Tbs flour-water mixture.
3. Saute onions, then add zuchinni and saute, then add garlic and saute, then add corn. Stir in tomato mixture, bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 3 minutes; uncover and constantly stir until sauce is thickened.
4. Stir in carrots and cheese. You can add more salt, cheese, and/or Tabasco sauce to taste.
5. Remove from heat, cover, and refrigerate.
6. Preheat oven to 400°F. For empanada crust, combine 3-1/2 cups flour and baking soda. Cut in butter and mix into a coarse meal. Make a well in the center.
7. Mix soy sauce and water and pour into the well of flour. Stir with a fork until the dough rolls away from the sides of the bowl.
8. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 30 seconds.
9. Divide dough into 8 pieces (we made 7). Roll into an 8" circle.
10. Spoon generous amount (3/4 cup) of filling into center. (You'll have extra leftover. You can set these out at the table if anyone wants extra.)
11. Moisten edges with egg-water mixture. Fold dough over into half-moon shape. Pinch and flute edges.
12. Transfer empanadas onto ungreased cookie sheets on baking pans.
13. Prick tops with fork multiple times and brush with egg-water mixture.
14. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool before serving.