Ahhh rosemary flowers! My favorite new discovery. My rosemary bush is in bloom and I thought "why not?" and put a flower in my mouth! All the delicious rosemary taste without any of the harshness and hardness that you can't swallow.
Here's my mom's trick to beets: suck it up and peel them before you cook them, wash them and there you go: no earthy taste. She likes to microwave them in a glass dish, but I'm sure you could bake them with the same results.
Ingreds:
a couple cooked beets, grated or sliced thinly
a handful roasted almonds, sliced
a spring of chives, chopped
a handful fresh rosemary flowers (yum!)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp spicy mustard
Well it's a salad, you know what to do.
Oh and if you're lame and turn your nose up at beets, you can do this same salad with spinach or arugula and it's just as delicious. Just add honey to the dressing to make up for the sweetness of the beets.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Mediterrasian Veggies
As you can see to the right, I link to a site called Mediterrasian Cooking. It's a cute site, but it fails to live up to the interesting name. Really it just talks about the health benefits of Mediterranean and Asian cuisines, but speaks not of the fusion the name seems to imply.
So here is my attempt at East meets... Middle East (my two fav. areas, foodwise).
Indgreds:
1 clove garlic
1/4 onion, sliced in half rings
2 tb. spoons olive oil
spices: turmeric, coriander, allspice, dried mint
1/2 cup coconut milk
a couple white mushrooms, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
any other veggies you may wish
Caramelize the garlic and onion in the olive oil with the spices. Add the coconut milk and the veggies and simmer until the sauce is thick. Serve over rice.
There you go: Mediterrasian!
PS I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that this is, in fact, a vegan recipe. Triumph!!
PPS I made this recipe again recently, with a whole bunch of other veggies and also some mango cubes I threw in at the last minute. Worked out well :).
So here is my attempt at East meets... Middle East (my two fav. areas, foodwise).
Indgreds:
1 clove garlic
1/4 onion, sliced in half rings
2 tb. spoons olive oil
spices: turmeric, coriander, allspice, dried mint
1/2 cup coconut milk
a couple white mushrooms, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
any other veggies you may wish
Caramelize the garlic and onion in the olive oil with the spices. Add the coconut milk and the veggies and simmer until the sauce is thick. Serve over rice.
There you go: Mediterrasian!
PS I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that this is, in fact, a vegan recipe. Triumph!!
PPS I made this recipe again recently, with a whole bunch of other veggies and also some mango cubes I threw in at the last minute. Worked out well :).
Monday, February 25, 2008
Red Cabbage Apple Salad
This is an Isreali-inspired salad that was some kind of stroke of genius. Since I made it up, I've made it like three times in a week and a half, which is amazing, since the dish turnaround for me is usually more like a month or two. Literally, I made a batch of it, ate HALF of it and then, in the morning, took some bread, butter, cheese, and put the salad on top of it for breakfast.
The proportions change from day to day, but overall here are the ingredients.
1 apple, grated
small piece of a red cabbage, sliced thinly
1 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly (optional)
1 tb spoon mayo
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
sometimes I also add olive oil.
Each time I make it, I make the apple a larger portion of the salad than before hehe.
The proportions change from day to day, but overall here are the ingredients.
1 apple, grated
small piece of a red cabbage, sliced thinly
1 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly (optional)
1 tb spoon mayo
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
sometimes I also add olive oil.
Each time I make it, I make the apple a larger portion of the salad than before hehe.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Sasha's Sake Chicken Surprise
Sorry for the stupid name, guys... I just had no idea what to title this one. To be honest, this chicken kind of surprised me too :).
So lately I've just been throwing together random sauces. I'm not worrying too much about veggies in the dishes because I've gotten really into fresh salads (thank you Israelis!!).
Ok, seriously, I am no food photographer. For that, I'd need a better camera, better lighting, and possibly some skills.
This is for about 2 chicken breasts. I never cook a lot, since I am not cooking for a big family. And as always, the measurements are guesstimated at best.
Sauce/Marinade:
1/2 cup sake (I use Nigori Creme de Sake, which is coarsely filtered. It's very sweet and mild)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard (I have some sweet honey dijon mustard)
2 tbsp honey
Preparation:
Wash the chicken and pull off all the excess fat. Marinate it in a ziplock bag for about an hour. Rub the chicken with salt and pepper and simply place chicken on a frying pan, and pour some of the marinade over it and set in on medium heat. (I suppose you could put the salt and pepper in the marinade, but that's not how I did it).
I know it's taboo to use chicken marinade as the sauce, but that's why we wash the chicken first. Anyway, this time around it worked out very interestingly for me. That's where the surprise came in, I guess. The sauce browned and congealed very quickly. Why didn't I expect that? I'm not sure. Anyway, this caused the chicken to brown beautifully. I poured in the rest of the marinade when I discovered this and stirred it all around. It still boiled away rather quickly, but it was enough time to finish cooking the chicken and caramelize some thinly sliced onions on the sauce.
In the end this turned out to be a really strong flavor, and I'm not totally sure how to make it milder. So the simple solution was to couple it with some very yummy coconut rice! They work very well together. Maybe next time I'll just put coconut milk in the sauce?
So lately I've just been throwing together random sauces. I'm not worrying too much about veggies in the dishes because I've gotten really into fresh salads (thank you Israelis!!).
Ok, seriously, I am no food photographer. For that, I'd need a better camera, better lighting, and possibly some skills.
This is for about 2 chicken breasts. I never cook a lot, since I am not cooking for a big family. And as always, the measurements are guesstimated at best.
Sauce/Marinade:
1/2 cup sake (I use Nigori Creme de Sake, which is coarsely filtered. It's very sweet and mild)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard (I have some sweet honey dijon mustard)
2 tbsp honey
Preparation:
Wash the chicken and pull off all the excess fat. Marinate it in a ziplock bag for about an hour. Rub the chicken with salt and pepper and simply place chicken on a frying pan, and pour some of the marinade over it and set in on medium heat. (I suppose you could put the salt and pepper in the marinade, but that's not how I did it).
I know it's taboo to use chicken marinade as the sauce, but that's why we wash the chicken first. Anyway, this time around it worked out very interestingly for me. That's where the surprise came in, I guess. The sauce browned and congealed very quickly. Why didn't I expect that? I'm not sure. Anyway, this caused the chicken to brown beautifully. I poured in the rest of the marinade when I discovered this and stirred it all around. It still boiled away rather quickly, but it was enough time to finish cooking the chicken and caramelize some thinly sliced onions on the sauce.
In the end this turned out to be a really strong flavor, and I'm not totally sure how to make it milder. So the simple solution was to couple it with some very yummy coconut rice! They work very well together. Maybe next time I'll just put coconut milk in the sauce?
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Reheating Chinese Food
(and other saucy asian food)
I know a lot of people have trouble with this and it took me a little bit of time to figure this out, so I just thought I'd share real quick. All you need is a skillet (or a pan), heat, and WATER. Yes, water, to dilute the sauce, so it doesn't congeal and burn.
I know a lot of people have trouble with this and it took me a little bit of time to figure this out, so I just thought I'd share real quick. All you need is a skillet (or a pan), heat, and WATER. Yes, water, to dilute the sauce, so it doesn't congeal and burn.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Fruity salmon (honey lemon mango salmon)
Ok, this recipe is not for the manly-men in my family! They all hate sweet meats, but in the last few years I've actually learned to love them. It's weird, I thought my taste in food would change during puberty, but it didn't happen till I turned 20!
This recipe was actually a cross between two other very simple recipes. I'm going to describe them quickly without any measurements (which I'd have to make up anyway).
Recipe 1:
Make marinade/sauce for salmon (soy sauce, lemon juice, honey; ginger is also good here). Split into two tupperware containers, marinade salmon in one, save the other for sauce. Fry or bake the marinated salmon, adding the extra sauce on the top.
Recipe 2:
Take some fresh salmon and rub with salt and pepper. Take some mango puree (I just grate the mango), pour in some tinfoil and place the salmon filet on top, adding more mango on the top. Wrap and bake for 10 or so minutes. Unwrap and let brown for another 3 minutes or so.
Combined recipe:
Marinade the salmon. Put mango puree on the bottom of the tinfoil, then salmon, then top with extra sauce. Wrap and bake for 10 or so minutes. Unwrap and let brown for another 3 minutes or so.
I like the combined recipe because the honey, lemon, and mango play off each other really well.
Simple! Easy! Fun! Delicious!
This recipe was actually a cross between two other very simple recipes. I'm going to describe them quickly without any measurements (which I'd have to make up anyway).
Recipe 1:
Make marinade/sauce for salmon (soy sauce, lemon juice, honey; ginger is also good here). Split into two tupperware containers, marinade salmon in one, save the other for sauce. Fry or bake the marinated salmon, adding the extra sauce on the top.
Recipe 2:
Take some fresh salmon and rub with salt and pepper. Take some mango puree (I just grate the mango), pour in some tinfoil and place the salmon filet on top, adding more mango on the top. Wrap and bake for 10 or so minutes. Unwrap and let brown for another 3 minutes or so.
Combined recipe:
Marinade the salmon. Put mango puree on the bottom of the tinfoil, then salmon, then top with extra sauce. Wrap and bake for 10 or so minutes. Unwrap and let brown for another 3 minutes or so.
I like the combined recipe because the honey, lemon, and mango play off each other really well.
Simple! Easy! Fun! Delicious!
Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers
So I decided to finally update here! Are you excited?? I do have some photos for this recipe, but I will upload them later.
I wanted to try being vegetarian at least once a week, but the problem is I hate beans and i have a hard time with tofu. I was thinking about what other sources of proteins there are, and the only one I came up with were nuts!
The recipe I came up with is pretty original and incredibly tasty! This is totally vegetarian, but my grandma didn't believe it, since the food was so "hearty." So here is my recipe for vegetarian stuffed bell peppers:
1 onion - diced
1 or 2 cups of fresh walnuts, ground
butter, salt, pepper, spices?
1 egg
1 large bell pepper - cut into quarters lengthwise
a splash of balsamic vinegar
Caramelize the onion with butter, salt, and pepper to taste. I don't usually add anything else, but if you think of something good to add, try it and let me know how it turns out. I use a mortar and pestle to grind the nuts, but I've also found you can use a rolling pin :). Put the nuts in with the onions, and stir a bit, then take off the heat.
While the onion-nut mixture is cooling, prepare the pepper. Cut it lengthwise into 4 "boats." This works well with the big American bell peppers, which tend to be sectioned into 4 anyway. If one is not available, you'll have to tweak the recipe, and probably use a couple peppers. Sprinkle the insides of the peppers with salt and splash them with balsamic vinegar (just a bit).
Add 1 raw egg into the onion-nut mixture and stir it in. This is your stuffing. Spoon it into the pepper-boats and bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes, until the mixture is solid. Yum!
Some ideas for changing things up:
1) Use pecans instead of walnuts. Or other nuts, but I wouldn't get too carried away with trying some. I experimented with peanut dishes and it all just tasted too much like peanut sauce in solid form. Bleh.
2) Add crazy spices, depending on what kind of feel you want the dish to have. For an Indian feel, you could try adding turmeric or something. For a more Middle Eastern feel, maybe mint or parsley. I suspect parsley would be the best.
3) For a more traditional stuffed-pepper taste, you can add rice or tomato sauce. But again, don't get carried away, or you will lose the integrity of the dish. The beauty of the onion-nut stuffing is how solid it becomes with the egg baked in there.
4) For a Mediterranean or Italian feel, try adding pine nuts and sun dried tomato. Yum.
By the way, if anyone has any ideas for veganizing his recipe, I want to hear about it. Vegan cooking is a bit of a stretch for me. I'm not sure what I could use to replace the egg!
I wanted to try being vegetarian at least once a week, but the problem is I hate beans and i have a hard time with tofu. I was thinking about what other sources of proteins there are, and the only one I came up with were nuts!
The recipe I came up with is pretty original and incredibly tasty! This is totally vegetarian, but my grandma didn't believe it, since the food was so "hearty." So here is my recipe for vegetarian stuffed bell peppers:
1 onion - diced
1 or 2 cups of fresh walnuts, ground
butter, salt, pepper, spices?
1 egg
1 large bell pepper - cut into quarters lengthwise
a splash of balsamic vinegar
Caramelize the onion with butter, salt, and pepper to taste. I don't usually add anything else, but if you think of something good to add, try it and let me know how it turns out. I use a mortar and pestle to grind the nuts, but I've also found you can use a rolling pin :). Put the nuts in with the onions, and stir a bit, then take off the heat.
While the onion-nut mixture is cooling, prepare the pepper. Cut it lengthwise into 4 "boats." This works well with the big American bell peppers, which tend to be sectioned into 4 anyway. If one is not available, you'll have to tweak the recipe, and probably use a couple peppers. Sprinkle the insides of the peppers with salt and splash them with balsamic vinegar (just a bit).
Add 1 raw egg into the onion-nut mixture and stir it in. This is your stuffing. Spoon it into the pepper-boats and bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes, until the mixture is solid. Yum!
Some ideas for changing things up:
1) Use pecans instead of walnuts. Or other nuts, but I wouldn't get too carried away with trying some. I experimented with peanut dishes and it all just tasted too much like peanut sauce in solid form. Bleh.
2) Add crazy spices, depending on what kind of feel you want the dish to have. For an Indian feel, you could try adding turmeric or something. For a more Middle Eastern feel, maybe mint or parsley. I suspect parsley would be the best.
3) For a more traditional stuffed-pepper taste, you can add rice or tomato sauce. But again, don't get carried away, or you will lose the integrity of the dish. The beauty of the onion-nut stuffing is how solid it becomes with the egg baked in there.
4) For a Mediterranean or Italian feel, try adding pine nuts and sun dried tomato. Yum.
By the way, if anyone has any ideas for veganizing his recipe, I want to hear about it. Vegan cooking is a bit of a stretch for me. I'm not sure what I could use to replace the egg!
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