Recipes for Deliciousness.

I decided to start on my food blog again. I went through a long period of fast food depression, but I’m starting to cook again, and this is the first new thing I’ve made in a long time. I’ve been living across the street from an Asian market for ages, and I finally decided I wanted an excuse to go in and explore. When exploring new stores full of items I am unfamiliar with it is necessary to go in with a plan, or I end up getting either nothing, or everything. I’ve always loved the spring rolls from Trader Joe’s, so I thought this would be a good thing to try.

Simple Vietnamese inspired spring rolls with dipping sauce:

Makes 4

-4 rice paper wraps (I think the ones I got are about an 8” diameter)

-1 1/2 cups lettuce or shredded cabbage mix (with carrots, if you like ‘em)

-3 oz tofu, cut into four long strips (I got soft tofu, but I think next time I’m going to get firm tofu)

-cucumber (about an inch)

-ginger (about a half inch)

-mint

Dipping sauce:

-1/4 tsp, or about 5 drops of Sriracha (fuck yes)

-1 spoon peanut butter (I chose smooth, but if you like chunky go for it)

-1 spoon ginger teriyaki sauce

-1 tsp chopped ginger

- 3 drops fish sauce (stinky, but essential)

1. Prepare various veg: peel and slice the cucumber into thin matchsticks; take the mint off the stalk and chiffonade; peel and slice ginger into matchsticks, then cut into small blocks (we want to taste the ginger, not chew the ginger); roughly chiffonade the lettuce if you are using a lettuce mix, so it’s easier to wrap.

2. Mix mint, cucumber, and lettuce together, leaving the ginger out (it’s small so it will end up falling through everything and collecting on the bottom, where it’s no use to anyone).

3. Put some water in a shallow dish that is large enough to lay the rice paper down in. You don’t want to leave the rice paper in there, it will be in the water only long enough for you to submerge, take out and turn over, re-submerge, then remove to the assembly plate. It will slowly become soft. Once the texture is slightly sticky you are ready to place some veg mix in. You don’t want to put too much in otherwise it will be hard to wrap. Put tofu down on top of lettuce mix, then sprinkle with a little bit of ginger.

4. Wrap by folding one side completely over the tofu and lettuce mix.

Then fold the top and bottom towards the middle, about an inch in.

Then roll.

Dipping sauce

1. Put all ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Microwave for 10 seconds.

3. Mix until smooth, then slowly add water, about a spoon full, stirring until the texture of the sauce is thin enough to drip off the spoon, but is not watery.

Fuck yes Sriracha…

It had been a long day in school and I was tired and hungry. It was definitely time for lunch. I looked in the fridge and nothing really seemed to go together. There was cream cheese, but no bagels; sliced turkey, but no bread. I didn’t have the brain power to put together something and so I contemplated instant noodles. That is, until I noticed the tortillas, and remembered the awesomeness of party wraps. They were always my favorite part of party platters, and that is the only place I’ve ever encountered them. Until today!

Party wrap for one

-1 flour tortilla

-sliced lunch meat (any will do, and multiple meats are tasty. I had turkey!)

-cream cheese

-lettuce or fresh spinach (I had spinach)

-Salsa (or you could do sliced tomatoes if you don’t want spicy)

-grated cheese

1. Heat tortilla for 30 seconds, to make it easier to bend.

2. Spread cream cheese on wrap, all the way to the edges.

3. Lay down your meats, but make sure one edge of the tortilla has enough exposed cream cheese that you can seal it up once you wrap it (the cheese acts as glue!)

4. Lay down your other ingredients in whatever order you’d like. Also you can add other ingredients. Sprouts are good in these, as far as I can remember.

5. Start rolling from the ingredient heavy side towards the exposed cream cheese side.

6. Slice into bite sized disks. My tortilla was big enough to make eight (including the ends). Sprinkle grated cheese on top of slices, or don’t.

I’ve been having a lot of fun making lunch, lately. Here is another recipe for a “stirfry” (you don’t actually use a wok) that I enjoyed a lot. I made it with tofu that had been marinated, but you can use the marinade for any meat.

Brown Rice Stirfry (with tofu):

-1 serving of brown rice, cooked as specified on the package

-1 cup frozen bellpeppers

-handful of frozen peas

-as many mushrooms as you can eat

-as much tofu as you can stand (I can stand 1/4 package), marinated in the marinade recipe at the end

-some chopped green onion

1. Start preparing the rice and marinating the tofu. The directions on the package of rice I have say that it needs to cook about an hour. When the rice has only 20 minutes left to cook, start preparing the other ingredients.

2. Lightly fry the tofu in a little oil. When the tofu is hot remove it to a plate. Add mushrooms to the pan and fry in leftover marinade until soft and browned, then add to the tofu plate. Heat the bellpeppers until hot, then turn the heat off and add the frozen peas. The residual heat will cook them without overcooking.

3. Spoon rice onto plate, then top with ingredients. Sprinkle on sliced green onions.

Tofu marinade:

-soy sauce

-1 tbsp fresh chopped ginger

-a dash of garlic powder

-lemon juice

I didn’t measure when I made this, so everything is to taste. I like a lot of ginger, so I cut up about a tablespoon of it. I used enough soysauce and lemon juice so that it would cover the tofu.

1. Cut tofu and drain it on some paper towels until you feel a lot of moisture has seeped out.

2. Place tofu in a small container so that the marinade will cover it easily.

3. Soak tofu in marinade until it’s time to cook, and then dump everything into the pan. The leftover marinade will flavor the other ingredients.

I don’t have a fantastic camera with me anymore, so I used my phone camera, but I had to share because it was so nummy. The balance of sweet, spicy, and tart was perfect.

Pepper Stuffed Baked Sweet Potato

1 sweet potato

1 cup frozen and chopped bellpeppers

1 tbsp fresh chopped ginger

1 tsp soy sauce

A dash of garlic powder

1 green onion sliced

salsa

lemon juice from half a lemon

1. Bake your sweet potato until soft, in whatever fashion you prefer. I wrapped mine in plastic wrap and microwaved for six and a half minutes.

2. While cooking your ‘tato, start heating some oil in a skillet and add the ginger to flavor it. When the ginger starts to sizzle a little, add your frozen peppers, soy sauce, lemon juice, and garlic powder. Cook until frozen peppers are nice and hot.

3. Cut open the sweet potato, and then squeeze it at the ends to open it up a little more. Place the gingery bellpepper mix inside. Top with a salsa of your choice (not too much) and then sprinkle on your sliced green onion.

I love tomatoes. I could eat a whole bowl full of tomatoes (and I have). So, when I saw the beautiful heirloom tomatoes in my grocery store, I had to grab some. I decided that what I really wanted was a tomato soup. Here is my roast tomato, garlic, and onion soup.

Makes one serving.

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes, halved and cored
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 onion
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp chicken stock, or 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon: Chicken

1. Preheat oven to 450 F (232 C). Place garlic cloves into tomato halves, drizzle with a little oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place tomatoes and onion half in a baking pan or on a baking sheet. Make sure there is a little oil in the pan or on the sheet. Cook for 30 minutes, or until onion is soft and lots of liquid is coming out of the tomatoes.

2. Drain liquid from tomatoes with a spoon, and cook everything for 10 more minutes. We want the tomato flavor to get more intense.

3. Take everything out of the oven and let the tomatoes cool enough so you can peel the skins off. They will come off very easily.

4. Toss everything in a blender and blend until smooth.

5. Place mix in a soup pan, add a little chicken stock, and cook until it’s all mixed in. Serve up! If you like add a little sprinkle of goat cheese, like I did.

Sometimes I like to improvise when I cook. I’ll get into a mood where I don’t like reading recipes, and I’ll just try to make something myself. I am a big fan of trying to master flavor principles before I master recipes. If I know the approximate spice combination for something, then I can apply it to anything without consulting a book. The important flavors in curry, I have found, are: garlic/ginger, cumin, cinnamon, and coriander. Those are the base flavors and from there you can build and adjust to get something close to a curry. The next step is understanding process. In the curry recipes I have, the spices are mixed into a paste and fried. Then the meat is usually added and fried, then a liquid is added. Last night I decided that I would make up a recipe, using these flavors and processes. So, here is my mock curry!

Mock Curry

Spice mix:
1 tsp ginger powder or fresh ginger
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp pepper
3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

spice mix for potatoes:
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cayenne

Other spices:
1 bay leaf
1 cardamom pod
2 tsps paprika

Ingredients:
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed into bite sized pieces
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 500 grams of chicken), cubed into bite sized pieces
1 can of tomatoes with juice

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wide skillet. Fry spice mix for a minute, stirring constantly; don’t let it burn!

2. Toss chicken in and cook until chicken is no longer pink on the outside. Cook for about five minutes and try to get chicken to brown just a little.

3. Throw in can of tomatoes, bay leaf, paprika, and cardamom pod. Bring to a bubble, then turn down to low and put a lid on.

4. In another skillet, fry cumin seeds in oil for 30 seconds, then add the potatoes. Stir constantly for about a minute, then add the rest of the spices for the potatoes.

5. Cook potatoes until they are slightly crispy on the outside, then add to the chicken. Cover and steam for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Remember to fish out the bay leaf and cardamom pod.

You could serve this with rice, but I enjoyed it by itself.

I hated coconut as a child. If I accidentally took a bite of the coconut chocolate in the assorted box, I’d leave the half eaten chocolate for my mom. If an Almond Joy or Mounds bar found its way into my Halloween bag it was given to my mother. I hated coconut until I was an adult. One morning I was craving sugar something terrible, and the only sweet things in the house were macaroons my mom bought. I tried one and loved it. The combination of chewy and crispy was perfect. These are divine the way they are, but if you’re cravin’ a little chocolate you can wrap the batter around a chocolate kiss (I suggest the almond ones). It’s incredible.

I recommend using Baker’s brand coconut because it is very moist and sweetened, and makes the macaroons better.

Coconut Macaroons

1 7oz. package Baker’s Angel Flake coconut (about 2 2/3 cups)
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 egg whites

1. Mix everything, then drop by spoonfuls onto a greased and floured baking sheet.

2. Bake at 325 F (162 C) for 20 minutes or until edge of cookies are golden brown. When done, transfer to a wire rack for cooling.

I love muffins. Muffins are little soft bundles of love. My favorite muffin is… any muffin, but blueberry muffins are a classic so that is the recipe I’ll be using.

Blueberry Muffins

Makes 11-12 muffins

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups blueberries (rinsed and dried)
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 tbsp butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C) and grease your muffin tin (or use those paper cups).

2. Combine dry ingredients and blueberries.

3. In a separate bowl beat eggs until foamy, then beat in the sugar, milk, and butter. Combine with dry ingredients, stirring as little as possible. Try to combine in 12-16 stirring motions.

4. Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling each well about 3/4 full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until done.

Of all the foods I enjoy, bread is quite possibly the food I enjoy the most. There is nothing better than a chunk of good bread with butter or cheese. Bread is so simple and comforting, and yet I’ve always been a little scared to make it because you have to mess with yeast. This is my favorite bread recipe because it creates a delicious, soft, thick bread with a really good crust, and the best part is that you don’t even have to worry about blooming the yeast! No fussing with water temperature, no worrying that the yeast is going to die, none of that. Five ingredients is all it takes to make bread that competes with anything a professional bakery can make.

Artisan Bread (No-Knead Recipe)

3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

6 1/2 cups flour

cornmeal (you can use flour of you have to, but make sure you scrape the excess off the bottom once it’s done baking)

1. Add salt and yeast to warm water (you want it to be warm to the touch, but comfortable). You don’t need to worry about the yeast dissolving all the way, but I still like to let it bloom for a while.

2. Throw in all the flour, and stir to combine. You don’t need, or want to knead this, as the dough will be rather sticky.

3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for two hours, then refrigerate overnight. This dough gets better the longer it ages, so don’t worry about using it all immediately. I baked two loaves, one aged in the fridge overnight, and one aged for two nights; the second loaf was better. The dough will remain usable for 14 days.

4. When it’s time to bake, first prepare your baking sheet by either sprinkling cornmeal or flour on the surface. Then sprinkle a little flour on the dough, and cut out a portion to bake.

5. Spend less than 60 seconds shaping the dough; sprinkle flour as needed so it doesn’t stick to your hands. Then transfer to prepared baking sheet and allow dough to rest for 40 minutes before baking.

6. After 20 minutes, turn the oven on to 450 F (232 C). Dust the top of your loaf with flour and slash an x on the top, about 1/4 inch deep. If you have a stove top kettle that takes forever to boil like mine does, start your kettle. You’ll be placing an oven safe baking vessel with steaming water in the oven as your bread bakes.

7. Once the preheat is done, place the bread into the oven. Then place an oven safe baking vessel in the oven, and pour about a cup of the steaming water in. Bake for 30 minutes, until crust is brown and firm to the touch. Allow bread to cool completely on a wire rack (I can never do this. I must have warm steamy bread!)

Meringues are wonderful and easy. They are also versatile; you can have pretty little dollops on their own or you can make shells to hold whipped cream and fruit. You can make them individual sized, or make a large one and serve it up like a pie (that’s called a pavlova!).

Meringues

3 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

1/ tsp cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 275 F (135 C). Leave egg whites out on the counter until they reach room temperature. This will make it easier to whip air into them, as the protein bonds will have relaxed a little.

2. Once egg whites are at room temp, add cream of tartar and vanilla, and whip until soft peaks form (when beaters are help upside down the peaks will droop a little, but still keep their shape).

3. Slowly add sugar until stiff peaks form, and meringue is glossy.

4. Transfer mix to a piping bag, or use spoons to measure out meringues onto a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour.