Let's Do the Fry

It's Spring.
Let's stir fry.

Gather your veggies: green onions, broccoli, snap peas, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, water chestnuts, whatever. Cut'em up. Have some protein too- I like tofu (the really firm kind). If you're using tofu, drain the liquid and let the brick sit on towels for a bit so that when you fry it, the liquid won't pop and attack you.  Cut the tofu into cubes.                                                    cook'em according to what cooks longer until they're just soft. Then, pour in stir fry sauce to flavor your veggies, and allow to cook another minute.

1/2 TB minced garlic

1/2 TB minced ginger

1/2 C soy sauce

1 TB sesame seed oil

2 TB corn starch

Stir together. The corn starch will cause the mixture to change consistency, so be sure to stir it up a lot right before you bathe your cooked veggies in it. You can add 1/2 C of pineapple or apple juice to thin the mixture.

serve over fried rice (1 C pre-cooked rice to 1 egg, cooked in a large frying pan until cooked to your liking. Season with soy sauce if desired.)

Make Korean Pancakes to go with:

2 eggs

1/2 C AP or rice flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C finely chopped vegetables (green onions, asparagus, broccoli, breen beans...)

vegetable oil for frying

in a small bowl, whisk eggs until just frothy.

Add flour and salt, which to combine.

Add vegetables and stir to blend.

Add 1/2 C ice water and mix again to blend. You can add more flour to thicken batter, but it should be milky.

Fry batter in 1/4 C blobs. Allow the pancakes to sit until browned and crispy on bottom, about two minutes. Flip pancake and cook another two minutes.

Fry Cook

the ice cream man exists

Close Quarters

I live in an apartment complex. Trust me, this is not something I ever thought I would do. I'm a house person by nature, and having a yard and being close to it is in my genes. But, when we moved to the "big city" the cheapest place to go was a complex.

It has it's perks.
For instance:
1)We live on the top floor, so if you sit on the carpeting or in the low orange chair, all you see are the tops of huge, old, pine trees. We can pretend we live in a tree house.

2) There's a pool

3) In the winter, heat rises, and so our heating bill is lower than our lower-floor neighbors (this may not be true, but I'm convinced it helps)

And right now, my favorite perk is that I'm smelling the wafting of my neighbor's cooking all around me. From about 5-10pm I can expect to play the guessing game of 'Who's-eating-what-for-dinner'. Usually, this is somewhat painful for my partner, 'cause the smells generally make reference to something involving the carcass of an animal. But for me, it produces fantasies of the soy-bean kind.

I find you can take almost any meat dish and substitute with soy or gluten products (I say almost because I've never tried Tofurky, and I've vowed not to). There are lots of dishes that are easily converted into veggie style (sloppy joe, bourbon marinated chicken, lasagna). I'll get into all that eventually.

For now, I'm thankful that my apartment complex is full of dinner smells, that my next-door-neighbor has food to eat tonight, and that my downstairs' neighbor's daughter came inside from her parking lot tantrum.

On Mistakes

I did not write three posts in one day.
I wrote three posts over three weeks before I realized my URL had a typo in it...So, I've imported my posts from the previously "skick" blog and became magnificently productive over the course of 20 minutes.
Creating a carefully scrutinized online presence is so dangerous...

How to Stuff a Carnivore

I live with a big man and that man is not a vegetarian.

I've know couples who share food philosophies and habits, and it's really nice and sweet. I'd like to try that out, but much like the current political climate, neither one of us is giving in any time soon...

I don't cook meat, so if i want to make a meal that will fill both our bellies, I have to think meaty.

                                              In vegetarian speak, meaty=mushrooms.

 This is the only (let me say that again), this is the ONLY dish I currently have in my repertoire that my partner cannot finish- and it's not because it tastes bad and he wishes we had a dog he could feed it to. No! It's because it's filling! Surprisingly! I love making this dish, serving it, and watching as his voracious appetite slows until he his breathing heavily and I reach over, triumphant, to finish his plate.

                                                             Success tastes so good.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

3-4 large portobello mushroom caps

bread crumbs (I take two slices of whole wheat, toast'em and put'em through my mini processor)

1/4 C parmesan cheese

1-2 eggs

1 tsp basil

1 1/2 tsp oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced

pepper

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Using a spoon, core the insides of the mushroom caps to create a bowl. Add the shavings to a mixing bowl and combine the bread crumbs and friends. Mix thoroughly.

*the measurement of the herbs and cheese are approximate; add or subtract as you wish.

Your mixture should be moist but not runny.

Using a pastry brush, coat the bottom of a baking pan in a thin sheen of olive oil.

Place the empty caps, tops down, in the baking sheet.

Using a spoon, fill the caps with your mixture.

Drizzle stuffed tops with olive oil.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the mixture is firm and the mushroom has warmed through (test with a toothpick or knife). Serve warm over a bed of rice.

The Potluck Go-To

shared couscous

I love a good potluck. Love love love. When I lived in Maine, I heard about weekly potlucks that happened around the city where friends would get together, share food, and bring Tupperware. Everyone would go home with a clean dish and enough filled Tupperware to feed them for the next two nights. Such a great idea. Not only thrifty, but really communal.

I used to host a weekly potluck with my friends in my hometown. We intended to follow the Maine model, but I guess we were too gluttonous or something, because at the end of the night all we had were clean plate club members.

 Didn't matter.

It was still enjoyable to have everyone contributing to a meal.

In response to the high frequency of potluck events, I developed a potluck go-to dish.  Originally, my potluck go-to was fried won ton dumplings. They were delicious, but I never had won ton wrappers just lying around, waiting for a social gathering. Instead, this recipe established itself as my go-to dish.

It consists of ingredients I always have lying around, so I don't have to make a trip to the grocery. It's simple and even enjoyable to make.

Now, please don't show up at the same potluck wearing the same dish as me...

COUS COUS SALAD with apricots, nuts, and ginger

1 Cup Instant Couscous

1/2 Cup water

1 Cup Fresh orange juice

1/4 Cup EVOO

vinegar

8 dried apricots, chopped (about 1/3C)

1 Tablespoon raisins

2 Teaspoons grated fresh ginger

salt

sugar

1/4 medium sized red onion, finely diced

2 Tablespoons pine nuts or chopped almonds, toasted

Pour the couscous into a large mixing bowl, set aside.

Combine water, OJ, EVOO, and 2TB vinegar in a medium-sized sauce pan. Bring liquid to just a boil and stir in the dried fruit, ginger, and 1/2 a tsp salt.

Pour immediately over the couscous. Cover bowl, let sit for about 20 min.

While the couscous soaks, bring a small pot of water to boil and drop the red onion in for 15 seconds. Drain well, and toss with a few drops of vinegar. **fun trick: the vinegar will restore a pink color to the cooked red onion**

When the couscous is ready, gently fluff with a fork and toss in the onion and nuts. Sprinkle a bit of sugar into the mix to sweeten the vinegar.

Serve warm or room temperature.

*EVOO=Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I Think It's a Blog

I can't spell "recipe" without spell check

I don't own more than 2 pots and 3 pans

but I know how to make a rue, how to support a laboring woman, and how to live with curly hair.

Tune in if any of that sounds even remotely interesting to you...I hope I won't disappoint.