C'mon 2010. Let's go get the shit kicked out of us by love (or food).

ten things i want to attempt to cook in 2010.

1. i would really like to make my own pasta dough. this also would require the acquisition of a rolling pin... which i do not have... i'll have to get one of those. i would love to have a pasta thingy but a rolling pin is cheaper.

2. pot pie. i want pot pie! chicken pot chicken pot chicken pot piiiieee! okay, but not chicken. just veggies. maybe some fake chicken. mmmm.

3. turducken. ha, jk. toootally kidding. i want to try and make my own veggie patties out of tofu and veggies. i think it'll be fairly easy. we'll see though haha.

4. tortillas. i've never made a tortilla!! i want to do it.

5. tamales too! i'm mexican, it's in my blood. hopefully dna will make tamale creation easier for me. keep your fingers crossed!!!!

6. pesto sauce. i've made it before but it just hasn't been as good as i know it can be, so i want to try and perfect it.

7. keeping on the page of sauces: mole. i know there's like a thousand ingredients, but i really want to try and make a mole sauce. it's SO good!

8. gnochi. also something i've made before, but it was only once. i can do better.

9. potato croquettes. i love the ones i get from mitsuwa; i would really like to recreate those lil cakes of goodness.

10. hmm hmm hmm... what to put in the coveted no. 10 slot... well. there's this giada recipe i've wanted to try for awhile. it's called Lemon and Basil eggs over Foccacia. It's like a hollowed out piece of foccacia bread with eggs poured in it and baked. mmm.


***as an added thing, i would really like to expand my garden. it's pretty small right now, with just some herbs and such. but when spring comes i hope to plant some vegetables: tomatoes, green beans... maybe squash!? broccoli!? endless possibilities.

Broccoli, you fiendish devil.

Broccoli. I've never really been a fan. It's just always been one of those vegetables that I could leave on my plate and not feel bad about it. Same with cauliflower. Well, no, I've always thought cauliflower was gross. BUT! I'm turning over a new leaf, and I'm giving these guys another chance. I figure I'm an adult of sorts now, I should try liking these things. And well, I'm a vegetarian so... I SHOULD like these things.

I helped my dad make a broccoli soup for dinner last week. It turned out fairly well. He just used broccoli, onions, and a little bit of potato and cooked it all in vegg broth. When it was all soft and squishy he hit it with the immersion blender to make it creamy and smooth. It was missing something though, and surprisingly he asked me to spruce it up. I say surprisingly because my dad and I are the same when it comes to cooking: don't mess with our food, it is our creation and we don't want you meddling with our art. thanks but no thanks. SO he had to go fix the garage door (apparently it poopooed and needed a new motor/gears or something) and asked me to fix the soup cuz it tasted flat. I went in there and added more salt and pepper, a pinch of basil, a pinch of dill (brings out those potatoes! i love dill), and a healthy dose of sage. He came back in and tasted it and said it was perfect. He also thought I added nutmeg. I think he asked me 3 times if I added nutmeg. No dad, I did not add nutmeg. But maybe I will next time!

My dad also made this roasted broccoli and cauliflower that was SUPER good. he roasted it in the oven with whole garlic cloves and (I assume) some olive oil. It was delish; crispy and non-squishy and full of flavor. AND he made this bomb horse radish cheese sauce to go with it. Cheese sauce makes EVERYTHING taste better. It's a fact. Don't try and fight me on this.

So broccoli, you've got me interested. Keep up the good work.

oops.

i suck. i know. i'm terrible at things.

i'm creating a feast of sorts on saturday.

i think it's going to be really good.

i've been planning the menu in my head for a long time and i think i even got down a prep-schedule (in my head of course).

the menu (as of right now) is as follows:

bacon-herb wrapped pork tenderloin

garlic mashed potatoes

sweet potato stew

butternut squash raviolis

roasted vegetables

i'm sure someone will be bring bread, and hopefully i can convince someone to make cookies or something for dessert. mmm. cookies and ice cream would be perfect i think. well, maybe i can make my own cookies. wait, no, i don't want to. i think i have enough on my plate. har har har.

seriously, someone bring dessert.

For Mindy

I have this fall-back recipe I like when I want something easy and warm and tasty. It's also easy to make a lot of to share with your friends. For lack of imagination I'll just call it Baked Veggie Pasta. I made it last week for Michelle (who ever-so-humbly requested it) and Mindy, and apparently Mindy would like the recipe. So Mindy, this is for you!

Start out by getting a big pot of water boiling for your pasta.

While that's-a-brewin' cut up a few of your favorite vegetables into about-same-sized pieces. I like to use carrots (these can be cut smaller so they cook easier/faster), asparagus, onions (red and white), red bell pepper, zuchini, and or squash. Chop up some garlic for this too (or spoon it out of the jar, whatever).


By now your water should be rip-roarin' so pour in some pasta. I like to use ribbed pastas like penne because they hold the flavors better in their ridges of goodness. yea, i just said that. Ridges of Goodness. Anyway, your pasta to vegetable ratio should be about even. You don't want to go into a carbo-bomb. Or do you? If you do that's fine, go craaaazy. But only cook the pasta for about 4 or 5 minutes. You want them a little less than Al Dente so that they can continue to cook in the oven with the veggies.


While the pasta's cookin heat up a sauce pot and get a little rue going. If you're watching your calories, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! makes stick "butter" now and you can use that and it works just as well. I really hate the stuff, it tastes like popcorn butter to me, but I couldn't tell the difference between using it or margarine/real butter. When the butter is all melty add an equal amount of flour (I almost typed "flower", wow.) and whisk together. Let the two marry a bit and cook for a minute or so, then start whisking in some milk. I use 2% milk because it has a little fat but not too much. You can use whole milk, half and half, or cream if you want, but don't use nonfat. The lack of fat makes it hard for things to come together. But I use 2% so at least I'm just a passerby of Fatass Town, and not a permanent resident. ANYWAY, slowly whisk in the milk and get all the chunks out. It will start to thicken up.

Check your pasta. Is it a little squishy yet still kinda hard? Good. Turn off the heat and dump that water. Don't just turn off the heat. The pasta will continue to cook in the hot water. We don't want that.

So you've got your sauce/rue thang going, start adding some cheese to it. I like to use Parmesean or Romano, for that nutty (ha) and sharp flavor. Also add a little salt and pepper too. It should start to thicken up even more. Don't make it TOO thick though.


When that's all ready get a big ol' giant bowl and mix together the pasta veggies. Add a handful or two of your favorite melty cheese (I prefer mozzarella, fresh if you've got it, because it's tasty and melty. I don't know how cheddar would fare here... sounds kinda gross. Fontina is REALLY good, but caloric to the max. Fatass Town worthy for sure). Then add your sauce. Mix it altogether. If it's REALLY saucy, GREAT! That means the noodles are gonna soak up all that yummy (in its riiiiiiidges!). If it's not, add a little bit of milk. The moisture that's released from the veggies, especially the zuch/squash, will get soaked up too. Transfer all that into a PAMmed baking dish or Corningware and top with more cheese. You could even sprinkle bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil if you have it. Bake in a 375 - 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. I recommend baking with a lid on for about 10 - 15 minutes and then taking it off for the last 5 - 10 minutes. Leaving it on ensures that all the moisture stays in and gets swooshed around to everyone. And then taking it off gives a nice crispy top. YUM.

Btw, I totally cheated and got images off the internet. Thanks Google!

Oh, my bad!

I didn't forget. I swear. I just have a lack of photographic evidence to document my culinary achievements.

There's a couple pix on Jess's camera that I'll get from her when she gets back from .. the Bay?

There aren't any pictures for this, but, I did make a BOMB frittata on Tuesday. I'd never made one before so I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't end up tasting like rubber. I used like 9 eggs (2.5 whole eggs, the rest just whites), a splash of 2% milk, parmesean, romana, and mozzarella cheeses, some "butter", sauteed onions and red peppers, a dash of cayenne, basil and oregano (I would have liked to use fresh herbs, but The Lazy runs my life so... yea...), salt and pepper ... and then baked that beast in the oven until I thought it looked done. OHHHH i also threw in some Gemelli pasta that I cooked al dente style prior to it marrying the egg. So yea. It was good. I took the leftovers to work and ate it with hot sauce on it. BOMB. I would have liked to make a sauce for it the night I made it, but as I said before: THE LAZY.

Restaurant week in San Diego is coming up fast and I've always wanted to use it as an opportunity to try new restaurants (duh, that's what it's for). Hopefully I can scrape up enough fundage to try a few places. Cross your fingers! (Or send me money. Make my dreams come true.)

Hey Mr. Taliman, Tali Me Banana

Saturday was Yvone's bridal shower and I was in charge of fruit and cheese. I got (or rather, my dad got for me) a cheese tray and a giant bowl of fruit from Costco. I was all prepared to just open the lid and let people have at it but my mom scoffed at me and told me I needed to "display" it, make it look "nice." I think a plastic bowl would have looked classy but she shot her laser eyes at me and I conceded to her demands. So I thought hell, go big or go home right? I cut up a watermelon and put the mango, pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, grapes, strawberries, and cantaloupe around it. Freakin magical.

A Typical Monday ... err.. Wednesday Night?

So Michelle, Jess, Nick, Eddie and I do this thang where we have dinner at each other's houses every Monday. It was my turn to cook (hey-o!). It was also on a Wednesday night instead of Monday, we traded Jess for Mindy, and I thought Jager was a good follow-up to this meal (but that's the tale (tail?!) of a different beast).

Anyway, even though my camera was giving me the red-light death battery blink, I thought I could stretch out its life. I was wrong. So I had to take pics with my cell phone. But that's okay; a little photoshop makes everything better.

Here's the spread:
I made rice, tofu (marinated in my new favorite marinade that I've dubbed "the yummy"), chicken (also marinated in the yummy), garlic green beans, spring rolls with a spicy peanut sauce and a ponzu/soy/ginger/garlic sauce, and some delectable chocolate chips cookies made by the fantastic folks at chips ahoy (brought by Nick).

Here's some tasty photoshopped green beans with garlic. yum. i sauteed some garlic in some olive oil and then added what I felt was about 3 pounds of green beans. Cooked those up for a few minutes and then added some water and put a lid on it until they were bright green and had lost that raw taste. BUT I left 'em with a little crunch because that's the way I like it. Oh and there's the chicken in the back. Chix isn't the star. I didn't taste it (cuz I can't) but everyone said it tasted really good, so I'll take their word for it!

I know these spring rolls look like reject orphans of the spring-roll world, but it was only my second time making them and I was a little rushed for time. So they're not pretty. But they're tasty! Inside of these little guys are cucumbers, carrots, bean sprouts (with the ends snipped off because that stringy entrail is just gross to me), basil, mint, and tofu.

Mmm. Tofu in the yummy. This is like a package and a half of tofu. I wasn't messing around here. So you probably want to know what the yummy is. I don't know the measurements of what goes into this. I don't really measure. I eyeball. And no it's not because I'm "that good" so I don't need to measure. It's because I don't want to have to 1) find a measuring spoon/cup/whatever 2) I don't want to have to wash another dish, and 3) I don't want to have to put said dish away. It's out of sheer laziness, nothing more.

Oh that's right! The yummy. The yummy is: soy sauce, mirin (sweet rice wine), salt/pepper, red chili flakes, garlic, onions, a splash of oil (I use veggie oil, but sesame oil would be nice!), a little bit of sugar (brown if you've got it), and water. I usually let my tofu do backstrokes in this yumminess for an hour - hour and a half and then just throw it in a skillet and cook 'er up.

And there you have it. I'll make sure to charge my camera battery next time.

In the Beginning ...

In the beginning there was food, and it was great. Then came the food coma. I want to put you in a coma.

Top 5 foodie facts about me (in no particular order):

1. i am a vegetarian (since age 10. creepin' up on 15 years!)
2. i am pretty sure cheese is God's gift to not only the world, but to me specifically.
3. i dislike a lot of foods/condiments most people like. i.e. - ketchup, ranch, blueberries...
4. i think soups are the best thing ever
5. i like to look at recipes and not follow them