Monday, March 22, 2010

might as well wish out loud

I wish I had all-white dishes. The designs on my dishes are too distracting in pictures.
I wish I had better lighting in my house. Neon doesn't do anyone or anything justice.
I wish I had the money to go out and buy a bunch of different kinds of oils, just to see what they taste like.
I wish Canon would fix my camera so that I don't get that stupid line in my pictures anymore. I don't even know how that got there!

Friday, March 19, 2010

peppah!

i almost didn't even post this meal. i was just going to sit my happy arse on the couch and enjoy it while watching a little cougar town (don't judge me). but michelle insisted that i take a picture and blog it. so here it be. last night's dinner!

i was inspired by something i saw on the Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate. It was this soup that was brought with just the fixins in the bowl, and then the broth was poured around it from a hot kettle. looked BOMB. so i decided try my own variation.

first, the soup part. i made a simple potato soup. i used:

2.5 small potatoes, sans skin
olive oil
garlic & onion
dill and thyme, salt and pepper
veggie broth
splash of milk (thanks jess! :D)

i cubed the potatoes very small (for quicker cooking) and sauteed them in olive oil. i also added half of a chopped onion and a few cloves of (minced) garlic to the sautee. after a few minutes of that i added the veggie broth, just enough to cover everything in the pot. let it cook until the potatoes fall apart at the touch and then blend the hell out of all of it. if it's super thick, add a lil more broth. finish with a splash of milk for creaminess.

for the other part i made a stuffed bell pepper. the filling consisted of some quinoa and onion and green onion that i sauteed in some olive oil with salt and pepper. when it was done i cracked an egg over it, just to hold it together. then i stuffed all of that into a yellow bell pepper and tossed it in the oven, at 375, for about... i dunno.. 15 minutes or so. i just kept an eye on it and when the top was browning and the pepper was squishy i considered it done.

i placed my stuffed pepper in the middle of my bowl and then poured my soup around it. so yum. and you could either just go crazy and break the hell out of that pepper, or you can do like i did and just spoon out the filling and get some soup in each bite. mmm.


sorry the pictures kind of suck, i have bad lighting. =/

herbies!



look at those little guys. just... growin and livin and doin their thang. i love it. (top to bottom) like a proud mama i had to get a shot of all the kids, basking in the sun, and.. err... shade. ha. next is dill and cilantro, sharin a bucket and getting along. then there's sweet basil, looking cute with her soft leaves. and then! then there's my serrano pepper tree/bush/shrub. he's gonna be AWESOME to have around. the round thing with the holes in it is that upside down tomato grower. my dad bought him and i each one at Lowe's and so I'm trying it out. I also planted a couple extra tomato seeds in that longer planter next to it, just for shiggles. i love my lil potted garden!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

a real lunch


let me start by showing you my cute little herbs basking in the california sun. my thyme looks super green and healthy. my rosemary is a little small, but he's strong. he'll sprout up in no time. and i recently transplanted my chives into this planter because the lil guy was gettin smooshed by my behemoth green onions.

so i was watching julie & julia and (of course) it made me want to cook something. so i made a creamy veggie soup and some feta cheese toast with strawberry and plum slices.


i just grabbed whatever veggies i had; which happened to be a carrot, potato, some broccoli, and half an onion. i chopped those up and tossed em in a pot with some olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. let it cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring continually. while it cooked i also went and grabbed some rosemary and thyme from out back. i just put it in whole (i washed it first, don't worry gosh!) because a) i didn't feel like chopping it, and b) i like the way it looks. when things start to look softened sprinkle in about a tbs and a 1/2 of flour. yes! look, i'm too lazy to make a rue and then put it in, plus i don't want to dirty another pot. this works just as good i swear. so you sprinkle in the flour and think "gawd this looks disgusting". good, you're on the right track. it's gonna look like a gloppy mess. that's good. when you can see that the flour has soaked up all of the moisture start adding your (veggie) stock, about 1/4 cup at a time. stir a lot to make sure that everything is being incorporated. keep adding stock until all of the vegetables are completely covered, and then let it cook for about 15 minutes until everything is soft and yummy. add salt and pepper to taste.



as a little sidecar i made some feta cheese toast and sliced strawberries (thanks for those mindy!) and some plum. i love fruit and cheese. i think they make the best combo of salty tangy and sweet. yum. eat 'em together! POW!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

so i'm on a budget? big deeeaaal.

i feel like this is some serious product placement here, but whatever. YOU'RE WELCOME companies. YOU'RE WELCOME. i am giving you free advertising to almost ten people! YOU'RE WELCOME.

i made ramen for lunch. no, not that nasty neon crap you buy for ten cents at the grocery store next to the cup o noodles. no no.. this stuff costs like, 50 cents or something. that's right, big dollars.
i also like to have some edamame shumai around to throw in my ramen. they're like little dumplings that you can find in the frozen section at Mitsuwa. and of course, an egg.

i know, you're thinking, wtf dude? it's just ramen. no dude, it's not. it's a meal. i get some water boiling in my pot and then throw my noods in, letting them cook for just a couple of minutes. once they start to break away from each other they're good. take them off the heat, throw them in a strainer and RINSE THEM. i said rinse them! i think it tastes better and it gets all that nasty powdered "seasoning" off the noodles.
excuse my slightly dirty sink. but seriously, rinse your noodles. don't knock it til you try it.

i have an electric water boiler (<3 it), so when i started the pot of water, i also started the kettle. pour the clean water into the pot, toss in your shumai (if you've got 'em) and noodles. then go ahead and crack an egg on top and sprinkle the seasoning packet in there too. you can break up the egg, or just leave it kind of whole, whatever you want. i like to break it up but still leave biggish chunks. fold the noodles over the egg so it cooks faster, and a few minutes later BAM! you've got a meal. and nothing says "meal" like fresh chopped green onions (i told you i like them!).

I love tacos! I love them good.

First: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fJh7j3INmw

now let's talk about some tacos.
i used some of this:

i cut up half a block of tofu (in small cubes) and patted it dry and then started sauteing it in a pan with just some nonstick spray. i recommend firm or medium firm tofu for this. anything less than that is just gonna be too squishy and probably kind of gross.

saute it for a few minutes and then go ahead and sprinkle in some of the seasoning packet. probably about a tbs or two. start with 1 tbs and then taste it, if it's not seasoned enough for you, go ahead and add more to taste. let it cook through for about 5 to 10 min. i added some fresh cut green onions at the end. mmm. love those green onions.


I also made some potatoes for the tacos. I cut up potatoes, carrots, zuchini, and onion and sauteed it all in a bit of olive oil, salt & pepper, and basil. i let it cook for about 5-10 minutes before adding some taco seasoning to it. i didn't cook the potatoes or carrots at all before this so they take a little longer to cook before they're soft all the way through. BUT the smaller you cut, the faster they cook. they probably take 15-20 minutes for total cooking time. but taste it every now and then, maybe you like your taters harder than i do. or softer for that matter.

I also made beans and rice. beans is eeeaaasssy. open the can and put em in a pot or microwave safe dish and heat them on up. I like to add salsa and cheese if i have it.

ok, so, this may be ghetto, but whatever. i LOVE THIS STUFF. it's so good. and it's only like a dollar at the grocery store (and we all know what a cheapy i am).

seriously. it's great. HOWEVER, their directions are bonkers. allllll wrong. here's what you should REALLY do:

saute the rice/vermicelli in butter/marg until it starts to brown, just like the box says.

add BOILING HOT water (1-2/3 cup) to the pot
add 2 heaping serving spoons of your favorite salsa
add the spice packet

stir it up and then put a lid on it, turn the heat to lo/simmer and let it do its thang for 15-20 minutes. BAM! you've got rice.

now just take a few corn tortillas and spray them with some nonstick spray and toss em in a hot pan to soften/crisp up. BAM! you've got tacos.

TACOS!