i eat the same stuff a lot. preparation is noteworthy though.
1 fist sized hunk of frozen ground beef
1/2 half a frozen jam jar of tomato sauce
half an onion, diced
cooked pasta
garlic salt
threw everything into a pot without thawing and simmered for half an hour before dumping on top of pasta. if you call melting a jar-shaped chunk of frozen tomato sauce "simmering".
point of this: illustrate how i use old jars to hold food and keep food in 1-3 meal sizes in sandwich bags separately for easy preparation. space is tough to find in a fridge when sharing it with 3 other people. pitchers and tall kimchee jars make great containers for soup. small used up caper jars and such are really good for holding freshly made salad dressing, sauces, etc. also good for storing leftover coffee for the next day's reincarnation as iced coffee. it's also fun to drink out of jars...
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
hummus. kind of. not really.
since i like hummus and it's a great source of fiber and protein, i decided to try making some myself. the market stuff is usually too chemically for me.
didn't quite follow a specific recipe, but combined a couple. i took a double handful of dried chickpeas and soaked them for a day in a jar of water. rinsed them out, then simmered for an hour with some salt. skimmed off the flotsam and jetsam at the top. drained peas, then used a potato masher on them. this.. was a bad idea. it was really hard to mash.. and all the recipes ask for using a blender or food processor. which i don't have. i added the juice of 1 lemon, half a cup of olive oil, 3 medium sized closed of pressed raw garlic, salt and pepper. i didn't have any tahini so i used toasted sesame seeds (i also need a mortar and pestle) and a few drops of sesame oil instead.
the taste.. seemed ok. it's not as zesty or sesame seedy as restaurant hummus.. and it was definately chunky and grainy, even after 10 mins of mashing. so it's not really hummus except for the fact that i started out intending it to be. but it was edible. i think next time i'll just skip the paste texture and just put my garbanzo beans to better use in a salad or soup.
didn't quite follow a specific recipe, but combined a couple. i took a double handful of dried chickpeas and soaked them for a day in a jar of water. rinsed them out, then simmered for an hour with some salt. skimmed off the flotsam and jetsam at the top. drained peas, then used a potato masher on them. this.. was a bad idea. it was really hard to mash.. and all the recipes ask for using a blender or food processor. which i don't have. i added the juice of 1 lemon, half a cup of olive oil, 3 medium sized closed of pressed raw garlic, salt and pepper. i didn't have any tahini so i used toasted sesame seeds (i also need a mortar and pestle) and a few drops of sesame oil instead.
the taste.. seemed ok. it's not as zesty or sesame seedy as restaurant hummus.. and it was definately chunky and grainy, even after 10 mins of mashing. so it's not really hummus except for the fact that i started out intending it to be. but it was edible. i think next time i'll just skip the paste texture and just put my garbanzo beans to better use in a salad or soup.
french bread dinner
ahh, another uncolorful brown food dish. but brown is tasty. so i have my camera back, and i guess that leaves me no reason to not post again. my schedule's also slacked a LOT so i'm happy and having a real summer break!
as i haven't shopped for food in over a week, i didn't really have much left in the fridge for dinner tonight. i did have half a loaf of really dry, stale french bread (almost week old), half an onion, and some leftover meat from a potluck at home. being ghettofabulous and not wanting to waste semi-edible food, i sliced up the bread, dipped it into a mixture of borrowed egg, milk, water, salt and pepper, and cooked it int he frying pan. just like savory french toast. made the bread crunchy on the outside, moist and dense and soft on the inside. better than i'd expected on a whim.
next was the half an onion. sliced it, and sauteed it with a mixture of salt, chinese white pepper, and 5-spice powder. if that sounds like asian S&P, you're right. onions tend to get soggy 'cause i don't like the bite of them. i can't wait to try frying something S&P. usually more than a couple tbsp of oil intimidates me.
partways through looking at slices of brain in class, i got a really big hankering for pork rinds. guess what i got at breaktime. i don't usually eat stuff like that, but i think once in a while (say a year or so) is fine. what's really really really tasty that i'll definately eat more than once a year is fresh chicharonnes from the mexican meat market somewhere in pomona. the crispy skin layer.. the fat layer (not to be eaten), and the suuuper delicious meat make it... *starts dreaming* yumm...
Sunday, July 08, 2007
shirataki noodles
shirataki noodles 1 pkg
couple slices of presliced sirloin that was on sale at zion korean market
half an onion, thin wedges
mirin
soy sauce
heated a pan with a little bit of vegetable oil in it. tossed in the beef when it was good and hot and cooked for a min or so. tossed in the onions and let those cook underneath the beef for a couple of mins, adjusted heat to simmer. splash of mirin (2-3 tbsp?). larger splash of soy sauce (3-4 tbsp?). i think all recipes i found said to add dashi, but i didn't feel like making any so used water (~1 cup). simmered for almost 20 mins. now you have crazy chewy noodles. i like the beefy taste, but the beef comes out a bit tough at the end of that simmering. the piece i fished out and munched on early on was perfect. now.. how do i get the beefy flavor in without turning my meat tough?
whilst that was cooking, ate some bread (b/c shirataki noodles have no calories, i would starve if that's all i ate) and prepared this cucumber salad.
3 persian cucumbers sliced bite sized
grated daikon (from the rest of the hunk i didn't use in soup)
1 green onion sliced
some cilantro
1 korean pepper sliced
little splash of soy sauce
big splash of rice vinegar
some fish sauce
some ginger, grated
sprinkle of sugar
little bit of sesame oil
a few tbsp of water
poured straight from bottles, etc into a tupperware with the cucumbers. close lid. shake.
couple slices of presliced sirloin that was on sale at zion korean market
half an onion, thin wedges
mirin
soy sauce
heated a pan with a little bit of vegetable oil in it. tossed in the beef when it was good and hot and cooked for a min or so. tossed in the onions and let those cook underneath the beef for a couple of mins, adjusted heat to simmer. splash of mirin (2-3 tbsp?). larger splash of soy sauce (3-4 tbsp?). i think all recipes i found said to add dashi, but i didn't feel like making any so used water (~1 cup). simmered for almost 20 mins. now you have crazy chewy noodles. i like the beefy taste, but the beef comes out a bit tough at the end of that simmering. the piece i fished out and munched on early on was perfect. now.. how do i get the beefy flavor in without turning my meat tough?
whilst that was cooking, ate some bread (b/c shirataki noodles have no calories, i would starve if that's all i ate) and prepared this cucumber salad.
3 persian cucumbers sliced bite sized
grated daikon (from the rest of the hunk i didn't use in soup)
1 green onion sliced
some cilantro
1 korean pepper sliced
little splash of soy sauce
big splash of rice vinegar
some fish sauce
some ginger, grated
sprinkle of sugar
little bit of sesame oil
a few tbsp of water
poured straight from bottles, etc into a tupperware with the cucumbers. close lid. shake.
simple soup
1 lb pork meaty bones (i used spareribs)
1 foot long length of a big daikon
salt to taste
rinse meat. boil a large pot of water, drop the bones in and boil for a few mins, then turn down the heat to very low and simmer. skim off the froth and other undesirable junk from the top. i hour before done, drop in cut up pieces of daikon. i think i've seen any size from .5 inch cubes to fist sized chunks. today, i favored inch thick pie wedges 'cause i like bite sized nuggets of daikon joy. it doesn't really matter how you cut up the stuff in the pot as long as it fits, i think. total simmering time was 2 hours. really should get a crock pot. i guess other people would call it broth. but i always grew up calling it soup.
i found the recipe below online. it sounds so gross that i'm willing to try it. the ground beef and onions sound good.. by themselves. the next question is, where do i get the canned chinese vegetables and canned bean sprouts? fresh is easy.. but canned?
1 foot long length of a big daikon
salt to taste
rinse meat. boil a large pot of water, drop the bones in and boil for a few mins, then turn down the heat to very low and simmer. skim off the froth and other undesirable junk from the top. i hour before done, drop in cut up pieces of daikon. i think i've seen any size from .5 inch cubes to fist sized chunks. today, i favored inch thick pie wedges 'cause i like bite sized nuggets of daikon joy. it doesn't really matter how you cut up the stuff in the pot as long as it fits, i think. total simmering time was 2 hours. really should get a crock pot. i guess other people would call it broth. but i always grew up calling it soup.
i found the recipe below online. it sounds so gross that i'm willing to try it. the ground beef and onions sound good.. by themselves. the next question is, where do i get the canned chinese vegetables and canned bean sprouts? fresh is easy.. but canned?
| CHINESE SOUP | |
1 1/2 lb. ground beef or turkey, optional 1 can V-8 juice or tomato juice 1 can water chestnuts, drained 1 can bean sprouts, drained 1 can Chinese vegetables, drained 2 stalks celery, diced 1 med. onion, diced 1/4 c. soy sauce 1 can French style green beans, drained Cook ground beef and onions. Drain off grease. Add all other ingredients and simmer 45 minutes. Keeps well in refrigerator. | |
Friday, June 29, 2007
a pressing matter (aka, mashed potato sandwich)
as i mentioned, i've been trying to save money and time lately, so i bought food in bulk. that costco -sized bag o spinach is still around and today, it's being reincarnated as a topping on my pizza. a friend took me out to dinner at Leucadia last night and lucky for me he doesn't like leftovers, esp soggy pizza. doggy bag, please! woof!
also on the pizza is some fresh smushed garlic in olive oil. buying a garlic press has been one of my better investments. comes with a thimble-like insert for easy cleanup. another one of my recent investments is a potato masher. it's so much easier to use than a fork. i'm probably 10x more likely to make something mushy now. behold, my magical mashing stick! and the smushinator x2000!
remember those potatoes from last sat? here they are in a delicious portable sandwich format. all your fiber, vits, butter, carbs, more carbs, and more carbs in one on-the-go package. i ate the same thing for lunch the day before, except with a fried egg in it too, when i still had eggs left.
also on the pizza is some fresh smushed garlic in olive oil. buying a garlic press has been one of my better investments. comes with a thimble-like insert for easy cleanup. another one of my recent investments is a potato masher. it's so much easier to use than a fork. i'm probably 10x more likely to make something mushy now. behold, my magical mashing stick! and the smushinator x2000!
remember those potatoes from last sat? here they are in a delicious portable sandwich format. all your fiber, vits, butter, carbs, more carbs, and more carbs in one on-the-go package. i ate the same thing for lunch the day before, except with a fried egg in it too, when i still had eggs left.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
fancy yogurt and and semi-homemade eats
i really don't know how those frozen yogurt places manage to stay in business. you know, the fancy ones with the fruit they scoop over the top. first off, it's pricey, second.. it's just frozen yogurt with fruit, cereal, and sprinkles on top! do they really get enough money from the occasional desserter to pay the rent and make a profit?? ok, nevermind, i probably just offended thousands of devotees to pinkberry. i guess i am just too cheap. there's a place in PB that offered free samples.. dolci mangoli or something like that along the the main drag of garnet. i can say i've tried it.. and it was good, i guess. but still!
anyways, here's what i had for dinner tonight. mashed potatoes with dill (dried, b/c the fresh stuff is hard to keep.. and cheaper), garlic, and almost half a stick of butter (to make up for not having any milk/cream around). spinach salad with plums in some sort of "oriental" dressing filched from a roomie (thanks!). some overly salty chicken breast that came pre-marinated in tequila lime stuff. it tastes like chemicals and is unnaturally tender. i blame the need for convenience. i am now in school Mon-Sat. joy.
anyways, here's what i had for dinner tonight. mashed potatoes with dill (dried, b/c the fresh stuff is hard to keep.. and cheaper), garlic, and almost half a stick of butter (to make up for not having any milk/cream around). spinach salad with plums in some sort of "oriental" dressing filched from a roomie (thanks!). some overly salty chicken breast that came pre-marinated in tequila lime stuff. it tastes like chemicals and is unnaturally tender. i blame the need for convenience. i am now in school Mon-Sat. joy.
Colorful food contest entry
take this, sir orang3!
my entry is "white light", containing all the wavelengths in the visible spectrum. it's waaaay more colorful than yours. maybe. ok, nevermind, you win. i can't remember if i presented this beautiful bowl or boringness yet. it's bamboo fungus and tofu. that i made quite a long time ago.
1 pkg bamboo fungus
1 block tofu
1 can no sodium chicken stock
~.5-1.0 tbsp cornstarch
soy sauce to taste.. and for lack of color.
soaked the bamboo fungus in warm water for... as long as the package says. something like 20 mins, drained. washed a couple more times b/c they're usually full of dirt and grit. last time i made it, i didn't wash enough, and i had crunchy bamboo fungus... it was not appetizing. however, i was hungry and a little dirt doesn't hurt. boiled for whatever the package said.. 2 mins? drained again, and put it into a new pan (sand and grit was at the bottom of the other one), dumped in some tofu and the chicken stock, simmered for a few mins, added the cornstarch mixed in with soy sauce to thicken the sauce. scoop on rice, consume.
my entry is "white light", containing all the wavelengths in the visible spectrum. it's waaaay more colorful than yours. maybe. ok, nevermind, you win. i can't remember if i presented this beautiful bowl or boringness yet. it's bamboo fungus and tofu. that i made quite a long time ago.
1 pkg bamboo fungus
1 block tofu
1 can no sodium chicken stock
~.5-1.0 tbsp cornstarch
soy sauce to taste.. and for lack of color.
soaked the bamboo fungus in warm water for... as long as the package says. something like 20 mins, drained. washed a couple more times b/c they're usually full of dirt and grit. last time i made it, i didn't wash enough, and i had crunchy bamboo fungus... it was not appetizing. however, i was hungry and a little dirt doesn't hurt. boiled for whatever the package said.. 2 mins? drained again, and put it into a new pan (sand and grit was at the bottom of the other one), dumped in some tofu and the chicken stock, simmered for a few mins, added the cornstarch mixed in with soy sauce to thicken the sauce. scoop on rice, consume.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
apple licorice
snacks. i'm digging through some old pictures (b/c i've left my camera back at a friend's place up in LA) and i found this er, vibrant photo of one very addicting snack. can't remember if i posted it before. but it's apple flavored licorice. the market sells all sorts of flavors, which they order from some other company.. i've seen the exact same types of licorice sold at The Fruit Stand near Price Club--Costco. but.. they are much more expensive there. i think i will stick to the traditional fruits and veggies there. anyways, they usually sell out of this flavor first at the market, leaving an empty spot next to the nasty pina colada and strange grape medicine flavored licorice for weeks before they get more in stock. so i stocked up. they don't really taste like real apples and don't contain any licorice root flavoring, but they're still neon-green delicious. here are some comments from ppl who have tried it:
"that's special."
"the taste reminds me a bit of soap but somehow i can't stop eating it"
Thursday, June 14, 2007
ginger tea
i've always been prone to motion-sickness. when i was a kid, i'd pretty much throw up every time we went to the market. it's no surprise that my parents didn't take very many road trips when i was a kid. one of the few trips i managed to survive exists today as a memory of being intensely dizzy and as a picture of me looking grumpy and scared at the grand canyon. i'm don't get motion-sick so easily anymore... but a trip to school and back on the bus when i'm tired is enough to make me feel quite ill. for some strange reason, the bus ride didn't wear off as usual, and after trying to keep my head from swimming for an hour or so in the library, i gave up and went home to find a remedy. i've found that there's nothing better than ginger tea to fight off nausea. the way my mom makes it is to peel some fresh ginger, slice it up, and cook a nodule in some water with a chunk of "slab/sheet sugar". i think that's the translation of it. it's like a little brick of regular sugar sandwiched by brown sugar. i didn't have any of that, so i substituted some honey instead. ~1 inch ginger sliced into ~2-3 cups of water, boil, let sit half an hour to extract all that gingeriness. pour into cup, add honey to taste. sweet and spicy!
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Solving the Omnivore's Dilemma
Solving the Omnivore's Dilemma
Professor Michael Pollan gives talk about his new book
Ioana Patringenaru | May 1, 2007
What’s for dinner? According to New York Times Magazine contributor and UC Berkeley professor Michael Pollan, our very survival as a species depends on how we answer this seemingly simple question. He will explain why during the latest installment of UCSD’s Revelle Forum Series June 12 at The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
part 2 of 3 cup chicken
chronologically, this post should have come first, but i thought it'd be more appetizing to present the food before the stuff that's growing on this plate.
so we had a food and water contamination experiment a couple of weeks ago in class where we had to collect food and water sample, then try and find out what was growing on them. more specifically, we were looking for fecal contamination. remember those alfalfa and spinach scares?
realizing i could do homework and cook at the same time, i got a water sample from rinsing out the styrofoam package for the chicken into an old sterilized jam jar and brought that to lab the next day. after incubating a sample for a few days at around body temp and adding some prepared reagents for a diagnostic test (Colilert), the sample was shown to contain E.coli. then i streaked it out onto an EMB agar (not as yummy as almond flavored agar-agar) plate and grew it on and tried to identify just one of the isolated colonies (there can be a bunch of different bacteria in a sample). in case you're curious, it's Serratia liquefaciens.
anyhow, long story short--cook your food thoroughly! oh and no need to worry about drinking fountains.. all samples from there tested negative. however..someone's kitty water bowl, Mission Bay, and Los Penasquitos creek are teeming with contamination. oh, and if it hasn't killed you yet, don't worry. no need to rush out and buy that antibacterial Palmolive stuff (which actually works. maybe i'll take a picture of that at work. still not going to make me use it though).
here's an excerpt from my lab report to explain what's going on:
The largest source of potentially pathogenic microorganisms in water is animal feces. Some enteric diseases can be spread from infected to healthy persons through fecally contaminated water supplies. Typhoid fever and cholera are examples of enteric diseases that can be caused by bacteria in water. (1)
A common test for water safety depends on the presence of coliform (any organism that is like E. coli, an enteric bacteria) bacteria in a sample. E. coli, an enteric coliform, is the more reliable sewage indicator since it is not normally present in soil, while E. aerogenes has been isolated from soil and grains. In addition, E. coli lives longer in water than other intestinal pathogens, therefore if no E.coli are present, one can assume that there are no other intestinal pathogens present. (2, 4)... Coliform bacteria have the key characteristics of being small gram-negative rods, non-spore forming, lactose fermentation in the presence of bile with acid and gas production, and production of a green metallic sheen on eosin-methylene-blue (EMB) agar. EMB agar is a selective medium whose dyes usually inhibit the growth of gram-positive bacteria. EMB agar is also a differential medium because it differentiates bacteria that ferment lactose with the production of small to copious amounts of acid. That green metallic sheen on EMB is formed by the excretion of so much acid during acid fermentation that the dyes precipitate in and on the surface of the coliform colonies. (1, 4)
so we had a food and water contamination experiment a couple of weeks ago in class where we had to collect food and water sample, then try and find out what was growing on them. more specifically, we were looking for fecal contamination. remember those alfalfa and spinach scares?
realizing i could do homework and cook at the same time, i got a water sample from rinsing out the styrofoam package for the chicken into an old sterilized jam jar and brought that to lab the next day. after incubating a sample for a few days at around body temp and adding some prepared reagents for a diagnostic test (Colilert), the sample was shown to contain E.coli. then i streaked it out onto an EMB agar (not as yummy as almond flavored agar-agar) plate and grew it on and tried to identify just one of the isolated colonies (there can be a bunch of different bacteria in a sample). in case you're curious, it's Serratia liquefaciens.
anyhow, long story short--cook your food thoroughly! oh and no need to worry about drinking fountains.. all samples from there tested negative. however..someone's kitty water bowl, Mission Bay, and Los Penasquitos creek are teeming with contamination. oh, and if it hasn't killed you yet, don't worry. no need to rush out and buy that antibacterial Palmolive stuff (which actually works. maybe i'll take a picture of that at work. still not going to make me use it though).
here's an excerpt from my lab report to explain what's going on:
The largest source of potentially pathogenic microorganisms in water is animal feces. Some enteric diseases can be spread from infected to healthy persons through fecally contaminated water supplies. Typhoid fever and cholera are examples of enteric diseases that can be caused by bacteria in water. (1)
A common test for water safety depends on the presence of coliform (any organism that is like E. coli, an enteric bacteria) bacteria in a sample. E. coli, an enteric coliform, is the more reliable sewage indicator since it is not normally present in soil, while E. aerogenes has been isolated from soil and grains. In addition, E. coli lives longer in water than other intestinal pathogens, therefore if no E.coli are present, one can assume that there are no other intestinal pathogens present. (2, 4)... Coliform bacteria have the key characteristics of being small gram-negative rods, non-spore forming, lactose fermentation in the presence of bile with acid and gas production, and production of a green metallic sheen on eosin-methylene-blue (EMB) agar. EMB agar is a selective medium whose dyes usually inhibit the growth of gram-positive bacteria. EMB agar is also a differential medium because it differentiates bacteria that ferment lactose with the production of small to copious amounts of acid. That green metallic sheen on EMB is formed by the excretion of so much acid during acid fermentation that the dyes precipitate in and on the surface of the coliform colonies. (1, 4)
part 1 of 3 cup chicken
can you believe that it's been more than a month since my last post? time sure flies by fast when there isn't enough of it. haven't been inspired to cook very much or at all, and having lent my camera to my aptmate for a spiffy project, pictures and tasty eats have somehow eluded me. i think the last time i've actually cooked anything other than rice was sometime a week ago.. or was it two weeks since the snow peas and beef? so let's see what i've been subsisting on:
toast
coffee
rice
coffee
granola bars (some of you will know my efforts to foist them off on you at every chance i can get)
sardines
vitamins
coffee
pasta
beans
bagged salad... ew, right? what has been happening???
i hope that this supreme laziness and apathy towards food will soon pass. in the meantime, here's something i made a couple of weeks ago out of curiosity. presenting part 1 of 3 cup chicken. and yes, there will be a part 2 sometime in the near future.
hearing TheABC enthusiastically rave over the best 3 cup chicken he's ever had, i decided to try to make my own just to see if it'd be any good. so 3 cup chicken is this chinese dish whose name comes from the (or so the story goes) 1 cup of oil, 1 cup of soy sauce, and 1 cup of wine used to cook chicken. decided to recreate this dish in the spirit of the the SCA (Society for Compulsive Authenticity) by using exactly one cup of each ingredient... plus a half a bulb of garlic, some ginger, and a couple stalks of green onion.
put all the aforementioned ingredients into a pot, along with a few teaspoons of sugar and set to boil. once it hit boil, i tossed in some chicken thigh pieces, and after reaching boil again, turned the heat down to a simmer. kept it like that for about 20 mins b/c i was afraid to under cook the chicken (the pieces were pretty thick) then fished them out. as you can see in the picture, one piece has been disfigured to check for doneness. it looked and smelled great.. but was waaay too salty. i think i'll cut back on the soy next time, or the cooking time and use smaller pieces.
btw, i used sesame and vegetable oil, rice wine, and dark soy. using merlot and olive oil is not recommended.
toast
coffee
rice
coffee
granola bars (some of you will know my efforts to foist them off on you at every chance i can get)
sardines
vitamins
coffee
pasta
beans
bagged salad... ew, right? what has been happening???
i hope that this supreme laziness and apathy towards food will soon pass. in the meantime, here's something i made a couple of weeks ago out of curiosity. presenting part 1 of 3 cup chicken. and yes, there will be a part 2 sometime in the near future.
hearing TheABC enthusiastically rave over the best 3 cup chicken he's ever had, i decided to try to make my own just to see if it'd be any good. so 3 cup chicken is this chinese dish whose name comes from the (or so the story goes) 1 cup of oil, 1 cup of soy sauce, and 1 cup of wine used to cook chicken. decided to recreate this dish in the spirit of the the SCA (Society for Compulsive Authenticity) by using exactly one cup of each ingredient... plus a half a bulb of garlic, some ginger, and a couple stalks of green onion.
put all the aforementioned ingredients into a pot, along with a few teaspoons of sugar and set to boil. once it hit boil, i tossed in some chicken thigh pieces, and after reaching boil again, turned the heat down to a simmer. kept it like that for about 20 mins b/c i was afraid to under cook the chicken (the pieces were pretty thick) then fished them out. as you can see in the picture, one piece has been disfigured to check for doneness. it looked and smelled great.. but was waaay too salty. i think i'll cut back on the soy next time, or the cooking time and use smaller pieces.
btw, i used sesame and vegetable oil, rice wine, and dark soy. using merlot and olive oil is not recommended.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Classy eats
Hi all, guess I've been either very busy, lazy, or somewhere in between for the past few weeks. maybe i'm just grossed out that the stuff i grow e.coli and s.aureus (remember those antibacterial soap commercials? of which i don't really believe in, btw) on smells like beef bullion and chicken broth. yum. i also feel rather guilty at leaving this thing neglected, esp when i found that Yummy 4 My Tummy linked to me! wow! i guess i have to post some more then. got a lot of catching up to do.
had a big craving for hamburger and meaty goodness. hamburger mixed with garlic salt and other stuff can't remember, pattied, with a slice of mozzarella melted over the top. collard greens and linguine and some generic sauce.
oatmeal, frozen broccoli (so darned convenient when there's nothing fresh) in chicken broth, and a stalk of celery with slightly diluted negi miso as a dip.
broad rice noodles stir fried with cabbage and chili, oyster sauce, fried garlic, and fried shallots. i always keep a jar of fried shallots and garlic around now top use as topping on rice and other boring dishes when i really don't have time to cook anything. the chili is this jar of dried crushed chilies in hot oil... it's in chinese and there's a picture of a Very Stern Lady on the label. also, the noodles aren't very brown or colorful. i assure you it's only cosmetic.
this a a rather horrendous and unappetizing picture. i steamed some pork short ribs with rice wine and pickled plums, and i over-steamed it b/c i was paranoid about the pork being thoroughly cooked. especially since there's bone involved. also didn't bother to cut it before tossing it in. looks like some sort of alien worm-like creatures swimming around in barf.
a snack. canned pineapple slices from the "buy it now before we throw it out" rack in the back of ralphs. who can resist at 70 cents a can? was going to prepare some chinese big sausages with them, but forgot. instead, they've been rinsed of that horrible syrup and sprinkled with cayenne pepper. and what's left of a carrot.
food is steadily getting worse. this was during finals week. the oatmeal is kind of dry, i have hunks of spam spooned straight from the can on it, and some leftover kabocha on its last days. i consider spam to belong to the "meat" food group. some ppl don't.
pasta with basil and anchovies. truly a dish with conflicting flavors. herbal and salty. kind of like bamboosalt toothpaste. i bought so much basil that i made a salad with it....
unagi with cucumbers. then spam when i still had lots of leftover sushi rice. you can see how pretty my handiwork is. i cut my hand earlier that day, so i was trying to make things mostly with one hand. i don't think i'll ever make this at home again. everything from start to finish took waaay too long and was a big mess. note the ugliest pillow-shaped onigiri ever in the back. it all goes into the biological blender anyways. i'll leave it to the pros. i'll just end up tossing stuff on top of rice next time.
almost a month later for dinner tonight... and i did in fact toss it on top of rice. unagi no kabayaki on rice with a pickled plum and some pickled radish strips. of course the eel came prepared and frozen. this was what was left over from making sushi at home. and some miso soup with frozen broccoli in it. this was another one of those 5 min meals, not counting the rice.
a kobocha and sharpening my knife before i attempt to hack it open. i don't have a whetstone or a fancy sharpener, so i use the bottoms of ceramic cups.
lemon and soy simmered kobocha squash. from Washoku. i was in a cooking mood that night. this tasted really good. i used a whole lemon's juice instead of half as suggested.
greasy stir fried chinese liver sausage and garlic chives.
Orang3's collard greens with a few mods. i used some chicken broth instead of water, a pinch of sugar, and some chili peppers so it'd have a bit of kick. here it is with some dried noodles. what are they called? dried onion noodles? it's was whatever was sitting on the counter at my brother's place.
another condiment fried rice. this time it's chili, fermented shrimp paste, and garlic.
midnight snack tin for the delaying hunger in the library. they've allowed a new policy of snack foods being allowed inside the library after ppl brought them in anyways. most people go there to study anyways, and not read library books.
had a big craving for hamburger and meaty goodness. hamburger mixed with garlic salt and other stuff can't remember, pattied, with a slice of mozzarella melted over the top. collard greens and linguine and some generic sauce.
oatmeal, frozen broccoli (so darned convenient when there's nothing fresh) in chicken broth, and a stalk of celery with slightly diluted negi miso as a dip.
broad rice noodles stir fried with cabbage and chili, oyster sauce, fried garlic, and fried shallots. i always keep a jar of fried shallots and garlic around now top use as topping on rice and other boring dishes when i really don't have time to cook anything. the chili is this jar of dried crushed chilies in hot oil... it's in chinese and there's a picture of a Very Stern Lady on the label. also, the noodles aren't very brown or colorful. i assure you it's only cosmetic.
this a a rather horrendous and unappetizing picture. i steamed some pork short ribs with rice wine and pickled plums, and i over-steamed it b/c i was paranoid about the pork being thoroughly cooked. especially since there's bone involved. also didn't bother to cut it before tossing it in. looks like some sort of alien worm-like creatures swimming around in barf.
a snack. canned pineapple slices from the "buy it now before we throw it out" rack in the back of ralphs. who can resist at 70 cents a can? was going to prepare some chinese big sausages with them, but forgot. instead, they've been rinsed of that horrible syrup and sprinkled with cayenne pepper. and what's left of a carrot.
food is steadily getting worse. this was during finals week. the oatmeal is kind of dry, i have hunks of spam spooned straight from the can on it, and some leftover kabocha on its last days. i consider spam to belong to the "meat" food group. some ppl don't.
pasta with basil and anchovies. truly a dish with conflicting flavors. herbal and salty. kind of like bamboosalt toothpaste. i bought so much basil that i made a salad with it....
unagi with cucumbers. then spam when i still had lots of leftover sushi rice. you can see how pretty my handiwork is. i cut my hand earlier that day, so i was trying to make things mostly with one hand. i don't think i'll ever make this at home again. everything from start to finish took waaay too long and was a big mess. note the ugliest pillow-shaped onigiri ever in the back. it all goes into the biological blender anyways. i'll leave it to the pros. i'll just end up tossing stuff on top of rice next time.
almost a month later for dinner tonight... and i did in fact toss it on top of rice. unagi no kabayaki on rice with a pickled plum and some pickled radish strips. of course the eel came prepared and frozen. this was what was left over from making sushi at home. and some miso soup with frozen broccoli in it. this was another one of those 5 min meals, not counting the rice.
a kobocha and sharpening my knife before i attempt to hack it open. i don't have a whetstone or a fancy sharpener, so i use the bottoms of ceramic cups.
lemon and soy simmered kobocha squash. from Washoku. i was in a cooking mood that night. this tasted really good. i used a whole lemon's juice instead of half as suggested.
greasy stir fried chinese liver sausage and garlic chives.
Orang3's collard greens with a few mods. i used some chicken broth instead of water, a pinch of sugar, and some chili peppers so it'd have a bit of kick. here it is with some dried noodles. what are they called? dried onion noodles? it's was whatever was sitting on the counter at my brother's place.
another condiment fried rice. this time it's chili, fermented shrimp paste, and garlic.
midnight snack tin for the delaying hunger in the library. they've allowed a new policy of snack foods being allowed inside the library after ppl brought them in anyways. most people go there to study anyways, and not read library books.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Nutty Nuggets Meatloaf
we're packrats. well, kind of. my aptmates eat out at fast food a lot and usually bring back extra ketchup packets and the like. here's two containers full of sugar, ketchup, mustard, honey... pepper, parmesan... and more. i myself own no bottles of ketchup so i will be dipping from the reserves to use as a sauce for my meatloaf. i've had meatloaf topped with cheese or gravy, but what i like the most is a simple ketchup sauce.i've never made meatloaf before b/c i don't really like it and think it tastes boring and a waste of good hamburger meat.. but if it means a creative use for Nutty Nuggets, I'll give it a try. winged it on the recipe with whatever i had. i just know that at least an egg, an onion, and cup to lb breadcrumbs are supposed to be used. perhaps it's why the loaf crumbled when cut.
1 small zucchini blendered to veggie goo
1 large brown onion halfway between chopped and ground? pulverized?
1.5 cups nutty nuggets
1.5 lb 85% ground beef
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 egg
2 stalks green onions
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
15 ketchup packets
i think i baked it at 350? 450? for either 45 mins or an hour. can't remember. the cut was me checking to make sure it was thoroughly cooked. note how exquisitely handcrafted and artisan the loaf is. should have made a snowman shape. the nutty nuggets made the loaf crunchy for the first day.
this is it on its 5th day, i think, in pan-fried reheated form. it didn't keep shape very well. i think i'm in a spicy phase. i've been adding chili flakes or pepper to everything lately, and one comment i got from a taste-tester was that it was too spicy. gotta work on that. did however, elicit several comments that it "smells like meatloaf". not sure if that's a good thing.
Quick post
Promise i've got a better one coming along soon.
last night i had a can of chili and tossed in some Nutty Nuggets. yes, the same old Grapenuts-like cereal i tried to eat several months ago. apparently, they don't get stale. they start that way already. i'd been saving them for meatloaf (or a duck pond), and was reminded by Anonymous who commented. guess what i'm making this weekend.
last night i had a can of chili and tossed in some Nutty Nuggets. yes, the same old Grapenuts-like cereal i tried to eat several months ago. apparently, they don't get stale. they start that way already. i'd been saving them for meatloaf (or a duck pond), and was reminded by Anonymous who commented. guess what i'm making this weekend.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Breakfast of Champions
The wakeup breakfast of champions or those who must not fall asleep must contain three things: mozzarella, caffeine, and chili peppers.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
similar stuff, different taste
not a good picture at all, but i made some brisket simmered in soy. the liquid i used to cook it in was roughly (very, didn't measure anything) half a cup of soy sauce, a cup of water or more to cover the meat in a small pot, two stalks of green onions, a chunk of ginger, a large splash of rice wine, half a star anise, a spoonful of sugar. forgot if i added anything else.after it boiled, i put in the meat in one big chunk, let it go to a boil again, then simmered on low for half an hour. then let it cool and put it in the fridge overnight to soak up the flavor. then stored in a tupperware with the liquid and sliced some off that hunk of meat whenever. having a crappy electric stove that was either full boil or not at all really anooyed me. took maybe 10 mins before i could manage "simmer".
rigged up a steaming thing with small wire rack underneath a large bowl, which was set in a pot with some water on the bottom. steamed up some chicken tenders all cut up, rehydrated chinese mushrooms with some of the liquid, woodear fungi, rice wine, a spoonful of cornstarch to coat, green onions, little bit of soy. yeah, it sounds like what was above, but it was in different proportions, and tasted very very different from the lo shui beef stuff.
broiled tofu brushed with negi (green onion) miso. i made some of this miso a few days beforehand ala Washoku cooking mirin, green onions, and other stuff into it and stored in a jar in the fridge. i didn't had fried tofu, but did have extra firm tofu, so broiled that in the toaster oven until it was starting to get brown, then spread the miso on top with a spoon and sprinkled some sesame seeds on it. broiled some more until it was nice and toasty. *note* the first time i tried this, i didn't want to wait for broiled, so tried to do this in a frying pan. it ended up way too hot and the miso burned. flavor was a lot more subtle than you'd expect.
rigged up a steaming thing with small wire rack underneath a large bowl, which was set in a pot with some water on the bottom. steamed up some chicken tenders all cut up, rehydrated chinese mushrooms with some of the liquid, woodear fungi, rice wine, a spoonful of cornstarch to coat, green onions, little bit of soy. yeah, it sounds like what was above, but it was in different proportions, and tasted very very different from the lo shui beef stuff.
broiled tofu brushed with negi (green onion) miso. i made some of this miso a few days beforehand ala Washoku cooking mirin, green onions, and other stuff into it and stored in a jar in the fridge. i didn't had fried tofu, but did have extra firm tofu, so broiled that in the toaster oven until it was starting to get brown, then spread the miso on top with a spoon and sprinkled some sesame seeds on it. broiled some more until it was nice and toasty. *note* the first time i tried this, i didn't want to wait for broiled, so tried to do this in a frying pan. it ended up way too hot and the miso burned. flavor was a lot more subtle than you'd expect.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
turn, smile, shift--repeat
to prove that i really do eat the same thing over and over and over again simply b/c i eat by myself so there's surplus and it saves time to reheat something.. or just repeat a recipe when i'm not feeling very motivated. stats on this dish: repeated twice during the week
tuesday [see last post]
wednesday - fried chicken on the side version
thursday - [alas, took no picture]
friday - spicy version
sat - it's late at night and i'm hungry NOW! version
not seen are the other things i prepared too, notably mi goreng satay instant noodles, negi-miso pan-grilled tofu (it didn't work.. the miso burned too fast), and lo shui (鹵水) beef brisket. and tons of buttered toast and dry cereal (milk went bad).
oh, and phil's bbq is tasty. mm... pork ribs. the website lies. the new location is on sports arena drive off of the 8. and why oh why is there no on-ramp to the 8 W coming from the 5 N? am i missing something???
tuesday [see last post]
wednesday - fried chicken on the side version
thursday - [alas, took no picture]
friday - spicy version
sat - it's late at night and i'm hungry NOW! version
not seen are the other things i prepared too, notably mi goreng satay instant noodles, negi-miso pan-grilled tofu (it didn't work.. the miso burned too fast), and lo shui (鹵水) beef brisket. and tons of buttered toast and dry cereal (milk went bad).
oh, and phil's bbq is tasty. mm... pork ribs. the website lies. the new location is on sports arena drive off of the 8. and why oh why is there no on-ramp to the 8 W coming from the 5 N? am i missing something???
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
constructive time again (revised with "recipes"!)
wow, it's been a rather time since my last post, and a rather long time to post this one b/c i have so much catching up to do. i guess i got lazy.. but as always, i keep coming back for more punishment. also hadn't been cooking much during that period, somehow i lost motivation. but i managed. too bad i was too lazy to take pictures during those super blah days. it's surprising to see what i scrounged up. there were so many days where i was happy eating rice topped with fried shallots, soy, and fried garlic... anchovies... shrimp paste.. pickled radish... you get the picture.
reflecting on childcare whilst partaking of a grand meal in my car twixt studying one long rainy saturday night. remember, hugs = bad. canned sodium-filled foods = good. i've taken to carrying a can or two of something in the boot of my car for unforeseen pangs of hunger, no cash, or no time. recipe: none! pull top off can.
this.. was mediocre. generic garlic and basil flavored canned tomatoes and pasta. recipe: prepare pasta according to directions on package. open can o tomatoes. spoon contents of can o tomatoes over pasta.
lemon lime chicken. not nearly as good as it looks. i didn't really marinade the chicken for long so it didn't have enough flavor. recipe: too untasty to even list.
a prize to whoever can guess what this is. and no, it's not the moon or a white dwarf somewhere up in the cosmos.
so i bought some of that thick-cut bacon. it doesn't come in anything less than a lb. was really hungry that night, and literally had just bacon and leftover rice ready. so, a very ghetto thick soy sauce fried rice. and a mozzarella stick donated by my kind roommate. recipe: dump cold rice into a hot pan with some oil. cook until hot and a lil crispy. douse on some soy. stir some more. eat.
snacktime! these were the last cherries of the season. recipe: choose carefully when buying, rinse, and eat.
a very eggy death. the hummus could only look on in horror.
i'm amazed i didn't have a heart attack with all the bacon i ate that week. i cooked up some diced potatoes in bacon grease, cilantro, more bacon and smokey bbq sauce. i thought it'd be interesting. it was. quite good.. i mean.. you can't go wrong with bacon and bbq sauce..... even together. recipe: dice potatoes. toss in a frying pan. search through the fridge for some sort of vegetable or herb. chop and toss in with potatoes. search through the cabinets for something more interesting than salt and pepper (bonus points if you find bbq sauce. extra bonus points if you use fish sauce or peanut butter, or both). mix in with potatoes and cook until they're not raw anymore.
my aptmate made everyone a special brownie heart for valentine's day! aww.. someone's got a crush. recipe: be nice!
chinese new years dinner. i made it home for the end of year dinner with family, but i left the next morning. so here are some of the tasty take-homes in a completely unappetizing arrangement. radish cake, succulent roast pork, and pea leaves. recipe: wash leaves. boil water. put leaves in boiling water. remember to take them out if you want to eat them.
corned beef hash and a fried egg. recipe: canned corned beef. or fresh... but hold on there, that's kind of too high-class for the char. dice and cook potatoes in a skillet. then throw on the corned beef later, breaking up the really large chunks. cook until things aren't raw and the corned beef starts to get crispy.
Mexi-hattan clam chowder. so i was trying to make manhattan clam chowder from joy of cooking and ran short of a few ingredients. for one, i didn't have regular stewed tomatoes. but i thought i did. after i'd dumped the can into the soup, i realized that this was the green pepper and jalapeno flavor... what was i thinking when i bought it??? ick.. my soup smelled like enchiladas. and tasted a little bit like it too. recipe: follow joy of cooking's manhattan clam chowder recipe. but only use half the ingredients and make ethnic substitutions as appropriate.
hungry studying one night, i lumped some leftover rice together, slathered it with sweet soy and sesame seeds, then popped it in the toaster oven. kind of too crunchy on its own though. think i'll make ocha zuke next time. recipe: shape leftover rice in hands. get creative. you can make things in the shape of hearts or like the eiffel tower. set toaster to broil and well, broil until it's brown and crunchy. note* uneven/not flat shapes tend to burn easily.
fresh "guac" on toast. fork mashed avocado, pepper, salt, cumin, and lil bit of lemon juice. <--recipe
miso in a cup. don't remember what type of miso paste this is. it's very mild though. recipe: heat water in a mug and then stir in miso paste. cut in cubes of tofu if you need sustenance. garnish with sliced green onions.
pasta with canned tomatoes (muir glen brand... they're quite good, not tinny), fresh basil, garbanzo beans, and an olive or two. this was rather refreshing cold, especially when compared to that other canned tomato pasta stuff from a while ago. i ran outta vegetables this during the week, and being in busy study/project mode, didn't have time to go to the market. somehow i ended up with a large container of basil and i've been eating that as veggie... my breath was really herbally fresh for a few days.
celery and chicken stir fry in black bean garlic sauce. recipe: stirfry a few stalks of celery. set aside. stirfry ~2 diced up frozen chicken breasts from costco in a little (NON-OLIVE)oil, black beans, and garlic. when it's almost cooked, dump the celery back into the pan. and cook until you are no longer in danger of e.coli and listeria.
Elizabeth Andoh's temple vegetable stew from Washoku
CharSiuBao's turnstile vegetable stew ala Washoku. the recipe's in there with different veggies. it's a stock (kombu and bonito flakes) with carrots, daikon, nira, and fresh wood ear fungus. shouldn't have added the "gau choy" ish niri though. made it a bit bitter. recipe: you will have to read her book. (hint* throw things into a pot.)
reflecting on childcare whilst partaking of a grand meal in my car twixt studying one long rainy saturday night. remember, hugs = bad. canned sodium-filled foods = good. i've taken to carrying a can or two of something in the boot of my car for unforeseen pangs of hunger, no cash, or no time. recipe: none! pull top off can.
this.. was mediocre. generic garlic and basil flavored canned tomatoes and pasta. recipe: prepare pasta according to directions on package. open can o tomatoes. spoon contents of can o tomatoes over pasta.
lemon lime chicken. not nearly as good as it looks. i didn't really marinade the chicken for long so it didn't have enough flavor. recipe: too untasty to even list.
a prize to whoever can guess what this is. and no, it's not the moon or a white dwarf somewhere up in the cosmos.
so i bought some of that thick-cut bacon. it doesn't come in anything less than a lb. was really hungry that night, and literally had just bacon and leftover rice ready. so, a very ghetto thick soy sauce fried rice. and a mozzarella stick donated by my kind roommate. recipe: dump cold rice into a hot pan with some oil. cook until hot and a lil crispy. douse on some soy. stir some more. eat.
snacktime! these were the last cherries of the season. recipe: choose carefully when buying, rinse, and eat.
a very eggy death. the hummus could only look on in horror.
i'm amazed i didn't have a heart attack with all the bacon i ate that week. i cooked up some diced potatoes in bacon grease, cilantro, more bacon and smokey bbq sauce. i thought it'd be interesting. it was. quite good.. i mean.. you can't go wrong with bacon and bbq sauce..... even together. recipe: dice potatoes. toss in a frying pan. search through the fridge for some sort of vegetable or herb. chop and toss in with potatoes. search through the cabinets for something more interesting than salt and pepper (bonus points if you find bbq sauce. extra bonus points if you use fish sauce or peanut butter, or both). mix in with potatoes and cook until they're not raw anymore.
my aptmate made everyone a special brownie heart for valentine's day! aww.. someone's got a crush. recipe: be nice!
chinese new years dinner. i made it home for the end of year dinner with family, but i left the next morning. so here are some of the tasty take-homes in a completely unappetizing arrangement. radish cake, succulent roast pork, and pea leaves. recipe: wash leaves. boil water. put leaves in boiling water. remember to take them out if you want to eat them.
corned beef hash and a fried egg. recipe: canned corned beef. or fresh... but hold on there, that's kind of too high-class for the char. dice and cook potatoes in a skillet. then throw on the corned beef later, breaking up the really large chunks. cook until things aren't raw and the corned beef starts to get crispy.
Mexi-hattan clam chowder. so i was trying to make manhattan clam chowder from joy of cooking and ran short of a few ingredients. for one, i didn't have regular stewed tomatoes. but i thought i did. after i'd dumped the can into the soup, i realized that this was the green pepper and jalapeno flavor... what was i thinking when i bought it??? ick.. my soup smelled like enchiladas. and tasted a little bit like it too. recipe: follow joy of cooking's manhattan clam chowder recipe. but only use half the ingredients and make ethnic substitutions as appropriate.
hungry studying one night, i lumped some leftover rice together, slathered it with sweet soy and sesame seeds, then popped it in the toaster oven. kind of too crunchy on its own though. think i'll make ocha zuke next time. recipe: shape leftover rice in hands. get creative. you can make things in the shape of hearts or like the eiffel tower. set toaster to broil and well, broil until it's brown and crunchy. note* uneven/not flat shapes tend to burn easily.
fresh "guac" on toast. fork mashed avocado, pepper, salt, cumin, and lil bit of lemon juice. <--recipe
miso in a cup. don't remember what type of miso paste this is. it's very mild though. recipe: heat water in a mug and then stir in miso paste. cut in cubes of tofu if you need sustenance. garnish with sliced green onions.
pasta with canned tomatoes (muir glen brand... they're quite good, not tinny), fresh basil, garbanzo beans, and an olive or two. this was rather refreshing cold, especially when compared to that other canned tomato pasta stuff from a while ago. i ran outta vegetables this during the week, and being in busy study/project mode, didn't have time to go to the market. somehow i ended up with a large container of basil and i've been eating that as veggie... my breath was really herbally fresh for a few days.
celery and chicken stir fry in black bean garlic sauce. recipe: stirfry a few stalks of celery. set aside. stirfry ~2 diced up frozen chicken breasts from costco in a little (NON-OLIVE)oil, black beans, and garlic. when it's almost cooked, dump the celery back into the pan. and cook until you are no longer in danger of e.coli and listeria.
Elizabeth Andoh's temple vegetable stew from Washoku
CharSiuBao's turnstile vegetable stew ala Washoku. the recipe's in there with different veggies. it's a stock (kombu and bonito flakes) with carrots, daikon, nira, and fresh wood ear fungus. shouldn't have added the "gau choy" ish niri though. made it a bit bitter. recipe: you will have to read her book. (hint* throw things into a pot.)
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