hope you're hungry!

Mmm...Thai food!

Dracula's Nightmare--

Pla Rad Prik--


Thailand Restaurant
http://www.yelp.com/biz/thailand-restaurant-beaverton

Pin It

try something new!

Last weekend I went out on a culinary limb and made a brussel sprout salad, inspired by this recipe from 101 Cookbooks. I have never really been a fan of brussel sprouts (though I do like them roasted and tossed with salty pancetta and balsamic vinegar), but I admit, these looked like they could be a winner.

I shredded the brussel sprouts and tossed them with a lemon vinaigrette similar to Heidi's. It made for a perfect light lunch paired with leftover roast chicken and bell pepper sticks.

With the said roast chicken, I also made chicken stock from the carcass. Very Martha Stewart of me, I know. But oh, wow, is that stuff good.

Chicken Stock

1 chicken carcass

1 onion, quartered

1 carrot, roughly chopped

zest of one orange

couple sprigs thyme

8 cups water

Place all ingredients in a large pot over medium high heat until boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover slightly. Cook for up to 4 hours, adding more water as necessary. Strain and refrigerate until ready to use.

My stock gelatinized, so you may want to heat before using.

A couple of days ago, I made a nice tofu and spinach soup with my stock--so good! To make, bring the stock to a boil, add a handful of spinach, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until spinach is wilted. While this is cooking, cube some silken tofu and place into a soup bowl. Pour stock/spinach over tofu and serve.

Pin It

yellow dal

I mentioned homemade chicken stock yesterday--I decided to make yellow dal with it. I found this recipe in the foodday section of the newspaper while browsing through the recipes. It also happens that I bought yellow split beans at an Asian grocery store this weekend.

I have absolutely no experience with Indian cooking so I didn't know what to expect. The recipe was really easy to make, though, and tasted pretty good. Unfortunately, I forgot to add salt when cooking but it's a fairly easily remedied mistake. Here's my lunch, served over brown rice--



Yellow Dal

the peas:
1 C yellow split peas
1/2 bay leaf
1/4 tsp tumeric
3 cups chicken stock (obviously not vegetarian, but I don't mind)
Salt

1. Rinse the peas extremely well with running water in a sieve. Water should run clear. Add the peas to a pot with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce to a simmer for 20-30 minutes until tender. Season with salt.

the tadka:
1/4 C vegetable oil (or ghee)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 C thinly sliced onion
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1. In a pan, heat the oil over medium high to high heat. Add cumin seeds and fry for 10 seconds, then add the onion. Cook the onion over medium heat for 12 minutes until golden brown. Add in the crushed red pepper flakes and cook for another 2 minutes or so.
2. Serve the tadka over the top of the dal.
   

Pin It

Semolina-Citrus Turbinados

The best way to spend a Sunday? In the kitchen of course! A friend and I made these wonderful cupcakes, along with citrus turbinado sugar cookies and chicken stock of all things. Sadly I don't have the recipe for the cupcakes myself. But the general idea is steeping the milk in earl grey tea. We whipped up a quick lemon cream cheese frosting to finish.


I recently spotted a natural sweetener cookbook--Sweet!--at the library on the new arrivals wall and instantly grabbed it. The gorgeous cover photograph really sealed the deal. When I did take a look inside, I had to buy it. The Semolina-Citrus Turbinados are the second recipe I've tried from it and I haven't been disappointed.

Semolina-Citrus Turbinados from Sweet!

1 C turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw brand is everywhere)
zest of 1 orange
1 C flour
3/4 C semolina flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cubed
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg

In a food processor, pulse the sugar and orange zest. Add flours, baking powder, and salt and pulse until blended. Add the cold butter and pulse until you have a bread crumb like texture. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and lemon juice; add to the food processor, running the machine until the dough forms a ball.

Knead the dough a bit, divide, and form into two 1 1/2" logs. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350. Slice the dough into 1/4" rounds and place onto a nonstick cookie sheet. Be sure to leave enough room for the cookies to spread a bit. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Keep an eye on them because the sugar may burn quickly. Transfer to a rack to cool. After cooling, spread icing on top of cookies, if desired.

To make the icing:

2 oz cream cheese at room temp
2 tbsp orange juice
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
orange zest, if desired

Whisk the cream cheese and orange juice (and orange zest, if using) until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and mix well.

Pin It

Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies

I can't resist cookies. And these ones are pretty fantastic.

Espresso Cookies

Pin It

Bob's Red Mill Sourdough Muffins

Honestly, I bought the Bob's Red Mill Baking Book on a whim at Powell's. Considering it was on sale for half the original price, I'd say it was a pretty good deal. The book is filled with all kinds of recipes using all kinds of grains.

I really like this recipe, especially with a sourdough starter sitting in the fridge. The best part trying different additions, like dried fruit or grated cheese. Just be sure to add it to the dry ingredient blend. I made two variations in one batch--white cheddar and provolone, and a dried blueberry/cranberry combination (the recipe recommends 1 3/4 cups of cheese for one batch, or 1 1/4 cups dried fruit).



Sourdough Muffins
from Bob's Red Mill Baking Book

1 3/4 C whole wheat flour
1 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups warm milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 C vegetable oil

1. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to moisten (this doesn't need to be well incorporated at all).
2. Cover with a lint-free dish towel and sit out at room temperature for 12 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 and spray a muffin tin. Stir batter to combine, pour into muffin tin, and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
   

Pin It

david lebovitz--revisited

Winter is almost here--


It's been perfect hot chocolate drinking weather...I was out taking pictures this afternoon and needed to warm up. Enter David Lebovitz and his fantastic chocolate recipes. I enjoyed a nice hot cup of hot chocolate (made with soymilk and Ghiradelli's) with marshmallows, and later in the afternoon, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.


I recently read some new information (new to me anyway) about the proper care of butter in making cookies, from using it at the right temperature to creaming it properly. I was curious and anxious to bake cookies with my new found knowledge.

The cookies ended up pretty flat which I'm not used to, but the flavor is great. I especially love the chocolate chip to dough ratio. The outside is slightly crisp, but the inside is nice and chewy. I will probably make them again just to see if the flatness is due to the recipe or execution. Looking at the ones Heidi made, though, I'm thinking it's on my end...perhaps that butter article wasn't so good after all.

Don't they look tasty?

Pin It

a long overdue intro to david lebovitz

I discovered David Lebovitz' blog last week...and oh how dangerous it is! I know I've heard about him countless places around the internet, but never actually took the time to visit his site. I instantly bookmarked a ton of recipes upon visiting his recipes page and honestly wish I had done so long ago. So far, I've had the Parisian hot chocolate, marshmallows, and cheesecake brownies, all of which are fantastic.


I really want to talk about the brownies today. I thought I had an amazing recipe with Jamie Oliver's fifteen brownies...I might have been mistaken. These brownies have that wonderfully fudgy texture paired with the sweet and tangy cream cheese. Honestly, I couldn't decide which was better even if I had them side by side. Nor would I want to!


As for the marshmallows and hot chocolate, I couldn't recommend them more! The hot chocolate tastes like a delicious, creamy, melted chocolate bar (which is basically what it is). If you go all out and make it with fancy chocolate, you wouldn't dare plop a marshmallow on top; save the marshmallows for other hot chocolate mixes or "lesser" chocolate...I personally used a half a king size Hershey bar (purchased super cheap at Grocery Outlet). A half batch of these marshallows do make quite a bit so I wouldn't recommend making more than that unless you plan on using them for something else (I've got my eye on some rocky road!).

Pin It

chai tea mix

A good cup of chai tea is always fabulous. I am partial to Oregon Chai brand; I really like its mild yet creamy flavor. I've had homemade chai before, the kind you actually boil with black tea and spices, but honestly the flavors are a bit strong for me. My palate has been trained, for better or worse.


I used this recipe for chai tea mix which I found on allrecipes. I found a couple recipes posted elsewhere which were exactly the same. I finally got a chance to use my vanilla sugar in making this which was great. This mix does have a bit of spiciness to it, but it is mild enough for all those chai tea concentrate drinkers out there (it was for me), so I definitely recommend at least trying a half batch.

Pin It

101 Cookbooks Experimentation

It's been a few weeks since my last post. I guess I've just let time slip by a bit too quickly. I actually made these recipes a while back, I found them from 101 Cookbooks. I really like that blog, there's always something interesting to try.

Nikki's Healthy Cookies

These sounded interesting...a "healthy" cookie?? Sounded so interesting, in fact, I made them. They were better warm, very banana-y. I suppose if you are an extreme banana fan, give these a go. Just be sure not to keep them in an airtight container, as they are moist. Personally, I did not like these cookies...

Amazing Black Bean Brownies

LOVED this recipe...who would have thought to put beans in brownies? I used leftover bean paste from this recipe. They have an incredible, moist texture which I love. Of course, the moist texture is not from chocolate and "fudgy", but fudgy none the less. I really can't describe it. I will be making these again for sure!

Anzac Cookies

Another lovely recipe for sweets (are you sensing a theme?). I really liked the butteriness of this cookie. These make for an excellent morning or afternoon snack paired with tea. Or, you know, to snack on all day.

Hummus en Fuego

My last 101 Cookbooks recipe I've made recently is for hummus. I really love Trader Joe's 4-pack hummus sampler, including roasted red pepper and garlic. I love this hummus recipe because it's got pretty basic stuff in it and easy to mix up and make how you prefer. I prepared the recipe as is, then added some roasted red peppers for extra flavor. Another excellent snack! I really love it paired with garlic pita chips (purchased at Whole Foods). This hummus would be perfect in wraps or on pizza.

Pin It