Cupboard Soup

Today, I worked from home, which was luxurious. Partly, because it was rainy and grey and I didn't want to go anywhere anyways. But also because I could take a break in the middle of the day and make awesome soup for lunch (and, of course, for leftovers).

Here's the soup, it was basically made out of things that existed in my fridge and cupboard:

-1 onion, sliced, and slowly browned
-about 8oz sausage (left over)
-a whole mess of chopped celery and carrots (maybe a cup or so total? originally intended for dipping in hummus)
-2c beef broth (made of beef bouillon cubes because they're smaller than cans)
-a can of crushed tomatoes (originally intended for chana masala
-lentils (because I love lentils)
-some water
-a glug of leftover red wine
-garlic
-all the rest of my delicious rosemary
-red pepper flakes
-salt/pepper


Basically, brown the onion, toss in the celery and carrots and garlic, and then the sausage and red pepper flakes. Brown it all up together.

Dump in the tomatoes, broth, wine and about half a cup of lentils (or, whatever you have). Simmer for a while, to cook the lentils, adding water if you think it needs some. At the end, add some salt and pepper to taste (won't need much salt, with the sausage and broth).

Mmmmmmmmmm.... perfect rainy day food! (picture 5!)

Winter is Coming!!

Today it was rainy, and windy, and brrr. It was pretty exciting, let me tell you, because that NEVER happens around here. The birds this morning seemed somewhat less excited about it. I liked how they were evenly spaced, yet also huddled together. (Day 4 picture).

Ode to Oatmeal

Today's picture is an up-close and personal view of my breakfast. You know you were dying to see THAT.

Anyhow, I love oatmeal. Love it. Its hearty, and good for you, delicious, and there are almost endless varieties. My most common incarnation is oatmeal with frozen fruit in it. I know, I know, you're thinking frozen fruit sounds gross. Turns out, when its all microwaved, its not such a big deal, and its certainly cheaper and easier than keeping tons of fresh berries on hand (although, for just eating, nothing, NOTHING beats fresh raspberries).

Basically, toss some oatmeal in a bowl with twice as much water. Throw on some frozen blueberries and cinnamon, and pop the entire thing in the microwave. Bring it out, top with honey, nuts, more cinnamon, whatever. If you need to take breakfast to work, put dry oatmeal and toppings in a tupperware, fill with water when you get there and microwave! You can even get creative- some of my favorite combos are lemon zest and raspberries, half a banana & a spoonful of peanut butter, chopped apples and cinnamon and walnuts, peaches and almond extract and chopped almonds, and just normal oatmeal with a little brown sugar and vanilla. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm...


(for my budget shoppers- don't buy in to the pre-packaging mania... first of all, be nice to the planet, you have no need for all those individual packets. Second, if you buy the big containers for less money you can get way more servings... bought on sale you're down to something like 25 cents a serving- can't beat that!)

Rosemary, 3 ways

Ok, my day 2 picture is of this fresh rosemary I got at a friends house yesterday (I killed my one small rosemary plant. Theirs is 3 feet tall and grows in the yard. yep.)

Anyhow, it has featured prominently in my day. Its incarnations have been:

- Rosemary scramble (egg whites, broccoli, cheese, and, of course, rosemary)

- Rosemary tea - this is supposed to be anti-inflammatory among other things. Being myself, obviously I looked it up, and it turns out that rosemary oil actually IS anti-inflammatory and antinocioceptive (reduces pain sensitivity). who knew! also, I really liked it, it was refreshing.

- Herb bread. I made bread using this recipe, and threw a bunch of herbs in, which was awesome. We ate it with this Pasta e Fagioli, also awesome (and no picture was taken or it would totally be my post).

The 365 Days Project

Well, for some reason I'm in an internet meme-y kind of mood. It all started when one food blog I was reading talked about spending only $30 for food for a week (including groceries, coffee, etc). All these people were posting their menus, and I thought, $30, I could do $30 with my hand tied behind my back (only one hand because I need the other hand to cook)! But I was only thinking about when I cook, which as we all know, is cheap when you actually prefer to survive on garbanzo beans. Unfortunately I have a conference, and a dinner with a friend from out of town, and $30 won't cut it this week (which I realize defies the entire point, but whatever). Anyways, that will come soon.

Then I got all pumped up about 101 things in 1001 days, where you decide on 101 things to accomplish over roughly the next 2.75 years. Sounds productive. Also sounds like something I should work on listing out when I'm not flailing around in piles of busy-ness like I am right now. So that MAY come too (if I actually feel like putting it on the blog, which will likely only happen if I include a section on things I want to learn to cook).

SO. Here we are. I've settled on the 365 days challenge, where you take a picture a day for 365 days. I'm sure I'm way out of date on this, but it will still be fun! I actually take an inordinate amount of pictures (like, haha, look at this baking disaster or haha, look at this hilarious sign), so theoretically this won't be hard. We shall see. Despite what I'm about to post, I promise that all of the pictures won't be of Charlotte. I'll also put up normal stuff as well (I have ANOTHER wheatberry incarnation up my sleeve, but am almost afraid to put it up after the last two, so I'm waiting).

I am starting yesterday, because this is just too cute. Today's is upcoming.

Charlotte, with her cat grass. You can't see, but it exactly matches her eyes...

Wheat Berries Round II: Balsamic Gorgonzola Deliciousness

Well, my wheat berry obsession is ongoing, prompting me to turn another dish I like into a wheat berry based dish, at least for the moment. The inspiration today is a spinach salad with apples (or pears), Gorgonzola, and walnuts with balsamic dressing. I like fennel in that salad sometimes, so you can toss that in for bonus points.

For those of you unfamiliar with wheat berries, here's what they look like:

I will also admit that my decision to make something with Gorgonzola was in no small part influenced by my desire for this pre-dinner snack:

At any rate... here is the skinny on the salad:

-2 shallots- sliced and carmelized (ooh, didn't see this one coming, did you? its worth the slow carmelization process, I promise, it adds a big level of deliciousness).
-1.5 coarsely chopped apples (the rest is your snack!)
-1 cup dry wheat berries, cooked*
-some walnuts, maybe 1/3c? toasted.
-about 2oz crumbled Gorgonzola
-about 1/3c simple balsamic vinagrette (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper)
-some very thinly sliced fennel

Combine together and chill.

This is how it looks:


It is DELICIOUS. The flavors just combine wonderfully- the warm taste of the toasted walnuts, the bite of the cheese, the freshness of the fennel, YUM.

*I have decided I can't advise you on the whole water:wheatberries ratio. I ended up following some advice I've gotten on other grains, which is basically to cook them like pasta- use a ton of water, boil them until they taste good (in this case 1-1.25 hours), and then drain in a strainer. Worked perfectly!

[[UPDATE! UPDATE!: so, I don't usually say this, but this was much better the first day I made it. I think it was because it was slightly warm, which made the caramelized shallots easier to taste, and the cheese a little softer. In eating the leftovers I actually ended up microwaving it a little (which didn't do as bad of things to the apples as you'd expect). Anyhow, I would not chill this until its cold, I'd just let it cool down and serve it either warm (not super hot, don't want the cheese to totally melt away) or room temp.]]

Thai Wheatberry Salad

I had an experimental dinner the other night. The version I made involved things like boiled over coconut milk that I have yet to fully get out of my stove, a miscellaneous assortment of leftover grains, and simultaneously burnt and raw chicken. But, surprisingly, the final product was pretty good. I'm going to tell you a bit about how I made it this time, but the recipe itself will be how I'm going to make it next time. Because I definitely will.

The whole idea came because I really wanted cold peanut noodles, but I'm trying to be healthy so wanted to bypass the noodle aspect of things. Instead, I arrived at a plan to use wheatberries cooked in coconut milk. I love wheat berries- they have a perfect texture for hearty grain salads. Unfortunately, I mis-read the internet, and cooked my wheat berries with a ratio of 4:1 liquid to grain rather than 2/2.5:1 which would have been better (hence the boiled over coconut milk). I also realized that I had a lot of extra liquid, so started adding bulgur (which cooks fast) on the fly. Either way, wheat berries have to cook a while so plan ahead. I then used a homemade peanut sauce, similar to this one. But later in the week, when I refreshed the leftovers a little, I realized the Trader Joes Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette (which is delicious) would have been fine.

So, here's what I came up with (which was really quite tasty)


And here is how I would do it next time:

Prepare ahead (or use leftovers):
-3/4c dried wheatberries, cooked in water and chilled (I get mine in the bulk grains area at Whole Foods; put about 2 c water in a pot with the wheat berries bring to to a boil, then simmer. The berries should become soft (but still a little chewy) and split a little. It can take an hour to cook them, or even more, so plan accordingly. You might need to add a little more water, so check on them).
-1 cucumber, seeded and chopped
-a small amount red onion, diced
-1/2 bell pepper coarsely chopped
-one large chicken breast, cooked, chopped
-bonus points for cilantro and chives

Toss all of it with Trader Joes Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette (or the home made peanut sauce below), chill. Enjoy! Makes great leftovers to take to lunch.

Yum! You could make it veggie by just omitting the chicken, or could add marinated tofu, although it would have to be really firm and probably pressed first in order to stand up, because this is not a delicate salad.

Peanut Sauce (slightly different than version for noodles, because more volume was needed as the grains will absorb some of it; all amounts are approximate- adjust it to your taste)
1/4c peanut butter (briefly microwaved, to soften and help convince it to mix with the other ingredients)
1/8c water
2T soy sauce
4T seasoned rice wine vinegar
.5T sesame oil
.5T spicy chili oil
red pepper flakes
diced ginger (1tsp or more)
diced garlic (1 tsp)

Last man standing.

Ok, you will not BELIEVE this.

I have previously posted on the ongoing saga of my lime tree. We've gone through some highs and some lows. This summer I was pretty optimistic as there were actually a number of little contenders. But, then I moved (which caused widespread lime devastation), and it has been insanely ridiculously hot around here.

HOWEVER.

Look at this guy. Even if he doesn't get any bigger, this lime is definitely squeezable. HUURRAAY!

Chocolate Sorbet.... oh my goodness...

Beans, and whole grains, and fresh crispy summer veggies are all very well and good. But sometimes... sometimes, you just want chocolate.

Recently, I had one of those days, which just happened to correspond to a weekend when it was approximately one million degrees out (really, it was). What really seemed perfect was some chocolate sorbet. I have an ice-cream maker which is awesome, but I almost never use it. Therefore, the freezer bowl part of it wasn't frozen, and I was left to my own devices. Fortunately, I found a SUUUUPER easy recipe on Epicurean, that you just make in the freezer. And because of the wonders of the internet, now you, you lucky lucky reader, can have it too.

You need:
1c sugar
.5 c cocoa powder (the real stuff, this doesn't mean cocoa mix)
1.5c water
1tsp vanilla
a glug of kahlua (by the way, having made the vanilla extract and infused vodka, I'm now dying to make kahlua)

Mix together the sugar and cocoa and stir in the water. Heat it up slowly so that the sugar dissolves (if you heat things with sugar up too fast, they can get hot but the sugar is still grainy; this is conceptually related to why some people make bad grainy fudge, they're not heating it slow enough even though they get it to the right temperature in the end. I learned this after making a lot of bad fudge, myself). Boil it for a few minutes until it is dark, a little thick, and glossy- I read these instructions and thought, glossy? what? well, really, it does look glossy- just you wait. Then stir in the vanilla and kahlua, and let the whole thing cool.

Now, once you've done this, it makes this ridiculously decadent tasting syrup. Pop it in the freezer (once its cool! otherwise you will melt all of your nice little tupperware lunches!). Now, I'll say this. I was doubtful about this whole endeavor- I was pretty sure that this entire thing was going to be a chocolate flavored block of ice. But, it seems that the alcohol is not just there to make it delicious- it also changes the properties of the sorbet so it freezes nicely and not as a big block.

At any rate, this was DELICIOUS. Now, once out, it melted reeeeeeeaaaaallly fast- which is why taking this picture was challenging and it doesn't look that great. But, the frozen parts? out of this world. So dark and thick and with a strong purely chocolate flavor that had a little extra depth thanks to the vanilla and kahlua. I highly recommend it.

A little break for a little Decoratin'

Recently I moved into a new (bigger! better!) apartment, and got some new (better! newer! more adult!) furniture. I love it. Charlotte loves it, as you can see here:

Also, for anyone interested, I previously posted about CidTalk. I ordered one of her Crops of the World pieces, and ended up getting all 4 (thanks!). I think they're great, and people comment on them all the time. Well, now I finally have a better place to hang them up!

At any rate, I am totally ecstatic about my new couches and grownup coffee table (replacing my home decoupaged one). But it was all looking a little bit formal, and I decided I needed something a little more relaxed and funky to make it feel like me.

Enter, the stick tree.

I'm not sure where the idea came from, but I went to the Orchid Warehouse (because my neighborhood has not only an inordinate amount of donut stores and psychics, and the Crapi apartments, but also an orchid warehouse) and picked up some dry willow branches (75cents each x 3 = a grand total of $2.25, can't beat that!). I then took a bunch of leftover paper from other projects (and pillaged a random origami paper pack I have despite being terrible at origami) to make leaves, which I hung using thread.

It is really really hard to take a picture of, but I'm really liking it...

Here is a closeup, since it is kind of difficult to capture what the leaves look like in person given that from any one angle you can't see all of them perfectly.


Its a little quirky, and it is very tall, but I like it!

Chana Masala

Recently I went to Trader Joes (aka, my second home), and bought their frozen Chana Masala. Chana masala isn't even in my top tier of Indian food choices (I'm a saag kind of girl), but let me tell you, it was pretty delicious. Of course, having had it in all its deliciousness made me want to learn to make my own (because thats how I am).

So, a perusal of the internets began.I found a number of recipes, but this lady was by far and away not only the cutest of them all, but the biggest influence on my ultimate product.

(I preface this with my usual caveat about how I come from a Nordic people who do not make curry, so everything here is based on me liking stuff, not necessarily me being super authentic and making everything definitively. Plus, I like to experiment too much to make anything definitively, anyways).

SO!

Take a diced onion and slowly saute in some oil. I think that slowness is the key here, so that they get really soft, translucent, and a bit brown.

After they've been going for a bit, throw in a few cloves of diced garlic and some diced fresh ginger (I love ginger, so probably used about 3/4 of an inch of a plug of ginger). Then toss in a diced jalapeno (seeded). Let them cook until the onions are really nice and soft. Put in some cumin and coriander seeds and let them pop.

Now, dump in a can of crushed (crushed! must be crushed!) tomatoes, and stir around. Add 1/2-1tsp tumeric, 1/2 tsp red chili powder, 2-3tsp coriander, and stir it all up and let it cook a bit.

Then, dump in a can of drained chickpeas. Let it simmer for a while- you might need to add a bit of water, but this amount of tomatoes actually provides a lot of liquid. To thicken, just smush a couple of the chickpeas, which will release their starch. After its been cooking and the beans seem soft and the sauce tastes pretty good, add a little salt and 1/4-1/2 tsp garam masala. Right before you serve add a big squeeze of lemon and some cilantro and let that sit a second.

This was goooooooooood. And, cheeeaaaaaaaaap. (if you have your budget cooking basic ingredients, you are almost entirely good to go!).

Summer in a Skillet

Ok, I lied. The "Summer in your ear" (did I really call something summer in your ear? yes. yes I did) earring post was not the end of my summer series... THIS one is.

This is something I threw together (which, to be honest, is how most of my dinners come about), but it was really tasty. Basically, what we have here is whatever summer veggies were on sale. I got white corn (2 ears), 1 Anaheim chili, 2 small tomatoes, and some yellow squash. In just a little bit of olive oil I stir fried some onion and the chili, then threw in the squash, followed by the tomatoes (because I hate raw tomatoes and wanted them to be really cooked), and at the very end put in the corn, which I had cut off the cob*. I like to put the corn in at the end so its still crisp- then, add salt, pepper, and a splash of apple cider or white vinegar (this makes ALL the difference, it just makes everything taste fresh). When it was all ready I threw in a ton of fresh chopped cilantro.

I wanted to add a little protein because basically this was dinner (although it would make a great side dish), and I was too lazy to make chicken or something, so I threw in defrosted turkey meatballs from Trader Joes. It was so fresh and delicious! Perfect and easy for a hot summer day.


* I have an on-off relationship with Rachael Ray, but in an 'on' phase while watching her show I learned an awesome corn slicing trick. Take a big bowl, and put a much littler bowl upside down inside it. Balance the corn on one end on the little bowl and slice off the kernels- they all go into the big bowl and you don't get corn kernel shrapnel all over the place!

Who needs Hostess?

I've posted here before about cupcakes... but, last week I made some cupcakes that topped even the super awesome margarita cupcakes from a while ago. I can't even wait, I have to show you the glamor shot right up front...

Yes, its true- its exactly like a hostess cupcake, except homemade and even more delicious. Yowza! The inspiration for the recipe comes from Our Best Bites.

The cake itself:
Now, she starts off with a recipe for homemade cake, and I'm sure that it is delicious. But, if I'm going to make 2 kinds of frosting, and insert them in every possible location in a bunch of cupcakes, it sounds like a good day to start off with cake mix. I used some kind of chocolate cake mix that was on sale, but I added a small package of pudding an and extra egg, just to make it denser. (by the way, if you want cakemix to be even better use melted butter instead of oil and milk instead of water. I was out of milk and all my butter was going to the frosting, though). So, make some cupcakes- I got about 18 out of it because I wanted them decently sized to aid with the stuffing. Let them cool, fortunately, you have a whole lotta frosting to make so there is plenty of time.

Inner Frosting:
This is without a doubt the weirdest frosting recipe I have ever seen, and I highly suggest you visit the original website for pictures. But, that said, I think that this frosting really made the cupcakes because it was the perfect texture.
You'll need:
3 T white flour
.5 C milk (I used non-fat)
.5 C actual real butter
.5 C sugar (granulated, not powdered)
1 t vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and the milk while heating in a small pan on medium heat. Now, you have to whisk it continuously until it starts to get thick- let it cook a bit but keep stirring. Eventually, it becomes sort of gluey or puddingy looking. Apparently it just really won't work unless you let it get thick. Once that happens, you strain it- put a mesh strainer over a bowl and dump it in, and work it through with a spoon or rubber scraper. Let this chill completely.

Using a mixer (I used a hand mixer because its what I have) beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two. Then, add in the flour/milk mixture and vanilla and keep beating. Do NOT freak out, it really looks gross. Just keep mixing- for mine, with the hand mixer and all, I had to go almost 10-11 minutes. And, part way through I was sure I was going to have to throw it out and just put the chocolate on top and be done (which, by the way, would have been delicious, just not super amazingly awesome like these were). So, persevere. It will eventually look like frosting and be fluffy and delicious!

Now, of course, you have to get this in the cupcake. There are 2 possible techniques. One involves some kind of magical frosting shooting tool that I don't have (see, I don't even know the name!). Then, there is the tact I took- use a sharp knife and carve out a little cone shaped piece of cupcake. Then, cut the bottom off the cone- you can imagine that if you replaced the top of the cone it'd be like the lid on a pumpkin and leave an internal hole for frosting. Here is one of mine, filled, waiting for a lid:


Top Frosting-
Now, I'd make this before you get going on carving up your cupcakes, because it has to chill. Basically, you're going to make a ganache- the recipe as it is was a little big, and I actually had left over frosting (I know, I know, this is not a tragedy ;). I'd never made this before, but it was super easy!
You need:
.75 C Cream
2 T real butter, melted
8 oz semi-sweet/dark chocolate, chopped up

Put chocolate in a bowl and pour melted butter over it (I did not read instructions, and dumped a whole cube of melted butter over it, which I then had to drain off, estimated how much I left behind, and everything was fine- this recipe seems to be fool proof. Either that, or you can never have too much butter). Place cream in pyrex measuring cup and microwave for ~2 minutes- it should be at a simmer, not boiling. Immediately pour over chocolate and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit for somewhere around 3 minutes and then stir briskly until smooth. Let it cool- you can kind of decide when to use it, depending on your level of frosting skill. When I did it, it was somewhere between runny and thick- you could still pour it and it would spread out nicely, but it wasn't spreadable with a knife. It turned out so nice and shiny- check it out!

(by the way, I wasn't very happy with these photos, but I was very excited to sit down with a glass of milk and eat one of these things, and by the next day they'd be inhaled by my co-workers, so, this is the one for posterity!).

At any rate, look at the chocolatey goodness- you would never know the awesome filling that lurks within! These were a hit!

Little flowers- summer in your ears!

Ok, to wrap up my end of summer series, here are a couple pairs of earrings I've made recently. I'm not normally a super flowery person, but these little beads were just so cute I had to use them for something.

First up, Hanging Garden Earrings, which are lightly hammered sterling silver curls spiraling down with little orange and white flowers on them.


And next, the Little Bite of Spring earrings. Now, these have a little story- basically, the 'stems' are repurposed out of a necklace I got while I was in Japan. When I got it, I had no idea what it was made of- it almost looked like silk cord, it had such an interesting blue green texture. Then, when I accidentally broke it, I realized that it was really made out of very very teeny tightly wrapped springs. (if anyone knows what this is called, I loooove it and would love to buy some, but I don't know how because I have no idea what it is called). So, I thought it was perfect for these little stems because it gives an otherwise really simple pair of earrings a sort of interesting texture.

Summer in a Bowl! (White Soup)

As a precursor to the "summer in a crust" peach blueberry crostata, we had a very delicious meal that included one of my long time childhood favorites: "white soup" (aka Cucumber soup or white gazpacho). My Mom used to make this when it was really hot out, and we'd sit out and eat it for dinner at the patio table and it all seemed like a giant treat. While I was on vacation, she made it again, and I remembered all over again how awesome it is. So, here is her recipe...

Basically, this is what you need:
1 cucumber- peeled, seeded, chopped
1c sour cream (or, non fat plain yogurt. or, some combo of the two)
1c chicken broth (I would guess veggie broth would work)
1T white vinegar
1/3 clove garlic
salt to taste

Just take it all, throw it in the blender, blend it up, and chill for at least 6 hours (or over night).

Then when you serve it, the fun starts- toppings can be slivered almonds, diced tomatoes, green onions, bacon bits, bell pepper pieces... the sky is the limit! The soup itself has a very cool cucumbery flavor that would probably be amenable to a lot of different type of toppings.

And, here is the glamor shot:

(and, for those budget cookers out there, this would be a good example of how you can make something that looks and tastes really fancy, that you could serve to anyone, out of just a few very budget-friendly ingredients)

Mmmm... summer in a crust!

Oh my, oh my, do we ever have some catching up to do!

I've been busy, and some of it is even documented with photos, but I have been either too busy or too lazy (or too lazy as a result of being too busy) to post anything. So, welcome to the backlog!

First up- in my perusing of the food blogs, I ran across this discussion of crostatas at the Amateur Gourmet, which are basically something like an open faced fruit pie. The open-facedness basically serves to maximize how awesome it looks, plus, gives you a little leeway in the shaping of it because its supposed to be free-form. I immediately knew that my summer was not going to end without me making one. Luckily, I went on vacation to a place with ridiculous amounts of fantastic fruit, a kitchen, and a lot of free time.

I based my recipe on this one as well as the one in the original post. Basically, you make (or you could acquire) a pie crust which you roll out to about 11-12 inches across. Then, you pick your favorite fruit- mine was fresh peaches with fresh blueberries- I let them sit for a bit in some sugar, a sprinkling of flour (to thicken the juice) and lemon zest and juice (because I always like my fruit with lemon juice). Then you kind of pile the fruit in the middle, fold up the edges, and pop in the (preheated) oven!

Let me tell you, this think definitely got a lot of compliments- it somehow managed to look both rustic and yet fancy. (Plus, it was delicious.)

See for yourself...

I'm back, baby!

Ok, so I've been on a bit of a hiatus recently- basically, I am changing jobs, I moved apartments, and everything has been generally chaos... I haven't cooked or made jewelery, and poor little Charlotte has been all aflutter. But, things are settling down, and I'm back!

Want some proof? I give you... veggie quiche, the healthy(ish) version!

This was my dinner.. mmmmm.... even though it requires the oven, it still feels summery.

What you need:
--2 eggs and 3 egg-whites (or some combination basically equivalent)
--half a cup of milk (I used non-fat)
--half a cup of shredded cheese (whatever you have, also, it could be feta crumbles)
--veggies- whatever you have on hand. I used about half a bunch spinach, half a zucchini, half an onion and some miscellaneous pieces of red bell pepper
-- a decent sized potato (or a couple red potatoes)

As you can see from the ingredients list, this is not an exact science.

First, we're going to make a crust, you could use a pie crust, but we're going to use potatoes to avoid something full of either butter or trans fats.

Spray a pie pan or a cake pan with some olive oil. Slice the potato fairly thinly, and cover the bottom and sides with slices. They should pretty substantially overlap because they will shrink. Spray with a bit more olive oil, and cook at 375 for about 15 minutes, until they look sort of cooked, but not brown- like this:

In the meantime, saute the veggies until basically cooked (start the onions first, then add zucchini, then last wilt the spinach)- mine looked like this:

Beat the eggs with the milk, and add the cheese. Then put in some salt and pepper. Dump the veggies in the potato shell. Then pour the egg/milk/cheese mixture over it. Bake at 375 for about half an hour - 45 min, until it is nice and puffy and brown, like this:

Let it sit for a minute, then serve (mine is with strawberries, because its the season, and they were 99 cents... NINETY NINE CENTS when I was at the store).

AND, for my budget cookers, I calculated the total cost here- this ENTIRE THING cost $4.27, and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't get much better than that! (as usual, the cost estimation assumes you're a savvy shopper- I have a grocery store discount club membership and shop accordingly. I also calculated just the cost of the actual items used- like, only 5 of the eggs not the cost of the full dozen). Anyways, for 4 servings, you have a very manageable $1.06- what else can you ask for?

Raspberry Vanilla Vodka

In case you were on the edge of your seat, I realized that I forgot to post the final pictures of the fruits of the great flavored vodka experiment, which was a subpart of the great vanilla bean extravaganza. I found this in my iphoto, and have to post it because it is just so pretty...

Major Excitement

So, if you've been reading around here for very long, you may remember the dramatic saga of my lovely little lime tree.

In August, I was optimistic.

Now, I am beside myself.

Check this out! This new crop might not have yet reached the penny sized magnificence of my earlier protege, but they are well on their way!

But here is the real reason for my current wild and unbounded optimism... this time there is not just one!

Tomato Thai Curry Soup

I know, I know, this can barely be construed as cooking. But, when faced with a busy day, an empty fridge, and a need for comfort food, I settled on a can of tomato soup. But, that seemed a little boring, so I spiced it up. I can't even bring myself to write this as a recipe, but I'm sure you can figure out what to do! (if you can't, add a few spoonfuls of curry sauce to the soup, and... you're done!)

Foccacia!

I've previously posted on my ongoing efforts to make various kinds of flatbreads. Part of the reason for my obsession is that it kind of blows my mind that when it gets down to it, a lot of these are just made of different permutations of flour and water. Do it one way, get paste! Do it another way, get bread! Its crazy! At any rate, this project has been met with various successes and failures, including

Cumin-sesame flatbread, verdict: ok.
Poppy seed roti, verdict: totally not worth the effort
Pita, verdict: the best, most entertaining, awesome thing I've ever made
and now...
Foccacia. (verdict: good!)

1 tsp sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water

2 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

First, proof the yeast (I think the rumor is you probably don't need to do this for the little packets of yeast these days, but hey, its fun). Basically, put sugar, yeast, and warm water in a bowl. Let it sit there until its a little frothy (10 min or so), then you know the yeast is good.

Mix in the flour to the yeast mixture really well. Keep putting in water, a tablespoon at a time, until its like a dough and makes a ball that is moist but not sticky or wet.

Take it out of the bowl and make it into a ball, clean the bowl, and put a little oil in it. Put the ball in the bowl and cover with a towel. Put it in a warm place (if you're me, preheat the oven and let it sit on top) and let it sit for about 30 min.

Knead for a minute to deflate, and then put it on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Press it out, so it becomes pretty big and flat- mine took up almost the whole cookie sheet. Then brush with oil, sprinkle the top with salt and whatever herbs you feel like (basil, rosemary).

Bake it in a preheated HOT (475 degrees) oven for 10-20 minutes depending on how thick you made it and how crunchy you want it.

See how awesome it looks?


And here it is in context...

Aloo Gobi-licious

So, I've been making an ongoing effort to learn to cook Indian food. An important thing to remember about this is that a lot of the resulting recipes are guided a lot more by what I like than by anything having to do with authenticity. I'm Scandinavian. We have no idea how to make curry. So, I can promise that if I post it, I liked how it tasted. If you want the canonical version of something, there are things like this book which I really really want.

At any rate, today we have Aloo Gobi, which I decided to make because I was in the midst of a cauliflower craving (by the way, if you could go back in time and tell my eight year old self that I would one day have an intense cauliflower craving, she'd think you were crazy). Its adapted from this recipezaar recipe.

Stuff you need:
a bit of vegetable oil
1 large onion,chopped
1/2 of a bunch of fresh cilantro, stalks and leaves chopped separately
1 small green chili, finely chopped
1 large cauliflower, cut into pieces of the biggest size you'd like to eat
2 big potatoes, peeled and chopped into 3/4 inch pieces
a can of garbanzo beans (because in addition to cauliflower I wanted protein)
2 cans diced tomatoes
fresh ginger, really finely chopped
fresh garlic, chopped
1 tsp cumin seed
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garam masala

1. Heat vegetable oil in a giant pan. I used my biggest pot and it was totally full by the end
2. Add the chopped onion and one tsp of cumin seeds to the oil (if you don't have actual seeds, you could use regular cumin, but you can get cumin seeds for super cheap in the ethnic section, and they really add something good).
3. Stir together and cook slowly, onions should become nice and soft and golden, and translucent.
4. Add chopped cilantro stems, two tsp of turmeric, and one tsp of salt.
5. Add chopped chilies and then tomatoes.
6. Add ginger and garlic; mix thoroughly.
7. Add potatoes to the sauce plus enough water to just cover. Simmer this for about 10 minutes.
8. Add the cauliflower and garbanzo beans, and cook for ~10 more minutes or until the veggies are cooked. the point of adding the potato and cauliflower separately is so that the cauliflower doesn't get mushy, which is gross.
9. Throughout, make sure that the whole thing has enough water to be mostly or nearly covered, and cook with the lid on.
10. After its all cooked, add two teaspoons of Garam Masala and stir. (why do you add this at the end? I have no idea. if anyone knows, by all means fill me in.)
11. Sprinkle chopped cilantro leaves on top of the curry and stir around.
12. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave for as long as possible before serving.

You'll likely get something like this:


Now, the pot of food this made is HUGE (and, I only used 2 potatoes instead of the 3 they recommended!). I got 8 meals out of it, if I had put it over rice it would have been more.

For people who have been following the series on budget cooking, here is the rundown. If you followed the shopping list and spice list, you'd already have onions, garlic, ginger, cumin, garam masala, tumeric, garbanzo beans and the tomatoes-- you'd just need to run to the store and pick up some potatoes, cilantro, a chili, and a cauliflower (4 things! not bad!). But, lets say you needed to get all of it (other than the spices), because you'd had eaten yourself out of house and home and had no basic food which was my situation. It would cost a grand total of... wait for it... $11.26. (this is counting things that were on the grocery store specials, and generic brands of canned goods. but, I'm assuming you will be a savvy shopper too). In case you don't feel like doing math $11.28/8 servings = $1.41 per serving. A dollar fifty! There are no frozen dinners that are that cheap, and this is packed with things that are actually good for you, plus it is delicious. Also, after you've eaten as much as you want to, you can do the whole frozen lunches thing, like this.

Public Service Announcement: Saturn Ignition Problem!

Ok, this is a break from the usual cooking and cat related posts. But, I had a bizarre car problem recently and (this will be shocking. maybe you should sit, or at least brace yourself) the internet was ONLY SORT OF USEFUL! As a person who does, myself, contribute to the content of the interwebs, I feel some need to rectify this, so here you go.

My problem: my car, a Saturn Ion (which I do like! it is a 'super low emission' vehicle and gets great gas mileage) all of sudden, out of the blue, would not turn off. Yep, wouldn't turn off, as in the key would not physically turn to the off position (which is pretty much unlike any car problem I've ever had). After much swearing and pounding on the steering wheel, it was determined (by a phone call to Saturn) that the only way to turn it fully off was to disconnect the battery, which is a colossal pain in the neck.


What the internet said: After I unhooked the battery, I immediately googled it (obviously). I found a lot of stuff about this, apparently it is a known problem, and according to the many people who are angry about it on Consumer Affairs, it can cost a ton of money to fix it at the dealer or a mechanic, because they replace the entire ignition. This seems to be how most people are solving this problem. Obviously, this was depressing, until I saw one guy in the middle of the list of complaints claiming to be a locksmith, saying that he's fixed a lot of these himself without replacing anything. I was intrigued, and called a nearby mechanic, who is apparently super awesome and honest to see if he could help me or tell me what to do. He told me it is a common problem, and not to take it to him, but just to take it to an automotive locksmith he recommended (see? awesome and super honest).

The solution (listen up!!): DON'T pay hundreds of dollars to replace anything big if you have this problem. This is what a mechanic will do, because they'll see something about the place the key goes in is broken but won't know if its something else with the ignition, and will replace the whole thing. BUT, the problem is typically that a spring (or something) pops out and a tumbler gets out of place in the lock so the key can't turn. The locksmith had to work on my car for a few hours, but ultimately managed to save the lock and repair it. It still wasn't cheap to pay for all that labor, but it was waaaaaaaayyyyy less than the numbers the other customers were throwing out on the website I found. I couldn't find anywhere on the internet telling me to do this, so, here you go, internets, this ones for you.


(here are search terms I tried to use to help me fix the problem, which I'll just put on here in case it'll help someone else find this hint!
Saturn ion won't turn off
key won't turn
Saturn ignition problem
Saturn key stuck in lock
Saturn key problem
car key stuck
can't get key out of ignition
help! )

Cooking on a Budget: Lesson 4- Lunches I

Ok, so one of the obvious keys to cooking on a budget is transitioning to eating mostly things you actually cook. Eating food other people make, whether its at a restaurant or its a frozen dinner, is just more expensive. And, most of the time, it is not that healthy- frozen food tends to have huge amounts of sodium and preservatives, and all of that kind of icky stuff. And, I love to go out to restaurants for dinner, but you might as well save it for places you really like and food that is really interesting, not just something to fill you up on the way home from work.

One of the meals that most people most commonly buy is lunch. This is because there is this myth that packing a lunch is a giant pain because it means you have to make stuff in the morning, and you'd have to be June Cleaver to accomplish it on a regular basis. The thing is, buying lunch is expensive- if you spent just five bucks on lunch every day (and that is not going to buy you a particularly delicious lunch) that is already almost $2000! Yikes!
1. exhibit A- a prime example of what I do not look like in the morning.

So, what are you supposed to do if you don't want to wake up at 5am to cook something for lunch, but you don't want to go broke either? The answer? DON'T cook it every day- be lazy! This tip is the best one anyone ever gave me. Basically, in addition to your groceries, you're going to need to go buy some packages of those disposable tupperwares in individual portion size. Buy more than you think you need, once you get going on this habit, you'll want more. On the weekends, or whenever you have the energy, make a big batch of something you like. Pretty much anything I've posted on, I've done this with. After you make it, eat however much you want to eat for dinner. Afterwards, immediately separate the rest into individual portions in the tupperwares. When its cool, put the lids on, and stick them in the freezer. Like this:
2. exhibit B- some of the contents of my freezer

What have you just done? You've just made your own frozen dinners (or lunches). This won't only be cheaper, it'll be healthier because you'll know whats in them. Just grab one from the freezer in the morning, take it to work, and microwave. Then wash the tupperware and re-use. This can also be dinner when you just don't feel like cooking anything. Once you've done this a few times, you'll end up with a couple different things in the freezer, and you'll actually have some different options to choose from. The other reason this is awesome is that if you make a big recipe, the thought of eating it for every meal until you run out of it is a little overwhelming. This is a good way to eat what you want, and then just save the rest for later- its actually the main thing that made me feel like I could learn to cook "real" recipes even though I live by myself (not that Charlotte doesn't like my cooking, but she flat our refuses to take her lunch to work).

Try it! Next, we'll talk about things you can actually make to put in these tupperwares!

The best idea ever: Margarita Cupcakes

Ok, so, I've been told that I need to get back on the ball with the cooking on a budget series. And I will, very very soon. But, this is something so big, I can't wait. Now, I hail from a band of rambunctious, margarita making Norwegians. We have a family recipe, we have different factions in the family with different twists on it, basically- margaritas are in my blood. But whats next best to margaritas? Cupcakes. Now, obviously, it is possible to just eat some cupcakes and drink some margaritas, and frankly, that sounds pretty good. BUT- here is the newsflash. Someone, who as far as I'm concerned is an absolute genius and should be next in line for a MacArthur Grant or at the very least the Nobel Prize in cooking (which they should totally have) decided to bring these two wonderful things together.

As I understand the history of the margarita cupcake, it was developed as part of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, now, I actually have started to get into vegan baking, and you can find the vegan version of this recipe all over the internet. The thing is, sometimes, its Thursday night after work and a girl just wants to use cake mix. So, there is a cake mix version too, and this one is duplicated all over the internet as well, but this is the one I settled on. Here's what I did...

First, you make a bit of margarita. They suggest these proportions:
--9 oz Margarita mix
--3 oz tequila
--3/4 oz orange liqueour (Gran Marnier, Triple Sec)
I used Trader Joes margarita mix with is more natural and, to me, more delicious that the other stuff which is basically sour mix. I also upped the Triple Sec to a little over an ounce and decreased a little mix. This is designed to make a little side margarita for you to enjoy while you cook!

Combine:
Box of white cake mix
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1.25 cups of the margarita you just made (drink the rest!)
1 Tbsp lime zest (around here, this is just known as "a whole lotta lime zest" because I didn't measure

Mix with a mixer- even though I always just use a fork and count it as cardio for my arm, I used a mixer for this, and I suspect its necessary because of needing to get the eggwhites a little fluffy. Now, this batter was WEIRD. You can kind of see it here, it was kind of fluffy and bordering on foamy, but don't worry, thats fine!
Spoon it out into cupcake papers in a muffin pan. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Let cool. In the meantime, make yourself some frosting!
- a box of powdered sugar
- a cube of butter (yes, butter)
- 1/8 tsp salt, unless you use salted butter
-2 Tablespoons lime juice
-lime zest
beat that all up with the mixer until it looks like frosting.

once they're cool, frost! I decorated with green sprinkles.

YUM.

Huevos Rancheros... Happy Cinco de Mayo!

So... speaking of budget friendly yet delicious food, a wise friend recently pointed me to a no-fail recipe for huevos rancheros, something I had previously thought I'd never see outside of a brunch date. Now, bear in mind, "no fail" assumes you care if it tastes good more than if it looks perfect, also I can speak to deliciousness more than I can speak to the level of authenticity, but... either way, you have GOT to try it!

This is what you need:
-1 egg (or, a couple egg whites)
-a tortilla (I used a smallish sized wheat tortilla but it doesn't matter at all)
-black beans (I bought the store-brand, spiced black beans)
-the salsa of your choice
-some shredded cheese (I used the Quattro Formaggio mix from TJs because thats what I had)
-a smidge of oil
-avocado (optional, but really, is NOT having avocado the option you want to take, here?)

And here is what you do...
-very lightly coat the pan with a teeny bit of oil
-toast the tortilla on one side so its just a little brown, then flip it over
-sprinkle cheese on it
-crack the egg on top (or, dump the egg whites on top), it might spread around into the pan, don't panic, just go with the flow, let it cook for a little bit
-now... it gets fun. get the spatula, and quickly flip the entire thing over- if it doesn't work that well, it doesn't matter, it still tastes good.
-while that is cooking, pop some of the beans in the microwave and cut up the avocado
-pull out the tortilla, put it on the plate tortilla side down, dump on the beans, toss on the avocado, and top with a dash of salsa!
-yum.

I am not going to actually tell you how many times I've had this recently, but lets just say that I'm getting pretty good at it. Here are a couple versions.

#1- I like to call it, El Clasico:
(made with 1 whole egg and everything listed above)

#2- I like to call it Huevos Rancheros Florentine
(a lot of frozen spinach defrosted and mixed in with the beans. made with 3 egg whites instead of a whole egg).

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Cooking on a Budget: Lesson 3- Make stuff with what you have

Ok, so now I've posted on getting stocked up on spices and other basic ingredients. But, what can you make? I'm going to list a bunch of stuff that I've posted on here before that use these basic things. For most of them, you would need to buy a couple extra ingredients, which I'll list below them. You can see that when you only have to buy a few things, it all seems a lot more do-able. So... here you go! They are in order of the least to most extra ingredients:

You need nothing else...
Mujadarrah
-nothin'. you've got it all!

Sauteed spinach, tomatoes, and chickpeas
-nothin'. you are good to go.
(this is pictured with the Samosa stuffed potatoes, which take more ingredients. good, easy ingredients, but not ones on the list).

Peanut butter cookies
-optional chocolate chips (the rest could be kept in freezer and used in muffins).


You need one more thing...
Pitas (still seriously probably the most fun thing I have ever cooked)
-1 little package yeast from the baking aisle at the store.

Flatbread (optional to go with Mujadarrah)
-sesame seeds (go to either the Kosher or Asian section)

Morning Muffins
-baking powder (not bad to have around anyways)
-optional anything you want to put in them. could just do cinnamon though.


You need two more things...
Balsamic Lentils
-chicken sausage (optional)
-fresh basil (get big container at TJs for like 2 bucks)

Squash soup
-a butternut squash (or, little pre-cut packages from Trader Joes)
-a granny smith apple


You need three more things...
Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry
-a head of cauliflower
-a lime
-1 hot chili pepper


You need four more things...
Rosemary Chick Pea Couscous Salad
(use whatever grain you have)
-jar of sundried tomatoes (these are fun to have on hand- they are AWESOME in scrambled eggs)
-a lemon
-rosemary
-a cucumber

Spinach, Sweet potato, Adzuki bean stew
-2 sweet potatoes
-1 carrot
-azuki beans (from Whole foods, probably)
-1 can coconut milk

African Peanut Stew
-a couple sweet potatoes
-a red pepper
-a jalapeno
-a can of pinto beans

I mean... look at these lists. What this means is, if you had a few basic items on hand, you could have any of these things for dinner tomorrow night and the most you'd have to do is buy 4 things (4! you don't even need a basket!), and you could probably get most of those extra things for a max of about five bucks.

Cooking on a Budget: Lesson 2- Basic Ingredients

Alright... last time, I covered one of the first steps in stocking up your kitchen to get ready to cook, which was getting your spice rack up to par. Now, that is a great first step, but unless you have a cast-iron stomach, you're probably not going to be able to live on spices alone. SO. What to do, what to do.

I went through the recipes I've posted, and have made a list of basic ingredients that appear over and over again- these are things I pretty much always have on hand. If you can just have really basic stuff around, you'll find that it seems less overwhelming to make things because you'll end up having most of the ingredients and just need to buy 2 or 3 things to make any one recipe. Also, because these are pretty simple, non-processed foods, they are all cheap and will keep in the cupboard.

Here is a list of things I am never without...
In the fridge:
--milk
--eggs
--bag of spinach (super cheap at Trader Joes. if you go to the grocery store, don't buy bags of it, buy bunches of it over by the lettuce for half the price)
--peanut butter (I only buy the kind that has only peanuts and salt. who wants all that other stuff?)
--soy sauce (apparently you do indeed have to keep this in the fridge)

In the cupboard:
--salt/pepper
--bag of lentils (not only diverse, but possibly the most budget friendly food ever at 99 cents for a bag with 13 servings in it)
--bag of brown rice
--bag of onions
--garlic cloves
--ginger root
--olive oil
--balsamic vinegar
--couscous or some grain of your choice (I also like bulgar, which I get in bulk at Whole Foods)
--flour
--sugar
--canned diced tomatoes
--canned garbanzo beans
--broth of your choice (chicken or veggie; Trades Joes also has some cool little concentrated liquid packets of broth so that you only use as much as you need and don't have something around that goes bad or need to mess with cans. I bet they have them other places. I also used powdered stuff from the regular store).

Optional items I also always have but that don't necessarily relate to the recipes:
--giant container of oatmeal. add some frozen fruit or a banana- best breakfast ever.
--bag of frozen chicken breasts (obviously only for the non-vegetarians)
--pasta
--canned black beans
--rice wine vinegar (great for salads and for a lot of Asian dishes)
--salsa. makes anything better.
--honey (btw- if you're interested, you can also make face scrub out of honey, salt, and sugar).
--these bags of frozen green beans from TJs that are actually good, and you can pull out a bit at a time for an emergency vegetable (you know, in case you are at imminent risk of scurvy)

And finally, the other thing you need-
--individually portion sized tupperwares. This is the best tip anyone ever gave me. Just because you made some giant pot of soup doesn't mean you have to eat it all week. Put individual portions in tupperwares and freeze for your own homemade frozen lunches.

Stay tuned, and I'll point out some of the recipes from this website that you could make if you had all of these ingredients.

Cooking on a Budget: Lesson 1- Spices!

Ok. I mentioned earlier that I was going to address the idea that you have to 1. spend a lot of money and 2. be a skilled cook to make interesting tasty food. Lets start with issue 1. One of the main things that throws people when they start to cook is that recipes call for all of these ingredients that they just assume you have sitting around in your pantry. If you have to buy those every time you cook something, it can seem expensive, even though really it is a one time purchase and you'll have it to use for many future recipes. It also makes cooking seem like more work when you don't have things on hand.

Some things that tend to fall into that category when you're first starting to cook are spices. Unfortunately, spices are the absolute most critical investment if you're going to cook on a budget- they are what enable you to take something like lentils, and make a vast array of types of meals. This is the thing that will keep your cooking from being boring. Spices are expensive if you buy the name brands in the main area of the grocery store. You could easily spend a ton of money stocking up if thats how you decide to do it. However, I'm here to tell you, that doing that is just plain silly. This is my best, #1, top tier, most fantastic grocery shopping tip. (you're pumped, I can tell!). There are a lot of sources for spices, if you go slightly (really only slightly) off the beaten path. In your own grocery store, leave the baking section and head to the ethnic section. In my personal store, there is an area near the Mexican food full of little packets of spices for 60 cents to a dollar. In the Kosher section, there are giant shakers of spices for much less than the price of one small bottle in the regular section. If you compare the unit prices (price per oz) of these, your mind will be blown. Blown! You can stock up on a vast array of things for very little money, and suddenly will waves of new found confidence when encountering new recipes and realizing you have ingredients in your cupboard already! Here are some examples of store brands I found. I also found cheap spices at Cost Plus. Observe:

If I were to take 10 bucks or so to stock up on some spices, so that I'd be able to make a decent variety of food, this is what I would get:
-ground coriander
-ground cumin
-curry powder
-cinnamon
-thyme
-bay leaves
-ground ginger
-basil
-oregano
-parsley flakes
-red chili powder

If I wanted to expand my horizons and bring my total to about 20 bucks, I'd add:
-garam masala
-turmeric
-cumin seeds
-coriander seeds
-paprika
-smoked paprika
-fennel
-cloves
-rosemary
-dill

Get either group 1 or both group 1 and 2, and you'll be ready for all kinds of food... Indian, Mexican, Italian, and on and on. Obviously there are always other crazy things in some recipes, but you'll be able to make most things if you have these on hand.

Rosemary Chickpea Couscous Salad

Ok, this is... really good. It is PERFECT for a hot day, and let me tell you, it is nothing if not boiling hot around here these days. I made it, as inspired by AllRecipes, but as you well know, I think sticking exactly to recipes is boring. So, here is my take on it in 4 easy steps:

1. Make some couscous. This could be any kind (regular, whole wheat, Israeli- which is what I used) or some other kind of grain. Just make it the way the box says, and let it sit out for a while cooling while you do everything else.

2. Make some dressing.
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
a whole bunch of fresh chopped rosemary (MUST be fresh).

3. Chop up some veggies.
half an English cucumber
some sundried tomatoes (I used the marinated kind from TJs)
a handful or 2 of fresh spinach

4. Stir everything up in a big bowl. Toss in some feta (I used fat free; leave it out to make it vegan), dump in a drained can of garbanzo beans, and add some salt and pepper. Chill for a while to let the flavors get to know each other.

This is good! Beware though, if you use the whole box of couscous like the original recipe says (and I did, because my box was 8oz not 10oz like theirs, so I thought it'd be ok), you will end up with a LOT. I will be eating this all week, apparently! (also, the rest of the things in the picture will appear in later posts, so keep your eye out!)


Now, the other thing I've been meaning to bring up (sit down, lets have a little chat), is that I've gotten a couple comments from different people I know who read this saying that they would love to make the things here except that they're either a. on a budget or b. don't know how to cook. I've decided to try to tackle both these things on this blog in general, but haven't figured out how yet. For this recipe, I'd like to report that it only involves 2 skills- boiling water, and chopping. You can do this. I promise. Really. Also, all of these ingredients (couscous, garbanzo beans, lemons, rosemary, vinegar, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, cucumber, spinach) are available at your local Trader Joes. It may sound like lots of ingredients, but I would estimate that when you break it down, its probably only about $1-2 per serving, which you really can't beat for something so fresh and healthy and homemade! Be brave, try it!

Something Old, Something New

Well, its been a little hectic and I haven't been posting much, but I'd like to bring you a few brief updates...

1. I know you were waiting on the edge of your seat, so I've got to report that I finally was able to make the Miso Glazed Saki Drenched marinade with fish (which is what I was going for in the first place- you can see the recipe at the old post). I didn't have cod, which is what I think would be best, but I got frozen Mahi Mahi from Trader Joes with met my 2 main criteria- 1. it was not break the bank expensive, and 2. it was one of the few varieties of fish I can actually stand. I think overall, it went pretty well, it definitely has delicious potential. The one thing I'd say is the fish seemed to soak up a lot more of the miso, which did make it seem a bit on the salty side. So, for fish, I think I'd up the amount of Mirin, and decrease the amount of Miso. But, it was tasty, and here is the glamour shot...


2. And, big news item #2 is that I made a new series of pendants that I'm kind of into... and, here one is! (you can see more info here)