Menu Plan Monday - November 30th

I’m getting back into menu planning finally. Posting it really helps me stick to it. Here’s my menu plan for this week.

Monday (tonight) - Chicken and Rice and mixed veggies.

Tuesday - Country Fried Steak (recipe below), mashed potatoes and gravy, niblet corn

Country Fried Steak

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1 cup all purpose flour

1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed

1 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoon steak seasoning (I use McCormick’s Grill Mates because thats what is in my spice rack)

4 (4 ounce) cube steaks

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Whisk together the egg and milk in a shallow bowl and set aside. Whisk together the flour, crushed saltines, seasoned salt, onion powder and steak seasoning. Dip the steaks in the egg and milk mixture and then press each steak into the flour mixture. Pat the steaks with the flour mixture to coat them completely. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and fry the steaks until golden brown, firm and hot all the way through (about 4 minutes per side)

Wednesday - Fend for yourself night

Thursday - Easy Baked Pasta (recipe below), caesar salad and garlic bread

Easy Baked Pasta (recipe I clipped from the Atlanta Journal Constitution)

1 pound ground beef

3 cups ziti pasta cooked and drained

1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet brown the ground beef and then drain. *In a 9 x13 inch baking dish, stir together the ground beef, cooked pasta, spaghetti sauce, mozzarella and a 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese. Top mixture with remaining parmesan cheese. Cover and bake for 20 minutes until heated through, gooey and delicious.

*Note-this is always messy for me to do. I wind up spilling some every time and still haven’t figured out how to mix it all together neatly.  Lets see, where were we? Oh!

Friday - Dinner out somewhere. It is  the annual Porterdale Christmas in the Village event. There will be a parade complete with Santa and live reindeer! Our families are going to come to our house, go to the parade and then go out to dinner.  It was so much fun last year and we can’t wait to take Sebastian for a picture with Santa.

Saturday - Pork chops, rice and broccoli and cheese sauce.

Sunday  - crock pot beef stew and biscuits

All these recipes are making me hungry. I think I’m finally getting my appetite back. I’m going to set up the weeble’s swing in the kitchen so he can hang out with me while I do the dishes and cook.

[Via http://spilledsweettea.com]

Turkey Avgolemono

Avgolemono soup

Last Friday I attended the Gunma JETs’ Thanksgiving dinner for more than 50 local JETs, other foreigners, and friends. As you can imagine, a Thanksgiving dinner for 50 is quite a spread. I’m pretty sure there were 6 (small) turkeys! Not wanting to waste, I volunteered, as in past years, to take the bones home for turkey soup. I’m sure we were quite a sight bicycling home with our two giant bags of turkey bones, an empty wine bottle, and a pair of wine glasses (not that we would bicycle after drinking wine, as, of course, it is illegal… that’s merely a coincidence).

So on Saturday morning I got to work removing any bits of meat remaining on the bones that filled a good part of my refrigerator. After that, I had to nest everything together as efficiently as I could to get them into my two largest pots. Onto the stove went the pots. I filled them to the brim with water and set them simmering.

After several hours the house smelled like Thanksgiving, and I had a quart of turkey meat and three or four quarts of very concentrated turkey stock–it’s like jello once it cools. Ordinarily I would get more stock from so many bones, but my pots are small so they were packed so full that there wasn’t much room for the water. I’m sure it won’t be a problem to dilute it with water before I use it.

And after making turkey stock all day, what would make a better dinner than turkey soup? After I strained the stock I managed to find enough meat still on the bones–but now fall-off-the-bone tender–to make a very meaty soup. And avgolemono is nice and easy. I just cooked up an onion and some celery (I don’t think it’s traditional, but it’s tasty and I had some in the fridge) in a bit of olive oil, added some rice, stock, and meat, and finally finished the soup with lemon juice, egg, and chopped dill. Although this soup is easy, the egg and rice make a thick soup that’s filling enough to enjoy as a main course. And that’s just what I did.

So next time you have leftover turkey bones, why don’t you get in the mottainai spirit and make turkey avgolemono? Of course this recipe is delicious made with chicken too. In fact, the picture above is actually a chicken avgolemono that I made this spring, but trust me, it looks almost the same.

Turkey Avgolemono

olive oil

one onion, chopped

half a stalk celery, chopped finely (optional)

one half cup uncooked rice

white wine or sake

about 6 cups homemade turkey stock (or chicken)

some turkey meat (or chicken), chopped

two bay leaves

juice from one lemon

two eggs or 4 egg yolks

handful of fresh dill, chopped

salt and pepper

Heat some olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion and celery. Sprinkle with some salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft. Add the rice and stir. Add a splash of wine or sake and stir again. Add the turkey stock, bay leaves, and turkey meat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the rice is very tender.Turn off the heat.

Put half of the lemon juice and eggs in a bowl and whisk together thoroughly; make sure that there are no bits of unincorporated egg white or they won’t make your soup creamy. If you use all egg yolks the soup will be more yellow and taste richer. Don’t use all of the lemon juice at first because you don’t want the soup to be too sour–you can always add more later.  Gradually stir a few cups of hot soup together with the egg mixture to temper the eggs. Once the egg mixture is warm, add it to the pot of soup and stir well.

Add a handful of chopped dill or other green herbs like parsley and green onions. Stir soup and taste. Adjust your seasoning with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

[Via http://beyondboulder.wordpress.com]

The "Joy" Begins ...

I finally get to test out Joy recipes this weekend – my first one home since I went to college so it feels kind of weird. And wonderfully homey. What to choose? My parents were glad to volunteer me to make a whole meal for dinner, but I figure I’ll only make the entrée out of the Joy of Cooking and just mix up a quick salad and have some fresh fruit to go with it. So the first thing I need to find is an easy entrée. The second, if I feel like making it would be a side of some sort for that dinner. The third, which I’m definitely going to do, is to make something sweet to take back to the dorm for the other  girls.

So, a lot of these recipes have a lot of different steps. That’s pretty intimidating … but I can do it! I shall not be scared away by print. Print is my friend. I love to read. *deep breaths* How sad would that be if I had to report my first Joy recipe as a failure because of my own inadequacy? Very, but it won’t happen.

The journey begins … tomorrow. Which reminds me of a quote from Bilbo Baggins in Lord of the Rings. “It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to.” I’m about to step on the road.

For entrée: Fettuccini with fresh herbs

For side: Fresh Garlic Bread

For Roomies: Peanut Butter Pie (& pie crust & chocolate glaze)

[Via http://lwolf09.wordpress.com]

"You will amaze your friends." 8, 15, 37, 48, 64, 73

Speaking of fortune cookies (in Wednesday’s post), can you see the future?  Well, if you are the one making it happen, sure you can!

How to Change Your Fortune

I think this would be a lot of fun to use as a clue to where to find a larger gift than packaging will allow.  For example, if I want to give my grandma a new cookbook (and I do!), but I want to give her her gift in one of those magic boxes, like everyone else’s gift, I could remake her fortune to read something like, “You will be surprised and delighted when you pull out your chair for dinner this evening.”  Then, at some point shortly before dinner, I just need to sneak the book onto her chair.

I also have a special fortune planned for my hubby.  But that’s the only hint you get.

[Via http://chasedbyanelephant.wordpress.com]

that terrible onion aroma

I don’t know about you but I physically cannot stand onions. I can eat them but I cannot cut them in the raw. I cry like a little baby. Just now though, I was able to grate a whole onion without the slightest tear. Sure anyone walking by my house would have wondered what the mad scientist in the window was doing, but I wasn’t crying. I used swim goggles. It really worked. My nose was burning a little but I didn’t cry. Just a note.

[Via http://domestichusband.wordpress.com]

Living with Uncertainty

It is highly unusual for me to be coming to this part of the year without having a clear vision of what is store for me in the new year to come.  However since my decision to resign in July, uncertainty has been my constant companion and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  It has made me think deeply about my vocation of teaching and I truly believe it is a vocation. I have also had to think about balancing the different roles I have in my life and all of that is productive.  I remember a saying “let go and let God” and that is what I have been doing for the last six months.  That isn’t easy when I’m used to having all my ducks in a row and knowing exactly what the next step will be.

As of this moment I know these things:

• My true passion is teaching.  I will teach in any primary year level.  I used to think that Prep would be too hard. Now I think it would be great fun.
• I am open to new and different experiences in teaching.  They will all be part of life’s rich tapestry.
• While I can be a competent homemaker, I’m not cut out to make it my full time occupation.
• When I am feeling contented and on top of things that feeling spreads to the rest of my family.

I’ve been doing an number of things to deal with the uncertainty around next year.  These include sticking to a regular daily and weekly routine, slowly getting the house more organised so that a return to work is made easier and training my boys in taking on more household responsibilities instead of being “waited on”.  I’ve made sure that I have regular social contact through my knitting groups and book club. I’m also being open to suggestions about what I might do.  I’ve applied for a number of positions in a range of different schools and in many different year levels for anything from six months to 12 months.  I’m willing to try new things but I feel that I need more than casual relief work to truly utilize my talents and to make a viable financial contribution to my family.  Four days out of 10 weeks is certainly not enough for us to live on!

I’m also looking after my health.  Weight Watchers and Contours are a big part of my life.  Our menu planning at home is improving and we are cooking more regularly.  I stay in touch with my doctors on a regular basis and follow their advice.  I’m still not the best sleeper but I think part of that is natural when I’m faced with not knowing what the new year will bring.

[Via http://teresamcnamara.wordpress.com]

Korean Short Ribs (Kalbi) - Hawaiian Style

I’m not sure if this recipe is exact, but the Korean Short Ribs I used to get in Hawaii were INCREDIBLE!!   I could get RICH here with a Korean BBQ Joint.

Korean Short Ribs (Kalbi / Galbi) – Hawaiian Style

Ingredients

2-3 lbs short rib of beef

3/4 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

3 inches piece fresh ginger, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Directions

1

Combine all ingredients and marinate ribs for 4 hours.

2

Broil or barbecue to desired degree of doneness.

[Via http://armedbear.wordpress.com]

Lentil Soup with Portobello Mushrooms & Spinach

Green, earthy, and mildly spicy, this hearty mix of legumes & meaty ’shrooms will satisfy both vegetarians & carnivores.

This soup improves greatly overnight, so it’s a great make-ahead dish. My habit is to keep soup in a two quart pitcher, and reheat one portion at a time. Be sure to serve this one with some quality Parmesan; some good Italian bread would be nice too.

The recipe is from Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe, by Danny Meyer and Chef Michael Romano:

12 oz portobello mushrooms, stems removed and caps rubbed clean

3 tbsp butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup peeled and chopped carrot

1 cup peeled and chopped celery

1 bay leaf

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomato

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp Aleppo pepper

1 1/2 cups brown lentils, picked over and rinsed

10 cups vegetable stock or water

6 packed cups stemmed and chopped spinach

1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1. Thinly slice the mushroom caps and then cut the slices crosswise into thirds. (You should have about 6 cups of sliced mushrooms.)

2. Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook until the vegetables are softened, but not colored, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the portobellos, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they give up and then reabsorb their liquid, 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Add the tomato and cook until the mixture is juicy, 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Stir in the salt, black and Aleppo peppers, and the lentils. Add the stock or water; bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes.

6. Scoop out 1 cup of the lentils with a slotted spoon (some of the vegetables will cling to the lentils) and puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return the puree to the pot and stir to continue.

7. Stir in the spinach, bring the soup to a simmer, and continue cooking until the spinach wilts, 1 to 2 minutes. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.

8. Ladle the soup into a warm serving tureen or individual soup bowls. Sprinkle each serving with Parmigiano-Reggiano and drizzle with olive oil. Serve piping hot.

[Via http://heatandknives.wordpress.com]

People from a Bus in London

The lovely Aparna from My Diverse Kitchen graciously asked me to write a guest post for her My Kitchen Cafe series. I can’t describe to you how delighted I was! If you haven’t seen it yet, feel free to pop on over, read the post (People from a Bus in London) and explore her wonderful site. Oh there is a recipe for Urad Dal, too. Enjoy!

 

The Travel Series

• Cleaning Rameshwaran Temple
• Travel Thursday 15. Skanda Shasti
• Travel Thursday 14. Cooking in Kovalam, Kerala, India
• Turquoise: A Turkish Book Review
• Travel Thursday 13. The Folding Lotus
• Travel Thursday 12. Rosamatta Rice: A secret of Kerala
• Travel Thursday 11. The Best Coffee in the World. India
• Travel Thursday 10. The Pursuit of Coffee in London
• Travel Thursday 9. London in Winter with Flowers
• Travel Thursday 8. Eating Chat on a Kovalam Beach
• Happy Hindu New Year!
• Travel Thursday 7: An Orphanage in Cambodia
• Travel Thursday 6. Staying in Pilgrim Hotels in India
• Travel Thursday 5. Eating from Banana Leaves in India
• Maha Sivaratri – The Hindu Night of Siva
• Travel Thursday 4. Dosai cooking at the Train Station
• Travel Thursday 3. Siem Reap New Market, Cambodia Part 2
• Travel Thursday 2. Siem Reap New Market, Cambodia Part 1
• Travel Thursday 1. A night in Singapore

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

 

 

More Cooking, Food and Recipes:

B. Smith

Photo from buttermilkpress.com

The Brun Perspective (TBP) adores B. Smith! This woman is FABULOUS. In fact, TBP believes B. Smith is the very definition of elegance. B. Smith, B. for Barbara if you didn’t all ready know, is a lifestyle expert who has built an enterprise that is arguably unheard of for an African-American (Brun) woman. True, Oprah Winfrey has built an empire that has made her the most notable and wealthiest Brun women in the world, but TBP feels B. Smith is a force in her own right. B. Smith’s beauty, grace, style, and personality sets her apart from the rest.

B. smith is the quintessential entrepreneur. A model turned restaurateur, columnist, author, and media personality, she is a role model for not only Brun women, but women of all ages and shades. With a jewelry, home decor, furnishing, and serveware collection, her enterprise is most impressive. TBP may have overlooked B. Smith’s numerous endeavors (my apologies B. Smith), please visit her web site or Facebook page to learn about all things B. Smith. With the release of her third book, B. Smith Cooks Southern Style, she continues to blaze trails.

TBP would be remiss if it didn’t mention Dan Gasby, B. Smith’s husband. Talk about “tall, dark, and handsome,” he embodies the phrase. Mr. Gasby is a force in his own right, with a reputable career in televison advertising sales and marketing and as a producer, he is Chairman of B. Smith Enterprises, Ltd. Together, B. Smith and Dan Gasby are one of the most admirable Brun power couples today.

I’m buying her new book, make sure you buy it too. B. Smith if your reading this, TBP wants to be your personal assistant. How do I apply?

A new meal and a new swap!

Earlier this week, the fabulous Eileen threw down a challenge, as she set out to learn more recipes and I decided to join her. Tonight was the first installment – Roast Poussin with Sweet Potatoes. This comes courtesy of Nigella Express and the recipe is as follows…

2 poussins

2 tbsp garlic oil

1 sweet potato, weighing approx 500g

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1-2 bunches of watercress

Salt and pepper

Lime juice

Preheat the oven to 220c. Put the birds into a small roasting tin and pour half the oil over them. Cut the unpeeled sweet potato in 5cm dice and put them into a roasting tin – Nigella suggests using two tins, I used one. If you’re doing that, put a slice of bread underneath the poussin to soak up the juices – this means the sweet potato will get nice and crisp. Either way, pour the rest of the oil over the sweet potatoes and then sprinkle on the spices. Stick in the oven and cook for 45mins.

Nigella suggests spritzing the watercress with the lime juice and seasoning the rest with the salt and pepper. I just tore up some iceberg lettuce. This was super tasty and very, very easy. Obviously if you were looking to feed a family a chicken would be better, but these quantities work fine for two. I now have the carcass sitting in a pot so I can make stock with it tomorrow.

Staying with the lovely Eileen, she’s hosting her first swap and I do love a swap, so I am duly signed up!

I encourage you all to get along to her blog and do the same!

 

The Netbook Experience (short piece)

 

It is time for a new laptop and I did a little search online and found myself caught between the Netbook and the laptop. I settled the challenge, for my own purposes, long time ago in favor of the laptop. However, the Netbook seemed to have a few advantages. My research revealed a few good things and I happened to walk by Verizon Store and walked in to check the phone stock where I noticed the tiny netbooks sitting alone in a corner. I really did not care much since I know a good deal about them except I had to try something. The keyboard is very important to me because I have to do much typing on a regular basis.

I bought my Dell Inspiron laptops years ago. At that time, they cost $1645 each which was the cheapest possible for that type of laptop by using Dell online. I was learning networking and needed a backup laptop also. I can never convince anyone why it makes sense to have two laptops. The laptops did great forever except both of them have one touch-key missing. They still function but is interesting the missing keys are the only problem I had. I read online some netbooks have keyboards so small that is impossible to touchtype. That sounds scary to me. I wouldn’t know what to do with the netbook if I have to type and make mistakes or get tired of the tiny keyboard. I jumped on the netbooks and tried all of them. They were all 10.1 inches or bigger which I read online was the minimum screen size that was practical. The keyboards actually worked well. I tried ATT store also and my conclusion has been HP Netbooks have keyboards almost identical to regular laptop. One model had huge keys and another had larger than standard. Both were great for regular typing. The truth is the other netbooks have very comfortable keyboards also though not as large as the HP.

I thought about it and a couple of other things crossed my mind also. Netbooks makes sense for several reasons. One is the weight which is less than 3 lbs and the netbook can be dragged everywhere at all times. The hard-drive for these models were 160GB which is great if you have to shoot occasional video or digital photos. One has to carry a portable hard-drive to make sure no media is lost if shooting a lot. Netbook can do the job and I cannot think of any other use for a huge hard-drive anyway. The built-in WiFi, Bluetooth and cell access (if buying Verizon or ATT capable models) allow you to be as mobile as possible. The operating systems are good and personally I prefer XP for its speed. The built-in camera allows you to do quick video-messages (similar to voice mail) or do quick posts for a videoblog. I find that useful and practical because of the 1.6Ghz processor and 1GB of memory. The only thing I could not get answers for was the sound card. If I am to use voice activated software, the soundcard will be very crucial and can make the difference of all or nothing. I couldn’t find comparative reviews online based on sound cards and got blank stares from the store staff. They had no idea of the sound card quality. The video cards are powerful but sound is always behind in a tiny model for obvious reasons.

I think netbooks make good companions for very busy people. Laptops are indispensable depending on the profession but for general business use, a netbook can do the same job as a laptop without being a burden. It can always be in the car or your bag and not matter. The weight is only 3lbs and the size is no bigger than an average book. Personally, voice activation is very important to me so I may end up getting a normal laptop versus a netbook for the sake of the sound card but otherwise netbook can be a good replacement choice also. They remind me of when cellphone service first started to be as good as landline and some folks began disconnecting the landlines and keeping the cellphone for both purposes. Today that is very common. The netbook can become such strong replacement that regular home computer and laptops are removed for many users.

*This post belongs to this week’s edition of Wine by Cush Magazine blog and published early in World of Cush also.

Meals week of 11-14

Forgot to post this week’s meal plan!

Saturday: Me- at a crop, dinner provided. J- NogFest ‘09 = Nachos, Egg Nog

Sunday: Crock Pot Beef Stew, bread

Monday: Was going to be leftover stew, but we are both eating it for lunch…so we will either make something from another night or go out and eat leftovers Friday.

Tuesday: Cashew Chicken, rice (Saw the recipe on Simply Recipes, and have had a hankering for Chinese food, so giving it a try)

Wednesday: Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup (practicing eating like a toddler)

Thursday: Leftovers or Black Bean Soup & Nachos

Friday: Out, or leftovers

Cooking adventures

I made a really delicious roast pork awhile ago–seriously, it may have been the best pork I’ve ever eaten. I got some weird cut I’d never heard of and couldn’t find in any of my cookbooks, but I think this would be good with any cut meant for roasting.

I combined {this recipe} and {this recipe}. So I combined:
1 t thyme
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 t rosemary

Rub this mixture over the pork. Then put the pork in a baking dish. Cut up about 1/2 a medium apple and spread over the pork and the bottom of the dish. Preheat the oven to 325 and put the pork in, uncovered. It will cook slowly for about 3 hours. Baste regularly.

Make the glaze:
1/4 c sugar
1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 c vinegar
1/8 c water
1 Tbsp soy sauce
ginger

Combine these in a saucepan and heat until slightly thick. Brush over pork several times during the last 1/2 hour or so of cooking.

I added some potatoes, carrots, and onions in the last hour or so–they needed a bit more time or something, but the pork itself was delicious!

Chateau de Saigon Take Two (Continued)

So…..let’s get back to the main act of my meal at Chateau de Saigon. Well, it wasn’t exactly my meal but I did get to take part in the awesome experience that was La Vong Sizzling Fish. On the menu, it’s stated as ’sizzling marinated fish filet chunks with sauteed onion & fresh baby dill served with lettuce, fresh seasonal herbs, and our House dipping sauce along with rice paper for rolling wraps. Cooked at the table’. Get ready for the Disney World ride of Vietnamese food. It is, in fact, a small world after all.

Explained best via photographs:

tableside cooker

onions and dill join the party

waiter brings over a pan of marinated fish and gets to work

squeezing in fresh lime juice

needs a lot of lime

time for herbs and veggies

stir it all around

necessary elements to create the wraps

dip the paper into water

put lettuce, fresh herbs, cucumbers, apples onto rice paper

throw on some noodles

and the cooked fish

We also added peanuts and super spicy chilis.

Let’s get rolling:

time to eat!

As you can see, this dish is uber interactive and a lot of fun with a group (or with people who are food nerds, i.e. ME!)

Chateau de Saigon
4300 Buford Hwy NE
Suite 218
Atlanta, GA 30345
ph: 404.929.0034
http://www.chateaudesaigon.com/

Thai Red Curry (Pad Prik King)

A Caveman’s take on a classic Thai dish. Besides, I had to give you something to put the Thai Table Sauce (Nam Pla Prik) on!

INGREDIENTS

4 Chicken Thighs or 2 Large Breasts
1/4 lbs. Fresh Green Beans
1 Small Crown of Broccoli
1/4 Sweet Onion
4 Tbsp. Cooking Oil
3 Tbsp. Thai Red Curry Paste
1 Tbsp. Sugar

RECIPE

Bone chicken and cut into bite sized pieces (approximately 1 square inch).

Chop all veggies into bite sized pieces.

In a Wok or Stir Fry pan, heat oil over a medium high flame. Add curry paste and stir fry for about 3 minutes.

Add sugar and stir in well. Then, add chicken and cook until almost done, stirring often.

Add broccoli and green beans and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Don’t over cook the veggies, or they get too soft and lose much of their nutritional value.

Add onions and stir fry an additional minute.

Remove from flame, and serve with steamed rice and Thai Table Sauce (Nam Pla Prik).
HINT #1: If this condiment is too spicy for you, just use some plain Fish Sauce to add some additional flavor.
NOTE: This dish can also be made with beef, pork, lamb, shrimp or tofu! While you can make your own curry paste, there are several authentic canned Thai pastes available that are great. Trader Joe’s has a decent one (in a small bottle), too.
HINT #2: If making this recipe with tofu, be sure to lightly brown it in the Wok with a little oil before adding it to the curry paste, oil and sugar.

Prep Time = 15 minutes
Cook Time = 15 minutes
Serves 4

©2009 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This recipe originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman. This recipe may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

5/6 of 2009

oh yeah, november goals. I started writing these last week and forgot. hmm…

• continue running/training for another race to improve my pace (possibly the 5k christmas run in december). maybe mayyyyybe find a 10k (and/or a half marathon) to look forward to in the new year to keep myself motivated.
• practice more yoga.
• hike solstice canyon.
• start the ball rolling for 2010 high school and college reunions (?!)
• renew passport, in hopes of actually using it in 2010.
• decide one way or another about getting architecture license reciprocity in CA.
• co-host the second annual 1035 thanksgiving!
• cook one “classic” dish from joy of cooking per week.
• sew or knit at least one project.
• begin a ‘things to do before thirty’ list.
• find a way to give back.

Egg + Salmon

At about 4 ish.. i was watching Twilight (1st part).. yes i’m uber late and outdated.. but the show is AWESOME!! hehe…

Ate some Mat Tou Yau Gramps bought back for me..

Grampa says its quite nice. he had half of my “drink”.. hehe. yay.. another fan of it.

I didn’t have much appetite for dinner, so i just waited for dear to come.. Dinner was had only about 8 ish.. i cooked!

It’s been so long since i cooked, though i don’t actually call today cooking since i did use alot of “prepared” foods..

I nuked some frozen edamame beans.

Sorry. i kinda forgot to photograph everything until we were midway thru dinner. So most of the food/all of it was half eaten when i snapped!

I love these edamame akak Jean bought! Lovely without salt!

Some Campbells mushroom soup was decided at the last minute!

 

And i fried some egg and salmon sausages!

Nuked some salmon sausages, fried some onions (almost burnt them), sliced the sausages and charred it abit. Then put in 3 eggs. and out came yummy egg and salmon!!

Quite delish i must say! hehe..

That’s all for the night. i wanted to watch “Premonition” but grampa wanted watch his chinese singing show.

Friday Cuisine

Salmon chowder followed by Autumn fruit crumble

I seem to have made enough of the chowder to last tonight, tomorrow night and Sunday. Salmon fillets, Maris Piper potatoes, leeks, spring onions, crème fraîche and a few chilli flakes. Very, very  lush and warming.

The fruit crumble was from chopped Bramley apples and frozen berries, with crushed Amaretti biscuits, with Green and Black’s vanilla ice cream. It smelt gorgeous  while it was cooking.

All of this came together in about an hour. The kitchen looked like a bomb-site just after the cooking: I think I’d used every possible implement, plate and bowl. Thankfully a few bowls of washing up sorted that out.

I sorted out some lovely flowers I’d bought and put them in the living room and bathroom. Then I hung up some washing (including about 8000 pieces of underwear. How does that happen? I did a load of washing last Saturday).

London Lives has been living a Rock.And.Roll lifestyle this Friday evening, clearly.

Antico Pizza Napoletana: Meet Giovanni di Palma

front of the house

back of the house

Oh, what a night – I spent the evening with Atlanta’s #1 pizza maker, Giovanni di Palma. He is quite a guy: gregarious, proud, generous, welcoming, but above all, utterly humbled by the mass amounts of positive buzz his small pizza joint has created. He mentioned interviews, photo shoots, magazines, and blogs, that have bombarded and overwhelmed the down to earth crew. Giovanni has but one word to say to the city of Atlanta, “Grazie.”

Giovanni happened to remember my anchovy-loving ways so he invited me to the back room to check out the scene.

Then the fun began:

don't drop it!

the master is watching

help me out, man!

handing over the reigns

It was heavy!

Kind-hearted Giovanni also let me touch his beloved dough. Soft stuff.

career change?

wearing the opposite of the correct color for this activity

trying to smuggle flour out on my pants

The boys were more than happy to oblige to my demands:

blue + red = purple

As if it could get any better, we were treated to an espresso and cannolis while we read the framed Vince Lombardi quote on the wall:

espresso

side view cannolis

frontal cannolis

words from Mr. Lombardi

At this point, we all know that Antico serves up the best pizza Atlanta has to offer. In fact, for all I know they’ve got the best pizza in the south. We also know that when you go to Antico, you stuff yourself with the aforementioned pizza until you can barely breathe. Fair enough. But I urge you – try the cannoli, biscotti, and especially the sfogliatelle. You will not regret it; and you can do it! See how well I did:

all gone

it's not a struggle to get this down

California Maki

I chose this dish because we once made it in a cooking class and it was quite simple. This is a japanese dish that is usually called “California Roll.” It was invented when japanese chefs went to America to seek their fortune, the chefs made the sushi roll inside-out because Americans did not like seeing and chewing the nori when it was on the outside. That was the brief history of the “California Maki.”

Here’s the recipe:

California Maki

2 cups sushi rice

4 sheets of nori (dried seaweed)

1 mango

8 pieces kani (crab sticks)

4 tbsp. japanese mayonnaise

1/2 cup ebiko (shrimp eggs)

Peel a mango and cut it into strips. Cover a bamboo or sushi mat with plastic wrap. Put a sheet of dried seaweed on top of the mat. Spread sushi rice on top of the seaweed and press firmly. Turn the sushi layer over so that the seaweed is on top. Place mango and crab lengthwise on the seaweed. Roll the bamboo mat forward, pressing the ingredients inside the cylinder-shaped sushi. Press the bamboo firmly with hands, then remove the rolled sushi. Spread ebiko around the roll. Cut the sushi-roll into bite-sized pieces. Serve with wasabi or kikkoman.

Makes 4 rolls.

Sushi Rice

2 cups cooked japanese rice

4 tbsp. sweet vinegar for sushi rice

Mi together rice and vinegar till well combined.

Sweet Vinegar

1/2 cup japanese vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Boil together till sugar dissolves. Use for sushi rice.

Stuffed Butternut Squash

Dinner parties and special occasions like Thanksgiving can be difficult if you’re the lone vegetarian at the table.  Conscientious hosts usually prepare something that will be vegetarian-friendly but all too often our poor veggie-loving friends are left trying to fill up on side dishes like potatoes.  I have many friends who are vegetarians including my brother-in-law Dan so I always try to come up with something creative that will appeal to him but that everyone else can enjoy as well.  This year I decided to try stuffing a butternut squash with white and wild rice, autumn herbs and peppers.  It was a big hit at the Thanksgiving table and is hearty enough to work as a vegetarian main dish in place of turkey or roast beef.  It can also be adapted very easily for vegan diners.

Visit Suite 101.com for the recipe:  Stuffed Butternut Squash

Bon Appétit and Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday

One of the great things about posting my menu plans on my blog is that I have a record of them after the week is over.   I usually recycle my menus at the end of each week but sometimes wish I had a copy of past menus for inspiration.  Now I do!  As always, check out orgjunkie.com for more great menu ideas! 

Baking: blueberry yogurt muffins (I made mine with whole wheat flour, homemade yogurt, and replaced two tablespoons of the yogurt with a little fresh lemon juice for extra lemony flavour, so good!)

Apple Pie Burritos - these were a winner!  I made them with some local honeycrisp apples and served them with a homemade caramel sauce instead of the Dulce de Leche.

The menu:

Broccoli and Potato soup with pita crisps (cut pitas in slices or triangles, sprinkle with olive oil and toast in the oven until crisp)

Salsa Cheddar chicken and Corn Fritters – I served these last week and my husband asked for it again!

Pasta and Tomato Sauce with Carrots and dip (we still have lots of carrots in the garden!)

Mexican Wraps (beans cooked in salsa for me, beef seasoned with homemade seasoning mix for my meat-loving husband – Thank you Mom Living Healthy for the recipe!) with lots of veggies

Rice Casserole  (cooked rice mixed with veggies, beans, herbs and chopped tomatoes, sprinkled with cheese and baked in a 350 degree oven for 20 – 30 minutes) 

Chicken Burgers and Fries (You can always tell the nights that I am out and the man is cooking for himself – this is definitely not the kind of meal I would cook or eat, but, to each his own!)

Friday night Pizza

Hope there are yummy things cooking at your house this week!