Pants Day

(These are not my tacos)

(yet)

Ok, so maybe its more like Pants afternoon.  I'm going to show my friend around some culinary treats in the city.  Which reminds me, i need to get $ and change.  Then we are going to picnic and Menil.  I'm quite excited.  I feel like Jay from Guns and Tacos must feel when friends come to town.  Although, this friend lives in Porter, and although I am packing heat, i can't afford to take it to the range.  Plus, neither of us speaks Spanish all that well.

So today, after about 3 hours of sleep, Pig went to the vet.  Vet says she is really healthy (yay), she just needs to get her teeth cleaned (boo), which is like $300 (double BOO).  The vet also giggled that Piggie needed to poop.  She hissed at the staff, but never raised a paw (good Pig), and pretended that she was all tough, but she was quiet and wide eyed most of the time.  Either way, for a normal checkup (she didn't need the old-lady tests), all her shots, and 7 months of flea/hw/tick/etc tuff, it was under $200.

After Pig vet-ed, we decided to go on an hour and a half bike ride.  No biggie, right?  Except that it was freaking hot and swampy, and really really bright, and a heat index of over 100.  Yea.  Lots of large hills and riding through construction, and after a day of rest from bike interval training and little sleep, it was very painful.  We still kept about a 10-12 mph pace for most of the ride, even though we had to stop a couple of times to not die.  When we got back to the house we saw (and smelled) people holding up signs for a bbq fundraiser that was at the end of the street.  We bought, for $5, some brisket sandwiches that totally hit the spot.  The staff kinda giggled at how tired we were and how quickly we devoured them after we cooled off a minute.  We did have to cool down though, as we were near vomiting by the time we got there, and we are pretty good at toughing out a ride.

NAPTIME!

Din din and stuff

Although the light in my kitchen is a pain in the ass sometimes with these pics, this is a picture of yesterday's dinner.

Every once in a while, i just feel like making something special, but something special as in pulling a new recipe out of my ass.  This is about a dozen sea scallops (the big ones) and a lb of mussels, seared and steamed (respectively), tossed in a spicy red thai curry, over a bed of crispy steamed green beans and shiritake noodles.  The seafood curry base is make with red and green peppers and carmelized onions and portabellos.  I meant to add pineapple to the curry, but I forgot to buy it.  It was plated beautifully, but I just couldn't get the camera to behave for this one.  

It was really, really good.

I mean, really good.

If it would have had pineapple, this could be a favorite ever.  

Anyways, I re-did the blog background.  I need to tweak it, but since I spent a while drawing these characters, and then about an hour trying to export it in a format that it would be small enough to fit on here, it will not get done tonight this morning.  blarg.  Anyways, i think they are super cute.

Tomorrow is lengua/Pants day.  I'm so excited to see her and take her to my fav taqueria, and then fart around the Menil.  I've got to take Pig to the vet in the early AM, then I've got about a 10-12 mile bike ride, and then Pants time.  

I've started a training program for riding that should get me to the point where i can start training group rides in the next month or so.  Night one was last night, and it truly hurts to sit.  I need to get a larger road bike, and i'm going to start scouting for that pretty soon.  I really really want to do the MS150 in March.  Maybe just march next year, but so far my max rides have been about 20 miles.  Granted thats on the mountain bike, but stiiilll.  If my calculations are right, i keep a 14 mph speed for about an hour on the road bike, 16 mph for about 30 minutes (which is supposedly really fast).  Cheesily, i calculated this by seeing how many times around the 1.2 mile track i could get on the bike in an hour.  Either way, i need front and rear bike lights, a better chain, a better seat for the road bike, a second pair of shorts.  I also want some sort of cycle computer and heart rate monitor.  Once i get on a diet/workout routine, I'm fanatical.  Heck, i passed up the Chocolate Bar today!

Anyways, its past 2.  sleepy time.

holyshitbot

so many fucking spam bots in the comments. beware folks, but please, comment away... unless you are a spambot...

tra la la

So happy new year, l'shana tova to everyone.

Today, in the spirit of the new year, we ate a traditional Jewish dinner... carbs. Yes, the diet is toast (get it?) for one more night, but what can I say, it's for G-d. Me and the fam got all duded up and went to temple, then mom got a migraine, so we all went to central market without her. Got the traditional round challah, a honey cake (flavored with orange rape, teehee), and a nice apple to slice up. Ironically, we ate salami, cheese dip, and pork steak with our food as well. Not kosher. Things, were tasty though.

I just stir fried the pork steak in a bit of memmi for a few minutes on each side. We dipped challah in honey, in butter, in hummus, and in cheese/spinach/artichoke dip. Various combinations of these. It was all divine. That is one thing we Jews can do fabulously.... eat. There is nothing like meaty sandwiches with challah, or french toast with challah (which is only served, overpriced, in fancy boutique restaurants).

Yep. Gonna def ride the bike tomorrow.

In other news, pig is going to the vet on saturday. I'm sure she will be displeased.

Truly.

I'm making a valiant attempt to get back into the swing of things on here. Moreso, i'm really trying to get into the swing of things in the first place.

Life update:
I finished studio (the tough stuff)
I spent all summer watching movies and hanging out with D
I rode my bike to work everyday for 1 month. then i got lazy and it got too hot
I'm taking a writing hiatus for a bit while i work at school/portfolio
I'm getting mentally ready to be into my field.

Realizations:
I'm a great cook, but i know nothing about any formality of it.
I can pick out flavors in complex dishes, but still have a hard time picking out adjectives to describe food.
It's very difficult to do homework from home. It's easy to put things off for an extra night rather than say no to hanging out.
I dislike cookbooks. I think they are for unimaginative people, unless they teach technique or about some new ethnic flavor.

We rearranged the living room last night. This may not sound like a huge feat, but it was. HUGE. There is a small mountain of give-away things next to the sole easy chair in our living room. I fixed the coffee table so we could eat at it with guests. I cleaned the baseboards and vacuumed corners. We shook out rugs, disassembled, and dusted furniture. It was incredibly therapeutic. When I was younger, it was almost a way for me to declare a new chapter. Well, that still hods true - i now have an excellent functioning workstation that is about 85% to my liking. It only gets points off because the chair i'm sitting in is far from comfortable AND i'm still finding homes for the last things here and there. However, I feel like I finally have my own area, and I'm sure dave agrees with that sentiment.

Anyways, i just took a break from my homework as a promise to really be on here more. THe swimming pool calls!

I haven't forgotten you.

Yes, I'm horrible about blogging. However, I have good reason!!! Promise!!
I am now blogging about food HERE.

Yes, I'm getting paid for this gig. It's fantastic time. Do a search for me and read about my adventures in food! I'll still be posting here, just not very often while it is the middle of the semester.

For Cynthia/Junior

Ok, i love cabbage. I LOVE stir fries. Ever since I got off my butt and went and bought a REAL wok and seasoned it, I have re-fallen in love with Asian cooking. This is something that is rediculously easy, quick, nutritious, and tasty. It's also awesome cause it only has 4-5 ingredients. :-D If you haven't really read the blog before, memmi is the Japanese Udon/tempura base (basically soy sauce and bonito), and it's a killer stir fry sauce. It's cheap (under $3 a bottle), and has a nice depth of flavor. If you don't have a wok, use a pot withOUT nonstick on it so you can crank the heat. Stir frying is all about quick cooking, and non-stick on medium just doesn't cut it. Then you end up with steamed things.

Quick Cabbage Stir Fry
1 medium head cabbage (or 2 half heads - 1 each of green and red)
a thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and quartered
3 garlic cloves, sliced
olive oil (about 1 tbsp, enough to wet the wok)
a couple tbsp of water - set aside in a cup, just in case things start sticking or burning
memmi - about 1/4c you'll add this as you go along, so it's really more about eyeballing it
optional - 1 tbsp red pepper, 1 tsp sesame oil (for a little more flavor)

Rinse cabbage, shake mostly dry, decore, and cut up into about 1" cubes. The dimmension really doesn't matter, just try to be sensible, and cut up the thicker stuff smaller. Heat oil, ginger, and garlic in a wok (toss everything together in the cold pan) at med/high till everything starts sizzling. toss for a minute or 2, just until the garlic starts to crisp up a little. This is mainly to flavor the oil without burning the spices. Turn up heat to high and toss in cabbage. Toss in pan with wok spatula frequently until the thicker parts of the cabbage are beginning to steam nicely. Add Memmi...a few glugs here, the cabbage will start to wilt into the color...stir fry for another couple of minutes, add a few more glugs (you want to avoid the pool of it at the bottom, so keep stirring!), turn off the heat, toss a couple more times, and serve.

for jeff. crockpot-goodness

So jeff got a crock pot. In celebration, i'm posting the very first thing I ever learned to pot. In a crock.

Crock pot rib stew

1 rack of pork ribs
1/2 bottle of fav bbq sauce
1 cube chicken bullion
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp creole mustard (or dijon)
3 russet potatoes, cubed (i never peel then, just clean them really well)
1 1/2 c baby carrots
1 stalk celery, diced
1 c red wine
1-2 tbsp honey or brown sugar
4-5 cloves of peeled garlic
water
1 tbsp seasoned salt
1 tsp ground pepper

Brown ribs on each side in a large skillet (cook them over high heat until the sides turn brown). You will probably have to cut them up to make them fit, so brown in small batches. You don't HAVE to do this, but it carmelizes the outside of the meat and adds flavor. Transfer the ribs to the crockpot. Add celery, onion, carrots, potato, the bullion, mustard, spices, and garlic. Add wine, bbq sauce, and top off enough water to make it about an inch from the top of the pot. Basically, put everything in the pot, but leave enough room for the thing to simmer.

Turn the crockpot to low. Go to work. (you can prep this all the night before and refrigerate the container, and just pop it in before you go to work). Come home, put on a pot of rice, noodles, barley, or whatever. Take a large, flat spoon and a glass or jar, and skim off the inch of fat at the top. Stir the pot. Let it sit for 4 minutes. Skim off the new 1/2" layer of fat (you will let the jar or glass cool and either dump the contents into your trash or toss the entire jar). Serve up ribs and enjoy, the meat will literally fall off the bone.

You can use the same technique with any sort of stew friendly meat.

I took pics of all of this, but i'm out of time.

it's been a while

Yea, whatever. I ended up doing a weird twist with lamb that was absolutely amazing, kind of a fake banh mi. It's marinated overnight, but worth the wait. This is what happens to me when i go to the grocery store/farmer's market hungry... i get inspired! Tryyyy ittttt...

Lamb Sandwiched with Pesto and Carrot Pickles

basil pesto
1 lb lamb, a grillable cut
mayo
2 whole wheat french rolls (i just like whole wheat better)
rice vinegar
1 cucumber
memi
shredded carrots (like for salads)
cilantro
crushed red pepper
black pepper

To marinade.
Set the lamb in a marinating container. Pour on a tbsp or so of memmi. Flip, repeat. Cover. Put about a cup of shredded carrots in a small container. Add 2 tsp of water, a little black pepper, and about 1 tbsp of crushed red pepper. Add about 1/4 of rice vinegar, which should about cover the carrots if you smush them down. Keep both in the fridge overnight till it's time to cook.

The Sammiches.
Grill or pan cook the lamb for about 8 min on each side (sear each side for 2, then cover and cook for about 6 min). It's ready when the center is rare, don't be afraid to cut it, you're going to cut it up anyways. Toss a couple of wheat french rolls into the oven and warm them for about 5min. During this time, drain the carrots, cut a couple of lenghtwise slivers of cucumbers, and wash and de-stem about a handfull of cilantro. Pull the rolls out of the oven and split lenthwise. Spread mayo on one side of the sandwich and pesto on the other. Slice the cooked lamb and fill each sandwich. Top with carrots, cucumber, and cilantro. eat. drool. yum.

ALMOST FORGOT

yea.

GO SEE FOOD, INC.
www.foodincmovie.com/

Yes, i understand the previews are swayed towards the liberals. Fine. The movie is bipartisan in it's accusations. There is nothing political about demanding good, wholesome food that has not been made in a lab and NOT TESTED.

I've been making a serious effort to buy local, fresh, and unprocessed foods to accompany my yoga. I'm a busy person, but I still manage to cook and support my local farmers while spending LESS than I would if i were to buy Lean Cuisines. There is nothing wrong with me eating food that doesn't spend most of it's life covered in it's own shit.

Some comparisons

Krogers Bayou City
White eggplant, $3.50 ea $1
Eggplant $1.50 lb 2 lb eggplant $1
Zucchini, $1 lb 3 lb zucchini $1
free range hen eggs $3 dozen free range hen eggs $3 dozen
Bell peppers 89 cents ea Bell peppers 3/$1
Hormone fed hen $2/lb free range hen, 4 lb - $12 (for this, it's worth it!!!)

Things like blueberries, figs, etc usually cost the same or maybe $1 more... but they are fresh, with bitty carbon footprints, unlike the 2 week old berries in the store.

AAAAND for some supplemental:
There is a farmers market in the inner loop Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. EVERY single day if you count Canino's!

Bayou City Farmers' Market SATURDAYS - Richmond @ eastside Canino's Produce A favorite of local chefs, Canino's is open every day with plenty of fresh produce. not organic though! Central City Co-Op Anyone interested in splitting a share? They are Wednesdays at Taft street coffee and SUNDAYS at Discovery Green Downtown Green Market Saturdays! Houston Farmers Market at Onion Creek Coffeehouse Saturdays! Houston Farmers Market at Rice Village Rice University Parking Lot (along University blvd) on Tuesday nights 4-7 pm. Midtown Farmers Market Saturday AM next to the Breakfast Klub and T'afia

summertime

Apparently i'm cooking-crazy over the summer. I've spent a good deal of my evening looking at bento boxes and cast iron woks (which will be my next kitchen purchase, eliminating 2-3 current pans). Today, i was wandering through Kroger to get bread and some greens of some sort... salmon was on sale... here is the result.

A note on teriyaki sauce: don't buy the stuff in the bottle. Seriously. REAL teriyaki is 3 things - Sake, Soy, and sugar (sometimes a little water too or mirin)...NOT HFC, xantham gum, artificial flavors, soy protein... etc, etc. Not to mention, real teriyaki is amazingly flavorful and glazes nicely on cooldown. Once you taste the real stuff, it is my hope you will skip the stuff in the jar from now on, not to mention, if you make more than needed of your own, it will keep for about a month in a bottle in the fridge.

Salmon Teriyaki and Mustard Greens in Oyster Sauce
Serve both prettily with some jasmine rice. :)


Salmon Teriyaki
1 lb salmon filet
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp sake
4 tbsp water
4 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Locate a baking dish large enough to put your salmon in. In a sm saucepan, mix sake, water, soy, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved (NO HEAT). Pour over salmon and marinate for at least 30 min in the fridge. Turn it over once in the marinade in that time. Pour off marinade back into the saucepan. Put salmon in the oven for about 15 min, until fish flakes opaque. During this time, heat sauce on medium uncovered until it barely starts to bubble, stirring constantly, then switch to low/med-low. continue to stir and the sauce will thicken.. Coat the fish a few times with sauce in the last few minutes of cooking (in 3 minute increments). When fish flakes, coat a little more and toss in the broiler for about 2 minutes. remove fish from broiler, and coat the fish with the rest of the sauce carefully, a spoonful at a time. When you are out of sauce, tilt the baking dish, and keep coating the fish with this, until you have reduced it about halfway. You don't HAVE to do that last part, but it's just nice and tasty.
mmmmmm



Mustard Greens
1 bunch mustard greens
4 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp water

In a stockpot, heat about 3-4 inches of water to a boil. Trim off the bottom 1' of the bunch of greens. Submerge mustard greens in a full, clean sink for a couple minutes. Un-bunch the greens and rub each leaf gently. remove any bad leaves, etc. Transfer greens to a cutting board and cut across the stems in 2" increments. Add to boiling water and cover. Cook for about 5-7 minutes (taste a stem, they will be nice and crisp/firm, but not tough). While the greens are cooking, add everything else to a small saucepan (or if you are short on saucepans, this can be done in the microwave) and simmer until the greens are done, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse greens with cool water for a sec. Transfer to a serving platter and top evenly with sauce. MMMM

cranberry lemon scones

Today, we went to the Te House of Tea for a pot of fujian silk and a pastry. We picked a cranberry scone which was fantastic. I remembered that I have a HUGE bag of Crazins in the cupboard. I googled a couple recipes, got the flour/butter proportions, and winged the rest. Needless to say, they turned out awesome, and I will be making these again. I read on one site that the dough freezes well for rainy days. Start to finish was 30 min... by the time these were done baking, kitchen was already clean!

Note: I accidentally "softened" the butter into "melted". Don't do that. traditionally scones are cut like pie wedges and placed onto a pan. I scooped my goopy dough, and i had very flat scones. Result was still excellent, so I'm not complaining!

Impromptu Cranberry Lemon Scones

1 tbsp baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, softened, but not melted (8 tbsp i think)
2 1/2 c unbleached all purpose flour
the zest from 1 meyer lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 c almond milk (or regular milk, i didn't want to kill myself)
1/2 c turbinado sugar, plus some for sprinkling
1 1/2 c crazins (the sweetened dried cranberries)

preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. mix all the dry ingredients together EXCEPT for the cranberries. Add the butter and mix with pastry knives or a couple large forks till the dough is kinda pill-y. add the egg and milk together in a separate bowl and then add to the dry ingredients - scrape the bottom of the bowl, but don't mix really really well. Mix in the zest and Crazins. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (no need to spray or grease) and drop about 2 tbsp worth each amts onto the sheet. Sprinkle a little sugar over the tops. Bake for about 20 min, until tops are slightly golden and the bottoms are golden around the edge.

MMMMM

*update* when butter is just softened to room temp, scones hold shape nicely, HOWEVER, they take 30 minutes to bake. MMM

The Becky-Lini

Oh yes, I have a signature drink. When we got married, we had about 40 bottles of cheap champagne leftover... What to do with them? Make Bellinis! However, the Bellini recipe we found online was horrible, so we dumped the blender, and made our own concoction! Not truly potent (you can pump this up by adding an extra shot of vodka or rum), but tasty and great for getting a little buzz during parades!

The Becky-Lini

1 bottle of champagne. Quality not important, as long as it is alcoholic
Fine sugar. You can use natural sugar if you like, but blend it extra
1 bag of frozen peaches
2 shots of vodka or rum. Don’t skimp here
ice

Put half the bag of peaches, about 1/8c sugar, 1 shot vodka/rum, and a handful and a half of ice in a blender. Top to fill line with champagne. BLEND. When a nice smooth consistency (you may have to stir it a few times), taste for sugar, and adjust sweetness to taste if needed. Pour into a jug/pitcher. Repeat with the rest of the peaches, alcohol, and another dose of sugar. Fill jug again. Cart carefully to your nearest parade route and enjoy!

The Best Marinade EVER.

If you like things with a hint of sweet, this is your stuff.

Becky's Amazing Marinade
yes, it's really amazing.

1/2 c bbq sauce, any variety
1/2 c water
1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp minced garlic (fresh!)
1/4 c soy sauce
1/2 c memmi (this is tempura base, udon soup base, etc)

mix together. Pour over meats or veggies (try with portabellos) and let sit for at least 30 min (30 for pork steaks, 1 hr for chicken, 1 or more hrs for veggies). TOSS ON THE GRILL! Everything it touches is golden!

Pride Parade weekend and birthday fun

Mah birthday was a couple weekends ago. I love cakes with whipped cream and berries, but my lovely allergy tolerance doesn't allow me much dairy. So this is a hybrid dairy-non dairy version. It does, however, HAVE to be dairy for the cake since it is so rich.

Becky's Bday cake

Cake-
2 c all purpose flour, unbleached
1 1/2 c turbinado sugar
2 tsp baking powder (the stuff in the tin, not the box)
1 tsp fine sea salt
8 tbsp melted butter (let it cool for a sec though) - i think thats a whole stick
2 beaten eggs
1 c whole milk
2 tsp plus a smidge vanilla extract (use the good stuff, don't skimp!)


filling-
2 pints strawberries (one pint rinsed, one pint with the green stuff removed and sliced)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tub of light coolwhip

heat the oven to 375, F. Butter 2 - 8" cake pans (yes, really use butter). Cut out a circle of wax paper and stick it in the inside in the bottom. Kind of smoosh it down till it sticks to the butter. Dust everything with flour.

Mix the sugar, baking powder, flour, and salt in a big bowl. Make a little indentation and add the wet ingredients in that spot. Mix all together with a fork or a whisk till the bottom of the bowl is all mixed up. Divide into the 2 pans and bake for about 25 min (set a timer, and then they are done when a toothpick comes out clean). Cool for about 30 min - 10 min in the pan, 20 on a rack.

mix the sliced berries with sugar and half the coolwhip. sandwich it within the cake layers on a nice pretty plate. top with coolwhip and the pretty big berries!




Chinese Broccoli - Gai Lan

This is my fav vegetable in the world. Currently, i could eat this every night, however, i only go to golden foods once a month. Pick fresh, pretty bunches without yellowing.

1 bunch Gai Lan
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 upper thumb joint sized hunk of ginger
6 tbsp veggie stock (i keep a waterbottle of this stuff premixed in the fridge most of the time)
4 tbsp oyster flavor sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
a couple shakes ginger powder.

boil water (about 10 c) with ginger and baking soda. While this is coming to a boil make sauce - bring stock, oyster sauce, vinegar, ginger powder, and sugar to a boil, turn to simmer for 4 min, and then just low to keep warm. When water in the big pot boils, add Gai Lan and boil for about 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water, and transfer to a plate. Chop quickly (about 5 slices down each stalk), and top with sauce. TAADAA!

Grilled lamb roast

This was in the freezer and leftover from Pesach.

Grilled lamb roast
1 stalk rosemary, de-stemmed, and cut up a little with kitchen shears
3 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
4 tbsp minced garlic
2-1lb lamb roasts
aluminum foil

in a small bowl, muddle/mix rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic with a spoon. Roll out a large piece of foil, place lamb on top. Rub and cake lamb with seasoning mix, and wrap up. Put in the fridge for about 30 min, or until ready to grill. Heat grill to about 350. Put lamb on for about 13 minutes each on top and bottom. Remove pack from grill and remove each piece and replace on grill (sans foil). Grill 10 min each top and bottom, the meat should be well carmelized when done. Check with a meat therm if you want, but do it slightly rare, and let sit for about 10 min before cutting.

Lets just say with all the crawfish we ate, there was still barely any lamb left.

Oyster Po'boys

At our boil yesterday, we also got a sack of oysters. accompanied with BBQ, crawfish, and lots of fiery corn and potatoes, the sack of oysters still had a few leftovers. We shucked the oysters, washed them, put them in a little water, and put them in the fridge. SO, what do you do with a couple dozen raw oysters? you FRY em. This recipe is how to make a dressed po-boy.

Oyster Po'Boy - attempt #1
2 dozen raw oysters
2 c flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp creole mustard (optional)
oil for frying
slap ya mamma (or another good cajun seasoning)
shredded lettuce
remoulade sauce (you can get it in the jar or fresh at some krogers or central market)
tomato slices
soft, crusty french bread rolls (about 12" long each)
pickle slices

to set up you need 5 stations - fry station (your frypan), egg station, flour station, a drain station (cover a large plate with paper towels), and an assembly station.

first, set your oil to warm. In a shallow pan, add about 1" of veg oil. You want to get it to about 350, but also where a wooden spoon will bubble a little. You can adjust this after the first batch of oysters if needed. Wrap your bread in foil and put in the oven. Warm at a preheated 350 for about 5 min, then shut off and keep oven closed till ready.

Prep your egg and flour station. Beat the eggs in a bowl with creole mustard or a couple shakes of seasoning. Put flour in another bowl with a couple tsp of the seasoning. Rinse and drain your oysters well.

To fry. Do this in batches of about 4 or 5 till you get the hang of it. Dip oysters in egg, then in flour till coated, one at a time. Gently drop in hot oil and fry for about 3 min, flip, and fry for abot 3 more min. Oyster batter will turn a light golden, but be careful not to cook them too much or they will get dry and nastly. Set on paper towels to drain as they finish.

To assemble. Slice open bread, scooping out some of the inner part if needed. Spread remoulade on both top and bottom. Add a layer of oysters, top with lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Serve with a little extra remoulade on the side and lots of napkins. OMG MMM

(pics will be up tomorrow)

an introduction on how to make crawfish.

I was fortunate enough to marry some nice man from New Orleans 4 years ago. One of the things that becomes tradition once summer hits is our crawfish boils.

To start
Go to your local fishmart and buy a sack of crawfish - that's about 30 lbs. Don't forget to pick up a big bag of boil - about a 1lb r two. This makes about 3 or 4 pots of crawfish... enough to feed 20 or so folks. This may not look like a huge amount, but when you add beer, corn, and potatoes, it's just the perfect amount for a crowd. Make sure you have an OUTDOOR boiler and basket. For the love of all that is holy, don't ever do this inside. Take a table outside and either cover with a plastic table cloth that you are not at all fond of, or about 10 old copies of the Houston press.

Ingredients
1 sack crawfish
2 lbs butter (bout 8 sticks)
10 heads of garlic
5+ lbs of red potatoes. Get the SMALLEST ones you can find (they cook faster)
20+ half ears of corn
at least 6 lemons, cut into 8ths
salt. lots of salt.
a plastic baby pool
a broom handle
some potholders
newspaper
a large country crock container or something of the like (unless you are brave and plan to scoop crawfish with your hands)

extras - anouille 5 or so links cut into 2" pieces (or any sausage really), baby carrots (2 lbs), mushrooms (at least 2 lbs...) everyone eats them! I've also known people to toss in baby corn, onion (halved- about 1 per batch), and whatever else could be boiled.

set up. This is best to do on a driveway or someplace you can hose off. Set up a large table (or a card table), cover with newspaper or tablecloth. We hold everything down with our beer till the first batch of corn and potatoes are done. Take your time... to do this right and boil the whole sack will take a couple of hours. Manning the boiler is hot! Set up a couple of trash cans around the table for people to toss the heads into. I know some people will use foam takeout boxes to divide the trash if there are more people than table space.

First - purge the crawfish. Hose of the sack pretty well. Cut open your sack, and dump crawfish into the plastic baby pool. Dump lots and lots of salt onto the crawfish, and fill baby pool with water. take your hand and stir the crawfish. be brave, as long as you are moving, noone will pinch you. take a moment to pick out any dead crawfish... you don't want to eat them! Let the crawfish sit for about 20 minutes, and dump most of the water out. repeat while first batch of water is boiling.

the first boil
fill the pot about halfway with water. toss the potatoes in the basket along with 2 sticks butter, and 2 heads garlic (broken up). Bring the pot to boil on the propane burner (this takes about 20 or so minutes), put in about 1/3 the bag of seasoning, 1/3 of the corn, and put the lid back on. boil for about 10-20 minutes, bring up the basket. keep checking every 10 minutes till the potatoes are done. pull basket with broom handle and a potholder, shake corn and potatoes onto the table. Don't be too aggressive or the goodies will end up on the floor.

Batch 1
set basket on the ground. add more corn to the basket and 1/3 of your extras (mmmm mushrooms and andouille!). add another couple heads of garlic and about 2 lemons worth of wedges. Scoop enough angry crawfish into the basket to fill it 1/3 of the way, and top with a couple sticks of butter. submerge basket and put on lid... crawfish should be done in 10-15 minutes. pull basket, let it drip for a sec, and then dump basket contents onto table.

repeat till all the crawfish are gone! add a little more seasoning if you can bear it after the second load. If you made the first batch so hot noone can stand it, go dump out half of your water into the drain of your annoying neighbors (or the grate in the middle of your parking lot - it will seriously flush the drain!), and fill back up to half water. add butter and lemons and everything again.

The leftovers. There are always leftovers at a good boil. This is not your fault, but it is better to have too much than too little. Pick a friend that is too full, and shuck as many crawfish as you can into a bag. Use these leftover tails in soups, in omlettes, or in etoufee. HOWEVER, if you wait till tomorrow and try to shuck, it won't work as well. Crawfish are OK as leftovers all together, but you cant really do much besides eat them traditionally. Its a pain to do the day after... its easier to do when your face and hands are already burning.

The leftover garlic. This stuff is not to be underestimated! Press about a head of the leftover garlic into a small tupperware. add a little paprika, cayenne, and about 1.5 c mayo. VOILA! Spicy garlic mayo that tastes incredible on leftover crawfish po'boys.

The leftover potatoes. Whip up with a few cloves of the boiled garlic and onion for some killer garlic mashed potatoes.

Soup...

Crockpot-Sarah-is-sick-and-needs-minestrone Soup

Olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, peeled, halved (lengthwise), and then sliced into chunky bits
1 cloves garlic, sliced
4 medium tomatoes, peeled(optional) and chopped (roma tastes best, canned are fine)
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
6 cups stock. Either chicken or veggie, I always use veg.
Salt and peppa
2 yellow squash, diced
2 zucchini, diced
½ c barley
2 colored peppers (not green, think yellow orange, red), roasted in the broiler, then cored, seeded, and cut into strips (you can be lazy and use the stuff in the jar too)
a blop of pesto if you got it
Fresh parmesean. You want the good stuff. Grate about ¼- ½ c
Chopped fresh basil (like 6 leaves)

Carmelize the onion lightly in a small saucepan in 2 tbsp olive oil for a couple minutes. Add celery, carrots and garlic. Toss everything in the crockpot, add a couple shakes of Italian seasoning if you like. Add everything else, put crockpot on low, go to work. When you get home, taste, adjust seasoning if necessary. serve with cheese and a little more chopped basil.

End of the Semester Leftover Curry Noodles

So, this is the first meal i've made in a couple weeks. really the first that has not involved canned tuna, ramen noodle pho packets, or takeout. I had a bunch of still-good veggies leftover in the fridge, so i took a stab at dinner, and it turned out fabulous. MMMM

Veggie Yellow Curry Noodles

about 7 oz of udon noodles (linguine will work too, just snap it in half)
1/2 can coconut milk
3 tbsp or so yellow curry paste
1 c shredded cabbage
1/2 carrot, thinly sliced or juillined (or about 10 baby carrots)
2 green onions, sliced
10 mushrooms, sliced
1/3 or so yellow onion, sliced
2 tbsp or so honey

boil noodles as directed, strain, and rinse really thoroughly with cold water. In a large, seperate saucepan, combine a little olive oil, the onions (both kinds) and the mushrooms, and stir fry till the onions soften. add carrots, a tbsp more of oil, curry paste, cabbage, coconut milk, and honey, and give it a good stir. when it starts to simmer, taste for heat and sweetness (you want this a little sweet and pretty spicy, remember you are dilluting this with noodles), adjust if necessicary. Stir in noodles, and bring back to a slight simmer. taste, adjust if needed, and serve hot. For a tasty variation, stir in some boiled shrimp, tofu, or even some sliced hardboiled egg at the time of the carrots.