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.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
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!
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!
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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
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
Sunday, July 5, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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 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!
Monday, June 29, 2009
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!
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!
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