letscrush

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Basic Bruschetta

*You will need the basics and go from there. The options are endless...
Ciabatta Bread
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Fresh Basil
Tomatoes with salt and pepper
Cheese

*Brush bread with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar and place face down on baking sheet. Top with tomato slices, cheese(just a sprinkle or it will be to oily), basil. Place in a 400 degree oven and bake until toasty brown. Squeeze a little lemon or lime to finish....jaime

Varying Tofu

As many tofu saute's that I've made, oddly I've never posted. Mostly because there is never a recipe but just concocting as I go. Primarily I make either Indian or Asian variations. This particular tofu saute was Indian.

In a food processer blend to a slightly chunky puree:
One small bunch of fresh cilantro, including stems
a few garlic cloves
large shallot
1 small onion
3 tbsp canola, grape seed, sunflower, or any plain oil
2 tbsp water

Tofu-
I like extra firm tofu, but whichever is your favorite.
Pat dry and slice into whatever size you like.
Put the tofu in a large baggie with some Turmeric and a little soy sauce

Dry fry some Indian spices:

Green Cardomon(you only need about 5 seeds)
Mustard Seeds
Red Chili or Red Pepper Chili flakesyour heat level( grind them up with a morter or coffee grinder)
Fenugreek or Methi Seeds

 Add the puree mixture to the dry fry pan of spices and simmer for about 10 minutes on  lowish until  the flavors have all fused together. Add some Methi powder now, its kinda salty so adjust any salt needs after adding this.

Add whatever vegetables, in this case I just used Broccoli and the tofu mixture. Don't stir everything together just yet....cover for a few minutes and let steam. Remove lid and stir. If you need more liquid just add a little water, and/or cover a little longer. Cook until the vegetables are done and server over rice topped with a fresh mint and cilantro.

Jaime

Sweet Tooth Fix

When you need a little sweet,  have peanut butter scoop with jam and a cup of milky tea...mmmm soothing
jaime

Monday, February 15, 2010

not so sinful sweet tooth

angel food is actually easy and fun to make....I've made the cupcakes, and deee-lish! In whole cake form it is just as good and easier than foolin' with individual servings. The only mod I made was using almond extract instead of vanilla, but just because I'm out at the moment.....anyway, follow this recipe and you will get and taste what you expect! enjoy sweeeeties, Jaime : )'


Remembering Grammy... Egg Foo Yung

I don't know if you all remember going to the Asian restaurant, Ho Si Gay over in Hyde Park by Larosa's when we were little? But I think about it from time to time and how Grammy always loved the Egg Foo Young, as well as I.  It's basically an egg, bean sprout, fish sauce, soy sauce, etc, patty fried up in a pan and then ladeled with brown sauce and served with rice. You can pretty much google for recipes and get the idea. Very easy to make and if you like Egg Foo Young you should give it a try!....Jaime

Weeknight Easy

Pinto Beans & Rice....This is a really quick night, healthy as you want, meal! The boys went crazy over this, and were improvising using it as dip the next day. I was planning on freezing the leftovers, but the boys demolished it! 


Pulse together  1/2 bunch of cilantro(leaves and stems), 3 cloves garlic, 1 dried chili pepper, 3 fresh jalepeno peppers( I like it hot, so 3 peppers, seeds and all), 1 onion, tsp each dried oregano and basil, and a splash of water. Pour the mixture into a pan with about 2 tbsp oil, let this simmer for about 10 minutes (Sauteing cilantro with other spices in oil and having that as a base to indian, mexican, any spicy dish, is my new favorite way of infusing a dish with spice!!!) Incorporate 1 big tbsp tomatoe paste to the mixture and saute for a minute more. Then add 1 can crushed tomatoes,3 cans pinto, 2 cans kidney (drained & rinsed) into the mixture and stir. Add some chicken broth or water just to get it looking a bit soupy and let this simmer for at least 20minutes, but the longer the better. Add liquid as needed just to keep the consistency as you like it. Server over rice with green onions, and sour cream, baguette and wine.......Jaime

Chicken Curry Pot Pie

Here you have all the goodness of a pot pie, but stuffed with chicken curry! I followed this recipe, including the pie crust pretty much as written. I used a caserole dish, because I had doubled both the filling and pie crust due to lack of  pie tins. We all loved the casserole pot variation and the crust was really outstanding. I would most definately use this pie crust recipe again! The picture from the original recipe shows how the filling looks.(my camera ran out of battery, so this was the only pic I got).

something to mention.... I was concerned how the the consistency of the filling would turn out. And one thing to be aware of is whatever thickness the filling is going into the pot pie before cooking,will not thicken by anything noticeable when it's all done.

I would definately make this again, and again, and again!!!

Jaime