The Quickest Meal Ever*

*By ever we mean in the context of this cooking blog and how long it usually takes us to cook our meals - which is forever.

After a minor hiatus we are back in the kitchen!

For tonight's adventure we made feta mashed potatoes, orange salmon with kale, and an AMAZING salad the Rebecca put together off the top of her head.

Feta mashed potatoes

Ingredients:
(We used) 5 red potatoes
2 tbs butter
Garlic powder
Most of an 8oz block of feta
Salt n pepper

Directions:
Peel them potatoes! Chop into small cubes, as it cooks much faster this way. When potatoes are cooked, add butter, a bit of salt, a bit of pepper (to taste), a tablespoon or so of garlic powder (but we like our garlic) and crumbled feta (you can get the crumbles but we recommend a block and crumbling it yourself). Mash the whole thing until you have mashed potatoes :)

To garnish, add chopped scallions and hot sauce. Mmmm....

Orange salmon and kale (and baby bok choy)

Ingredients:
2 oranges
1lb salmon fillets, skinless
10oz fresh kale, roughly chopped with the stems removed and only the green stuff used
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 green onions, chopped, for garnish
(We also added...) 2 largish baby bok choy, chopped

Directions:
Zest both oranges. Set aside orange zest. Cut peel from one orange, and chop up into squares. Set aside. Juice the other orange and add juice to a large saute pan. If your salmon came with skin on it like ours did, remove skin (and fry it with some soy sauce to eat right away). In your pan, arrange salmon and sprinkle with half the orange zest, salt and pepper.  Cover and let it cook until fish is fully cooked through (no longer a dark pink - maybe 5 minutes). Remove fish to your plate(s). Add kale, oranges, chopped baby bok choy, remaining zest, salt and pepper to pan and cook for just a few minutes until greens were cooked, but not completely wilted. Serve salmon on a bed of greens, with your green onion for garnish (this is clearly a theme here).

Super-awesome salad by Rebecca

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1 big gala apple
Some match-stick carrots
2 green onions
Big chunk of ginger, peeled and minced

Salad dressing:
2 tbs olive oil
Most of the minced ginger (but you can put some more in your salad if you like) soaked in the olive oil for at least 10 minutes
Juice of half a lemon (use a fresh lemon!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cut everything up and mix together with the salad dressing, which is just all of the ingredients mixed together as well! For the apples, cut into thin slices (like guitar picks). Same with the avocado - make sure it's a very ripe one because it serves more as an emulsifier than as a salad ingredient. Very tasty.

The end!

Kimchi is the Word

On this evening's adventure, frankly, we went all over the place. It was partially inspired by a newly-arrived (Amazon-bought) cookbook (Steamy Kitchen’s Healthy Asian Favorites by Jaden Hair) and partly by the fact that it's a 3-day weekend so we threw all caution to the wind and added monkey bread from scratch to our line-up.

Aside from the monkey bread, the tale of which we shall tell in due time, we made kimchi(!), curry, and a napa cabbage salad.

First, for the quick kimchi.

Ingredients:

1 head napa cabbage

4 tbsp salt

2 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic (we used 4)

1 tsp grated fresh ginger (we used a tablespoon instead)

2 tbsp hot chili paste

½ cup rice vinegar

2 tsp sugar

We actually halved this recipe and used the other half the napa cabbage for our salad. We doubled the garlic, however, to 4 cloves, and used a tablespoon of ginger instead of the teaspoon. Finally, since we didn't have chili paste, we used sriracha - and it worked just as well.

Directions:

Remove and discard outer leaves and the tough inner core of the napa cabbage. Rinse all the leaves. Shred it using a sharp kitchen knife - don't use a grater.

In a large bowl, toss cabbage with salt and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. After that, rinse cabbage (from the salt) and squeeze all the water out.

Toss the cabbage with all remaining ingredients and let it sit for at least an hour in the fridge (you're supposed to be able to eat it immediately, hence the quick kimchi, but we really recommend letting the flavors soak in). 

On to the curry.

Ingredients: 

1 tsp cooking oil

2 tbsp Thai red curry paste

1 can of coconut milk

½ red bell pepper

½ yellow bell pepper

1 small tomato

8 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1in cubes

8 fresh basil leaves

Cooked rice, to serve

We added all sorts of things to this recipe and doubled the whole thing. We added some mushrooms, used a green pepper instead of a yellow, added an onion (who makes curry without an onion??), added some potato, and threw out the tomato. 

Directions:

Although the cookbook didn't tell us to do this, we definitely drained our tofu first. To drain tofu, cut longways and wrap in paper towels. Put under a heavy press and let it sit for at least a half hour.

Heat the pan (we recommend a wok) over medium heat. Add the oil and then the red curry paste, frying it for about 30 seconds. Pour in a few tablespoons of coconut milk and mix. Add the garlic and ginger, and let cook for a bit. Add the rest of the coconut milk, the tofu, and all the vegetables. 

Simmer until vegetables are cooked, then add fresh basil before serving.

If you're using potato in your curry, we recommend peeling, cubing, and then boiling it first. Then add it to your curry at the very end - that ensures you have thoroughly cooked potato in your curry.

On another note, we didn't love this recipe. Aside from the heat of the curry paste there was very little flavor and it needed salt, at a minimum. We would recommend looking elsewhere for a spectacular curry.

Napa cabbage salad

Ingredients (these are what we actually used, not what the original recipe called for, half of which we didn't have)

1/2 head of napa cabbage, shredded

1/4 of a cup of white onion, julienned 

2 tbsp (or more) of sesame seeds

1 cup almonds (it calls for slivered but we just chopped up some we had whole)

Roughly crushed pita chips (amount to taste - this is your crunch)

Dressing:

1/8 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup white sugar (add more if you like sweeter dressing)

1 tbsp soy sauce

Directions:

In a pan, fry the almonds and sesame seeds in some butter (you're supposed to toast them, but to hell with toasting, butter is better). Combine dressing ingredients in a saucepan and let them boil for one minute. Set aside and cool until it's no longer too hot to touch (you should wait until it's cooler, but we didn't and it tasted real good).

Throw together all ingredients and dressing, and sprinkle pita chips on top in individual bowls (whatever you do, don't let the pita chips get soggy!!!!)

Deeeeeeeeee-licious.

(Original recipe found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/napa-cabbage-salad/)

We now come to the epic battle (and conclusion) of our evening's program. 

We did not, in fact, end it with monkey bread in hand. We ended it with strips of fried dough probably more delicious (but still not monkey bread) instead.

Basically - our dough didn't rise (at ALL) even after two poundings so we hit the interwebs which told us to roll it out thing and fry the hell out of it on the stovetop. We then sprinkled it with a mixture of brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon - patiently waiting on becoming monkey bread - and ate it up. Honestly - we don't think we can ever recreate this adventure again, so we're going to keep the recipe a mystery and taunt you with pictures.

Our First Ever Guest Chef Experience and More

Not only did we cook extraordinarily delicious things this time, something very special happened - we had our very first guest chef join our cooking adventures! Jane, an avid baker and chef, joined in the fun because she was visiting from out of town.

With so many more helping hands, we even made dessert! (check out the photos, they are in backwards order a bit).

To start, we made Greek/American Salad - our very own Rebecca's very own creation!

Ingredients:
1/2 crunchy cucumber
1 tomato
1 avocado
1/2 onion (could probably use less, and a red onion might be great)
3/4 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced (we used the stuff that comes pre-sliced in a bag)
2 cups lettuce (of your choice, we used a nice mild one)
1 cup grapes, halved (we used red grapes, recommend the same as you want something sweet)
1.5 cups crushed pita chips (Stacy's brand is the best!)

Dressing:
2 lemons worth of juice (gotta use real lemons)
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
5 large garlic cloves, minced

Directions:
Chop everything, medium-sized slices
In a bowl, mix the dressing and layer salad ingredients in this order: onions on the bottom, then cucumber, tomato, avocado, cabbage, grapes, lettuce, and pita chips on top. Toss JUST before serving so that pita chips don't get soggy (you can even keep the pita chips out and put them into each individual plate).

Second on our list were cod cakes with Thai green apple salsa. THEY WERE SO DELICIOUS.

Cod Cakes:

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup vegetable oil (although we didn't use this ingredient because we baked them, not fried them)
1 cup chopped onions
1.5 lb of hake or cod
3/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Cube the potatoes and set them to boil for 10-13min or until soft. Cut cod into 1 inch cubes and chop the onion.
Saute onion in olive oil with a 1/8 ts salt for about 5 min or until translucent.
Add the fish and saute until it becomes flaky and mostly cooked.
Mix in the parsley and 1/4 ts pepper; remove from heat.
Drain and mash potatoes.
Allow both mixtures to cool
Combine potatoes and fish mixture in a bowl and mix in 2 beaten eggs (make sure they don't scramble if your fish is still hot).
Place bowl in the fridge for 1 hour to set
Remove cod cake mixture and scoop into oiled muffin tin (the original recipe calls for frying these cakes so the 1 cup vegetable oil is for that purpose).
Bake cod cakes at 450 degrees for 10 min then reduced the heat to 400 for another 10 mins or until they turn a nice golden cooked color.

**If you're not trying to be healthy, it might be worth trying to fry these babies because they were pretty crumbly and maybe not as crunchy and fried-delicious out of the oven**

To go on top of the cod cakes- Thai Green Apple Salsa

Ingredients:
4 granny smith apples (we used Staymen apples, as we had just picked them fresh from the farm the day before!)
1 lime
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 small hot red peppers or 1 jalapeno, chopped to your liking
1/4 cup parsley (the original recipe calls for cilantro, but trust us, the parsley tasted AMAZING)
salt to taste

Directions
Thinly slice 4 tart apples and a small red onion. Juice one lime in a bowl add the onion and apples plus 1/4 ts salt. Mix well. Mince one jalapeno pepper (removing seeds and membrane) and chop parsley, add both to the bowl. Mix well and allow to sit at room temp for 30 min. Mix every 10 min within the 30 min sitting time and again just before serving.

Our side dish: Sweet Potato Fries!
(original recipe from http://cookieandkate.com/2010/baked-sweet-potato-fries/)

Ingredients:
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled like a zebra (or less, however much you want to make)
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Garlic powder
Olive oil

Directions:
Cut potatoes as evenly as possible into fries. In large bowl, mix enough black pepper, paprika, salt, garlic powder, and olive oil to coat all the fries well. (You might think you're putting too much in, but you're not, the seasoning is totally key).
Bake on cookie sheets (don't use foil) at 450 degrees until they start getting crispy, then turn over, and bake on the other side. It was about 15 minutes per side.

MUST dip in sour cream.

Finally, from our guest chef Jane, we had Raspberry Cream Cheese Brownies for dessert!
 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate (we used one large bar)
1 cup sugar
1 pint fresh raspberries, mashed
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt


Filling:
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 pint (or less) fresh raspberries, mashed

Directions Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. In a 3 quart saucepan, combine butter and chocolate. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Stir in sugar and mashed raspberries. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until well blended. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, and more raspberries. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until smooth. Pour filling evenly over batter in pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
(Original recipe:http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/dessert/cake/raspberry-cream-cheese-brownies.html)

Our First Moosewood Adventure

Tonight we made sesame tofu and Northern Indian Stuffed Eggplant, a recipe that came from a Moosewood Cookbook (for anyone not familiar, check out Mollie Katzen and her fabulous cookbooks at http://www.molliekatzen.com/books.php).

The sesame tofu had a lot of potential, but we would recommend some changes. Here is the recipe the way we made it, with  notes on changes following.

Ingredients:

1 package extra firm tofu
1/4 cup cornstarch, for dusting
oil (for frying)
1/2 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 bunch scallion, diced (we didn't have these but they would have been delicious)

Sauce
1/3 cup honey (we just barely didn't have enough so added a tbsp of brown sugar) 4 tablespoons tamari soy sauce (we used regular soy sauce) 3 tablespoons finely minced ginger root 3 tablespoons sesame oil 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 3 finely minced garlic cloves 1 -2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes

Directions:
Drain tofu (wrap tofu in paper towels and put under heavy press for 30 minutes)
Dust tofu with corn starch
Cube or cut into long strips (whichever you prefer) and deep fry in at least 1 inch of oil until tofu turns a beautiful golden color (on all sides). Be really careful - that oil is super hot!
While tofu is cooking, mix all sauce ingredients in small pan until they start to boil
Throw tofu into the sauce and let it sit and soak until you're ready to eat (at least 10 minutes)
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve!

Our recommendations:
Double the honey amount and reduce the sesame oil and vinegar (by at least a tablespoon each). Our sauce wasn't as viscous as it could have been and a bit too acidic.

(Original recipe at http://www.food.com/recipe/sesame-tofu-177242)

Northern Indian Stuffed Eggplant

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants
4 c cubed potatoes
8 ounces of cream cheese
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 c chopped onion
4 tspn cumin (the original recipe called for 2)
2 tbsn coriander (the original called for 1)
2 tspn turmeric (the original called for 1)
1/2 small hot red pepper
1/4 tspn cloves (ground)
4 tbsn ginger root
4 cloves garlic, diced
2 med carrots, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
1 c frozen peas
1 tomato, diced
2 tbsn lemon juice
sesame seeds

Directions:

First cut the eggplants in half, lay them cut side down on an oiled baking sheet, and bake them, covered, on 375 for 30-40 min (until cooked enough to mash). 

Boil potatoes (we used about 5 smallish potatoes, not peeled). Once boiled, drain water and mash cream cheese into potatoes.
Saute onion with cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cloves. When onion turns translucent (in one minute or so), add carrots and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add ginger, garlic, and chili pepper. Cook another minute or two. Then add green pepper and frozen peas. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add tomato and lemon juice. Cook another 3 minutes and remove from heat.

Mix onion mixture with potatoes.

Flip your eggplant and scoop out the eggplant guts, leaving the skin intact. Add eggplant pulp to potato/onion mixture and mix well.
Stuff 1/4 mixture into each of the 4 eggplant slices. Bake for 15-20 at 375.

Tada! Indian food that actually tastes delicious AND like Indian food.

One thought we had was substituting potatoes with cauliflower and making this dish over rice next time.

A little Italy

Pesto was the word today.

Starting from pesto, we went to pasta and then a beautiful salad, and then a baguette was added as well.

Pesto Pasta

Ingredients:
1½ cups fresh basil
1 cup Italian parsley
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups walnut pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup olive oil
1 cup Pecorino Romano, grated (we used Parmesan)

Directions:
Put the pasta of your choice on the stove to boil
Put all pesto ingredients except the cheese into a food processor and pulse until uniformly paste-like
In a large bowl, toss pesto and approximately half a cup of the cooked pasta water (to make it creamy, so you can use less or more water depending on how you like it)
Use additional pesto to spread on baguette and anything else that comes your way

Source: http://www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/280

Summer Salad

Ingredients:
1 (ripe) mango cubed
1 (ripe) avocado cubed
Quarter of a red onion (maybe even less) sliced thinly
Fresh blueberries (amount to your taste)
Fresh strawberries (amount to your taste, we recommend most of a quart of strawberries) chopped
1 cup crumbled feta
Baby spinach

Dressing:
2.5 tbsps vegetable oil (although the original calls for olive oil)
1.5 tbsps fresh lemon juice
2 tbsps apple cider vinegar (you can probably use something else but that's what we used and it was so good!)
2 tsps brown sugar
A little bit of salt (to taste)

Directions:
Throw the spinach, chopped mango, chopped avocado, strawberries, blueberries, onion, and feta together. Pour dressing on top and eat the entire bowl.

Inspired by: http://www.the36thavenue.com/2013/06/spinach-salad-recipe.html