Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tuna Noodle Casserole... just the name of it conjures up images of stale 50s housewives and canned cream of mushroom soup. I think the especially negative images I had about it piqued my curiosity and prompted me to try this particular recipe that sounded less bland and flat.

The results were quite good. I enjoyed the texture of the frozen peas that did not turn mushy if sprinkled in just before baking. I also appreciated the light silky creaminess of the sauce. mmm... the parsley and thyme added a nice herby freshness to the dish that I loved. Making this in the future is definitely not out of the question.

Ingredients:

Bread Crumb Topping
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (I used whole wheat bread, and that tasted just fine)
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 Tb of unsalted butter, melted

Pasta
6 Tb of unsalted butter
salt
12 oz. dried fettuccine (break into thirds for easy eating and spreading in the casserole dish)
10 oz. white button mushrooms (slice into 1/4 inch slices with stems taken out_
2 medium onions, minced
ground black pepper
1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup whole milk
1 Tb lemon juice (fresh)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 Tb chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 (6 oz) cans of water packed white tuna
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed

1. Topping: Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the middle. Mix bread crumbs, salt and melted butter in a baking dish. Bake 15-20 minutes. Set aside.
2. For the pasta, increase oven temp to 450. Butter casserole dish or a 13" by 9" baking dish.
3. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add a T of salt and add pasta to water when comes to a rolling boil. Cook until al dente. Save 1/4 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta and return to pot.
4. Heat 2 T of butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onions and saute. Stir frequently until onions soften and the liquid evaporates (7-10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in bowl and set aside.
5. Melt 4 T of butter in clean skillet over medium heat. When foam subsides, whisk in the flour and cook and whisk constantly until turns golden (1-2 minutes). Gradually add chicken broth and milk while whisking constantly. Increase heat to medium high and simmer until thickened (5 minutes). Off heat, whisk in 1/2 tsp salt, lemon juice, parsley and thyme.
6. Add the sauce, mushroom mixture, tuna and peas to the pasta and mix. Season as needed.
7. Put mixture into buttered baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs andbake until crumbs brown and mixture is hot and bubbly (10 minutes). Eat immediately!

Dish still tastes good the next day, but obviously not as good the first night.

Chicken Piccata

With a small salad and mashed potatoes, this turned into an amazing dinner. The lemony sauce on this chicken piccata was tangy and tasted great. It was also pretty easy to assemble once all ingredients were there. I highly recommend this if you want to impress family or friends. My dad saw this for $27 on the menu at some restaurant, and I def spent less than $10. btw, pounding the chicken flat was likely necessary in getting a really tender and keeping it moist. Leftovers still taste good, but the texture is of course not the same because the crunchy breaded outside tastes so good when it first comes out of the oven.

Ingredients:
4 skinless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper
1 cup all purpose flour
2 xl eggs
1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs (i used the fine canned kind)
olive oil
3 T unsalted butter, room temp
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons), hold on to the lemon halves for later
1/2 cup dry white wine (all I had was a chardonnay, and that worked out)
chopped flat leaf parsley for sprinkling on top before serving (i didn't bother with this this time around)

Preheat oven. Line sheet pan with parchment paper (protect the pan fro getting all sorts of crap on it).

Pound each breast half between plastic wrap or parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thick. sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.

Mix flour, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in shallow plate. Beat eggs in another bowl/shallow plate and add 1 T of water. Place bread crumbs in another plate(tupperware worked great). Dip each first in flour, shake off excess, then in egg, then in bread crumbs.

Heat 2 T olive oil in large saute pan over medium/medium-low heat. Add breasts two at a time and brown each side. Place on sheet pan and do the rest. Bake in oven 5-10 minutes.

Sauce: Melt 1 T of butter in saute pan and add lemon juice, white wine, reserved lemon halves that were juiced, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Boil over high and reduce by half (2 minutes). Off the heat, add 2 T of butter. Discard lemon halves. Spoon over finished chicken! yummers.

Pesto and Peas Pasta

This recipe came off the tele, and it came out quite well... I loved the peas in this (I used frozen ones from Trader Joe's), and I don't usually even like peas (other than ones like fresh snap peas or snow peas). My one complaint was that the pesto recipe I used was quite oily. Well that's what pesto is... oily. But this recipe even called for putting 1/4 cup of olive oil on the pasta to prevent it from sticking. So I left that out and it still ended up being a bit much for me. The flavor was great, but I just couldn't eat more than a little bowlful with out getting that feeling that a greasy film was coating my throat and stomach. I'd make this again though, but it's a definite side dish considering how oily rich tasting it is.

3/4 pound fusilli pasta (I just used all bow ties)
3/4 pound bow tie pasta
1/4 cup good olive oil ( I left this out)
1 1/2 cups pesto, packaged or see recipe below
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cups good mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/3 cup pine nuts
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil (I wouldn't do this if I were you. There's enough, if not too much, olive oil in the pesto to take care of the pasta). Cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pinenuts, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Pesto:
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated ParmesanPlace the walnuts, pinenuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Longan: Dragon's Eye

A case of this tropical fruit that grows in southern China, Indonesia and Thailand among other places was brought to my house because it was not fit for being commercially sold (white stuff on the outside skin). But they were still edible. It has a similar texture to fresh lychee. And just like lychee, they have an inedible skin. By the name "dragon's eye" you might notice that there is a dark black pit in the center that shows through the more transparent fruit flesh. Who needs peeled grapes in a bowl to be your bowl of eyeballs at Halloween when you can get your hands on this stuff? Most people eat them fresh. They can also be cooked with. The flavor is difficult to describe. While sweet, the longan has a fermented taste to it that many might not find too pleasing. I thought maybe I had a bad batch, but even the dried versions had a similar flavor. I still found myself though popping them due to the curious taste.

Companies have been trying for years to get this fruit imported from Thailand, and they finally succeeded this past year (2007). The first couple shipments were great. The longan were plump, fat and round. But the past few have not been of such high quality (thus resulting in an entire case of defective longan ending up in my kitchen). It's something new to try... maybe you'll even want to throw it into a fruit salad along with some almond gelatin.

Kru

I finally got a chance to eat at the restaurant that my friend cooks at. It's called Kru and is located on J Street in Sacramento, California. I ate and drank myself silly from 4 pm to 8 pm.

-kobe beef sashimi - I picked this off of my neighbor. I loved the seasoning (ginger, garlic, chives, ponzu, pink hawaiian sea salt, and seared with hot sesame oil). the jalapeno slice might have been too hot for me... I would eat one between two slices of beef (but i'm a big baby. I need milk for mild salsa).
- house made pork gyoza - I picked off my neighbor again. They get points for making their own. They were also quite tasty, but nothing special.
- sashimi tapas - yum! variety is great. loved the real wasabi. bbq salmon... eh. loved the walu.








-lobster tempura in spicy lemon ailoi - yesssss! and loved the aioli. i've never had it before with tempura and it's so good i'd get it again and again. a totally different tempura experience.



-scallops and foie gras - oh god. so good. melt into buttery nothingness as soon as it hits your mouth. This is the menu description: jumbo scallops from hokkaido japan, topped with medallions of foie gras, crispy smashed potatoes, and a soy-mirin grastrique.



-one of the specials of the day/week... pan fried walu or something. it was so delicious I forgot to take a picture of it until I was almost finished. i've never had walu before this experience, but i love the texture. firm but buttery.





-The last savory dish was a special of fried squid. They were older than what one would use for calamari, so they were a bit tougher. Flavor wise they were quite tasty.



And what meal would be complete without dessert. My friend had personally made and come up with this chocolate panna cotta with blackberry sauce. He likes to experiment with different ideas. I should tell him about this jasmine tea infused chocolate mousse. Apparently the desserts are always changing and the servers let customers know what they have that night.All in all, the best (i.e. decadent) meal I've had in a looooooong time.e quite tasty.

The Dirty Dozen

Here is a list of produce that usually test the highest for pesticide concentrations... so get these organic when you can. Did you know apples' natural pesticide is arsenic though? If I studied plant biology, I'm sure I could tell you more and what should be done about the dilemma of natural pesticides (that develop in the absence of ones applied by humans) v. chemical ones. But here you go...

Peaches

Apples

Sweet Bell Peppers

Celery

Nectarines

Strawberries

Cherries

Pears

Grapes (Imported)

Spinach

Lettuce

Potatoes

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Ginger Frosting

I was itching to make a confection out of pumpkin (time of the season, you know). I randomly grabbed this pumpkin cupcake recipe off the internet. It's a pretty good recipe. More like pumpkin bread or pumpkin pound cake than like regular cake. It's a bit denser, but quite tasty. I chose a ginger frosting as opposed to a more popular cheesecake frosting... and I still wonder if the ginger frosting overpowered the pumpkin flavor of the cupcake... regardless, I couldn't stop licking the frosting bowl. Everyone loved these cupcakes and wanted more. I might make another batch soon... I'll probably use the ginger frosting recipe again... but I def would try a plain cream cheese frosting recipe too. oh and sorry for the not so decadent looking picture. I was too anxious to just cram the thing in my mouth to worry about taking a decent picture of it.

Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sift before measuring
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten until frothy
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans ( left these out because I didn't want to bother buying them)
  

Instructions:

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs. Blend in mashed pumpkin. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk, blending until batter is smooth after each addition; stir in chopped walnuts or pecans. Spoon batter into well-greased and floured or paper-lined muffin pan cups.

Fill about 2/3 full. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Makes about 20 cupcakes...
Ginger Frosting (this recipe made a bit more than there were cupcakes to frost... so beware)

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• about 3 cups of powdered sugar (sifted)
• 1-2 T fresh grated ginger
• 1/2-3/4 tsp ground ginger

Beat it all together.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I must admit that I had no idea that chicken tikka masala was to India as Panda Express orange chicken was to China. Needless to say, this tasty British adapted dish is a basic I almost always shamlessley order at some point at any Indian restaurant. This recipe I tried was different in that the chicken wasn't not swimming and falling apart in the sauce. There was just enough sauce to cover. I made some basmati rice with it, but unfortunately I did it Japanese style by measuring the water up to the first knuckle, resulting in sticky white rice (perfect by Japanese standards but not what I had in mind for this meal). Oops.

This might have taken some time to put together, but it was really easy once I got all the ingredients together. It's full of a flavor and I love it. I'll be making this again in the future.

Notes:

(1) this dish was hardly spicy with the one serrano chile i used. So if you want it spicier, add more or leave in the ribs and seeds (although i heard somewhere that the seeds don't hold the spiciness as much as the white ribby part).

(2) fresh cilantro on top added a freshness to it that you won't get without it, so if you can bother to buy it, do it.

RECIPE:

Chicken Tikka

1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (that was about 4 breast pieces)
1 cup of plain whole milk yogurt
2 T vege oil
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 T fresh grated ginger

Masala Sauce

3 T vege oil
1 medium onion diced fine
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 serrano chile
1 T tomato paste
1 T garam masala
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
chopped fresh cilantro to garnish

Directions:

1. Chicken Directions: combine all dry spices and salt in bowl and sprinkle on both sides of breasts. Cover and put in fridge30-60 minutes. Mix yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger and set aside.
2. Sauce Directions: Heat oil in big pot over medium heat. Add onions and stir until light golden. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala. Keep stirring for a couple minutes. Add can of tomatoes, sugar and salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove from heat.

3. While sauce simmers, put oven rack in upper middle half (about 6 inches from heat source) and turn oven on for broiler. Coat chicken with thick layer of yogurt mixture (this makes chicken crazy moist). Place on baking sheet or broiler pan (Foil lined makes for easy clean up). Broil chicken 8-10 minutes (flipping half way through). It says parts should be charred, but I didn't get much of that. But as long as it's not pink inside, we're golden.
4. Let chicken rest for like 5 minutes, then cut into bite size chunks and stir into sauce (don't have it when it's still simmering). Top or stir in cilantro. Add salt to your taste.

I served it with my screwed up basmati rice. still delicious. I also got my hands on some frozen samosas that we baked up. perfeito!

Expermenting with Burgers...

Now that my intense study days are over for the moment, I'm back to trying and cooking up different foods. For a while I was eating pasta for lunch and dinner. More specifically, whole wheat Trader Joe pasta, parmesan cheese, shredded sauteed zuchinni (with olive oil and garlic), and sometimes pesto. Delicious. But not when you're eating it for several weeks straight.

Anyways, I had been wanting to try this burger that I had seen had won the Build a Better Burger contest. One was called the Born in Berkeley Burger. It had a lot to it. Figs, fennel, sun dried tomatoes, etc. But today I just went with what I had and tried to make something edible.

Now, I'm not recommending this recipe. I'm just telling you what I did. I put the plain patty in a frying pan with some pepper and A1 sauce (don't ask). Then I topped it with some slices of brie cheese. Topped that with slices of fresh figs (they're not going to be in season for much longer!). Since I didn't have any hamburger buns, I used two hotdog buns. I was too lazy to bust out another pan to toast the bread (the other pan was too gunky with the A1), so i popped those in the toaster oven and then spread a little mayo on it.

My rating? Some of those ingredients definitely have potential to make one tasty burger. I enjoyed it though. For what it was. Considering the circumstances... There will be no picture because, well, I ate it because I was hungry, and two, you weren't missing much visually. I'm sure you can use your imagination. Chicken tikka masala tonight though!

Ingredients:

burger patty
brie cheese
fresh fig
hamburger buns (or hotdog buns if you're like me)
mayo
A1 sauce
pepper

Dessert Party: Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Several weeks ago I had a dessert party with a group of friends. I had everyone bring one dessert. Most of the males brought store bought cookies, but at least there were no oreos. Ah, one did make white chocolate chip macademia nut cookies. There was also baklava... and 6 bottles of champagne. ok ok, sparkling white wine. Astrud Gilberto's Astrud for Lovers provided the ambiance.

After many hours of snacking and sipping, the night devolved into listening to the Star Wars soundtrack on vinyl and watching Michael Jackson's Captain EO on my laptop. The night rounded out with watching fireworks being set off from a fraternity several streets down. Leftovers from Fourth of July is my guess.

I wanted to do the classic cheesy pineapple upside down cake (pineapple rings, maraschino cherries and all). But I ended up at Trader Joe's and couldn't get my hands on pineapple rings and bright red dyed cherries. All they had were fresh pineapple chunks and jarred gray looking cherries from Germany. :/ So I went with the recipe from Cooks Illustrated...

Before I get into the recipe... I must say it was a hit and DELICIOUS. The cake was dense and buttery. the topping was sweet, carmelized and fruity. The last slice was just as tasty the next day. I'd love to try and make it with pineapple and cherries next time just for the ascetic. And it really didn't take that much time or effort. BTW I made it in a skillet since I don't own a cake pan.

I've been studying a lot, so I likely won't be making much for the next month. I'm going to try out chicken tikka masala though. perhaps in the next week or so.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Pineapple topping

1 medium ripe pineapple (about 4 pounds) - about 4 cups prepared fruit

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3 T. unsalted butter

1/2 t. vanilla extract

Cake

1 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. table salt

8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened but still cool

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

2 large eggs plus 1 egg white, room temperature

1/3 c. whole milk, room temperature

1. Lightly spray 9-inch round, 2-inch deep cake pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside

2. For the pineapple topping: Combine pineapple and brown sugar in a 10 inch skillet; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally during first 5 minutes, until pineapple is translucent and has a light brown hue, 15-18 minutes. Empty fruit and juices into mesh strainer or colander set over medium bowl. Return juices to skillet, leaving pineapple in strainer (you should have about 2 cups cooked fruit). Simmer juices over medium heat until thickened, beginning to darken, and mixture forms large bubbles, 6-8 minutes, adding any more juices released by fruit to skillet after about 4 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla; pour carmel mixure into prepared cake pan. Set aside while preparing cake. (Pineapple will coninue to release liquid as it sits; do not add this liquid to already-reduced juice mixture).

3. For the Cake: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, and heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

4. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with flat beater, cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, add vanilla, and beat to combine; one at a time, add whole eggs then egg white, beating well and scraping down bowl after each addition. Reduce speed to low; add about 1/3 of flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Add half of miilk and beat until incorporated; repeat, adding half of remaining flour mixture and remaining milk, and finish with remaining flour. Give final stir with rubber spatula, scraping bottom and sides of bowl to ensure that batter is combined. Batter will be thick.

5. To bake: Working quickly, distribute cooked pineapple in cake pan in even layer, gently pressing fruit into carmel. Using rubber spatula, drop mounds of batter over fruit, then spread batter over fruit and to sides of pan. Tap pan lightly against work surface to release any air bubbles. Bake until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack, then place inverted serving platter over cake pan. Invert cake pan and platter together. lift off cake pan. Cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, then cut into pieces and serve.

Alternatively, a 10-inch ovensafe skillet (cast iron or stainless steel) can be used to both cook the pineapple and bake the cake. If using a skillet instead of a cake pan, cool the juices directly in the skillet while making the batter; it's OK if the skillet is warm when the batter is added.

Just glancing through the recipe, I wonder if it would be better to used fresh pineapple? you can buy it at the regular grocery store, all cut up with it's juices (I think Del Monte has it in a plastic bag and Trader Joe's has fresh pineapple cut up too).

Fettuccine Alfredo: never good leftovers

My brother has had an affinity for fettuccine alfredo for quite a while. I decided to try it from scratch. But not from just simply stirring milk and butter on a stove. No, I had to go with a tried and true recipe from Cook's Illustrated because of the kitchen tested results. They haven't let me down yet, so I gave it a go. If a recipe even feigns scientific proof of its taste superiority, I'll bite (at least once).
An ex was supposed to come to help me cook and eat it, but he fell asleep and forgot to call. Go figure. I went ahead with the plan though because I had my stomach set on it. And while it was delicious, I made the mistake of eating it by myself (all 9 oz of it). I managed to eat half of it (which gave my lactose intolerant system a bit of a workout). This was definitely stick to your ribs food. And no surprise, this doesn't keep well to eat later even an hour after it's done. Congealed goo. I still ate it the next day. The fact that the oil had separated from the cheese wasn't enough to deter me. But I made sure to invite friends the next time I made a batch. yummers.

Serves 4-6 as a first course

Ingredients:
*1.5 cups heavy cream
*2 T butter
*salt
*1/2 tsp black pepper
*9 oz fresh fettuccine (apparently soaks up sauce better. but gremlins will not beat you if you use dry)
*1.5 oz Parmesan cheese
*1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions:
1. Bring pot of water to a boil.
2. Bring 1 c heavy cream and butter to simmer in saucepan. reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced (12-15 minutes). Take off heat and stir in rest of cream, 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper.
3. Boil pasta. (add salt if you want). Cook just before al dente (it'll cook further when added to the sauce).
4. Simmer sauce again, reduce fire to low and then add pasta, Parmesan, and nutmeg. Cok over low heat (1-2 minutes). Add 1/4 of cooking water to thin out.

Now the article said to warm bowls so the pasta doesn't congeal as quickly. And yes, I did that. Congealing is bad. And if there is anything I can do to prevent congealed goo from forming (like I said, that sounds at least semi - scientifically convincing), I'm all for trying it.

Brunch: La Note

This morning I walked to Shattuck with my friend for brunch. I have been to this cute little French Provençal restaurant at least 3 or 4 other times for brunch. I have almost always ordered the Cote Nord (scrambled eggs with cream cheese (I substitute goat cheese) over levain toast, homefries and tomatoes. It's delicious and does everything taste and texture wise that I want breakfast to do. I also like to take a spoonful of the raspberry jam on the table. I don't double dip! I wanted to try something else this time though. I opted for the cinnamon brioche french toast. Thick and oh so good. A faint orange taste since it's dipped in orange water.

I still prefer the stuffed french toast special at Venus that is just a block down. That one, I believe, is challah bread that is stuffed with sweetened mascarpone cheese. I believe there's a walnut and apple mixture on top. But anyways, the french toast at La Note was tasty, but as always I feel with pancakes and french toast dishes, the salty, greasy component is missing, and I wasn't about to order a side of homefries.

The minus was that we had to wait over an hour and a half to get a table at this tiny place. We got there at 11:30 am and probably didn't get seated until 1 pm. I've never waited that long there. Usually an hour tops. But there was a new hostess, and she was very obviously only seating people that had the exact number of people as the number at the tables that opened up. That didn't make me happy to see people with one more person in their group getting seated before us when they signed their name in an hour after we did.

I love taking friends from out of town here. It's cute and charming, and the food is delicious and simple, everything you want in a breakfast/brunch. I just have to remind myself to come in at 9 am next time.

There's a Law and Order SVU marathon on and I'm watching it! It'll be studying for the rest of the day, munching on blue corn tortilla chips and guacamole and roasted tomato salsa. Dessert Party this Friday. I'm making a pineapple upside down cake.

Kjötsúpa - Icelandic Lamb Soup/Stew

So as a college student / working woman with limited time and budget, I tend to look out for recipes that I can make in large quantities and then eat for the rest of the week for lunch and dinner. Painfully boring? Yes, but I got used to that idea when I had my internship last year in Venezuela and I ate the same meals more or less for three months straight. Breakfast: yogurt, Special K, and papaya. Lunch: lentil soup and carrot sticks. Dinner: lentil soup and rice. I occasionally changed it up with a vegetarian chili. Needless to say, I have not bothered to make lentil soup since then.

Anyways, when I'm looking for a good recipe for a meal that's supposed to last me all week, in addition to it being relatively easy to make in mass quantities I look for one that has a decent amount of nutrients and fiber.

REVIEW

I found this basic recipe for an Icelandic lamb stew that is apparently a staple in Iceland. It is actually quite similar to Scottish and Irish lamb stews. This recipe might actually be even more simple than its neighbors'. I might try those at a later date. They involve using bacon and Guinness beer.

I just finished making a pot of this for lunch and I've already eaten three bowls of it today. A very tasty simple dish. My brother hated it. He said it was too bland for him. Those that consider themselves meat and potato people will enjoy this. I mean... if you can appreciate simple things like shepherd's pie and the like... which I do.

Rather than tell you the amount the recipe exactly called for... I'll tell you what I used in what quantities since the recipe even said there is no exact science to this.

RECIPE

Cook time ~ 1 hour
Servings ~ a hellauv a lot of soup It says 4-6. I'd say more like 6-8 servings. I'm kind of tiny, so more like 10 servings for me.

Ingredients
*6 cups of water
*1/2 a medium onion (diced)
*2 carrots (diced)
*1 rutabaga (diced) - sub turnip if you'd like.
*1 leek (diced)
*1 pound of lamb (I got 1/2 lb. of "lamb stew" (ready chopped and fattier) and 1/2 lb. of "lamb kabob" (ready chopped and leaner)
*1/2 a head of green cabbage (chopped like slaw) (it called for white cabbage)
*1 small head of cauliflower (cut into bite size florets)
*2 potatoes (diced into small cubes)
*.5-1 cup white/brown rice (I made mine separately in a rice cooker. but you can add it after you add the water to the browned lamb) (apparently you can try using rolled oats too to make it really hearty. I didn't feel like trying that this time around)
*vege/beef stock in the form of bouillon cube (or replace a cup of water or two with stock)

Directions

Brown the lamb in a little bit of olive oil. Sprinkled a bit of salt and pepper on top. Add the leeks and onions. Add water. I also added a bit of concentrated vege stock. You can use a bouillon cube if you'd like. Added another two tsp. of salt and some fresh cracked pepper. Brought to boil and then lowered to a simmer (medium heat). If you want to cook in the rice, add rice soon after you add the water. Basically you want to give the rice a half hour to cook with the soup. Add the rest of the veges. Brought back up to boil and then brought down to a simmer. Left it on for 20-30 minutes.

About this Blog: I Tell You Why

Who doesn't love food? Everyone obviously loves food, except for maybe Kate Moss. Who doesn't love to cook? That's a whole 'nother ball park. As a lover of both, I find myself frequently sharing recipes, restaurant recommendations, and food experiences. A separate blog for this part of my life only made sense. My myspace blog has always been a bit chaotic - a farrago of relationship whoas, travels abroad, and random recipes. The most recent inspiration probably came from watching too much Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. So what's going to make mine different? I guess this would be the best time to tell more about myself so you get an idea of whose perspective on food you're getting.

I'm a fourth/fifth generation Japanese-American originally from Los Angeles, California. My father was born in Hawaii but moved when he was still a toddler. My mother was born and raised in southern California. I just graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Political Science and a BA in Mass Communications. I'm currently studying towards higher education. Traveling has been a huge part of my life since high school. Countries have included Italy, France, Belgium, England, Austria, Holland, Japan, Brazil and Venezuela. From now on, I'm going to keep a detailed food diary of my travels... like Anthony Bourdain - minus the chain smoking and leather jacket. I have no real dietary restrictions. I am technically lactose intolerant, but I really don't let that stop me from eating my ice cream and fettuccine alfredo. I think my digestive system is turning against alcohol lately... but I probably won't let that get in my way too much either... if I can help it.

What you might find in this blog: Recipes I've tried and my reviews of them; restaurant reviews (local and abroad); posts on featured items like cheese, tea, or produce; recent news items on health or foods; and the occasional rambling of a neurotic 20 something year old.... Enjoy.