Squash Blossoms: They are incredible. The flavor is best described as delicately zucchini-like. Since they are flowers, they have a nice, thin texture that really works well fried. I looked up a lot a recipes and tried to figure out the easiest way to deal with them and get a good concept of their taste. This is what I did:
9 whole squash blossoms, rinsed and patted dry
corn starch for dredging
1/2 cup olive oil
salt
garlic powder
I dredged the blossoms in the corn starch and just pan fried them until they got a light golden brown (and crisped up). I sprinkled a little salt and later a tiny bit of garlic powder. THEY WERE AWESOME!!!! Why can't I eat these forever? Seriously, why?!?!
DRAGON FRUIT: Ummmmm, yeah it doesn't taste like anything. It's beautiful and had the texture of a soft kiwi but it really just didn't taste like anything. It didn't even really smell like anything.
TOFU: I made fried tofu (with a cornstarch coating) and dipped them in a hoisin/soy sauce. Pretty good :) Not my new favorite food ever but pretty good.
Cactus Pears are yet to come.... Also to come, pictures!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Fennel
Fennel is something that I have come to be quite fond of over the course of the last year. Scott is the one who got me into it and this is our favorite way to make it:
2-3 fennel bulbs sliced 1/2 inch thick
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
salt
fresh cracked pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan (preferably the real kind as opposed to the stuff in the green plastic shaker)
the fennel leaves, shredded (the stuff that looks like fresh dill)
Make sure you cut off all the green stalk stuff from the fennel bulbs. Layer the slices in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the cheese and the fennel leaves (the dill stuff) and put it back into the oven until the cheese browns a little (about 5 min.). Allow to cool a bit and serve!
I fed this to Cherilyn, Lorien, and Mike before and they all seemed to think it was alright :)
2-3 fennel bulbs sliced 1/2 inch thick
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
salt
fresh cracked pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan (preferably the real kind as opposed to the stuff in the green plastic shaker)
the fennel leaves, shredded (the stuff that looks like fresh dill)
Make sure you cut off all the green stalk stuff from the fennel bulbs. Layer the slices in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the cheese and the fennel leaves (the dill stuff) and put it back into the oven until the cheese browns a little (about 5 min.). Allow to cool a bit and serve!
I fed this to Cherilyn, Lorien, and Mike before and they all seemed to think it was alright :)
Dhal
Okay here is the deal with dhal. I looked for a really long time to find a decent recipe a few years ago. What I came up with and what I generally use is a really pared down and decent yellow dhal recipe.
what you need:
-yellow dal (split channa/dried tiny little chickpeas split)
-salt
-chilies
-onion of some kind
-garlic
-various spices to your liking
-a little oil
~I recommend a little garam masala and maybe some coriander
-A BLENDER this is really important
-A MESH COLANDER equally important. It doesn't have to be mesh but the holes need to be tiny
Ok. Soak your channa for like 2 hours so it gets a lot softer. Throw it in a pot with enough water to cover it and all the spices you are going to use (including the onion etc) and bring it to a boil. Simmer it until the channa will smoosh on the side of the pot when pressed gently with a spoon. Drain your channa with the colander and transfer it directly into the blender. Blend it and add a little oil to your liking. Adjust the spices at this point. You can make it as utterly bland or as overwhelmingly spicy as you like. The main point of this recipe is that it gives you the right consistency for dhal without a pressure cooker. Anyways. This is what I do when I want dhal. It is decent, basic, and reliable. The alternative recipes out there seem to involve pressure cookers and they take forever.
what you need:
-yellow dal (split channa/dried tiny little chickpeas split)
-salt
-chilies
-onion of some kind
-garlic
-various spices to your liking
-a little oil
~I recommend a little garam masala and maybe some coriander
-A BLENDER this is really important
-A MESH COLANDER equally important. It doesn't have to be mesh but the holes need to be tiny
Ok. Soak your channa for like 2 hours so it gets a lot softer. Throw it in a pot with enough water to cover it and all the spices you are going to use (including the onion etc) and bring it to a boil. Simmer it until the channa will smoosh on the side of the pot when pressed gently with a spoon. Drain your channa with the colander and transfer it directly into the blender. Blend it and add a little oil to your liking. Adjust the spices at this point. You can make it as utterly bland or as overwhelmingly spicy as you like. The main point of this recipe is that it gives you the right consistency for dhal without a pressure cooker. Anyways. This is what I do when I want dhal. It is decent, basic, and reliable. The alternative recipes out there seem to involve pressure cookers and they take forever.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Dhal Recipes
So, Taryn's probably the Indian food expert here so this question might be just for her, but I'd love to hear from anyone:
I like dhal, but I only have one recipe (for red lentil dhal) and I'd love more. So if anyone has good recipes or tips I would love to try them. I googled for recipes, of course, but if anyone has recipes they've already tried that's always better. Bonus points for crockpot recipes.
I like dhal, but I only have one recipe (for red lentil dhal) and I'd love more. So if anyone has good recipes or tips I would love to try them. I googled for recipes, of course, but if anyone has recipes they've already tried that's always better. Bonus points for crockpot recipes.
Crazy New Food
Partially because Joanna inspired me and partly because when opportunitty knocks, you have to answer, I got a few crazy new food items this weekend!
1st weird item: fresh squash blossoms from the farmer's market. I have wanted to try these for years but have never found them. So, here goes!
2nd weird item: A dragon fruit. I have never eaten dragon fruit and I am going to when I get home from work today. Who knows? Maybe it is my super-favorite food that I don't even know I love yet!
3rd weird item: Cactus pears. I bought two fresh cactus pears. I have had prickly pear jam and camdy and I really quite like pickled nopales, but a fresh prickly pear will be a new experience.
4th weird item: Tofu. I know this is really not a weird one for most people but it is for me. I have texture issues with it but really feel like I need to experiement and open the door to new and healthier proteins in my diet :) Fried tofu will hopefully be awesome (albeit not that healthy).
Pictures of my culinary adventures will follow...
1st weird item: fresh squash blossoms from the farmer's market. I have wanted to try these for years but have never found them. So, here goes!
2nd weird item: A dragon fruit. I have never eaten dragon fruit and I am going to when I get home from work today. Who knows? Maybe it is my super-favorite food that I don't even know I love yet!
3rd weird item: Cactus pears. I bought two fresh cactus pears. I have had prickly pear jam and camdy and I really quite like pickled nopales, but a fresh prickly pear will be a new experience.
4th weird item: Tofu. I know this is really not a weird one for most people but it is for me. I have texture issues with it but really feel like I need to experiement and open the door to new and healthier proteins in my diet :) Fried tofu will hopefully be awesome (albeit not that healthy).
Pictures of my culinary adventures will follow...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
New Food! Yay!
So normally we're pretty thrifty at our house, but there are two things I can't resist: new and exciting books and new and exciting food. I've curbed the book problem by (mostly) staying out of bookstores unless I'm really out of new books, but I still go grocery shopping once or twice a week. (Once if I remember everything the first time, twice if I don't). So while walking the aisles picking up things I actually need, I usually find one or two things I don't need but suddenly really want.
I've decided to justify my zest for new flavors by starting a semi-regular feature based on what I buy and whether it tastes good. Everyone else is welcome to record their new and exciting purchases in the comments or as totally separate posts or features. Obviously. ;)
This first “New Food! Yay!” will be mostly inspired by the excellent cheese suggestions and my resulting indulgences, but I don't really buy new and exciting cheese every week. It just seems like that lately.
I actually bought seven new things this week and last, but I've only tried six so far. Here they are:
1.Beehive Cheese Cajun Cheddar—this is now hands-down my favorite Beehive cheese. The cheddar flavor really works with the cajun spices to give you a nice rich flavor with a nice heat left behind. But if you're not into spicy I'd skip this one.
2.No Woman jerk cheese. This was Glynne's recommendation, and Harmon's had a nice little piece for sale. He's spot on about the complex flavor. There's definitely a strong jack vibe with a smoky and surprisingly sweet taste to it. Very enjoyable.
3.Da Vinci Goa from Holland (this is what is says on the package), a nice mild cheese with tomato, olives, and herbs mixed into it. It's got a nice savory flavor without being spicy.
4.Havarti Cream Dill from Denmark. This is exactly what it sounds like—some bites seem a little overwhelmed by dill, and some bites seem like the perfect blend of mild, slightly acid havarti with bright dill flavor.
5.Private Selection Arrabiata pasta sauce—I mostly hate jarred/canned pasta sauces because they're way too sweet for me, but for various reasons I've been looking for a jarred sauce I can agree with. I think this one might be it—it's nice and spicy and thin-enough-but-not-too-thin, and even though we had it more or less plain this time I think it would be great for adding my own veggies and such. Private Selection is actually Kroger, so I don't know where-all sells Kroger stuff where any of you live (if anyone does), but that's where you'd find this.
6.Archer Farms (Target) sesame orange dressing—we actually bought this because I'm going to make Glynne's cabbage salad thing and we didn't have any real sesame dressing on hand. I had some on regular salad last night and it was quite nice. Sometimes I find sesame stuff too bitter, but the orange sweetness offsets that nicely. We actually found the Masa's brand that Glynne recommended but I haven't tried it yet, so I can't tell you if I like it better than the Target one. So I'll have to save that one for next time.
So this is a lot more new stuff than I get in a normal week. This is even slightly much for the two weeks I'm covering here. But the bigness of the list probably makes it a good kick-off for a semi-regular but much shorter feature.
I've decided to justify my zest for new flavors by starting a semi-regular feature based on what I buy and whether it tastes good. Everyone else is welcome to record their new and exciting purchases in the comments or as totally separate posts or features. Obviously. ;)
This first “New Food! Yay!” will be mostly inspired by the excellent cheese suggestions and my resulting indulgences, but I don't really buy new and exciting cheese every week. It just seems like that lately.
I actually bought seven new things this week and last, but I've only tried six so far. Here they are:
1.Beehive Cheese Cajun Cheddar—this is now hands-down my favorite Beehive cheese. The cheddar flavor really works with the cajun spices to give you a nice rich flavor with a nice heat left behind. But if you're not into spicy I'd skip this one.
2.No Woman jerk cheese. This was Glynne's recommendation, and Harmon's had a nice little piece for sale. He's spot on about the complex flavor. There's definitely a strong jack vibe with a smoky and surprisingly sweet taste to it. Very enjoyable.
3.Da Vinci Goa from Holland (this is what is says on the package), a nice mild cheese with tomato, olives, and herbs mixed into it. It's got a nice savory flavor without being spicy.
4.Havarti Cream Dill from Denmark. This is exactly what it sounds like—some bites seem a little overwhelmed by dill, and some bites seem like the perfect blend of mild, slightly acid havarti with bright dill flavor.
5.Private Selection Arrabiata pasta sauce—I mostly hate jarred/canned pasta sauces because they're way too sweet for me, but for various reasons I've been looking for a jarred sauce I can agree with. I think this one might be it—it's nice and spicy and thin-enough-but-not-too-thin, and even though we had it more or less plain this time I think it would be great for adding my own veggies and such. Private Selection is actually Kroger, so I don't know where-all sells Kroger stuff where any of you live (if anyone does), but that's where you'd find this.
6.Archer Farms (Target) sesame orange dressing—we actually bought this because I'm going to make Glynne's cabbage salad thing and we didn't have any real sesame dressing on hand. I had some on regular salad last night and it was quite nice. Sometimes I find sesame stuff too bitter, but the orange sweetness offsets that nicely. We actually found the Masa's brand that Glynne recommended but I haven't tried it yet, so I can't tell you if I like it better than the Target one. So I'll have to save that one for next time.
So this is a lot more new stuff than I get in a normal week. This is even slightly much for the two weeks I'm covering here. But the bigness of the list probably makes it a good kick-off for a semi-regular but much shorter feature.
Instant Ramen
So I am more than likely the only family member who still eats instant ramen but I am posting this anyway. For me, Maruchan ramen is a major comfort food. With Scott having just moved to Texas and also having just taken on a lot more debt since I bought a car, I have definitely been on a ramen kick. The soup form is my fave-y but with no additives I think it is really boring. This is what I have been throwing in recently (as with seemingly everything I cook, the ingredients change dramatically based on what I have on hand)
To one package Maruchan Beef Flavor or Oriental Flavor Ramen:
-2 or 3 red radishes, sliced
-3 white mushrooms, sliced
-2 green onions, cliced into rounds (whites and tops)
-1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated or sliced finely
-1/2 to 1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp sriracha
-1 tsp soy sauce
-1 good grind of pepper
I cook the noodles to an al dente consistency with the seasoning packet in the water so the noodles absorb the flavor. I put all the other ingredients at the bottom of a bowl and pour the cooked noodles and broth over top.
*last night I also put in some cubed ham. It totally worked.
other favorite additives: Furikake, sesame seeds, crushed coriander seed, dried red chilies, mung bean sprouts, red onion, fresh sliced garlic, white vinegar or rice vinegar.
To one package Maruchan Beef Flavor or Oriental Flavor Ramen:
-2 or 3 red radishes, sliced
-3 white mushrooms, sliced
-2 green onions, cliced into rounds (whites and tops)
-1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated or sliced finely
-1/2 to 1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp sriracha
-1 tsp soy sauce
-1 good grind of pepper
I cook the noodles to an al dente consistency with the seasoning packet in the water so the noodles absorb the flavor. I put all the other ingredients at the bottom of a bowl and pour the cooked noodles and broth over top.
*last night I also put in some cubed ham. It totally worked.
other favorite additives: Furikake, sesame seeds, crushed coriander seed, dried red chilies, mung bean sprouts, red onion, fresh sliced garlic, white vinegar or rice vinegar.
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