Stalks stems and florets

I am a huge raw veggie fanatic. I snack all morning long on raw veggies. The usual suspects are cucumbers and tomatoes. But I don't stop there. I may have broccoli, cauliflower, green onions, carrots, cabbage, bell peppers, even zuchini.

When it comes to broccoli and cauliflower, my favorite parts are the stems or stalks. They have a wonderful concentrated flavor. A lot of people that buy fresh veggies have a tendency to discard the stalks and stems. Not me. If I am cooking the veg then I include the stems.

I am also a big fan of cabbage hearts. Not much goes to waste around here. I use everything from the florets to the hearts. Celery is also another favorite, works great in Bloody Marys.

There is nothing like fresh veggies. So get out of the can and into produce aisle.

Nun Farts

Wehave all ready covered devil farts so now its time to talk about nun farts. Ofcourse we are talking about the french pastry "pate a choux" or puff pastry. It bakes nice and poofy leaving a hollow center for cream filling or whatever filling you want to put in there. The lightness of the pastry inspired the name pets de nonne or "nun's farts."

We learn something new everyday.

Enjoy!

Recycling leftovers

I prefer the word recycling rather than leftovers which leads one to think that the meal is just reheated food. I prefer to recycling, which in my mind means transforming one food into another style of food. I mean the plastic water bottle you recycle can be a park bench next.

A prime example for me was last week. I over roasted a whole chicken for dinner. What was left went into the fridge. A night or two later, I diced up some of that chicken and we had chicken nachos, fajita style chicken. Then it became chicken tempura during an oriental feast. The final grace was the pieces picked off of the bone for chicken and noodles, which are always a hit here.

Last night we had ham. This morning we had ham in our scrambled eggs then I shaved the ham with my meat slicer and we had ham sandwiches for lunch. I'll probably freeze the rest and save it for ham and beans.

And don't forget about the chicken bones, freeze them and use them for chicken stock.

There are opportunites everywhere in the kitchen when you can make sure you absolutely get your moneys worth.

Enjoy!

An Amazing Basil Vinaigrette

I found this recipe online. This dressing is amazing.

Ingredients

1/2 shallot
1 clove of garlic
handful of fresh basil leaves washed
1 tbs dijon mustard
3 tbs red wine vinegar
9 tbs regular olive oil not extra virgin
salt and pepper to taste

combine all ingredients in a blender and process til smooth
or
combine all ingredients in a high wall bowl and process with an immersion blender.

If it is a bit too thick add some more vinegar

I made some yesterday and love it.

Enjoy

Nothing Like Home Made

I have really enjoyed making more things at home that I would usually buy at the market. It does take a little time but is worth the wait. Plus it can save a lot of money on things you use a lot of. Another great benefit is the more things you make at home the more you learn about, flavor, herbs, spices, etc.

Here are a few things we have made at home:

Mustard
Salsa
beef stock
chicken stock
taco and fajita seasoning
brined dill pickles
vinaigrette dressings
marinara sauce
pizza sauce
pasta
pico de gallo
bread
pizza crust
rib rub
bbq sauce
marinades


Try experimenting in your kitchen with the foods you love the best. Don't get discouraged if it is not perfect. You may find what you have made tastes better that what you were buying. There truly is magic in the kitchen. So go play in there a while and enjoy yourself.

Impulse Buy

I was at the market yesterday and found some beautiful anaheim chile peppers in the produce cooler. I bought half a dozen to make chile rellenos. Rob loves rellenos, she first had them at Dos Hombres in Warrensburg, MO. Since then she has made some herself and eaten them at various mexican restaurants. Tonight I am going to make some for her.

A lot of the recipes I have seen online are meat free. That won't work around here. So I am going to stuff them with chicken and pepper jack cheese. They should be good.

Anaheim peppers are great for those who prefer milder spice. Anaheim are very low in capsaicin so the heat is very mild. A good beginner chile pepper.

To stay with the mexican theme, I will make some nachos and tacos for the boys.

Enjoy.

Sushi

I do a lot of cooking on the fly. Sometimes the ingredients or dishes change then its off to the grocery store again. I never know what the muse has in store for me or what inspiration will strike next.

My latest challenge was sushi. I am not sure why but wanted to try my hand at this Japanese delicacy. At the local megamart I purchased the japanese style rice, nori seaweed sheets(algae), imitation crab meat(surimi), avacados and cucumber. I already had wasabi paste on hand.

So I set in cooking the rice then added the vinegar mixture. After reading about sushi and watching several videos, I tried to do it the right way. The rice is very sticky. Its hard to fold in the vinegar while trying to fan the rice with the other hand, but I did get the rice down to room temperature.

Now for the sushi roll. I didn't have a sushi rolling mat so did it on my cutting board. The nori I bought wasn't very wide so it was easy to in too much filling. Finally I got the rice on the nori after battling with the sticky rice. I rolled it up and had too much filling so the ends didnt quite meet. But it was enough to for Rob and I to eat. Besides having too mush filling I also had too much wasabi paste. WHEW!!!! Talk about a sinus cleaner, WOW.

All in all it was an ugly attempt but tasted great. I had left over rice so I rolled up some more yesterday just to practice. I turned the nori 90 degrees and had more room to work so the rolls came out better.

I have ordered some wider nori sheets and a bamboo rolling mat so there will be more sushi on our future. Havent decided on trying the raw fish yet(sashimi).

If you enjoy sushi try making it at home. Enjoy!