Yikes!!! Thought have overcome food...

It has been a long time since I have posted. What a crazy week and some days it has been. I suppose it was not that great an idea to have more than one writing intensive courses at a time. Now I have work that looms ahead like a 50 foot tall tsunami. I love reading, but a thousand pages a week? and not just any old regular novels, but anthropological articles that drives you to sleep in no time. For those who actually read this blog, it may be a blessing to know that half of the books/articles/excerpts/etc.. are food related. Look on the top left corner. I eat, therefore I think, this has now become I think, therefore I eat. Very interesting reading about food from a cultural and scientific standpoint. It made me realize how lucky I am to have such a great interest in food, you know. Especially since I care for nothing in my food except that I would like it to be made fresh if I can help it. I don't worry about carbs, fats, fibers, or any of those scientific sounding things, instead, I focus on the fresh and delicious produces, and the rich and savory meats.

YUM.

My schedule is really messy during the weekdays, so from now on, most post would probably happen during weekends, as I have a 9 to 9 schedule from Monday thru Thursdays. As a reward for coming back after sooo many days without a post, I'm gonna have 3 different recipes. A breakfast dish, a smoothie, and a delicious snack.

We begin with the breakfast. Seemed like I made it an eternity ago. It was Labor day morning. No work. So of course I had to cook something. I got out my homemade pesto, and the rest of the eggs in the fridge. and thought to make some green eggs. (Sounds weird, but delicious). What do I see? a pack of chorizo sausages sitting right there, telling me, "eggs? how boring. ADD ME!" Fifteen minutes and some tomatoes later, breakfast was ready. Recipe as follows:

Green Eggs and Ham (Labor Day celebratory scramble style.. serves 3)

1/2 pound of chorizo sausages
5 eggs
3 tablespoons of pesto (Make your own? recipe coming soon)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
2 green topped onion
Salt and Pepper

In a bowl, mix the eggs and pesto. This process may take a while, especially if you made the pesto a long time ago and kept it in the fridge (like ME, I make a bunch so I can eat it randomly :) ). But make sure that the mixture is properly blended, it ensures that you don't get chunks of pesto randomly. Heat a skillet, and scramble the egg mixture until nearly cooked (three quarters way solid) take out of skillet and set aside. In the pan, cook the chorizo sausage until brown, stir in the eggs, and add tomatoes in. Make sure its evenly mixed, add salt and pepper to taste. Plate and top with diced green onions. Voila!

So that was Labor Day. Later last week, I discovered a carton of walnuts lying around. My brother has this intriguing recipe for flourless, no baking needed dessert recipe that calls for lots of walnuts. But we're not talking about that. The walnuts were left over from that time. I decided then I was gonna toast the walnuts and eat them as a snack. You know it, when did I just let things go plain like that? Instead, I looked for lots of random stuff I had, and next thing you know, these turned up in my fridge (see picture below). Recipe as follows:

Hazelnut-Chocolate Encrusted Walnuts (No servings here, I'm sure you'll eat it all before giving it out)

1 pound of walnuts, shelled
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of oil
1/2 cup of chocolate syrup
4 tablespoon of Nutella spread
1/2 cup of honey

In a pot, heat the water, then add the sugar. Wait until sugar has fully dissolved, then add everything left besides the walnuts. Make sure to keep the heat low, so you don't burn the mix. Stir until the mixture becomes smooth, keep warm. In a separate, flat pan, slightly roast the walnuts. When done roasting, mix the walnuts into the semi-liquid mixture, make sure to coat the walnuts completely. Spread out on a  baking sheet, so that the nuts are not on top of one another. Put in fridge for about 4-5 hours, overnight for best effect.

The last recipe was made for my brother's girlfriend, one of the nicest person I had the privilege to meet. She had some problems with her gums, and was unable to chew anything without excruciating pain. So I made a super healthy smoothie loaded with fruit and all the goodies one would need to recover from such things. Recipe as follows:

Citrus Super Smoothie (Lame name, but true)

2 Navel Oranges
2 Key Limes
1/2 pound of Strawberries
2 cups of Greek plain yogurt
Honey (for sweetness, way better than sugar)
1 cup of Orange juice

No instructions..... you kinda just blend them together... yeah, in a blender.



Its great for when you are super stressed from writing 4 5 page papers for 5 different topics all in a span of 8 days, like me. Great for that little energy boost. Now, for those who know me personally, this blog was written while listening to Phantom of the Opera. And now off to make a midnight snack with honey and yogurt, then on to more reading!!!

Libations of a Long Weekend...

Labor Day weekend... Wonderful. Extra long weekend always cheer me up. Considering that I have a tendency to procrastinate (don't we all?), long weekends are great for catching up on things. Of course, my ideal long weekends involve me being in the kitchen, trying out some new dishes. Some are savory, some are sweet, just the way life works most of the time. Like I always say, life is like food. Sometime the unlikeliest of combinations are what works out the best. Its the type of thing we see in movies over and over again, yet we are always surprised by it. Today feels like a great day to fall back on my traditions, the Asian heritage that I'm so thankful that I can be part of. Just imagine, living in the Western world, but still have access to the most traditional Asian cuisines. The thought of not knowing what Chinese food taste like outside of take-outs can put me into a super depressing mode :(.

In appreciation of my roots, today I made an awesome Miso-Encrusted Orange Ruffie. It was quite delicious. For those that don't know what miso is, it is a paste-like substance often used by the Japanese to make soup, as well as a variety of different things. I also made a chinese style pork meat ball soup to go with the fish. All in all, it was quite traditional, but very delicious. I suppose I'm beginning to miss Taiwan foods after 7.5 months living without. Not as easy as you would expect.

Recipe is as follows:

Miso-Encrusted Orange Ruffie (Serves 2)

1 piece of Orange Ruffie Fillet (or use some type of fattier white meat fish)
2 tablespoons of Miso (Get it in your local Asian market)
handful of chopped fresh green top onions

Score the fillet on both side slightly. Rub the miso paste on to the fish, make sure to cover all of it. Let sit for about 3-5 minutes. In the mean time, bring heat to a pan and wait for the oil to get nice and hot. Put the fish in the pan, and cook each side for about 3 minutes. Plate and top with green onions.

Very simple recipe, if you have the material. The nice long sear gives this slightly crunchy texture to the edge of the fish, and the miso taste is awesome. This takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. Eat with rice and some stir fried bok choy for a complete meal.

Oh, before I forget. I just started reading a book for my Anthropology of Food class (I know, just the kind of class you would expect me to take), it has a very interesting take on the diet and nutrition. It talks about how our sense of eating has gone from food to nutrients, and that it has a drastic affect on our perception of what is healthy. It's called In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan.

Live long and eat well.
Aphrael

Busy day, healthy eating...

So, school has finally started, and I realized how crazy it is to have a 2 1/2 hour long class. It all seems fine on paper, until you actually sat in one spot for that extended period of time. Is it even possible for you to actually focus that long? Your mind start to wander off, probing what fantasy resides in your inner subconscious. Enough with the complaints. Let's talk about food. Wednesday is gonna be hell day for me, since I had to go to lab at 8:30 in the morning, and have classes until 5:00 in the afternoon, then I have to work from 6:30 to 9:30. This leads to a pretty crazy day, with really no time to spend on cooking. Thus, I will now present a recipe that my mom has taught me a long time ago, a delectable fish dish that takes little time to prepare. What's even better, you don't even have to be in front of the stove for half the cooking time. Picture to come later when I am at home.



Recipe is as follows:

Steamed Pan-seared Tilapia (Serves ?... depends on the size of the fish. 4 for 2 medium sized fillets)

2 pieces of medium sized tilapia fillets (medium= 8" in length, 4-5" in width)*
1 bunch of green top onions, diced
1 tablespoon chopped chili peppers (Fresh, dried, minced in a jar)
2 tablespoon garlic (fresh or minced)
Salt and pepper

On the fish, sprinkle salt and pepper on both side of the fish. In a hot pan, heat olive oil, then quickly sear the fillets on both side, just make sure the outside is seared, do not worry if the fish is not cooked all the way through. Remove fish from pan and place in a large plate. In the pan, add garlic, onions and peppers. Sautee until the aroma appears. Pour the mixture over the fish, make sure to cover most of the flesh. Place plate in  microwave, set on high power for 5 minutes. Serve hot with a side of rice, or some type of starch.

I know, microwave? is that really considered cooking? You know, microwaves are pretty useful. There are so many tricks that you can use with microwaves that really helps you in creating a better dish. For these tricks, refer to the tips page for some ideas and inspiration while finding other ways to make good food. All in all, this dish is great for when you want a hearty meal, but is really in a rush, you can do the searing and the sauteeing in the morning, and keep everything in the fridge and just pop it in the microwave right when you get home. Change, shower, whatever, and when you are done, you have a nice dish ready to eat. Another long day ahead of me, hopefully with some time to eat. See y'all later, and maybe next post would be about the versatility of pesto in life!!

Live long and eat well,
Aphrael