Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
week of 08.19.2012 in photos
sarah
i'm sitting in my apartment while it storms outside. i was supposed to go to the Maryland state fair today, but those plans are canceled, obviously, as the sky gets grayer and the lightning becomes more active. this blows. it's also been a week since i've seen my boyfriend, which has caused a bit of friction between the two of us. for couples that spend ample time with each other, missing a day or two is no big deal. but, because we work opposite schedules, missing a chance to spend time together means that 10 days could go by without seeing one another. imagine the pent up emotions, good or bad, that could cause...

follow me on Instagr.am @_sarah_smile, same as Twitter

Sunday


the week started off with the best intentions. hit the farmer's market with my boyfriend. had to drag him there practically, since he works on Sundays, but once he got there, he fell in love with the sights, the options, and we of course came back and cooked brunch. he definitely noticed a difference in the quality as opposed to what he gets from the regular grocery store.


Monday


photo a day: today. i practice Casual Mondays. isn't it enough that i can barely shift from Weekend Mode to Work Week Mode, but i simply cannot go so far as to set out office wear for the week. fortunately, my job has a very casual dress code, so this outfit works pretty well.


Tuesday


photo a day: cool. the weather has been cooler lately. that means i haven't had to really utilize my A/C since summer started, which the electric bill gawds are smiling about.


Wednesday


photo a day: home. another great shot of the block. i love it here. if only i could pick it up and move it 50 miles south to DC...


Thursday


photo a day: pair. handsome pair of desserts from my fave cupcakery! the one on the right was free. if you follow Georgetown Cupcake on Twitter, they announce a secret flavor right before they open and the first 100 folk to order will get it free! this has been a dangerous revelation amongst me and my coworkers.


Friday


photo a day: path. besides clouds, there are all sorts of amazing sights along the Marc train tracks, including a growing family of deer, foggy valleys, and hidden paths that i'm sure lead to beautiful houses.


Saturday


photo a day: fresh. these are all of the ingredients that go into my fresh pasta. it takes 5 minutes max and is full of great flavor!
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juicy juice
sarah

my momma started my love affair with "the juices". at any given moment in time, there could be four different juice drinks in our fridge growing up... typically OJ, AJ, cranberry or grape, and a blend of some sort. see, i have a weird aversion to fresh fruit, but i eat a lot of veggies, so to get our fruit intake, we drank a lot of juice, taking care to pay attention to sugar content of course. my least favorite of the juices were the ones that came from packages or frozen concentrate. they never tasted fresh to me so i would dread walking over to the frozen juice section in the grocer. #thestruggle

whelp, i am struggling these days and dishing out damn near $4 for fresh juice is just not in the cards for me. but, while kicking sad rocks away from the Simply Apple the other day, i paused in front of that nostalgic Dole 100% Juice frozen concentrate section and gave it a grab. it was less than a dollar and i was juice starved. but, when i brought it back home, i was perplexed as to what i could do with it. the dreaded frozen juice memories haunted me and stymied my creativity, until serendipity, and my clumsiness, caused my herbal teas to fall onto my counter and a juice blend formulated itself in my mind. if i use it as an ingredient... duh duh duhnnuhhhh!


i chose Wild Sweet Orange Tazo tea. not only is it a great color, but i figured the lemongrass, ginger, and hibiscus flavors would play well with the pineapple concentrate. i've had this tea in my cupboard for a while, along with the Passion blend. i don't make them as often as i used to, but i might have to remedy that this summer...


first, i made a simple syrup with 1/2 cup of raw sugar and 3/4 cup of filtered water. i let it simmer for a bit until the sugar melted and it smelled faintly of caramel, which i also thought would bring a depth of flavor to the juice, instead of a cloying sugary background. agave nectar and honey might also work, but try think outside of the white sugar box.


then, i took four bags of the tea and put some water on to boil. i steeped them in 2 cups of boiling water for about 5 minutes until i got the right strength, which is indicated by the color... a nice deep orange, one of my favorite colors and the reason why i love this tea. should take no more than 5 minutes. steep any longer and it might go bitter.


i have a simple and cute 1-quart carafe into which i put half of the pineapple juice concentrate, followed by the brewed tea and topped it off with 2 cups of cold, filtered water to cool it down. finally, i topped it off with the 1/2 cup of simple syrup, but you can add more or less to your liking.


ta-da! juicy juice. just store in the fridge to completely cool it and let the flavors marry, but don't keep it longer than a couple of weeks. and, as with the case with frozen concentrate juice mixes, you must shake well before serving. serve it straight up or you could mix it with champagne, sparkling water, or ginger ale to really drive the herbal and complex flavors home. serve it with a great meal as i did here:


the exotic, fruity flavors paired well with homemade salmon hash i made for brunch. yum! this should make a perfect summertime drink and could pair well with any type of grilled meat or veggie salad. stay tuned for what else i have in store for the juice concentrate...
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salmon rice bowl
sarah
this. right here. is my. Swag.

this yummy salmon and rice bowl was a spur of the moment concoction to recreate my beloved Pineapple Fried Rice i used to order from My Thai, which was damaged in a fire this past February. it was also made while a favorite show of mine was airing, so it’s super simple, takes very little time and effort, and everything cooks at the same time. i tweeted a picture of it and was asked for the recipe, so voilà!

salmon rice bowl
this medley serves 2 people, or one hungry me, and is incredibly sweet, nutty, which just a kick of spice.


ingredients
½ lb salmon
2T agave nectar or honey
2t Adobo spice mix (which is onion and garlic powder, with salt and pepper)
½t cayenne pepper
1t olive or sesame oil
salt and pepper
½ cup perfect rice (recipe follows)
2T golden raisins or any dried fruit
2T toasted, slivered almonds
2T chopped spring onions

method
1. preheat oven to 425-450°F

2. make perfect rice by placing a pot over a high flame and throwing in ½ cup uncooked rice with 1T olive oil. toast rice in the hot oil while continuously stirring so rice doesn’t burn. toast the rice until it turns from translucent to chalky white, then add in 1 cup of water. bring water to a boil, reduce heat to low, then cover and let rice cook for 18-20 minutes. this makes the best, fluffy rice and is foolproof! it’s the only way i make rice.

3. while rice is cooking, take out salmon and pat dry, then mix together the agave nectar, Adobo, cayenne, oil, and enough salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. rub the glaze onto the fish, place into a baking dish and cook in the oven for about 12 minutes or until the fish is flaky but still a bit pink in the center.

4. chop about 2 large spring onions and add to a bowl with the raisins and almonds. you can substitute the golden raisins with any sweet, dried fruit such as cranberries, apricots, or currants (which i wanted but it wasn’t available). i would keep with the almonds because of the mild taste and high crunch, which you need with the soft rice, fruit, and fish, but you can also sub in peanuts or cashews.

5. enjoy the next ten minutes of downtime or you can do what i did and toss some asparagus (or green beans or broccoli florets) in some olive oil and Adobo, then place in a roasting dish in the oven until the fish is done. see, veggies are easy.

6. rice should be ready, so remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and place lid back on top to steam.

7. take fish out of oven, get excited about how it smells, then gently flake it apart with two forks.

8. fold the fish, fruit, nuts, and onions into the rice, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, grind in some fresh pepper, maybe add a little parmesan or pecorino cheese if you’re feeling frisky. i didn’t have any pecorino ( ._.), so i just had a glass of wine... enjoy!
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the only wings i'll ever have
sarah
while in Club Wegmans, i saw some good looking wings and decided to take them home and spice them up. i rarely eat wings, mostly because i didn't really grow up eating them a whole lot. rarely was night in my house where my mother would fry some wings, or anything else, for dinner. it was baked chicken or baked fish. but this wasn't my mother's house. i was NOT going to bake these wings.

i saw a good recipe on Food Network the very same day, thanks to my DVR, on Big Daddy's House. i sort of don't care for the show because the host really grates on my nerves with his loud voice and over-usage of the words "can you feel the love?" and "tuhmaytuh". but his food is banging. must be all the garlic.

Ginger Wings
by Aaron McCargo, Jr. of Big Daddy's House

this recipe originally serves 6 people and comes with a peanut sauce recipe. but, i'm only lil ole me and i had one pound of wings, so i easily scaled down this recipe for 2 people and kept the leftovers. and, yeah, i didn't make the sauce because, who cares. there is already a TON of flavor in the wings; no need to muttle it with a sauce.

ingredients
1T any hot sauce (i used Frank's Red Hot Sauce)
1T soy sauce (i use San-J Tamari in place of soy sauce every time as it has a richer, rounder soy flavor, instead of just being salty)
1T grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1T sesame oil
2t sesame seeds
1T hoisin sauce
1lb chicken wings

method
1. combine all of the ingredient, except the wings (patience my friend) in a bowl and stir to combine. taste it. roll eyes in the back of head. proceed.


2. put wings the in bowl and toss to combine, making sure all of the wings are coated in the nooks and crannies.


3. place the wings on a wire rack atop a baking sheet that is lined with foil. the wire rack helps the air ciruclate the chicken to make it crispy and the foil makes for easy clean up :)

4. put the baking sheet in a preheated 400°F oven for 15 minutes. then, turn the wings over, baste with any leftover marinade and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

5. take the wings out of the oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes... if you can. enjoy!


i paired my wings with some sesame noodles tossed with sauteed onions, carrots, mushrooms, and kale. i seriously just threw some stuff together in a pan while the wings were cooking, but you can find a more legit recipe at the Food Network website.
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Meatless Monday Success!
sarah
so, i basically had a redo of last week. seriously. i followed the same exact script. cereal for breakfast. veggie sukiyaki for lunch. i gotta spice things up, because i think monotony is also a killer of the Meatless Monday.

but change came around dinner time, and i realized that i could either choose to fail or succeed. so, i mosied on to the kitchen and, realizing it was already clean and waiting for me to just cook, i made the decision to stop being lazy and just keep steadfast. it wasn't as hard as i was trying to make it seem. i whipped up my favorite summertime pasta dish with a bit of tweaking, using olive oil instead of pancetta. check it.

Sarah's Summertime Pasta

during the summer time, i make this pasta dish probably once a week. it's easy and fast but has big time flavors thanks to simple ingredients. you can sub in certain ingredients, like i did this time... i usually don't add anything else, but i had some leftover asparagus and decided to throw it in.

ingredients

pancetta (i used olive oil this time. you can use bacon too if you like.)
a pasta of your choosing (i recommend penne, linguine, or even angel hair)
white, yellow or sping onions (i prefer spring onions, but i didn't have any this time, but found out that regular onions work just as well)
garlic
wild card ingredient
fresh tomatoes (any type/size, just make sure they're ripe and sweet)
splash of wine or stock or even pasta water
squeeze of fresh lemon
basil
parmigiano reggiano
salt and pepper to taste

method

1. bring water to boil in a large pot, add salt then throw in pasta of choosing, making sure to stir so it doesn't stick.

2. in a sautee pan or wok, render pancetta over medium heat untile crispy, then remove. if using olive oil, just heat until fast in the pan.

3. cut the rest of the ingredients as small or large as you like. seriously, this recipe is easy as a summer's breeze, so you don't have to worry about cutting things just right. if you want large bits of onions and tomatoes cause that's how you roll, do you! i do suggest that you salt the tomatoes after you cut them, but before you add them to the pan to draw out it's natural juices.

4. first heat onions until almost cooked (about 5 minutes for regular onions, but about 2-3 minutes for spring onions), then throw in the garlic and your wild card ingredient and cook until done, heated through.


5. add tomatoes. cook until just heated through, which should take about a minute or two. don't cook too long or the tomatoes will becoming mushy pulp, unless you like it that way.
i used heirloom tomatoes in my dish, tis the season, and they were sweet and succulent.


6. here's my favorite part! add a splash of wine to deglaze the pan. if you don't have wine, you can use chicken/veggie stock or even some water from the boiling pasta, which will help the pasta amalgamate anyways. take this time to put your face over the pan and smell the goodness from the food. it's intoxicating.

7. add a squeeze of lemon, turn off the heat and stir in the cooked pasta.


8. roll about 6 leaves of basil into a cigar and cut it into ribbons (congrats, you just did a chiffonade of herbs!) or just rip it in your hands :) shave some parmigiano reggiano cheese (you can use the stuff in the green canister that we grew up on, but getting a small block of the real stuff is well worth the investment. just keep in wrapped and in a cool, dry place).


then add to the pasta and stir through until it's fragrant and you can no longer resist from sticking your fork in the pan.

in the end, i put a a lot of freshly ground pepper atop, because i just love pepper. what i didn't miss was meat. okay, maybe i missed the pancetta. baby steps. enjoy!
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it's like candy!
sarah
it's like candy is very much ubiquitous with family reunion cookouts and the Best Man that, during a recent game night, a Taboo answer was Cameo and the clue was "It's like candaayyy!" and no one knew the name of the group (which is Cameo, BTW). terrible.

anywho, i've been flirting with roasted veggies lately (gotcha!) and i really realize just how sweet they can be. i've seen many a cooking show where the roasted veggies come out of a blazing hot oven all perfectly caramelized and glistening, but i just knew that if i ever attempted that, the fire marshals would be at my apartment door fast, mostly because i live in close proximity to four major fire stations, but i digress.

i recently bought some parsnips and there's not much you can do with it besides roast it or puree it, or roast it then puree it*. so, i gathered some culinary cousins, carrots and parsnips along with potatoes and sweet potatoes, gave them a rough chop into bite sized pieces, tossed them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and proceeded to roast them with some herbs and garlic. the result... sweet nirvana.


culinary cousins

ingredients

2 carrots
2 parsnips
1 medium sweet potato
1 medium white potato
1 medium onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
2T olive oil
1T balsamic vinegar
½t thyme
1t rosemary
½t cumin
¼t cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

method

1. peel and cut the veg into large bite sized pieces. you can be all fancy and cut then on a diagonal, but don't cut them too small; the smaller they are, the more they tend to burn. i cut the onions into wedges, keeping the root end attached so they don't separate. with the garlic cloves, depending on how garlicky you like them, you can leave them whole in their skin, to prevent burning, or just cut them in half.

2. in a bowl, toss the veggies with the oil, vinegar, herbs, and spices, then turn them out on a shallow baking sheet.

3. place the veggies in a preheated oven at 400°F oven.

4. after about 25 minutes or halfway through, give the veggies a turn/toss and place them back into the oven for the remaining time.

5. when the edges of the veggies are a deep caramel color, but not black, and they are tender, remove them from the oven.

serves: up to 4
the best thing about this recipe is that it's almost idiot proof. the veggies are the real star so the only crime would be to overcook them. you can change up the herbs an spices, throw on some grated Parmesan at the end. what would be nice is using soy sauce, ginger and cinnamon and throwing some cilantro in the end. or, if all you have is salt and pepper and a lemon, it would be just as yummy because of the natural sugars in the carrots, sweet potatoes, and parsnips. enjoy!

*remix! if you make a lot and have leftovers, process them in a blender or chopper until roughly pureed. then, mix it with some veggie or chicken stock/broth until your desired thickness and reheat. voilà! instant roasted veggie soup!
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i hate to be redundant, but...
sarah
baked goods rock! i love cookies. no, wait, i lurve cookies. in fact, when i get married, i'm going to find a way to have a 5-tiered cookie or brownie cake to slice into. too much? well, cake doesn't rock as hard.

i found this recipe a while ago, but made the dough when i was snowed in the other day. i froze it and sliced off a few rounds last night, along with some scratch made whipped cream. i orgasmed. and then proceeded to find random things in my tiny kitchen to dip in the leftover whipped cream. shameful. sometimes, cookies can come out dry and hard. not to mention they don't keep well. so, i modified this recipe for 9 servings, instead of 36, because it's just little ole me. i've mastered the art of Cooking for the Single Gal. i divided all of the ingredients by four, but used one whole egg. my only regret is that i didn't modify the recipe by half instead. they were soft as heck. ah well, on to the basics.

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks/1c/250 grams of soft unsalted butter
1c brown sugar (light or dark)
1c grandulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2t of vanilla extract
3c quick cooking oats
2c all-purpose flour
½t salt
1t baking soda
1 ½t cinammon
1c chocolate chips

Method

1. Cream the butter and sugars together in a large bowl (It is suggested that you use a stand mixer or even hand held mixer since the dough is so thick but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the wooden spoon method).

2. Add the eggs one at a time. Then the vanilla.

3. In another bowl combine the oats, flour, soda, salt and cinammon.

4. Gradually add this mixture to the creamed butter and sugars. Then add the chocolate chips.

5. Leave the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to and hour so that it won't be so sticky when forming dough balls.

6. After the dough has sat in the fridge a while, preheat your oven to 375 F/190 C. from dough into ping pong sized balls leave in  the oven for 10 minutes, I like to turn the pans at the half way mark.

Serves: 36
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