Dirty Rice

Dirty Rice

I was looking online for a rice, sausage, and beans dish and stumbled upon a Dirty Rice recipe by the Neelys on Food Network. It looked easy, quick, and I had all the ingredients. But I’m sure you noticed that I have to add my own touch to recipes. The Neelys’ recipe didn’t have beans and I switched out a few of the ingredients. Instead of the pork sausage they used, I used buffalo hot dogs from Lakevew Buffalo Farm. I tried the hot dogs earlier in the summer and really liked them; they’re more like brats or sausages than hot dogs and a lot healthier too, probably. Here is what I had.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked rice
2.5 cups of stock (2 cups for the rice and .5 cups or so for the “sauce”)
1/2 large onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (large, finely diced)
1 red bell pepper (diced)
2 buffalo hot dogs
1 can of black beans
greens, scallions (optional, for garnish; I used a bunch of cilantro)
Olive oil, salt, pepper, ground chipotle, ground cumin to taste

Steps:
1. Cook the rice according to directions, substituting the chicken stock for water
2. Slice the sausage on the diagonal and brown in a bit of olive oil. Regulate the amount of oil based on how much fat is in the sausage.
3. Once the sausage is browned, add the onion and brown it. Then add garlic.
4. Add the bell pepper. If there is no liquid in the pan, add a little bit of the stock. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 5 minutes or till the pepper is crisp-tender.
5. Add the beans and spices.
6. Add the rice to the sausage mixture.
7. Add greens (optional).

Sausage, beans, bell pepper

Dirty Rice is Done!

Roasted Salad

Roasted Salad

I am so thrilled that it’s finally summer, but it seems I can’t give up my oven. Though I do have a grill, it’s an electric one. My local fire department does not allow grilling on balconies. But I still love summer veggies and have a tendency to buy too much. So, today, I decided to put some of those veggies to good use and make a salad. Since roasting is so easy and brings out the flavor so much, I decided to sacrifice personal comfort in my caricature-worthy tiny kitchen for the benefit of the salad.

Ingredients:
3 bell peppers (I used red, orange, and yellow)
1 bunch of asparagus
1/2 red onion diced
1 tb basil
Salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar to taste

Steps:
1. Cut up the peppers in large chunks and clean the asparagus
2. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Roast to your desired doneness at 425 degrees; I roasted the asparagus for about 5-6 minutes and peppers for about 15-20.
4. When the veggies cool, dress with a little bit of balsamic vinegar.
5. Add the diced onion.
6. Sprinkle with a little bit of basil

Roasted Salad Detail

Voila! Ready to serve.

Grilled Chicken

This is one of my favorite and easiest recipes. It also happens to be very frequently requested. The important part is not to skimp on the seasonings or the time it takes to marinate. It’s best to let the chicken sit in the spices for about 24 hours, or even longer, but even overnight will be good. This keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and travels well in a cooler if you’re going tailgating or to a grill-out somewhere.  This even works on an electric grill.  But a real grill (the kind with actual flames), or an oven, work much better.  Though, the chicken was just as tender as if it were on a real grill or in the oven.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Chicken legs, as many as you want. Clean it as you would normally.
Spices (salt; I also use the following blends from Penzey’s: Tandoori, Southwest, Northwest; or you can use your favorite chicken rub/seasoning blend).

Steps:
1. After you clean the chicken, pull back (but don’t remove) the skin. Sprinkle the seasoning liberally. Pull the skin back to cover the seasoning.
2. Season the outside of the chicken leg.
3. Place into a container and into the fridge for about a day. The longer it sits, the better it will be.
4. Grill using your favorite method.

*IMPORTANT NOTE*
DON’T MIX THE SEAONINGS. Each leg gets its own blend. For example: one leg gets Tandoori, another leg gets Northwest. Don’t mix Northwest with Tandoori; it will taste nasty.

Season Outside

Season Inside

Grilled Chicken

Grilling

Tea (Rishi) and Anaba Tea Room

Anaba Tea Room

I really wasn’t planning on writing a review about this tea tasting. When I got there, I was greeted at the door by two lovely women who offered me ice tea. I’m not a huge fan of cold drinks, especially tea, and seeing just the one table with two varieties, I was rather disappointed that I wouldn’t get to try more teas. But was also confident in my decision not to blog about it.
But then I tried the tea. Amazing. Even for a cold tea. Good thing I try to carry my camera with me at all times.  Never know when it might be useful.  They also told me that there are tea demonstrations on the rooftop as well as in the tea room. (When you first walk into the building, it looks like a garden shop and the tea room is on the level below.) So I went downstairs and found the place to be rather charming. The skylight lets light into the tea room even though it’s in the basement and you feel like you’re outside, with the fountain adding to the feeling.

Tea Tasting

Walking around, I realized there were two areas where representatives from Rishi were offering teas for tasting as well as a plethora of information. I found both representatives to be incredibly knowledgeable and approachable.
Then I started tasting the teas. I tried the Jade Oolong in both cold brew and hot and liked it enough to purchase a sample. I also tried a few other varieties and ended up settling on Silver Needle as another sample purchase. These teas are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re so good and so worth it. The different profiles of the teas are evident depending on how it’s brewed.
For this event, the appetizers/finger food was provided by the Anaba Tea Room. When I looked at the menu, nothing looked like something I would want to order. I was actually surprised at how good the food was and how well it went with the different teas. One of the representatives talked about tea in terms of wine, and I think that metaphor worked well not only for the food pairings, but also for our general comprehension.

After spending ample time in the tea room, I decided to make my way up to the roof garden.

Rooftop Garden at Anaba Tea Room

Rooftop Garden at Anaba Tea Room

It’s a wonderful urban oasis. You sit on the top of the roof, in this gorgeous garden, drinking the most delectable tea, enjoying life. It’s perfectly chic and urban without being a cliche. The teas served on the roof were interesting. One of them had a very strong citrus flavor and I could pick out grapefruit. This is the only tea I didn’t like, but I didn’t like it because I don’t like grapefruit. I’m sure if there was no grapefruit, I’d have a different reaction. The other tea served on the roof was with a hint of peach. It was so refreshing. As a cold brew, it would be wonderful, almost like a peach bellini but better, in my opinion.

I also didn’t know that Rishi is a local company and was glad to find out that it is.  The representatives also told us that Rishi just won first place for one of their teas at the World Tea Championships.

A few hours later when I was doing grocery shopping, I did pick up another canister of Rishi tea to try.  Sendik’s stores have a really wide selection, so why not try something new.   As a side note, I’ve been drinking Jade Oolong all day today and I love it.  What a wonderful find.  I wish Rishi would do these tastings every weekend so I can try all their teas.    But for now, here is their events schedule.

Tomato and Spinach Soup

Tomato-Spinach Soup

This was a completely unexpected and impromptu soup. I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m not much into soup since I have so few soup recipes. But this just came together suddenly, since I didn’t even get into to the kitchen until about 8 in the evening. What can I say, I was bored so I started cooking. I had some things I wanted to use up before they go bad and wanted something easy, light, healthy, and packed with nutrients. And since I’m fond of throwing a bunch of stuff in one pot and seeing what develops, I got a really yummy soup that is perfect for this cold and rainy weather. I hope, one of these days we’ll have spring.

Ingredients:
1 (1lb) jar of tomato sauce
2 bell peppers (red and yellow, or whatever you want)
1 large onion
1/2 lb carrots
1/2 cup of brown rice (optional)
1 lb spinach
Water (at least as much as the tomato sauce; I used two times the tomato sauce)
basil
bay leaves (optional; I used a few small ones)
Spices (salt, freshly ground black pepper, cumin, corriander, paprika, Pensey’s Chile Con Carne, Pensey’s Sweet Curry)

Steps:
1. Saute the onion and bell peppers. Season a little bit.
2. Heat the tomato sauce in a pan (I used a 3.5 QT pan). Add water (as much as you used for the tomato sauce. I just used the empty jar of sauce).
3. Add the sauted vegetables and cook a few minutes.
4. Add brown rice, if using and carrots.
5. Add spinach.
6. Add the rest of the water and bay leaves.
7. Add the spices, whichever you are using, and basil.

Tomato Soup ingredients

Tomato soup and veggies

Tomato soup and spinach

Steak and Potatoes

I love steak.  And potatoes.  But I’m trying to take a healthier approach to these foods and I know that cooking this at home would not only be healthier, but also much more cost effective.  Even in these economic times a steak and potatoes dinner is affordable, if you make it yourself.  And honestly, why pay $30 per meal and spend hours in a restaurant where you don’t know what you’ll get if this costs about $7 or $8, takes no time at all to prepare,  is really easy to prepare, and you know exactly what you’re eating.  So, without further ado, here is what I did.

Ingredients:
Steak
Sweet potatoes (I used 2)
Worcestershire sauce
Tamari or Soy sauce
Olive oil
Salt, pepper

Marinating steak

Grilling Steak

Steps:
For the steak:
1. Marinate the steak in olive oil, tamari/soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, and some freshly ground pepper, in a ziplock baggie. Let the steak marinate for at least an hour.
2. Grill the steak. I don’t have that option, so I used a grill pan. Oil the pan slightly and place the steak. You can flip it for grill marks on both sides. Grill until it reaches the desired level of “done”.
3. After the steak is done, transfer it to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Let stand for about 5-10 minutes so the juices redistribute back and don’t leak out when you cut into it.

Sweet Potato in Oven

Sweet Potato

For the potatoes:
1. Clean thoroughly with a brush, or peel the skin.
2. Cut into wedges.
3. Place the potatoes into a baggie and pour oil. This helps keep clean-up to a minimum.
4. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet. Salt, pepper.
5. Place into a preheated oven (375 degrees) and bake for about 25 minutes or until done.

Steak and Potatoes

Chahohbili-inspired chicken stew

Chicken Stew

Where I live, stew and chili season is quite a long one, from about October to about end of April or so. Not really knowing how to make this Georgian dish (ex-USSR Georgia, not southern US Georgia), I searched online and found a few recipes. I got the general idea, but not having an authentic recipe, I didn’t want to attempt it. But the pictures looked so good, that they got me thinking. With that as inspiration, I made a pretty good stew, if I do say so myself.  This certainly hit the spot on a cold and rainy evening.

Ingredients:
Chicken (I used 3 bone-in thighs and 4 legs; season with salt and pepper all over, even under the skin)
1 large onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 peeled tomatoes cut into rounds
4-5 potatoes (I use Yukon Gold)
2-3 red bell peppers cut into bite-sized pieces
2-3 tb of ketchup (or tomato paste)
Beef stock (about 3-3.5 cups total, depending on how much sauce you want and how thick you want it)
Olive oil, salt, pepper, ground cumin, ground chipotle (optional, dash), paprika (a dash), fresh dill

Chicken Stew Cooking

Steps:
1. Saute the onion and when the onion starts to brown a little, add the garlic.
2. Brown the chicken. This won’t cook it, just make it look prettier.
3. Add the peppers and the peeled and sliced tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium. To peel tomatoes, place a small X on the bottom and pour boiling water over the tomatoes. Let them sit in the hot water for a few seconds. This will loosen the skin so you can peel it. Once peeled, slice in rounds.
4. Season everything (salt, freshly ground black pepper, ground cumin, chipotle, and paprika).
5. Add beef stock and ketchup (about 2 cups or so of stock, to start) and let come to a boil. Make sure the ketchup is well mixed and distributed in the pot.
6. Add the potatoes (I cut them up into bite-sized pieces). Let cook on low heat for about 20 minutes. Check the sauce. Add more stock and/or spices if you like. If you like things as they are, let cook another 20 minutes on low heat.
7. At the very end, add dill.

I served it over cilantro rice.  The sauce was great with the rice, the chicken was so tender it was falling off the bone, the veggies and potatoes were good enough to eat on their own.  Which I did the next day.  YUM!  Can’t wait to make this again.

Asparagus

Asparagus

I didn’t grow up eating asparagus and it always looked a little scary in restaurants. You know the kind, an unnatural green, bizarely sagging, mushy spears. Yuck. Not knowing how to cook it, I’ve resisted it for a long time, but finally gave it a try. Turns out, I like it. A lot. I’ve roasted it a few times, but I was in an experimenting mood today. What you see is what I came up with.

Ingredients:
1 lb asparagus
1-3 tb of olive oil,
1-2 tb of anchovy paste
3-5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
a pinch of chipotle pepper (optional)

Steps:
1. Heat the minced garlic in the olive oil on low heat, until it’s fragrant.
2. Add the anchovy paste and try to dissolve it. It probably won’t dissolve completely at this point, and that’s OK. It will with the asparagus.
3. Add asparagus (and chipotle pepper, if using) and turn up the heat to high. Cook for a few minutes stirring all the time, until crisp-tender.

I served it with baked salmon. If you’re worried about tasting anchovies, don’t. All you taste is the smoky, velvety taste of something. Can’t quite put your finger on it, but definitely no fishy taste. And my choice of serving it with salmon was great. It worked out well.

I know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow. Who wouldn’t want this even as leftovers?!

Asparagus cooking

Finished Asparagus

Salmon and Asparagus

Mung Bean

Mung bean and chicken

My dad tells me that we ate this on occasion when my grandfather would make a dish featuring this bean. It took ages for me to remember what my dad was referring to. In Uzbek cooking, this bean is called “mash” and my dad was referring to a dish called “mash-kichiri”. I can’t believe I forgot about this little gem. Apparently, this bean is extremely healthy in many ways. I wasn’t able to find it at my local grocery store, but did find it in bulk at the healthy/organic food store (Outpost, for those in my neck of the woods). Also, I bet Indian food stores would have it since it’s popular in Indian cuisine and is known as dal or dahl.
Since I don’t really have any recipes for what to do with this bean, I decided to improvise. Here is what I came up with.

Ingredients:
2 large Carrots
1 large Onion
1 cup uncooked Rice (I used brown rice)
Chicken stock
1 cup uncooked Mung beans (I soaked the beans overnight and the 1 cup uncooked looked more like 2-3 cups)
Spices (to taste): salt, pepper, cumin

Soaked Mung Beans

Carrots and Onions

Cooking Mung Bean

Mung bean and Rice

Steps:
1. Dice the carrots and onions. Cook rice according to package directions, stopping about half way through.
2. Sautee the carrots and onions on a low heat for a few minutes until a little tender. Season to taste.
3. Add the beans and rice and chicken stock. Just enough chicken stock to continue cooking the rice.
4. Cover the pan and let cook over a low heat until all the liquid is gone, about 20 minutes.

I served this with the Updated Roasted Chicken.

Shrimp and Pasta

Shrimp and Pasta

It’s definitely been a while since I’ve posted a recipe. Not because I haven’t cooked, but because I’ve been so busy. But tonight, amazingly enough I had enough energy to go to the grocery store, get some groceries, and actually cook the food today. But like any busy woman, I want something quick, effortless, and most importantly, delicious. So here is what I came up with today.

Seasoned Shrimp

Vegetables in the Pan

All ingredients in the pan

 
 
 
 
Ingredients:
10 oz package of shredded carrots (I used about half)
8 oz sliced mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 red bell peppers (sliced)
rice pasta (gluten-free pasta; a handful or so)
shrimp
asparagus (a handful or so)
olive oil (as needed)
1/4 cup or so of white wine
salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, chipotle powder

Steps:
1. Heat olive oil in the bottom of a heavy pan. Once the oil is hot enough, drop in the veggies (though, you might want to drop in asparagus close to the end, so it’s not too mushy).
2. My package of this rice pasta indicated that it takes 5 minutes to cook, so I started the water water for it in a separate pot.
3. Season the shrimp before adding it to the pan. I seasoned the shrimp right in the collander where I defrosted them. For the seasoning, I used salt, freshly ground black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and chipotle pepper powder. All to taste, of course. Then, add to the pan.
4. Add the wine, close the lid, and let steam for about 5 minutes.
5. When the pasta is ready and shrimp is cooked, add the pasta to the pan and toss everything together.

Dig In!