June 3rd- Quinoa Stuffed Potatoes

 

     potatoes are awesome, awesome things, right?
     They'll always be a hearty part of most dinners and its hard to get sick of something you can cook in so many ways.
     I wanted to stuff them..well, because usually all my potatoes are sliced in some way or another, but I'd never, ever actually taken the time to stuff them before. However today I had nothing but time. I wanted to break away from my potato slicing ways, but in a house without butter, a baked potato is just no good.
     I needed a way to get moist juicy flavor into each and every bite.
     I decided to use Quinoa.
     And if you've never heard of it, well...you really really should.

     quinoa is like a miracle grain. Its a seed, actually. And its so diverse you can cook almost anything with it. It will eventually be included in a lot of my recipes. As healthy as it is, it would be criminal to exclude it from my diet.
     It can go along with sweet, savory, and most things in between.

     For this recipe I used steak and vegetable fried quinoa. It's a bit of an effort but its great and can be cooked to stand alone, as well as used for this stuffing.

Here's What You'll Need!!

3 Medium to large golden potatoes
Dashes of Rosemary
1/2 Cup Quinoa
1 1/3rd cup water

1/2 Lb Organic Sirloin Steak
1/3rd Cup Sliced Onions

1/4th Cup Snap Pea
1/4th Cup Brocoli
1/4th Cup Baby Bok Choy
1/4th Cup Scallions
1 Large Egg
Sunflower Oil
Salt

     It's kind of a long ingredient list, but worth seeking out for this very tasty combination.
     If you sub any ingredients, you're going to want to do it carefully. The flavors in this dish will change quickly with any new, or missed ingredient.
     But all in all, it isn't that hard.

Let's Get Cooking!

First- Soaking the Quinoa
     Simply rinse your Quinoa (even if it comes pre-rinsed.) and soak it covered in water for 20 minutes

Second- The Potatoes!
     Peel the potatoes.
     Save the  peels! Put them in some water.
    Then hollow out the potatoes, leaving about a centimeter or a bit more of actual potato intact.
     Sprinkle lightly with rosemary, oil, and salt on both sides, Set them hole side up in the toaster oven and bake them for 40 minutes at 350. Turn over the last 10 minutes and add a bit more oil and a sprinkle of salt.

     Third- More Quinoa preparation
     Drain the quinoa, bring 1 and 1/3rd cups water to a boil, and add them both together. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
     In the mean time, have your steak slices as thin as you can get it. salt lightly. If you really want to, you can use pre-cut chip-steak but I really don't recommend it. it will take a lot away from the meal.
     Slice your onions very thin as well. I like to cut mine into thin half-rings, and if I got my measurments just right, you should have about as much onions as steak in volume once they're spread out.
     If not, that's what you should be going for.
     Oil your pan, set it to high and once the stove is nice and hot, toss in your steak. Seer it well.
     Add your onion in and cook until caramelized. Mix often so the already seared steak does not burn.

     Once the steak is done, give the vegetables (Chopped) a quick and hot saute. You want them to be cooked but just until the broccoli is radiant green.
     By this time, your Quinoa should be nearly done. Treat it like rice. It's finished once it's absorbed all the water and is no longer difficult to eat.
     Now bring your vegetables, meat, and quinoa  out on the side, and get a hot pan ready once again.

     A little oil, and add your quinoa. It will pop and jump. Stir constantly for about 40 seconds. Do the next few steps in fairly quick succession.
     Add your egg, mix just until it appears the egg is almost completely cooked in.
     Add in your steak, add in your veggies, 40 more seconds of mixing, and take it off the burner.

     Finishing up-
     the 40 minutes should be up, and your potatoes tender. Stuff them full, but don't serve just yet. Get out those potato skins.
    Dry them off, Fry them up in oil, salt them up and burn em a little. Top the filling with those crunchy delicious potato bits and serve hot!

      My neighbor had the luck of being out on the porch when I finished this.
     I have a new fan :)

June 1st- Maple Hashbrown Omelete

  I have been away for a while. I had thought I'd lost the passion for cooking. As it turns out I just needed a break!
     Lately I have been cooking tons and tons! And couldn't be happier. The rust is off and I can once again create recipes from simple thought!  And so I bring you my new invention which I had for breakfast not 10 minutes ago.
     Its 2 PM...ok so I had a late day. :)

     Lately breakfast has felt lack-luster for me. The same thing day in and day out.
   And so the last few days I have been making some substantially gigantic omelets. All of which I'm sure I'll end up posting here eventually.
     I was half way through making my hashbrowns today when I once again got a craving for an omelet. This presented a problem, as my appetite can not hold both an order of hashbrowns and a stuffed to the max 3 egg omelet.
     What ever was I to do?
     The title says it all!

Here's what you'll need!!
1 Large Golden Potato
1/4th Cup Diced White Onions
1 Clove Garlic
3 large eggs, beaten
1 to 2 tbsp Maple Syrup
Salt
Sunflower Oil (can be substituted by your oil of choice)

I'm using simple, easy ingredients today.
They can be fun to, ya know.

Feel free to add more or less potatoes dependng on exactly how big you want this heaping man-omelet to be.

Let's get cooking!!

     My hashbrowns are quick and easy to make, so long as you've got some decent knife skills.
     First cut the potatoes in half, then lay them flat on your cutting board. slice them 6 to 10 times long ways, and then 8 or so times the other way to make little sticks of potato.
     Dice up your onion and garlic, add that to the potato.
     Heat up your pan on high, coat the bottom with oil (enough to lightly coat the hashbrowns)
     When the oil starts to pop, or just before, add in all the ingredients you just prepared. add salt to taste.
     After that, just remember to stir every minute or so until they're a nice crispy golden brown. Or maybe even a little burnt if you like them like that.

     When the hashbrowns are finished, set the stove to medium-high and set the potatoes on top of a few paper towels to drain off any excess oil.
     While the stove top is still hot, toss on another pan and give it a very small amount of oil (or butter. but I'm cooking in a dairy free house, as usual. )
     Pour in your beaten eggs with a very small amount of salt. your potatoes probably have enough of it to go around.
     give them a quick mix and let the bottom and most of the middle cook and set. It wont take long.
     Once the top isn't so goopy but isn't yet cooked either, add in your hashbrowns on top. along with one or two table spoons of maple syrup.
     fold your omelet over and let cook on both sides until done. about 30 to 50 seconds on each side.

     There you have it. When some of that syrup leaks out and begins to burn, your kitchen will be filled with the scent of a pancake-house.
     Plate and serve!
     Its the dynamic duo of breakfast, all rolled into one.

     Now who could resist that? I just wish I'd had some bacon to go with.

January 5th- Man Food Yo!

     I proudly present, My lazy day meal.

     As it seems, my new-years resolution is to cook dishes that make me happy. This big plate of food is one of my best friends in life. 

     It's filling,its satisfying and it doesn't need a bit of presentation. It's proof that really good food can look amazing just left as is.

     Though it isnt exactly easy to prepare, I've done it so many times I can cook the entire thing while hardly even realizing I've started. I'm probably more fond of this dish than any other I've ever cooked. it's a steady part of my life.

     This recipe involved a lot of chopping, if you're knife skills aren't up to snuff you may want to reconsider trying it. it will probably take you more time than it's worth. On the other hand, it's really good

 Here's what you'll need!

.80-1 lb Steak (Ny strip, delmonico, or ribeye)

1/4th White onion

2 cloves Garlic

2-3 medium Golden potatoes

1/6th White onion

2 cloves garlic

1-2 Tbsp maple syrup

4 eggs

Salt

     The meal is hash-browns, shredders, and eggs. 

     Shredders were an invention of mine that I created to get around my girlfriend's gluten and dairy allergies. If cooked right the meat and onions stand on their own better than any whole cheesesteak that I've had.
     I also sometimes add  red and yellow bell peppers, and occasionally tomato sauce.

Let's get cooking!

     To make this meal easily you'll want to prep everything in advance. remember that cutting is very important in this recipe. the more exact your cuts are, the more evenly your food will cook.
     Not to mention that the way you cut them will completely change the texture and may even alter the taste. experiment! But here's how I do mine.

     cut your potatoes in half,  and lay them on their flat side. Cut eight slices in each one long ways and completely through. then ten slashes short-ways.  If the potato is big, cut more slices.
     The onions have to be chopped. cut your onion in half long ways and lay it flat. Cut off about 3/4ths of an inch slice and slice it into thin strips.
     Simply mince the garlic.

     For your steak, cut them into inch strips as thin as possible. The end pieces might be a little thick but throw them in anyway
     This time with the onion, halved long ways as before.  cut them into thin  half circles.
     Once again, just mince the garlic.

     Now turn 2 burners on high, and one to medium. coat the entire bottom of the pan thinly with oil for the hash-browns.
     About half of the pan for the Shredders
     And just a little for the eggs.
     The hash-browns, onions, and garlic all go into one pan (salt to taste ) , and cook until golden brown and very crispy. Drizzle them with maple syrup.
     Seer the steak in the oil before adding anything to it (salt to taste) . make sure it's completely seared to well done before adding the onions and garlic. cook them until the onions soften and become translucent ( then just a bit more )

     Cook up your eggs sunny side up(salt to taste), but break the yolk before serving.

     This meal is more about basic techniques than ingredients. It may taste great the first time for you, but you may need some practice.

     Serves two very hungry people.

December 31st -Tangerine Orange Roughy

The Orange Crush

     Happy new years eve. This will likely be my last post until the new year. And...wow.
     I couldn't have wished for a better dish to end the year on. It was possibly the best thing I've ever eaten. Definitely a good omen.

      The fish sale at my local store was still going on today, and walking past it I saw Orange Roughy. I'd never actually eaten it before but it's been something Ive wanted to try for a long time.Without hesitation I bought a bunch.
     I decided I wanted to use one of my favorite techniques for fish. it's a marinate with honey, a little salt, and  a fruit that goes well with your chosen fish. It's similar to a swordfish recipe I will post eventually.
     I didn't really know what went well with orange roughy, but stubbornly I picked oranges. the irony was irresistible.
     Technically I used tangerines, and some red pepper flakes. the result was perfect! I really cant describe it. Moist, tender, exploding with flavor.
     I added a asparagus stick...salad? It led well into the main course and looked amazing to boot.

Here's what you'll need!

The Fish:
1 lb Orange roughy (2 fillets if possible)
2 Tangerines Sliced
1/2 cup honey
1/4th tsp salt
a few dashes red pepper flakes (or more depending on how hot you like it.)

The Salad:
3/4ths cup Asparagus (thin and just the middles)
3/4th cup Yellow bell pepper (cut into sticks)
3/4ths cup Red apple (cut into sticks) ( a pineapple may be a better choice )
Splash of Coconut juice
1/3rd lemon

     Remember, this recipe is a marinate. You need to start it several hours before you're planning to serve it.

Lets get cooking!

     Place your orange roughy into a gallon bag, and add to it your tangerines, honey, salt, and pepper flakes. Push all the air from the bag and seal. Put it away in the fridge for at least 6 hours. Overnight would probably be better.
     Once the fish has marinated, there isn't any reason to be fancy. It has absorbed all the flavor it will ever need to. Pan fry it on high or medium-high with a little oil for a few minutes on both sides, and place it in the oven at 350 until a fork slides easily through its thickest part.

     For the salad, put the asparagus into a hot pan and saute it in a little oil for a few seconds. Add your coconut oil, and in 20 seconds add everything else. Saute for a minute and strain.
     Plate them both and serve.

     Orange roughy is definitely one of the best fish I've ever had. second only to swordfish.

     If you get the chance to buy some, don't pass it up. even if its pricey.

December 30th- Ultimate Seaweed Soup

     First and foremost I appologize for taking nearly an entire week to post. I wanted to post two days ago but I had computer trouble. It probably wont happen again in the near future.

     Soups are so often overlooked. It's not a main course and not quite as refreshing as a salad for an appetizer. But if made right, there's nothing that packs more flavor than a well built soup.
     Though I won't lie. Originally this recipe was never supposed to become a soup. I was making a broth for my steak fried quinoa, but I made the flavors to strong. It would have made my dish far to potent to eat easily, though not essentially bad tasting.
     But I'm not ashamed of a little botch in the kitchen as long as I can turn it into something equally as good. I think it's one of the things that defines a good cook. Sometimes you need to be able to bend without breaking.

     When I served this to my girlfriend, I didn't think I would be posting this recipe on the site. I have a bad habbit of looking down on soup when it really is a great food.
     In the end I'm glad she made me agree to post it. And from now on I'll try to pay more  attention to soup in general.
     The real key here is the seaweed. When added to a soup it just about doubles the flavor. I use it in all of my soups even if it's just to dip briefly and throw away.

Here's what you'll need!

5 cups water
.75 lb sirloin steak
2 tbsp Oil (I used sunflower)
2-3 scallions (cut in half)
1/4th cup White Onion
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
4 small dried shiitake mushrooms
1/3rd cubanelle pepper
1/2 tbsp salt
Several sheets of seaweed ( One for each bowl)

     The reason I call this 'Ultimate' Seaweed soup is the amount of work I put into the broth for such a simple outcome. Luxurious is a good word to describe it.
     By the way I don't expect everyone to go buy a  steak in order to make a broth. Go ahead and use bones or gristle, but come on guys, no bullion cubes. that's just taking the easy way out and it doesn't taste as good.
     If you want to make the soup bigger, you can probably add 2 cups of water without changing the flavor to much. but if you add any more than that you may want to increase the other ingredients as well.

Lets get cooking!

     Once you figure out what you're going to use for your soup, the actual process of making it isn't difficult at all.
      Add your water to a large pot and bring it to a boil. Add in all of your ingredients, in the order listed or all at once.  Let boil for 5 minute then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer covered for at least an hour.

     Now strain out your vegetables and meat, and pour your broth into bowls. Just before serving, rip up a sheet of seaweed into each one and give it a quick mix to get all of the seaweed under.

     That's really all. It isn't any more filling than a soup normally is, but its a very satisfying soup and definitely worth making for those cold winter nights.

December 24th- Holiday Beef Jerky

     This may be one of my weirdest recipes currently. Nearly everyone who's heard this recipe has told me to keep it away. But the lucky few who tried it quite enjoyed it.
     This is far from the traditional beef jerky. In fact, I don't even want you to think of it as beef jerky while your making and eating it. Think of this dish as...a cookie.
     It's slightly crunchy, sweet like a Christmas dessert in all of its cinnamon and sugary goodness.
     I make this but once a year, to bring to my grandma's christmas dinner.

Here's what you'll need!
 
2 lbs Beef- London Broil
2/3rds cup Brown sugar
2 tbsp Cinnimon
2/3rds tsp salt
Water
More cinnimon and sugar
2/3rds cup Oil ( I used sunflower oil )

     Lots of cinnimon, lots of sugar. Like I said, this is more like a cookie.

Lets get cooking!

     Start by placing your london broil into the freezer. Leave it sit for aproximately 40 minutes. It wont freeze, but it will become stiffer, and will be much easier to cut preciesely.
      Cut the meat into thin strips, most people suggest staying against the grain, I never payed to much attention to that. Sometimes I will, and sometimes I wont.
     Next put the meat in a 1 or 2 gallon plastic bag, and fill it up with water so it just barely covers the meat.
     Add in your brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and half of your oil. Shake and mix the meat well, squeese all the air you can out of the bag and let it rest in your fridge overnight.

     Go to bed, go to work, do whatever you need to do for at least 12 hours. this stuff needs time to suck in flavor.

     Alright, get back down to business, lay out a long line of paper towels on your counter and spread your jerky over them.
     When all your meat is laid out, make a cinnamon and brown sugar mixture of 1 part cinnamon to 2 parts sugar. Give your jerky a quick dusting of the stuff and begin dehydrating.
     Each dehydrator has its own time. Mine is very old and takes about 12 hours to dehydrate 2 lbs. My friend has one that takes 4 hours.
     Just dehydrate until you get good leathery jerky.

     Give it a try. if it's sweet enough for you now, you can eat as is. If not, I've got one more step for you.

     In a small saucepan, heat on med-low and add the rest of your oil. 1/2 cup brown sugar, a tbsp cinnamon, and enough water to just barely dissolve the sugar into a semi-thick sauce.
     mix your jerky with enough of your sugar mixture to coat them lightly, and you've got my holiday jerky.

     Merry Christmas everybody! If I don't see you sooner!

December 24th- Mini Vegetable Sandwiches

     Like...literally vegetable sandwiches...as literal as you can be with that word.
Why?....
     Yea, I know, its weird. I don't usually go for foods that say cute or witty.
     My girlfriend needed hor d'ourves whipped up for a celebration at her friend's house. I got put on duty for that, and it had to be practically allergen free...wow...
     So lets see, no cheese, no bread, no soy, no cream, bo nuts...and she didn't want eggs in them either. That's like everything that appitizers are.
     I'll admit, these aren't perfect, but they are very munchable little things. and not to mention exceedingly healthy and low calorie.
     The presentation was done on a paper plate, I didnt want to set up the display twice.
Smooth, right?

Here's what you'll need!

A handful of baby carrots
A handfull of cherry tomatoes
A handful of lettuce
And a bunch of fancy toothpicks.

     Obviously this was more about show than deep deep flavors. Visual is important to though, sometimes.

Lets Get Cooking!

     Cut the carrots in half long ways, then short ways.
     Quarter your tomatoes, and chop your lettuce.
     Start making little submarine sandwiches. Carrot, tomato, lettuce, carrot, sticking them with the toothpicks.

     If you get a group full of people to devour something made fully of vegetables, you know its got to both look good and taste good.
     If you want some more flavors, try dipping them in your favorite dressing and treating them like little salad sticks.

     They didn't quite clear the plate, but not to many made it back to me.

 

.

December 14th- Boilo

     Ah, Boilo... A delicious coal region beverage that most of you guys have probably never heard of.
     In fact the coal region is pact with tons of its own food and drinks that are completely delicious yet scarcely known to the rest of the world. Today however, this will be the only one making an appearance.

     Every year when the weather gets cold and the townspeople begin to shiver, This drink is brought forth in hundreds, if not thousands of  varieties. To be sipped on cold nights, to share with friends by the bottle, some say a shot or two before bed will even cure a cold.
     I don't think anyone knows exactly how Boilo got started, but I doubt there is a single adult in my county who doesn't know how to make it.
     cherry boilo, apple boilo, blueberry, strawberry, and many more are made every year. But today I made mine traditional...Well, my version of Traditional.
     Boilo has no set recipe, and this is mine. But before you begin, there are two things you must know.
1. You drink Boilo hot. heating your drink up will times its flavor by ten.
2. If you do not like the taste of whiskey, you will want to make some changes to this recipe before you'll even want to go near it. My boilo is especially strong on the whiskey compared to most recipes.
-Here are a few things you can do to fix this.
     You can cut the whiskey in my recipe down to half, but I wouldn't go any lower than that.
     You can replace the whiskey with a 5th of pure grain alcohol. It will get rid of the alcohol taste almost all together.
     I think I've covered everything I need to.

Here's what you'll need!

2 5ths Whiskey ( It doesn't need to be expensive. I use 4 queens. )
4 Oranges
4 Lemons
2 packs Raisins
2 liters Ginger ale
24 oz Honey
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
5 Cinnamon Sticks

     Many Boilos taste like pure honey, or pure Cinnamon. Some like pure orange juice. This recipe, in my opinion, brings out equal parts of all ingredients. And the whiskey strengthens them.

Lets get cooking!

     First begin by bringing your ginger ale to a boil in a large pot.
     Cut your oranges into 16ths, your lemons into 8ths. Squeeze the juice into your ginger ale, then toss in the rest, peels and all. Mix well.
     Add your raisins, honey, and cinnamon. Mix again and continue to boil for about 8 minutes.
     Finally, take your pot off the burner and after 5 minutes add in your alcohol And don't be shy with it.

     Any that's pretty much it. You're finished. This recipe yields 5 delicious fifths. Just strain  out the bigger pieces and fill up your favorite bottles or jars. Add one cinnamon stick to each bottle.
     Now it's time to share. Don't be stingy. Traditionally the maker of the boilo will hand out jars to all his friends, keeping only one bottle for himself.
     Also traditionally, the maker will soon receive a jar of boilo from each one of his friends as well. But it's just never quite as good as your own.

     Well....there's nothing wrong with being a little stingy. Keep a second bottle in the closet and save it for next year. It will only get better with age.

December 11th - Parsnip Encrusted Tilapia

     I've had this recipe going on in my head for a few days, though it wasn't until last night that I found the time to make it. The way this dish looks reminds me of a classic meal, and cooking something like that was strange to me.
     I rarely cook whole fillets of steak, fish, or anything really. Even when I buy a delicious Delmonico steak, my first thought is usually slicing it thin and making cheese-steak out of it.
     Whole fillet  dishes have great importance in the culinary world, however. and despite how I think they can be a bit dull at times, doesn't mean I shouldn't learn to cook them and -make- them interesting and delicious.
     The fish when breaded with my parsnip blend tastes almost like its been drizzled with coconut milk. The flavor is very mellow and complimented to its very extremes by a squeeze of lemon. It's only weakness is the pancake factor.

     What is the pancake factor? Have you ever noticed when you eat pancakes that they just soak up the syrup? and somehow as they eat up that syrup, and the flavor doesn't necessarily stay syrupy. And so you have to add more...and more...Well, this fish will do that with lemon.
     Which is why instead of the traditional lemon squeeze over top, I suggest a dipping cup of lemon juice to dip each bite right before eating for maximum flavor.

     This dish makes a large meal for 2. But fish has never filled me up for very long so I'm reluctant to tell you to call over a third guest without changing the proportions.

Here's what you'll need!!

3 Fillets Tilapia ( or 1 lb, depending on the size of the fish. )
4 tbsp Parsnip powder (You will likely need to make this yourself. instructions will follow shortly)
2 tbsp Tapioca flour
1 Dash paprika
1 Dash salt
2 egg whites
1/2 cup baby carrots (halved)
1 stalk of baby Bok Choy
3-5 green onions
Lemon juice to taste

     Before we get cooking, I'll instruct you on making Parsnip Powder.
     Take one large parsnip and peel it, wasting as little of the actual parsnip as possible while getting rid of its peel.
     Now begin to cut thin strips from it as if you were still peeling it. Don't break down the entire thing, the core of the parsnip has a different flavor than its mantle. A bit of the core wont hurt but try for mostly the softer middle ground between crust and center.
     Once you've got that done, spread the strips out in the dehydrator and turn it on. Parsnips are naturally kind of dry so it likely wont take you more than 6 hours to dry it completely.
     Once it cracks instead of bends, you're ready to grind it into powder. Use a spice grinder or if you want a course crust, just use a hammer or blunt object to smash the parsnip into consistency.
     Now that we've got all of our ingredients...

Lets get cooking!

Breading the fish-
     First beat your egg whites with a whisk or fork until they begin to froth slightly.
     On a plate, mix together your parsnip powder, tapioca flour, paprika, and salt.
     Dip your fish into the egg whites and then into the parsnip breading you've just made. coat both sides.
     Turn two burners to high. on one of them place a pot full of water for boiling Bok Choy. On the second place a pan and fill it a 4th inch with the oil of your choice. I used sunflower.

     Cooking the Bok Choy-
     Boil the Bok Choy for several minutes, only until its color becomes slightly more vibrant. then quickly strain it and dump it into a bowl of very cold water to stop the cooking process from going any further.

     Cooking the fish-
     Seer the fish to a dark amber color on both sides, half at a time. Once the fish has achieved that color it will still be somewhat uncooked on the inside. Place it in a toaster oven at 350 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes. when a fork glides easily through it, your fish is finished.

     Putting it all together-
     Gather up all your vegetables and give them a quick stir fry on your highest heat in a fresh pan drizzles with just a bit of sesame oil and lemon juice. Do not exceed 60 seconds with this step. As a matter of fact 40 should be fine. You do not want to lose the fresh crunch of your vegetables.
     Pour the vegetables over the fish and serve. Don't forget your lemon juice to dip!

     As an after thought, you may want to throw in a 4th to 1/2 cup of sliced water chestnuts. But don't forget to stir-fry those as well.

December 8th- Beef Stew

     If I have a main weakness in cooking, it is undoubtedly stew. I chose to cook it today to improve on my usual sub par stews, and to a point, I was met with success!

     If I could change one thing it would be that this stew did not come out thick enough. I wanted to make a roux from tapioca flour to thicken it but when I noticed I was all out, it was to late to turn back. You may want to add a cup or two less water than me.

     Or not. The broth is tasty enough to drink up after the meal to.

   This meal is great to take with you to work in a hot thermos, it really warms the soul when it gets below freezing and it tastes twice as good after a night in the fridge.

   Usually  I write more, but as I've just woken up...

Here's what you'll need!!

8 Cups Water

2 packages Dried Shiitake Mushrooms ( about 10 small mushroom caps )

1 1/2 cup gristle and meat ( usually I save whatever I cut off of steak from the night before. )

Salt to taste ( I probably used about a 6th of a cup. maybe more.)

3/4th cups leeks (julienne) 

1/2 cup green onions (Diced, greens and all. )

1 clove elephant garlic (or 3 to 4 cloves regular garlic )

2-3 medium potatoes (Sliced into thin circles )

Sunflower oil

2 lbs meat for stew (cubed)

1/2 White Onion (chopped)

2 stalks of baby Bok Choy 

Dash of ginger powder

     All in all I like the ratio of ingredients. They offered an American tasting beef stew while a few of the oriental vegetables gave it a slightly lighter feeling.

     Ok lets begin. like many of my recipes, this one  has a few steps. as I wont just ask you to go out and buy beef  stock or bullion cubes.

     On one last note...feel free to add 3 lbs of meat to the stew instead of 2. I think it would be better.

Lets Get Cooking!!

Make the Broth!

     First add the water, 8 cups into a large cooking pot on medium-high. Let it come to a boil. Then add all of your Shiitake Mushrooms and your 1 1/2 cups gristle. Don't worry, we're taking it out after it gives up its flavors to our broth. Add your salt and cover the pot. 

     Cover your pot and let simmer on low heat for a half hour to 45 minutes.

Add the Veggies!

     Not difficult, though not as simple as implied above. Gather together your leeks, green onions, 3/4ths of your garlic,  and your potatoes.  chop them up and throw everything but the potatoes in a lightly oiled pan. Saute them for about 40 seconds.

     Add in your potatoes and saute them for another 30 seconds. take them off the burner, and out of the pan completely for that matter. You don't want to burn them.

     Take the gristle out of your pot, but leave the mushrooms. Instantly add the veggies and stir. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes.

     Add the Meat!

     The most important step, if you ask me.

     Start by giving your meat a seer in some oil, accompanied by the rest of your garlic. Once its gotten a nice seer to it, throw in the rest of your onions and a dash of ginger powder. cook until onions are soft and then add it all to the pot. taste the broth and salt again if needed.

     Finish the Stew!

     Simmer for 20 minutes uncovered, then chop and add your Bok choy. simmer for another 20 uncovered. Ladle into your favorite soup bowl and enjoy!

      If I had a restaurant, would I serve this?

     only the next day. it thickened up into a beautiful stew after about 16 hours.

December 2nd- No Bean Chili

     Its getting cold out these days, 20 degrees or lower most nights.
     Its time for Chili!!

     Ok now lets get this out of the way before anyone freaks out. I do not use beans in my chili.
Why? Cause beans are an abomination if you ask me. they're disgusting and I have never liked a bean in my life. I have tasted one bean dish I could stomach but I still wouldn't say I liked it. and so, travesty or not, there are no beans in my chili. if you're looking for beans, look elsewhere now.

     With that out of the way, back to the topic. This is one of my more normal recipes. There isn't really any twist to it. my girlfriend just asks me to cook it so often that I felt obliged to put it into my blog. It's just a well balanced, mildly spicy, very tasty chili. it's kind of basic really.
     Despite that I've got no doubt that most of you will love it given the chance. Its great on a cold night or after a hard days work. and it doesn't take much to fill you up.
     Usually I make about 3 lbs worth, but this time around I did 5, so that's the recipe I'll be using.

Here's what you'll need!

2 lbs 93% lean meat
3 lbs 86% lean meat
1 large onion (Diced tiny )
1/2 medium green bell pepper
1/2 medium red bell pepper
1 jalapeno (use a spicier pepper if you want it hot.)
4 tomatoes (I use several kinds depending on what's freshest at the moment. cluster tomatoes are my favorite)
12 to 16 oz can tomato paste ( I use 12 for 3 lbs of meat and forgot to get a bigger can for this recipe but it still came out fine. still 16 oz may be worth looking into.)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp parsely
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ginger
1 cup dark brown sugar
(a few dashes of salt to taste)

     wow, there are a lot of ingredients in this one. But no worries. If you're spice rack is small you can mess around with the ones you've got until you find a good tasting blend.
     Alright, now that we've got everything we need...

Lets get cooking!

1. Brown your meat slowly under low heat, this could take 30 minutes or longer. but dont turn the heat up and risk actually cooking the meat. keep your stove strictly to low-medium heat.
2. Once its all browned you want to strain out all the fat out of the meat. if you don't, in my opinion it gives the chili and almost spongy texture. But go for it if that's what you're into.
3. Dice up your onion finely and mix it into the meat. simmer the meat stirring occasionally until the onions become translucent.
4. Red and green bell peppers, and jalapeno go into the pot chopped at least as finely as the onion. Simmer those for 10 minutes as well. Add all your ground spices at this point as well.
5. add in your tomato paste and chopped tomato cubes. half a cup of brown sugar. mix everything in well and taste. Add a 4th cup of brown sugar at a time, tasting after mixing until you're satisfied with the sweetness. I find the full 1 cup works perfectly.
6. simply simmer for 2 and a half hours, stirring every 15 and draining out excess far if it rises to the top in the form of liquid.

     It takes a while and there are a lot of ingredients, but in the end chili isn't very hard to make. just have everything prepped in advance and you'll be enjoying a hot bowl on a cold night in no time. and no gross beans to mess up that beautiful tomato-meat flavor!

Not only that, but you'll have left overs for days, and it will only get better!

Thanksgiving- Spring Honey Potato Salad

Its strange yet cool that my first post on this blog is thanksgiving day, but I cant think of a better starting date.
     My name is Mike and I love to cook. I'll write more about my in future posts, but for now I want to get right to my food. Here's whats up.

     I usually spend thanksgiving day at my grandmom's house. She cooks like crazy every holiday and puts out huge meals for the whole family.
     I went this year to, actually. So why did I put together a meal of magnitude once I got home?
     My girlfriend has Celiac, Which is an allergy to gluten, in things like bread and way more things than you would think. because of this, a good bit, but not all of my posts will probably be gluten free,
     As she has this allergy, she really cant come and eat with my family and me. And turkey being her favorite food, I had to do something.

     Meal : Pan-Seared Turkey, Grilled Onions, and Spring Honey Potato Salad

     First the Turkey
      My girlfriend is a turkey purist so I didnt do much in the way of unique flavors. Just a traditional turkey cooked on a hot skillet.

This is what you'll need!

3 Turkey Breads (About .90 lb total) 
Sesame oil to coat the pan
A few dashes of seseme seeds
a pinch of salt
a bit of parsley

     Toss the spices in right on top of the sizzling turkey, and cook on high until thoroughly done.
     After that, quickly slice up and onion into rings and throw it right into the delicious turkey juice. Cook until brown and soft. That takes care of the onion,
     One more dish to go.

     The Potato Salad!

     Despite the turkey usually being the highlight of thanksgiving, I kidn of thought of the potato salad as my main dish today. Probably because I'd never cooked potato salad at all before. Much less made something special out of it.
     This is what I call Spring Honey Potato Salad. And its probably the best I've ever had.
Here's what you'll need!

Honey Mayo-
     That's right. This recipe actually calls for you to make your own mayo. its a bit of a chore but it gives you al ot more options on any dish using it. This is the most important part so I'll start with it.

2 Egg yolks
5/6th cups of sunflour oil
Dash salt
Dash sugar
tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4th tsp cayenne pepper
1/4th tsp sesame seeds
1 to 2 tsp honey (It has a big impact. Add carefully.)


     Break out your egg yolks and put them in a mixing bowl with your sugar, salt and lemon juice. Put your mixer on slow (or your whisk hand on really really fast) and mix until smooth.
     Slowly drip in the oil as you continue to mix, making sure all the previous oil is absorbed before adding more.
     Once it's all been used up, check to make sure the consistancy is right. if it is watery add more oil and continue mixing untilyou have mayo consistancy. If its to solid, you mixed to much and may have to start over.
     Add the rest of the spices, mix briefly. Add the honey, mix once more.

Step 2 : The Actual Potatoes.

5 Skinned, Boiled, white potatoes (chopped bite sized but not microscopic )
1/3 white onion (Diced)
2 Boiled eggs
1/4 cup leek whites (Julienne)
2-3 dashes salt
2 cloves garlic (minced)
Honey Mayo to taste ( I used a bout a half of a cup, maybe a bit more.)

     Put the potatoes in the bowl, add everything else and mix well.
     If you dislike the acidic taste of raw onion you should lessen the mount of both onions and leeks accordingly. I actually put in a half onion and a half cup of leeks but some of my friends had trouble handling that much so I changed it on my blog.
     no appreciation for oniony bite *Sigh*
     (Potato salad keeps a week and a half, but I plan on finishing mine within 7 days to be safe )

     It was a good thanksgiving with two feasts instead of one.