The Pig and I

I really enjoyed this. Really. Oddly, I don't actually have anything else to say, except that this was super easy to make and is absolutely delicious. If you make this, serve it with a loaf of rustic bread. Enjoy! 4 cups diced Indian eggplant ($1.50) large handful brown rice ($0.10) 5-6 cloves garlic, sliced ($0.10) 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes ($0.50) 1 chopped medium onion($0.25) 1 cup celery, sliced somewhat thickly ($0.20 1 14-ounce can stewed tomatoes ($0.50) 2 whole omani (whole dried lemon; if anyone knows of a good substitution, let me know) ($0.05) 1 large slice dried galangal (sub: ginger) ($0.02) 1 bay leaf (penny) 1-2 tablespoons olive oil ($0.15-$0.30) 1/2 preserved lemon, minced ($0.12) 3 cups water (penny) Combine all in a 4-quart saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Serves 2 hungry people or 4 polite ones. total cost: $3.51 - $3.66 per serving: 2 servings: $1.76 - $1.83; 4 servings: $0.88 - $0.92

Well, hello. Sorry it's been so long since I last posted a recipe. This semester has just been exhausting. Plus, I've been doing a lot of bread lately, using other people's recipes. I've been two seconds short of bread obsession. Coupled with the bread thing, I finally tugged a turkey out of the freezer, as part of my mission to use up a considerable amount of the frozen food storage I've got. So of course we ate roasted turkey, after which I intended to make turkey pho but never got around to it... well, in truth, I intended to make a lot of things that I never got around to with the leftovers. I did make a turkey pizza (this was awesome, by the way. Just get/make pizza crust, do a quick sauce, cheese, sliced shallot, sliced garlic, diced bell pepper and 1/2" chunks of dark turkey meat. Then bake), and I did make turkey chili. Although I believe I actually prefer the more traditional beef chili, this is a great substitute if you're looking to reduce th

This is Francis, the new member of our family. He's finally decided to let us get a little sleep.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway! The winners, via random integer generator are: Here are your random numbers: 10 10 5 11 3 Timestamp: 2009-02-07 15:22:36 UTC So, that's Tim, seticat, dakotawitch and Joe! And then of course there's the repeated number, so we'll do another integer: Here are your random numbers: 2 Timestamp: 2009-02-07 15:25:38 UTC Which is FlavoDave! Congratulations! Please email me your names and addresses, and these'll be out to you ASAP! I hope you enjoy the meal packages! And now, the Spicy Garlic Chicken review. Some of the things that applied in the last review still apply here, so I won't bore you with the repetition. I'll just go straight to the important stuff! Ease of preparation: This was almost the same as the last one, except I had two extra steps. The first step was cutting the chicken (oh noes!), and the second was tossing it in the cornstarch mixture. Nothing too complicated, so I stand by my previous determina

I'm still having troubles with my camera (meaning that in reality, I can't figure out where I put the memory card), so still no pictures. Sad, right? I have some good news, however! Today will be my first product giveaway. The nice people at Wanchai Ferry have sent a product sample package to me, and have offered 5 product sample packages for winners. I received a package including one each: Sweet and Sour Chicken, Spicy Garlic Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken and Cashew Chicken. I believe these retail for $4.97 per package (so 20 dollar value, roughly). I'm going to randomly select 5 readers to receive a similar package. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me how you make your favourite Asian dish (or just what it is, if you don't cook). The giveaway contest closes at 10 PM EST on Friday. Winners will be selected via random integer selector so it's fair for everyone. Good luck! Now, on the to review portion. Today I did the Kung Pao Chicken box, though I'

Astra at Food for Laughter reminded me of these cookies when she posted some very similar ones. My mother used to make these a lot for us (maybe she still makes them, I'm not sure because I've heard nothing about them recently) and we would just eat them up. They're pretty healthy and they taste delicious. They're also chock full of fibre, which is good since most of us don't get enough anyway. The only real change I've made to these cookies is that I put 3/4 cup dried fruits in them. I am somewhat consumed by dried fruits and P and I eat exorbitant quantities of them. Sometimes I put cherries, sometimes dates, sometimes apricots, or currants, or craisins, or raisins, or dried figs, or even dried mulberry. You really never know what fruit will be in there when I make them, and often I put more than one. They're delicious though, with or without the fruit. Hope you enjoy them! 1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup hard-packed brown sugar