The Pig and I

Sorry for the delay. I actually made this days ago, but due to my busy school schedule (yay! The semester is finally almost over!), I didn't have time until now to post it. I always forget about lentils. I always have them in the house, and like them quite a bit, but most of the time, they don't even exist as an option in my head. I don't know why that is. I've been telling P for a while now I wanted to eat more lentils, so finally I just made some. I also decided to take this as an opportunity to use up some spare veggies laying about. Hope you enjoy! 1/2 anise bulb, sliced 1 small onion, cut into rings 1/2 jalepeno, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil salt to taste 1 cup yellow potato, cubed 2 cups cubed and peeled eggplant 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, cut into quarters 1 cup lentils 3 - 4 1/2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon each: clove, cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed 1/2 preserved lemon, diced 1 roma tomato, chopped 1 cup mixe...

Okay, so I liked the oatmeal the other day. This, coupled with a desire for increased health (and the option of a little fat off my belly, though not much) is making me open to eating oatmeal more often. But I'm still not ready for the rolled oats, which are so much faster to make. I like the texture of the steel cut, but they really do take a lot of time to make. Time is not something I have much of in the mornings, so I usually forego breakfast all together, instead favouring a large lunch of dinner. I did some research on oatmeal, and I found this article from Apartment Therapy . It gives you an overnight method that doesn't use the crock pot, to make the oatmeal (I only have a very large and a very small crock pot, which makes breakfast impractical for it). Sounds full of win, to me. Here's my take on this method. Hope you enjoy! 1 tablespoon butter 1/3 cup steel-cut oatmeal 1 1/3 cups water pinch salt 1 cup pumpkin 1/4 - 1/3 cup brown sugar large handful dried ...

This may be the laziest "recipe" I've ever posted, but I thought I'd share anyway, since sometimes the easiest foods are the most satisfying. We had this yesterday for dinner. 1 cup Bhutanese red rice 1 1/2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups cooked chick peas (I cooked mine while at school in the crock pot w/ one bay leaf) 1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon furikake (basically season to taste) 2 tablespoons lemon juice Combine salt, rice and water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then stir. Cover and reduce heat to a slight simmer, then cook 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, do not uncover the pot. Allow to sit, covered, for 15 minutes. Mix the beans and lemon juice into the rice. Serve, using the furikake as a condiment (hence the varying amount - each person should use to taste). Serves 2-4. The picture looks kind of funny, because it's of the leftovers that were sitting out for a bit (I didn't remember to take a picture until I was about to do the dishe...

Normally I'm not a huge casserole person, if for no other reason than because it just doesn't occur to me to make them most of the time. Thursday, though, I came home from my early class and was going to make breakfast (huge fruit salad and coffee) and P said, "Is pasta for breakfast?" I was really confused until he mentioned the bag of pasta sitting on the counter. I'd intended to cook it so we could mix it quickly with mayonnaise and lemon pepper for a light lunch. I got the fruit out of the fridge to cut it and noticed a bag of shredded colby jack, and it reminded me of when my mother used to cook spaghetti squash and toss it with cheese and a can of stewed tomatoes. I really, really love that dish, but I don't have any squash in the house right now. So I figured I could just use that pasta instead and if I tossed in some chicken, it could make a nice dinner. Besides, I had refried beans and fresh tortillas that could serve as lunch just as well with a nice...

Oddly, I told myself earlier today to cook some beans. But then I got side-tracked by TV and calculus (in that order) and completely forgot. Canned to the rescue, I suppose. Anyway, I had some eggplant in the fridge (what a shock) and I wanted to make a little of it, but I thought I should add some protein to the mix (hence the beans). This is a relatively unseasoned dish, first because I really just wanted to taste all the components without any real modification and secondly, because the capers and preserved lemon are so salty. Enjoy! 2 tablespoons each: butter, olive oil 1 leek, washed and sliced into half moons 1 carrot, sliced 1 cup sliced mushrooms salt to taste 1 cup each: diced eggplant (I used Indian ones), celery (including leaves) 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed 2 tablespoons lemon juice 12 ounces vegetable rotini, cooked to package directions 1/2 cup roughly chopped basil 1 preserved lemon, rinsed and diced 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed 1 cup chopped tom...

Astra at Food for Laughter made a post recently about almond milk oatmeal, that became of sudden interest to me when I had a lot of leftover almond milk from making the flan over Passover. I've never really been a fan of oatmeal, for purely textural reasons, but I've been hearing lately that using steel cut oats is a a good alternative for people who don't like the texture of regular oatmeal. I figured it was worth a shot, since I'd really like to enjoy oatmeal (primarily since it keeps you full through a long day, and doesn't cost much). The people who talked about the steel cut were right - it was delicious! I will spare you all the photo, since we all know oatmeal really just looks like vomit. Enjoy! 3 cups almond milk (or water or regular milk) 1/2 cup steel cut oats 1/2 cup dried cherries 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder pinch freshly grated nutmeg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup brown sugar Bring the milk to a boil, then add in oats, cherries, cinnam...

As you all know, I've been dreading this one. Nothing in the Asian category of sweet and sour appeals to me, usually. Well, okay. I usually find them completely disgusting. So it was with much trepidation that I took out the chicken and made this (at P's request). Heart in my throat, I made the rice and cut the chicken into little bits. I fried the chicken in the cornstarch mixture (which smelled amazing, btw). Then I cut open the sauce packet. To my delighted surprise, it was not bright red or orange. This was the first sign of hope that I was not going to be icked out when I ate the food. P was excited, and played a video game while he waited to taste it. I mixed it all together and finished heating the sauce and pineapple/water chestnut mixture through. It actually started to smell... appetizing. My mouth watered a bit. When it was heated through, I put a huge portion (half) into P's bowl and brought it to him. For myself, I got out a plate, and a jar of rice seasoning. ...

In addition to a few recipes from Gourmet Magazine ( orange flan , which you should totally make because it was stunningly good, the sweet and sour celery , and the saffron rice - I made MUCH smaller quantities of these), I also made a leg of lamb. We bought a small, boneless one; about 3 pounds. It was really lovely, but does require a bit of planning. I marinated the lamb for a full day before cooking. I'm sure if you're in a hurry, you could just do a couple hours, though a full day of marinating really lets the flavours get in there! Anyway, hope you enjoy! 3 pound boneless leg of lamb Marinade: 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 1/2 teaspoon each: dried basil, dried marjoram, ground coriander 1 tablespoon each: aleppo pepper, sumac, minced garlic 1/4 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground dried bergamot peel (or orange peel) 2 tablespoons each: pomegranate molasses, olive oil 1 teaspoon honey scant 1/4 cup orange...

I discovered a ham bone in my freezer the other day and thought it'd be marvelous with the lima beans I've been seeking a use for. My ham bone had slightly less meat than I initially thought it did, so I added in another third to half pound of ham dice. If your bone has a good amount of meat in it, I don't really see a huge need for the addition of more meat. This recipe adapts perfectly to a slow cooker, for those who love soup in the summer but don't love the heat cooking it produces. Hope you enjoy! 1/2 pound soaked lima beans 1 bay leaf water 1 small slice dried galangal or ginger 1 large handful dried onion 2 omani (dried lemons) 1 ham bone 1 teaspoon salt (optional) 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced (mine are dry packed, not packed in oil) 1 cup celery, cut into 1/2-1" pieces 1 zucchini, cut into half moons 2 carrots, sliced 1/3-1/2 pound ham, diced (optional) water as needed Combine first group of ingredients (I add water to cover the bea...

In my quest to use up all the yeasted bread before Passover, I pulled the remaining pizza crust out of the freezer (I made two and froze one) and we had pizza the other night. I had forgotten how wonderful homemade pizza is (and even better now that we have a stone!). Sauce: 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce 1 tablespoon italian spices 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon chopped garlic 1/2 teaspoon dried onion pinch sugar 1/2 teaspoon or so salt 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste Simmer 30 minutes or so. Assembly: 1/4 cup each: bell pepper, onion, black olives, jalepenos 1/2 cup mushrooms pepperoni to cover all but 1" of crust 6-7 ounces mozzarella or italian cheese blend Shape pizza crust (or use already made and roll it out). Top with sauce (I used half; you might need more. If your crust is large, increase the amount of other ingredients), then cheese. Add your rings of pepperoni, then top with all the rest. If you are using a pizza peel to transf...

And the sixth and last letter: Ok, so you've had enough by now, I'm sure. Here's a little more: Homemade soft drinks: When you peel an apple, save the peel and the core. Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a pan and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for one minute, then add the apple bits and remove from the heat. Let it hang out for an hour or two, then strain the apple bits out. You can mix this syrup w/ club soda to make apple soda. You can make these syrups from almost anything. In my fridge right now I have mint syrup, lemon-lime (homemade 7-up), kumquat, orange, apple, ginger ... and some other stuff I can't remember. Big treats: Homemade Oreo cookies (which you've already tasted, I believe), homemade biscotti, biscuits, bread, ding dongs, pies and all sorts of other treats. I have a lot of recipes for this kind of stuff, so just tell me what you want to make and I'll get you a recipe. This next section is deleted, as it just has a bunch of recipes ...

Here's the fifth letter: Are you tired yet? I am. We're almost done, though. So, here's the deal w/ produce. If it's really cheap, per pound, it's in season. If it's really expensive, it's not in season. You want to eat seasonally whenever possible. Mainly for two reasons. 1. It's a lot less expensive. 2. Your food will be fresher. In ethnic stores, you can also get dried fruits really cheaply, and they are great for snacks and also to add to foods you're cooking. Frozen vegetables: Corn Green beans Spinach Onion (optional) Frozen fruit: Pick out 2-5 kinds of fruits and berries you like, and keep a bag of them in the freezer. You can use them for pie, for ice cream toppings, for smoothies, all sorts of things. Also cobbler, clafoutis, etc. Frozen fruits are like the miracle product, because you can fruits that aren't in season super cheaply. Sometimes even fruits that ARE in season can be gotten cheaply this way, as well as exotic fruits you migh...