Recipe Thread

You were right to use sesame oil. Olive oil is not good for stir-frying because it has a very low smoke point, and it doesn't get hot enough to cook the food. (You want the "flash-frying" effect so the veggies will stay flavorful and crunchy). I dislike stir-frying because I don't have the right equipment (you need a wok) or the right oils, but I made it tonight anyways. I used a large skillet and some olive plus canola oil, and butter. Chicken pieces, mushrooms, bell pepper, one jalapeno. Base of onions, garlic and ginger (always start with that). For sauce I always just use soy. A little red wine. Salt, pepper, and turmeric (which I had never heard of until you mentioned it in your recipe blogs).

Came out okay. Soggy, of course, but still edible, and tasty. Not a proper stir-fry but a useful way to get rid of leftovers. I had some bean sprouts but they were completely wilted. Could have used some more heat; may try a habanero next time.

I have been big on Miso Soup lately, but it is tough to make unless you have access to an Asian market. I make it every day.

Nareed, I'm no cook, but when I make soup I use the bare minimum water to COOK it, like just enough to keep it liquid and not burn. AFTER it is cooked, I add hot water to get the right consistency and strength of flavor.

I always found the directions make the soup too watery and weak for my taste so that's how I go about it. I don't have a recipe since all of mine start with "open box of soup" (lol), but maybe try the water trick.

Soup, eh?

Here's my super-simple lunch-time soup tip. Anybody else like the canned Progress soups? Well, I like the Minestrone but want just a bit more sometimes without opening another can. So at least once a week we will make cabbage, greens, or cauliflower, making sure there are leftovers. Just spoon in 2-3 tablespoons of one of these leftovers. The improvement in the soup is outstanding, in addition to making just the right amount of extra for me. Simple as this is, it has had me looking forward to lunch many, many times.

Quote: teddys

You were right to use sesame oil. Olive oil is not good for stir-frying because it has a very low smoke point, and it doesn't get hot enough to cook the food. (You want the "flash-frying" effect so the veggies will stay flavorful and crunchy).

Actually I wanted them a bit less crunchy, so I fried and simmered longer than alst time. Too bad there was no jicama...

Quote:

I dislike stir-frying because I don't have the right equipment (you need a wok) or the right oils, but I made it tonight anyways.

I don't have a wok, either, but there's this large, deep, saucepan with a narrow bottom. next best thing, I guess.

BTW, one fo the first things I tried to cook were stir-fry vegetables. Unfortunately I used frozen ones. DON'T ever do that. they're fine for boiling, or for soup, but otherwise they're a big waste of money. I followed the directions in the bag exactly, and they came out limp and soggy.

Quote: Face

Nareed, I'm no cook, but when I make soup I use the bare minimum water to COOK it, like just enough to keep it liquid and not burn. AFTER it is cooked, I add hot water to get the right consistency and strength of flavor.

Oh, I've been doing fine with my own recipes. I don't use water at all! I use chicken or beef broth instead. And I put in enough vegetables in my cabbage soup to amke it more a watery stew than a soup.

My problems have been:

1) adding pasta to the mushroom soup. My thinking is to cook the pasta in the broth. But maybe it soaks up too much broth. Or I'm using too much pasta. I'll try something different next time. Meantime I'm a bit tired of mushrooms.

2) Too little water on the bean soup. The problem there is cooking the beans. It seems no self-respecting bean allows itself to be cooked in less than 10 hours...

The best soup 'extenders' are canned beef broth and
instant brown rice. If you want the soup you're making
to go farther, put in 2 cans of broth and a cup of rice.
Works for all but the cream soups. Around the holidays
beef and chicken broth go on sale for .50 cents a can
around here and I buy 50 cans and wait till they run
out and get a rain check for 25 more. Great stuff that
has a ton of uses in the kitchen.

Here's my latest, near original recipe:

Kathy's Red Bell Pepper Fettuccine

Ingredients:

200 grams of fettuccine, cooked to taste
1 large red bell pepper (you can use a different color, but then it won't be red pepper, will it? <w>) chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 stalks of celery chopped
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 scoops cottage cheese (yes, cottage cheese!) either low fat or "regular." The regular is low fat enough.
1 can (356 ml. I think) low-fat evaporated milk
4 tablespoons cor starch
1/4 cup of water.
Ground black pepper to taste



Preparation:

Cook the pasta to taste.

In a blender place half the red pepper, one stalk of celery, 1 and 1/2 cloves of garlic, two scoops of cottage cheese, a small handful of red onion bits, and the can of evaporated milk. You may add a little freshly ground black pepper, too Liquefy the mixture. Meantime dissolve the corn starch in the water.

In a large saucepan sautee the onion and the remaining garlic, bell pepper and celery. When they're done, add the liquefied mixture from the blender, add the oregano. Reduce the flame and simmer for a few minutes (Sorry, I didn't time it). When a hint of crust begins to form, add the water and corns starch mixture. Stir well until it thickens enough. Keep stirring all the while, as the thickening mixture tends to produce large steam bubbles otherwise.

Pour over the pasta and you're done.

See the post above.

On further analysis, the recipe needs two (2) bell peppers. As it is it came out a little bland. Not bland per se, but not as rich in flavor as I expected. Part of the problme is that bell peppers have distinctive but not strong flavors.

The consistency is very good, every bit as thick as the cream and butter based pasta sauces like Alfredo. And the fat content is in the mid-range for low fat.

Quote: Nareed

Kathy's Red Bell Pepper Fettuccine

I tried it again, with two bell pepeprs, and that's still not enough. I'm thinking perhaps the red bell pepper lacks enough flavor. One idea is to reduce or cut out the cottage cheese. Another is to forego bell pepeprs entirely and try something else, like poblano or morita chiles. But of course then I'd have to change the dish's name. I'm thinking a runnier sauce would be great for spaghetti, too.

I think I need to cook the bell pepper before making the sauce. We'll see.

Meantime, I achieved some success with two other recipes:

Bean Soup:

300 grs. of beans (I used a local purple variety called "Flor de Mayo," 250 gr. worth, and 50 gr. of white beans)
1/2 liter of chicken broth
440 gr. tomato puree
1/3 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon fine herbs
3 turkey sausages sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

First you cook the beans. Now, I asked around and was told to use a pressure cooker. I considered it, but I couldn't figure out quite how to use one. So I poured about 1.5 liters of water in a pot, added a half teaspoon of olive oil (I was told to do this, I don't know the reason), let the water boil, then added the beans and cooked them for about 2 hours on low fire. I'm calling the result "al dente beans." :) I also let the beans soak in water first for about 18 hours, give or take.

Next, I cooked the onions and garlic in a skillet along with 1 teaspoon olive oil. When they're done, add the sliced sausages. Add the chicken broth, tomato pure and spices to the beans, stir well and add the onions, garlic and sausage. Add a hefty dash of Worcestershire and Tabasco to taste. Let it simmer for about 40 minutes covered (be sire to use a pot lid with a hole or a valve on it).



And my latest Soy Picadillo recipe:

1 liter beef broth (I use Campbell's non-fat)
Textured soy protein (amount described below)
1/2 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 1/2 green bell pepper chopped (I had 1/2 left over, you can use one or two) chopped
1 cup soy bean sprouts
220 grs. tomato puree
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon powdered cumin
1/2 tablespoon oregano
Worcestershire sauce
2 table spoons corn starch
1/4 cup water.
Olive oil

First bring half (that's 1/2) a liter of beef broth to a boil. Then add enough textured soy protein so it's fully covered by the broth. Add a tablespoon of Worcestershire. reduce the heat to low until the broth is consumed. Meantime cook the onion, garlic, bell pepper and soybean sprouts in a skillet with some olive oil (not the carrot, unless you want to).

Add the other half liter of broth to the soy protein and stir. Add the tomato puree, the cooked vegetables, spices and the diced carrot. Bring to a second boil, stirring occasionally, and let it simmer a few minutes. meantime dissolve the corn starch in the 1/4 cup of water, and add it to the pot. Stir well and let it simmer for 25 minutes uncovered.

New and improved red bell pepper sauce:

2 red bell peppers chopped
2 tesaspoons olive oil
3/4 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
110 grams low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup non-fat milk (250 ml)
1 tablespoon oregano
1/3 teaspoon cumin
A pich of fine herbs
ground pepper to taste
1 cup of water
3 teaspoons corn starch


First, chop one bell pepper, 1/4 of the onion and 1.5 cloves of garlic. Stir fry them thoroughly with one teaspoon of olive oil in a deep saucepan or wok, and I do mean thoroughly: until the bell pepper pieces show black spots.

Next put that in a blender along with the milk, cottage cheese, cumin, half the oregano and ground pepper. Liquefy throroughly. You'll be left with some solifds, as you'll find neither oregano nor ground pepper will dissolve, but that's ok. Mix the corn starchin the cup of water.

In the same saucepan or wok stir fry the other bell pepper, celery and the rest of the garlic and onion. Again until the bell peppers have some black spots (some, mind, not until you burn them). When things are cooked, add the liquefied mix from the blender. Lower to ahlf heat and stir, add the pinch of fine herbs and the rest of the oregano.

When the mix begins to crust over (that is, at any sign of a crust of any kind), re-stir the corn starch mix and add it to the sauce. Reduce heat to low and stir until you feel the sauce acquire a satisfactory consistency or large steam bubbles form.

The trick is cooking the bell peppers. They release more flavor that way, or so it seems to me. I found this out accidentally last week doing something else. Anyway, i tried it like that and it worked very well.

I want to try a soy protein meatloaf soon, if such a thing is even possible. But next week I think I'll try a different kind of soup and chicken.

I was stumped for what to do this week. Then there was this rerun of The Big Bang theory where Sheldon wants to learn Mandarin in order to confront the Chinese restaurant about their tangerine chicken. The phrase "tangerine chicken" got tossed around a lot. It sounded good, too. So I decided to make orange beef ;)

Seriously, I decided to make tangerine chicken. We're at the tail end of tangerine season, so I can still get some fresh.

Along the way I defined two more of Nareed's Cooking Laws. Briefly:

Buy the ingredients yourself
When possible, taste or sample the ingredients before using them.

I wound up having less chicken than I needed due to not following the first law. So I improvised

Anyway, here's what I did:

Kathy's Tangerine Vegetables with Chicken

Ingredients:

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken cut into bite-sized bits
2 Tablespoons sherry
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon grated tangerine peel
About 1.5 inches of fresh ginger root, peeled and minced (turns out peeling ginger isn't that hard)
2 Tablespoons sesame seed oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper cut into thin, short strips
1 Yellow onion, peeled chopped (no reason, I just saw them at the store and had to try one)
150 grs. soybean sprouts
100 grs. snow peas
3/4 cup tangerine juice
3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons corn starch

Preparation:

Pay attention, because it's done in steps. I highly recommend peeling, chopping, mincing and cutting everything beforehand.

1) Mix the soy sauce, sherry and tangerine peel in a bowl. Add the chicken, cover the bowl and put in the fridge for half an hour.

2) Heat the oil in a wok or deep saucepan and add the ginger and garlic. Saute them a bit, then add the chicken. Cook the chicken well (I always cook the chicken well) and set it aside on a plate.

3) In the same pan stir fry the vegetables (onion, bell pepper, sprouts and snow peas) to taste, then add the chicken previously set aside.

4) In a measuring cup (or other container big enough) mix the tangerine juice, rice vinegar and corn starch. Stir well and add to the pan

5) Mix well until the sauce thickens. The sauce won't cover the food, so keep stirring until all of it is well coated.

That's it.

It came out quite good. I liked it and will be doing it again. I also think I can make orange beef almost the same way. I only need more chicken and tangerines next time. This time I had to de-bone a raw chicken breast (yucky, messy work). I also found out it's easy to make tangerine juice, but two tangerines aren't enough. I had to complement that with store-bought juice.

I haven't tried anything new, but I did the tangerine chicken again while I still could find half-decent tangerines.

Funny thing, though, I asked the cleaning woman at the office to taste it because I wanted an unbiased opinion of it. She paid me the best compliment one can: she asked for the recipe :)

This week I'm hunting for lentil recipes.

I set myself the goal of trying at least one new recipe each week.

Last week I tried to make sweet & sour chicken and had mixed results. I'll try to improve the preparation before I post the recipe. I also tried lentil and barely soup. That one was entirely my recipe, as I couldn't find one online that I liked. I came very close to getting it right. I just need to find the right proportions of water, grains and seasoning.

For this week I'm on the hunt for chicken breasts in salsa verde. I figure it's time I learned to do at least one Mexican dish ;)

I've been dieting and exercising this year (down 50 pounds so far) so have been eating a lot of chicken breast and vegetables as my main meal for the day. This one is simple and delicious, just one 8 ounce breast filet seasoned as you like and baked (I love my RonCo Showtime Rotisserie for producing juicy baked chicken) on top of frozen, microwavable chopped spinach with 1/4 cup of parm cheese. The cheese won't melt the first day because of the low moisture, but after sealing the meal in tupperware (I make four 8 ounce breasts at a time) the cheese will absorb enough moisture to melt when reheated. 400 calories total.

Chicken with salsa verde is a great idea...think I'll try that too.

Quote: Nareed

Last week I tried to make sweet & sour chicken and had mixed results.

Same here! The first time I left the plastic on and set the timer for six and a half minutes; the second I removed the plastic and set the timer for six minutes.

Quote: progrocker

Chicken with salsa verde is a great idea...think I'll try that too.

I'll let you know when I find a decent recipe.

What's your tolerance for hot chiles? I learned while developing my chili recipes not to use too much, but I suspect I can take more thant he average board member.

With the chile verde puerco I made pretty often before dieting I would use a can or two of pickled serano peppers. With the Thai dishes I make I'll use 2-4 seeded habaneros. I don't usually use recipes, just try to do what seems right...for salsa verde what seems right to me is canned tomatillos blended with a can of serano peppers (de-stemmed before blending) with garlic and cumin, salt and pepper.

Quote: progrocker

I don't usually use recipes, just try to do what seems right...

I look up recipes and modify them to my taste. But I've also begun to figure out my own from scratch.

Quote:

for salsa verde what seems right to me is canned tomatillos blended with a can of serano peppers (de-stemmed before blending) with garlic and cumin, salt and pepper.

I'm not sure about pepper and serranos.

And I've been thinking fresh green tomatoes (which I take it is what you mean by tomatillos), lightly roasted, with some serrano and poblano pepeprs. Garlic and onion are implied in all my recipes ;) Al quartered and tossed in a blender with a little vinegar. Perhaps some chopped cilantro, too.

I'll get vinegar content from using canned serranos. I put cracked peppercorns on everything and I hate onions. It'll work for my tastes. Cilantro is a good call though.

Tomatillos aren't related to tomatoes apparently, although it does appear there is some naming confusion about them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomatillo

Quote: progrocker

I'll get vinegar content from using canned serranos.

Of course.

Quote:

It'll work for my tastes. Cilantro is a good call though.

It's an easy call. Almost every green salsa I've ever seen has some cilantro. Red salsas not so much.

Quote:

Tomatillos aren't related to tomatoes apparently, although it does appear there is some naming confusion about them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomatillo

Those are what I meant. Here we call them "tomates verdes." I've heard them referred as "tomatillos," but not frequently (and this isn't the SWD thread).

Quote: Nareed

It's an easy call. Almost every green salsa I've ever seen has some cilantro.

I've been leaving it out for over a year now since I started making chile verde. My goal is to like what I make though, not be authentic or anything. I like cilantro, but only used sparingly, so never thought of buying any for home use, although I do put a bit on my tacos al pastor or Freebirds chicken burrito when eating out.

Quote: progrocker

My goal is to like what I make though, not be authentic or anything.

I do the same thing. For instance, I didn't put cubed tomatoes in my lentil soup.

But some ingredients are essential in some types of dishes. For instance, I wouldn't make anything Chinese without soy sauce. Cialntro isn't the defining ingredient in salsa, a hot chile is, but it does help it along.

So, I tried Mexican home cooking for a change ;)

Things didn't go 100% right, but I'm on the right track. So I'll post what I did:

(By all rights I should post the recipes in Spanish, but I'll confine it to the titles)

Sopa de lentejas:

1 Cup green lentils (big or small)
4 Strips turkey bacon cut into small pieces (OR 2 teaspoons olive oil)
1/4 onion chopped
1.5 cloves of garlic chopped
1 small tomato in cubes
2 liters water
4 cubes chicken broth low fat and low sodium (or however many it takes to make 2 liters of broth)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
A pinch of fine herbs

First set the lentils to soak for an hour or two. Drain them and set them aside.

Next, place the bacon in a pot and let it cook a bit and release some fat. Once the bacon has "bled" enough, add the onion and garlic. Saute the whole mix a bit, then add the cubed tomato. Keep cooking until the onions begins to turn translucent. Add the water and bring to a boil. As it begins to boil, add the chicken broth cubes, cumin and fine herbs. Stir thoroughly until the cubes re dissolved (I crumble mine first, so they dissolve faster). When the mix reaches full boil, reduce the heat to minimum and add the lentils.

Keep the soup boiling for about 1.5 to 2 hours or until the lentils are tender. Stir occasionally.


Arroz a la Meicana:

1 cup rice
1 small tomato
1/4 onion
1.5 cloves garlic
About half a liter of water
2 cubes chicken broth low fat, low sodium.

Cut the tomato in four or eight parts, cut the onion in pieces (no need to chop), and quarter the garlic. Toss it into a blender with just a trickle of water and liquefy. Now, many recipes say to strain what you get from the blender, but I didn't do that. Pour the mix in a pot and add the water; you should have around 750 milliliters (3/4 of a liter). You can measure the tomato mix first ina measuring cup. Proportions are important here. Too little fluid and the rice will be undercooked, too much and it will come out with a consistency more akin to paste.

Set the mix and water to boil. Add the chicken broth cubes and stir until they dissolve. When it's boiling, reduce heat to minimum and add the rice. Stir well. Cook covered until the liquid is consumed.


Pechugas de Pollo en salsa verde (which I'm actually calling Kathy's Pollo en salsa verde as I made up the recipe):


Salsa:
4 to 6 small green tomatoes (also known as tomatillos) without the husk.
A pinch of salt
1 serrano pepper
220 grams low fat cottage cheese (I'm finding it the perfect ingredient for creamy, yet low fat sauces)
1/2 chicken broth cube low fat and low sodium
1 clove of garlic.
Some cilantro, chopped

Boil the tomatoes in water with a pinch of salt until they change color. Watch carefully, as they turn a kind of greenish-yellow. Drain them and soak them in cold water for a minute or two. Quarter the tomatoes, garlic and serrano pepper (you can remove the veins and seeds if you can't take the heat). Put them in the blender with the half chicken broth cube, cilantro and cottage cheese, and liquefy everything (don't add water, it's not necessary).

That's the salsa. Set it aside.

Chicken:
1 chicken breast to taste (I used flattened ones)
1/4 onion sliced
1/4 cup of rajas de chile poblano (they sell them frozen in every supermarket in Mex City)
1 teaspoon olive oil.

First cook the onions with the oil until the onions begin to turn flexible. You'll see them brown a little before that happens. You can brown them thoroughly, too, if you like them that way. Add the rajas de chile poblano and keep cooking until the onions reach the desired softness. For me that means as flexible as spaghetti but only a little browned. The rajas will soften as well. Remove them from the pan and set aside.

Cook the chicken breast in the same pan to taste. When it's done remove it from the pan and cut it into strips or bite-sized pieces as you prefer. set it with the onion and rajas.

Now add the salsa to the hot pan and let it heat up. When it begins to boil, add the cooked chicken, onions and rajas. Mix it up so everything's bathed in salsa and until everything's nice and hot. Then serve.

I'm thinking of adding some corn starch tot he salsa, as it was a bit runny when served. And maybe it would be best to leave the chicken breast whole and put it in the oven bathed in salsa. I'll try that next week.

Roger Kint's Bankroll Builder:

I find myself having this meal during the week lately because it's cheap (approximately less than a dollar per meal), really healthy and super easy. I know how it looks but it doesn't taste THAT bad. The recipe below makes about 4 meals. None of the ingredients I use are from a can so canned ingredients may be even cheaper. A side-effect of this meal is dining out on the weekends tastes even better and is more guilt-free "the sweet just isn't as sweet without the sour".

Ingredients:

1/3 cup lentils
1/3 cup split peas
1/3 cup long grain brown rice
Oil
2 cups of water
1 carrot, minced
2 roma tomatoes, minced
Salt
4 garlic cloves, minced (I like garlic)
1/2 brown onion, minced
1 pepper (serrano, jalapeno, whatever you like), minced
cilantro
lime
spinach

Place first eight ingredients in pot, bring to boil, stir, simmer for about 20 minutes.
Place ingredients 9, 10 and 11 in pan with oil and cook till onion is soft and garlic is browned (less than a minute).

Add first seven cooked ingredients into the pan and mix. Add salt to taste.
Place spinach (I like to steam the spinach, this is easy if you have a rice cooker) on a plate and top the spinach with the cooked ingredients. I top the dish with fresh cilantro and squeeze out some fresh lime juice. Avacados are in season right now so I like to splurge and have one of those also.

Quote: RogerKint

Roger Kint's Bankroll Builder:

LOL. I consume enormous quantities of lentils. This is a good recipe. I usually put the stuff in the crock pot with a little beef (round eye of round; it's cheap), the above ingredients, probably cabbage instead of spinach (spinach is pricey). Really nice for breakfast with a fried egg on top, too.

You should look into Indian spices if you like spicy. I've built up quite a library. Cumin seeds, Curry Powder, and/or Garam Masala are good to start out with.

Love spicey! Maybe all the cheap wine and tequila has deadened my sense of taste. I like the health benefits of spinach as well as the taste but a change will be good. I was just recently looking into Indian spices but wasn't sure which ones to try. I'll check those three out.

I needed to cook something quick yesterday for today's lunch. But I forgot to drop by the supermarket, so I wound up doing with whatever I could get my hands on at home. This gave me a new goal: amke my own spaghetti sauce from scratch. meanitme:

Kathy's hurry up pasta:

50 grs. pasta of any kind
1 tespoon olive oil
1/4 onion chipped
1 clove of garlic minced
1 stalk celery chopped
440 grs. pureed tomatoes
3 tabolespoons oregano (give or take)
A dash of Worcestershire
1/3 teaspoon ground balck pepper

Cook the pasta, drain and set aside.

In a saucepan sautee the onion and garlic in olive oil. When the onions begin to go transluscent, add the celery. Sautee all together until the celery softens a bit or the onions begin to brown. Add the pureed tomatoes and reduce heat to low. Crush the oregano before adding it to the saucepan. Add the Worcestershire and the pepper. Raise the heat to medium and stir well. let it simmer a few minutes and pour over the pasta.

Not my best effort, but the sauce tasted nearly as good as commercially available spaghetti sauces. It could have used some mushrooms, too. But on short notice and rushing to beat the TV for a Big bang re-run, it was fine.

Looks good but do you have something for Microwave Only folks?
Also, ... how do you drain pasta if you ain't got no collander... just pouring water into the microwaveable bowl and tipping as much as possible out always leaves most of that gluten stuff still in the pasta. (No tennis racket available either).

I had a rather bad weekend at the kitchen. My chipotle salsa didn't come out quite right, and my attempt to improve the Mexican rice recipe succeeded only in the revelation of one more of Kathy's Kitchen Laws: "If at some point you need to fix a dish you're cooking, nine times out of ten it's already ruined." <sigh>

On the other hand, I had these little onions lying around. The small ones with a long green stem, I've no idea what they're called in English. So I made "cebollitas," a side dish often found at taco restaurants. Here's the recipe:

A bunch of small onions, with the most of the green steam cut off (leave just a little bit of stem). As many as you want.
A little bit less than 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce.
About 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce.
1 lime.
Ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon cooking oil.

So, put the oil in a saucepan or wok and heat it up. Then stir fry the onions. You have to fry them thoroughly so they'll cook all the way inside. This does mean the outside will be burnt a little (or a lot if you mix onion sizes).

While the onions cook, mix the Worcestershire, soy sauce, pepper and the juice of one lime in a cup. Mix it well.

When the onions are just about ready, add the mix. Reduce the heat so medium and stir everything so the sauce will mix with the onions. Keep cooking until the onions are done (that's a bit hard to say, of course, but precision isn't important at all. Just don't burn the outside completely).

Actually in most taco restaurants they won't use soy sauce at all. They use something called "Jugo Maggi" (Maggi is the brand name), which is made with soy but through different means. it's very salty and it lacks the flavor of real soy sauce. So I used what I thought would be best.

Eating them is another adventure. The round surface makes it hard to stick a for in them. I recommend either scooping them with a fork or spoon, or sticking a toothpick in them. Some restaurants serve them with a toothpick already stuck on each.

That sounds really good Nareed. Is your spanish rice recipe on the thread? My grandma lives in mexico and Im sad to say I only see her once every so often so I cant get hers!

Quote: JamieV

That sounds really good Nareed. Is your spanish rice recipe on the thread? My grandma lives in mexico and Im sad to say I only see her once every so often so I cant get hers!

Mexican rice. It should be on the previous page, with two other recipes I tried last weekend. I think I called it "Arroz a la Mexicana."

Success!

I got the chicken in chipotle sauce right this time. So:

Kathy's Pollo en Salsa de Chipotle

2 red tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 onion (half quartered, half in slices)
a handful of cilantro leaves, stems and all, chopped
1 cube chicken broth low fat, low sodium
2 chicken breasts
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 chipotle chiles in adobo and the thick juice from the can.

Peel the tomatoes (look up means online, there are several; I blanch mine), remove the core, remove the seeds if you care to. Quarter them and place them with the quartered half of the onion, cilantro, garlic, chicken broth cube and chipotles in the blender with a trickle of water. Liquefy thoroughly (remember to start slow and increase the speed to minimize splashing). Set aside.

In a saucepan cook the onion slices until they are flexible (they will brown a bit). Remove them from the pan and set aside. Cook the chicken breasts. cut the cooked chicken into strips or bite-sized pieces. Let the pan cool a little, then add the salsa from the blender. Set to low heat and add the onion and chicken. Mix well. Let it simmer for 20 minutes. NO need for more stirring, but watch it so it doesn't boil over.

Of course you can use less chipotles if you don't like your food too hot. Just remember if there are any left over in the can, put them in a small tupperware and refrigerate them for later use. Don't ever leave any canned food in an opened can.

Now, while it was good, it wasn't quite right. I think I should add a little oregano and put the chicken with salsa in the oven for 20 minutes, rather than on the stove.

I'm dreaming about recipes now. really. I woke up today around 6 with vague memories of combining cottage cheese and chipotle peppers. So I thought about it. And this is the result:

Coditos al chipotle.
(Elbow macaroni with chipotle sauce)

200 grs elbow macaroni
1 cup low-fat or non-fat milk
220 grs. low-fat cottage cheese
1 chicken bouillon cube, low-fat and low-sodium
2/3 of an onion
2 cloves garlic
1 chipotle pepper en adobo and some juice from the can
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dry parsley leaves
2 teaspoons dry cilantro leaves (I wanted fresh cilantro, but I had none).
2 teaspoons corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup water.
1 teaspoon olive oil
2/3 of a carrot

Cook and drain the pasta to taste.

In the blender put together the milk, cheese, chicken bouillon cube, chipotle with juice, cumin, parsley, cilantro, 1 clove of garlic and 1/3 of the 1/3 of an onion. Liquefy thoroughly.

Ina saucepan or wok heat the oil and then stir fry the rest of the onion (chopped) and garlic (chopped) until the onion is tender. Reduce the heat to low and add the sauce. Stir occasionally and keep heating until the sauce starts to crust. When that happens, add the water with the corn starch and stir well. Add the pasta.

When you serve, take the carrot and a grater and add some finely grated carrot on top. Mind your fingers.

I'm back in the kitchen and trying new stuff.

Kathy's Stir-fried Red Cabbage

Ingredients:

200 grs. red cabbage shredded
100 grs. soybean sprouts
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
100 grs. snow peas whole
100 grs. jícama, cut into short strips.
1/3 onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic minced
3.5 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
1/2 teaspoon vinegar (any kind, but white sugar cane vinegar works best)
The juice of one lime
Sesame seed oil
ground black pepper to taste

Heat a few drops of oil in a pan or wok. add the onion and garlic and stir fry or saute until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables and sprinkle some pepper. You may want to add some more oil in this step. if you do, move the onion and garlic to the side and add the oil to the center of the pan or wok.

In a cup mix the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, vinegar and lime juice. Add it to the veggies before they're too soft. Stir well and continue cooking until you achieve the desired softness for your vegetables.

It turned out really well. so well I'm making more today to have the rest of the week (and becasue I have some cababge and snow peas yet). A good side for this dish is curry rice (look up thread for the recipe) or plain, boiled white rice if you like it. You can also add other vegetables if you like. Celery ought to go well with the recipe.

I did make more stir-fried cabbage. I tweaked the recipe a bit, adding a little turmeric and powdered ginger to the sauce mix. It had little effect, but it was noticeable. What I relaly should do is get some fresh ginger root and cook it, minced or grated, along with the veggies. I'm thinking about adding brocoli, too. Also perhaps grating some lime zest into the sauce mix, or even trying the sauce mix with orange juice and zest instead of lime....

Anwyay, I posted the recipe as is above on my blog (see the sig line for the address).

I added the recipe for Textured soy in Chipotle Sauce to my blog:

http://kathyscookingcorner.blogspot.mx/2012/06/textured-soy-in-chipotle-sauce.html#

Comments are always welcome.

New recipe. Fettuccine in Poblano Chile Sauce:

http://kathyscookingcorner.blogspot.mx/2012/06/fettucine-with-poblano-chile-sauce.html

I wonder if anyone's ever tried any of my recipes...

Quote: Nareed

Nareed's Red Cabbage Soup

Remember this? https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/questions-and-answers/casual-corner/6879-recipe-thread/#post98586

Forget it. I made some improvements:

Ingredients:

1 red cabbage (mine are purple, though I understand they're called red) chopped or about 1/3 of a big regular cabbage.
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/2 onion sliced into rings
1.5 carrots (I cut it into sticks, but go any way you like)
About 1/4 of a medium sized jicama (in sticks, too, or see about the carrot)
15-20 snow peas
2 liters of water
2 cubes chicken bullion low-fat, low-sodium
1 teaspoon olive oil (or more or less to taste; and you can use any kind of oil)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, finely chopped
Ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 teaspoon fine herbs
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
Worcestershire sauce

Preparation

Saute the garlic, ginger and onions with the olive oil in a sauce pan or a soup pot until the onion turns translucent. Then add the carrot, jicama, snow peas and cabbage. Saute for about 5 to 10 minutes, don't let the veggies get too soft. While this is going on, add pepper and oregano to taste.

Lower the heat to minimum and add the water. Add Worcestershire sauce and fine herbs. Stir.

When it warms up, add the chicken bullion cubes and stir until they dissolve. When the soup begins to bubble and froth, remove from heat and serve.

I just did it this way for lunch today and it was great, with a stronger cabbage flavor.

It was a bit of an accident. I was going to add soybean sprouts and mushrooms, but there weren't any good ones at the supermarket. I suppose I could add them anyway. the trick here is using water rather than chicken stock, and letting it heat up to a boil slowly, and putting in less chicken-flavoring. I'm going to need to try the same thing with some failed soup recipes, too.

Quote: Nareed

New recipe. Fettuccine in Poblano Chile Sauce:
http://kathyscookingcorner.blogspot.mx/2012/06/fettucine-with-poblano-chile-sauce.html
I wonder if anyone's ever tried any of my recipes...

Here is a recipe for Fettuccine w/ chicken and broccoli.
Open lower left corner of box, cook on high for six minutes.

Nareed,

How did you happen to choose "Kathy" as the name for your cooking blog?

I was curious after seeing your signature line and went to the blog site.

Quote: ten2win

Nareed,

How did you happen to choose "Kathy" as the name for your cooking blog?

I was curious after seeing your signature line and went to the blog site.

That's my name. "Kathy" is short for "Katarina"

Another blog update, with slight changes to the recipe for Ginger Chicken:

http://kathyscookingcorner.blogspot.mx/2012/06/ginger-chicken.html

I need to get to work on the layout, I know. And manage some sort of better photos of my cooking. I'm thinking of taking the pics of the finished dish in a serving platter or bowl, rather than on individual plates.

Any ideas what I can do with cabbage?

I've been experimenting with new recipes lately. I was going to make enchiladas last weekend, but again I forgot to get tortillas. So I wound up making textured soy in green salsa. On the plus side, I got the salsa perfect for enchiladas. I also tried a recipe for barley with cabbage and sausages (it needs more tomato puree, but it's quite good). So I have some cabbage left over.

So, I don't want to make cabbage soup, nor stir-fried cabbage with soy sauce. I thought about making coleslaw, but I haven't figured out a good light dressing for it yet. Any ideas?

Thanks.

In the meantime, my salsa recipe:

6-7 green tomatoes without the husk (it's amazing how many people think you can just cook the husk <roll-eyes>)
1/3 cup chopped onion
A small piece of onion.
1.5 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 teaspoon cumin
Cilantro to taste
1 or 2 serrano chilies (without the tails)
Water
3 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil

Boil the tomatoes until they begin to change color. Plunge them into a bowl of ice water for a few minutes. Quarter them and toss them in the blender. Add one clove of garlic, the small piece of onion (and I mean small), cilantro, chilies, some water, cumin and vinegar. Liquefy the whole thing.

In a deep sauce pan heat the olive oil and sautee the minced half clove of garlic and the chopped onion, but only for a minute. Reduce the heat to minimum, add the salsa from the blender and stir. Bring to a slow boil uncovered, stirring ocassionally. When it begins to boil, turn off the heat and let the salsa cool.

Once it cools you can make enchiladas with it in any way you want. Or you can use it as regular salsa on any dish.

I found a recipe for curry cabbage, I don't normally follow recipes to the letter, and this was no exception, but I do follow the preparation directions when I'm unsure or unfamiliar with something. This time I was skeptical it would even work, but I tried it anyway. It worked rather well.

3 Cups thinly shredded cabbage
1/2 cup thinly sliced jicama
1 Medium onion cut in slices, divided
2 Cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger root, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
4 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1.5 Tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)

Now for the tricky prep.

Heat the oil on a deep saucepan or wok and saute half the onion slices and all the ginger for 2-3 minutes. Next add the curry and turmeric and keep cooking for 2 minutes more. add the water, vinegar and soy sauce (it's easier if you mix them in a cup beforehand). Keep cooking until the water is gone. You'll be left with a kind of curry paste, but much or all of it will cling to the onions. This is ok.

Add the cabbage, jicama, garlic and the rest of the onion, and stir well. I recommend using a spatula and pretty much tossing the cabbage well. The curry paste will cling to the added vegetables. if it doesn't, something went really wrong. Reduce heat and keep cooking until the cabbage is a bit tender. Keep tossing it around.

It's not a great recipe, but it's good. I'm thinking of doing without soy sauce and perhaps adding some yellow mustard, as soon as I can figure out at what point in the process. Also perhaps some soy bean sprouts.

New recipe for barley stew on my blog:

http://kathyscookingcorner.blogspot.mx/2012/06/barley-stew.html#

Tried to make kimchi the other day. It came out HORRIBLY. It was fermented, but it was so salty I couldn't even swallow it. I'm not sure the source of the salt: I brined the cabbage and radish first, but rinsed it before fermenting. I also used crushed cayenne pepper.

I like kimchi, in case anyone asks...

Quote: teddys

Tried to make kimchi the other day. It came out HORRIBLY. It was fermented, but it was so salty I couldn't even swallow it. I'm not sure the source of the salt: I brined the cabbage and radish first, but rinsed it before fermenting. I also used crushed cayenne pepper.

I suppose the radish and cabbage absorbed a lot of salt with the water.

I've never tried to use brine, and still use any salt at all only on occasion and very grudgingly. I've never made anything that was too salty :)

Mission: Breaded Falafel

One Cup Italian Bread Crumbs

Two 15oz Cans of Chick Peas

Two Zucchinis

Three Cloves of Garlic

Five Carrots

1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley

1/4 Cup Fresh Coriander (Cilantro)

1 tsp. Cumin

1/2 Red Onion

Vegetable Oil

Pita Bread

Romaine Lettuce

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Red Wine Vinegar

Preparation:

1.) Open the cans of chick peas and drain excess water, wrap in paper towels to pat off excess moisture. There should be some moisture to the chick peas, however, so do not dry vigorously.

2.) Grate the zucchini, carrots and garlic as finely as possible, combine.

3.) Mash the chick peas into a thick paste, combine with grated vegetables.

4.) Cut the garlic into small wedges, combine with mixture.

5.) Tear the parsley and coriander as fine as possible, combine with mixture.

6.) Cut the red onion into small squares and combine with mixture.

7.) Add the cumin and stir the mixture vigorously for about ten minutes with a wooden spoon, some mashing of the mixture will likely also be required.

8.) Form the mixture into balls and flatten the balls at the top. The size of the balls is somewhat optional, I like larger falafel balls than most people, so they usually end up about the size of a ping-pong ball.

9.) Roll the balls in the Italian Bread Crumbs generously until fully covered.

10.) Heat vegetable oil to a simmer, but not boiling, it should be just hot enough to hiss when the balls are placed into it.

11.) Allow falafel balls to simmer for seven minutes, different stoves may heat the vegetable oil to different temperatures, so if falafel balls break apart, adjust time accordingly.

12.) Remove falafel balls from oil and place on paper towels (over a plate) to dry. Replace paper towels after three minutes and dry other side of falafel balls for three minutes.

13.) Place romaine lettuce on pita bread and falafel balls atop the lettuce. Sprinkle cheese as desired. Splash red wine vinegar upon falafel sandwich as desired. Falafel balls may also be used as a salad topper.

14.) Enjoy.

-This is a dish that sits pretty light considering that it has been fried, fresh romaine lettuce and the combination of the vegetables (along with the red wine vinegar) gives this dish a very fresh and vibrant taste, so you may not feel as guilty as you should for eating it.

-In my opinion, the best beverage to compliment these wraps is probably Taj Mahal Lager or Blue Moon Belgian White. These brews will make this a fantastic summertime dish and also cool the temper of the cumin. For those who are not inclined to imbibe in alcohol, I would probably recommend a sparkling juice or sparkling water if that suits your fancy. Sparkling Juices and waters do not suit my fancy, however, so if I were going to drink a non-alcoholic beverage with this dish, it would probably be my usual Vitamin Water Zero Triple X.