What can I make with...

          So I found myself waking up from what seemed like a stupor of life recently. I had stopped cooking completely since August, when the SO and I split, and cooking just didn't feel like the right thing to do for some reason. My mom had always told me that food takes on the flavor of the emotions of the cook--and honestly, right about then, my food would have tasted bitter and unappetizing.

But, for some reason--be it my own heart's will to regenerate or just the passing of time--I suddenly wanted to cook again.

So, what to cook?! I found myself with little to no cookable food items in my house...at least, nothing that seemed like an obvious meal solution. I DID have some turkey cutlets and some very, very, very almost bad tomatoes. But that was pretty much it. However, after a bit of scrounging, I came up with this very easy (and very delicious) meal.

TURKEY CUTLETS

some thinly sliced tukey cutlets
1 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. parmesan cheese crumbs
some herbs and spices (I used parsley, sage, and chives)
salt
butter

TOMATO/ONION TOPPING

1 medium tomato
1 medium onion
1 large clove of garlic (or 2 small)
butter
herbs and spices (I used sage and oregano)
salt

1. Wash the cutlets and pat dry with a paper towel. Put the 1 c. of bread and the 1/4 c. of cheese crumbs into a bowl (as opposed to your hand?). Add salt to taste. Yes, you stick your finger in and taste it. Add a pinch of your chosen herbs and mix well. Make sure the whole mixture is evenly distributed.

2. Take each cutlet and put it into the bowl to coat it in crumbs. They obviously can't be TOO dried off for this to work. If they are, quickly stick them under running water and dry them off again to almost dry-ness. The crumbs need to stick, after all.

3. Heat up a skillet on medium heat with two pats of butter, 1/2 Tbsp. each. When it melts, swirl it to coat the pan, and put the cutlets in the butter. Fry about three minutes to a side, more if the cutlets are thicker. The crumbs and the butter help to keep the cutlets moist inside and not too chewy, as is the nature of cutlets sometimes!

4. For the topping, I seeded and cubed the tomatoes, chopped the onion into medium chunks, and minced the garlic. Since I like to absorb flavor, I used the same skillet as the cutlets, and I melted a bit more butter in there (because the bread crumbs tend to absorb the butter they are fried in.) I threw the whole mix into the pan, added some salt and herbs, and let it sautee until the onions were clear. Immediately, I topped the cutlets with it, and served with mayonnaise.

A word on mayonnaise and turkey cutlets: YUM.


I happened to have some desperately frozen peas (last thawed about 1 year ago?) in the freezer, and luckily they thawed out deliciously. I sliced a cuke and called it a meal!
Voila!

So, this week's tip is to be resourceful...it's easy to make great meals with very little. You just have to be creative. :)

Tea Sandwiches and Transversally cut bread

It has been beautiful here in western New York recently, and the SO and I decided to go on a picnic. There is a really beautiful lake nearby that we decided on as the spot for our munching, and the only thing left to do was to figure out what to munch. I didn't have much in my fridge (this is very typical, really) but the SO was hell-bent on making what basically amount to tea sandwiches. We had them a lot when on our trip to Argentina so see his family a couple years ago. They are square, usually thin sandwiches on thin white bread, with a very small amount of filling.

(Image taken from Asado Argentina)

The basic idea behind these is that you have to eat about 50 to satisfy hunger, but they are defninitely light and would be easier to haul around than thirteen Tupperware canisters full of potato salads, cocktail weiners, and all the other elaborate food I wanted to pack. So, we made them. Ah, but how does one get the bread so thin?

By cutting it lengthwise instead of width wise!

The fine people at Wegman's were understandably confused, but could not fight my rock solid logic. 

"This is the last loaf," the bread woman said skeptically. "I can't cut it that way here." We both looked from the loaf in my hand, to the machine, and then back to the loaf. I allowed my face to settle into a patient, oh so very patient smile.

"Is there any reason why you can't do it here? Can't you just put it in the other way around?"

And she did, and it worked. She was definitely not impressed with my bread cutting style, but since it was the last loaf and all (and it's not like I was at the bakery section of a grocery store or anything, right?) I can understand her attachment to it. The point I'm trying to make is that Wegman's is full of excellent people who always try to accommodate the customer. Even if we are weird bread-murderers!

The great thing about these sandwiches is that you can basically put whatever you want on them. We did three types: cuke/mayo/mustard/ham/salt ,  cuke/mayo/tomato pesto/turkey/tomato , and cuke/mayo/tomato/ham/mustard.

Yum!!! We had a great picnic, and though I didn't make fifty, I wish I had--because I really could have eaten at least three more. I wonder how much of sandwich eating is eating a bulky crust? Maybe that's why most people can only eat one real sandwich, but fifteen of these?

In which I become a Level One Quilting Jedi, and bemoan making clothing for others

So, this weekend, I made my first foray into QUILTING. I know, you can barely stand the sheer adventurousness of the whole thing--but seriously, I became a Level One Quilting Jedi this weekend, thanks to the help of Regina over at The Queen Bee's Buzz. Quilting is actually something I enjoy possibly just as much as garment sewing, and this is because (like garments) a quilt is just the final result of a bunch of tiny, puzzle-like pieces. I dug everything about it, from the methodical cutting of squares, to the precise sewing, to the ironing. It was a very huge ordeal for me, however, to get the whole thing laid out, as I tended to get caught up in the layout obsessively from the get-go. Here's the final result, not yet sewn together:

I really can't wait to get a border and a backing on it. I'm thinking a thin black border and then a wider....? one. Any suggestions? 

In other news, I am dying to make myself a spring/summer dress out of this old vintage sheet I've got. It's  perfect fabric for such a thing because it's light, airy, pre-washed, and already broken in. However, I've already promised to make the SO a vest, and my mom and friend a dress. Why oh why can't I just be a selfish seamstress? As soon as I make something, I want to give it away!!!

Lame. Well, on top of everything else, the machine's tension is on the fritz, so I may have to get it looked at. It's not been serviced in fourteen or so years, so I'm thinking it's about time....

Well, I guess that nips my sewing in the bud, at least for a little while. Lame.

I like to cook how I dress..blending the basics.

I feel like a lot of college kids (and even some adults) don't understand the basic rules of cooking for one, or cooking to save money. They see cooking as something you do for someone you want to see naked someday, or maybe just because you feel really fancy. Flambe, cheesecake, some sort of stir fry with gold flakes in it...whatever. It's a one time deal, generally involves a giant mess, and leaves everyone feeling exhausted. And, it's so complicated that usually the cook wants nothing to do with the kitchen for the next three months.
It doesn't have to be that way. A few tips I follow are:

1. Find a good source of fresh, cheap produce. In my area, we have a ton of farms and even a PriceRite, which to me is wonderful. Produce should be the BULK of your shopping, not easy mac and Twizzlers.

2. Keep the staples on hand. These are:

• onions
• garlic
• potatoes
• a few plum tomatoes
• a cucumber
• a head of lettuce
• green beans OR asparagus
• lemons OR lemon juice
• olive oil
• butter
• eggs
• ground meats/shaved meats/salami
• citrus fruits AND a non citrus fruit
• two avocados
• bread
• pasta
• rice
• cheese of some sort
• salt and other basic spices, dried (oregano, thyme, basil, sage, rosemary)
• For breakfast, keep milk, OJ, tea, instant coffee, a bag of oats or instant oatmeal, and/or a box of cereal along with some dried fruits and jam

I also recommend keeping some chicken drumsticks and a pork loin in the freezer. These things are pretty easy to just whip up and cook, with minimal effort. If you want to be really lazy, keep a frozen pizza in there. But I kind of frown upon this, as pizza that is from the frozen section is usually pumped full of nasties and sodium.

3. Make basic dishes, and LOTS OF THEM, then mix and match. Chili and rice, for example, like the recipe I am going to show next. Or, put the chili on some chopped lettuce. Or, make a salad. Or.... (ok, see? my list above already has a lot of basic meals.)

The cool thing about being a college kid is generally, you don't have a family to worry about feeding. But even if you do, try making a giant pot of something and using it creatively throughout the week. Then, you stretch the dollars that went into that dish even further. Save the fancy stuff for the weekends or special occasions. You'll find that at least that way, cooking will actually save you a TON of money. I spend, currently, about $70 per two weeks of foodies, sometimes a little more if I have to replenish the salad items. I try to eat something green every day.

Here's a basic dish to get you started.

Randomly Herbed Turkey Chili and Brown Rice Bonanza

Ingredients
1 package ground turkey
some grape tomatoes or 1 plum tomato
1 package chili seasoning
1 can red beans, undrained
some random herbs
salt
butter
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
brown rice


1. So. Mince the garlic and chop the onion, and toss them in some butter. Saute until clear or browning. It doesn't really matter which. As the kids say, "Lol"

2. Add the turkey and some salt and random spices. I can't even remember what went into mine. Definitely thyme, rosemary, and sage, but I seem to remember some Herbamare?

3. Cook until turkey is fully browned. No pink stuff! You don't want food poisoning, do you?! Meanwhile, cook your rice. I use a rice cooker, which is a great invention and a super friend to all exasperatingly messy chef like myself.

4. Add some grape tomatoes or slices of regular tomato, whatever. These are just what I had on hand. Stir them in well and mash them up a little. Let those things stew for about five minutes.

5. Add your can of red beans, juice and all. Heat all the way through.

6. Now, I know it is in bad taste to deny you, my loyal readers, frozen pizza, and then turn around and be all WELL NOW YOU ADD SOME PRE-MADE CHILI MIX--but the fact of the matter is that this stuff is like magic powder for meat and bean combos. Also it costs like 65 cents and is good to keep around for flavoring things of all sorts.

7. Mix well, heat through again, and serve on rice or by itself or on a salad or in a sandwich or with a baguette or on pasta or...

In which I complete an apron and make the world's best sandwich!

I love the feeling of finishing a project! Sewing is great for this, because the end result isn't a model car or space ship or something, but actually a piece I can wear and/or use. Today, I finished my Valentine's Day Apron.

(I apologize for the terrible picture. I'm working on a tripod. Really.)

Super simple and actually made by following this tutorial over at One More Moore... Basically, a square of backing fabric + rectangles of fabric for ruffles + fabric for the band = apron.

Cool!

I had a little issue with my backing fabric, as after hemming it wasn't exactly wide enough to go around my hips. I have come to terms with this, as it's not really a protect your skirt kind of apron, more of a hosting apron...But, I love to dress up, and I don't have any pink aprons for V-Day, so this is perfect. The fabric is one I got off ebay with a radish fabric I love, but because this one is sheer I had no idea what to do with it...until now. The SO calls it "bacon n' pansies" because the little pink squares totally look like bacon. Ok, I'll buy it. 

It's a prototype, but I hope to make more. Some pointers for next time:

1. Check and RECHECK your ruffle rectangle measurements. I don't know if you can see, but I totally made the top 3 rectangles about 6 inches too short. Oops. I just figured they'd layer for some cascading ruffles, and it doesn't look too bad. Hmm.

2. Find a better backing fabric. I just used white for this, and it's not really all that pretty on the other side. I mean, no fabric will be, persay, but I could get one with a little polka dot or something...which is what the tutorial recommends anyway...Oh well...

In passing, I LOVE the fabric i used for the band. It's some sort of linen-look stretch type thing. Who knows what practical apparel applications this thing has, but it sure was nice to iron. 

Well, onto the sandwich. I don't have any real pictures of this, so I will just have to substitute. I made the world's best sandwich yesterday. 

Not even joking. For some reason, I rediscovered Price Rite the other day, which is like this cornucopia of food for really cheap. And, it's usually pretty good food! So I am in the meat section and I get this CRAZY idea. What if I get these really thin slices of beef and tenderize them, and then make a sandwich out of them?

So, I did. I got this meat, and I got some bread, and pickles, and stuff. And a tomato or two, though winter tomatoes are terrible--but it's just not a sandwich for me without a tomato. And here's what I did:

(except with meat.)

Yup, I pounded those suckers with a tenderizing hammer until they were paper thin. Then, I fried them in butter. Oh, horror of horrors! How will I ever live! Oh, stop it. I don't buy this butter is sin crap. Butter is so much better than any of that nasty processed stuff, and used in moderation is a good way to add NATURAL fats to your diet.

But I digress.

I also sprinkled them with paprika and salt, and once they were just barely cooked, drained them in some paper towels and put them between two slices of whole grain crusty bread with mayo, mustard, pickles, and a tomato.

Heaven.

I highly recommend this. Best thing is that I am still eating these sandwiches...unfortunately, the meat gets tough in the fridge, but I guess that's just my consequence.

Of eating butter, I mean.

Herbed Tomato, Garlic, and Noodle Soup and some CHANGES

Hey there!

Long time no see!

Well, I guess I've been a little lazy, and definitely BUSY, but I'd like to just get right back into the swing of things with this recipe I made the other day. It is the middle of bone-chilling winter here in New York, and I had a horrible cold last weekend, so I wanted to make some sort of a soup to help me weather the sniffles. Now, if you know me at all you will know I am a hoarder of all things cookbook, and I have a million of them, but one of my most recent acquisitions is a Williams Sonoma Cookbook called Pasta Soups & Salads. I know, the lack of a comma in between Pasta and Soups irritated me to no end until I figured out that it was literally a ton of recipes about pasta INSIDE of soups and salads. WooAAhhh!

I don't usually mess with pasta. No joke. I mean, it always kind of seemed like a cop-out dinner. It was the dinner of shame and not glory, especially when you're working on some sort of thesis or something and you just can't stomach the idea of doing more work just to feed yourself, so you just plop a cup of pasta on the stove. Awesome. But no glory.

This soup, though, was glorious. There are noodles in it, which is yummy when you are really sick, and there are tomatoes, which are not yummy in the winter, but I made do. And of course there is a ton of garlic. If you do not like garlic, I recommend cutting the amount down. However, garlic is really good for you. Some of the benefits I found here include:

• a treatment for acne
• a natural antibiotic
• a powerful antioxidant

Rock on, garlic!

Well ok, so here's your recipe. Not many pictures because I got so swept up in blowing my nose and drinking DayQuil every five minutes, making for the most psychedelic cooking experience of all time.

Herbed Tomato and Garlic and Noodle Soup

3 qt water
2 tsp salt
4 oz dried elbow pasta
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and minced
1/4 c. garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tomaoes, peeled and seeded or 3 c. canned chopped tomatoes
4 c. Chicken stock
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1.5 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1.5 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a lrg pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the 2 tsp salt and the elbow pasta and cook until done. Drain pasta and toss immediately with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

2. In a lrg pot over med. low heat, warm the remaing 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute slowly, stirring, until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, parsley, chives, oregano, thyme, rosemary and simmer for 20 min. Add pasta, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until pasta is heated through, about 2 min.

I made provolone and chive grilled cheese sandwiches for this, but you can do whatever. YAY!

----

In some other news, there are going to be some changes to this blog. I am going to start posting a little more of the other things I do, including sewing, local restaurant critiques, and even the occasional "What I wore" post where I spend a chunk of time discussing fashion and what I think about it.

It'll be fun. Stay tuned.

CHICKEN WEEK, DAY TWO

I find that typing in all caps makes my entry titles feel VERY IMPORTANT. Another thing that is VERY IMPORTANT is using all of the leftovers of this chicken I made! So, last night for dinner, I made Linguine with Shredded Chicken Thigh, Mozzarella, Basil, and Cherry Tomatoes.

Here's what you need for one serving.

1 Leftover Chicken thigh

Pasta measured out for one (check out my awesome measuring thing in a few lines)

Four big basil leaves, fresh

a handful of cherry tomatoes (or whatever tomatoes you have)

some mozarella

1. Set your pasta to boil in some lightly salted water. See my awesome thing? It was only ten whole cents. What a sweet bargain! And I never have to guess how much spaghetti to make ever again.

2. Shred your chicken thigh into manageable pieces, either with your hands or with two forks.

3. Take your cherry tomatoes and slice them in half....

into

...and combine them with the chicken in a microwave safe bowl.

Microwave this for about two minutes to let the chicken get hot (because I hope you've been keeping it in the fridge, not letting it fester on your counter.... :/ ) and to let the tomatoes release some of their juices. Toss with a little bit of salt and set aside.

4. Chop up basil and shred the mozzarella as fine as you can. Of course, already shredded is easier, but don't let the challenge scare you.

5. Drain the pasta and mix it, the basil, and the cheese in with your chicken and tomatoes. Toss to coat, then put it into a nice bowl.

Day two...COMPLETE!

IT'S CHICKEN WEEK!

Welcome to CHICKEN WEEK!!!!

Basically what is happening is I made an entire roast chicken on Sunday...a 3.9 pounder from Honey Hill Farm. If you have never tried an organic, grass fed, free range chicken, you are missing out. It tastes like CHICKEN....I mean, like the chicken taste you could only ever dream of. Anyways, I made it.

I stuffed it with some of this mystery squash:

(what is this thing????who cares, it tastes good....)

 ...along with some chopped garlic, carrots, and scallions sauteed in butter. I tied the little legs together and rested it upon a bed of roughly chopped onion slices. I brushed it with a mixture of mustard, olive oil, tarragon vinegar, salt, more garlic, and basil. I baked it until my thermometer said  170. I took it out and drained the juices, strained the onions and bits and poured off the fat, and added lemon juice. I used this as a salad dressing. mmmmm!

BUT WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL OF MY LEFTOVER CHICKEN?

Lucky I am so crafty, huh? This week is all about you, the low-on-pocket-change messy chef in training, who has all this chicken and knoweth not what to do. I will make one new chicken recipe with my leftovers each day, finishing off THE ENTIRE bird....carcass and all. :) You won't get tired of it, I promise.

Onwards and upwards!

DAY ONE, MONDAY:  Chicken Salad Sandwiches for lunch!

1. Pick the meat off of the carcass of the chicken, what is left after you've carved it up. Should look like this. 

2. Add some mayonnaise. This is my favorite brand because it still has the "tang" of fresh mayo. Of course, if you want to be fancy, make your own, by all means. Not that I have ever been successful with that, but go ahead. That is another entry in the making, I guess.... hmm..

3. Add some fruit. Some people like apples, others grapes. I had asian pears. Whatever you like. You can chop up celery too. Not a fruit...still awesome.

4. So now you chop the solid bits up as fine as you like them, and mix them together with some mayo. Add slowly, because you don't want to overdo it and drown out the delicious flavors that mix when chicken and fruit come together as one. :) say it with me: "ommmmmm.....ommmmmm....nomnomnomnom!"

Turkey Chili a la Eugenia

So after waiting forever for Eugenia to write this post, I have decided to.
This is a very, very tasty and easy chili made with Turkey...good for a warm day, a cold day, or whatever! Yay Chili!

Ingredients:

1 really large onion, or 2 medium onions

1.5 lbs turkey, ground

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1 can chicken broth

1 can kidney beans

salt

pepper

oregano or other spices to taste

1. Fry the onions in some butter until lightly browned. Add the turkey and cook all the way through.

2. Spoon this meaty onion mixture into a saucepan. Add the (drained) can of diced tomatoes. 

3. Add everything else. Stir madly! Well, maybe not so madly...you don't want chili everywhere, do you? No. Just in your tummy. Don't fret, it will be....soon.

4. Okay...now, heat everything up to a simmer, and simmer uncovered for about fifteen minutes. To serve, spoon it into bowls, shred a mountain of cheese on top, and sprinkle in some Fritos. Voila! The easiest dinner ever! Make a ton and eat it for weeks!

White Beef Stew with a little bit of Everything

(That's me!)

I am a firm believer in every story having a happy ending, or at least having an unhappy one for a good reason, which is usually that a happier ending is on the way. (I like to think of myself as an optimist in this way.) What does this have to do with my cooking blog, you may ask? Let me tell you.

I was trying to make this recipe tonight, and had bought all the ingredients yesterday... EXCEPT, I had forgotten red wine and beef stock. Ok, no tragedy, you're thinking. WRONG. My cut of meat was also only 1.3 lbs, not the required four, and I was out of pepper. I was beginning to panic, because I had this meat sitting thawed in my fridge, and I really needed to do something about it. 

So, I did what all good chefs must do at some point or another. I grabbed the seat of my pants and flew. Unfortunately, there are not too many pictures in this post...it it hard to take pictures while holding the seat of your pants.

For this recipe, you need:

A cut of meat, like a tough cut of roast or some stew meat, about 1.3lbs ;)

1/4 c. tequila                 

dash of white cooking wine                  

salt and pepper to taste

1.5 tsp stone ground mustard                  

2 medium bay leaves or one large            

 1 Tbsp. thyme

1 large onion, coarsely chopped             

3 medium potatoes, coarsely diced             

2 cloves garlic, minced                    

8 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely cut

1 c. water to start, more to be put in later                    

a pinch of allspice                  

1 tsp. of flour

1. Heat up the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Pour a little bit of olive oil into a dutch oven or large pot, and brown the meat on all sides. Then, add your 1 c. water, minced garlic, tequila, cooking wine, thyme, allspice, half the mustard, and a dash of salt and pepper to the pot. Bring this to a boil and then cover it and stuff it into the oven for about 1 hour. 

Here are some suggestions as to what to do with your hour:

-Mooch some books.

-Find some local farmers and food.

-Get fabulous!

-Make a puzzle of a fish or a rearing horse.

3. Ping! Your time is up! Pull the pot out of the oven. Be careful, it will be super hot. I know this because my hands are covered with burn marks made by not remembering this simple fact! Place the pot on the stove, on low heat, and if you have a really large chunk of meat (like I did), take this time to pull it out and cut it into stew-sized chunks, then add it back into the stew. Add the carrots, onions, and potatoes, then add just enough water to almost cover it all. 

4. Add in the rest of the mustard (you can add more if it still tastes bland to you) , the bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and the flour. Stir this all together well, then cover and let simmer until the potatoes and carrots are soft, about 40 min - 1hr. Keep tasting the stew during this time. I am a big advocator of the taste test... how are you supposed to fix it if you have no idea what you are really cooking?? 

5. When done, ladle into warm bowls. Garnish with a sprig of thyme, and serve with black bread. (if you have none of that, settle for rye.)

This is a super light, almost soupy stew. I hope you like it! I am glad to finally be reaching the end of our long, Rochester winter, myself. This stew is like the trailing end of a series of thick, hearty stews I have made this winter.

Bon appetit, from Lili "Whatever I happen to have on hand" P.

Review of Supercook.com

I am no stranger to the half-empty pantry. Now, I don't have a family to cook for, but it's also pretty sobering to come home after a long day of work and classes to find barely anything in your pantry and fridge...maybe a wisp of pasta or a single egg or a half eaten tomato. (This tomato would have come courtesy of my boyfriend, who has a long history of slicing things in half and leaving the other half cut-side-down on a tea plate. This includes tomatoes, butter, lemons, cukes...you name it, it's on a plate half-eaten in his fridge.) At any rate, I know what it feels like to come home and feel completely cranky at the thought of having to go out (because you have no money) or to shop (because you've been on your feet all day.) Enter: Supercook.com.

Supercook.com is a fabulous little gem that I found while trolling the internet via Stumbleupon. Here's how it works. Enter your basic ingredients,

(As you can see, I have a lot of things...but all of them kind of random. Fried beef in butter, anyone?)

and recipes pop up automatically based on what you have put in. If you are missing one item, the recipe lets you know.

Naturally, the more stuff you can scrounge up, the more stuff will come up on the recipe sifter. The only problem with the recipes are that they can be repetitive...for the ingredients I listed, I had hundreds of hollandaise sauce offers before I found something I might like. There is also no sifter option for prep times, so if you are looking for quick and easy, you might have to search for a while. After all, man cannot live on hollandaise alone.

The recipes are very neatly laid out. Usually, the links take you to a recipe within supercook.com, but occasionally they will send you to recipezaar.com, another fabulous recipe site that also has a recipe shifting option. Either way, it doesn't take any longer to load. Just be happy it did. You're hungry!