Leftovers for breakfast

So last night I took some of my garden fresh jalepanoes (I know that isn't spelled right, sorry) stuffed them with cream cheese and wrapped them in bacon.

Well I couldn't finish them off last night so they were waiting for me this morning. So I decided to turn them into breakfast tacos; scrambled farm fresh eggs, garden tomatoes, add the jalepanoes on top and good to go. Didn't even reheat the jalepanoes.

Jessica's Vietnamese Pork Vermicelli

Jessica has a favorite Vietnamese Pork & Vermicelli dish that she likes to make, I got to help her last night so I took some pictures.

The sauce was soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, water, and lime juice.

 Jessica cut up green onion, shallots, garlic, cashews and radishes.

She mixed all of those lovely veggies with a marinade that had honey, soy sauce, brown sugar, and a few other things I can't remember. Then she put the pork in the marinade.

After 30-45 minutes, took the pork out and I cooked it.

Serve over vermicelli noodles and you're all set! Pour some of the sauce over the food for extra deliciousness.

Japanese Beef Stir Fry

Since this month has unofficially been dubbed "Japanese food month" for El Jefe's Kitchen, I did a Japanese stir fry. The basic elements of stir frying were the same, but the flavor was very different from Thai. The sauce soaked into the beef and it was quite good.

Ingredients (this served 6 people with a little leftover) (recipe from allrecipes.com, slightly modified)

• 2.5 pounds of beef
• 1 head of Bok Choy
• 2 red bell peppers
• 4 medium green onions
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 can (10.5 oz) of Beef Broth
• 3 tablespoons of corn starch
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 3 cups of rice

Directions

• Slice your veggies.
• Slice your beef.
• Stir fry beef in 2 batches until it is browned. Set aside.
• Stir fry veggies in 2 batches. Set aside.
• Mix broth, corn starch, soy sauce, and sugar until smooth.
• Cook sauce in saucepan (I used my wok) until bubbly and thick, stirring constantly.
• Join the beef and veggies into the sauce and cook until heated through.
• Serve over rice.

Garden fresh stir fry

All the veggies came straight from the garden, including green beans, squash, and two kinds of peppers. A sauce of honey, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, and garlic. It is served over rice.

Pad Kra Tiem (C-Burr's version)

Pad Kra Tiem (C-Burr's version)

First, make your garlic base. For two servings, use 4-5 cloves. Dice the garlic finely, drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons of vegetable or olive oil. Simmer in wok until lightly brown, mix in a tiny dash of sugar to take some of the edge off the garlic, add a splash of soy sauce.
This is what your garlic base should look like.

Slice 1 chicken breast (good for 2 servings) into thin slices

Dice 1/2 red onion (white onion just as good)

Dice 1 bell pepper

Combine everything into the wok. Don't forget your chili paste.

Stir-fry!

I like to add in some herbs and spices at this point in the process. Salt, pepper, herb mixes, etc. Try your chicken, if it tastes a little bland, spice it up! If you use enough garlic, you shouldn't have too much of an issue there.

Final product! Usually this would be served with rice, but, it is good without rice too.

Homemade fries

Gravy and baked fries with bacon.

Herb crusted steak

Last night We had an fresh herb crusted steak on a bed of rice (I use rice a lot) topped with fresh tomatoes and turnips.
This was my first time using turnips so I cooked them in olive oil and salt and pepper. They were good but a little bitter so I add just a bit of honey and they were great.
The steak was crusted in thyme,oregano, and sage salt and pepper. Cooked in olive oil and onions.
The pan was deglazed with balsamic vinegar and a little honey.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes!

The title is pretty self-explanatory.

1 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.

I'll post a picture of Att eating one when he wakes up...be prepared for cuteness!

Easiest blueberry muffins ever

I used to make these all the time in New York, and recently purchased a muffin tin, and now make them all the time in Austin! http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=11738.0

They are technically "vegan," but that just means you can make them even if you're out of milk, eggs, etc. Today I used real milk, and they turned out just the same. I recommend baking for the full 30 minutes, to get a nice toasted top.

Also, the recipe is easy to modify. For example, today I put in chopped apples instead of blueberries, and added a dash of cinnamon. Next time I'll put in shredded zucchini so Att is tricked into loving vegetables. Voila!

Ps - am I single handedly keeping this blog alive?

Cashew Pineapple Quinoa Stirfry

As per the suggestion of Adrian Ogletree, I tried the Cashew Pineapple Quinoa Stirfry, found in the Veganomicon cookbook (http://www.theppk.com/books/veganomicon-the-ultimate-vegan-cookbook/), lent to me by Adrian Ogletree.

Result? Delicious. I was missing the red bell peppers, but I put in corn to add some more veggies.

I recommend this!

Birthday cake check mix

This is a great 10 minute dessert.
And seriously delicious.

Ingredients:
5 squares of vanilla almond bark
2.5 cups of rice chex mix
3/4 cup of vanilla cake mix
1/3 cup of powdered sugar
Sprinkles

Melt 5 squares of Vanilla Almond Bark on very low heat.

Once melted, pour it over chex mix in a large bowl and stir gently coat evenly. Shake sprinkles over the mix. They will stick better before you add the dry ingredients.

Combine cake mix and powdered sugar in a ziplock. Add chex and shake to cover.

Eat.
Enjoy sugar high.
Crash from the best sugar high ever.

THE ROASTED CHICK PEA CHALLENGE

I hereby propose a new challenge!!! A COMPETITION OF SORTS!!! THERE WILL BE PRIZES! MONEY! FAME! GLORY!!!!

Anyway, now that I have your attention. I'm starting a challenge based off of a recent experience.

About 5 minutes ago I pulled some roasted chick peas out of the oven.

I was sorely disappointed. I frowned. And kept eating them. Trying to convince myself they were getting better.

They weren't crunchy. I wanted crunchy chickpeas. And the flavor was just okay, mediocre at best.

Here's what I did:

Drained a can of chick peas.

Roasted chick peas for 10 minutes at 425.

Read online to drain AND DRY really well before roasting.

Cussed.

Made mixture to coat the chick peas in.

(Paprika, olive oil, salt, cumin, chili powder.)

Took chick peas out of oven after 10 minutes.

Coated chick peas in mixture.

Returned to over for 6-7 minutes.

Pulled out of oven.

Started eating.

Disappointed.

HOW DO YOU MAKE CRUNCHY CHICK PEAS?? Chefs, prepare your knives, your time starts NOW!

Where in the world are the McClenagans?

I know I know!!! Well this Saturday we are running a 5K. So we are putting the past two weeks of wisdom teeth diet aside, and eating healthy this week. Look for recipes such as honey-soy broiled salmon! And chipotle orange chicken!

Day Three

Breakfast - Bon Appetit's "softest" scrambled eggs. Basically entailed constantly whisking eggs while cooking. They were fluffy, but not mind-blowing. I'll try again tomorrow. Here's the article: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/04/the-softest-scramble. Bon Appetit recommends serving with whipped cream and caviar. Clearly I did not do that. I don't want Atticus to get accustomed to caviar for breakfast.

Lunch - A fabulous steak and arugula salad by mom. The arugula was from her garden: fresh, crisp, spicy. I had a healthy amount of Nutella for dessert.

Dinner - Atticus was pretty cranky after a long day, so we went to Sprouts for shopping/grazing. While shopping Atticus ate: half an apple, a wheat raspberry bar, a golden rye cracker, and a vanilla green tea cookie.

He also charmed the pants off everyone there. Young male hipsters and eccentric old ladies alike.

Sorry no pictures. Mom's salad would have been the best to document, but we were too excited to eat.

Day Two

Breakfast = fail.

Not even worth a picture. Scrambled tofu, which is usually good. But I added garam masala, which made it too bitter. Ate about half of it, then split another oatmeal cookie with Atticus. It had oatmeal...so like breakfast...

Lunch = for the win!

We went to Zilker and had a picnic consisting of: strawberries, hummus, bread, cheese, and graham bunnies for dessert.

Then we shared a juice at Juiceland, a super-hippie place on Barton Spring Road. Can you see how much Att loved it?

Dinner = needed to finish the quinoa, so to make it interesting, I put a poached egg on top. I used a method from Bon Appetit for the "perfect poach." Was it perfect? I'll let you be the judge:

Day One

For lunch I made steamed mushroom dumplings. The filling was good, but the dumplings stuck to the steamer. Any tips?

Atticus had quinoa with avocado.

Neither meals were particularly photogenic, so

instead I'm including a picture of Atticus taking care of ingredients.

***

For dinner, we had quinoa salad. Warm quinoa mixed with red bell pepper, tomatoes, carrots, and blue cheese. Then we shared a Kashi Oatmeal and Dark Chocolate cookie for dessert.

Claire and Atticus edition

Hans is in Boston until Sunday, so I'll document the meals Atticus and I create. Our box of ingredients has arrived. Stay tuned!

Smorgasbord entree and dessert!

We were planning on going to Wheatsville today for Owner Appreciation Day...but didn't. So I searched the fridge and pantry to create...

TOFU LETTUCE WRAPS AND TAHINI MAPLE COOKIES!

I drained the tofu, then scrambled it with chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper. I added in some chopped green onions, then served it in leaves of Bibb lettuce. Some grated raw mild cheddar and a dollop of sour cream, and voila!

For dessert, I was going to make some maple cinnamon frozen yogurt, but discovered my ice cream bowl wasn't frozen. I also didn't have eggs or butter. BUT in situations like these, I look to the vegans. I found a delicious recipe for almond butter cookies. I substituted tahini for almond butter, and added vegetable oil, flour, baking powder, and maple syrup. They taste like peanut butter cookies. Double voila!

Atticus was very happy with the cookies, and his own portion of scrambled tofu.

Two meals! One piece of meat!

We doesn't buy or eat a lot of meat but when we do we try to not waste. This week from one $5.00 piece of beef we got two meals.

A steak salad with a homemade blackberry balsamic glaze/dressing

The second was steak glazed in the same dressing as above over rice cooked in veggie stock and some baked beans.

Spinach and Kale enchilada

We made a spinach and kale enchilada with a home made "enchilada" sauce, a mix of pepper jack cheese and mozzarella. The home made tortillas came the "home sick Texan" cook book.

The rice is a red bell pepper rice. The beans are just pinto beans with cheese.

Vegetable Broth

Make your own. Seriously, it's so easy and worth it. I use vegetable scraps and vegetables I'm not going to use (radishes). Throw in a clove of garlic, some peppercorns, and salt. I use it for everything: soup, rice, marinades. It adds flavor, makes the most of your vegetables, and is cost efficient.

Popcorn Tofu - take 2

I scoured the internet for the actual Wheatsville Popcorn Tofu recipe. Apparently they are very proprietary. I did find it in a cookbook, but it was in the portions that Wheatsville uses. To produce 39 pounds! 39 POUNDS OF POPCORN TOFU. So I had to estimate the measurements. What is 3 quarts of tamari divided by 39?

Seriously, I just guessed. Secret ingredient? Nutritional yeast. I'll link to it: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/271239

The difference is that you coat the tofu in a batter, rather than breading. But it still wasn't the same. I think my batter was too thick. Hans helped:

And it was delicious. More delicious than the first time, but still not the holy grail of Popcorn Tofu. Stay tuned for another attempt. Here it is, served with a salad, and sunflower quinoa:

Popcorn Tofu - take 1

One of Hans' all time favorite foods is the popcorn tofu at Wheatsville: http://www.facebook.com/popcorntofu?sid=47835b242b93d424a193ef28b23765f5&ref=search.

He is obviously not the only one who feels this way.

So I decided to try and make it myself. I don't have a deep fryer, but I figured I could get pretty close.

Short version (let me know if you want the more detailed recipe):

Freeze tofu (to get a chewier texture)

Thaw and squeeze moisture out

Soak in vegetable broth and a couple teaspoons of soy sauce

Dip in an egg wash

Coat in a mixture of flour, breadcrumbs, and spices

Fry in very hot vegetable oil

Put on newspaper (preferable a section you don't treasure) to cool and soak up excess oil

Result (served with BBQ sauce, alongside a salad):

Verdict: Good, but more like fried chicken than the famous Popcorn Tofu. Stay tuned for tomorrow's second attempt

Ruth's pizza dough

There has been a request for the recipe. I believe Christian posted it in his Smorgasbord Pizza post, with tips. But here it is again:

2 cups of flour (if you do wheat, it works best with half white)

1 packet of yeast

3/4 cup warm water

1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve packet of yeast in the warm water. Add to the flour and salt. Knead everything together for a few minutes. Add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky. Form into a ball. Drizzle a little olive oil in the bowl, coat the dough, and cover. Let the dough rise at least an hour (Check Christian's post for variations on ideal dough conditions).

Smorgasbord B.L.T.

In my fridge I had red tomatoes, lettuce bacon and fresh bread. So I decided to make what else a B.L.T. done. But then I saw that I had a green tomato I needed to use, pistachios, sun flower seeds and fresh herbs. So I made the Fried green tomato B.L.T. with a pistachio and sun flower pesto. Easy and a great twist on the classic. (bread was toasted in the bacon grease for a bit of extra flavor)

Harvest Pizza

Inspired by Christian's smorgasbord pizza, I've made my harvest pizza. Basically, I put all the vegetables in my fridge (besides lettuce) on a pizza. Att's piece just had spinach and carrots.

Ruth's pizza dough

Canned whole tomatoes, crushed by hand (much superior to sauce)

Caramelized onions and garlic

Mozzarella

Grated purple carrot

Spinach

Sliced radishes

Parmesan

Final drizzle of olive oil

Cook at 550.

The Smorgasbord Challenge

Come up with something creative using only ingredients already in your pantry. In the spirit of this blog, feel free to ask for suggestions.

GO!

Another theme?

So, I suggested pasta last time, mostly out of self-interest. We were carbing up for the Austin Marathon. Oh...did I mention we ran a marathon? The entire thing. Without walking. No big deal.

Anyways, marathon is over, and so are the carb binges. Suggestions for next theme? A few ideas:

Sandwiches (Banh Mi, anyone?)

Fruit desserts

Entree salads (help us use all this lettuce!)

Or any other idea!

Cauliflower (no shrimp) Cocktail

So, despite (or because of) my post-marathon cold, I became fixated on fixing a recipe from Bon Appetit for Cauliflower Cocktail (like shrimp cocktail, sans shrimp). Here's the recipe:

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/02/poor-man-shrimp-cocktail

Here's my picture:

This would be a great appetizer if you had vegetarian guests over. Note, the florets are spicy, and if you follow the recipe, quite salty. I would cut out the extra salt, since most spice mixes come with salt.

P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

RD and I love PF Chang's chicken lettuce wraps, so we wanted to try it at home.

I grabbed the recipe from here. Didn't make any modifications so you can just click over to that blog to see the recipe. The sauce is sooooo tasty. And no vegetable oil!

They turned out DELICIOUS. Seriously, one of my favorite things I've ever made, if I may say so myself.

Highly Recommend.

Chicken Picatta Part 2

The side I chose to use was Jessica's famous green bean salad. Recipe for that to follow soon.

Instructions/recipe for the Chicken Picatta can be found Here.

 Here is the recipe for Jessica's Green Bean Salad:
 1 tbsp Mayo
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp White vinegar
 4 tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 White Onion diced
6 strips of bacon cooked and finely chopped
1 tbsp water
1 pound cooked green beans
salt and pepper to taste

 Mix mayo,mustard, vinegar, oil, water, and onions together (the dressing), then add cooked green beans and bacon and toss, add salt and pepper to taste, chill in the fridge before serving.

Pad Kee Mao (modified)

Standby for formatting errors. This is not your classic Pad Kee Mao. It has elements of Pad Kee Mao, but is modified pretty heavily. If you are sensitive to the needs of ritual and not deviating, then read no further. Here is the final product:

For most of my Thai recipes, I buy ingredients for 3-4 servings, and make each plate separately. Ingredients: Carrots (sliced and steamed) Water chestnuts (diced) Baby Corn Bell Pepper White Onion 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons Sweet Soy Sauce per plate 1/2 - 1 tablespoon Chili Paste per plate Pinch of sugar Flat rice noodles Optional Ingredients: Broccoli (steamed) Basil leaves Bean sprouts (to top off the plate at the end) Strips of pork, chicken, or beef. To prepare the noodles: place noodles in covered pot of hot water for 20-30 minutes, or until noodles are cooked through but not too soggy. Once cooked, place in bowl of ice. To prepare the sweet soy sauce: Mix 1 part soy sauce with 1 part molasses. You want a fairly thick consistency. Prepare your vegetables to be stir-fried. Turn your stove on high (use extra high heat if you have it) and heat your wok to a very high temperature. You should be able to put a teaspoon of water in your wok and it should evaporate in 1-2 seconds. Once it is this hot, put in ~2 tablespoons of oil. Canola oil can actually be better for stir-fries than olive oil because your dish will not get as soggy. Rotate your wok and spread the oil around, then add your meat and onions. Let the meat sear and brown, but not cook all the way through. Add your vegetables and use a wooden spoon to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the wok. Add the sweet soy sauce, chili paste, and a pinch of sugar. Using either a wooden spoon or flipping with the wok, mix your sauces in until everything is evenly sauteed. Grab a handful of noodles and toss them in with the rest of the ingredients. Again stir until noodles have consistent color. Turn off flame and plate your food. Cut wedges of lime and squeeze over your food, top with bean sprouts.

Chicken Piccata

I know what you are thinking... "BORING." But wait! Did you know a contestant got kicked off of Top Chef for not knowing how to make Chicken Piccata?!?? Don't let that happen to you!

Jana typed up a recipe book for me as a wedding gift and this Chicken Piccata is a McClenagan favorite. A repeat offender, if you will. Minus the offense. It's good. Quick. Easy to make. And healthy (minus a wee bit o' butter).

Ingredients

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

2/3 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup dry white wine (or chicken stock)

1/3 cup lemon juice

Butter

1 egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Put chicken between parchment paper or in a ziplock bag and use meat pounder to get the chicken to 1/4 inch.

3. Beat egg with 1/2 tsp of water in a shallow bowl. On a plate, mix flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. On another plate, place bread crumbs.

4. Place the chicken in the flour, shake off excess. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, and then place the chicken in the bread crumbs, covering the chicken.

5. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium pan and cook the breaded chicken on each side for 2 minutes.

6. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and cook for 5-10 minutes.

7. While the chicken is baking, melt 1 tbsp of butter. Then add lemon juice, wine, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper and cook on HIGH until sauce has reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, you can melt a little more butter into the sauce if you'd like.

8. Plate chicken and pour sauce over and VOILA! YOU ARE AMERICA'S NEXT TOP CHEF!!!!

Pairs particularly well with mashed potatoes. Or any sort of starch will help compliment the zesty tangy goodness of this chicken.

Steak spring rolls

In an effort to do something different with steak (I did baked crispy steak last night) I decided to go the Asian Texan route and make steak spring rolls. The sauce came a recipe book but then adapted to fit what I actually had on hand. Enjoy!

Steak spring rolls
Steak, rice, and avocado spring rolls
INGREDIENTS
Steak
Avocado
1 cup Rice
2 cup water
Spring roll wrappers
Favorite steak seasoning
Oil
for sauce
Can black beans (drained and rinsed)
2 tsp corn flour
1/2 cup veg stock or chicken stock (whichever you have)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 crushed cloves garlic
INSTRUCTIONS
For sauce
1. Mix 2 tsp corn flour and 1/2 cup stock
2. Mix corn mixture with lightly mashed black beans
3. Add rest of ingredients
4. Heat later to thicken
rice
1. Toast rice with a little sesame oil and 2 garlic cloves
2. Add to 2 cups boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes (don't let it get dry)
for steak
1. Season with your favorite seasoning
2. Cook in sesame oil or veggie oil
spring rolls
1. Slice avocado
2. Wet spring roll wrapper
3. Spoon in rice add avocado and steak
4. Fold the sides over and roll
5. Serve with black bean sauce