July 18, 2012 – Pizza w/Chicken, Olives, and Summer Squash

Apparently I have a death wish and it’s to roast myself alive in my kitchen.  Today I rediscovered that if I don’t eat a protein at lunch, then I will double snack attack in the afternoon.  Then come home, where it is sweltering, and proceed to nourish myself on freeze pops before deciding that I should really work on using the cookbooks I own, and make a meal from a real recipe once a month.  Then I decided to bake chicken and make a pizza.

Pizza – from my brain and the Better Homes and Gardens Cook book

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup diced summer squash – check
• ¼ cup olives from can and brine – check
• 1 cup grated smoked cheddar (preferably from the Amish who are really good at cheese and fudge) – check 
• 1 ½ cups Flour – check
• 1 tbs Olive oil – check
• 1/4 tsp Salt – check
• ½ cup Warm water – check
• 1 1/8 Yeast – check
• 1 Baked chicken thigh, cubed – check
• ½ cup Pasta sauce from a can – check
• Oregano – check
• Red pepper flakes – check

Step 0: Put the chicken in the oven to bake at 400F.

Step 1: Make the dough following the recipe in Better Homes and Garden’s Cook Book…it involves basically mixing the flour, olive oil, salt, yeast, and water until you have a dough.  Do this.  Set aside to rise in a cool place (if you can find one in the inferno you live in).

Step 2: Dice the summer squash and put into a bowl, add the olives and brine, put in the fridge. 

Step 3: Put the sauce in a bowl, mix with as much oregano as you so desire.  Put in the fridge. Wait calmly as every Italian you know becomes disgusted with your cooking abilities.  Remind yourself that economizing is good and resolve to make your own pasta sauce someday. 

Step 4: Grate the cheddar, all of the cheddar.  It is Cow Appreciation Day after all. Put in the fridge.

Step 5: Take the chicken out of the oven.  Allow to cool then slice into chunks of awesome.

Step 6: Get your dough and roll it out on your pizza stone. Top the dough with sauce, then cheese, then the veggies, then the chicken, followed by sprinkling the red pepper flakes to your heart’s content, then top it off with the cheese. Bake at 425F for 25-30min.  Allow to cool 5 min before serving.

My first impression as I took this out of the oven was…that cheese looks awful crispy. I maybe let it cook too long being distracted by the unknown.  Boy was I wrong.  I’m not sure which particular ingredient made this pizza so awesome. It might have been the pizza part.  Mostly I think it was the cheese part.  All in all, even though I have never had olives on a pizza before, or summer squash, it tasted like something I can’t wait to eat again for lunch tomorrow.

This foodsperiment gets a +7 for taste, +5 for relative health value, +5 for Cow Appreciation Day, +5 for not completely melting, +5 for an easy cleanup, +5 for lunch tomorrow! Happy Sperimenting!

Chicken, Olive, and Summer Squash Pizza - pizza may be more delicious than it appears

July 17, 2012 – Raspberry Gazpacho

Here comes another heat wave.  I don’t particularly mind the heat wave other than I couldn’t really think on my walk home today.  Instead of hanging out with the lovely KP and company, I decided to be economical and wait to spend any more money until payday and make some Gazpacho so my kitchen wouldn’t cook me alive.  If I’m being perfectly honest, I had planned to make some Gazpacho this week for lunches, but hadn’t gotten to the task yet as I’ve been busy reading (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer).  I decided to try a few new things in this Gazpacho, mainly to use Raspberries as the fruit (I’m pretty sure I don’t like non-fruit Gazpachos, but that has yet to be proven) and to use Kale instead of the traditional Romaine.

Raspberry Gazpacho – from my brain

Ingredients:

• 2 cups raspberries – check
• 3 handfuls Kale – check
• 1 small cucumber – check
• 1 heirloom tomato – check
• Garlic Salt – check
• Lime juice – check
• Cilantro – check
• Apple Cider Vinegar – check
• Balsamic Vinegar – check

Step 1: Cut the tomato into respectable chunks, taking out the seeds.  Place them into your favorite metal bowl of mixing awesome.

Step 2: Realize your garlic is no longer good, curse you warm weather, and decide to use your garlic salt instead

Step 3: Cut your cucumber into reasonable chunks, add to the bowl.

Step 4: Rinse your Kale, then add to the bowl.

Step 6: Add the raspberries to the bowl and mix.

Step 7: Add a healthy dose, roughly 1 tbs, of the apple cider vinegar to the bowl and stir. Add a splash of balsamic too, stir.

Step 8: Add your ingredients to your Cuisinart mixer, slowly so as to not encourage spilling.  Add a dash of lime juice and garlic salt.  Blend.

Step 9: Wish that you had a real blender, because let’s be honest this has been a gazpacho heavy summer with no end in sight and the whole "scooping out and adding in" is getting a little lame.

Step 10: When all the blended ‘zpacho has been added back to the metal bowl of awesome, add in your cilantro (because you forgot before, about 1 tsp), and continue to add garlic salt to taste.

Not all Gazpacho are created equal.  This Gazpacho is more tart than my others have been, and I think it has to do with two big factors: 1. The use of Apple Cider Vinegar (the heat must have been getting to me when I decided to try that) and 2. The lack of Elephant Garlic, or perhaps simply garlic.  It’s not so much that I hated this gazpacho, or even that I totally disliked it. I just wasn’t in love with it.  It tasted closer to V8 than my gazpachos normally do, and because I used Kale instead of Romain, it doesn't look particularly appetizing either (although the nutritional punch is higher!)

This foodsperiment gets a +5 for not turning on the oven, +5 for nutritional value,+5 for really using mainly my brain, -5 for a lack of garlic, and -3 for looking really weird.  Happy Sperimenting!

(Photo NOT Included as the Gazpacho Yelled "PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT ME I'M HIDEOUS")

July 13, 2012 – French Fries

Happy National French Fry Day!  In the tradition of this year, I spent the day contemplating how I was going to celebrate the holiday.  As today was Friday (the 13^th, which is terrifying for most people but my lucky number is 13 which means I feel awesome today) and we have summer hours at work, I promptly left the office around 12:30 and headed to the grocery store, or as I call it Reading Terminal Market.  This year I banned/modify banned the making of most starches in my kitchen, it was meant to only be for a month but I never restarted my weekly bread making sessions or my once a week pasta dishes and now I’ve extended the ban for the year, since it’s July and I’ve been not doing such things as baking bread or making pasta since January. I think I’ll stick it out through December (with some exceptions of course but in general…) Anyway, I haven’t had a potato in my apartment in a while.  I bought some Idaho Potatoes at the Market since those seem to be the ones Five Guys most often uses in their fries.

I’ve actually made oven fries before and I decided to use a recipe from my brain and see what happens.

French Fries – from my brain/the interwebs consultation

Ingredients:

• Two Idaho potatoes – check
• Salt – check
• Veg oil – check
• Old Bay – check

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400F.  Scrub the potatoes as you intend to keep the skin on because your boss man suggested the idea.

Step 2: Fill your favorite big metal bowl with cold water and some salt.

Step 3: Slice the potatoes into ½ inch thick slices and place into the bowl to sit for about 5-10 min.  This will seep some of the starch out of the potatoes which will make your fries a little crispier.

Step 4: Fill a Ziploc with the vegetable oil (just enough to coat the slices) and salt (to taste), place a handful of potato slices into the bag and shake.  Distribute evenly on a cookie pan covered with foil  (you’ll have an easy cleanup).

Step 5: Add some Old Bay to the Ziploc, place another handful of potato slices into the bag and shake.  Distribute evenly onto the cookie pan.

Step 6: Put the pan into the oven for 15 minutes, turn the slices, and place in another 15 minutes.  The fries should be squishy, if they’re not you did it wrong.  Or your oven cooks slower than mine.

Ok yes. They are good.  They are good. KP liked them. I liked them. I will eat them more tomorrow. Viva La Potato!

This foodsperiment gets a +5 for potato goodness (they didn't call me the Potato Queen growing up for nothing), +5 for Old Bay, +5 for easy cleanup, and +5 for friendships with KP! Happy Sperimenting!

Oven Fries - Old Bay on the Left, Regular on the Right

July 5, 2012 – Cherry Gazpacho

It. Is. Hot. In. Philadelphia.   After a wonderful 4^th of July which was only slightly marred by work (quarter ends…the bane of accountants everywhere) July 5^th was a long day.  I walked out of work to discover that the world had become an inferno in…it’s been that way for days.   During my brief spells of brain shake out at the office (that time when you let your mind wander to pressing issues such as how many chores you want to get done when you get home because it is unAmericanly hot out and most friends are out of town because there is a beach somewhere) I contemplated not only how much I wanted my new mattress topper to be at my apartment upon my return and how I was going to launder my sheets so they are nice for the new mattress topper…but I also was thinking about what I had in my fridge to cook with. 

In this infernal heat, and in my delightful apartment that only has air conditioning in my bedroom, cooking has come to mean “what can I throw together that involves no heat” so I had a vague plan for gazpacho.  I looked up a few recipes to compare and contrast to see what I had/would want to use/would like and decided that with the epically delicious cherries I’d impulse bought on Monday (sorry I’m 100% not sorry)  I’d make…

Cherry Gazpacho – from my brain

Ingredients (all portions are estimates):

• ½ clove elephant garlic – check
• 2-3 stalks of celery – check
• ½ large cucumber – check
• 1 heirloom tomato – check
• 1-1   ½ cup cherries, halved – check
• Some onion (not enough to be overpowering, about a quarter inch slice of a medium onion) – check
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar – check
• 1 tsp lemon juice – check
• Salt and pepper to taste – check
• ½ tsp frozen cilantro – check

Step 1: Cut all of the fruits and veggies up into sizable chunks, peel all those that need peeling, and be sure to seed the tomato.  I don’t know why you do that, but the Watermelon Gazpacho recipe I use says to do it so  I keep with that trend seeing as I know I like Watermelon Gazpacho.

Step 2: Toss all your fruits and veggies in a bowl, the perfect kind of bowl is that bowl I inherited from my Teta, I hope you have a metal one of these too.  Add balsamic, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and cilantro. Toss.

Step 3: Slowly add the ingredients to your Cuisinart, and blend.  Now remember folks, that your average Cuisinart (my amazing 9 cup…12 cup?...many cups Cuisinart food processor) doesn’t allow you to fill it up too much with liquidy creations because it gets angry and spills all over the place, so scope out some blended  gazpacho and add some ingredients... make it work.  I bet if you had a real blender then THAT might work better and quicker.

Step 4: Put the whole gazpacho back into your mixing bowl and stir, put the bowl in the fridge while you clean up.

Step 5: When you’re almost done cleaning, put a serving bowl in the freezer, when you have finished cleaning then serve yourself in that bowl, put the rest of the gazpacho into containers for lunches. Or your friends, like Mai who may get to try some tomorrow.

DAMN I AM A GOOD GAZPACHO MAKER.  Actually, to be fair I’ve only ever eaten gazpacho that I’ve made, but I swear it’s perfect...ly lovely.  This Cherry Gazpacho is tarter than the Watermelon Gazpacho, but I like that.  I am totally digging the hints of spices and the punch every once in a while of the garlic.  Pretty sure a vampire will never get me.  The best part is, the gazpacho cooled me down while I made Five Layer Bars (seen here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Five-Layer-Bars-367589) for Graham Cracker Day today, to bring to the office tomorrow (and save as treats for friends).

This speriment gets a +5 for cooling me down, +5 for very easy setup and cleanup, +18 for flavor, +10 for health, +6 for my new mattress topper and laundered sheets, and +7 for Five Layer Bars!  Happy Sperimenting!

Cherry Gazpacho!

Five-Layer Bars!

July 3, 2012 – Olive and Blueberry Chicken Surprises

The truth of the matter is, I should not be allowed to spend more than a day outside the company of real people (note: while I enjoy my co-workers immensely they do not in this function qualify as real people).  Last night was my first night of “freedom” after a week of rehearsals and shows at Longwood Gardens, (The Mikado, so Asian) and the first time I’d been alone in my apartment for more than five minutes (other than sleep) in two weeks.  I spent the entire 4 hours before bed putting away groceries, cutting up said groceries into respective “for lunch” items, making some chicken, and doing copious amounts of laundry.  Then I fell into bed completely exhausted and unable to sleep…adorable.

During the marathon of “doing everything in the world I haven’t done in two plus weeks” I made part of a foodsperiment that I fully intended to eat for dinner tonight.  I threw a salted chicken thigh (yes, I am officially obsessed with chicken thighs) into the oven at 325F covered with blueberries, apple pieces, and some nectarine bits.  I left it in there while I was folding my last load of laundry, roughly 20 minutes, and threw the handy-dandy top onto the ceramic thing and threw it into the fridge.

Today when I got home after a day at the office that made me mostly wish I drank more wine…by myself…in my apartment…except that would make me feel total skeevy and sad and alone and like I’m about to adopt sixteen cats and a frog.  Anyway! I decided it was too hot to do anything and did a lot of rooting around in the kitchen for things other than my pre-determined meal because it sounded outlandishly non-delicious to me.  Instead after I’d had my appetizers of goat cheese and garlic/parm pita chips, and a bowl of delicious cherries, I decided it was time to experiment for serious using my “too hot to make my brain work and woops I went to the store without an actual list and I came out of there with a bunch of stuff that might not seem like it would go well together but it was on sale so I bought it” ingredients for a true foodsperiment.

Olive and Blueberry Chicken Surprises – from my brain

Ingredients:

• Cooked chicken thigh and fruits (see above) – check
• Tiny can of black olives, presliced – check
• Olive oil – check
• Half a clove elephant garlic – check

Step 1: Peel, smash, and slice the half clove of elephant garlic, which is a little sweeter than other garlics and generally awesome for gazpachos. 

Step 2: Heat a dash of olive oil and about half the olive brine (I’m not sure that’s the right term) in a medium skillet.

Step 3: Add the garlic and allow to heat 1-2 minutes.  Then add the olives. Cook for 2 minutes.

Step 4: Add the fruit from the chicken dish that looks totally unappetizing.  Cook with the rest for another 2 minutes.

Step 5: Add the chicken to the dish and watch the brine and olive oil burn off.  Realize that’s 100% not what you want and throw into the pan about a ½ cup of water.  Cook, stiring occasionally and flip the chicken thigh. 

Step 6: Plate and eat this meal even though it doesn’t look all that great.

What a pleasant half-surprise!  I’m guessing I can hold off on the sixteen cats for a few more years, but this dish is not something I would ever serve to my mother…come to think of it I’ve actually never made a meal for my mother…it was mostly olives, which are delicious, but I think I would add more fruit next time.  The sauce actually was the best part.  I mean I ate the thing, it was pretty good. It had too many olives. I officially could never be a hermit.  Then I watched Crazy Stupid Love, because I’ve never seen it and Ryan Gosling is beautiful.

This foodsperiment gets a +5 for being seriously random, +5 for Ryan Gosling (whatever, I said it), +5 for being very healthy, and +5 for knowing that I can still cook after all this time.  Happy Sperimenting!

June 13, 2012 – Chicken and Lima Bean Stir Fry

CURSE YOU LIMA BEANS I WANT TO EAT OTHER THINGS NOW!!!  As no doubt you may have gathered despite my regard, or rather dis-regard, for Baby Lima Beans at the moment, I still love Asian food and most especially the stir fry.  What other dish could provide you with protein and Asian-ness at the same time?  Scratch that, there’s a lot of things...but stir fry is easy.  It’s easy and it’s quick and when we’re in summer hours at work so I’m not getting home until 7pm (at the earliest!)  stir fry is a good fix.  Plus I hoped that it would mask the baby lima beans (it didn’t).

Chicken and Lima Bean Stir Fry – from my brain and needing to use up the chicken and stir fry in my fridge

Ingredients:

• Two portions of chicken thighs – check
• Half a cup of lima beans or more – check
• Sliced orange peppers (roughly 1/4^th of a cup) – check
• Sliced cucumbers – check
• Veg oil – check
• Sesame seeds – check
• Two packets of Soy Sauce – check
• One tbs Rice Wine Vinegar – check
• One tbs Terriyaki Sauce – check

Step 1: Cube the chicken thighs into even-ish pieces.  Slice cucumbers and orange peppers into thin slivers (about the size of crunchy Asian yummies).

Step 2: Heat a tablespoon or so of oil and sesame seeds in a medium large skillet or saucepan. 

Step 3: Throw the chicken cubes into the saucepan.  Add the Rice Wine Vinegar, Terriyaki Sauce, and Soy Sauce to the pan and mix.  Allow to cook for a minute or so.

Step 4: Throw in all the veggies and beans.  Mix well without letting any of them escape their personal caldron of doom…I mean the saucepan. Allow to simmer 10-15 minutes while you clean dishes etc, or basically until it is cooked. 

Step 5: Cool and serve.

I have two-ish things to say about this dish.  The first is that I love Asian food and let’s face it, stir fry of any variety is the easiest thing to make.  Especially my stir fry which is always a decision of “well which sauces should I use, and what meat and veggies will I throw in?”  Second, I think I hate Lima Beans right now.  Too much of a food you’re not particularly fond of to begin with is WAY TOO MUCH of that food. Next time, no Lima Beans. Luckily I made enough to eat some for lunch, and also luckily I was done in time to eat, do the dishes, do my hanging laundry, and meet the lovely Ang for some vino and cheese.  This foodsperiment gets a +5 for taste, + for Asian, -4 for Lima Beans, +8 for lunch tomorrow, +5 for vino with Ang!  Happy Sperimenting!

Chicken and Lima Bean Stir-Fry...I am in a fight with Lima Beans

June 10, 2012 – Baby Lima Bean Hummus

In my attempt to expand my palate and my cooking skills, I decided to start making beans.  Beans have never been something I’ve been particularly fond of so this felt like a huge step for me.  It was this palate expansion that prompted me to buy some Baby Lima Beans, and it was my lack of experience which prompted me to make an entire bag of Baby Lima Beans in one sitting.  Needless to say that’s a whole lot of Lima Beans.  After trying to down as many as possible during lunches, I decided to speriment a little.

I figured that hummus is made from chickpeas, and chickpeas are kind of a bean right?  Google says they are anyway.  With that in mind I figured I could make a hummus from Baby Liima Beans.

Baby Lima Bean Hummus – from my brain and accidentally way too many baby lima beans.

Ingredients (all proportions are completely a guess):

• 1 ½ cups of lima beans – check
• ½ cup of water – check
• Salt – check
• Garlic salt – check
• Lemon juice – check
• Red pepper flakes – check

Step 1: Put the baby lima beans in a small food processor and pulse until you realize that you’re going to need water to get them to grind to a fine paste.

Step 2: Add water to the lima beans and continue to pulse until there’s a reasonable paste.  I imagine that if you pulse for long enough it will become a fine paste, or if your lima beans are well cooked, or if you add enough liquid but any way mine didn’t work quite like that.

Step 3: Add some salt, red pepper flakes, and garlic salt to taste.  Pulse together.  Taste test, and add more water/garlic salt/etc at your discretion.  Add lemon juice also at your discretion.

Step 4: Serve with Pita Chips or something else of the cracker nature.

I seriously need more patience.  If I could have waited until the paste was fully pasty instead of being a little more chewy, it would have been better.  I loved that it was a little spicy but there was something slightly off. Regardless, I ate it, and so did the lunch crowd at work who enjoyed it.

This foodsperiment gets a +5 for using up ingredients, +5 for innovation, +3 for taste, -3 for my lack of patience.  Happy Sperimenting!

Baby Lima Bean Hummus and Pita Chips